TARGET MARKET STRATEGY

After much research, that are target market is everyone! Our target market is pretty simple, it is someone that likes adventure and traditional food.  Preferably someone that is a bit young that likes street food with natural ingredients. "The marketing strategy statement consists of three parts. The first part describes the target market; the planned value proposition; and the sales, market share, and profit goals for the first few years"  (Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing 249).

SITUATION OR SWOT ANALYSIS

In this business, facing reality is what we need to do.  I believe we have an undeniable factor, which is our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.  "SWOT analysis, is known as an overall evaluation of the company’s strengths (S), weaknesses (W), opportunities (O), and threats (T)" (Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing G10).  Our strengths is most definite,  our company is authentic and will remind people of mom's home cooking, adventure, and tradition.  Our weaknesses are people might get tired of eating Ethiopian food.  We don't have a variety of foods from a variety of other countries.  Our opportunities are introducing our food to so many other people that don't know about our food.  Teaching them our culture and tradition.  Ethiopia has tradition that goes back hundreds of years that so many people are fascinated about.  Our threats are people trying to execute the same business like ours.  Trying to copy our plans for what we think this service should be given.  "The company should analyze its markets and marketing environment to find attractive opportunities and identify environmental threats. It should analyze company strengths and weaknesses as well as current and possible marketing actions to determine which opportunities it can best pursue. The goal is to match the company’s strengths to attractive opportunities in the environment, while eliminating or overcoming the weaknesses and minimizing the threats" (Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing 56). 

OBJECTIVES

For this project, I plan to give my customers an authentic Ethiopian experience with traditional in scents, and visually with many textures and colors.  This food truck will be aesthetically colorful on the outside, to show the vibrant colors Ethiopian culture has.  The name of the food truck is Taste of Ethiopia.  In this food truck, I will be showcasing specifically the vegan side of our variety of different foods.  Our food will have lentils, greens, cabbage, carrots, and so much more.  It will also serve two kinds of beverages, one is an Ethiopian beer, and the other is a traditional Ethiopian coffee with the ceremony.  The food truck will have the aesthetic of urban, traditional, and welcoming.  Our food truck will be as long as a school bus, and it will have colors such as, red, yellow and green.  We will be having traditional Ethiopian scents throughout the day.  Outside the food truck, we will have four sets of traditional seating.  This seating will consist of a eating table that is made of straw, and short thick wooden chairs.  All of our waitresses and cooks will be wearing the traditional Ethiopian dresses.  We believe it will give the customers an authentic aroma.  We want our customers to have an experience when they eat our food, know they cannot get this kind of food or service anywhere else.  "Each company must find the game plan for long-run survival and growth that makes the most sense given its specific situation, opportunities, objectives, and resources" (Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing 39). 

BUSINESS MISSION STATEMENT

"Mission statements should be meaningful and specific yet motivating. They should emphasize the company’s strengths in the marketplace. Too often, mission statements are written for public relations purposes and lack specific, workable guidelines." (Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing 41).    When thinking about the mission statement I was very compelled to have a meaningful, and a story that touched back to my childhood
My mission statement:
"My earliest food memories are forever linked to the contents of my childhood lunchbox—my Mom's aromatic home-cooked Ethiopian dishes. These lunchbox memories inspired my dream to bring the wonderful flavors of the Ethiopian culture to be enjoyed by everyone. Handmade in small batches with all-natural ingredients and authentic spices, Taste of Ethiopia marries tradition with healthy eating and a hearty helping of soul." 
"From the start, Kroc preached a motto of QSCV—quality, service, cleanliness, and value. These goals became mainstays in McDonald’s customer-focused mission statement. Applying these values, the company perfected the fast-food concept—delivering convenient, good-quality food at affordable prices."(Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing 41).  We believe that analogy is what is going to keep our customers coming, we strive to make every customer's experience the ultimate experience.  Every day with good fresh, traditional, and authentic Ethiopian food.  An aroma of roasted coffee, and scents from Ethiopia.  

THE PITCH

"Such alternative media seem a bit far-fetched, and they sometimes irritate consumers who resent it all as “ad nauseam.” But for many marketers, these media can save money and provide a way to hit selected consumers where they live, shop, work, and play. Of course, all this may leave you wondering if there are any commercial-free havens remaining for ad-weary consumers. Public elevators, perhaps, or stalls in a public restroom? Forget it! Each has already been invaded by innovative marketers" (Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing 397).

Come taste the traditions of what will forever be known as Mom's aromatic home-cooked Ethiopian dishes. The lunchbox memories inspired the birth of Ethiopian culture to be enjoyed by everyone. Handmade in small batches with all-natural ingredients and authentic spices, Taste of Ethiopia marries tradition with healthy eating and a hearty helping of soul.

In our food truck, we will be serving coffee as well.  The traditional way!  We will have raw coffee beans, and roast them in front of the customer for the ultimate experience.  The aroma will cloud the space until we grind the beans, and put it on the stove with the a traditional cast iron coffee pot. 

Week 5 EOC: Social Networks and Job Hunting

Facebook has become the main source for everything.  After Facebook came into the world, the world has changed in ways such as how we get jobs, shop, how we get our news/ media outlets, etc.  There are so many social media outlets right now that derived from Facebook or its aesthetics of connecting with people.  According to the book, "Brand ambassador programs leverage the power of peer-to-peer communication. Consumers hear about products and brand experiences from others just like themselves—people they trust—rather than from commercial marketing sources. “It’s the value of having someone there who wants to talk to you about the product and the features,” says one brand ambassador. “It’s not really about sales; it is about sharing of information."  Right now, employers in the corporate industry are looking for individuals that put themselves out into the world with a professional demeanor.  If that person gets hired by a company, and doesn’t have a professional presence it could affect the company’s bottom line.  The article says, Still, “Facebook is making a dent. VMware Inc., a Palo Alto, Calif., cloud-computing company, hired its first full-time recruiter dedicated to working on social networks in November and is building a team of recruiters who will focus on social platforms.”  Nowadays, it seems like the only way to reach any sort of large mass of people is through social media.  A high profile company’s social media page is vital to what they are trying to portray to people.  It is easy, convenient, and so many people can be reached in a short amount of time.    

Works Citied:

1. Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing  

2. Light, Joe "The WallStreet Journal." Editorial. Recruiters Troll Facebook for Candidates They Like Aug. 2011: n. pag. Print.

 

WEEK 4 EOC: NEW PHONE APP

Being in the fashion world, I think of so many ideas as being apps on my phone.  My passion is to be a stylist.  I am a very hands on person.  I love touching garments feeling the materials and really immersing myself into the task on hand.  When I finish school, I would love to be a fashion editor at a magazine.  I think that is such an amazing way to inspire and reach others.  Magazines are so influential today, people go to magazine for basically anything nowadays.  I feel like being a fashion editor would be an amazing position where I can impact other people’s lives in a great way.  I wish there was an app that can show people how to know the business of being a fashion editor.  To have an app that allows you to give input the some of the decisions of magazines.  That way when I finish school, I am somewhat prepared for the position.  This app can teach someone the basics of being a fashion editor, finds and alerts that person for any potential jobs in their area, and gives opportunities for internships or job position at a magazine of their choice.  It is my hope for someone to create this app, because I really feel like there are so many opportunities for so many other areas in the fashion industry.  The fashion magazine industry is the one that is lacking the opportunities for newly college grads.  I truly think it could be tremendously useful with a lot of fashion bloggers that are really trying to making it in the editorial industry.