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Marketing Challenge Magnolia Coffee Company Company Profile: Magnolia Coffee Company Company Background The Magnolia Coffee Company was founded in 2009 in Summerville, South Carolina when owner Dan Sumner went looking for a local neighborhood place to meet with friends and clients that was warm, welcoming, and inviting. After years of traveling and working abroad, Dan settled down outside of Charleston with his dog Buddy. Bringing his interest in international, fair trade coffees, he purchased and outfitted his first coffee shop out of what would be the first of over 200 local neighborhood retail locations across the Southeast United States. Located in suburbs outside of major metropolitan areas with populations of 50-75k people, each Magnolia Coffee Company location is known for its local hometown flavor and community ties. Retail locations are situated near heavily populated office buildings, high traffic retail shopping and eating establishments and next to gym and fitness studios. Marketing has been more of a buckshot approach without consistent or strategic actions. Dan started building his marketing efforts by marketing to everyone who enjoys coffee. He also created a website, a Facebook page, and even an online app to assist with online ordering and a frequent customer rewards program. While word-of-mouth and some social media posts have gained a dedicated and loyal following, the last two years have seen stagnant growth. Dan is looking for a marketing plan that will help build his customer base and his bottom line. Competitor Profile: ClamClams Company Background Magnolia’s biggest competitor is Clamclams - a massive multinational chain of 10,000+ coffeehouse stores in the US alone. It’s known for its wide variety of hot and cold drinks, as well as its selection of pastries, sandwiches, and other foods. Their revenue is almost exclusively derived from physical store sales. Clamclams branding strategy highlights its commitment to sourcing high-quality coffee beans, as well as its efforts to promote sustainability and social responsibility. The company is known for its seasonal in-out drinks, like the “Cherry Blossom Latte” - its yearly releases have turned into anticipated events that are happily shared on social media among the brand's core users. Despite its triumphs, ClamClams has experienced a variety of challenges. The company was late to identify the demand for the rise of delivery services for ordering beverages without visiting a physical store. So far, ClamClams failed to figure out an efficient way to use 3rd party delivery providers without a huge impact on gross margins or prices. Furthermore, Clamclams is heavily dependent on a limited number of suppliers who are able to satisfy its ever-growing demands without compromising quality. Also, like any big brand, Clamclams is under constant scrutiny in the public eye. Every claim made by the company is verified. In a few instances, the company faced the threat of a nationwide boycott when its fair-trade image was put in doubt. Magnolia Coffee Company As a marketer, you will want to conduct the interviews to understand the product/service you will be marketing. We provided interviews conducted with two typical Magnolia’s customers to help you identify the target audience better. Click here to access the full interviews. Magnolia Coffee Company You are tasked with creating a marketing plan for the Magnolia Coffee Company. More specifically, your objective is to provide the following: ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● Target Market SMART Marketing Objectives and associated KPI Competitor’s S.W.O.T. Magnolia’s S.W.O.T Value Proposition Empathy Map Customer Persona Customer Journey Map Customer Friction Marketing Plan [Optional] For the purpose of the projects, assume retail beverage products and costs are the same for Magnolia Coffee Company as it is with any competitors. Step 1: Market Position Identify the Target Market for Magnolia Coffee Company Magnolia Coffee Company targets middle-class professionals and young adults, aged 22-40, with annual household incomes ranging from $40,000 to $90,000. The primary customer base consists of individuals living in suburban areas near major metropolitan centers with populations of 50-75k. These customers are typically community-oriented, value high-quality, fair-trade coffee, and seek a welcoming and cozy atmosphere for socializing and working. They frequent nearby office buildings, retail shopping areas, and fitness studios. SMART Marketing Objective for Magnolia Coffee Company Over the next 12 months, Magnolia Coffee Company will increase customer engagement through community events and loyalty programs, resulting in a 15% increase in repeat customer visits. Key Performance Indicator for Magnolia Coffee Company The primary KPI to measure marketing success will be the number of repeat customer visits. SWOT Analysis Competitor for ClamClams Knowing the ClamClam’s Strengths and Opportunities, please provide at least two Weaknesses and at least two Threats. Weaknesses Strengths ● ● ● Strong brand recognition Wide range of products Large global presence ● ● Threats Opportunities ● ● ● Expansion to (yet) untapped markets Diversification to non-coffee products Cross-marketing with other global brands Slow to adopt delivery services. Dependency on a limited number of suppliers. ● ● Scrutiny and public backlash over fair-trade claims. High operational costs affecting pricing strategies. SWOT Analysis for Magnolia Coffee Company Knowing the Magnolia Coffee Company Weaknesses and Threats, please provide at least two Strengths and Opportunities. Weaknesses Strengths ● ● Strong community ties and local presence. High-quality, fair-trade coffee. ● ● ● Threats Opportunities ● ● Increase engagement through community events. Enhance digital presence and loyalty programs. Limited resources Not established brand image Quality of service vary depending on staff in given location ● ● ● Competitors with bigger marketing budget Increasing costs of obtaining new customers Differences between locations can create inconsistent brand image Value Proposition . For community-oriented coffee enthusiasts who seek a cozy and welcoming place to enjoy high-quality, fair-trade coffee, Magnolia Coffee Company is a local coffee shop that provides a warm and inviting atmosphere with strong community ties. Unlike large multinational chains like ClamClams, our offer emphasizes local