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. 

Retailing

Dunkin Donuts is all about making sure their consumers are happy with their products and/or getting them to buy and/or try new products. I am a regular customer at Dunkin Donuts so the employees there practically know me at a specific location. As soon as I walked in there was a big poster on the wall advertising their new product “cake bites”. The employees know my usual purchase but they always try to persuade me in purchasing something new.  8 times out of 10 it works. They make the new products sound so delicious and looking at the advertisements all around you cannot help but to purchase it to see if it is too your liking. That to me is good retailing because this employee could just give me my usual and let me be on my way. However, I am informed and kept up to date of the latest products which lead me to spread the word to my peers about it. This would, in result, make Dunkin Donuts a destination store because I plan to go there at a minimum of 2 times in a week and I am sure many others do the same. This franchise is established in a way where you just have to go in and buy something. Dunkin Donuts atmosphere is very homey in my opinion. Their layout pulls you in and not to mention the smells of coffee, fresh donuts and bagels cooking. This retail strategy is a perfect way to get consumers to buy their products. Overall visit was to go in there, get my tea, and leave. However, I left with two cake bites and a mint hot chocolate. Their product offering skills really pay off.

Consumer Decision Making

When it comes to making a decision about where consumers want to buy your coffee, tea and hot chocolate, Dunkin Donuts wants to be their first and only choice. This company pays close attention to their consumers and they come up with a menu to reflect their observations. In 1950 when Dunkin Donuts first started, they were strictly coffee and donuts. However, as time progressed, their menu has flourished due to close consumer observations. They used various external stimuli to get consumers to buy their products. When walking past a Dunkin Donuts restaurant, you cannot help but to smell the various aromas of coffee being brewed and fresh baked donuts that are ready to be served. That in result hauls in consumers to buy their products. Moreover, this company has paid attention how consumer decision making has also evolved over time. For example, due to the obesity rates increasing in America, Dunkin Donuts created a DD SMART Better-For-You Choices menu that gives consumers healthier options to choose from rather than just finding another restaurant to go to. Another example is when consumers started to drink a lot of espresso drinks in the early 2000’s. With this observation, Dunkin Donuts opened up a brand new line of espresso drinks so they could keep their consumers and possibly get more. These examples show how well Dunkin Donuts are in tuned with their consumers’ needs and/or wants. Monitoring consumer behavior is what keeps this company on the road to on going success.  

Developing a Global Vision

       On February 24, 2011 Dunkin Donuts started a partnership with Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd. to open up stores in India. Jubilant FoodWorks, who holds the master franchisee rights for Domino’s Pizza in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, signed an agreement with Dunkin Donuts to develop, sub-franchise and operate an estimated 500 or more Dunkin Donuts stores throughout India. The first of those stores were to be opened early 2012. This partnership between Dunkin Donuts and Jubilant FoodWorks makes the largest international store development commitment in all of Dunkin Donuts history. The official contract signing ceremony took place at Hotel Oberoi in Delhi. Jubilant FoodWorks and Dunkin Donuts are to work together to offer customers a menu that combines Dunkin Donuts coffee, espresso based drinks, baked goods and other delicious snacks with products that are specially modified for the Indian consumers.  

Mr Hari S. Bhartia , Co-Chairman of Jubilant FoodWorks(left) Mr Nigel Travis, CEO of Dunkin Brands and President of Dunkin Donuts(center)  and  Mr Shyam S. Bhartia, Chairman of Jubilant FoodWorks.  

Marketing Environment

          The target market for Dunkin Donuts depends on the product. For example, their Coffee mainly targets adults from 25-45 years old while their Hot Chocolate mainly targets children and teens from 6- 17 years old. Dunkin Donuts has a variety of products that targets every age and ethnicity group. However, they have one product that targets everyone and that is their donuts. Their donuts target everyone no matter the age and/or ethnicity. Moreover, Dunkin Donuts does not have a specific target market because their locations are in every type of area and their products target everyone.  

Social Responsibility

-Dunkin Donuts social responsibility to consumers is to be recognized as a company that responsibly serves its guests, franchisees, employees, communities, business partners and the interests of the planet.

