Running Head: BUSINESS PLAN 1 Business Plan Name: Institutional Affiliation: Date: BUSINESS PLAN 2 Contents Introduction ................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. Executive summary ....................................................................................................................................... 3 The application summary.............................................................................................................................. 4 SWOT analysis ............................................................................................................................................... 4 Strengths ................................................................................................................................................... 4 Weakness .................................................................................................................................................. 5 Opportunities ............................................................................................................................................ 5 Threats ...................................................................................................................................................... 5 The target market of the application ............................................................................................................ 5 Product feasibility ......................................................................................................................................... 6 Advertising of the application ....................................................................................................................... 7 Business mode .............................................................................................................................................. 9 Sustainability of the DEST application ........................................................................................................ 11 Synthesis ..................................................................................................................................................... 11 Exit strategy ................................................................................................................................................ 11 References: ................................................................................................................................................. 13 BUSINESS PLAN 3 Business plan Executive summary Before starting a business, one must take into consideration various internal as well as external factors that may affect the entire process and also the resulting entity. Ultimately, Ajast Developer must first conduct both the feasibility and also pre-feasibility studies which in the end play a vital part in giving out the various possible strengths as well as weaknesses of the proposed business idea. From the initial analysis that firm will undertake the necessary decisions concerning the idea of either implementing the perceived business or not. One of the most important factors to consider in such a case, therefore, include the nature of the business where each entrepreneur must first define the business problem that the idea may or will help to resolve. Secondly, after identifying the business gap, the entrepreneur must consider the target market which will form the customer base for the items and commodities offered. The target market must exhibit the capabilities of providing the company with the necessary returns to achieve the overall goals of any business which revolves around making profits. The final element that an organization must include the primary source of funds that the business will require. The primary aim of this paper, therefore, includes Ajast Developer the documentation of the various crucial elements that play a huge role in ensuring that the \n this case successfully implements the underlying business idea for the benefit of his/her future needs. (Robb& Robinson2014). The Ajast Developers is a popular team of developers who deal with the manufacture of mobile applications across the globe. In the recent past, they came up with their latest development. The DEST application can use in many applications that can help in the success of all the people who may use the application. The DIST aims at offering its services all across the BUSINESS PLAN 4 globe by helping the vehicle owners to view their vehicles wherever they are by merely linking the GPS in the vehicles with their phones. The application summary A group of top rated developers designed the application in the past three weeks. These developers aimed at coming up with an application that would help in the ensuring that all the tracking needs are fulfilled. The developers are willing to provide the required funding from their savings to cover all the expenses incurred in the finalizing of the application and provide a financial cushion for the first few months of the operation of the application. A 3-year loan from the bank will help to meet the rest of the required financial support. The team of developers plans to establish a strong market position of the application all over the globe due to the marketing experience that the members of the developing team have over years. SWOT analysis The SWOT analysis will help the company to identify the strengths and weakness that the application may possess and how it will prevail in the market. In this, the company identified the following that made them come up with a viable conclusion. Strengths Primarily, this helped to determine some of the internal factors that could result in the success of the application in the market. A healthy relationship with the team responsible for the supply f the app served as one of their strengths. Further, the company has a low-cost leader who ensured that the manufacturer does not use more production cost. BUSINESS PLAN 5 Weakness The weakness of the application as identified include; taking a long time before responding to the users' queries, not applicable to all the people in the community. In identifying this, the company decided to correct. Opportunities Some of the identified opportunities that they identified include; the application of online marketing to sell the product, the government decided to offer some support in ensuring the success of this product in the market. Threats The threats to the existence of this application include; the presence of other applications that serve a purpose close to the services of DEST application. Other companies were willing to offer services that the application offers at a relatively lower fee. The