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Introduction

Dunkin Donuts is an American global company suggesting donuts and coffee. The company is more than 50 years old; therefore, it has already its customers, consuming culture, and a long-term vision. Its philosophy is serving fresh coffee and delicious donuts quickly on the everyday basis. Dunkin Donuts operates in more than 60 countries all over the world and has approximately 20 thousand distribution points (Falamarzi, Alfadhel, & Shaju, 2016). The brand is one of the most competitive in the world coffee market and has a strong customer loyalty. The company is still using the original coffee blend receipts that were established by its founder. It has a multi-segment strategy that is allowing it to be one of the coffee market leaders. The main threat on the way of the prosperity is an ecologically friendliness trends in society that make its customers steer away from donuts as well as other products. All these factors affect the company’s consumer behavior and influence its market targeting and positioning. Thus, Dunkin Donuts Coffee should follow the existing multi-segment target market strategy and its positioning of affordable coffee for a reasonable price, as its consumer behavior is defined by social and cultural environmental factors as well as personal and psychological ones that influence low-involvement consumer decision-making process.

Consumer Behavior

Environmental Factors

Two most important environmental factors relevant to the customers of Dunkin Donuts Coffee are culture and society. Cultural factors define a customer behavior from the prospective of cultural patterns of living (Khaniwale, 2015). The world’s culture of getting quality coffee for a reasonable price with an opportunity to buy it everywhere, such as near the office, on the street, on a petrol station, is on the raise. However, Dunkin Donuts Coffee culture goes alongside with the Western fast food culture, which in not always appropriate in Asian market where the brand has not so strong positions so far (Falamarzi et al., 2016). Social factors mirror the roles that a potential consumer plays in society, their status, as well as affiliations with groups. Hence, the most important components of this part are reference groups, family, and social status. The market polls disclose that people with the higher social and educational status, such as doctorates as well as those who obtained the professional, masters, or bachelor degrees, prefer coffee brands that suggest comfortable coffee houses, ecological packaging, and a perfect quality (Hansen & Klokholm, 2015). Thus, Dunkin Donuts Coffee consumer behavior is defined by social and cultural environmental factors.

Consumer Factors

The most powerful consumer factors of buying Dunkin Donuts Coffee are personal and psychological one that include age, income of coffee consumers, as well as their perception of the product (Khaniwale, 2015). Thus, a largest part of Dunkin Donuts Coffee consumers belongs to those who look for reasonable price and accessibility of the product as well as often omit other factors, such as healthiness or environmental friendliness. The choice of the brand belongs to low- and medium income buyers who are not ready to pay for some additional services, such as cozy coffee houses or special services. Perception in this particular case means that many of those who used to buy lunches at Dunkin Donuts for years would definitely buy its coffee and other potential products, thus boosting the brand and believing in its mission. Thus, the consumer factor includes aspects that promote better understanding of Dunkin Donuts Coffee consumer behavior.

Role of Involvement in Consumer Decision

Consumer involvement is a state of mind motivating the customers to consume the products, and it has a great influence on buying decisions. The consuming decision in favor of Dunkin Donuts brand could be explained by a low consumer involvement. Hence, the consumers make their habitual decision to buy that coffee on the regular basis by knowing what product they need to purchase (Ling, D’Alessandro, & Winzar, 2015). By choosing the brand, its buyers save their time on unnecessary researches of the products (Lautianen, 2015). The people just trust a brand and make their decisions in favor of it. There are several types of involvement that are appropriate for Dunkin Donuts Coffee brand. First, it includes a product involvement that displays a consumer’s level of interest in a coffee. Second, there is a presented advertising involvement, which concerns the interest in advertisement messages. Third, there could be a purchase situation involvement that may occur while buying Dunkin Donuts Coffee together with others or in order to support someone. Among others, the income and product perception behavioral factors are the most consistent with low level of involvement, as the purchases are made automatically, according to the financial possibilities of every single customer.

Consumer Decision-Making Process

Buying coffee is an automatically and routinely process that does not demands any special investigations. Therefore, it is categorized by the habitual decision-making (Lautainen, 2015). According to a research, among several reasons why people drink coffee, habit is considered to be the most common one (Lautainen, 2016). Maintaining that fact that Dunkin Donuts is a well-known brand, the habit to drink the coffee may be given from the family members or friends. Dunkin Donuts possesses a strong advertisement campaign; thus, its consumers are benefited with accessibility of information regarding the coffee brand, which influences decision-making process (Hansen & Klokholm, 2015). Thus, Dunkin Donuts Coffee has good visible advantages over other coffee brands, such as its advertizing and being always in demand, which is crucial for customers’ decision-making process.

