Marketing Mix Strategies

1/PRODUCTS: a/ Product levels:

1. Core benefit: Chocolates are convenience products, because everyone can eat chocolates whenever they want them. Moreover, for those whose favorite food is chocolate, eating chocolate will satisfy their needs. 2. Actual products: y Brand name: Hershey is a well-known brand in the chocolate industry. This is partly due to Hersheys philanthropy in helping homeless children and high quality products. Many customers choose Hershey as their favorite brand to some extent that they can help these students. y Quality: o Many good quality recipes are created for customers. Besides, allergies are taken seriously during the production process to ensure that consumers will not suffer allergies. o There is a consistency of quality in every product supplied.

Packaging: All packages are simple, wrapped in many sizes and made easy for customers to split. In each package, all useful information about the ingredients is provided so that customers can control their nutritional intake as using.

Design: The design is quite simple with the brand name stamped directly in each chocolate bar.

Features: o There are many fat-free products for dietitians to freely eat Hersheys chocolates without caring about the levels of cholesterol and fat, such as Hersheys dark chocolate. o There are many flavors for customers choices (line extension), such as milk chocolate, pure-dark chocolate, and chocolates with almonds.

3. Augmented: Hersheys products are distributed widely in many places to make it convenient and available for consumers to buy.

b/ Product improvement:
Hersheys products will be free and just-in-time delivered if customers buy chocolates online through Hersheys website (www.Hersheys.com.mx). Hershey treats any complaint of customers as valuable contribution that aid in improving our products. Hershey will attract target customers by introducing Hersheys bundle products on holidays, like Valentine day and Womens day.

Hershey Mexico not only manufacture, sell and distribute their own product, but also they will import more chocolates from the parent company to vary the products and introduce additional brands (Hersheys SKOR, Health and Symphony). By doing that, Hersheys chocolate bars can appeal to everyones taste and create more choices for consumers. This could lead to growing sales.

2/Price
1. General pricing strategy: Hershey will apply two general pricing strategies, Valued-based pricing and Competitionbased pricing together to bring the final reasonable and profitable price. First, we analyze our competitors prices. Hershey products will have the prices that lower than foreign chocolate brands competitors but higher than other Mexican brands. After that, we will base on the value that customers perceive our products to give the final number of the prices. For example, a Guylian 200gr chocolate bar has a price of 30,5 MXN and a Vifranco 200gr chocolate bar has a price of 14,5 MXN. Then Hersheys price will be lower than 30,5 MXN and more than 14,5 MXN. After that, as our customer perceive our products are high quality, so we will take a price of about 26 MXN.

2. Product Mix-Pricing strategy: Product-line pricing: Hershey sells many lines of products such as HERSHEY'S milk chocolate bar, HERSHEY'S EXTRA DARK or HEATH toffee bar. In each line, customers have three choices of products: big size (500gr), normal size (200gr) and small size (100gr). This will give customers more options to suit their needs. Furthermore, the price of bigger size will be cheaper than small size based on average price on weight. For example, a 100gr chocolate bar costs 14,5 MXN, but 500gr one costs only 58 MXN.

Product bundle pricing: Hershey also offers bundle products at a reduced price, e.g. Family Set, Couple Set, and Happy Birthday Set. These bundles will suit each circumstance for purpose of selling in higher quantity. However, in holidays such as Valentines Day or Womens Day, we will offer bundles with a higher price because of special products (this will be explained more in psychological section later).

