8.0 Marketing Objectives – Qualitative and Quantitative Qualitative: deliver best service – most efficient, fastest delivery and over all good customer care/service, most recognized online grocer, be the people's choice. Quantitative: Net profit ratio increment between 2-5 % after 5 years. Overall growth by 20% and increase score in brand awareness 9.0 Competitive Strategy Focus strategy: focus on e-commerce, dynamics of online consumers (online grocery = broad focus) http://smallbusiness.chron.com/competitive-advantage-used-focus-strategy-51750.html - definition of focus strategy Given that Redmart is operating in an attractive market, yet still seems to be a weak enterprise, it is imperative to better the products and service offerings to exploit the market's potential. To understand the market environment, the focus strategy will form the base of the competitive strategy, followed by the differentiation strategy. 9.1 Focus Strategy Smallbusiness.chron (n.d), explains the focus strategy as "identifying the market segments where the company can compete effectively. The strategy matches market characteristics with the company's competitive advantages to select markets where a focus of the company's resources is likely to lead to desired sales volumes, revenues and profits". In Redmart's case, the focus should be on e-commerce and the dynamics of online shoppers. This is a broad focus as Singapore is a progressed society whose natives are digital savvy. 9.1.1 E-commerce expansion With consumers becoming better informed and digitally savvy, they have become more demanding as their expectations are increasing. The Nielsen Global Survey of Digital's Influence on Grocery Shopping, published in 2012, surveyed more than 28,000 Internet respondents in more than 56 countries. It was found that online shopping intentions for food and beverage categories increased 44 percent between 2010 and 2012. Globally, 46 percent used social media to help make purchase decisions and 37 percent purchased from online-only stores most frequently (Nielsen, 2012). The e-commerce market in Singapore is expected to be worth US$5.4 billion (S$7.46 billion) by 2025 (Channel News Asia, 2016) The report found that Singapore's e-commerce market was valued at US$1 billion in 2015, with online shopping making up 2.1 per cent of retail sales. Come 2025, Singapore's e-commerce market is expected to make up 6.7 per cent of all retail sales (Channel News Asia, 2016). This proves a large and actively growing market for Redmart. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/singapore-e-commerce/2811118.html 9.1.2 Dynamics of online shoppers in Singapore The higher level of education and increasing affluence are key factors to changing lifestyles and consumer demands in Singapore (Yeo, n.d). Singaporean's greater exposure to international products, particularly food, also means that consumers' shopping habits have evolved from basic necessities to branded and imported food items. The rising middle class means a more educated consumer market and increasing working professionals who prefer grocery shopping in a one-stop shop (Yeo, n.d). http://www.ntc.ntu.edu.sg/ntcc/Documents/Full%20Version/16.%20REDMART%20SINGAPORE%20-%20%20DELIVERING%20FRESHNESS%20AND%20CONVENIENCE%20WITH%20ONLINE%20GROCERY%20SHOPPING.pdf The Nielsen's (2015) Bricks and Clicks Shopper Trends report published by Nielsen polled responses from 1,639 Singaporeans in April and May 2015 based on their shopping behaviours and attitudes. The survey revealed a rising trend of omni-channel shoppers (41per cent), which meant that these shoppers bought online and offline. Top on their shopping list were grocery food items (82 per cent), fashion (65 per cent) and personal care products (65 per cent). Omni-channel shoppers depended primarily on recommendations from family and friends for new purchases online (29 per cent) and offline (25 per cent). Search engine (12 per cent) and the retailer's website (nine per cent) were the next two influencers for online purchases, whereas print publications (16 per cent) and advertisement in stores (13 per cent) worked in favour of capturing attention to promote offline purchases. When finding a resource for information about grocery related activities, nearly half (or 47 per cent) of the respondents surveyed spent their time researching online on a digital device, such as the smartphone or personal tablet on a weekly basis. Before making their purchases online, a good 56 percent would compare prices for grocery items in like categories, and 54 percent would keep a look out for bargains and promotions on grocery retailers' websites. These activities showed that the online grocery shopper was a discerning customer and out to get the best deal possible. http://www.nielsen.com/sg/en/press-room/2015/shift-in-shopper-dynamics-provides-new-opportunities.html 9.2 Differentiation Strategy Smallbusiness.chron, (n.d) explains the differentiation strategy as "creating a product or service that is valued and perceived by its customers as unique and better than the competition". Given the above stated, where Singapore is perceived to see exponential growth in e-commerce, Redmart must stay competitive in delivering products and services that would entice consumers to stay loyal to the brand. Redmart, with the focus of e-commerce exploitation (online grocery shopping) and online shoppers as a target segment, should differ itself from other online grocers that has similar offerings. The differentiation strategy is the perfect successor to utilise after the focus strategy as Redmart could focus on what the particular segment wants, while providing products and services that adds value to the consumers. Through product differentiation, Redmart can create brand loyalty among customers through perceived product quality or cost savings. Having a loyal customer following helps stabilize the company's revenue and lessens the impact of market downturns. