Marlin Catering Essay

The working purpose and overall goal of the marketing project is to: (1) analyze Marlin Catering’s current situation; (2) determine strategies for reaching potential clientele; and (3) develop marketing tactics and an implementation plan. The marketing project opens with an analysis of the company’s current situation, including a review of its internal and external environment, which yields information regard current company strengths and weakness along with the opportunities and threats present. Marlin Catering’s primary strengths are in the areas of its staff and expertise. Its weaknesses include consumer perceptions that firm only sells Mexican food, even for catered events and the company is not well known in the area. The opportunities present include a growing marketplace. The primary threat is a large number of competing firms in the area. The marketing goal for Marlin Catering is to become a viable company in the catering business in the Fayetteville area serving both individuals and businesses with high quality food and service. The marketing strategy will begin with offering high quality food and high quality, on-time service. The distribution strategy will be to sell via direct sales and to expand via word of mouth endorsements. In the future, indirect marketing through florists and banquet halls may be pursued. The primary emphasis will be on advertising and promotion. Marlin Catering should begin a targeted advertising campaign and develop a colorful brochure that illustrates the company’s services. Personal selling and a presence trade shows should be used to enhance the image. It will be important to reach the three distinctive markets that Marlin seeks to serve. Implementation and control measures are outlined in the conclusion of this report. Current Situation Jose Hernandez and Clay Shields own Marlin Catering. They combine their experience, management expertise, and financial resources to conduct business. Jose Hernandez is also the co-owner/business manager of Marlin Catering Party Planning and Marlin Cafà ©. Clay Shields serves as the silent partner and is not involved in the daily managerial activities of the business. The Marlin Catering business was established in January 2008. The owners of Marlin Catering would like to eventually concentrate on the cafà © and catering business and discontinue the party planning business. Jose and Clay are in the process of relocating the cafà © to another facility while expanding the services of the catering business. This leaves the current cafà © as the only location to be used for the catering business. Presently, Marlin Catering carries out every aspect of the catering process. After the initial meeting with the client, Jose Hernandez prepares a menu selection including prices. The next meeting involves the contract signing and down payment. During the catering event, Marlin Catering provides the food along with servers, linens, and china. They set up the food display and clean up the venue at the conclusion of the event. Internal Environment An analysis of the current situation for Marlin Catering includes examining the company’s internal environment, external environment, competition, and customers. The mission statement was the first component examined in the internal environment. The current statement reads, â€Å"Marlin Catering is dedicated to providing service for their customer base in the local catering market in the Fayetteville, Arkansas area. Marlin Catering is committed to providing high quality and reliable services to existing and potential customers.† Though Marlin Catering is a new business with little name recognition in the catering market, the opportunity for exposure and interest is increasing. Catering is widely used for many different occasions, and the demand for this service is continuously increasing. In developing the catering business, the owners of Marlin Catering investigated the current market and current trends for catering services. According to the 2009 Economic Census, the catering market for the Fayetteville area produced $2,723,918 in sales. There are various events in need of a caterer including, but not limited to: weddings, banquets, graduation parties, engagements, showers, and political rallies. The market appears to be saturated with a wide variety of catering vendors. Despite this saturation, the owners entered the market because they believed with the right business and marketing plan they could succeed. The experiences of the owner and the operation of their current cafe creates a key competitive advantage for Marlin Catering relative to competitors The experience in food preparation and in party planning helps the company acquire customers and expand the clientele list. Also, the extensive resume of the owner gives the company a competitive edge. With regard to resources, Marlin Catering has an established facility in working condition. The current production capacity for Marlin Catering is ten major events per month. The business concentrates on high-quality production method which means the company has the opportunity to focus on the quality section of the market. Although the business is able to outsource for employees, the dependability and resourcefulness of the employees place a limit on the firm’s current operating capacity. Currently, the catering service uses the van owned by the cafà ©. In the future, a vehicle dedicated to the catering service should be purchased. Supply costs went down the second year, after the initial costs for purchasing serving equipment had been absorbed. The new cafà © will soon be finished, which means the current facility will house only the catering business. This will mean that the monthly payments on the building will be charged to the catering service along with utility expenses. External Environment Due to the recession and slow down in the United States economy, sales in catering services actually declined in 2009 in the Fayetteville area. The growth of the university and new businesses in the area should help the economy rebound quickly, including the catering business marketplace. The cost of food increased in 2008 due to the rise in fuel costs, as did costs of operating the catering vehicle. The costs remained relatively flat during 