Market Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning

Segmentation

The three main distinct market segments for Dunkin Donuts Coffee belong to geographic, psychographic, and behavioral ones (Larsen, 2010). The geographic segment is defined by the land and region. It is significant for Dunkin Donuts Coffee, as its purchasing behavior is often defined by the place of living or working. Moreover, it also mirrors the cultural peculiarities, rites, and custom of the particular region. The spreading of the brand meets with the difficulties that are bound with the fast food culture.

The psychographic variable of segmentation allows to provide additional information of geographic and behavioral market segments and makes clear the behavior of present and future target markets. It also involves a social status, lifestyle type, and personal type of consumers. Both personality and lifestyle profiles define a psychographic segmentation. It means that people with an active lifestyle and forming personality are more likely to chose Dunkin Donuts Coffee.

Behavioral segmentation reflects a customer’s attitude towards a product (Larsen, 2010). The most significant behavioral variables in case of Dunkin Donuts Coffee brand are the user rate (relates to customers according to the amount of product usage), buyer-readiness stage (people’s awareness and interest in the brand and its products), and the loyalty status (refers to the customers who are always loyal to Dunkin Donuts). Thus, the market segmentation makes it possible to define the target market.

Target Market

Behavioral segmentation is considered to be the most profitable in case of Dunkin Donuts Coffee. It may represent the best growth for the company due to following reasons. First, consumers that could be related to this segment are similar in the way of interesting in drinking coffee as well as their brand loyalty status (Larsen, 2010). In other words, the segmentation variable is homogenous. On the other hand, the variable is heterogeneous, as the consumers of Dunkin Donuts have a need for coffee that is unique in comparison to others variables. The behavioral market segment of Dunkin Donuts Coffee is reachable and communicative for its customers as well those who choose coffee of this brand pay attention on brand’s advertising and online activity (Larsen, 2010). The brand may also respond to a distinct marketing mix and adopt to new market terms. Having the target marked defined, the target market strategy may be formulated.

Target Market Strategy

Dunkin Donuts Coffee brand should continue to pursue the new and the existing target market as well as other market segments following the multi segment marketing. Following factors should be taken into consideration before deciding which segment to be targeted. The main of them are existing market homogeneity (Larsen, 2010). The nature of competitive environment is defined by the existence of Dunkin Donuts Coffee main marketing concurrent. Apart from that, there should be taken into consideration the customer needs as well as company resources. Eventually, Dunkin Donuts Coffee market strategy is comprehensive and oriented on the wide range of consumers by proposing the mainstream beverage as well as unique products.

Positioning

Dunkin Donuts Coffee positioning sound like “Coffee for an average Joe” (Dunkin’ Brands, 2014). It means the variety of coffee flavors for reasonable price. However, in order to define the company positioning in comparison with other brands, a perpetual map should be drawn. First of all, the determined attributes of Dunkin Donuts Coffee should be defined, which is a high-quality Arabica, as well as its reasonable price. It is the main criteria of choosing this product among others. The next step is defining the main competitors of Dunkin Donuts Coffee, which are Starbucks, McDonald’s, 7Eleven, and Caribou. Such information is necessary for coffee market perpetual map creating. The perpetual map shows a place of Dunkin Donuts Coffee in the coffee market and its positioning the main competitors (see figure 1). Thus, the positioning of the brand is a good quality coffee for a reasonable price.

Coffee Market Perpetual Mapping.

( High Quality Low Quality High Price Low Price Starbucks Dunkin Donut’s Caribou 7Eleven McDonald’s )

Figure 1. Coffee market perpetual map creating

Conclusion

In conclusion, Dunkin Donuts Coffee successfully follows its existing multi-segment target market strategy. Its positioning is defined as an affordable coffee for a reasonable price. Dunkin Donuts Coffee consumer behavior is defined by social and cultural environmental factors as well as personal and psychological ones that influence low-involvement consumer decision-making process. The most powerful environmental factor of consumer behavior is cultural one that goes alongside with the world culture of coffee consuming. Customer factors of consumer behavior are defined with age, income, as well as perception of the product. The consumer decision-making process is run by a low-involvement of customers, as buying coffee is a habitual action. Moreover, there is a big role of customer loyalty to the product. The main distinct market segments are geographic, psychographic, and behavioral segmentation. The behavioral segment defines the target market and its strategy as well as displays the positioning of the product.