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/pros-cons-differentiation-strategy-21452.html To differentiate itself, Redmart will narrow its product extension lines, create more "home brand" products and introduce a "subscription scheme". For presentation: Why not cost leadership? Not possible to commit to being the cheapest in the market since the nature of the products is highly defined by the econonomies of scale, naturally the bigger enterprises will have it cheaper. Political Factors The political environment can impact business organization in numerous ways, which could add a risk factor and lead to a significant loss, as well as the impact on the economy, changes in regulation, political stability and mitigation of risk. Singapore has enjoyed political stability since independence in 1965, and the People's Action Party (PAP) has been in government throughout that period. Due to the one party government framework, there has been little or no disruption of policy implementation, which has enhanced the effectiveness of the delivery mechanism of Redmart's services. This stability has made well-organized institutions that help all partners and stakeholders of the company to adopt e-Services. These bodies have likewise developed a solid legal foundation for guidelines and regulations to ensure copyright and intellectual rights are protected and create a secure online environment for users. The political conditions in the country are favorable to Redmart, and in planning a new venture, the political risk on investments is very low. Economic factors Economic factors including the economic growth of Singapore, inflation rates, interest and exchange rates are of concern to Redmart. Because these factors are largely outside the control of the company and are more likely to influence demand, costs, prices, and profits. Interest rates impact the Redmart's capital cost which directly affects the growth and expansion of the company as well as exchange rates affect the export and import. As one of world's leading economies, Singapore stands a GDP per capita of around 45,000 USD (approximate value) and GNI per capita of around 40,000 USD (approx.). Therefore, an average citizen in Singapore has higher average income and standard of living, and the effects of the economic factors on performance and the marketing mix can be profound. Social-cultural Factors Social factors affecting the external environment of a company are population growth, age distribution, career and income distribution, health and cultural aspects. Relating to the social cultural aspect, Singapore is the only ASEAN country with an established modern grocery retail market. The Singapore modern grocery retail landscape is well penetrated with modern channels accounting for 70% of retail value, due to its highly urbanized nature. Supermarkets lead modern grocery retail, with 54% share. However, traditional formats are not likely to be eliminated due to government support of wet market development and customer loyalty from the older generation. A report distributed by PwC finds that 60% of customers in Singapore purchase products online at lease once a month. PwC's 'Aggregate Retail' overview, which reviewed almost 23,000 online customers in 25 countries, uncovered the changing practices that will drive the coming retail revolution. So with regard to Redmart, the social factors can have both positive and slightly negative impact. Technological Technological advancement is one of the reason that could help people to change lifestyle and quality of life. In 1980s, the government of Singapore start emphasis on investment promotion of computers and technological products. Today, the main exports of Singapore are electronic and technological products, and it had a world-class reputation for inventing, developing of new technological. In Singapore, every household and office are required to installing broadband, this is the first step to let the citizen utilized the Information Technology. Move over, there are over 78.2% of household in Singapore own a computer and more than 71% people like surf the Internet because the government offering IT learning from first grade onwards and decide to cultivate new generation to become the high-tech generation. This is a good current situation for Redmart in Singapore as a potential online grocery store because almost everyone in Singapore knows how to utilized the information technology so that the Redmart could easily provide the connivance to everyone. On the other hand, the Redmart could easily advertise their online shop to the public through some social media like Facebook and Twitter. Legal The government of Singapore launched E-commerce program in 1996 to develop the e-commerce services in Singapore. Some basic legal like Electronic Transactions Act, Intellectual Property Rights and Amendments to the Evidence Act to support the secure e-commerce. The laws and legal are helpful for E-commerce development and E-commerce have to subject to the rules and regulations. For example, some rules like "Consumer Protection Legislation", "Protection and Security of Digital Data", "Intellectual Property Protection in Cyberspace", the mature laws and regulations in the protection of consumers as well as protect online business. So the Redmart could develop and expand their online business based on the law and legal in Singapore. Environmental First of all, Singapore have the most mature payment infrastructure in southeast Asia. It has already developed one of the most mature payment infrastructures and most domestic e commerce sales are paid by credit cards