Marketing Plan & Sales Strategy Essay For We Are Virgins Drink.

Company’s Target Market

It is very essential for any business’ success that they have a thorough understanding of their customers. If they are unaware of their customers they would not be able to analyze if they are at all meeting the needs of their consumers. Success depends on being able to meet the needs and desires of the customers. Therefore it is important that the company knows who their customers are, what their needs are, how their behaviors is and how much they can afford (Blank, 2012).

The first step to define the target market is to identify the specific market segment that is required to be reached. These segments define distinctive, significant mechanisms of the complete market and provides a set of detailed features by which to recognize the target market. It is possible that the customers can be categorized in different ways, either by income level or even by lifestyles issues. The income levels can be categorized into one or more of these categories: upscale, luxury, upper moderate, moderate and budget. Lifestyle issues are categorized more subjectively. Targets customers are less dependent on their income level and instead is more concerned about their own attitude regarding how they spend their disposable income (Winston & Cahill, 2012).

In United States, the demand for non-alcoholic beverages like We are Virgins has been seen as increasing day by day along with the population of the country (Petticrew et al., 2016). 2016 non-alcoholic drink sale in USA of 2,800 million US dollars ("Energy drink sales in the U.S., 2016 | Statistic", 2017). Non-alcoholic drinks are representative of the most aggressive new product development segment in the beverage industry. For We are Virgins, the target market is generally males between the ages of 18 and 25 years old. The drink containers focus more on imagery and size so that no competitors can copy that. This group of people are most likely to believe in the veracity of the non-alcoholic drinks’ claims. Due to that, majority of the non-alcoholic drinks are developed and advertised for the younger generation. The design and packaging of the drinks are also related to the target market.

As discussed, the target market for this drink is mainly the males who belong in the age group of 18 - 25 years old. The males of this age group are more health conscious now and wish to consume something that is not alcoholic. Even soda drinks are harmful for health. In such scenario, We are Virgins can be good option. Most of the males who would be targeted reside near Los Angeles as the area is associated with being fun loving, happening and friendly. They are always interested in having a good conversation, with drinks in hand and friends around. Most of the residents in and near Los Angeles are all having a high class lifestyle. They are not concerned much about the spending of their disposable income for having something that is not harmful for health and even taste good. Most of the people in this area can be categorized as early adopters, who are open to new things and easily adopt something in their lifestyle if they like something. Purchasing pattern of the people of this area is addressed with fast decision making and there is no resistance form their side when they find something new. The quality and quantity of the product are also important factors that drive the residents in the area to buy the product (Hakala, Svensson & Vincze, 2012).

Consumer Analysis

Companies generally judge their competition based on whether their products or services are better than theirs. However, there are many other factors that helps determine the success in comparison with other manufacturers of the products or services. Perhaps the brand name of the competitor is well known from before itself, or their products are much cheaper, or their distribution systems are much easier for getting placement in the stores, or maybe the customers just like something of their products in the aesthetic sense. The objective features of the new company’s products or services is a relatively small part of the competitive position. In fact all of the customer preference components like price, services and location make up only a part of the competitive analysis. The rest of the equation contains the examination of the internal strengths of the competitions. In the long run, organizations that have significant financial resources, highly talented and motivated workforce and some other operational assets would prove to be a difficult and enduring competitor (Blank, 2012).

We are Virgins’ products include non-alcoholic beverages that are served with alcohol. If any person who does not want to consume alcohol at all can replace alcohol with fruit juice along with the We are Virgins drink and then proceed with consumption (Kang, Auras & Singh, 2017). The product is mainly served at the Virgin Daiquiri Bar in the United States. The drink is not harmful for consumption and the manufacturers have kept in mind the preference of the consumers while producing this drink, so that they can meet the satisfaction level of the consumers. We are Virgins drink is available in the market at the price of $3.  The organizational structure of We are Virgins has been designed keeping in mind the needs and preferences of the consumers. Therefore the management has been capable of continuing a healthy relationship with their customers, which has turned out to be beneficial for the development of the organization (Lobstein et al., 2015). In comparison with We are Virgins, their competitor, Coca Cola has been in the beverage industry for long and has gained a position for itself in the market. It is considered the gold standard in the industry and is the largest seller of non-alcoholic beverages all over the world. They have an extremely strong business model in motion and holds a dominant market share in the industry. They have even grown their product lineup to remain updated with their customer needs and preferences. They have more than 20 brands currently and report a sales of over $1 billion every year. Coca Cola might not be the most exciting company in the world, but is one the most successful for a long time (Popkin & Hawkes, 2016).

