Marketing Strategy-Planters Nuts Case
Marketing Strategy-Planters Nuts Case
Is the current positioning and targeting appropriate or should it be modified??
Planters’ current positioning and targeting should be modified to widen appeal and market reach. Planters solely positions itself as naturally aggressive, a position that primarily appeals to health-conscious consumers. However, the declining market share of Planters indicates the need to redefine its market positioning to widen the consumption of its nuts for broader reasons besides health concerns. The consumer data gathered by Magnesen and Marks, senior members of the management, shows the extensive positioning opportunities Planters can leverage. One of the consumer comments portrays nuts as good for serving guests (Dolan & Ngwe, 2017). This means Planters can expand the positioning of its nuts along with entertainment. Further, compared to other nut sellers such as Emerald and Store Brand, who, for instance, sell their peanuts for below $3.17 compared to Planters' $3.69, Planters is a premium seller (Dolan & Ngwe, 2017). From the consumer data, several consumers prefer generic brands because of their lower cost and shy away from Planters due to their premium price (Dolan & Ngwe, 2017). In this case, Planters can pursue a brand extension to include cheaper nuts and achieve competitive pricing in the market. Widening positioning will help Planters adapt to changing consumer perspectives and behavior in nuts consumption, and subsequently enhance market appeal. On the other hand, widening positioning ultimately widens targeting (Abratt & Bendixen, 2018). Diverse positioning taps into larger consumer segments such as mass-market for competitive pricing. Planters’ least exploited positionings and targeting underline the opportunities foregone in market expansion, hence the need for modification.?
Should the company refocus on the ‘leaky bucket’ of peanuts, cashews, and mixed nuts or attempt to grow its share in the fast-growing almond and pistachio categories?
The challenge that Planters faces, in this case, is the balance of priority between exploiting growing market segments and correcting weakening traditional market segments. However, both of these priorities are important given that businesses have to align with consumer dynamics while at the same time ensuring sustainability. Adaptation is a crucial aspect of business sustainability, similar to the financial aspect as far as margins are concerned (Abratt & Bendixen, 2018). The financial margin points out the varying margins between Planters' traditional product line involving peanuts, cashews, and mixed nuts and the growing segment encompassing almond and pistachio nuts. The traditional segment taps greater margins (Dolan & Ngwe, 2017). It is also important to note that the traditional segment has reflected a signature product line and a cash cow for the company for a long time. On the other hand, Wonderful, a competitor to Planters and a dominant seller of pistachios, was the primary driver of $1 billion in nut category growth over the previous five years since 2012 (Dolan & Ngwe, 2017). This shows the intricacies of the challenge of choosing between the two priorities. Such being the case, the two priorities are equally vital, and therefore, Planters must find ways to balance them effectively well, knowing that they are both crucial for sustainability.
How should planters communicate with customers in a competitive product category with levels of competitive spending?
First, in a competitive product category, the unique values of the product should be communicated to enable the consumer to differentiate it from the rest. Planters is in the nuts industry, where the key product value sold to consumers is healthy snack consumption (Dolan & Ngwe, 2017). To set itself ahead of its competitors, Planters should look for other unique product positionings, such as competitive pricing or entertainment snacks, to add value to its product in a competitive market. Secondly, in an environment of high levels of competitive spending coupled with the need to cut down marketing costs, Planters should exploit cost-effective and communication-effective marketing strategies. For instance, social media strategies have proven to meet this threshold as the modern consumer market largely embraces the social media world (Dolan & Ngwe, 2017). it is also vital to modernize promotion to meet modern appeals, which means edging out Mr. Peanut. Differentiation captures consumer attention, while an effective marketing strategy ensures effective communication.
References
Abratt, R., & Bendixen, M. (2018).?Strategic marketing: Concepts and cases. Routledge.
Dolan, R., & Ngwe, D. (2017). Planters Nuts.?Harvard Business School.
