Business Marketing

Dunkin Donuts has established a variety of ways to make and maintain loyal customers. This company’s relationship marketing skills is one of the main aspects that keep the company overly successful. Being that customers are nowadays more demanding for products, the main focus is to keep their loyal customers happy and worry about others second. Having and keeping loyal customers brings in more profits and most times they bring in new customers by telling them how great the company’s products are.

           

           Dunkin Donuts is all over the internet, especially on social networks like Youtube, Twitter and Facebook. This is a great way for relationship marketing because it creates a dialogue between customers and they give feedback on the company’s products. In result, it helps Dunkin Donuts in knowing what their customers needs/wants are, how they can modify a product and/or what they can add to their company. Moreover, having these social networking profiles allows Dunkin Donuts to display coupons, new products, sweepstakes, contests, and certain sales they may be having in their stores. This keeps their customers informed and updated on what is going on and how to become apart of it.

Facebook Profile

Twitter Profile

YouTube Channel

           

            Another way that Dunkin Donuts maintains their loyal customers is my teaming up with other companies their customers might be involved with. Just to name a few, Dunkin Donuts has a strategic partnership with Baskin-Robbins, New York Mets and Yankees, American Express, New York Jets and Giants, Jet Blue, and Yahoo.  These Partnerships help each other build strong reputations and also help in maintaining loyal customers. However, in order to have these partnerships, the companies should have relationship commitment and trust. Both parties need to be confirmed that both ends of the partnership will be met because any mishap can be critical to both companies and result in the loss of customers. Dunkin Donuts has been doing great in this area so far. The partnerships Dunkin Donuts have formed over the years, has exposed their company to broader markets and a wider variety of customers. This has also helped Dunkin Donuts launch their company globally by acquiring knowledge of other cultures and modifying their products so they can market to these customers cultural needs/wants. 

Segmenting and Targeting Markets

        Dunkin Donuts is a very successful company. This company is not successful by chance, luck, or by some powerful miracle. Dunkin Donuts have very intelligent insight that allows them to have continuous success. Grasping an idea on where to set up shop and who to target as their main target market helped this company extremely throughout the years. Dunkin Donuts uses geographic and demographic segmentation to determine where their next place of business will open up to consumers. By knowing these aspects of the area they want to set up shop in, Dunkin Donuts can then see if it will be good or bad place for business. This is where knowing their Target market comes into affect. It makes no sense in opening up a store where your target market is no where to be found in that area. Dunkin Donuts may seem to target all markets due to the products they sell and also due to their partnership with Baskin-Robbins. They both have items there for markets 5 and up in age, all genders, races, nationalities etc. However, Dunkin Donuts have not lost their focus on their main target market which is adults from 25-55 years of age, working class, all races and all genders. Coffee and Donuts will always be their main driving force of the company but as the years came and went; things were added to the company that kept them updated with modern times. Dunkin Donuts also had to widen their target market to stay updated to modern times as well. Their products are also very affordable which grabs so many consumers. In my personal opinion, Dunkin Donuts can set up shop anywhere and still be successful. There will always be people in every area that likes Dunkin Donuts products. This comes from staying focus, knowing how to segment their market and knowing their target markets in their early years. These aspects will continue to keep Dunkin Donuts the successful company that it is.

Developing and Managing Products

         When it comes to producing a brand new product that is new to the world and/or market place, Dunkin Donuts fail at that concept. However, when it comes to taking an already existing product, modifying its characteristics and marketing it as a “New Product”, Dunkin Donuts are the masters of the game. Almost every two or three months, Dunkin Donuts market and sell these so-called new products which are really products they or someone else already has but they just modify it to fit the company and their consumers needs/wants. For example, the “New Artisan Bagel” that Dunkin Donuts added to the menu April 2, 2012. When it all boils down to it, it’s a bagel and a bagel is no where near new to the world or market. It is simply product modification. However, most people do not know the real meaning of a new product so they believe all the hype which is good for business do to increase in sales. Furthermore, Dunkin Donuts does not have any “New Products” as of yet. Even though it may be new to the Dunkin Donuts menu, it is not new to the world.  

