Bangkok--3 Feb--ARC Worldwide
TRUECOFFEE announces business directions, marketing strategiesfor year of the Rabbit using ‘Best of 3P’ to drive expansion in local - overseas
Building on its success as Thai brand in the local and overseas markets, TrueCoffee today announced its business directions and marketing strategies for 2011. Having achieved 45 percent sales growth last year, the brand is rolling out its new strategy ‘The Best of 3P’ in the hope of winning the hearts and minds of coffee lovers at home and abroad.
Papon Ratanachaikanont, Assistant to President & CEO and Deputy Group Chief Commercial Officer, True Corporation Plc. said “TrueCoffee is positioning itself as a convergence lifestyle hub. Given the rapid changes in the lives of today’s consumers, coffee shops are no longer just a third home where customers can relax and unwind. They must also be able to meet all their customers’ lifestyle needs, both in terms of relaxation and the search for information, as epitomized by our ‘Sip and Surf’ motto, which is also the concept on which TrueCoffee is based upon since our inception six years ago. This positioning has successfully differentiated TrueCoffee from other coffee shops. This year we plan to expand our overseas presence further, following the success of our Vientiane branch. We are looking to break into new markets in Indochina and China, where we expect to see rapid growth and where growth potential is five times from local market. To achieve this we come up with what we call ‘The Best of 3P’ marketing strategy, incorporating Product, Place and People to further distinguish our brand from the competition.
“Product-wise,” Papon went on to say, “TrueCoffee is constantly developing new products to offer our customers new and exciting choices. We are regularly introducing new drinks created by drinks experts, from signature coffee recipes to old-style coffee, tea, signature fruit juicesserved hot, cold or as smoothies, plus snacks such as hot dogs, ‘30CM’ waffles, unique Thai dessert-flavored ice cream, and the soon-to-be-introduced Italian-style sandwiches. Moreover, the innovation doesn’t stop with the products, but technology which now customers can place their orders through the TrueCoffee application on iPhone.
In terms of Place, TrueCoffee remains focused on being a technology and lifestyle hub where customers can sip their coffee while enjoying easy net surfing on True’s high-speed Internet network and getting up to date on the latest gadget trends. The ultimate goal is for True Coffee to become a one-stop Lifestyle Gadget Destination for its customers, said Papon.
Behind its success to date is True’s emphasis on building People. TrueCoffee emphasizes service mind, and this is exemplified by its Heart campaign held to build positive service attitude, as captured in the slogan “Service from the Heart. Your Smile Makes Us Smile Too.” In addition to putting a smile on the faces of colleagues and customers, its staff also passes on the satisfaction to the underprivileged through donation of tip money. In addition to promoting staff morale and love to provide service, Heart helps develop employees’ skills leading to true professionalism, which translates to simultaneous improvements to both product and service.
To further differentiate itself in the marketplace, TrueCoffee has joined forces with TrueVisions to launch a reality show, “True Coffee Master” to disseminate the concepts behind TrueCoffee among customers and the public at large. By replicating real-life situations in TrueCoffee’s operations and customer service, the show lets audiences experience the day-to-day running of a coffee shop and learn about its management and operation through the show’s contestants, knowledge which can be applied to their daily life or business. At the same time the contest also helps to develop contestant’s skills and potential, later to be put to use at TrueCoffee shops, because TrueCoffee believes that human resources development is vital importance in an economic climate where growth is strong and competition is high.
“TrueCoffee is committed to growing Thai brands on the international stage,” said Papon. “Over the past six years, we have proved that Thais can do it and do it as well as any others.
The dedication of our team and staff helped us win Thailand Franchise Quality Award 2009 (FQA 2009) in term of Excellence Franchise Process Management Award from the Department of Business and Trade Development, Ministry of Commerce, a testament to our success in building and developing the TrueCoffee brand in terms of product quality standard and service at all 56 branches.”
In conclusion, Papon said: “To give back to customers for their support and to encourage Thai brands to move into the global marketplace, TrueCoffee in collaboration with our key partner Ford Motor plans to hold a special campaign this year where participating TrueCoffee customers will be eligible to win a Ford Fiesta. More information on this will be available soon.”
TrueCoffee is operating at 56 locations in Thailand and overseas, including 43 branches owned and operated by TrueCoffee and 13 franchise locations. For more information about TrueCoffee, visit www.truecoffee.com orwww.facebook.com/sipandsurf