Ch. 4 - The Marketing Environment

GODIVA, Everywhere

 Godiva chocolate company has a great marketing plan, as far as external marketing environment is concerned and has been doing well. This the reason, today the Godiva brand can be found in more than 80 countries, bringing the best of Belgium to the world. The founder of Godiva, Joseph Draps began the international Godiva expansion in 1958 by opening a Godiva boutique in Paris on the fashionable Rue St. Honore'. Openings in the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and more soon followed. Eventually, in 1966, Godiva traveled across the pond to the United States, where Godiva became available at one of the country's most elegant department stores, Wanamaker's in Philadelphia. Six years later, the first stateside Godiva boutique opened on New York's fashionable Fifth Avenue.

Demographic Factors

The population of the United States has been divided into different categories which includes tweens (ages from 8 to 12), teens, Generations Y,  is made up of people born between 1979 and 1994, Generation X, people born between 1965 and 1978, and then baby boomers, people born between 1946 and 1964. Among this population, the Godiva brand has become very popular which caters to people of all ages. American market belongs to people from all over the world, and the three major ethnic groups besides the White Americans, are the Hispanic Americans, African Americans and Asian Americans. The psychology behind chocolate suggests consumers see it as a 'naughty but nice' impulse treat. This intriguing desire for chocolate has helped Godiva to grow its business in all these major markets.

Economic Factors

Due to the fastest growth of the company's business in the international markets, Godiva doubled its store network in the Chinese market as well. The consumers in China spent about $1.1 billion on chocolate in 2011, and the market was all set to have annual growth of 11 percent from 2010 to 2014, according to market researcher Mintel. With this rapid growth, Godiva will be better equipped to accelerate the brand's growth and increase broad global expansion across Godiva International in the coming years.Godiva operates more than 600 retail stores around the world, and it has no trouble selling its gold-boxed offerings in a variety of other channels as well. The company sales have grown more than 30% since 2008, to $650 million in 2011.

Social Media

As we all know, social media are web based technologies that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content through the internet. These modern age technologies have helped many business to grow faster and more effectively. No doubt that Godiva's business has also grown over the years through social media. The single most important thing Godiva does with the community is 'Listen'. People gather feedback through these channels about their members' lifestyles on a daily basis, helping them develop compelling new products and programs that enhance the Godiva experience. In addition, the member-to-member conversations in the community provide Godiva with a unique way to learn how their chocolate fits into members' lives. All these advertising sources such as,Facebook, Twitter, Youtube etc. are the most common factors in businesses' growth in recent times.

Consumer's Income and Recession

When people think of Godiva, the words that come to mind are "WOW," "LUXURY," and "EXPENSIVE". Because of the ailing economy, consumers were reluctant to go for things which they felt were luxuries, and a result, Godiva's sales were soft at some point. Through various exercises and assignments members completed, the community brought to life the changes in behavior such as shopping habits, gifting patterns and self-treating in the midst of recession. The only consideration consumers were interacting with the brand were accessibility and affordability. Where members love eating Godiva, they were avoiding their visits to malls where the majority of Godiva boutiques are located. At the same time, competitors were making premium chocolate available in supermarkets and grocery stores. As members were budgeting themselves in the economic crisis, therefore seeking premium chocolate at value. The Godiva stores enhanced their sales by offering gift certificates and other sales coupons. Godiva offers much more versatility than ever before in terms of maintaining its customer relationship. By tapping into universal behaviors like "sharing" and "casual gifting," Godiva Gems makes the brand more relevant all year around.