University of Twente Student Theses
Positionering van VerdraaidGoed & De KandeLamp
Martens, Rosanne (2014) Positionering van VerdraaidGoed & De KandeLamp.
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| Abstract: | VerdraaidGoed (VG) is a company that has “reduction of waste” as its mission. In addition, it is the vision of VG to be a project company for B2B (business-to-business) customers. The marketing is a major stumbling block causing disappointing sales of the KandeLamp. VG suspects that the KandeLamp is targeted poorly, because the wrong target group is addressed. The KandeLamp is launched as a design product while the other products are marketed as sustainable products. A target group analysis is carried out to determine the current and desired target group of the KandeLamp. The project began with an analysis of the current practice of VG. As a result, there are company-wide improvement proposals for better sales related to the 4Ps. VG has four different product groups: (NS) gifts, furniture, paper and the Foodiebag. Additionally, VG provides services around the theme “trash into treasure”. Analysis on the current method showed that the company may be better recognized if it focuses more on a product category or on the services, because that way customers get a clear picture of what the company does (Neumeier, 2006). The chosen category must satisfy two requirements in order to provide a successful range of products. First, all the products must fit the mission. In addition, all the products should be created of industrial waste materials and should be produced in a sheltered workshop. These requirements are necessary to create a coherent range of products associated with VG. The Foodiebag does not fit into the range because it corresponds only to the requirement “reduction of waste” - the product is not made of industrial waste materials. Brands are important because they provide added value for the customer and therefore financial value for the company (Rosenbaum-Elliot, 2011). The Branded House brand architecture is the most appropriate for VG. This means that the brand VG is important and that it should not be divided into separate brands. VG does not have the time and money to support more than one brand. A single graphic style must be used for the entire brand VG. This is contrary to the current practice in which it is possible to choose a graphic style for each of the four product groups. The graphic style has to be implemented in all the graphic expressions. Graphical expressions include packaging, the website, newsletters and business cards. Consistency needs to be implemented company-wide so that no confusion arises among the customers (Hultink & Schoormans, 2004). In addition, customers will recognize VG because they act in a consistent way. The mission and the vision need to be apparent at all the activities of VG. This requires the graphical expressions and activities of VG, such as stands or pop-up stores, to fit together. VG’s mission and vision is inconsistent on different social media, this should be changed to propagate a consistent brand image. Consistency should also be implied at the product prices so customers know what to expect. At the moment, prices fluctuate. This can be prevented if the revenue model is constructed so that there is clarity on the income and expenditure. VG can be promoted if VG is recognizable by the coherence and consistency of the product range. VG will be better known through promotion. Currently, the products of VG are not promoted, with the exception of the Foodiebag, which attracted a lot of attention of the media. The products of VG should be promoted through active use of social media and positive worth-of-mouth by a positive internal organization. These company-wide recommendations on among other things increasing awareness of VG, will benefit the sales of the KandeLamp. The target group of KandeLamp has been investigated so that it can be made sure that the 4Ps are better fitted to the desired audience. As a result, more products will be sold. The target group analysis shows that the potential audience consists of “sustainable”, “baroque” and design oriented customers. The KandeLamp is not yet suitable for these potential audiences. A redesign is necessary in order to match the lamp with one of the three target groups. The “sustainable B2B target group” is chosen because this target group fits the product group “furniture” and the mission and vision of VG. “Sustainable target group” refers to the audience that shares the passion of the company: reducing waste. After analyzing the current situation of the KandeLamp and after the target group research, it appears that the place, promotion, price and product do not all fit with the sustainable B2B audience. Recommendations are given about the 4Ps in order to fit with the target group. A redesign of the lamp has been made to fit the selected target group. The target group research has shown what aspects of the product the target group values. It values a product that is visibly recycled, stories behind products and values non-mainstream products. Non-mainstream products are products which are not intended to attract a large audience. The redesign had to be ‘thougher’ compared to the KandeLamp. These aspects are included in the redesign. The lamp is made from a shelf of a PTT post cabinet and the lamp is made in a sheltered workshop. To emphasize the story behind the lamp, a reference to the old function of the shelf is made. In the redesign it is possible to place post on the shelf. Besides, the shelf can be identified by the authentic name sticker. The style of the product poster is also adapted to the needs of the target group. The redesign of the product poster is about improving the graphic style which can be applied to all graphic expressions of VG. To boost the sales of the new products an investigation of sales opportunities is made. Project companies are not suitable for the lamp because they do not have a suitable product range. Crowdfunding will not be financially feasible. When the business model has been created it will be clear how many lights have to be sold in order to make a profit. A suitable project should be sought for this number. The target group is willing to pay 69 euros for the lamp. Through the redesign and application of proposals that are adapted to the target group, it is expected that VG will sell more lamps. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Bachelor) |
| Faculty: | ET: Engineering Technology |
| Subject: | 20 art studies |
| Programme: | Industrial Design BSc (56955) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/64911 |
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