1.4 Buying business behavior

Toblerone is a product that appeal to customers and it is sold to them, but it is not sold directly to them. Therefore, Toblerone sells its chocolate bars to the reseller markets. For example, the supermarkets are their main buyer, which also sells the chocolates bought to customers, of course, at a higher cost than for what were bought for, but that is for another chapter.

This being the case, Toblerone has adapted to the business markets since it depends on them. Selling directly to the consumer will mean that the profit will be too low and the work very confusing. This works best for the customizable products, but Toblerone is a mass seller, since it sells large quantities to retailers.

In a buying situation, as mentioned before, Toblerone will fit in the straight rebuy process. Little to none modifications are made for the product when sold, so it is mass sold with no variation. Toblerone is not a customizable product, so a straight rebuy process is most likely to be applicable.

Usually, retailers adopt a mercantile purchasing since they buy the product for reselling. Because of that, they make a planned agreement with the firm in which a specific type of item, Toblerone chocolate bar in this case, has to be delivered at an approximate date. Between this deal, a series of activities happen. First of all, Toblerone has to inform the others about the product and its assets. Toblerone has a very detailed description of their product on the official website, which is aviable in different languages so that it can be more accessible. Toblerone also conducted a series of commercial to appeal directly to the customers and create demand. (Toblerone)

Next, the same can be considered about the product.  Toblerone was very strict to its formula which is patented and they were very faithful to it. After several years, new variations were added, but they still focused on their main recipe. That is why, before selling, Toblerone makes sure that the products are of the highest quality.Regarding Financials, Toblerone is trying to acquire profit through large sells to the retailers.

And finally, on the social status they make a very much use of their history which appeals even today to customers. Their main focus is to create demand for their product, and they managed to do so. Despite the rich history of the product, the need of appealing to a younger audience came, and they did so through making a limited edition huge Toblerone chocolate of 750 gram. This braught more media attention to them since it became popular, mainly through youtube, which is one of the most popular websites of sharing videos. Because of the attention it got, several videos appeared and it created an improved likeliness to the product. (Toblerone) (Youtube) Down below, is an example of one of the funny videos mentioned.

Because of the demand of the product grown, retailers were more interested in reselling their product, and even after the limited edition was gone, people still wanted the Toblerone.

The example gave above is also creates derived demand which translates in a bigger revenue for the company. Also, the demand increases in skilled and unskilled workers.  

Consumer Buying Behaviour

Week 1.3 Consumer buying behaviour

Toblerone is considered a luxury product and that is because it was marketed as a high quality product in the past and people still have that image in their head. Nowadays, the buying behavior influence is weak. For example, family might have an influence since they are those who buy the product for the child. This is the parent’s financial influence that makes upon the kid in choosing the product, but only in the early stages. As he grows, influence becomes weak and non-existent. This influence can be produced only in some social classes. What is it above middle class, no influence can be applied and kids chose their own product. What is influenced however is the social class influenced by the marketing of Toblerone. Since it is seen as a high quality product, it is targeted to the middle and lower-upper class. The influence is pretty moderate at that stage since they will probably go for Toblerone instead of an Albert Heijn chocolate bar, considering their social status. This type of behavior applies not only for the chocolate, but also in all aspects such as buying a more luxury car like a Bentley, instead of a low-cost Dacia that is built to take you from point A to point B.

Regarding the stages of the family cycle, Toblerone is not influenced by any stage since in all times a chocolate bar is in demand, even for the Single 2 type, which might want the chocolate bar for the Nostalgia factor. So, no matter the stage, the influence is weak. In a buying behavior of a person, the most often met situation is through the traditional shopping, and with Toblerone is usually done through Post-purchase evaluation since people usually take food not only chocolate to try and they do not do much research beforehand.

To illustrate better the attitude of the customer towards Toblerone, an attitude scale was created.  

Attribute	Importance	Brand Evaluation	Importance x brand evaluation
Taste	5	4	9
Price	4	2	6
Shape	3	4	7
Stays hunger	1	3	4
Quality	5	5	10
Level of sugar	3	1	4

1.2      Marketing strategy and understanding competitors

To understand better Toblerone we have to look at the market and see how it performs compared to the competition.  In order to do that we have to understand the mission statement of the mother company, Mondelez. Mondelez mission is to create delicious moments of joy. (Mondelez)

Being owned by a big company, means that it has a lot of competition. When looking at the competition it can be seen that it comes from different sections. For example, a main competitor regarding brand products might be Snickers because it contains almost the same elements with small variations( caramel instead of honey, peanuts instead of hazelnuts). A different kind of competitor for Toblerone might be of a generic nature, which contains small local products. For example, there is a product named Kolumbo in Croatia which has even the same shape as Toblerone. Of course, the quality is not the same but is a cheap alternative to Toblerone. Another type of competition might be of a product form nature, such as a homemade chocolate using the same ingredients.

 Considering that, Toblerone has a competitive advantage being a market challenger. Being on the market for more than 100 years, it established its name on the market. Also, the quality didn’t drop, so, it brings more and more customers. (Toblerone)Toblerone alsohas the history in its advantage and also it helps a lot being the first patent product that uses the actual ingredients. Overall, Toblerone has made an image over the years and has a huge advantage in appealing to customers than other newly entered products.

When you look at the Ansoff Matrix, the growth strategy that fits Toblerone could be Market Penetration. The product already has a good image and a rebranding might be disastrous like Coca-Cola attempt to rebrand in order to cope with Pepsi. It seems that the brand matters more for the customers than the actual product. Considering that, Toblerone can appeal to the existing customers by being in as many places as possible, which is already doing. To illustrate that, try and think of how many people come with a Toblerone chocolate bare from the airports in general and the answer will be quite a lot. That is because Toblerone is seen as a luxury chocolate bar in customer’s heads. The brand and quality maintains its position. 

 Sources:

Mondelez. (n.d.). our dream belief and values. Retrieved 09 14, 2016, from Mondelez: http://www.mondelezinternational.com/about-us/our-dream-belief-and-values

Toblerone. (n.d.). our history. Retrieved from Toblerone: http://www.toblerone.co.uk/

1.1 Introduction of the company of the product

Toblerone, everyone’s favorite triangular chocolate bar is my choice. The main reason I wanted to choose this chocolate bar is because of the memories I have with it. I can remember that every once in a while my mom used to get one to me. The chocolate was pretty expensive compared to the others at that time and money was not the biggest asset of my family, so every time I got it, it made it more special. Looking at it now, it has an air of nostalgia for me but not only for me. The chocolate bar has a rich history since it exists from 1868, making an immediate impact on public.It all started in 1968 when Jean Tobler from Switzerland decided to start its own company in Bern. In 1908, his son, has invented a new patent of chocolate bar, made with an unique shape, a triangle. The name came from the owner’s name and the Italian word Torrone which means nougat. Where the triangle shape is coming from is unknown, but one theory says that it comes from the tallest mountain in Switzerland which is also the symbol of the country. (Toblerone)
Now, Toblerone still produces its own chocolate bars in four different tastes, but the brand is owned by Mondelez International in present. Mondelez International is one of the biggest companies in the world and successfully sales products from brands like Oreo, Milka or LU. (Mondelez)

 Bibliography

Mondelez. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.mondelezinternational.com/

Toblerone. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.toblerone.co.uk/history/howitbegan/2000