Integrated Marketing Communications

         Dunkin Donuts promotes their products in many different ways. Their strategies mainly target two of a consumer’s five senses: smell and taste. Whenever a consumer sees a Dunkin Donuts ad, it gets their taste buds going to the point where the consumer can smell the item as if it were right in front of them. This, in return, may persuade a consumer to purchase a Dunkin Donuts item rather than the corner coffee shop item. Knowing their target market, Dunkin Donuts uses their Integrated Marketing Communications to reach out to their consumers at every contact point. There are dozens upon dozens of Dunkin Donuts stores that catches the eye and senses of their consumers, there are the television commercials that run when they know their target market will be watching television, there are the ads consumers see at bus stops, billboards, flyers, and of course Dunkin Donuts has their own website on the internet not to mention the social networks they are on. Dunkin Donuts is seen everywhere a consumer turns which makes it a well known brand and a successful company. Dunkin Donuts also have a competitive advantage over their competitors due to the fact they are not just coffee and donuts. Dunkin Donuts offers a diverse product mix in which the consumer can choose from, whereas their competitors offer a very parallel product mix. This comes from listening to their consumers wants and modifying the company in a way that meets those wants. Moreover, Dunkin Donuts partners up with many different companies such as American Express, Baskin-Robbins, Mets, Yankees, Jets, Giants, and Yahoo just to name a few. This gives Dunkin Donuts more publicity and access to a wider set of consumers. Dunkin Donuts promotional mix always meets the needs of their consumers which results in fulfilling the overall goals that are set for the company. 

Product Concepts

             Dunkin Donuts product concept is to sell consumer and convenience products. What can beat having a personal craving for a specific item and knowing where to get it at a reasonable price? Dunkin Donuts product mix consist of items that captures consumers wants/desires. Moreover, as time progresses, Dunkin Donuts have product modifications which keeps their company up to date with modern times and consumer’s preferences. For example, the new Hot Chocolate product line extension, the espresso products, the new DDSmart product line, sandwich’s product line extension and the new cake bites products captures the taste buds of many consumers which make sales outstanding and keeps a refreshing atmosphere to this company. Furthermore, being that Dunkin Donuts is a global brand, it has global consumers in which they pay attention too in order to acquire information on how to improve their products. This, in result, makes for a successful product mix that keeps Dunkin Donuts on top of its game. 

Sales Promotion and Personal Selling

When it comes to sales promotion, Dunkin Donuts knows it all too well. From keeping loyal consumers coming back for more to persuading new consumers to join their team, Dunkin Donuts is the prime example of sales promotion. Dunkin Donuts started DD Perks Rewards Card in the middle of 2011 which is a loyalty program that gives you a free medium beverage of your choice when you join. The DD Perks reward card allows you to earn “Dunkin Dollars” which is a form of coupons that a consumer can use to purchase any beverage, donut, snack, and/or breakfast sandwich. The consumer gets these “Dunkin Dollars” based on how much they spend in the Dunkin Donuts restaurant each month and there is no limit as to how many “Dunkin Dollars” the consumer’s reward card can accumulate each month. The DD Perks card is a great way to show appreciation to loyal consumers.  

On March 5, 2012 in the Philadelphia area, Dunkin Donuts was giving away free small iced lattes to everyone. This strategy is good for persuading consumers to start being a regular Dunkin Donuts consumer. Moreover, this sample of the iced latte draws people in and can make them start to wonder how everything else taste which results in more purchasing which is great for business. 

On March 15, 2012 in Canton, MA, Dunkin Donuts staff was looking for a consumer who was drinking iced coffee on that cold morning for a chance to win Boston Celtics tickets. You can imagine how many people went and bought iced coffee for a chance to win those tickets. This was a way to boost iced coffee sales and to make these purchases immediate which is the whole point of sales promotion.

At the Dunkin Donuts I go to on a regular basis, their staff is very friendly to the consumers. This friendliness leads to persuading the consumers to buying other items that they were not intended to purchase. I have witnessed this being done time after time and it has even been done to me a few times. This is called relationship selling. You get close enough to these people to the point that when they tell you a new product is good and worth the purchase, you go on and purchase it based the consumer/retailer relationship that was established.

Dunkin Donuts is just good at what is does in all aspects. 

Advertising and Public Relations

Dunkin Donuts launched a brand new multi-million dollar advertising and marketing campaign late last year. This new campaign has “everyday Joes” and has a simple question/answer phrase which is: “What are you drinking?” “I’m drinking Dunkin”. This campaign will be integrated across television, radio, internet, social media, public relations and in restaurant activities to ensure that consumers are aware at all times. The campaigns main goal is to build on Dunkin Donuts leadership in developed markets, create credentials in new markets and to keep letting the consumers know that Dunkin Donuts is the best place to go for a great cup of coffee.