BSBMKG545 – ASSESSMENT 2

CONDUCT A MARKETING AUDIT

Case Study “Sarto’s Gourmet Pasta”

1. Marketing Audit of Sarto’s Gourmet Pasta

Along with business developments, Sarto’s Gourmet Pasta is required to continue to improve his
quality. This is intended so that Sarto’s Gourmet Pasta maintains and even increases market share, which
in the end is nothing but maximizing profit by utilizing all available resources effectively and efficiently.
Sarto’s Gourmet Pasta must be aware of how they recognize and analyze their strengths and weaknesses,
control the obstacles that arise, and maximize opportunities in Sarto’s Gourmet Pasta. To assess all these
variables Sarto’s Gourmet Pasta conduct marketing audit.

A. External Micro-Environmental Factors:

 Market Characteristics
More selection of menu and less limited options become the preference of the customers.
In addition of high-quality ingredients and premium products also pick by the customers
for having consideration in eating.
 Customer Needs
The findings from IBSA showed some points that customers are growing interest in
healthier foods. This result aligns with consensus that conduct in local community with
the focus respondent on the regular customer show that they also prefer convenient
healthy products with addition of ingredients on the package. As a result, customer is
more likely to choose tomato-based sauce than cream sauce for their pasta. Other trend
such as take-away rather than the dine in become another preference for the customers.
 Competitor Factors
Some challenges come from the local patrons namely Stella that built an outdoor dining
with 30 available seats in a specific eating place. Other challenge come from Pasta Bite, a
franchise pasta restaurant, that recently opened a new shop in close the area of Sarto’s
Gourmet Pasta. Another source of competitor arises from the supermarket that introduce
the pre-cook pasta. All these fierce competitions pushed Mario to drop the pasta price in
Sarto’s Gourmet Pasta that resulted fall in gross profit.

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B. External Macro-Environmental Factors:
 Demographic Factors
The target market Sarto’s Gourmet Pasta is focusing on the same target age; 20-50 years
old. This consideration based on ABS aged distribution that showed a constant age
distribution. However, some increases happen on the number of young families and
mostly in pensioners. This outcome gives a bad light to the Sarto’s Gourmet Pasta which
targeted on working customers.
 Economic Factors
Research in IBSA showed some changes that happen in Economic circumstance. Due to
expansion food franchise give fierce competition especially price war and market share.
The same source also presented that the household income remained the same.
Meanwhile. Other results are given by Australian Treasury, in which it showed that the
limit on credit card is getting stricter, but the number of unemployment decreased.
 Technological Factors
The information is about the take-away order system in Sarto’s Gourmet Pasta that
acquire from Rose Ready. The marketing agency has been proposed to change the take-
away ordering system of Sarto’s Gourmet Pasta from telephone calls to new internet-
based technology. The customer also demand that they can order from the internet since
the phone system is confusing the customers with the hard to understand-dialects and
delay. Even though the Sarto’s Gourmet Pasta is skillful in their current position, but they
are lack of competency in receiving orders.
 Political Factors
The finding in IBSA showed that that legislation has been dropped policies to labeling the
take-away food with ingredients containing in the food. However, the big yet burdening
to Mario from the beginning of the marketing project is the park and ride parking area
because the proposed area did not build as the initial plan and even delay for the next year
that give tough access for the customer on dinner time. But Mario also did some ethical
implication that charge deliveries differently for the rich society who order the deliveries
and he fairly thinks this practice.

C. Internal Audit Criteria

 Existing Research Data
In the basic phase of marketing development, determining the focus group is very
important because it is the determinant of the success of a marketing strategy. This focus