We are Virgins have been facing competition from Coca Cola from the beginning itself. However, there are other competitors also, such as Pepsi and Lipton ice tea, which in itself covers a huge share of the market, both locally and globally, with these brands having increased their competitive position in the market. Therefore, We are Virgins have been facing a lot of issues and competition because of the presence of these rival companies. Coca Cola reported a net sales of 41.86 billion in 2016 and PepsiCo reported a full year revenue change of 0.4% for 2016. Market share for both the companies have been increasing every year, with very little fluctuations in the course. Historically, if considered, Coca Cola has been the market leader for long time. Both Coca Cola and Pepsi have substantially increased their market shares in the last 2-3 years. The overall competition for We are Virgins is slowly becoming stable, as the company has started gaining market share.

Market Competition Analysis

We are Virgins has only one aim – to attract people who do not consume alcohol and are looking for non-alcoholic beverages. Currently the drinks are only available at the Virgin Daiquiri Bar in United States. The company has an objective of catering to the increasing demand and making the drink available to a larger group of consumers. Therefore they have decided to convey the message to their customers regarding their product.

Using the Five Fs, the message can be analyzed and judged if it is at all effective or not for the organization. We are Virgins are dedicated to the function of serving customers with a non-alcoholic beverage, as more and more consumers today are becoming health conscious and any kind of alcoholic or harmful beverages. The message to be conveyed to the customers also includes an explanation regarding the pricing of the drinks. Each bottle of We are Virgins costs around $3, which is quite a moderate price. The idea is to attract more consumers to the drink, and also giving them an alternative option that won’t harm them. The message also is to be easy for the customers to understand and have the flexibility of catering to a larger consumer group. It would address the feelings of the consumers and create its own space as their favorite drink (Yan, Hyllegard & Blaesi, 2012). The slogan for the drink can be “your heart will thank you”. It would be promoted on the social media forums. With attractive graphics and colorful fonts, the message would be promoted along with the drink to a large set of consumer group.

The web has become a place which provides something to everyone. Especially in organizations, the internet plays a huge role in helping the development of it. The online strategy of promotion has taken help from social media sites to help in the promotion of products or services of any organization. The beverage industry is no exception. Facebook can be used by We are Virgins to attract fans to their page with regular updates. The on-page engagements also drive customers to the company page and helps in increasing brand image and awareness. Updates about campaigns, polls and Facebook apps also entertain the customers. Twitter feeds of the company would help in promotion with more followers of the brand. It can be used to communicate with customers regularly, in turn improving customer service and brand loyalty. Pinterest boards can be used to communicate with customers regularly, posting pictures and engaging customers to show effort towards them. All these marketing vehicles would be useful for We are Virgins to improve their brand awareness and reach out to larger target customer group (Tuten & Solomon, 2014).

Red Bull is a good example of a beverage company which has gained benefits by using their social media sites to interact with customers. Red Bull has accumulated millions of likes form their Facebook page, showing people that they are not a simple, caffeinated drink, but a lifestyle choice. Red Bull uses Twitter to post hundreds of feeds all over the globe, with separate feeds for different events. They even respond to customer comments and mentions, making sure the buzz is always around the brand. Pinterest photos of Red Bull brings traffic to their page and makes sure customer engagement is active to keep the customers interested.

Reference List

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Energy drink sales in the U.S., 2016 | Statistic. (2017). Statista. Retrieved 11 August 2017, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/558022/us-energy-drink-sales/

Hakala, U., Svensson, J., & Vincze, Z. (2012). Consumer-based brand equity and top-of-mind awareness: a cross-country analysis. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 21(6), 439-451.

Kang, D., Auras, R., & Singh, J. (2017). Life cycle assessment of non-alcoholic single-serve polyethylene terephthalate beverage bottles in the state of California. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 116, 45-52.

Lobstein, T., Jackson-Leach, R., Moodie, M. L., Hall, K. D., Gortmaker, S. L., Swinburn, B. A., ... & McPherson, K. (2015). Child and adolescent obesity: part of a bigger picture. The Lancet, 385(9986), 2510-2520.

Petticrew, M., Douglas, N., Knai, C., Durand, M. A., Eastmure, E., & Mays, N. (2016). Health information on alcoholic beverage containers: has the alcohol industry's pledge in England to improve labelling been met?. Addiction, 111(1), 51-55.

Popkin, B. M., & Hawkes, C. (2016). Sweetening of the global diet, particularly beverages: patterns, trends, and policy responses. The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, 4(2), 174-186.

Tuten, T. L., & Solomon, M. R. (2014). Social media marketing. Sage.

Winston, W., & Cahill, D. J. (2012). Internal marketing: Your company's next stage of growth. Routledge.

Yan, R. N., Hyllegard, K. H., & Blaesi, L. F. (2012). Marketing eco-fashion: The influence of brand name and message explicitness. Journal of Marketing Communications, 18(2), 151-168.