Week 10 EOC: What are the benefits vs. the features

Coco de Mode are delicious treats that are perfect for clients seeking something unique and memorable. You may not be able to get that Chanel or Prada handbag for Valentines but you can definitely indulge in these decadently sweet treats. Below are some of our product features and benefits:

Features:

Coco de Mode is an edible collection of 6 chocolate handbag designs inspired by top names in luxury goods. We buy things not only for what they do (benefits) but also for what they mean to us (status, quality, or reputation).  Each chocolate handbag is handcrafted with finishing details that are done completely by hand. We have also created beautiful packaging that features a clear window to display each devastatingly chic design, the box is then wrapped with a gold silk bow, superior packaging can increase dealer and consumer acceptance of a brand (Lamb, 131). 

Benefits:

We offer unique flavor combinations which is a product differentiation and competitive advantage. We seek to “provide something that is unique and valuable to buyers beyond simply offering a lower price than that of the competition” (Lamb, 24).  We also offer a customer satisfaction guarantee, which is our commitment to you as our client that you are 100% satisfied.  Coco de Mode also sources cocoa from local farmers in Tanzania, Santo Domingo and Peru. We plan to only source from farmers that are certified Fair Trade. 

Week 9 EOC: My Creative Content

Coco de Mode

Social Media plays a significant role in the fashion industry today. Many fashion bloggers utilize insagram to promote themselves as well as other products. Coco de Mode is a fashion based chocolatier, beloved by celebrities and fashion icons across America. 

My creative content will be creating an instagram page, posting pictures of our product, trends in chocolate, information on our sources as well as celebrities and fashion bloggers enjoying our decadently, luxurious, and fashionable treats!

Implementation Evaluation Control

COCo de mode: Implementation, Evaluation, and Control

To be successful we must make sure that we are taking the right steps and sticking to our marketing plan “one of the best ways to get the most out of a marketing plan is to correctly implement it. Once the first steps to implementation are taken, evaluation and control will help guide the organization to success” (Lamb, 29).

As laid out in our marketing plan we aim to make our product available at Saks Fifth Avenue, Nieman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodmans and Barneys New York by Valentine’s Day 2017.

To evaluate our product, I asked my family and friends three questions:

1.What do you think of the overall concept of Coco de Mode?

2. Would you pay $25-$35 for it?

3. Who would you purchase it for?

I got several different answers, however, majority loved the overall concept, they would pay $25-$35, and most said they would purchase it for their significant other, family member, or close friend. Coco de Mode is a “consumer product” meaning it is a product that is purchased based “an individual's personal wants or needs…and is purchased for personal or family consumption or as a gift” (Lamb, 116).

To establish control and allocate marketing resources efficiently we plan to perform a marketing audit which is “a thorough, systematic, periodic evaluation of the objectives, strategies, structure, and performance of the marketing organization” (Lamb, 29).

Marketing Mix: Price

COCo de mode: Price

Our price point reflects the type of customer we cater to, our “customers value goods and services that are of the quality they expect and are sold at prices they are willing to pay” (Lamb, 7). Our clientele, shop at luxury stores like Saks Fifth Avenue, Nieman Marcus, and Barneys New York, they value luxury and high end products and are willing to pay for those products. “Wealthy customers with money to spend may value the social message of their purchases above all else" (Lamb,7).

Each beautifully packaged box of Coco de Mode Chocolate handbags retail for $25 for a box of 4 and $35 for a box of 6. The packaging features a clear window to display each devastatingly chic design, the box is then wrapped and tied with a golden silk bow. The packaging alone screams luxury, style and above all mode!

Coco de Mode

Luxury you can eat!

Marketing Mix: Promotion

COCo de mode: Promotion

Coco de Mode will utilize “advertising, public relations, sales promotion, and personal selling” (Lamb, 28) as well as social media to promote our product. Through the promotion of our product, we hope to “bring about mutually satisfying exchanges with target markets by informing, educating, persuading, and reminding” (Lamb, 28) our clients why our product is superior to the competition.

Social Media will play a huge role in the marketing and promotion or our product. Our plan is to partner with social media fashion icons and bloggers that have significant followers and have the ability to influence our target market. Check us out on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cocodemode2016/ 

Further, utilizing social media as a form of networking, marketing and promotion is a demonstration “green marketing” and our commitment to “the development and marketing of products designed to minimize negative effects on the physical environment or to improve the environment” (Lamb, 43).

Marketing Mix: Distribution

COCo de mode: Distribution

“Place, or distribution, strategies are concerned with making products available when and where customers want them (Lamb, 28). Our product will be sold at high end luxury department stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Nieman Marcus, Barneys New York, and Nordstrom. Coco de Mode luxury chocolate handbags will be available during special holidays; Christmas, Valentines, Mother’s Day, Easter, etc.

It is also our goal to expand into other markets to make our product available for special events such as birthdays, weddings, bachelor parties, bridal parties and corporate events.

Marketing Mix: Product

COCo de mode: OUr Product

These luxury chocolate handbags are handcrafted in France using superior French Chocolate. Our cocoa is carefully and selectively sourced from family owned farms in Peru, Dominican Republic and Tanzania. Each box will contain four to six gorgeously designed purses from the top designers in luxury: Louis Vuitton, Prada, Chanel, Hermes, Gucci, and Dior. Each chocolate purse has its own distinct flavor. Louis Vuitton: Dark Chocolate with notes of cardamom, Prada: Dark Chocolate with chili powder, Chanel: Milk Chocolate and lavender, Hermes: Milk Chocolate with notes of Tumeric, Gucci: Dark Chocolate fig Truffle, Dior: White Chocolate with Raspberry mousse filling.