flavor and personal connections. Step 2: Customer Persona Empathy Map Based on the provided interviews, please fill in the Empathy Map below. Each quadrant of the empathy map should have at least three points. Feel free to adjust the design or formatting to suit your needs. Seeing Thinking ● ● ● ● I wish there were more community events. It's nice to have a local place to meet friends. The loyalty program could be improved. ● ● Feeling Doing ● ● ● Visits the coffee shop multiple times a week. Uses the online app for ordering. Participates in occasional community events. Notices the cozy, inviting atmosphere of Magnolia Coffee Company. Sees friends and locals frequently visiting the coffee shop. Observes community events and local partnerships. ● ● ● A sense of belonging and community. Relaxed and comfortable in the coffee shop. Appreciative of the high-quality, fair-trade coffee. Customer Persona Please provide the Customer Persona. Feel free to adjust the design or formatting to suit your needs. Background and Demographics (At least 3 points) Customer Persona Sandra Needs (At least 2 points) ● ● ● Age: 35 ● Location: Suburban area outside a major city Occupation: Marketing Manager Hobbies or Interests (At least 2 points) Image (optional) Goals (At least 2 points) ● Barriers (At least 2 points) ● ● ● Fitness and attending gym classes. Participating in local community events and activities. ● ● To find a reliable and enjoyable coffee shop for regular visits. To support local businesses and contribute to the community. A comfortable, welcoming place to meet friends and clients. High-quality coffee and excellent customer service. ● Inconsistent marketing messages from the coffee shop. Limited awareness of upcoming community events and promotions. Step 3: Customer Journey Map Customer Journey: Introduction As you know, the customer journey is how marketers explain the process a potential customer goes through to become an actual customer of your business and this helps a marketer decide when to talk to the customer. We’ve used the AIDA framework to Map customers experiences and corresponding frictions at each stage of the journey: Customer Journey Map Awareness Interest Action Goal: Broad objective for this stage Create awareness about Magnolia Coffee company Generate interest in Magnolia Coffee Company's offerings and community involvement. Convert interest into action by encouraging first-time visits and app downloads. TouchPoint (doing): Where is the customer and how can they interact with the brand At this stage, the potential customer needs to be reached. We can interact online while they browse Social Media or selected websites. Customers interact with engaging social media posts, community event announcements, and promotions. Promotional offers and easy-to-use online ordering through the app. Experience (Thoughts/Feelin gs): Happy? Stressed? Describe the state of mind of your customer during We aim to reach them when they are relaxed but open to new experiences.Like when, they're casually browsing the internet. Curiosity and excitement about a new local spot and the events they can attend, feeling drawn to the community aspect. Anticipation and satisfaction from trying a new place with appealing offers, and convenience of the app. Customer Friction For this slide please assume that Magnolia’s Customer Rewards Program is performing below expectations. What steps can be taken to remedy potential friction identified below? Post-Action Potential Gap: What’s point of friction was identified? Magnolia Coffee aims to acquire more users in its rewards program during the Post-action phase of the customer's journey. However, a potential point of friction may occur with this initiative due to privacy concerns. It seems that customers could be hesitant to provide their personal data for marketing purposes. Solution: What milestone or step can be added to remedy this? Enhance transparency about data usage and ensure strong data protection measures. Communicate these efforts clearly to reassure customers about the safety of their personal information. Step 4: Marketing Plan Marketing Plan: Content Planning Awareness Interest Desire Action Post Action Goal: Broad objective for this stage Create awareness about Magnolia Coffee company Generate interest in offerings and communit y Encourag e desire for Magnolia' s unique offerings Drive first-time visits and app downloads Retain customers through rewards program and events TouchPoint (doing): Where is the customer and how can they interact with the brand At this stage, the potential customer needs to be contacted. We can interact online while they browse Social Media or selected websites. Social media posts, event announce ments, promotion s Testimoni als, user-gene rated content, exclusive previews Promotion al offers, app features Regular updates, loyalty program incentives Marketing Plan: Content Planning Awareness Interest Desire Action Experience (Thoughts/Feeli ng): Describe the state of mind of your customer during interactions with the brand. We aim to reach them when they are relaxed but open to new experiences. Like when, they're casually browsing the internet. Curiosit y and excitem ent about a new local spot Enthusia Anticipatio sm n and about satisfaction being part of a commun ity, wanting exclusive offers Feeling valued and appreciate d Frictions and opportunities : Do customer face any obstacles to overcome? Can we help? Are there any opportunities we see? You make the first impression once. Choosing an intrusive ad format may backfire. We need to present Magnolia without being pushy. Encour aging engage ment through appeali ng content Highligh ting the exclusivi ty and quality of the product s While the customers are hesitant to join our reward program due to privacy concern, it can be Addressin g privacy concerns Ensuring ease of use and attractiven ess of the offers Post Action Marketing Plan: Content Planning Interest Desire Channels Facebook, (What Instagram, suits our Local Pages approach) Facebook, Instagram, Event Pages Social Media, Email Marketing In-store, Email, App, Social In-App Media Notificatio ns Message (What we want to communi cate at this stage) Join us for our next communit y event and enjoy a free coffee! Be the first to try our new seasonal blend! Download our app and get your first coffee free! Awareness “What’s the fastest growing coffee chain in your local area?” Action Post Action Enjoy exclusive rewards just for being a loyal customer! Thank You! .