Sam Do

Define Success In the Marketplace
Success in the marketplace is ultimately being able see progress in a company’s performance from implementation of a marketing plan. It is also very crucial to measure the effects of the marketing plans so that the company knows what works as well this measurement can be shown as evidence to the board for financial backing or increase/retain the marketing budget.  


Brand Equity 
Brand equity can be seen as the value of the brand. The brand’s value may be seen by stripping away some aspects of a current product and making the exactly the same as generic brand. Then we put your brand on one product and put a generic brand on the other exactly the same product and compare which one performs better in sales. We discovered in our research/survey that for low involvement products like tomatoes, which people don’t think too much about the product before they buy it as opposed to the idea of buying a 70” plasma TV where you have to think about as it is a “big” decision, people are likely to buy tomatoes that belong to a brand with high reputation. According to our research, Origin also has very low market penetration. Not a lot of people know about them or have ever tried their product. Brand equity can still be built up as Origin is still a growing company. Brand equity is extremely important in these lower involvement products or even commodities because in this case, the only differentiator will be the brand. Therefore in types of markets, brand equity plays a big role in market success. Brand equity is very difficult to build especially when shifting focuses and when just starting a new brand. 


Targeting 
Initially, our team thought that the target market for organic tomatoes is the typical mother of three with an education and on a higher income bracket as found in researches done by the government. These are only the current most frequent buyers of organic produce but not exactly but part of the intended target market of an organic tomato producer. We had the thought of targeting families and individuals who had higher income(s)/education(s), but we discovered that the intended target market for an organic tomato producer was: “health conscious and/or environmentally friendly”. It was a psychographic rather than a demographic. It is very important to know the target before jumping into conclusions. This will save the company money and time. 


Positioning 
To target a certain psychographic and build up brand equity, a company has to know what position it wants in the consumer’s mind and what realistic position it wants in the market. Positioning is where the company would want to be seen at in a consumer’s perception map. The price set by the company has to somehow relate to the consumer’s perceived value of the brand. The company has to set the proper and desirable points of difference for its products as well as establish competitive points of parity with its competitors. The recommendations our team gave Origin showed extensive competitive points showing health benefits and environmental benefits over the competition where they (Origin) still needed to work on. 


Sustainable 
Competitive Advantage A sustainable competitive advantage is a huge success factor to any company. This can be utilized as (but not necessarily) the center of the product’s marketing plan. This could be a patented technology, trade secret or any advantage you have over the competition. In Origin’s case, their advantage is in their production process and does not really translate as a direct benefit to the consumer. A competitive advantage can be used in marketing only if the effect it gives to the consumer is unique. 


Vision, Mission, Goals 
 The Vision, Mission and Goals of a company has to be consistent with their brand. This has to be a strong foundation of values that the company can build upon. A clear vision, mission and goal is a key success factor for a company’s growth. Sometimes the market changes and overtime, the vision and goal might not suit the market’s needs. Similar to the Origin Organics case, a company has to change its vision, mission and goals overtime to suit the market’s needs. Their efforts to shift their direction from a more technology-oriented farm to a more local, nutritional company had to be done to incorporate the consumer’s perceptions and lifestyles. 


How they All Tie Up 
Brand equity is built upon a strong vision/mission statement driven by a clear goal of a company that is communicated to the public. The right target is also required to further this building of brand equity as well as the right positioning of the company/product. The sustainable advantage of a company may be communicated to the public through its positioning and differentiation.