or bank transfers, while Cash on Delivery is also present. So the online business in Singapore can expect a mature online shopper with high trust in online payment methods. Secondly, Singapore has the Asia's best in logistics and supply chain, it is the best in global freight forwarding and express carriers in Asia. Thirdly, Singaporeans are shopaholics. According to the research, there are 73% people under 5.4 million population connected to the internet in Singapore, and a recent study by Visa shows that 26% of Singaporeans shop online at least once a week and 58% purchase online at least once a month and there are 50% Singaporeans will be shopping online if possible. Lastly, Singapore is one of the socially connected countries with the social media penetration rate at 59%, according to a 2014 survey by We Are Social. It means the social media like Facebook and Twitter have a big influence to the ecommerce. Strengths Unlike its competitor, stocks of Redmart are not on-demand but rather on-schedule. Thus, customers can access the availability of stock can be easily. Redmart's on-schedule nature also allows Redmart to have a lower operational cost compared to brick-and-mortar stores and ecommerce businesses that hire casual labour (part-time workers) to get goods from those physical stores. The design and layout of product list on Redmart's website provide a detailed comparison between similar products. As customers need to sign up to become a customer of Redmart, the contact details of customers will be stored in the database of Redmart. If there is any promotional activities, or if the customers have not been using the website for long, e-mails can be sent to them to remain in touch and build relationships with customers. As the target market of Redmart seek for benefits like time-saving and convenient, we provides a greater value to the consumers compared with what physical stores offers. Weaknesses Due to the rising cost of land in Singapore, Redmart is challenged by high fixed cost with warehouse rental being its unavoidable expense. Comparing with Honestbee and Happyfresh, Redmart has a longer delivery timeslot. Happyfresh offers timely delivery and allows the goods to be received in an hour. Honestbee allows their customers to receive their goods in an hour as well and they have recently announced that they will improve their delivery to just half an hour. In contrast, Redmart's customers only get to make a reservation for a preferred 2-hour time slot which only last for one hour before checkout. Redmart also has a relatively low exposure compared to Honestbee and Happyfresh. this could be due to the ineffective method of advertising. In the following 'promotion' section, this issue will be further elaborated and appropriate change will be made to the advertising strategy. Opportunities As the political condition in Singapore is stable, it is unlikely that Singapore will have a sudden or drastic change in regulations of e-commerce. Singapore is one of the biggest financial powerhouse in the world [CITE]. The GDP per capita is high compared with other countries. Singaporean's high standard of living causes the growing demand of quality life and quality time with friends and family. This trend of lifestyle in Singapore will be an opportunity to Redmart has the pricing of Redmart is slightly higher than physical grocery stores. Rapid growth in internet users in Singapore has given Redmart the chance to broaden its customer base. [graph] Threats Business costs, including land cost, has been rising in Singapore. Redmart will need to expand its warehouses to other area of Singapore to ensure smooth and timely deliveries island wide. The persistence of high business costs will cause high warehousing price in the future. According to Channel NewsAsia (2016), there is a sharp slow in Singapore's economic growth in the third quarter of 2016. This might lead to a slight reduction of living standard of Singaporean. If so, the purchasing power of Singaporean will be affected and cheaper options to get groceries will be adopted. The return and refund policy of an online grocery store is very different from the traditional return policy of a physical grocery store. Instead of visiting the store again to return the goods and get the money back, online shoppers will have to deliver the good back and wait for the approval of refund. This, to some consumers, is more complicated, time-consuming and risky. Because it takes time to build customer loyalty, the new customers may have fraud concern when using Redmart's service. As a result, consumers might visit a physical store or use other online grocery store with better brand recognition to minimize the possibility of fraud. As an e-commerce business, there will be high entry of new competitors as internet has no barrier to entry. However, the slowdown of economic growth, as previously indicated, will ease the level of competitiveness in economy. Promotion Promotion, or advertising, serves to inform the customer about the product or to transform a clearly identified need into a purchase (Hiebing, Cooper & Wehrenberg, 2012). Apart from the traditional advertising, Redmart will also introduce a 'subscription scheme' as one of its promotion strategy. 1.1 Advertisements 1.1.1 Print Advertising (periodical advertising) Advertisements will not only be posted on newspaper, but also health magazine, as Redmart targets on health-concerned consumers as its customers. Newspaper and health magazines can assist in Redmart's brand awareness as they are released on a regular interval. Promo code for price discount in purchase or QR code to get more information will be added in these ads to capture the readers' interest. 