Ch. 16 - Advertising, Public Relations and Sales Promotion

Godiva's Sales Promotion & Advertising 

How significant is it for a company to advertise its products and have sales promotions? Well! It is an important aspect of a company's growth as advertising helps to ultimately increase the sales of a product as well as to strengthen or alter a brand's image. Since Godiva was the first Campbell Soup Company to launch a website in the mid 1990's, the company expected that the website would increase 15% of its direct mail business in the coming years.This exclusive website of luxury chocolate includes online ordering, recipes, a list of new Godiva products and occasional holiday's sales promotions. With changing technology in recent times, Godiva's team launched the newly designed site and re-approached the creative direction of photography, creating richer chocolate imagery to stimulate user's appetites as they browse through the site. All of these enhancements with newly designed checkout process allows customers to make their purchases quickly and easily. I'm a great fan of Godiva chocolate myself and not only for the taste but with its visually appealing website, I'm continued to be a loyal customer and make my purchases at times.

Public Relations

Although many of us have witnessed the public relations campaigns launched by different companies, but how many of us know the importance that it has for the companies. In reality, public relations helps businesses to bring repeated as well as new customers for its growth. Unlike advertising, this is a direct connection with people through campaigns that allows a company to disseminate its exact image. Godiva Chocolatier has maintained its reputation among its clients through many campaigns held at different occasions over the years. Not only for the company's own benefits but Godiva has continued to be dedicated for different causes. One good example is Hurricane Sandy. When people suffered from this devastating storm, besides delivering the best service to its clients with minimal interruption, Godiva stayed committed to donate $100,000 to American Red Cross Disaster Relief, and encouraged its customers to donate as well and show their support. This was one good gesture of Godiva to build strong customer relationship as it helped people out for a good cause. For many reasons, the implementation of PR strategies have helped Godiva in a big way to be more successful over the time.      

Ch. 14 - Marketing Channels and Retailing

Marketing Channels & Retailing Of Godiva

Marketing channels also known as distribution channels, refers to ways in which products move from the manufacturer to the distributor and finally to the consumer. Godiva's marketing channel network distribute their product to more than 80 countries and the retail Boutiques of Godiva provide the consistent image of the most expensive chocolate in its luxurious packaging throughout the stores. This upgraded standards of Godiva Chocolate helped strengthened its marketing strategies which is still creating a future possibility of expansion into unexplored countries where consumption of chocolate is increasing. 

As a personal experience at one of Godiva's Retail Boutiques, I got an opportunity to talk to one of the sales manager about their marketing strategies and how it works for their business's growth. The first question I asked the manager was "Why customers come to the store?" and his prompt reply was because of the quality product and the brand reputation which Godiva has established over the years. Looking at the store's environment, where the variety of products are being offered and the amount of customers walking in and out and buying the product was a true example of his statement. Furthermore, I asked him that "what is the most famous product in the store that sells all year around," and he pointed out those beautifully wrapped chocolate covered strawberries which are being prepared by the staff at the premises. This unique process gives a visual treat to its clients watching from the window and eventually making them buy. Another attraction in the store is the "Gold Gift Boxes" which relates to the customers for their occasional gift needs around holidays or for other personal events. Other than chocolates, the store also offers products like coffee and cookies which is not a big segment in the store, but still provides an option to increase sales. 

I observed many good things in the store such as customer dealing by the sales people and how they treat their customers ethically and provide the best customer satisfaction at the end. Every customer is coming in and out with a smile proves why Godiva gained a tremendous success in business and how the company made its ways to enter into different parts of the world. As I neared the end of my visit, I realized that I couldn't possibly leave without a little treat to myself, so I bought an 8 pcs. chocolate box with some delicious truffles of chocolate and left with a smile as well.