target market of the application Segmentation of the product is a vital role in ensuring the success of the product in the market. After using the SWOT analysis, the company came was able to identify their market effectively. One of the target markets of the Ajast developers with their application is the fleet managers. The people who manage the transportation companies serve as a perfect market for the application as it aims at providing them with the ability to view the movement of their respective vehicles fully. The other target market for the application is the insurance providers. The insurance providers may link up the application with their system so that they will see the progress of the cover their customers have and the expiry date of their insurance coverage. BUSINESS PLAN 6 Vehicle owners at home serve as another target market for the application. This application will help the owners who offer their vehicles for hire to track the movement of their vehicles and to determine whether the people who might take their vehicles follow the agreed routes. Product feasibility The DEST application is designed to reduce the communication between the management team and the drivers. By doing this, it enables that the drivers entirely concentrate with their driving thus ensuring their safety while they are still driving. The application also helps in the controlling of the movement of the trucks. Due to the fact that it can connect to the respective vehicle GPS, the managerial team can successfully check the places where the vehicle goes and the speed that the vehicle that travels in. Besides, when the vehicle travels towards an unauthorized destination, the fleet managers can receive a message on their phone through this application which enables them to conform with the drivers. Similarly, the fleet management team can notice via the application when the vehicle stops abnormally at an unauthorized place. The application can give an alarm to the responsible team at the station that enables them to note and confirm the reason for the stoppage. The DEST application comes with a camera. This camera enables the respective managerial team to effectively have a clear view of the state of the vehicle. Many vehicles have explicit instructions that the drivers should not carry illegal goods and people. The installation of the camera enables the fleet managers to view the times when their drivers carry illegal goods. Another feature of this application is the ability of the fleet manager to view the moments when the drivers go out of range from the truck. Because the transportation companies have strict schedules, the moments when the driver leaves the truck and goes for a long time the managers can easily notice as a result of this application. The developers of DEST application designed it in a way such that the owner of the vehicle can notice any time BUSINESS PLAN 7 that the driver uses the fuel card. Due to this feature, whenever the driver uses a fuel card in any gas station. The application can also keep a record of how many times that the drier uses the card and to some extent make an analysis of the distance covered on the fuel that they had previously added. The other feature about the application is the insurance payment mode of the vehicle. Through the DEST application, the owner of the vehicles can read the insurance policy that the vehicle is in and the next time that they may need to renew the policy. Marketing Mix Implementation Advertising of the application Advertising serves as another plan of the organization that will ensure the success of the application in the market. Therefore, the choice of the right marketing strategy will ensure that the product meets success in the market. The developers of the application plan to several modes to advertise the application. These methods will help the application to get into the market. The advertising methods include the following. Use of search engine is the first method that the organization used to market the application. In this method, the company plans to advertise the product such that every person who accesses the internet can see the product and take a step of trying it. Use of search engine shows the following advantages in ensuring the success of the application. Using the method does not incur the organization more resources. The advertising method will result in extensive coverage in the market. On the other side, the use of a search engine form of advertising will show the following disadvantages to the organization. The method may result in unwanted popups messages that may disturb the users(Moran,2014). The use of the advertising method may not assure the organization that the potential market will end up purchasing the product. BUSINESS PLAN 8 Product advertising serves as another advertising strategy that the organization plans to use in the marketing of the product. In this method since the market has already marketed itself in the way that people expect it to function, it will meet a great success in the market. Besides, the use of product advertising will show the following advantages; the method is not an expensive mean of advertising. The mode of advertising ensures much success of the product. The method will show the following disadvantages; it may take a longer time for the method to ensure the success of the product in the market. Also, the advertising method may fail to favor the company since it deals with the introduction of an entirely new product. Due to this, some people may fail to recognize the application. Social media advertising is the other method of advertising that the organization will use to advertise the product. In this mode of advertising, the general public will know the existence of the product thus leading to the success of the application in the market. Social media marketing helps the organization through its ability to access a broader market, and many people can access it wherever they may be. Furthermore, the organization will create a facebook page and utilize other social media platforms in the marketing of the application. Social media advertising will show some advantages such as; the social media advertising method does not incur the company much cost. Due to this, the company may end up realizing much profit and using a relatively lower amount of investment (Delzner,2011). It will ensure that the product covers a large market, it will ensure that all the people who can access the internet can get to know about the product. On the other hand, the social media marketing will show the following disadvantages; the market may get to know about the product, but this type of advertising does not assure the company of the success of the product. BUSINESS