1.1.2 Outdoor advertising Messages of Redmart's promotion can be annunciated through vehicles and bus stops. These outdoor advertising, also known as out-of-home advertising, provides an opportunity for consumers to reach our message when they are outside of the home (Suggett, 2016). Redmart aims to post the ads at the bus stops and on the outside of buses and taxis. Disclosure of ads at these places and vehicles ensure full exposure on the outside: consumers get to reach the message as long as he/she is on the road. For example, if the consumer can notice the ads from the taxis if he/she is on the bus and vice versa. 1.1.3 Digital advertising Currently, Redmart has about 94 thousand 'likes' on Facebook. This means that if Redmart posts a message on its Facebook page, the 94 thousand Facebook users can see it. Thus, Redmart will utilize this free method of promotion by being more active on the page. One (or more) post(s) a day can increase brand recognition and create interaction between consumers/viewers of the post and Redmart. Other than Facebook, Redmart should post the advertisements on YouTube and Instagram as well to boost ads' exposure rate. 1.1.4 Broadcast advertising Redmart will advertise on radio as well to push its marketing effort a little more further. Broadcast advertising allows Redmart to narrow down the target audience (listener) of the message. For instance, Redmart can broadcast on Kiss92 FM, a radio station that targets 30-50-year-old women, with engaging content including health and parenting (Kiss92, 2016). Radio broadcasting is not only cost effective, but also is a mobile medium- consumers can listen to it in his/her own car, taxis, at work, and at play etc. 1.2 Introduction of subscription scheme Apart from promoting products and introducing the benefits of online shopping like other online grocers do, Redmart will promote the 'subscription scheme' as mentioned in differentiation strategy. With the knowledge that the main benefits sought for consumers to buy grocery online is time-saving and convenient, Redmart dedicates to bring its service over the top by promoting the exclusive goods packages and payment method. Goods packages are a variety of goods that can fulfill a certain need of consumer in a period. For instance, Redmart will launch breakfast package that consists of milk, cereal, and bread that is sufficient for a week. Some other packages include baby packages, snack packages, and daily necessities packages. These packages make the purchase easier for consumers as they do not need to choose over a great variety of products. Due to purchasing in bulk, consumers can also get a cheaper price for the packages rather than single products. Redmart will also allow monthly subscription and monthly payment to make it even more convenient for the consumers. These special features could be the unique selling point (USP) of Redmart's service. By satisfying consumers need of saving time, this subscription scheme can gain customer loyalty over time. Redmart is also able to have a better management of stock control. 1.3 Interactions through survey Letting customers sharing their shopping experience helps Redmart to understand company's performance from customer's perspective. Redmart will distribute customer satisfactory surveys to all registered customers every 3 months to ensure the services provided reach customers satisfaction. As a gesture of appreciation, customers who completed the survey will be given certain amount of reward point for their following purchases. Interactions allow Redmart to build relationship with the customers. By valuing customers through interaction and appreciation, customer loyalty can be built as well. 1.4 Budget of advertisements To achieve cost efficiency, Redmart will set a clear financial target on its promotion plan. Due to the low exposure and low brand recognition of Redmart, it will rely heavily on promotion in the first year to gain brand awareness. Thus, the advertising budget is expected to take up 15-20% of the turnover. Physical evidence 2.1 Cleanliness of Delivery Vans The delivery van should be cleaned before the delivery. Redmart's driver will deliver the goods to the buyer's' doorstep. If the buyer gets to see the interior of the vans, cleanliness will be their top concern. Consumers will expect that the goods are stored in a place that is as clean as what they expect in the physical grocery store. If the hygiene of the delivery vans does not reach the expectation of the consumers, they might leave a bad impression of Redmart. Worse yet, Redmart might suffer a loss of customers. 2.2 Appearance of Delivery Vans The exterior of the delivery vans provides an opportunity for advertising. A van wrap consists of a brief introduction of Redmart, website, and eye-catching graphics can be used on Redmart's delivery van. Some advertising slogans underlining the benefits of using Redmart's services should be included in the van wrap as well. Redmart has low exposure compared to its competitors. The advertisements on the van can enhance Redmart's brand awareness. As the van wrap will bring to people's knowledge that the van belongs to Redmart, the driver's behavior will have an effect on Redmart's brand image too. 2.3 Drivers' Attitude Apart from the customers, the majority that will see the vans are other drivers on the road. Thus, it is important to ensure that all Redmart's drivers are well-trained to abide by the traffic regulations before they start working in Redmart. Drivers should be told not to smoke, talk on phone, or speed while driving. Drivers' attitude in term of road courtesy is of paramount importance as no one likes to associate with reckless drivers that are socially irresponsible. Any wrongdoings can easily be observed by other drivers on the road and it can lead to a negative brand image. 