They do not seem to have much in the way of market research which is needed to provide their customers with the products that they want. Market research is essential to knowing the customer’s needs. Kudler Fine Foods is located in California, and not in the lower income parts of California but rather the middle class to upper class parts of California. The people who live here are in to fine wines, cheese and meats. Kudler Fine Foods target market should be women and men who are 30 years or older with an income of $100,000 or more a year. The target market should have exquisite taste for higher end food items. Kudler Fine Foods needs to get out there do more research on what can be done to further the business. There is a survey on the website that a customer can fill out to let them know how the store, merchandise and customer service are, but there is not a field that the customer can fill out that would let Kudler Fine Foods know what they can do to improve or suggestions on some different items they may want to offer. With this input they could further there business. Kudler Fine Foods should also do some research to determine if the company would be successful selling the products that they offer on the website and shipping them to customers.
Staring an email club would benefit the company because then they could better determine who their target market is. When a customer visits the website they can have the option to sign up for the email. The customer would then be asked to fill out a questionnaire that would ask questions such as age, race, income and preferences. From this information the company could determine who their target market should be. Kudler Fine Foods would then have a way to reach out to their potential customers to inform them of new items, sales and promotions.
“Kudler Fine Foods announced plans to create a frequent shopper program for their three stores in Southern California. Customers that participate in the program will receive news about store events, featured products and sales. In addition, they will be given exclusive offers on select merchandise and discounts on cooking and wine classes. Owner Kathy Kudler says, "We believe this will be a huge benefit to our most loyal customers”. Frequent shopper programs are a definite plus, many shopper will go back to the store if they offer free or discounted items.
Another way to track the target market is by zip codes. When a customer purchases an item the employee of Kudler Fine Foods can first ask the customer for their zip code. Many stores do this now. Knowing the zip codes will help Kudler Fine Foods know what area to target if they ever decide to send out mailers.
“Competitive intelligence is a term used to describe how a business keeps aware of what strategies and movements its competitors are making, especially in terms of marketing or product development. Businesses put strict limitations on competitive intelligence in an attempt to avoid breaking the law, and typically use only information that is available through a public source like the Internet. Even so, by using these sources of information, businesses can learn important facts that will influence their marketing decisions”. Some companies will actually call their competitors posing as a customer and ask questions about the products that are similar to what they sell. Kudler Fine Foods could do that to see if their competitor’s price are higher or lower than theirs. There is no law against this therefore there is nothing the competitor can do about it. Kudler Fine Foods would then know if they need to adjust their prices accordingly.
“The primary use of competitive intelligence is in differentiating value. Essentially, the more that company