Ch. 6 - Consumer Decision Making

The Importance of Understanding Consumer's Behavior

The name Godiva doesn't need any recognition whatsoever and the consumers of today are well aware of the brand. The Godiva Gems platform was launched globally in September 2009. Gems are little Truffles, Caramels and solid Chocolates that are individually wrapped to enjoy anytime, anywhere. Godiva Gems are delivered in a Godiva-worthy way---quality chocolate, in vibrant packaging with colorful wrappers that have a "Touch of Gold" to remind consumers that it is the Godiva quality they know and love. Godiva Gems not only meet consumers' affordability and accessibility needs, (e.g., a $4.99 Stand Up Bag of Gems Truffles in Grocery Stores), but they also pioneered new behaviors for the brand. Therefore, by listening to their consumers demand and observing consumers' changing behavior, Godiva was able to make its brand more accessible and affordable globally. This decision to launch a more affordable and accessible line of chocolate was a bold move that would turn out to be the single biggest global launch in the history of the brand. By tapping into Universal behaviors like "sharing" and "casual gifting," Godiva offers much more vesatility than ever before. And most importantly, Godiva Gems makes the brand more relevant all year around and not just for special occasions or holidays anymore.

Types of Consumer Buying Decision and Consumer Involvement

Buying behavior is the decision processes and acts of people involved in buying and using products. The type of consumer buying decision that best describes the choice to indulge chocolate is limited decision making. This type of decision making requires low level involvement. There are five factors that determine the level of involvement.

• The first is previous experience with the product. At Godiva, most consumers have some previous experience with the brand. 
• The second factor is consumer interest. For consumers who may have a genuine interest in chocolate, will find a relaxing atmosphere with the variety of chocolates Godiva offers. 
• The third factor is perceived risk of negative consequences. The kind of prices and promotions as well as variety of Godiva's products available at Godiva Stores or in other Supermarkets and Drug Stores will have less chances of having negative influence on its consumers. 
• The fourth factor is situation. For example, consumer may choose to indulge at Godiva Store because they might have guest in town or want to impress someone with the upscale modern surroundings.
• The fifth factor is social visibility. The ability to interact with others at places like Godiva Boutiques where people are being pampered in a luxurious environment and having their favorite chocolates served in Gold-Gift Boxes. 

I find all these factors to be limited decision making because the consumers probably have some knowledge of what to expect at Godiva Chocolatier.

Cultural and Social Influences on Consumer Buying Decision

The cultural and social influences have great impact on a product's sale. The cultural factor can be described what you value or a social class. The social factor can be described as having a hip and classy atmosphere to have a social interaction. Godiva brand has the strength to entertain its consumers both socially and culturally, and with these offerings, it would definitely influence the consumer to spend their hard earned money. One good example of cultural influence on consumer buying decision is Chinese market in Chocolate industry.

China is a rapidly growing consumer market and more and more companies throughout the world are looking for ways to develop marketing, branding and communication that is relevant to Chinese consumers. Seen as an exotic food product, it has taken decades for Chinese people to accept the chocolate. Now the Chinese market is ready for chocolate from the taste and the culture.  Good news for imported chocolate is that the new generation of consumers has much deeper understanding of chocolate including its taste, making process and culture. In 2007,  Belgian Chocolatier Godiva made its first foray in Asia's mooncake market, which is a bakery product traditionally eaten during Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival. Now for the first time in the U.S., Godiva brings you exquisite mooncakes, a modern twist to a reserved Chinese tradition. Godiva is the first major Chocolatier to offer US customers an alternative to the traditional mooncakes. This chocolate's version is being sold in select Godiva stores in California, Washington D.C., Hawaii, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, and New York, as well as off the Godiva website online.This trend will probably increase the daily consumption of chocolate which means the market will expand greatly. 

Ch. 5 - Developing a Global Vision

Global Vision of Godiva Chocolate

Globalization is about demolishing barriers--physical, geographic, political, cultural, economic, social, legal, religious, etc. --to enable collaboration, the sharing of ideas, and the conduct of commerce between people, companies or organizations outside local markets. Today, we live in a digital age where the free flow of communication and creativity has allowed for globalization to evolve. The rapid advancement of technology and breakthrough of new media has brought about social, cultural, and economical shifts. Global brand recognition without a global vision is no longer possible in today's time where consumers live in real time.

