Fressen's marketing strategy will be based on developing visibility among Philadelphia's kosher community.  This will be accomplished through two ways.  The first method is a targeted advertising campaign.  Advertisements will be placed in various Jewish newsletters.  There are a couple of Philadelphia-wide newsletters.  Additionally, Fressen will advertise in a few Synagogue's specific newsletters.  These advertisements should yield a decent amount of service inquiries since they are fairly targeted toward the target population that utilizes kosher catering.

The other marketing strategy which is less formal is a networking campaign among the Philadelphia Jewish population.  Susan has been an active member of the Philadelphia Jewish community for five years.  While the Jewish population is of decent size, numbering around 350,000, it is a close-knit community where people tend to know each other.  Susan will leverage her contacts within the Jewish community to raise awareness for her catering activities.  While the networking might not cast as large of a net as advertisements will, it costs far less and the relationships that it builds will be far stronger because of the trust relationship that has already been established.

Mission

Fressen Catering's mission is to provide the customer with the finest kosher catering.  We exist to attract and maintain customers.  When we adhere to this maxim, everything else will fall into place.  Our services will exceed the expectations of our customers. 

Marketing Objectives

1. Maintain positive, steady growth each month.
2. Experience an increase in new customers who are turned into long-term customers.
3. Decrease the market expenses as a percentage of sales.

Financial Objectives

1. A double digit growth rate for each future year.
2. Reduce the variable operating costs.
3. Increase the profit margin per event.

Target Marketing

The target market segment strategy will not be significantly different to address the two groups.  Both groups, regardless of income, typically belong to the same group of religious congregations.  Therefore, to reach the different groups does not require a distinctly different strategy. What differentiation it will require is different menu offerings are needed to satisfy the different groups.  The upper end menu items are simply cost prohibitive for the middle class target segment.

Fressen Catering has two distinct target populations:

1. Middle-class kosher clients: This group of people does not have huge amounts of disposable income, recognizes that it is costly to sponsor a kosher dinner party, and is willing to incur the expenses, but will try to minimize them.

2. Upper-class kosher clients: This group has intertwined kosher values throughout their lives and is willing to spend whatever it takes to throw a high-end kosher dinner function.  Typically, this group is characterized by a wealthy one income family where the male works and the female does not.  The female of the household typically enjoys the planning of these events.

Positioning

Fressen will position itself as an innovative, high-quality kosher caterer.  Philadelphia Jews who keep kosher will recognize the unique, high-quality service offerings of Fressen.

Fressen's will leverage their competitive edge:

• Fressen Catering's competitive edge is based in their customer attention and inventive approach to kosher cuisine.

• Fressen's customer attention differentiates them in the world of kosher catering which is dominated by several companies that have plenty of demand.  The consequence of having a lot of demand is a decreased pressure to accommodate customers.  When you have a lot of customers, you have to modify your business plans less to deal with them.

• Fressen is approaching the market as if there was significant competition between the different service providers.  By making customer satisfaction a priority, over time, local customers will come to appreciate the attention that their needs are given and form a long-lasting relationship with Fressen Catering.

• Fressen's other competitive edge is their nouveau cuisine approach to kosher food.  Traditionally, kosher food has remained stable and unimaginative for a long time.  Most people believe that there are large compromises that must be made when serving kosher. These compromises need not be made however, and Fressen is changing these misperceptions.  Just because there are strict rules regarding the types of foods that may be used and the way it must be prepared does not eliminate creativity.  Fressen is taking their knowledge of nouveau cuisine and creating inventive, colorful, and delicious kosher alternatives.

Strategy Pyramids

The single objective is to position Fressen as the premier kosher caterer in the Philadelphia area, commanding a majority of the market share in five years.  The marketing strategy will seek to first create customer awareness regarding their service offerings, develop a customer base, and work toward building customer loyalty and referrals.

The message that Fressen will seek to communicate is that Fressen offers the highest quality, most innovative catering offerings for people who observe kosher.  This message will be communicated through  two methods.  The first method is by way of advertisements placed in various Jewish newsletters.  Additionally, Fressen will advertise in several synagogue specific newsletters.  The second method is by developing a networking campaign among the Philadelphia Jewish community.  The networking activities will leverage Susan's five years of active participation in the community. 

Marketing Mix

Fressen's marketing mix is comprised of the following approaches to pricing, distribution, advertising and promotion, and customer service.

• Pricing: Fressen's pricing scheme is based on a per plate, or per person charge.
• Distribution: Fressen serves the greater Philadelphia area in any type of facility.
• Advertising and Promotion: This will be done through ads in various newsletters as well as a networking campaign. 
• Customer Service: Obsessive customer service is the mantra.  Fressen's philosophy is whatever needs to be done to make the customer happy must occur, even at the expense of short-term profits.  In the long term, this investment will pay off with a fiercly loyal customer base who is extremely vocal to their friends with referrals.

Marketing Research

During the initial phase of the marketing plan development, several focus groups were held to gain insight into a variety of people that observe kosher.  These focus groups provided helpful insight into the decision making processes of potential customers.

An additional source of dynamic market research is a feedback mechanism based on a suggestion card system.  The suggestion card has several statements that customers are asked to rate in terms of a given scale.  There are also several open ended questions that allow the customer to freely offer constructive criticism or praise.  Fressen will work hard to implement reasonable suggestions in order to improve their service offerings as well as show their commitment to the customer that their suggestions are valued. 

 

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