questions from the Target Group Index omnibus research questionnaire.*
The study served to identify three groups of consumer: Selfish, Ethical
and Semi-ethical. The Selfish category were considered unlikely to be
interested in the plight of Third-World farmers at all, so they were
excluded. Ethical consumers, on the other hand, were already committed,
and so were quite likely to buy ‘campaign’ quality coffee from charity
shops anyway. Semi-ethicals, the chosen target group, were found to be
brand oriented, aware of fair trade issues, but largely uninformed.
The strategy for positioning the Cafédirect brand now became much
clearer to Bruce. The brand values offered would have to reflect both func-
tional and non-functional benefits: feeling good about supporting Third-
World coffee farmers without the usual hassle and without sacrificing
flavour or convenience, at a price that was acceptable to this target
market.
Building consumer value
Market research showed that the main motives behind buying ground
coffee were pleasure and discernment. This meant using high quality
arabica beans, that were processed under strict quality control sched-
ules, then roasted to perfection, ground and packaged to retain the
flavour. The main responsibility for ensuring product quality fell to
Twin Trading. Using their many years of experience, they were able to
help the coffee growers’ cooperatives to meet the demanding European
customer requirements, and advise them on export practices. For
instance, imports of processed coffee into the European Union attract a
customs tariff, whereas green coffee beans do not. Twin Trading there-
fore advised that the green coffee should be imported into Britain. They
hired a consultant ‘cupper’ to determine just the right quality and roast
to suit British palates, and negotiated a contract with a processor in Kent
to roast, grind and package the coffee under tight quality controls.
Through Twin Trading (who liaise closely with the processor),
Cafédirect retain control of quality from the farm to the supermarket,
unlike their international rivals who buy green coffee beans on the open
market.
200 Relationship Marketing
*Target Group Index is a service provided by the British Market Research Bureau,
a commercial agency which offers omnibus research. This is operated through a
standard questionnaire covering a wide range of consumer products, which TGI
send out to their database of 240,000 respondents at regular intervals. Clients can
commission studies by either subscribing to standard questions, or by adding spe-
cific questions of their own, at extra cost. Cafédirect could not afford to add their
own questions. Nevertheless, using standard questions they were able to gather
valuable market data, from a large sample, at very low cost.