The Godiva Global Team of Chefs 

The Godiva global team of Chefs and Chocolatiers keep the Belgian tradition alive and delicious. Consequently, the global team of Chefs and Chocolatiers has the pleasure of creating extraordinary Belgian chocolates that are available in over 80 countries. One of the Senior Chefs of Godiva David Funaro joined the company in 2007. At Godiva, Chef David's primary focus is the development of new chocolate and pastry products for Japan and Pacific Rim markets.Another Chef Wilmots Ilse, who worked as a Chocolatier in a pastry shop and then joined Godiva and eventually found her way onto the Research & Development team. "Together with our American colleagues we create and develop the finest, most delightful, and wonderful chocolates," she says proudly. Godiva's vision is to own the ultimate chocolate experience that inspires passion for its brand around the world. Having established as the brand for Chocolate Gifting, Godiva aims to build on its success, and expand its breath of brand awareness by pushing to be the best of everything chocolate. Godiva endeavors to widen its global footprint and reaching out to more markets. It has over 500 retail outlets globally and focuses on building capabilities to adapt to its increasing local markets.
 

Global Marketing Standardization

Developing a global marketing strategy is a key concern for multinational companies. Firms ascribing to Global Standardization theory view the world as one entity, not a collection of national markets. It is not surprising that Godiva Chocolatier, Inc., one of the creators of the world's most elegant, hand-crafted chocolates has a tradition of perfectionism. In keeping with this tradition, the founder of Godiva, Draps family kept this unique formula of rich chocolate with unparalleled smoothness and with a remarkable eye for detail, set forth the standard for Godiva's innovative selection of elegant, European shell-molded designs and beautiful packaging.Through the years, these standards have been maintained as assiduously as Drap's recipes have been guarded. As a result of adherence to Draps heritage, Godiva chocolates evoke the greatest in confectionary excellence. The same careful attention to quality is apparent in the exquisite European-style gold balloting and handcrafted seasonal packaging that has earned Godiva a reputation for design excellence as well as its taste. From Brussels to New York to Paris to Tokyo, it is Godiva that brings the best of Belgium to the world.

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.

Ch. 3 - Ethics & Social Responsibility

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Is the company Godiva Chocolatier, Inc. an environmentally responsible company? Well, based on the research, Good Guide has given Godiva Chocolatier, Inc. an Environmental Performance Rating of 3.2 out of 10 based on the following criteria:

1. Transparency:0
2. environmental Management: 4
3. Resource Use: 4
4. Environmental Impact: 4

As chocolate lovers, we all have our favorite Godiva pieces. But do we always know what's in the chocolate that makes it so rich and irresistable? Ethically, Godiva's chocolate is best known for its rich expensive chocolate, but can everybody afford it? The Godiva consist of high quality chocolate, but ethically they don't reach out for a group of customers that can afford it. obviously, Godiva provides information about the chocolate and the types of brand they offer. But they don't provide information of how the chocolate is made, such as the ingredients and how much calories it is. A lot of customers go by the presentation and most of these products can cause high cholestrol and high blood pressure depending on the ingredients they contain. However, there are also nutritional and weight-loss benefits associated with eating dark chocolate on a daily basis. It is imperative to only consume a small amount, as the sugar and fat can be bad for you if too much are consumed.


As a socially responsible company, there is a survey about Godiva company for job related issues.Here are some ethical comments made by people working at Godiva the company.

Store (Boutique) Manager (Former Employee0
Emeryville, CA
I worked at Godiva Chocolatier

Pros -- The pay was good and I was able to build a great team of associates to work for me at my store.

