5. Marketing Plan
5.2. Marketing Strategy
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5.1.5. Positioning Map
The positioning Map will be based on the attributes that are the strongest competitive advantages for LOMBRIABONO in regards to LA GARNACHA and EBENEZER. These attributes are the ones that will be responsible for our quick expansion.
Figure 3: Positioning Map
5.2. Marketing Strategy
5.2.1. ProductLOMBRIABONO will offer Grade A vermicomposting in packages of 5kg and 50kg as the main product. Samples of the product will be taken periodically to a laboratory ensuring that it has 2-3% nitrogen, 1.85%-2.25% potassium and 1.55-2.25% as well as the necessary micronutrients and microbes that make vermicomposting such a great organic fertilizer (Am-Euras).
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will be paper which in turn promotes recycling as it itself can be used as material to feed the red worms.The image that we want the product and packaging to express is that of recyclability, equity, and organic. The packaging is paper and the logo has red and green, green associated with recycling and organic and red with the actual red worms themselves.
Our product is innovative because it represents a change to organic agriculture, promoting sustainability of our lands and soil as well as improving the quality of our crops.
Our second product is vermicomposting tea, which is the residue in liquid form that is left from the vermicomposting process. This will be sold by the gallon in plastic bottles and it is mixed with water and applied on plants as fertilizer.
Our last product, is the excess worms that are produced due to the high rate of reproduction of red worms. This product will be sold to the different sectors particularly fishing and aviculture.
The red worms will be sold in cardboard containers to ensure that they survive the shipping process. price of red worms is estimated at USD$22 per kilogram (3 (Núñez, 2012).
5.2.3. Placement
LOMBRIABONO products will be easily accessible thanks to the use of intensive distribution, which will ensure that our customers have the option to purchase our product at various outlets. LOMBRIABONO’s vermicomposting and vermicomposting tea will be stocked at groceries stores, small independent agriculture stores, and with large distributor DISAGRO.
LOMBRIABONO’s red worms will be available for purchase at pet stores, bait shops and
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veterinaries. To place our products in the different outlets at first we will count on third party agreements and later we will invest in our own delivery trucks.
Apart from intensive distribution, customers will also be able to purchase the products directly at the vermicomposting centers. This option will be more convenient for those farmers who are close to the vermicomposting centers.
5.2.4. Promotion
The idea is to stress the impact of the product in terms of recycling and value to families who join the waste for food program as well as the added nutritional value that vermicomposting presents to crops and the soil. We plan on getting the LOMBRIABONO name out there by the use of advertising, public relations, personal selling, and sales promotion.
We will use various media for advertising, relying heavily on social media as well as traditional media such as television ads, radio ads, static ads (such as billboards) and newspaper ads. We consider social media a powerful tool for marketing, but we will also rely heavily on traditional media as social media in Nicaragua is in a developing stage. The last study done in 2005 determined that the amount of households with either televisions (680,426) or radios (674,174) heavily outnumbered those with PCs (39,596) (Zuniga, 2013). However, it is has been estimated that in 2011 the number of households with at least a PC went up to 95,130 (Zuniga, 2013), showing a nearly 300% increase from 2005. Combined with our customers (farmers) being more likely to see our ads in newspapers, televisions, and radio as internet is not available in the majority of rural areas, we will use traditional media more heavily. Radio ads will be one of the means most frequently used as it is cheaper and extends the furthest across the whole country (42). We will also use the three biggest newspapers in the country La Prensa, Nuevo Diario, and Hoy to inform people about what LOMBRIABONO is doing.
Regarding Social Media, we will have a Facebook page as well as an Instagram account. As mentioned before social media is developing in Nicaragua at an astonishing rate. According to a study done in June 2011, 32% of radio stations, 14% of tv stations, and 10% of newspapers
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will also play an important role in getting our word out internationally in hopes of not only inspiring other countries to do the same, but bringing partners and benefactors for future expansion. The type of advertisement that will be used in Social Media will target consumers in the 18-34 age range as it represents 80.5% of all males and 92.6% of all females in Nicaragua that are online (Ortega, 2014). We will also advertise via email as 89.7% of users get online for this purpose, close to the 92.1% that get online to browse social media (Ortega, 2014).
Another one of our efforts will be targeted at establishing a working relationship with the government and large corporations who are looking to increase their corporate social responsibility. The Sandinista government has shown tendencies to be pro movements that benefit the less privileged and we will use that to our advantage. Large companies such as Casa Pellas, Groupo Coen, and Don Pan have also shown a tendency towards more corporate social responsibility. It is calculated that in 2012, USD$600,000,000 were designated for CSR in Nicaragua (Guerrero, 2015).
Regarding promotions, discounts will be given to large purchases and contract buys will be available to farmers who wish to use on a yearly basis. The 50kg bag of vermicomposting presents a large discount from the 5kg individual bag. We will also use social media shares as a form of promotion. Any customer who shares one of our online ads will receive a 10%
discount on their purchase of any of our products.
Last but not least, we will use efficient customer service and free consultations to our customers as a way to build our brand. The customers will have support from us even after their purchase.
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6.1. External Analysis (Opportunities and Threats)
One of the major Opportunities that LOMBRIABONO wants to cease is the growth for environmental consciousness. Most countries, Nicaragua included, are aware of the catastrophes that are happening worldwide due to companies disregarding environmental issues and bypassing proper procedures to earn a quick buck. We wish to remind people about the dangers of chemical fertilizers and stress the advantages that or products will have regarding soil, crops, and overall health to farmers and consumers alike.
Another opportunity that we wish to work on is the increase for corporate social responsibility.
In 2012 it was calculated that $600 million dollars was invested in the form of CSR in Nicaragua, more than any other year (Guerrero, 2015).
We also wish to capitalize on the growth of social media in Nicaragua. We believe that marketing via this mean will increase our exposure to the population. Increasing the demand for our product as well as influencing others towards a cultural change that will ignite the fire for a better Nicaragua.
Last but not least, we are aware that the rising price off the cost of living is an opportunity for LOMBRIABONO. The harder it is for families to cover their basic needs, the more likely they are to recycle and join the waste for food program.
Such as we are aware of the opportunities that can arise, we are also aware of the threats. One of our biggest threats comes from the form of competitors. It doesn’t require much of an initial investment to start our business, meaning that it is easily replicable. However, we hope to have the government backing us to counteract this effect. Another threat that we foresee is people starting to do vermicomposting on their own instead of purchasing our products.
However, if that happens we will still make profit from selling the red worms and we would modify our operations accordingly. Last, but not least we see a possible threat in the form of the population refusing to participate in the waste for food program.