PLAN 9 The other form of advertising that the organization responsible for the marketing of DEST application is the broadcast advertising. In this form of advertising, the developers would access a wide range of the market. Consequently, this ensures that the product covers a wide range and more people across the globe get to learn about this product thus its success in dominating the market. In this, they can use some means of advertising such as the television, marketing, and radios. The broadcasting advertising may show the following advantages to the success of the application. The use of the broadcast advertising will cover a large market. Since it goes for a wider area, the organization will result in the application covering the broad market. The employment of broadcast advertising also serves the company well since they perform the advertisement explaining to the audience how they can use the application. The disadvantages of the advertising methods include the fact that not all people read the business articles thus the target market may fail to see the adverts (Diamond,2011). Again, they may air the adverts at a time when nobody is watching thus resulting in few people learning about the application. On analyzing these advertising methods, since the advantages of social media advertising outdo the disadvantages and the fact that it covers a broader market scope, the company decided that they will use it in their advertising of the DEST application. Business mode The management of the organization intends to operate an internet mode of business. This mode of business allows the organization to access a broader market. The mode of business has some advantages that the organization took into considerations in choosing it. Hence. some of the advantages of internet mode of business include where it is standard mode since the organization may require to use a minimum investment in ensuring the success of the business. The other-other advantage of this mode of business is the ability for the access to a broader BUSINESS PLAN 10 market(Dillman,2011). Subsequently, using a little amount of investment, the method allows the organization to have more comprehensive access to their market. Due to this feature, the organization can enjoy the success of their product. The method has a disadvantage that the organization may need to overcome in order for unlimited success in the operation. These disadvantages include; the business mod does not assure the organization that the people who see the product will end up purchasing it. Therefore, this is because they may not receive a response from the potential customers whether they will purchase the DEST application. Another disadvantage of the mode of business is the fact that it may take a longer than expected time before it becomes effective. Application of the internet mode of business may not take a shorter time that the organization may expect. However, the application of the mode of business may result in great success in the organization's operations. Below is the income statement of the organization Item Cost in $ Sales revenue 100000 Cost of production 150000 General expenses 300000 Depreciation expense 450000 Tax Expense 300000 Total 1300000 BUSINESS PLAN 11 Sustainability of the DEST application The application ensures a perfect environmental impact due because it designed in a way that its manufacture met all the environmental requirements. The application aims at realizing a considerable profit margin to the company since it is a unique and no other product has ever served the market with the ability that the new application can. This application will cover the financial sustainability of the company and the users as well. The management sustainability of the producing company will also realize once the application gets into the market. (Leon, & Bădică, 2016). Synthesis The introduction of a new product in the market results in the success of the manufacturing company and the entire, market as well. The use of the appropriate marketing strategies helps the organization to realize all its goals(LaValle and all,2011). Similarly, a perfect choice of the market of the products can help the organization to meet its marketing goals and to realize all its financial needs. The success of this application will significantly depend on the way that the business markets it and the way that the market will perceive the product as well. Exit strategy Every business undergoes a series of steps from its initiation to the final exit phase. In most cases, business entities may exit the market using various strategies which ensure that the gap identified in the first place remains catered for. Instead of just closing down the business, the management may seek additional assistance from the relevant experts in the attempt to come up with better strategies to exit the market. For instance, the management may opt to sell out the company to the potential buyers. The second option to exit the market may include the firm merging with a similar company in the same industry to deliver differentiated services in the overall. The third option that the business may opt to use includes an initial public offering BUSINESS PLAN 12 (IPO). The problem with this approach comes from the fact that the internet bubble which happened in the year 2000 affected the IPO rate negatively and thus may not lead to the desired goals. The other option that the firm may consider includes assigning the running and operations of the business to a trusted third party. While this will not transfer the original owner of the firm to the third party, it will ensure that it generates money throughout its operations. The original owner may then pay off all the investors as well as shareholders which will give him/her the opportunity to reap the resulting benefits in preparation for the investment of the next business idea. The firm, in this case, should take the option to sell the company to a friendly third party. Selling the company will help the investor to cater for all the previous costs such as paying the investors. Ultimately, selling the firm will make it easy for the original owner to reap financial benefits which will form a basis for investing in another business idea (DeTienne, McKelvie & Chandler, 2015). BUSINESS PLAN 13 References: Diamond, J. (2011). Retail advertising and promotion. Fairchild Books. Dillman, D. A. (2011). Mail and Internet surveys: The tailored design method--2007 Update with new Internet, visual, and mixed-mode guide. John Wiley & Sons. LaValle, S., Lesser, E., Shockley, R., Hopkins, M. S., & Kruschwitz, N. (2011). Big data, analytics and the path from insights to value. MIT Sloan management review, 52(2), 