Utilize the same product/service your team chose for Wk 3. THIS IS WHAT I NEED TO COMPLETE THAT TO PLUG INTO MY TEAM ASSIGNMENT FOR THIS - MY NAME IS LISTED BELOW Develop a 700- to 1,050-word respons

Utilize the same product/service your team chose for Wk 3. 

THIS IS WHAT I NEED TO COMPLETE THAT TO PLUG INTO MY TEAM ASSIGNMENT FOR THIS - MY NAME IS LISTED BELOW

Develop a 700- to 1,050-word response that analyzes the following:

• Discuss the potential importance of each type of situational influence in developing a marketing strategy for your product/service.
• Review whether your market segment is aware of the problem your product/service serves to eliminate. How is your marketing strategy impacted by this awareness?
• Discuss factors that may contribute to the external information search and factors that act to reduce external search for information before purchase or adoption of your product/service.
• List the evaluative criteria and the importance of each that your market segment would use in purchasing your product..2

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THIS IS THE ASSIGNMENT FROM LAST WEEK THAT NEED TO BE USED TO COMPLETE MY ASSIGNMENT

Internal and External Influences Marketing Paper

Gard-IN supplies prebuild indoor gardens to supply anyone with a few square feet to spare,

fresh vegetables on a regular basis. The company got its start during the recent pandemic where

restrictions and lockdowns make it difficult to obtain fresh produce, especially for those living in

small urban dwellings. The founder, Jane Doe, started using an overturned bookcase as a sectional

indoor garden. Through some trial and error and long hours in her friend’s woodshop she

developed a prefabricated, planter system and started selling them to her neighbors. It was quickly

observed that there was not a one size fits all system. This led to developments such as UV lights

for those who received little natural light and adjustable sizing. Gard-IN outgrew the woodshop

and now has their own shop space and several full-time employees to keep up with demand.

Gard-IN falls into the industry of the production and selling of vegetables among other

food crops. There are different methods of production which the company has adopted to be able to

produce its product where one of the technologies assist in the indoor vegetable garden where one

can grow and be able to get vegetables indoor which requires only limited space. Gard-IN is in the

U.S. and began producing indoor vegetable gardens during the recent pandemic. The company is

in the agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting industries. The company focuses on the area of

agriculture where they produce the crops for selling and consumption.

Marketing Implication

In the modern society, as humans we do what we can to be active in different ways. It’s

even tougher with people nowadays working longer hours with no leisure time to themselves. In a

way, we all try to do our best to give ourselves time to relax our minds from the hectic day to day

activities. Some people consider television viewing or active exercising as their primary forms of

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relaxation. Majority of us enjoy spending time outdoors, going for walks, and seeing what the

beautiful nature as to offer. Based on several studies, gardening provides a great benefit to your

mood-boosting and more importantly can decrease dementia risk. One study from 2006 looked at

over 2800 men and women aged over 60. Over 16 years they examined a wide range of lifestyle

factors and measured the number of participants who developed dementia. They found that daily

gardening activities could reduce the risk of dementia by up to 36%. This startling number shows

just how powerful and useful an activity it is (Sharples, 2018).

Having an indoor garden is a pleasurable and exciting experience. Here are some of the

advantages of having an indoor garden:

 Improve Air Quality/Air Purification

 Easy to take care of

 UV lights (provided in the kit) can speed up the germination process

 Stress relief and therapeutic

 Attractive indoor décor

 Fresh Organic Produce

 Seeing daily results

With the Gard-IN prebuild, it allows you to have a wonderful indoor garden with fresh

herbs/vegetables all year round and most importantly make sufficient difference to your mental

health improvements.

Indoor Garden design and Features

The Gard-In is a wonderful product that helps you have the great experience of having a

garden but in doors. This hydroponic product has many features to guarantee a highly successful

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indoor garden system. Hydroponics essentially provides the nutrients, oxygen and the water

needed for the plant growth directly to the roots with water as a medium. Rectangular pots like the

pot offer the plants excellent sunlight and space to grow. They provide plenty of ventilation, which

helps in proper growth.

