This project was done by members of Clemson University's Strategic Marketing Management class at the request of the owners of FDS Pitmasters, a local start-up BBQ catering business working to expand their market share.

1. Designated Drinkers:
Daniel Carroll
Julie Clamp
Alyssa Goodson
Wesley Moran
Katherine Williams

2. Introduction Stage of the
Product Life Cycle
 Name Change: FDS Pitmasters Palmetto
Pitmasters
 Basic objectives: Establish a market for a product
type, persuade early adopters to buy
 Product: Provide a high quality product and original
barbecue experience
 Pricing: Relatively low at first to build demand
 Channels: Limited number of channels
 Communication: Aimed at early
adopters, messages designed to educate about
the product type

3. Mission Statement
Palmetto Pitmasters’ goal is to provide a unique
barbecue catering experience for residents of the
Upstate of South Carolina. By offering personal,
knowledgeable service and great food at
competitive prices the company strives to
become the most sought after catering company
in Clemson and surrounding areas.

4. Situation Analysis: Internal
Marketing outside of social media is not currently
utilized
Lack of financial resources
Good customer base/local appeal

5. Situation Analysis: External
 Cooperative: Not an issue since most of supplies would come from a
wholesaler
 Competitive:
Brand: Little Pig’s BBQ, Smoking Pig, Just More BBQ
Product: Other catering businesses (Moe’s, Chick-Fil-A, Zaxby’s,
Boulevard Grille, Sonny’s, Sticky Fingers)
Generic: Any restaurant, grocery store, or deli
 Total Budget: Anything & everything that you would spend your money on
 Economic: Overhead costs are low for small businesses
 Social: Preference for BBQ in this region/southern food
 Political: Clemson’s contract with Aramark; FDA, DHEC and USDA
regulations
 Legal: Required Business license
 Technological: BBQ processing has remained the same over time.
Sophisticated record systems are important so that repeat clients can look
back on previous invoices.

6. Situational Analysis: Customer
Who:
Students, faculty, businesses, tailgaters, families, celebrations
, large groups
What: On-site catering for events and providing food for
tailgating events
When: Year-round, during baseball & football season
especially
Where: Order catering services online or over the phone
Why: Palmetto Pitmasters meets an unmet need in the
catering industry. They bring the restaurant to you.

7. SWOT Analysis: Internal
 Strengths:
Original recipes
Greater versatility and mobilization than competitors
Low overhead costs
Having a choice in their amount/selection of work
Local appeal
 Weaknesses:
Lack of resources due to company size
Small market share
Lack of advertising
Lack of information of menu/pricing/etc
Not able to accommodate for very large events without
outsourcing
Unable to cater multiple events simultaneously

8. SWOT Analysis: External
 Opportunities:
Great market for BBQ in the south
A number of opportunities/events to cater BBQ
Competing in regional BBQ competitions
Opportunity to control a large portion of the market share around
the Clemson area
 Threats:
Several other BBQ restaurants/caterers: Little Pig’s BBQ,
Smoking Pig, and Just More BBQ
Not seen as a healthy food option
Population of Clemson as a college town

9. Value Proposition
We’re available anytime and anywhere to bring
the flavor and experience of home cooked
barbecue to your next event.

10. Organizational Objectives
 Profit: Break even by 18 months of business and work towards
making up to a 10% profit within 6 months after reaching the
break even point
 Sales Units: Cater at least 14 events over the 2012 calendar year
(6 baseball tailgates, 4 catering events over the summer, 4
football tailgates)
 Market Share: Gain share at a constant rate as advertising and
word of mouth pays off
 Advertising awareness: Increase awareness each year, budgeting
for advertisements based on task approach

11. Strategy Based on Value
 Differentiation: The catering comes to you, customizable
packages, you get a real southern BBQ experience
 Customer Intimacy: Loyalty and referral programs
 Operational Excellence: Quality food
 Product leadership: New catering specials based on time
of year/sports seasons
 Cost leadership: Standardized products/prices along with
specialty items at request

12. Marketing Strategy: Segmentation
 Geography: Upstate area (specifically Oconee, Pickens,
and Anderson counties)
 Demographics:
College students
Adults
Families
Groups
 Behavior:
Loyalty
Social individuals

13. Marketing Strategy: Targeting
Product specialization
Focusing on pulled pork, ribs, and
brisket while offering other items
Tailoring the options to meet the
needs of the different customers