-Their responsibility to their corporation gives the brand a central frame of reference for organizational decisions, strategic goal setting and behaviors that respect all of their stakeholders. It is also a way to formalize their tradition of doing what is right for their consumers, franchisees, employees and the communities they serve. 

Strategic Plans

      Dunkin Donuts has a plan for a huge expansion in 2012. Even though it will take approximately 20 years to complete, it is said that this company wants to double its already 7,000 locations in the United States. Grant Benson who is the vice president of Franchise and marketing planer for the Dunkin Donuts brand believes the opportunity is here now for the big push of expansions. These expansions will start in the Southwest and Mideast states first. 

Mission Statement

     "Dunkin Donuts will strive to be the dominant retailer of high quality donuts, bakery products and beverages in each metropolitan market in which we choose to compete." 

Brief History

              At first it was just Baskin-Robbins which was founded by Burt Baskin and Irv Robbins in 1946. A few years later in 1950, Dunkin Donuts was founded by Bill Rosenberg. He had a very simple concept to Dunkin Donuts: “Make and serve the freshest, most delicious coffee and donuts quickly and courteously in modern, well merchandised stores.” Three years later Baskin-Robbins came up with their “31 flavors” concept which was based on the days in the month. By 1963, there were 100 Dunkin Donuts shops opened. Six years later in 1969, the United States sent their first astronaut to the moon. Moreover, this was also the same year that Baskin-Robbins started their Lunar Cheesecake ice cream flavor. In 1982, Dunkin Donuts launches their advertising campaign “Fred the Baker: TIME TO MAKE DONUTS.” During the year of 1994, Baskin-Robbins produced Cappuccino Blast ice cream flavor which was one of the first coffee flavored ice cream in the whole ice cream industry. Two years later, Dunkin Donuts started to sell freshly baked bagels of all kinds. Three years after that, Dunkin Donuts celebrates its 8 billionth cup of coffee sold since the company started. In the year 2000, Dunkin Donuts opened their 5,000^th store in Bali, Indonesian. Two years later in 2002, Dunkin Donuts introduced an espresso revolution with a brand new line of espressos, lattes and cappuccinos. Baskin-Robbins franchisee, Mitch Cohen, scooped 18 cones of ice cream in a matter of one minute which set a new Guinness world record in 2004. A Year later, Baskin-Robbins started their Bold Breeze Beverages. One year after that Dunkin Donuts started selling smoothies and also started their “America Runs on Dunkin” marketing campaign. This was the same year when Dunkin Donuts and JetBlue started their partnership which meant that Dunkin Donuts Original Blend coffee and Dunkin Decaf became the official JetBlue in flight coffee. In 2007, Dunkin Donuts starts a partnership with Procter & Gamble which enabled Dunkin Donuts to sell their coffee at retail outlets, including super markets and club stores. That same year, Dunkin Donuts opened their first store in Taiwan which was their first steps in their China expansion strategy. Also in 2007, Dunkin Donuts started another partnership with Hess Corporation and Sara Lee Corporation which enabled Dunkin Donuts to bring their coffee to new, nontraditional food service locations and Baskin-Robbins launched their Fudge Crunch ice cream cakes. A year later in 2008 these two companies were very busy. Dunkin Donuts started their “All Day Oven Toasted” menu which sold flatbread sandwiches, personal pizzas and hash browns. Dunkin Donuts also created their Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified restaurant in St, Petersburg Fla. Yahoo Inc. also partnered with Dunkin Donuts to create two new Dunkin Donuts branded videos and to also start a Dunkin Donuts community web site. That same year, Dunkin Donuts opened their 500^th store in Korea and launches their “DDSMART” menu which is a line of better for you products. Furthermore in 2008, Baskin-Robbins started “Soft Serve” which made them to be the only national ice cream chain to sell soft served and hand scooped ice cream. This also the same year Baskin-Robbins launched premium gourmet cakes in the Middle East. These two companies have become two of the best at what they do and they continue to prove that each and every chance they get.