2.4 Package of Goods There are 2 types of goods that should be handled with extra care: fragile goods and refrigerated food. Packaging has to be sourced carefully to prevent damage on fragile goods. Use rigid packaging, seal packaging, and usage bubble wrap on different types of fragile goods can effectively prevent damage (Abetta Couriers, 2016). For instance, glass containers like bowls and plates should be bubble-wrapped and stored in a manageable-sized rigid box. Milk bottles, instead of being bubble-wrapped, should be placed in a carton to ensure items do not move about. To prevent growth of bacteria, refrigerated food needs to kept in the freezer at -15 degree Celsius (Apps Laboratories, n.d.). Therefore, a portable battery-operated mini fridge should be placed in the delivery van if there are orders of frozen goods. Place….. Process….. RedMart does not have any physical retail presence, and operates out of a large and modern warehouse in Jurong. Knowing the need to become big for their grocery business to work from the start, Redmart is focusing on optimization to get more out of the assets that they are investing in their supply chain model. Also, Having the right supply chain management mix ensures businesses have the right product, in the right place, at the right time. Redmart manufactures the right products based on their research into consumer needs. It manages the distribution channels to place its products in the online store and focus on cost-effective systems to ensure its prices remain competitive. It works with retailers to improve promotion of its products. Distribution Methods ……. Price Home brand The reality of the online grocery is that the lower price does not always win, because blindly lower the price is not make profit even with enough customers. It is necessary to find a better source or offering more profitable product. For the Redmart, making the home brand product is a good way to solve this kind of situation. To unify some similar products to make their own brand, into a small package which decrease the range of the products. Customers could easily choose the home made product offering by the Redmart because of the higher quality and much cheaper price compared with a wide variety of the branded product. The Home brand products is profitable products which can sell at a lower price to win more customers. Offer Incentives When you know your margins, and price accordingly, then you can offer incentives to motivate your customers to buy (Hayes, 2012). It is not possible to maintain the lower price for a long term, but it is possible to offer bargain price in a limited time to help the online grocery to attract more customers. For the Redmart, it could offer incentives in some special day or time, for example, the customer will get 10% off in their birthday or the Redmart gives 5% off for some specific product in the weekend. Mover over, bundled some products and promote as "buy one get one free" or "buy 3 get one 75% off" that can help to sell some dead stock and also is a kind of incentives to attract customers. Be savvy with the incentives will help to build a reputation for having good deals, without breaking the bank. Loyalty program To establish a loyally program can help online grocery to keep customers coming back. It is necessary for Redmart to establish a membership system to reward those loyalty customers and also maintain the old customers. When customers buy products from the Redmart online shop, they will get points for it, and when they earn enough points, they will get some sort of reward, for example some special goods made by Redmart or either to have a discount for some specific goods. The level of reward is decided by the points that customers earn. Besides, customers also can earn points when they give a referral to their friends. There are three key points that the Redmart needs to be consider: 1. Decide the reward point for. Every week the Redmart will refresh the list of the rewards, for example in the first week, the rewards will be the home brand products provided by Redmart and the second week will be some special branded good in the Redmart. In addition, customer also could directly use the points for redemption of products 2. Decide the point value. When customers use the points for the rewards, every 1000 points valued to ten Singapore dollar, however when customers use the points for redemption, every 100 points valued eight Singapore dollar. 3. How many point should be reward? Whenever customer spend a dollar in the Redmart online grocery, they will earn 10 points and when they referral to their friends, they will earn 50 points. Overall, the reward system is a good retention tool for Redmart, it not only help Redmart to attract the old customer, but also provide a opportunities to acquire new customers. People Employees Employees play an important role in any organization and people are the main resource that organizations have for delivering services. Redmart is an online grocery, the employee's engagement and the personal performance will have a significant influence to the Redmart. For example, the deliveryman will deliver the product to the customers. The performance and attitude they provide to the customer will directly affect the brand image in the eyes of customers. Therefore, employees require appropriate interpersonal skills, aptitude, and service knowledge in order to deliver a quality service. For Redmart, all the deliveryman should be educated on its product, it is necessary to train the deliveryman to be familiar with the product that they delivered, like the price, date of manufacture and even some matters need attention for special goods.The delivery man also need trained to be on time, once customer place an order, employees needs to be delivery on time no matter