Marketing Week 1 Case Assignment
Week 1: Case Assignment Case Study: Girl Scout Cookies
Questions: 1) Can you identify examples of decisions about each part of the marketing mix (product, place, promotion, and pricing) that are being made in the cookie program? The Product is Girl Scout cookies as well as the Girl Scouts themselves. Since 1912 Cookie sales have played a major role in supporting the Girl Scouts organization at the council and troop levels. Being able to target certain people can be tricky sometimes specially if you don’t know what you’re doing or what your target is. You have to be able to sell yourself as well as the product and who better to sell Girl Scout cookies then young girls. The Girl Scouts mainly target the middle and upper class families with kids in the same age group as the girls in the Girl Scout organization. Cookie sales have grown into a major money marketing operation, bringing in over $714 million a year. However, cookie sales have declined one percent each year for the past six years. The Girl Scouts have made several changes to the program that they hope will help spark sales and create cost saving opportunities. The Girl Scout troops will be selling cookie boxes for four dollars apiece, up from the $3.50 price mandated in 2006. The Girl Scouts will also be asking certain troops to reduce their cookie lineups to six varieties.
2) How well do you think the Girl Scouts succeed in relationship marketing? Examine the different factors on which relationship marketing depends. The top six selling cookies that the Girl Scouts sell are Thin Mints, Do-Si-Dos, Trefoils, Samoa’s, Lemon Chalet Crèmes, and, Tagalongs account for about 77 percent of cookie sales, and many attempts to create cookies geared toward specific markets have not fared well in the recent years. The Dulce de leche cookies, based on classic Latin America treats were design to appeal to Hispanic markets as part of the Girl Scouts broader diversity initiatives. However, sales figures did
Questions: 1) Can you identify examples of decisions about each part of the marketing mix (product, place, promotion, and pricing) that are being made in the cookie program? The Product is Girl Scout cookies as well as the Girl Scouts themselves. Since 1912 Cookie sales have played a major role in supporting the Girl Scouts organization at the council and troop levels. Being able to target certain people can be tricky sometimes specially if you don’t know what you’re doing or what your target is. You have to be able to sell yourself as well as the product and who better to sell Girl Scout cookies then young girls. The Girl Scouts mainly target the middle and upper class families with kids in the same age group as the girls in the Girl Scout organization. Cookie sales have grown into a major money marketing operation, bringing in over $714 million a year. However, cookie sales have declined one percent each year for the past six years. The Girl Scouts have made several changes to the program that they hope will help spark sales and create cost saving opportunities. The Girl Scout troops will be selling cookie boxes for four dollars apiece, up from the $3.50 price mandated in 2006. The Girl Scouts will also be asking certain troops to reduce their cookie lineups to six varieties.
2) How well do you think the Girl Scouts succeed in relationship marketing? Examine the different factors on which relationship marketing depends. The top six selling cookies that the Girl Scouts sell are Thin Mints, Do-Si-Dos, Trefoils, Samoa’s, Lemon Chalet Crèmes, and, Tagalongs account for about 77 percent of cookie sales, and many attempts to create cookies geared toward specific markets have not fared well in the recent years. The Dulce de leche cookies, based on classic Latin America treats were design to appeal to Hispanic markets as part of the Girl Scouts broader diversity initiatives. However, sales figures did