The solution supporting the plants is created keeping in mind the specific needs of the

plant. Cutting out the middleman allows the plant to absorb more nutrients and hence, show better

growth. Evidently, better nourished plants lead to a higher yield as well.

Influential Reference Groups

Reference groups not only affect buying behavior but are influenced by buyers involved

with certain groups. Indoor gardening as mentioned in the paper has become more popular, there

are several supportive specialty groups all around the world. According to an article in

TreeHugger, putting plants next to vegetables can stunt or improve growth (DiLonardo, 2019).

This is based on the location of the plant to its “sister” vegetable it can keep away insects and other

harmful pest from damaging the vegetable. Articles mentioned in TreeHugger can be found in the

extremely popular Good Housekeeping magazine, were thousands of readers and consumers go to

find tips for gardening, and better lifestyles.

Family and friends are another reference group key to marketing the Gard-IN. Jealousy and

accolades are effective influences on friends and family. Thanks to social media, everyone is

sharing everything about the enjoyment or dissatisfaction of the products they buy and their

endearment of seeing their teachings being used. A grandma who shared her knowledge of

tomatoes can see those skills being used by their college student descendant living in a small

apartment in Brooklyn.

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Effects of Demographic Shifts

The age of gardening as an exclusive activity enjoyed by middle-aged housewives is no

longer the case. In recent years, gardening has positioned itself as a more popular activity in

mainstream society. With the projected changes in America’s demographics, three major

demographic shifts that will have a noticeable impact on Gard-IN are: age, gender, and geographic

location (Mothersbaugh, 2016, p.63).

Gard-IN’s ability to grant consumers access to a fresh vegetable or herb garden from any

home will be a desirable feature for Generations Y and Z. With their longing for self-reliance and

managing the effects of global warming, Generations Y and Z’s beliefs will align with Gard-IN’s

products and services (Mothersbaugh, 2016, p.124). Consumers within these two generations will

appreciate the benefits of fresh produce with no risk of ingesting harmful pesticides as well as

reducing their carbon footprint.

A shift in gender roles is also a trend within both Generations Y and Z, which will also

impact the marketing strategy of Gard-IN. While gardening companies have traditionally marketed

solely towards the female gender, Generations Y and Z embrace diversity and have broken away

from traditional gender roles (Mothersbaugh, 2016, p.124). To succeed within these two

generations, Gard-IN will target both men and women and will ensure their products are available

in multiple designs while offering produce appealing to men, women, and gender-neutral

individuals.

With the recent economic recession as well as the pandemic, Generations Y and Z have

been challenged with housing options. Many individuals within these two groups have continued

to struggle financially, which has caused many to turn to renting apartments in urban settings

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instead of purchasing a home, or even remain at their parents’ home for longer than desired. Gard-

IN’s products will allow these consumers to enjoy the benefits of a home garden without the need

for outdoor space. Since Gard-IN can be utilized indoors, consumers from any geographic location

can enjoy Gard-IN’s products and services at their leisure.

From their humble beginnings, Gard-IN has made great strides to develop and market their

business to the proper demographic values. With clever marketing and a solid product, the

company should enjoy years of expansion even through demographic shifts. Gard-IN has created a

product that is ideal for user of almost all living situations, backgrounds, and financial situations.

References

DiLonardo, M. (2019, May 7). What is companion planting? Treehugger.

https://www.treehugger.com/what-is-companion-planting-4862420.