what happen. Having the right people and get their staff trained in interpersonal skills is essential because they are as much a part in the business and influence the customer satisfaction. It helps Redmart provides a better service to the customer and establish a brand image. Customer service The online shopping is one of the way cut cost for both customer and company, accompanied by physical distance between the buys and seller adds risks to the customer's plate, because customer is unable to see the physical products and unable to examine the product so that the customer service become very important during the process when the customer orders the product, makes the payment, receives their shipment and even returns or disposes of the product. There are some ways for Redmart to improve its Customers service in order to provide better service toward customer. The first is listen on the social media, most customers are craving human interaction and they are basing their buying decisions that companies care about their customers, and the Redmart also could have feedback from the social media and improve themselves. The Second is create a support center for customers. When customer have any problems they could go to the website before calling or emailing. The support center is for customers to self-serve. Lastly, provide a 24-hours online chat to customer in case of any problem that customers needs to help immediately. Product Strategy: narrow down product extension lines, introduce home brands to create higher margins and introduce the "subscription scheme" (helps accountant reach secure cashflow) Futre: B2B Venture/businesses Product 10.1.1 Narrow product lines Given that Redmart is still in its early stages of growth in the Product life cycle, its main focus should be on creating brand awareness and stimulating brand switchers to choose Redmart through lower prices. By having an extensive product line, Redmart is cannibalizing sales as resources may be disproportionately siphoned off for slower-moving products. Moreover, the cost of developing and selling so many products is very high. (Source) By having a large product line, consumers will be taking so much time in looking into the web page without finding the right ones they need. For example, items that are generic such as mineral water, dishwashing liquids, etc need not be represented by many different brands. By doing so, the time taken by a consumer in choosing what they need is lesser, expediting the whole buying process. Moreover, the warehouse would not have many different products that must be placed in shelves, maximising its space and lessening the "picking and packing" time. Lastly, given a narrower product line, Redmart is able to purchase products from a company in bulks, allowing them to take advantage of the economies of scale. This allows them to price their offerings at a competitive pricing. https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/71094 10.1.2 More home brands Another strategy that Redmart can implement alongside narrowing the number of brands is creating more products under its house brand. (Source) found that market penetration for toiletries, personal care, alcohol and pure commodity products are much easier for house brands. By providing more products under the house brand, Redmart is able to have control over product factors such as pricing, size, package design, production and distribution. This allows Redmart to make quick adjustments to products based on consumers' changing preferences while providing additional dimensions on which it can compete. However, the most significant advantage of adding more products in the house brand is the ability of pricing the products competitively due to cheaper overall costs of producing and marketing of the products. During economic downturns, consumers increasingly turn to money-saving strategies like increasing private label brands to manage budgets. Therefore, this is an important strategy to consider. http://www.centromarca.pt/folder/conteudo/632_Oxera%20report%20on%20retailer%20own%20brands.pdf http://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-private-label-branding-20163.html 10.1.3 Introduction of a subscription scheme Since housing, health and food costs constitute consumers' largest cash outlays, customers are getting ever more frugal. By introducing a subscription scheme, both Redmart and the consumers can benefit. Consumers The autopilot simplicity of subscriptions removes the thinking out of a purchase decision. Subscribers never have to remember to reorder every month, which removes the hassle of placing an order. Additionally, due to the flat rate offering, customers stay within their general monthly budget. Lastly, subscriptions usually bring added value to the customer through bundling or getting it all for the price of one. Redmart The value of a subscription is the ability to predict revenue (revenue forecasting) through recurring sales, as recurring revenue is one of the most compelling factors in a company valuation. Consistency in revenue can also allow Redmart to easily calculate the lifetime value of a customer, manage inventory, offer simple pricing, offer flexibility, create stronger relationships with customers and ease the process for consumers completely. https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/243573 https://blog.hubspot.com/ecommerce/subscription-ecommerce-recurring-revenue-advantages ----- 1.0 Introduction The advent of technology has brought changes in more ways than one. Gone were the days when grocery shopping meant leaving home despite a tight schedule. Through online grocers, shopping has been made efficient, hassle free and affordable. The purpose of this proposal is to focus on an intended research on Redmart.com (hereafter, Redmart) and examine its potential and setbacks. It is an aid to gain constructive feedback prior to the report to follow. Embodying this report is… Goals: -more extensive promotion in Singapore -rewards system (gamification, membership) -time slots (more competitive delivery times) -payment methods (monthly payments, direct payments, installment methods) - expansion of products: look into what it lacks -looking into tapping into physical stores (eg: ntuc, etc) 3. Company/Organisation and micro-environment 2.0 About Redmart With the mission of saving time and money spent by consumers on groceries and household essentials so that the consumers can focus on the 'more important things in life', Roger Egan III, Vikram Rupani and Rajesh Lingappa incepted Redmart in March 2011. The mission turned into a reality when well respected investors and advisors, such as: Garena, Toivo Annus (Skype Co-founder), Eduardo Saverin (Facebook Co-founder), Jason Ackerman (CEO of FreshDirect), Visionnaire Ventures and SoftBank Ventures backed their idea. With over 40 000 products in stock, the leading online grocer has grown rapidly. Products are offered with the most competitive prices, accompanied by regular sales and promotions. With a state-of-the-art website and mobile application, placing orders are made as easy as possible. Its vision is to become the world's most customer centric e-commerce/logistics platform. An efficient fulfilment process and world-class infrastructure is one of the keys to achieving this vision. Using latest warehouse and delivery technologies, Redmart entices its consumers with same-day or next-day throughout Singapore, promising the highest level of efficiency. To invest time and energy into maximizing the customer experience, RedMart had hired a management team that equipped with the set of expertise and knowledge in the e-commerce field. The company's management team would be willing to go out on a limb and be creative in upgrading its product offering. RedMart subsequently deployed Manhattan SCALE on Amazon Web Services(AWS) as well as working intimately with the Manhattan group to advance performance, increased visibility key to success. The deployment of Manhattan SCALE furnishes RedMart with the profile of what items are accessible to be purchased progressively, where the stock is located and being able to track and monitor all physical tasks attempted in the warehouse. By operating the supply chain in-house, RedMart guarantees to satisfy consumers by delivering complete orders. So far, the company has raised US$55.1m from 19 investors, including gaming unicorn Garena, SoftBank Ventures Korea, Visionnaire Ventures, and Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin. RedMart's positioning is that of a technology organization involved in retailing, instead of a retailer that utilises innovation to help with its service processes. With the attitude that innovation is the core business of the company, it has turned into RedMart's biggest competitive advantage in its logistics and "last-mile delivery" infrastructure (Yeo, 2014). The economic growth and development in Singapore have accelerated the urbanization and modernization of shopping for groceries. Retail formats together with the way buyers shop from traditional wet markets to modern grocery retailing has been changed. 4. Product/Service Analysis - Josie and Chen Yang » Description of product, determination of product's position in the life cycle and ways of strengthening product position. At this growth phase, the Redmart needs tend to focus on the expanding it's market and have more extensive promotion in Singapore, usually through different mix of marketing activities in order to maximize the lifetime profitability and become more competitiveness in the marketplace. Some examples for Redmart to strengthening its product position like the Redmart could expending the its product category to provide more options for customer, not confined to only the food and living goods so that it could helps Redmart to increase the overall amount of profit. Moreover, in order to maximize the potential of this growth stage, the Redmart could put more time on the promotional activity like have a rewards system, give discount to the memberships customers to keep and also attract customers at same time. Lastly, the Redmart could turned to the blueshift to have more effective lifecycle marketing by using email or mobile to push notifications. 3.0 Product analysis: Redmart's main product is essentially the service it provides, more than the product it sells. It has captured a lot of media attention in Singapore through its immense focus on delivering the best customer service possible. Although it only sells groceries, Redmart positions itself as a technology company focused on retail. Much like the vastly known e-commerce sensation, Amazon, Redmart provides best-in-class operations and an efficient logistics network. Some of its current features include: Free and same day delivery, nominated delivery slots, mobile application, "my list" feature and analytics. Customers can buy groceries and household products, both fresh and frozen, personal care, health and wellness, baby and pet products. Delivery costs $7, but if one spends more than $75, then delivery is free. It is accessible via Redmart.com, iOs and android applications. As a pureplay online retailer, Redmart's only physical customer touchpoint is on delivery of orders. Consequently, it puts huge emphasis on getting fulfilment right and ensuring its customers always have a great experience. Shoppers can nominate a two-hour delivery slot between 10am and 10pm seven days a week. Another asset that Redmart prides for is its customer analytics. It creates highly targeted, relevant offers by combining demographic information with on-site and purchase behaviour data. Source: https://econsultancy.com/blog/65987-what-can-online-grocery-retailers-learn-from-singapore-s-redmart/ 3.1 Product Life Cycle Currently, Redmart is in between the introduction and growth stage of the product life cycle. Although rapid revenue growth was steadily evident in its inaugural years, a steep slowdown was sighted recently. This marks the need for further development and growth, and to further investigate the Singaporean market. (insert pictures) 3.2 Competitors Among the many emerging online grocery shopping sites, Redmart is facing competition from Honestbee, Happyfresh, Purelfresh and Gofresh, with Honestbee being its strongest competitor. 