Comsumer Analysis - Cowboy Girl

*Consumer Analysis

1. Product: Cowgirl Chocolate’s hot and spicy tastes make it a unique product in the market; however, the product name creates a wrong perception on her primary male market. To make a good product, name is an essential part for developing a successful product. Its name should try to match up with company’s marketing strategy.

Beside the poor name choice, her packaging and logo designs attract consumer attention elevating the likelihood that her product would be chosen. However, people have a tendency to perceive the tastes of chocolates to be sweet and bitter, making Cowgirl chocolate to be an unsought product for the consumers. Marilyn needs to increase consumers’ awareness of her chocolate; therefore, inducing them to purchase the products. The ingredients in the chocolate, such as Cayenne and other chilies, have positive health effects. Marilyn can use such fact to distinct her product from competitive chocolates.

2. Pricing: Marilyn prices her chocolate higher than other brands. Because she uses only the best ingredients, including fresh cream from a local Moscow, to make her chocolate, she has to sell it at a higher price to cover her expenses. Marilyn’s set price of her products have a negative affect on “consumers’ purchase decision and how consumers evaluated quality of each of the competing.” Marilyn failed to use incentives, such as manufacture coupons, to attract new buyers, to ensure repeat purchases, and to expand market shares.

3. Place: “Men are much more inclined to eat hot and spicy foods than are women.” Instead of following her marketing research to reach the male market segment, Marilyn placed her chocolates on the shelves of feminine stores, such as Wild Women Traders, a “lifestyle outfitter” that sells high-end women’s clothing and antiques. Nevertheless, her online website compensated for the weak sales in the physical market. The internet provides an opportunity for Marilyn to capture both the wholesale and retail profits. In addition, she obtains the direct contact with her customers.

4. Promotion: Marilyn tries to “grab readers’ attention and peak their curiosity about Cowgirl Chocolate by putting an ad in Chile Pepper magazine.” In addition with the ad, she also participates in trade shows that primarily focus on the hot and spicy food market segment to expand her customer base. Her sales have increased immediately after the New York Times wrote an article about Cowgirl Chocolates, however, she still fails to reach and communicate with her potential consumers. By focusing on her current consumer group, Marilyn would not be able to reach her budgeted revenue and profits.

*Company Analysis

Product:

Strengths:

Marilyn is very creative in designing the layouts and decorations of her products. The design labels distinct her chocolates from the other brands on the shelves. Through her expertise in art, Marilyn was able to unify the appropriate colors to the different levels of spiciness in each of her chocolates. In addition, Marilyn includes the nutritional facts of the products even though it is not required. She uses the facts that “cayenne and other chilies had wonderful health properties for the heart.” Beside the uniqueness design of the product, the chocolates themselves have a premium quality above the competitors. She believes that “her half-pound tins contained better chocolate, offered more unique packaging and logo design.”

Weaknesses:

The products, themselves, are not feasible for her current seeking market segment. Marilyn fails to develop an accurate researching plan and relies on her friends and colleagues’ opinions. Although Marilyn is trying to provide the best and most unique products available to market, she increases her product costs because of her constant changes in product designs, such as the tin sizes. Furthermore, the name, itself, diminishes the consumers’ tendency to purchase because they perceive “Cowgirl” as something else beside chocolates.

Price

Strengths

By pricing her products at a premium above other similar chocolates, consumers may believe