As I mentioned in previous posts, I have been working on an eMarketing plan for a local café called Kafka’s Coffee and Tea as part of my Internet marketing course in my MBA program. The business, which is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2010, is run by Aaron Kafka, a young coffee enthusiast who wants to have coffee shop where the menu is simple, but the quality of the beverages is outstanding.
Like many young entrepreneurs in the business he has several challenges. First, though he is opening in a great location –a central hub of transit and businesses –he has several coffee shops in the vicinity which will mean tough competition. He is opening in the same location as a very well-known neighborhood café called Lugz. This café was damaged by a fire in early November which destroyed nearby buildings and has pushed the opening date of Kafka’s back by several months. Finally, he has resource constraints. Besides a limited budget, he is pretty much running the show on his own. That means he will likely have limited time to Tweet and write blogposts, but even less time to plan the overarching marketing communications strategy.
A fellow classmate of mine, Prasanna Raviraj, and I, began with the basics: what marketing objectives will drive our strategy? The first one is clearly creating awareness for this new brand. The second, inducing trial. Because Kafka is focusing on quality of products and service in the store, this second objective is especially important. Third, customers need to come back for repeat purchase. We also tried to think who our target customers are. Some groups that are likely to be target customers are commuters and people who live nearby. Demographically, we could split them up into students, professionals (workers) and families.
Then, we began looking at some of the eMarketing tools out there. The list was so long, it was overwhelming. To filter down the ideas, we looked at feasibility of resources (time and money) and at what tools would make sense for the type of consumers that Kafka is trying to attract. We came up with a three-phase plan. Creating a roadmap makes it easier for Aaron to plan and execute the communications. It also spreads out investment. Stage one will take place from now and until the first few months after the opening of the café. Stage two will take place in the next 6-12 months. Stage 3 could occur as far out as one year after launch, depending on how the mix of eTools has worked so far. We also recommended that he take on an intern to help him with the workload. A young student will have the technological savvy and time to keep the different forms of communication current.
Aaron still has several months before the store opens. Feel free to make any comments and suggestions on this plan!
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