5. Target Market - Jane » Identify and describe market segment(s) that have the desire, buying power and willingness to purchase the product. Draw from the following areas: demographic, geographic, psychographic and behavioural variables. Demographic Age Around 25-40 Gender Female Marital Status Married Family size 3 or more Occupation Professionals, white collar Income Level Middle to high Geographic Region Singapore Distance Far from grocery store Psychographic Interest and opinions Communal living, concerned with health Activities Work, heavy computer usage Lifestyle Busy Behavioral Benefit sought Time-saving Usage rate Once a week Loyalty Hard core loyals Motivation Utilitarian Due to the small area size of Singapore, geographic flexibility is not a limiting factor for Redmart. The potential customers are located all over Singapore as delivery service provided is island wide. Nonetheless, it is expected that grocery stores are not very accessible for the targeted market. Millennials make up the largest working populations in Singapore (Lim, 2016). Working mothers aged between 25-40 are targeted as Redmart's potential customers. As white collars, the targeted market will have heavy technology use. This cohort is trying to maintain a balance between work, life, and raising kids (Tai, Ab Razak, 2016). Time constraint has then becoming an issue. Health is the top concern for Singaporean parents ("Concerned Parents", 2013). Thus, the targeted market will opt for home-cooking instead of eating out. The targeted cohort is looking for timesaving service. With hardcore loyalty, they are expected to utilize Redmart's service once a week. 6. Timeframe: Gantt Chart - Chen Yang » Using free online software construct a Gantt chart that details the steps involved in developing the final marketing plan report and when and how long each activity in the process will take. Conclusion Basic summary of the key points and deliverables; keep to plan and deliver on time and within budget. It is highly recommended that individual members include their signatures at the end of this section to indicate that there is an agreement among all members that they will do their best to complete the project as planned in the research proposal References *ignore this part: ● If the market is very attractive but your enterprise is one of the weaker ones in the industry you must concentrate on strengthening the enterprise, using your offering as a stepping stone toward this objective. Marketing Objectives • Develop brand awareness through a steady, month to month increase of new customers. • Develop an increase in sales while achieving a status quo state or decrease in marketing expenses. • Develop awareness of the structured conversation system measured by customers coming to the Grog Shop solely for meeting people. Financial Objectives • A double digit growth rate for each future year. • Reduce the variable costs through efficiency gains. Reach profitability within the first year. The marketing strategy will seek to first create customer awareness regarding their services offered, develop that customer base, and work toward building customer loyalty and referrals. Another method will be through establishing strategic relationships with companies that have similar demographics such as the Multnomah Athletic Club. Establishing a mutually beneficial relationship will allow both organizations to develop visibility for each other. If the market is very attractive but your enterprise is one of the weaker ones in the industry you must concentrate on strengthening the enterprise, using your offering as a stepping stone toward this objective. Objectives should always be SMART: • Specific - for example, you might set an objective of getting ten new customers. • Measurable - whatever your objective is, you need to be able to check whether you have reached it or not when you review your plan. • Achievable - you must have the resources you need to achieve the objective. The key resources are usually people and money. • Realistic - targets should stretch you, not demotivate you because they are unreasonable and seem to be out of reach. Time-bound - you should set a deadline for achieving the objective. For example, you might aim to get ten new customers within the next 12 months. • References: Concerned Parents? Keeping their children healthy and teaching life values of top most concerns among Asian parents [Press release]. (2013). Ipsos Singapore Pte Ltd. Lim, L. 2016. Millennials in the workforce: How to deal. Retrieved from http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/millennials-in-the/2938086.html Manhattan Associates. Retrieved from http://www.manh.com/sites/default/files/sys/en/document/manh-redmart-case-study-en.pdf SUPPLYCHAINASIA. (2016). Retrived from http://supplychainasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/SCAmag-marapr16.pdf Tai, J., Ab Razak, M. 2013. Striving to balance work, life and raising kids. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/striving-to-balance-work-life-and-raising-kids