MNM3714 ASSIGNMENT 01 SEMESTER 02 ANSWERS DUE 23 AUGUST 2024

MNM3714 ASSIGNMENT 01 SEMESTER 02 ANSWERS DUE 23 AUGUST 2024 ADDENDUM A – CASE STUDY Lenyora Alkaline And the journey begins… Lenyora Alkaline water was established by Shanique Segoati and Kutlwano Segoati in 2018 after researching and experiencing the benefits of alkaline powder for health. Through their bottled water, Shanique and Kutlwano aims to provide consumers with water that will assist with reducing health issues such as acid reflux, ulcers and heartburn. They settled on the name Lenyora Alkaline as it represents water that is a proudly South African product. Lenyora is a Setswana, word which means thirst. The brand offers functional water (water enhanced by vitamins and minerals that offers health benefits) at competitive prices. About The vision of Lenyora Alkaline is to become a leading supplier and manufacturer of packaged functional quality alkaline water in South Africa, specifically in the Pretoria area of Gauteng by 2027. The mission of Lenyora is primarily aimed at serving health-concerned customers in Gauteng by providing alkaline water with a pH10 premium quality. The future goal of the company is to distribute the product throughout the Southern Africa region. Currently the Lenyora product is only available in the Gauteng area and aimed at consumers between the ages of 18-36 years who are young and actively involved in sports. Currently the main objectives of Lenyora are as follows: • To increase market share/ sales/ target markets. • To increase product availability in health shops and pharmacies (point of purchase outlets). • To increase product awareness (product introduction)/ brand image. Suppliers Lenyora Alkaline currently does not produce their own alkaline water, they have one supplier that is able to produce Alkaline PH 10-level water and bottle the water with the Lenyora Alkaline branding. Their future plan is to set up their own filtration system and produce their own alkaline water which they will package in boxes as a means of saving the environment as boxes are recyclable and biodegradable, not to mention the fact that it takes far less energy to manufacture boxes than to manufacture bottles. Competitors The bottled water industry is competitive and there are several well-established competitors already in the market. These competitors include Valpre, Bonaqua, Aquelle, Nestle, Zestlife, Alkamax and Ph 10 Alkaline water. PH 10 Alkaline water is a direct competitor as they offer the exact same benefits than Lenyora Alkaline water. Competitors, such as Bonaqua and Aquelle, also offer variations to their product offerings such as flavoured water, still and sparkling water. Lenyora’s indirect competitors include soft drinks, juices, energy drinks and tap water. Pricing Owing to production constraints, the owners have only produced the 500ml bottle variants which are currently on the market at R5.50 less mark-up and delivery costs. There is no set retail price for the bottled water, as reseller pricing is negotiable based on the volumes produced. MNM3714/102/2/2024 6 Packaging and distribution Lenyora offers “silky smooth, crispy clean, wetter water” and this image is seen through the way in which the water is packaged. The water comes in clear 500ml plastic bottles, that are easy to handle and package. The bottle does not have too much writing on it, portraying the image of clear, clean and crisp water. Lenoyora distributes their water from their physical address in Pretoria. Consumers can visit their premises, call or e-mail the company for enquiries and orders. Lenyora is currently working on developing an e-commerce site where consumers can order the water. Promotion The current marketing and promotional strategy used by Lenyora Alkaline water is primarily driven by the fact that the brand does not have an extensive advertising budget. Nonetheless, Lenyora makes use of popular vehicles of promotion, which in fact have a great reach and are growing its online footprint each day. Lenyora makes use of social media platforms, such as Instagram and Facebook, and frequently posts status updates on customer groups. The brand furthermore invests in Google advertisements that drives traffic to their website. Apart from their online presence, Lenyora implements in-store promotions, which includes in-store posters on shelves, which do not only improve visibility, but also promotes the benefits of the product. In-store promotional activities are also designed to drive traffic to the brand’s social media sites, including social media handles and contact details. Finally, the brand offers personal selling, by selling their products directly to consumers, retailers and distributors face to face. Currently Lenyora does not take time to develop strategic plans on marketing and promotion but engages in these activities on an ad hoc basis. This has caused them to realise that there is a need for exposure. Lenyora has therefore set out to conduct detailed research on “how to best go about brand visibility” and formulate various strategies to achieve this goal. Currently these strategies are stagnant due to a shortage of capital. Lenyora operates based on, “the product speaks for itself”, thus getting in touch with people to get deals from suppliers, in the hope that more people that get to taste the water and familiarise themselves with the product, would ultimately opt for this product when they see it on the shelves or anywhere else. At this point in time Lenyora does not have an active targeting strategy and has been using word of mouth, approaching gymnasiums, restaurants and clubs and making use of redistributors/ resellers in order to reach as many customers as possible. Marketing research The only research that Lenyora has invested in includes medical research to determine the benefits of alkaline water and research on becoming visible in the market. It is of extreme importance that Lenyora conducts market research to determine the needs of consumers and a specific type of consumer that will be a suitable target market for the brand. Once a sustainable target market has been identified, a deep dive research project can be launched to better determine what the exact needs of these consumer are. QUESTION Having a structured digital marketing plan is important as it can enable you to identify, assess and select appropriate marketing opportunities and strategies for the SME. Assume the role of the digital marketing specialist for the SME. The following tasks are assigned to you: 1 Digital marketing plan: You are required to prepare a detailed digital marketing plan for the SME by focusing on the six key components of a digital marketing plan. Your analysis must be supported by research about the market and consumers, trends and digital marketing in the specific industry. In your discussion on the six key components, you need to: Highlight what the SME is currently doing as part of its digital marketing strategy (based on the case study) and make specific practical recommendations on how the SME can expand on the use of digital marketing channels and enhance its digital marketing strategy. Provide specific practical examples on how artificial intelligence (AI) can be integrated into the SMEs digital marketing strategy. 2 Website: Specify why you think a website is a crucial element of a digital marketing strategy for the SME. Then do the following: Suggest at least four ways on how the SME can incorporate compelling and relevant content on its website with the aim of increasing user engagement. Provide a practical discussion related to the SME to substantiate your answer. Brief the SME on at least four components that it should consider when designing the overall look and feel of the website. You must make specific practical recommendations on how each component can be used on the SME website. 3 SEO: Draw up a proposal for the SME to explain and motivate, with practical examples, how it can use on-page and off-page techniques (at least five) to enhance the visibility of its website.