Hey guys!
Everett just posted a blog about a new company he works for called Munchery.
Munchery is a company where chef’s cook top notch cuisine with fresh
ingredients that can be delivered at your doorstep. Probably the coolest thing
about the company is that for every meal ordered, they donate a meal for those
in need.
image source: www.munchery.com
Everett asked
the following questions that have to do with Munchery and buyer personas. 1) What do you
think are the buyer persona profiles that munchery.com should be targeting when
creating their marketing plan? Please explain how you came to these
conclusions.
2.) What outlets do you think are the best means to reach these buyers? And why?
2.) What outlets do you think are the best means to reach these buyers? And why?
For starters,
there are many details that can be packed into developing buyer persona
profiles. As David Meerman Scott mentions in The New Rules of Marketing & PR, these details include goals
and aspirations, what their problems are, and how they can be reached
(Scott,2013). Scott also mentions that the best way to actually develop buyer
personas is through interviewing people. I mean, the best way to get to know
the details about people would be by asking them questions about the details,
right? I don’t work for Munchery, nor have I every used the company (it’s on
the west coast and I’m back east), but I think I know that if the option was
available it my city, I would totally order from there all the time. So, I think
I have a pretty good shot at a type of buyer persona they should be targeting
when creating their marketing plan. I would start with young urban
professionals. Why? Because they are still getting used to their workdays and
possibly balancing work with grad school, and don’t have the time to cook every
night and go shopping regularly. They also value healthy options, as opposed to
the greasy burgers and pizza from their undergrad years. They are also socially
conscious, and the fact that Munchery donates a meal for every meal ordered is
a huge plus and justification for ordering out on any given day at any given
time. Convienent, guilt free, and helping those in need. Does it get more
awesome than that?
To reach these buyers, I would
suggest connecting with online marketplace companies such as LivingSocial and
Groupon. It would provide incentive to try Munchery, and it would be advertised
on websites that many young and busy professionals check on a daily basis. I
would also suggest traditional media channels as well, such as billboards and
bus wraps. There is a lot of foot traffic in cities, and people are always
looking for convenient, healthy options. That way, there is great opportunity
to reach tons and tons of potential buyers.
-SB
Scott, David. (2013). The New Rules of
Marketing and PR. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley
Shana
ReplyDeleteI love your example of the buying persona for Munchery because I feel like that described me perfectly - a young professional working in NYC who has no time for cooking. and eating healthy which juggling work and grad school! Groupon and Living Social are definitley two good ways to promote the brand and reach this specific market segment. What about social media - coupons on Facebook, instagram, etc? These young professionals are sure to be checking their social media on their coffee breaks - or at least I do!
Erica,
DeleteI totally agree with you. I did focus more on social connection sites in my post as opposed to the more traditional social media websites. Facebook ads are huge now, and almost impossible to not come across a few while scrolling down your news feed. Businesses can also buy promotional ad space on Twitter for the same effect as well. As far as getting noticed initially, I think Munchery would want to look into purchasing ad space on those sites as a starting point.
Thanks for the reply.
-SB
I see advertisements on Facebook all the time. They are obviously targeted to people living in San Francisco, but they do offer coupons on Facebook. I think Munchery is in an expansion phase at the moment so they are offering very inexpensive dishes on their menu right now in order to gain market share so I am not seeing them on Groupon.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHey,
DeleteI really like your ideas about GroupOn and Living Social because they are extremely popular sites for people in their 20's to 40's. I mentioned this on my blog as well. But for me, it seems that it would be difficult for people that are young professionals to afford this type of gourmet delivery unless they make a lot of money in the beginning of their career. Or, if they live in a small city where rent is not expensive. For example, DC area is very expensive to live, so unless Munchery could offer smaller meal sizes for one or offer rewards programs,affordability could be a problem for young professionals.
I like your ideas a lot about how to advertise, they are spot on. But I think that with the demographic that you mentioned that IG and Twitter would be extremely useful. Pinterest is also an extremely popular resource among people in their 20's and 30's.
Good post!
Dana J
Dana,
DeleteThanks for the reply! Social connection sites really make things affordable, and provides an incentive for consumers. I myself have found killer deals on Living Social and Group On...and there are actually a companies I've purchased products and services post-deal from as a result of their incentives from those sites. Price is definitely a big factor, however people do pay if they prefer higher quality. So while Munchery may not be obviously be less expensive if they don't offer social connection site incentives, people will stay pay for it no matter their economic class- especially if they value healthy and fresh ingredients. And I also agree with IG and Twitter- and also Facebook. Many times social connection sites partner up with Fbook and place deals on peoples newsfeeds...which is perfect in my opinion :)
-SB
First of all, I have to agree that Munchery seems awesome! I also agree that it should probably target young professionals who are short on time, but value healthier meal options than fast food, and want to help those in need. As you mentioned, conducting interviews would be an excellent way to create more specific buyer persona profiles within this group. Some sample buyer persona profiles for Munchery might include a 28-year-old app developer who works long hours, eats meals at odd hours, travels infrequently, and values convenience. Another might be for a 30-year-old who works on Wall Street and also values convenience, but wants healthy meal options while traveling for business. Based on these examples, Munchery could offer an option to deliver a meal to the app developer’s office at 12am, while providing travel-friendly snacks or meal delivery in a variety of cities for the Wall Streeter. In all, I enjoyed reading your post and I’m interested to see how this company develops.
ReplyDeleteHi Shana. Once again I am sorry this is late.I like that you mentioned that Munchery is socially conscious. This is a big issue especially among young people these days. It is a good method to reach people and make them feel good about what they are buying. I used to work for a Nestle company before I worked for Munchery. At Nestle they would rather throw away completely good food rather than give it to needy people because they did not want to tarnish their image. At Munchery we give away any extra food to a company called food runners. I find the dichotomy between the two company policies very interesting because one tries to protect its image by throwing food away and another enhances it's image by giving it away. I obviously think giving your excess food away is a much more socially conscious approach and a modern example of organizational transparency. I also feel a lot better about working for a company that gives food away to the needy rather than throwing it away. This translates into pride for Munchery and my unpaid word of mouth advertising. I think this issue kind of points to the heart of IMC and why modern organizations need to be more open about their practices.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that young business professionals are a great buyer persona profile for Munchery to target. I have been surprised by how many young professionals I have met who order from Munchery. I originally thought they were primarily targeting families, but it seems a lot of young professionals like their products and services for the very same reasons you mentioned. I think the vast, constantly changing menu along with their socially conscious initiatives is a large reason for young people's business.
So far, we have covered families, college students, young business professionals and single "sans kids" hipster professionals (or something like that). I want to know what you think about targeting the elderly demographic. It seems like a reasonable buyer persona to target because they often have trouble getting to and from the super market. Not to mention, meal preparation and clean up can be quite a hassle. I think the biggest question is how to reach this demographic? The elderly are not typically on social media as much as the younger generations and advertising on traditional media can be indirect and expensive. Do you think direct marketing would be an option? Or maybe a traditional media outlet like AARP magazine would be worth the investment? Let me know what you think. ( I swear I asked the same questions on Friday).
Everett