In terms of distribution infrastructure, the company owns over one hundred and seventy distribution centers within the U.S and twenty-three within Mexico with its warehouses operating within the proximity of the bottling plants. This in effect means that the company utilizes its network, convenience stores, and supermarkets for the purposes of boosting sales.
Distribution via convenience stores is most preferred as owners reap maximum gross returns with supermarkets by receiving the lesser gross return. Supermarkets are mostly preferred at later stages because of their capacity to stock different products under Snapple’s brand name as opposed to convenience stores which deal with limited product line under one brand.
Future strategy in enhancing distribution processes is by providing products to both off, and on-premise retailers with off-premise retailers granted the priority (U.S. Census Bureau). Snapple Company does internet marketing via their website domain (www.snapple.com) which is a strategy in support of promotional programs.
Advertisement within this site depicts brand character, humor and graphic looks, an avenue which led to an increase in sales by over 10% in late 1999 with the brand maintaining top attractions within the stipulated market share. Today’s business world encourages the promotion of products through social sites marketing.
Considering the largest target market for Snapple products are the youth, insignificant investments in social sites adverts will have significant performance in product sales. Internet marketing has the advantage of being easily accessible and inexpensive compared to other forms (Deighton 3-7).
Snapple Juice Company commands 21.3% of the fruit juice market in the United States with a global presence in three other countries including, Mexico, Canada, and the Caribbean. Total Sales in these regions in 2010 was unevenly distributed with the United States having over 80%, Mexico and the Caribbean between 6-7% and Canada below 5%.
In the U.S and Canada, the company manufactures and distributes carbonated soda drinks sold inform of concentrates and fountain syrup. Whereas in Mexico and Caribbean regions the range of products includes; carbonated mineral and vegetable juice drinks amongst other products.
Besides these markets, the company needs to consider other global markets because of the effects of market saturation within their areas of operation. Diversifying sales into other regions will not only boost the sales value but also help in upgrading their percentage market share (Deighton 3-7).
Pricing within the juice industry appear to be highly elastic, change in pricing significantly affects demand with consumers preferring low prices of the nearest complementary products having the same qualities. The company can only offer discounts to wholesale purchases on its products and through loyalty programs offered through their distributors which could help counter the effect of price elasticity.
Use of premium pricing as a strategy used by the company justifies prices of products based on qualities. This system has maximum benefits to distributors and retailers of the products with Coca Cola and Pepsi companies being critical competitors to Snapple (Deighton 3-7).
A strong customer relationship is one of the critical values of any business. Long term relationships built on this platform has enabled the company market its product to a wide array of marketers including national retailers, large food service customers, and convenience stores. This has made the company meet adequate demands of consumers.
Lastly, product diversification under the brand name has proved to be effective in catering to all population groups. In the future, the organization needs to enhance web advertising and explore new markets (Deighton 3-7). Television advertising accounts for over 70% of resource allocation followed by print advertisements and internet advertising at 29% and 0.1% respectively.
Advertisements done over these modes have been made to reflect Snapple products as superior qualities to those of other competitors. The company promotes the sale of its products through sponsorship of sports events; they utilize such events to sell off their excess products. The company also applies the use of coupons, discounts, and enrollment of loyalty programs among consumers.
These methods work since they help in building a customer base and making the brand appear superior through high sales within the market, and also giving the opportunity of responding directly and adequately to consumers’ dilemmas. Personal selling is also one of the effective forms of promotion due to its low costs and is executed in the company through face to face interviews.
The company establishes customer’s needs through asking, listening and observation. Some steps are utilized for the success of personal selling, these include; the making of short-term measures for the purpose of checking marketing efforts, knowledge about current customers being dealt with, knowing how to differentiate the customers, selecting the best customers and finally giving offers to best customers.
The customers focus on opportunities since any changes made within the organization opens up other possible avenues for satisfaction. When the organization is not delivering to the expected standards, customers will automatically shift their focus towards other companies delivering quality products and services other than Snapple Juice Company.
The main objective of marketing Snapple juice is broad though increasing sales accrued to this brand and product line items and lastly to offer diversified products tailor-made to cater to customer demands. These two objectives can be met through the application of Strategic product pricing, offering robust distribution infrastructure and extensive product diversification.
Product diversifications encompass supplying products suitable for all population categories within the market. To achieve significant market presence products have to be made in various tastes and nutritive requirements for the benefit of the population. Also, these products are to be produced in sizes which are economically feasible to both consumers and the manufacturer to cater to the lower end category of consumers within the population.
The second tactic is enhancing effective, robust distribution of the products. Since a significant proportion of the population is not adequately catered for, the company should consider either investing in building dedicated distribution infrastructure or result in outsourcing distribution from committed distributors. This enhances the availability of these products within the market to cater for the increasing demand.
Works Cited
Deighton, John. How Snapple Got Its Juice Back. Harvard Business Review, (2002): 3-7
U.S. Census Bureau. United States Fact Sheet 2006 American Community Survey. NY; Vienna, 2006. Print.