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 group is very important in decision making in order to determine certain methods or
approaches that are systematic that have to be organized and directed. The approach or
steps for taking a marketing strategy are said to be systematic because there are a number
of clear procedures. The clarity of these steps makes decision-making in order and
directed, which means that these activities are always directed to produce solutions and
firm actions for the achievement of goals. While the card system is also one of the
suggestions in market research and Sarto will also try to apply all reasonable suggestions.
However, according to Adrian Como, the monthly restaurant association magazine is not
wisely used, although there is sufficient data to support market research that should be
carried out through publications and restaurant associations, which poses a problem for
Mario.
 Internal Sales Data
To get break event points then $45,000 is needed in monthly income. Estimated sales
have been planned with a gross margin of 65% as a consideration, however in the 2009
quarter this target has not been met and sales are forecasted to decline.
 Supply Chain and Logistics
According to IBSA research, there is a local shortage in products, due to drought some
food products have been transferred to Sydney. Meanwhile from the internal research,
that conduct trough the interview with Adriana Como. Currently sales and promotions in
the restaurant are managed by Adriana Como. Based on interviews with him, the take-
away system which is still by telephone and located in the kitchen is the problem. in the
case of take-out this creates other problems as well in terms of preparing food. not only in
the case of orders that still go through the telephone system, but also in terms of handling
the promotional flyers, which makes poor coordination of the time for distributing flyers
and in purchasing stock
 Functional Efficiency and Internal Interfaces with The Organization
Owner, Mario Sarto makes decisions in all marketing strategies without consulting first
even though he has cooperated with marketing agents, Ready-made. although it is the
right of the owner but the owner of Ready-made marketing, Rose believes that all
decisions must be based on the interests of the business or customer, this is less applied
by the owner of Sarto’s Gourmet Pasta.
 Describe The Marketing System in Terms of Marketing Information, Planning and
Control

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 After working with marketing companies, all decisions are still in the hand of the owner
hand, Mario. There is no consultation in any marketing activities only because of his
opinion which states that market research is carried out too expensive in determining
product development and sales forecasts. In this case, the determination of sales estimates
is also based on the owner's decisions, according to him, the determinants are tax
accountants and estimates. while Adriana Como who has the ability in kitchen
management is given inappropriate responsibilities, which is in sales and promotion
positions or more precisely in marketing. this is known in an interview with Adriana.
even in determining the level of product development is also based on Mario's opinion.
He even determines the level of manufacture, how exotic the product. This has been done
because Mario was reluctant to test new products by giving them because they were too
expensive.
 The Marketing Productivity in Terms of Profitability and Cost Effectiveness
Target market advertising campaigns show different results in budget records. Budgeted
sales for the family were 150,000 but actual sales turned out to be only 112,000.

Segment Budget 2016 Actual 2016

Individuals $120.000 $121.000

Families $150.000 $112.000

Take away $180.000 $203.000

Total $450.000 $436.000

This is because deliveries related to business needs, including in terms of marketing and
routine leaflets are still being sent through the letterbox. Things related to this promotion
will also only aim to support sales next week, that's the opinion of the restaurant owner,
Mario. However, based on a survey conducted by Rose Ready, it shows that most of the
leaflets end up as junk mail. After Mario's friend at Bmag left the magazine, several
suggestions were made, such as involving a PR specialist. The absence of business
records in the first year shows that this suggestion had never been done by Mario. Mario
thought that sales were only targeted for next week, so Mario did not apply this advice.
 Portfolio of Data
Australian Bureau of Statistics Data

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  The geographic target is the Graceville area with a population of 130,000.
 Ages 25–50 years; this segment constitutes 53% of the Graceville market.
 Young professionals living close to the location.

IBSA World market research

 About IBSA World market research – Findings, chain expansion into interstate
markets – price wars are created due to declining sales and competing for market
share.
 IBSA World Industries reported material shortages – finding, drought conditions in
most states saw local produce from Queensland being shipped to Sydney creating
local shortages.
 The IBSA World Industry reports on the growing needs and satisfactions that
shoppers in this market seek – findings, the growing need for healthy options like
salads, and more information on ingredients.
 The IBSA World industry report replaces this product – finding, supermarkets
introduce a range of prepackaged 'hot & eat' pasta products.
 Household income survey – finding, stable, no change.
 Politics and law – Findings, Employees work longer hours with an emphasis on
economic growth. New laws relating to labeling on take-away products shipped to
consumers.

Australian Department of Finance report.

 Food quality – The preference for high quality ingredients increases as customers
learn to appreciate qualitative differences.
 Presentation/appearance – As the culinary impression becomes more pervasive,
customers learn to appreciate this aspect of the industry.
 Choice – People demand more food choices; they no longer accept limited menus.
 Methodology for collecting data
 Conduct online search using search terms, advanced search features such as
operators, and <url> addresses.

