Analysis of the Marketing Strategies of Selected Pandemic-Emerged Coffee Shops in Quezon City

Date

5-2024

Degree

Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness Management

College

College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Adviser/Committee Chair

Jennica Amielle M. Mora

Committee Member

Renen Szilardo C. De Guzman, Eliza C. Aquino, Melodee Marciana E. De Castro

Restrictions

Restricted: Not available to the general public and to those bound by the confidentiality agreement. Access is available only after consultation with author/thesis adviser.

Abstract

Coffee landscapes are continuously evolving, which allowed for the café culture to grow in the Philippines. Its growth is continuously thriving, evidenced by the growing number of coffee production, consumption, and various coffee shops in different areas. With this comes the consumers’ heightened appreciation in the commodity’s value chain, and the continuous shift in their coffee consumption patterns and preferences. With the Department of Agriculture’s forecast of a continuous increase in the number of coffee shops in the next few years, this poses a challenge for current and aspiring coffee shop owners to continuously differentiate themselves from their competitors. This study analyzed the current marketing strategies of these coffee shops, provided insights on their best practices, and gave recommendations that would further improve their marketing strategies.

This qualitative descriptive research focused on pandemic-emerged coffee shops from Quezon City, as it houses the largest number of modern coffee shops in Metro Manila. Descriptive analysis was used in determining common patterns in the marketing strategies of respondents from nine (9) pandemic-emerged coffee shops in the area (De Leon, 2021). Insights and information to be gathered from this study would be beneficial to new and aspiring coffee shop owners, coffee shop mentors, marketing professionals, and future researchers.

Coffee brands often target students and working professionals because these groups tend to develop regular coffee-drinking habits. These target groups can be further divided into coffee enthusiasts, who simply enjoy coffee, and coffee connoisseurs, who are more particular about the flavor and brewing methods. Coffee consumers have diverse needs. Some prioritize finding a go-to drink for their daily routine, while others view coffee shops as a destination for a special treat, typically enjoyed once a week. After identifying these customer segments, brands determine which ones to target. The study reveals that a majority of respondents still favor a full-market coverage strategy. This means they design their products to appeal to the general public's taste preferences. Each brand would then decide on their positioning and differentiation strategy. Brands position themselves based on their drinks' quality compared to price, benefits offered, or what competitors provide. In terms of differentiation, brands tend to differentiate through their products, experiences, relationships, and image. Among these strategies, brand mainly differentiate themselves through the quality and variety of their product offerings.

When it come to the product, the respondents provide value based on emotional and functional aspects. This means that they aim to serve products that are of good quality, they strive to build connections with their customers, and they offer a variety of products that would appeal to a customer's sense of taste and smell. When deciding what to sell, businesses prioritize three factors: understanding customer preferences, the quality of raw materials, and current market trends.

As for the price, brands mainly offer a premium or value product. Those who price premium target those who treat coffee as a reward, while those who offer a value product targets people who drink coffee on a daily basis. Located in high-traffic areas, these brands ensure their physical design and social media visuals seamlessly reflect their brand identity.

Effective promotion strategies include social media marketing, content marketing, community building, and word of mouth marketing, while ineffectiveness was observed in traditional marketing efforts, and regularly running social media ads. In terms of relationship management, the brands are able to connect to their customers through initiating conversations, showing respect amidst customer complaints, and allowing personalization. As for their partners, they are able to maintain a good relationship by building relationships with them and following agreements.

A main challenge encountered by the brands includes staying c' consistent on social media. This is because they would rather focus on the brands daily operations, despite recognizing the importance of social media marketing. Most of these brands do not encounter a challenge when it come to operations and human resources, since they have already fine-tuned a workflow that would fir their operations. As for the finances, the inconsistency of sales is considered a challenge, given that there are non-peak seasons for the brand.

Despite the challenges, these brands achieve success in unique ways. Unlike traditional businesses prioritizing rapid expansion, many choose to prioritize serving their communities or elevating the quality of their coffee. Factors that contribute to their success include ensuring a good quality cup of coffee and developing a tight knit community for the brand. The Department of Agriculture's (DA) prediction of a growing Philippine coffee shop market in 2020 is expected to be accompanied by a rise in independent coffee shops. These smaller, local businesses prioritize high-quality coffee and fostering a sense of community, differentiating themselves from larger chains focused on rapid expansion.

From these results, recommendations were provided for aspiring and new coffee shop owners, the respondents of the study, and for future researchers who would like to replicate the study. For aspiring and new coffee shop owners, it is recommended to determine whether they want to grow through expansion, or they would rather focus on coffee or a community. Brands who want to focus on rapid growth are recommended to create quality coffee that would suit the taste of the general public. Brands who want to focus on enhancing the coffee experience and on the community should be aware and adaptive of the community's changing needs, and of coffee's new innovations. Individual recommendations were given to the respondents of the study which include hiring a social media manager, increasing product accessibility, promoting filter coffee, among others. As for further studies, it is recommended to compare the strategies of emerging types of coffee shops from various places in the country, and to have an in-depth study of brands' coffee quality measures.

Language

English

LC Subject

Coffee industry--Management, Marketing—Decision making, Pandemics

Location

UPLB College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Call Number

LG 993 2024 M17 G66

Document Type

Thesis

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