3. Price-Adjustment Strategies: Psychological pricing: We price the products about 0,5-1,5 MXN less than normalcy. Particularly, a bundle of 115,5 MXN and a chocolate bar of 11,5 MXN will be priced at 114 MXN and 11 MXN. In special holidays, we take the prices for special bundles higher. This will drive customers perceiving products with better quality. Moreover, people tend to spend more in these special days, so these are good opportunities to capture profit. For instance, a Happy Birthday set with 5 types of chocolate, if customers buy these 5 types individually, total of them will cost only 127,5 MXN. However, we change both the design of the packages and the shape of chocolates, and then we charge a higher price of 162MXN

3/Place:
Hersheys chocolates are convenience products. Hence, to ensure the availability of Hersheys, our products are delivered widely in many outlets. Hershey will focus on distributing products to big supermarkets such as Wal-Mart, Soriana, Gigante, Commercial Mexicana, Mega, Bodega Aurrera, and plazas such as Centro Santa Fe, Colonia del Valle, Centro Comercial Perisur, Plaza Independencia, and Plaza del Sol. The relationship with import companies puts Hershey at an advantage in implementing intensive distribution. These wholesalers will deliver Hershey products to many other resellers such as small shops, groceries, or even some street shop. Therefore, Hershey will be able to save time and energy and spread its market widely. This creates the opportunities for customers to catch a Hershey bar whenever and wherever they want.

However, Hershey have not built a good relationship with customers yet, thus our plan is to create our own website (www.Hersheys.com) to get better communications with consumers as well as other businesses that want to carry our products. Thereafter, consumers are able to purchase or comment products online; businesses (local shops) can order products online. Furthermore, companys sales persons will proactively contact all prospective businesses in order to find more channel members to cooperate and technically stimulate sales.

4/Promotion
1. Advertising:
Hershey Mexico will focus on informative advertising, such as making video for broadcasting on the TV. Through that method, it can bring on Hersheys message, Hershey chocolate - sweet of nature, which means Hersheys chocolate is good for health as well as environment.

2. Personal selling:
Territorial sales force will be established, starting in Mexico City for the purpose of persuading, contacting effectively and proactively with some prospective businesses. For example, cooperating with hotels there, then they will sell chocolates to couples whom celebrating their wedding party there, so that chocolates become gifts for weddings guests.

3. Public relations:
To make Hersheys products more publicized, Hershey organized an event in famous plaza, which could attract customers attention. In addition, they would become the main sponsors for some events, example: a music events in high school or university. With the aim to obtain favorable relationship with publics, this event will show a full line of products and simultaneously present the quality of Hersheys chocolate by a number of certificates gained from experiences.

4. Direct marketing:
Online marketing is another tool to reach customers. Hershey Mexico already had their own website www.Hersheys.com.mx for end-users to know more about Hersheys chocolate bars. In their website, Hershey Mexico using the successful box office, an American fiction action movie, the Transformer to promote their product, Pelon Pelo Rico, which provides a lot of prize worth thousands peso.

Using Hershey Mexicos main website (www.Hersheys.com.mx) consumers can find links to Hershey Mexico profile, history, products, the nutrition, a link to Hershey's promotions and contact us link.

valuation / Action Plan

Department responsible Get business licenses: to acquire 5 years chocolate business license, SignUp seals business circles in the police, Sign up tax codes with tax authorities, Register import and export code at Department of Planning and Investment and other requirements of the government. Management Sales force do customer satisfaction survey and set new price Sales force contact with supermarket and shops Contract with expedition company for importing, storing and distributing products Do Market Research competitors prices and set our products prices Contract with billboards owners and posters producer Contract with TV channel for advertising Contract with the design company to prepare advertisement on TV, Billboards and posters Contract with newspaper and magazine to announce the existence in Mexican market. Updating the content of the website, and maintenance of the website Presentation at plazas about Chocolate and your health, as part of companys promotion program Main Sponsor for music event at school and university Human Resources Total Hiring and training: LongHoang security group, employees and train them to suit companys work term. 1000 300 9000 750 4000 5000 12000 1500 Budgets Tasks ($USD)

3000

Marketing

300

1500 4000

1000

$ 43.350

Control
To make sure that all process of marketing plan going well, there are some methods that help to analyze current situation right away:
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Sales report (weekly) Performance of promotional activities report (monthly) Competitors actions report (weekly) Observation and evaluation of our channel members reports (monthly) Feedback from customers survey (quarterly) Customer relationship report (monthly) Through evaluations and benchmarks above, we can see clearly every activity. If there is any problem, it will be recorded and resolved immediately.