Mothersbaugh, D.L and Hawkins, D.I. (2016). Consumer behavior: Building marketing strategy

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THIS WEEK TEAM ASSIGNMENT 

Importance of Situational Influence - Andy  

When trying to develop a marketing strategy for Gard-IN. We have to think beyond what Gard-IN product has to offer. When it comes to communication situation, do we want to just have an indoor garden just because it makes the interior décor look nice? We definitely want to grasp the consumers attention by creating a commercial or ad that will promote their well-being and at the same time having fun while doing it with our loved ones. For instance, we want to do it in a fun and exciting way like the whole family enjoying a frozen yogurt and handpicking fresh fruits from inside the house. Not to mention while cooking and having daily fresh herbs and vegetable, it’s like having a farmers market next door. Next would be purchase situations, we are hoping to have Gard-IN product at all major home and gardening stores and our own online website. We want to make the purchasing process as simple and quick as possible. Understanding the consumers purchasing situation is crucial because we can be aware of the consumer’s needs, evaluate alternative options, and maximizing our profit at the same time. Next would be usage situation, in the commercial or ad we can promote this product by starting the Gard-IN at any time of the year. Customers don’t have to waste time waiting for the right season to start. Gard-IN is a product that will start whenever we are ready. Lastly the disposition situation, some consumers may think that they need to throw away their soil before transitioning to Gard-IN. There should be no worries because Gard-IN can provide a chemical that will sterilize the soil and can reuse it again or can be decompose and spread out through the outside lawn. Customers can put their worries aside with Gard-IN hydroponic products it is earth-friendly material. Every product used, not only it is stylist but very functional and very sustainable as well.  

Awareness and Impact of Product and Marketing Strategy - Brittany  

Consumers can't buy a product that they are not aware of. Brand awareness should be  one of the major parts of  marketing for companies. It is important marketing strategy that we are embedding what our brand is and what it stands for in the consumer’s mind.  Consumers tend to decide quickly from many options including ones that they already know about versus ones they don’t know about.  The high awareness brand will more than likely always win the sale. Take for example, if we were in the market to purchase a lawn mower and the choices were John Deere, Bill’s cutting machine, or Lawn Man Mowers , we would more than likely go with John Deere. We would go with the well known company because of longevity but because of their marketing. Companies that invest in doing commercials recognize the impact of product and marketing strategy because even if you don’t need a product at the time, the advertisement will remain in your mind. There are times that we continue to hear a jingle in our head and then one day as a consumer we say, “let’s try that place”.  

It is important to build brand awareness  and you do that by using various techniques. Making sure that there are multiple distribution platforms is a very important marketing strategy. You want to make sure that your product advertisement can be reached to any consumer. If a consumer doesn’t have a television, can they hear it on a radio, or if they don’t have a vehicle can they see your ad on a billboard walking down the street. These are very important factors we have to be aware of when we thing of the impact of marketing for producs.  

Factors that Contribute to External Information Search - Camerron  

Factors that Reduce External Search Information -Phyllis  

Evaluative Criteria and Importance - Christina  

Working Outline, to be converted into paragraph form by Christina.....  

What is: various features or benefits a consumer looks for in response to a specific problem  

They are the performance levels or characteristics consumers use to compare different brands in view of their particular consumption problem  

Associated with desired benefits  

Gard-IN Evaluative Criteria:  

Tangible evaluative criteria:  

Space: how much dedicated surface required for Gard-IN  

Price: cost for start-up kit & seeds/subscriptions  

Real-Life Competitors:  

Rise Gardens: https://risegardens.com/products/personal-indoor-garden  

$279 starter kit  

Starting at: $9.99 herb and/or vegetable seedpods (4 pack)  

Subscription: $29.49/month for (3) 4-packs of seed pods  

Smart Garden 9: https://www.clickandgrow.com/products/the-smart-garden-9?gclid=CjwKCAjwo4mIBhBsEiwAKgzXOIpo_-UKuL1bK22Ps0QLBM7T-zczd3FnZuI3d8zgEesly1T1kI0IlRoC9nwQAvD_BwE  

$199.95 starter kit  

Plant Pods starting at: $9.95/3-pack  

Subscription: $17.95/month for (2) 3-packs  

Quality of materials & durability of kit  

Intangible evaluative criteria:  

Available kit designs/customization such as shape, size, color, material  

Available Herbs  

Available Vegetables  

Accessories: watering cans, different colored lights, plant belts & stand kits, extensions, nutrients, plant journal  

Subscription service  

Order of Importance:  

Dimensions/Space  

Price  

Quality/Durability  

Customization/Subscription