Samenvatting

The company this export/marketing plan focuses on is the Dutch company Dopper. This social enterprise is founded in 2010 and engages in reusable water bottles. The main objective Dopper has is reducing single use plastic waste. In the Netherlands the company is well positioned in the market. Dopper has made steps in entering other markets. The domestic markets consists of the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany and Austria. The exporting countries are Scandinavia, USA and Brazil. The sales of the countries excluding the Netherlands account for ten percent of the total sales. The sales of Belgium are accounted for one percent. This means Dopper has to grow a lot to improve its position abroad. The research question of this report is: “How can Dopper improve its position on the Belgian market?”. The internal analysis shows the strengths that Dopper is financially stable, has a strong brand identity, has a skilled staff, has a positive working environment and is a learning organisation. Weaknesses are coping with a fast pace of success and not having a strong international position. The external analysis shows that the direct competitors are Bobble, Camelbak, Klean Kanteen, Rosti Mepal, Mizu, Join the Pipe and Retap. Because of Dopper’s protective nature direct export (complemented with the use of e-commerce) is recommended. An interesting finding from the PESTEL is that the Belgian population is willing to contribute to a better environment. Also; labelling must be readable in the official languages (Dutch, French and German). Opportunities are that Dopper can increase brand awareness, gain new customers, increase sales and raise awareness on environmental issues. Threats; besides the competitors are the ageing population and the possibility of copycatting. The selected growth strategies are the strategy of the retailer/reseller which involves attracting new customers (increasing sales and reducing threat of competitors) and the strategy of influencers that entails (social) media that have the suitable characteristics to promote Dopper by proclaiming Dopper’s message (for example Green Evelien). In the marketing mix the strategies have been linked with the tools of the marketing mix. For product it is important that Dopper maintains and increases its strong brand image. Regarding promotion; Dopper has to pay more attention to newsletters, social media and new ways of promoting via another party (influencer). For place/distribution, personnel, problem solving and process; customer service is of major importance. Important recommendations besides the growth strategies are product development, conducting feedback sessions internally, making more use of the water tap point sticker, proceeding the Facebook page in English, sending out newsletters more frequently and sending out the Dopper catalogue to potential new retailers/resellers.