Week 1.7

Using the breakdown approach I will research the GDP, GNP, inflation rate and retail sales in order to be able to give an accurate estimation of the market potential and the sales potential of Toblerone.

As seen in the picture above, the GDP of Netherlands has been through different growth rates over the years, but it has maintained nevertheless a growth with a few exception. (economics).

Above is presented a graph that shows the GNP of Netherlands across several years and has maintained a big enough growth.

In the graph above is presented the inflation rate in Netherlands which has had an unstable growth during the last years. It is predicted that in the future years it will go to a negative rate. However, in the present, Netherlands is doing much better than the several years in which they managed to keep the inflation stable but still quite high.

Finally, in the graph above can be observed the retail sales in Netherlands which are quite high except some months of the year.

Based on the data gathered, an estimation regarding Market potential and the sales potential can be done. Judging by the graphs, Netherlands has a healthy economy from which Toblerone can further profit off this thing. Sales can grow because of the healthy economy and also because of the present growth in sales in Netherlands.

Mondelez should develop a marketing plan for Toblerone because first of all, it helps them to track the milestones and the development in the Dutch market. Second of all, it will help them to define the customer target and finally, a market plan helps Toblerone to focus on what is important. For example, Toblerone may focus on trying to improve the appeal towards the younger customer group rather than all of them since the older customers are already accustom to the product.

If I were asked to make a forecast for the future years, I would choose the quantitative forecasting. The main advantage of this technique is the ability to predict changes in sales patterns and customer behavior. Another advantage of this technique is the flexibility since it allows the business to use non-numerical data sources. This is very useful when there is an ambiguity in data. Two major disadvantages that can occur using this technique are anchoring events and selective perception. (small business)

Bibliography

economics, T. (n.d.). Trade Economics. Retrieved from www.tradingeconomics.com: http://www.tradingeconomics.com/netherlands/gdp-growth

small business. (n.d.). Smallbusiness.chron.com. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-qualitative-forecasting-37020.html