Colloquy Grog Shop's strategy will be based on communicating Grog Shop's value to the targeted segments.  This will be done through a variety of methods.  The first method will be strategically placed advertisements.  One place that will be used for advertisements is the Willamette Weekly, the liberal arts magazine that details all of the entertainment in Portland.  This will be the main source of advertisements because the demographics of their readership are fairly similar to Colloquy Grog Shop's demographics. 

Another source of marketing will be done with strategic relationships with companies that have similar customer demographics.  One prime example is the Multnomah Athletic Club.  While the club's patrons are not necessarily overwhelmingly single, the rest of the demographics match up.  The MAC is a fairly exclusive downtown athletic club that by virtue of the membership costs, attracts professionals.  The strategic relationship with be mutually beneficial where both organizations will develop visibility for each other. 

The other form of advertising will be using "grassroots" methods where customers will be given coupons for their friends to try Colloquy Grog Shop for the first time.  The coupon will be an economic incentive for the newcomer to try Colloquy Grog Shop.  The coupon also has the added force of a referral from a friend.

Mission

Colloquy Grog Shop's mission is to provide a neighborhood bar/coffee shop where single people can meet.  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

• Develop brand awareness through a steady, month to month increase of new customers.
• Develop an increase in sales while achieving a status quo state or  decrease in marketing expenses.
• Develop awareness of the structured conversation system measured by customers coming to the Grog Shop solely for meeting people.

Financial Objectives

• A double digit growth rate for each future year.
• Reduce the variable costs through efficiency gains.
• Reach profitability within the first year.

Target Markets

Colloquy Grog Shop's customers can be broken down into two groups, singles, and non-singles.  The non-singles groups are smaller than the singles groups by virtue of the fact that if you are meeting someone whom you already know, the two of you can come up with the topic of conversation yourself, therefore, Grog Shop offers this group less value.  The demographics for the non-singles is similar to the singles, to be listed below.  The larger group then is the singles.  The demographics of the singles are:

• Single: self evident.
• Professional: this characteristic is intuitive since the underlying element of Colloquy Grog Shop is thoughtful conversation, and most professionals appreciate thought-provoking conversation.
• Income over $40,000: this to a large degree is correlated to the fact that they are professional.
• Age 25-45: the largest group of singles looking for companions.

Positioning

The Colloquy Grog Shop will position itself as a reasonably priced tapas/bar/coffee house that has an innovative, effective system for allowing single to meet each other.

The Colloquy Grog Shop's positioning will leverage their competitive edge:

• A unique approach to getting singles together called the structured conversation system.  This system was detailed in the Product and Services section, please refer to that section for more information. 

• This system is a competitive edge because most bars/taverns do not have a niche that they are concentrating on.  While every bar or coffee shop has a certain "flavor" and that is why someone will choose one bar or another, the flavor is only surface deep.  The business model of the establishment is to sell alcohol and provide a social setting.  Beyond these two values, there is little other genuine value that the establishments try to provide. 

• Colloquy Grog Shop is distinguished by the fact that their business model concentrates on developing value for  customers beyond serving drinks.  The Grog Shop develops an effective, albeit inherently structured, social setting that encourages meeting like-minded individuals.  Providing the drinks is the source of income, an ancillary part of the business model.  Generating value for the customers is the main focus, if the customers are happy then the revenue will follow (assuming of course that proper marketing and financial controls are employed).  Concentrating on the client's needs beyond serving alcohol is the distinguishing characteristic that will allow Colloquy Grog Shop to rapidly gain market share.

Strategies

The single objective is to position the Colloquy Grog Shop as the premier place for young professional singles to meet like-minded individuals.  The marketing strategy will seek to first create customer awareness regarding their services offered, develop that customer base, and work toward building customer loyalty and referrals.

The message Colloquy Grog Shop will seek to communicate is that The Grog Shop is THE place to meet intelligent singles.  This message will be communicated through a variety of methods.  The first method will be advertisements.  The bulk of the advertisements will be in the Willamette Weekly, a weekly entertainment guide in Portland that has impressive readership numbers for the desired target population.

Another method will be through establishing strategic relationships with companies that have similar demographics such as the Multnomah Athletic Club.  Establishing a mutually beneficial relationship will allow both organizations to develop visibility for each other.

The other form of advertising will be using "grassroots" methods where customers will be given coupons for their friends to try Colloquy Grog Shop for the first time.  The coupon will be an economic incentive for the newcomer to try Colloquy Grog Shop.  The coupon also has the added force of a referral from a friend.

Marketing Mix

Colloquy Grog Shop's marketing mix is comprised of these following approaches to pricing, distribution, advertising and promotion, and customer service.

• Pricing: the pricing scheme is based on standard industry practices.
• Distribution: all services and products will be distributed from Colloquy Grog Shop's retail space.
• Advertising and promotion: the most successful advertising will be with Willamette Weekly.  Additionally, strategic relationships will be developed with companies such as Multnomah Athletic Club as well as use of a grassroots promotion system.
• Customer service: obsessive customer attention is the mantra.  The Grog Shop's philosophy is to do whatever needs to be done to impress the customer.  While this could reduce short-term profits, it will strengthen long-term profitability.

Marketing Research

During the initial phases of the marketing plan development, several focus groups were held to gain insight into a variety of likely customers.  These focus groups provided useful insight into the decision making process of these consumers.

An additional source of dynamic market research is a feedback system based on a suggestion card system.  The suggestion card has several statements that patrons 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.  The Grog Shop will work hard to implement reasonable suggestions in order to improve their service offerings as well as show their committment to the customer that their suggestions are valued.

The last source of market research will be competitive analysis.  This will be done by regularly visiting competitors and analyzing their service offerings.

Getting ready to create a marketing plan?

Get practical ideas and good models with dozens
of examples of successful marketing plans

Finish your own Marketing Plan