2009. Analysis of economic data for the area and fro the United States indicates a slight increase costs in the near future. The demand for catering services tends to fluctuate during the year, primarily because catering services reach peak demand for special occasions. Demand increases during holidays and during the spring and summer for weddings. The majority of weddings are held from April through July of each year. During this past year, approximately 1,000 wedding ceremonies were performed in Fayetteville and approximately 40,000 occurred in Arkansas. Additional events that utilize catering services are political parties, corporate parties and banquets, and private parties. Again, these tend to have higher concentrations during the spring and summer, and around holidays. Catering for political parties increases prior to local, state, and national elections. Catering services are culturally diversified in the types of food dishes it provides in order to meet all of the customers’ tastes & preferences. The most common requests are for: †¢ Mexican-style food  Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ Oriental-style food †¢ Italian-style food †¢ American-style food †¢ Seafood Social-cultural trends indicate an increasing demand for catering service. An increase in dual income households creates greater discretionary funds for catering private events. Tied closely to this is the lack of time and busy schedules. It is easier and more convenient to hire a caterer to handle the food at an event than do it yourself. This is also true for weddings. But, another opportunity is present in the wedding market. Catering is the most socially thing accepted method of serving food and any type of private preparation of food would be viewed less favorably. This includes the rehearsal dinner, which is now catered for most weddings in addition to the wedding reception. Although the economy has affected the number of catering events held by businesses, the growth in the business sector in the Fayetteville area has created a greater demand for catering services. These events vary from a recognition dinner that might have 25 guests to major corporate events that will have attendance of 1,000 individuals. Competitive Environment Marlin Catering’s main competitors are full service caterers, turnkey caterers, and general caterers. According to the 2009 Economic Census, local catering sales totaled $2,723,918, with Marlin Catering only holding a 4% market share. The catering business consists of four levels of competitors. At the top level are full service caterers who also are involved in event planning. They handle the entire event, including the food. The second level of competitors is full-service caterers who do not offer event planning services. They only care for the food and tables at the event. The third level of competitors is restaurants that also offer catering services. These restaurants tend to be limited by the types of foods served at the restaurant. The lowest, or fourth tier, are restaurants, primarily fast food operations and grocery stores, that prepare catering food trays that can be picked up by customers. Some restaurants also provide these food trays for customers who are concerned about expenses. The top tier catering services target large businesses and the high-income residents of the area. Fayetteville Planning and Catering is the market leader in this sector of the market and controls the largest market share of the catering business. Although their prices tended to be high, the company has a loyal customer base and its owners are member of the local social elite class. It was the second tier of competitors that offer food, service, and prices that are comparable to Marlin Catering. Fortunately, the location of the cafà © helped create a positive image of Marling Catering through the perception was that it was a local restaurant that was engaged in catering. Most companies and individuals did not know it was a full-service catering service and that it operated independent of the restaurant. For most catering services awareness and recognition are the keys to success. Few companies, except the large ones, spend money on marketing and advertising. This is especially true for the bottom two tiers, restaurants and grocery stores. They simply post signs in their business about the catering service. All of the companies in the first two tiers have yellow page ads or listings. Some of the higher-end restaurants also place a listing under catering to inform potential customers they do provide catering as well. A few of the companies advertise in the newspaper, especially in the spring and summer and around holidays. A select few have agreements with other types of services to generate leads, such as bridal shops, photographers, florists, and bakery shops. Customer Analysis Marlin Catering maintains a full service operation. This service offers a menu selection to customers. The customer then selects the exact menu for an event and negotiates a price per person. The company provides the china, linens, crystal, and silver for the event. Employees are responsible for the set-up and clean up of the event. Marlin Catering is also responsible for replenishing empty trays during the event. The catering service is currently operating out of the cafà © and most of the catering business thus far has been generated through the cafà ©. Sales have been made to individual customers or businesses that have either dine at the cafà © or through customers of the cafà © who have heard about the catering service. The restaurant serves primarily Mexican food, which means that most of the business has been for events featuring Mexican cuisine. A review of sales for the last 2 years shows three primary types of customers or events: individual consumer events, wedding receptions, and small business events. For the individual consumer events, the average attendance was around 15 individuals and the average charge was $280. For weddings, the average attendance was 60 with an average ticket charge of $1300. The business segment varied widely with some events for only 10 to 15 people, but others for as many as 150 and 200 individuals. The figure below shows the percentage of sales generated from each of the market segments in 2009.