A: Okay everyone, let’s begin. I called you here today to evaluate our marketing strategy during this recession. I wanted to re-emphasize our corporate mission of Aiming to give our customers the best coffee and service in a clean and welcoming atmosphere.
B: Several other shops have reduced the prices for their coffees and are drawing in more customers.Why aren’t we doing the same thing?
A: I know that recent sales have been slow, but we are not going to reduce our prices to the level of our competitors. We offer a superior product and our focus is on long-term growth rather than short-term sales. If we lower our prices, we run the risk of devaluing our product.
B: Customers don’t care about the coffee anymore. They only care about the price.
A: I disagree. Highly discerning customers know that our coffee is far better than the coffee you buy at the other places. Our coffee bean are artisan roasted and we use state-of-the-art equipment to brew our coffees. When you compare the coffees side-by-side,our coffee wins the taste test every time. We have never sought to appeal to the mass market with cheap coffee drinks, and we will not do so now.
C: That’s true. We’ve certainly achieved top of mind awareness when it comes to the best best tasting brews and it’s important to distinguish ourselves from our competitors. I think the main question is how we can show our appreciation to our customers.
A: That’s the main question I would like to discuss today.
B: Money is tight for everyone these days so even our most loyal customers may be reconsidering the money they pay for their morning coffee. Since the superiority of our coffee beans is one of our core competencies， why don’t we sell the beans for people to brew coffee at home.？
C: That could definitely be a way we could expand our company, but would we be undermining the essence of the company that way?
A: Let’s brainstorm some more ideas, and do some research. The customer always comes first, and what the customer wants, the customer gets. Maybe it’s time we started selling coffee beans.
词汇注释
evaluate v.评估
devalue v.减值; 贬值
discerning adj.有识别力的; 眼光敏锐的
state-of-the-art 使用了最先进技术的
side-by-side 一起
awareness n.体认; 觉悟
undermine vt.逐渐削弱
参考译文
A: 大家静一下，我们开始吧。我今天叫你们来是为了在经济衰退的背景下评估我们的市场策略。我想重新强调下我们公司的使命“在整洁和欢迎的氛围中为客户提供最好的咖啡和服务”。
B: 其他一些商店已经降低了咖啡的价格，想要吸引更多的顾客，我们为什么不做同样的事？
A: 我知道最近的销售进展缓慢，但是我们降价不能达到对手那样的价格。我的产品很棒，我们关注在长期的增长而不是短期的销售。如果我们降低价格，我们就得冒贬值的危险。
B: 顾客不再关注咖啡，他们只关注价格。
A: 我不同意。有识别力的顾客知道我们的咖啡要比在其他商店的好。我们的咖啡豆烤制讲究，使用最先进的工艺来制作咖啡。当你和其他咖啡放在一起比较式，每次我们生产的咖啡口感每次都胜过对方。我们从来没想要吸引喝便宜咖啡的大众市场，我们现在也不会这么做。
C: 那倒是真的。在咖啡有最好的口感方面，我们达成了公式，这也是和竞争对手的主要区别。我想最主要的问题是如何向顾客展示我们的价值。
A: 那也是我今天向讨论的问题。
B: 现在每个人手头都很拮据，所以我们的忠实客户可能会重新考虑买早晨咖啡的费用。我们咖啡豆的核心优势，为什么我们不将咖啡卖给那些在家里喝咖啡的人呢？
C: 那无疑是我们拓展生意的方法之一，但是那样会不会逐渐消弱公司的本质？
A: 我们来多想些主意，多做些调查。顾客总是最重要的，顾客想要什么，他们买什么。也许是我们开始卖咖啡豆的时候了。
