Dunkin donuts strengths and weaknesses

Unit 3 Assignment Part 2 Instructions:

You are a marketing consultant to Tim’s Coffee Shoppe. A way for Tim’s Coffee Shoppe to determine the advantages (or weaknesses) Tim’s has as compared to their competitors’ is through doing a Competitive Profile Matrix (CPM). When you identify Tim’s key success factors, you can weigh them according to the strength/weakness compared to the competitors.

Checklist:

Additional Resource: The U.S. Small Business Administration website.

Unit 3 Assignment: Competitive Advantage

· Optional Step1: Do a partial SWOT analysis by concentrating on the internal strengths and weaknesses at Tim’s (based on your practice in the Learning Activity in this unit) versus what would be Tim’s competition if Tim’s was located in your nearest town.

· Step 2: You are a marketing consultant to Tim’s Coffee Shoppe. A way for Tim’s Coffee Shoppe to determine the advantages (or weaknesses) Tim’s has as compared to their competitors is through doing a Competitive Profile Matrix (CPM). When you identify Tim’s key success factors, you can weigh them according to the strength/weakness as compared to the competitors. You can set any weight you wish, but a simple one is provided.

See the Competitive Profile Matrix below:

1 – Major weakness- The Quality of Tim’s Coffee Shop’s product has been rated as just being okay. The Quality of the product needs to improve in order to have a chance competing against the competition.

2 – Minor weakness- The current profitability of Tim’s Coffee Shop is not yet high. They are not behind and they are not just breaking even. They still have a little extra money from profits after paying bills, but this shall increase as they improve the quality of their product and gain more recognition.

3 – Minor strength- Tim’s Coffee shop is a Sole proprietorship, so if he ends up not making much money, he won’t have to worry about paying a huge amount of taxes and other corporations like the competition does.

4 – Major strength- Tim’s Coffee Shop is in a small town, but it is in a great location. Its close to college campuses and on the public transportation routes.

Factor

Tim’s Coffee Shoppe

Starbucks

Dunkin Donuts

Score

Comments

Score

Comments

Score

Comments

Quality

2

Products have been rated as average

4

Rated as Top of the line Coffee

3

Rated as great coffee

Location

3

Good location, on bus routes and close to college campuses

4

Many different locations, in malls, airports, everywhere

3

Average amounts of locations, mostly in shopping plazas.

Brand Recognition

1

Not yet a popular company

4

An extremely popular brand seen every where

3

Popular brand, well known but not #1

Profitability

2

Average amount of customers but profits are made.

4

Extremely profitable

3

Profitable

Product

3

Products have been rated average but customers still enjoy

4

Top-notch Products

3

Above average products.

Staff

4

Friendly customers

4

Friendly customers

4

Friendly customers.

Total

Now using competitors researched on the Internet or in your local area, create a CPM for Tim.

Other factors you may wish to consider include:

Price

Selection

Service

Reliability

Expertise

Company Reputation

Social Responsibility

Appearance

Credit Policies

Advertising

Key success factors can be identified for the business. They can include things such as the quality, location, brand recognition, profitability, product, the staff, etc. In the matrix, you will list these factors and rate the strength of each one in Tim’s business as well as his primary competitors. See the example below. Each coffee shop was ranked first, second or third in each of the factors that may or may not affect their competitive advantage.

You can examine the data in several ways. While the total score for Tim’s business maybe is higher than his major competitors, Tim’s may have a lower score in another area which means they are not as competitive in those areas. Some of these areas might allow their competitors to create advantages and their customers or potential customers may choose their competitor over Tim’s business. For example, if their products are closely rated but their competitor has a higher score on staff friendliness, might their customers start frequenting their competitor’s business? What would you recommend to increase Tim’s score in this area?

For this Assignment, spend some time looking around Tim’s Coffee Shoppe. Look either online or visit two competitors in your area that Tim may compete against and familiarize yourself with their business. You may even be a frequent customer of a coffee shop and already be aware of how you might rate their strengths against Tim’s. Additional Resource: The U.S. Small Business Administration website.

In addition to the completed Competitive Profile Matrix, summarize your findings and the implications and recommendations to Tim in a minimum of a one page summary. Additionally add a title page and a reference page.