Columbian Drug Cartel (CDC), Research Paper Example

This research marketing strategy paper will discuss the goals and objectives of the Columbian Drug Cartel (CDC) and suggest ways they creatively achieve their goals. To promote the flow of drugs into the United States, the United Kingdom, Guatemala, Mexico, and other countries throughout Europe it is essential that the CDC increase their customer/brand awareness to gain access of sale throughout the world. This is accomplished through their past history and good name for supplying quality drugs and new marketing schemes. This can be accomplished by gaining foot trafficking thorough retail sales in the many areas. The cartel must find many good men and women that can facilitate a business without much interaction and guidance from upper management. The goal is to increase the sales respectively by 10% over competitor cartels within the next two years. Finding loyal sellers that will promote the drugs on the streets is a key to implementing this objective and having Columbian men on the streets in all areas to monitor the sales and diminish the risk of theft of the money or drugs facilitated.  If loyal pushers can be found the anticipated sales increase should profit by 30% over the coming years.

The CDC hopes to gain customer loyalty over the next two years thereby increasing their sales by 10%. How do you gain customer loyalty in an illegal drug world? Well, you must first have reliable and trustworthy distributors located throughout the world. The cartel must trust the distributors with their life because they control the market in the street sales. Second, the main suppliers must find reliable street marketers/distributors of the product to ensure distributors will deliver on time without any theft of the drug product. If this part of the business is in tact and the quality of the drug is good and consistent the customer base will remain loyal to the distributors. The cartel must stay a step ahead of the competitors until they gain control of the street usage again.  Cocaine abuse is an addiction and those who use drugs keep coming back for more. They remain loyal to the suppliers because they feed their habit. Nothing will make a buyer more inept than to receive a drug that are ‘cut’ without justification resulting in poor quality or if the price is not consistent and further if the supplier does not deliver on time and with the most confidentiality.

The best way to collaborate the relationship with the suppliers and the retailers on the streets is to form a close knitted relationship of mutual respect between the two. The cartel is familiar with many illegal criminal minded organizations throughout the world that can aide them in this marketing effort. People are always seeking to make their cut on fast money and good business.  Suppliers must have secret men on the streets checking the moves of the retailers to ensure they are not ‘on the cut’ other than the agreed contract. Hopes of increasing this collaboration are to decrease the distribution time from two months down to one month over the next two years. Increasing the down time will hopefully increase consumer illegal drug consumption by an anticipated 25% over the next two years.

CDC would like to establish themselves in the market as the reliable and trustworthy drug supplier with hopes to increase their sales over competitors by 10%. Well let’s look at this realistically: How can a drug lord bind themselves as being reliable and trustworthy? Morally they cannot with the common person but the people they sell to have the same ‘cut throat criminal mentality’ as they possess. With that said, you can only trust that they can supply the drug on time, with good quality and without any interference from the police. CDC has established themselves in history as reliable ‘king pens’ of the drug cartel through historical people in crime running their operations, bribing people high in law and mutilating people who get in their way. Is this respect or fear? Well it’s a little of both as long as it gets the same result in their eyes because they are businessmen and will stop at nothing to keep the business in tact, including assassination as the last resort. The cartel possesses a different mentality than the non-criminal mind for they operate large scale criminal rings and do not mind the consequences that come with that risk. The cartel only lost its status because it was dominated by another cartel that took over presence and the fact that Mexico put high restrictions of air and waterway flow of drugs through their country.

It is very easy for the cartel to establish their illegal cocaine product as one of the most reliable in the world. History has shown that Columbia is known for growing the best cocoa plants and having the strongest drug cartels to market the drugs just about anywhere. This information has come down through generations of drug lord power and profitability. The demise of the two largest cartels in the 1980’s took a long exhaustive plan to bring them down. They are still operating in other countries such as Guatemala and parts of Europe and it is even though by officials that some of them operate small scale whilst in prison cells.  Though the competitors are strong they must re-establish their presence within the illegal drug world. Their good name will aid them with this process along with positioning their sales force in competitor’s markets and new marketing areas. They will have to research where there are new possibilities to move into the market and downsize the control their competitors have at present. The first move should be to move in on the competitors stomping ground just as the competitors moved in on them in the 1980’s.

CDC has long established their presence in the cocaine distribution industry. They initially commenced their power over the drug world with the distribution of marijuana and led to cocaine for larger profits. In order to open up sales they will have to focus on distribution strategies to gain regular access to the United States again. They cannot go through Mexico at present but there is the Caribbean that still assists them with fuelling of their planes for United States missions. They need to strongly consider moving their marijuana and cocaine production to the production and distribution of heroine and methamphetamines. Cocaine is not the prominent drug of choice at the present time; rather it is for the ‘niche user’. Many wealthy people use cocaine thus perhaps the cartel might want to concentrate their cocaine distribution on selected audiences through direct distribution.  Heroin and methamphetamines have gained recognition in the United States as ‘drugs of choice’ for the American Society. If they can distribute methamphetamines and bring it into the U.S. that would shut down the small meth labs in the United States and increase sales for the Columbians. The heroin business would be easy to ascertain because research shows that most of drug abusers in the United States are addicted to heroin as their ‘drug of choice’. The more addictive the more demand for the product. Methamphetamines are a social drug for the younger class and some old time bikers who just refuse to give it up and grow up. Production and distribution of quality meth drugs certainly would put the CDC at the ‘top of their game in the U.S and the U.K.’. It would certainly be a lot easier to promote and market heroin and methamphetamines on the streets of the United States and the United Kingdom.

The objective is to keep the retailers fully stocked in the U.S. and the U.K. in order to offer competitive pricing to customers. CDC hopes to promote the drugs at raves, word of mouth and posters at the top nightclubs throughout the world. They understand the concept of ‘supply and demand’ and the demand is with the clubbing and younger partying generation.  In order to accomplish this they will have to gain a very strong relationship with club owners and ‘pay off’ the local police to look aside. Word of mouth would seem to be the safest and most reliable means to promoting in the Western worlds. In other countries the officials may look away from posting in rave and nightclubs if not done with diplomacy and conspicuously.

The main focus of distribution should be on the younger generation of males and females between the ages of 18-25 who possess the mentality of ‘rebels without cause.’ They will have to focus on highly populated area that have access to club life and be able to promote the drugs discreetly, in abundance and at a very reasonable price. Young people cannot afford to purchase large quantities for social use but they are certainly repeat buyers. Volume and consistency create profit rise! They are not interested in the crack cocaine industry because again crack cocaine is not the drug of choice at present and is a ‘niche drug’. Profitability is in the production and distribution of the drug of choice and to move in on the competition.

This is a new marketing strategy from past drug distribution in that the CDC used to focus on the wealthy buyer who could purchase in large quantities. This was a safe way to conduct business. However they can remain careful with excellent suppliers as long as they do not do any direct selling. Instead of focusing only on cocaine they will promote heroin and methamphetamine throughout the world thus controlling two phases of drug distribution.

The marketing strategy appears to be strong but the CDC must remember they are no longer the conglomerate in the drug distribution world. They have been downsized. They must work avidly to regain the control over the drug world by using the same ‘basic principles’ that raised them to the top in the 1980’s. Keep it simple! The difference is the product has changed and with that so has the buyers. Keeping ample supply in stock will keep production up but without trusted suppliers through retailers could create their own demise.