Search Using Operator: the OR operator enables you to search for two or more terms
simultaneously, and is most useful when those terms are very similar. Typing selling OR

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 retailing, for example, will return pages where either of the terms is used, without both
needing to be present.

Url address: when you type site: followed by the URL of the website that you wish to
search and a search term, you limit your search to a single website. So,
site:SartoPasta.com "human resources" will return all the pages from SartoPasta.com that
feature the term "human resources."

 Methods data gathering in the form of an interview or focus group research.

Sarto Gourment Pasta customer were interviewed about their food choices and
preferences. A key finding that emerged from semi-structured interviews, which was not
previously thought to be as highly influential as the data subsequently confirmed, was
the significance of peer-pressure in influencing children's food choices and preferences.
This finding was also established primarily through follow-up questioning (eg probing
interesting responses with follow-up questions, such as 'Can you tell me a bit more about
that?') and, therefore, may not have emerged in the same way, if at all, if asked as a
predetermined question.

Another way to combine searches is to use AND. This operator ensures that you receive
only search results that include two or more terms. For example, the search "Smee
Computers" AND "Devlin Corporation" would only deliver search results that include
the names of both companies.

 Short descriptions of methodology

The one-on-one interviews will be applied for another data information gathering. The
interview will involve key participants, target market customer, market research firms and
government bureau.

The good and bad financial condition of Sarto can be known from the analysis conducted
on the company's financial statements including their internal sales data and supply chain
logistics details with addition of data from market analysis and government bureau because
the most important output in the application of the accounting system is the reporting of
financial conditions including financial statements including for Sarto’s Gourmet Pasta.

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 From the results of the analysis, the marketing plan can make strategic decisions and
policies according to the goals and plans that have been set.

Get and use data for marketing and sales purposes. This can be anything from informing
your conversations with customers to creating statistical marketing materials and
referencing facts to provide value. This data will be used to inform your activities for all
the following principles.
 Interview questions to be put to a focus group.
- Tell me about yourself
- What is your biggest strength?
- Where do you find our company
- What is your growth plan for the next 5 years?
- Why should we hire you?
 Role-play
Applicant: Good morning, how do you do?
Interviewer: Hello. Please sit down and welcome. Thank you for your job application. I
have a few questions to ask you, if that’s alright.
Applicant: That is fine.
Interviewer: So first of all, please tell me about yourself.
Applicant: Certainly, I completed my degree in Marketing and Communication at Magill
College. I spent the last 2 years developing my marketing skills for a company and I won
several performance awards and I’ve been promoted twice. I love managing teams and
solving customer problems.
Interviewer: That sounds wonderful. In Sarto’s Gourmet Pasta we are looking for
someone who expert on marketing as well as familiar with technology.
Applicant: Well, it would be great working at Sarto’s Gourmet Pasta as a marketing
assistant.
Interviewer: I see, what is your biggest strength?
Applicant: I strongly strong in marketing skills, working in marketing for 2 years. I know
how to be a content writing skill, understand content strategy as well as have a deep
understanding of marketing funnel.
Interviewer: Ohh, that sounds interesting. Where do you found our company?

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Applicant: I’ve always wanted to use my marketing skills to get in on the workplace.
Hence, I looked up online on the job application online and I found Sarto Gourmet Pasta
there.
Interviewer: Fantastic, we do have post our job online. Where do you see yourself in five
years?
Applicant: There are so many talented people here. I just want to do a great job and see
where my talents take me.
Interviewer: Okay, one last question. Why we should hire you?
Applicant: Based on what you’ve said and from the research I’ve done, your company is
looking for a marketing assistant who is both strong in marketing skills and in tech skills. I
believe my experience aligns and makes me a great fit. I'm an effective marketer who is
skilled in understanding how to analyze social media data, speaking on the phone, and
communicating via email. I'm also fluent in a number of relevant software programs,
including content management systems and spreadsheet suites. I’d love to bring my diverse
skill set to your company.
Interview: Alright, thank you for your time and we will contact you once we process your
data.
Applicant: Thank you.

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