Cons-- But not even my team or the paycheck could keep me there in the end. Godiva doesn't want to appreciate leaders. They want sheep! They want to control every move you make in your stores. When I say "they", I am referring to the district manager and regional director. Micro-managing is the name of the game at Godiva. If you are willing to have
every ounce of self-respect and confidence drained from your body, then being an employee of Godiva Chocolatier is the perfect job for you.
On a good sales day , my store was rarely recognized. on a great sales day we'd a gentle nudge and then
called out on how we could have done better. Our district manager would set us up for failure on a weekly basis, by expecting us to do upwards of 300% over LY sales on specific days. Pathetic if you ask me.

I quit my job because I was not exceeding my sales by enough. That's right. I was threatened with termination because my sales INCREASES were not big enough. I was threatened with anaction plan for underperforming managers because I wasn't moving the needle fast enough. These are desperate acts of upper management and a company that refuses to live in reality.

Ch. 2 - Strategic Planning for Competitive Advantage -WI Students Begin Marketing Plan

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Hoping to get people to eat more chocolate, Godiva marketers wondered, how can we take chocolate from nibble to nosh? The answer wasn't inside the old brand's signature gold box, where people tend to deliberately choose a single piece, the company says. Instead, Godiva saw it needed to come up with new forms of chocolate for customers to munch mindlessly, and new places to buy them. Therefore, when Godiva Chocolate celebrated its 80th anniversary, updating its direct creative approach, redesigning its retail stores and even revamping its signature gold box with new pieces and packaging.The company which has seen double-digit direct growth in recent years, is currently snack-dab between its two busiest times of the year, The December holidays and Valentine's Day, says Beth Sash, director of e-commerce and direct marketing.Godiva's customers often buy for friends and family but aren't afraid to indulge themselves, notes Sash. "We're seeing more and more customers coming into our boutiques daily to buy one or two pieces for themselves as a treat in the middle of the day."Recent efforts to contemporize the brand have helped Godiva reach a more aspirational, fashion-forward audience, she adds. It now attracts younger people overall, 25 to 35 year-old vs 35 to 49 year-old previously.

High-end chocolatiers want to put their sweets everywhere shoppers are, whether it's chocolate covered pretzels in an upscale department store or chocolate-coveredespresso beans at the coffee shop."We want to get more Godiva into people's mouths more often," said Lauri Kien kotcher, chief marketing officer for Godiva and senior vice president of global brand development. "It's about chocolate snacks, little chocolate treats. --- When those things come, you just keep eating." Godiva says there are up more than 13% year-to-date, and it expects total sales to top 4650 million in recent years. Godiva's strong belief about its product is that there are three basic reasons why people purchase premium chocolate: to give as a gift, to share with a group and to eat by oneself. The first category, gift-giving, has been Godiva's strong suit for decades, especially at occasions such as Valentine's Day and Christmas Holidays Season.

Godiva stores, which used to be awash in gold boxes, now also stock small chocolate truffle bars(priced at $2.95), sleeves of chocolate-covered almonds($12) and boxes of chocolate-covered cookies($25 for three dozen). In other words it's a completechocolate experience. Godiva is looking to appeal to a wider audience of gift givers. Its holiday catalog reads like a shopping list, suggesting various new products ---a box of brownies? a chocolate-fondue basket? ---for babysitters, neighbors, teachers and clients.

  Godiva is venturing into new places, putting jumbo candy bars on grocery store shelves and cupcakes and brownies online. It is adding new products like chocolate-covered Oreos to the offerings at Godiva boutiques.The chocolate market has been getting especially competitive in supermarkets and drugstores, with European brands like Cadbury, Toblerone and Ferrero Rocher, fancy offerings from mass marketers like Symphony bars from Hershey, and familiar boxed offerings from Whitman's and Russell Stover. And there are niche products with cult followings, too, such as chocolate-dipped pears from Harry & David and Trader Joe's peanut butter cups.These supermarket products were created to be at the ready in case of chocolate emergencies which compels the customers' urges for chocolate. Godiva has dismissed the risk of diluting its brand to the grocery stores by maintaining the quality of its products and meeting the expectations of its everyday customers.