14. Marketing Strategy: Positioning
Positioning relative to a product class
Experience and quality of food

15. The Marketing Mix
 Product: On-site catering business
 Place:
Clemson, Anderson, Seneca and surrounding areas
Personal tailgates
 Price:
Bundling Pricing Package Deals: Hog’s Heaven, Tiny
Tiger Tailgate, Tiger Tailgate, Tremendous Tiger Tailgate
tailgating specials
Pricing objective  Price to achieve a target market
share
Cost Plus Pricing  Buy at wholesale price and mark up
for customer sales

16. The Marketing Mix Continued
 Promotion:
Push Marketing Strategy
Advertising budget based on task approach
since advertising will be more expensive in the
start up stages of the business
Using a combination of non-personal and
personal communication
Palmetto Pitmasterskoozies and cups with
contact information

17. Promotional Ad 1

18. Promotional Ad 2

19. Promotional Giveaways
 Koozies:
 500 collapsible koozies
 Royal Blue with Palmetto Pitmasters’ logo
 $1.18 each for a total of $590
 Cups:
 300 plastic reusable cups
 Royal Blue with Palmetto Pitmasters’ logo
 $1.12 each for a total of $336

20. Palmetto
Pitmasters’
Catering
Menu

21. Recommendation 1: Join the South
Carolina BBQ Association
 Costs $35-$50 for an annual membership
 Access to SCBA sponsored cook-offs and events all
over South Carolina, the most notable of which would be
the Carolina Q Cup (state championship)
 Help to establish a name within the circuit and act a as
gateway to the national circuit if Palmetto Pitmasters
chooses to compete nationally

22. Recommendation 2: Create a
Webpage
• $11.99/yr to maintain, $5.99 Domain name, $1.99
hosting from GoDaddy.com
• Provide pricing information online
• Provide a feedback form on the website and use good
comments as testimonials on the main
• An incentive to fill out the feedback forms could be they
have a chance of winning a free “Tiger Tailgate” for next
football season

23. Recommendation 3: Personal
Selling
 Creating a CRM database of all local businesses,
nonprofit organizations, etc.
 Calling contacts from the database to offer special
deals and making community members aware of
Palmetto Pitmasters. This would be especially
important around the summer time when several
people will be having events for Memorial Day, 4th
of July, and company picnics.

24. Recommendation 4: Advertise in
The Orange and White Newspaper
& The Tiger Newspaper
 The Tiger Newspaper:
864.656.2167 (Office Phone)
advertising@thetigernews.com
Full Page: $714.13
Half Page: $357.06
¼ Page: $178.53
 The Orange and White Newspaper:
Contact information: 864.654.6553

25. Recommendation 5: Baseball
Tailgating Special
 Provide koozies& coupons

26. Recommendation 6: First Friday
Kick-Off Event
 Hand out kooziesand drinks to members of the
community waiting to watch the First Friday
Parade
 Interact with the crowd

27. Implementation & Control
 Budget per Quarter
Koozies (500): $590
Cups (300): $336
Print Advertisements/Promotions
The Tiger: $180 - $715
The Orange and White Newspaper: Approximately
$900
Print expenses: $150
Miscellaneous expenses: $500
 Total: $2656 - $3191

28. Implementation & Control
End of Spring semester 2011
Join SCBA and create
informative webpage
Distribute ads Create and utilize
CRM database
January 1, 2012
Place ads in local
newspapers
Baseball Tailgating
March 4, 2012
Special
Contact CRM
database members
First Friday Parade
September 7, 2012
First Friday and
Football season
kickoff

29. Future Thoughts
Have a small take out store (in the long run) that would serve
as a large kitchen for preparing food and would sell individual
sandwiches and sides to-go.
Create Palmetto Pitmasters T-shirts that would draw positive
attention to the business and peak potential customer interest.
Sell Palmetto Pitmasters BBQ plates/sandwiches at Sporting
event tailgating areas, but you would need to check with
AEROMARK and sign a waiver since it is still on campus:
You can contact:
David Ledbetter: Food Services Director, ARAMARK:
864.656.1603, dledbet@clemson.edu

30. Future Thoughts: National Circuit
 $175 annual expense to be a member of the
Operator National BBQ Association
 Benefits:
Connect with vendors nationally
Promotion to the BBQ-loving public
Educational tools to help maximize your
company’s performance