21. Moran, M., & Hunt, B. (2014). Search engine marketing, Inc.: Driving search traffic to your company's website. IBM Press. DeTienne, D. R., McKelvie, A., & Chandler, G. N. (2015). Making sense of entrepreneurial exit strategies: A typology and test. Journal of Business Venturing, 30(2), 255-272. Leon, F., &Bădică, C. (2016, May). A freight brokering system architecture based on web services and agents. In International Conference on Exploring Services Science (pp. 537546). Springer, Cham. Robb, A. M., & Robinson, D. T. (2014). The capital structure decisions of new firms. The Review of Financial Studies, 27(1), 153-179. Stelzner, M. A. (2011). Social media marketing industry report. Social Media Examiner, 41, 110. BUSINESS PLAN 14 Marketing Plan Assignment Details Startup Marketing Plan Double-spaced, free of typos and grammar errors No length requirement but shouldn’t be less than 8 pages Use APA or MLA to cite sources Executive Summary- 1 page summary of marketing plan • Value Proposition Statement for primary target segment • 2-3 key environmental factors that are driving the strategy (PEST, industry, or company) • Combined market size of targeted segments • Objectives • Get-Keep-Grow Situation Analysis- keep it relevant to your product • PEST analysis • Industry analysis • Competitive table • Company Summarize situation analysis in SWOT Market Segmentation • List 2 possible segments- identify primary and secondary target segments and why you selected them • Describe in detail the customer for the primary and secondary target segment • Include the customer decision making process for each segment Marketing Budget and Objectives (with metric and time horizon) Marketing Mix • • Product Strategy and Tactics- WHAT is being sold o Product specs o Brand statement Placement Strategy and Tactics – WHERE and how the product will be sold • Pricing Strategy and Tactics – WHY consumers will buy o High price/ premium service or lower price/ higher volume? o Discounts, sales, or bundling? • Promotion Strategy and Tactics – HOW o Top three promotions strategies o Purpose of website (scheduling, point of sale, "yellow pages", community, education, etc.) o Identify social media channels, purpose by channel, and channel voice and how content is going to be used and repurposed Marketing Mix Summary- Get-Keep-Grow • How are you going to Get customers • How are you going Keep customers • How are you going to Grow customers • Is this different for any of your segments? Implementation and Evaluation Plan – Who is going to do what and how are you going to evaluate progress Appendix • Any supporting material Entrepreneurial Marketing (Hallgren) MARKETING PLAN Submitted By: Group 9 – Hometown Favorites EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Hometown Favorites is the online destination to bring-to-market your favorite product made in Your Town, USA. They celebrate American made by raising consumer awareness and providing an easy shopping experience at a value. The twist? The consumer drives the assortment. Hometown Favorite’s secret sauce has two ingredients; 1) A business model based on collaborative consumption, and 2) The highly customer-centric team. The enterprise will offer dynamic and expandable product assortment breadth crossing many categories including; Home Textiles, Home Décor, Candles, Wall Art, Sporting Goods & Games, Housewares, and Outdoor Living. The marketing plan must inspire customers to say the following three words about Hometown Favorites: “Authentic” – Because products will be certified American made (no phonies), and users will be the drivers of the choices and ratings. “Engaging” – Because the site is ever changing with new products and new stories about your town. “Unique” – Because Amazon sells everything, and big box sells China, and our peers are merely conduits of commerce. The marketing plan must address the current environmental reality that U.S. consumers prefer to buy American made goods. According to Consumer Reports about 78% have expressed this reality. However, the big box retailers and specialty stores offer only a small fraction of American made in a sea of goods produced in China, India, and Vietnam. Consumers looking to share their wallet with American manufacturers do not have an authentic, engaging, unique platform to do so. The marketing plan must build consumer acquisition as a focus in the short term, keep customers through driving loyalty program engagement ongoing, and grow the business over time by leveraging a collaborative consumption model that will build on itself. SITUATION ANALYSIS PEST Analysis Political: ● Government stability – There are a lot of uncertainties in terms of government stability given the recent Presidential transition. Some are speculating that it will be great for entrepreneurs and small businesses, while some are worried the government may become unstable. As it relates to Hometown Favorites, a concept built on American-made, Trump’s aggressive stance on equalizing the trade deficit and pulling away from NAFTA could shift consumer demand favorably toward American-made. ● Governmental policies – Online retailers must meet Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard (DSS) requirements. Hometown Favorites will need to follow this standard when storing, processing, and transmitting credit card data. PCI compliance can be a great challenge to small businesses, as it is very time-consuming. It is suggested that PCI be outsourced to a third party (https://ecommerceguide.com/guides/ecommerce-legals/). Economic: ● Inflation – Statista.com shows 2015’s inflation rate as 0.12%. It is expected to be 0.82% in 2016 and up to 1.54% in 2017 (https://www.statista.com/statistics/244983/projected-inflation-rate-in-the-united-states/). Hometown Favorites will need to deploy a fluid pricing strategy to remain competitive while adjusting for inflation by seeking cost mitigation and driving Average Unit Retails up at a rate commensurate with modest inflation. ● Growth Rate – Hometown Favorites will need to maintain a steady growth rate to ensure stability in the market. Growing slowly can cause the business to fail, while growing too quickly can strain the few resources available to Hometown Favorites. Hometown Favorites will benefit from offering a diverse assortment which equalizes growth trends across several mutually exclusive categories, like Home Decor vs Apparel vs Sporting Goods. Technological: ● Impact of emerging technologies – The rising popularity of smartphones and smartphone applications has greatly affected the number of mobile Internet connections. It is important that Hometown Favorites develops a compatible application where customers can make purchases and actively engage in product reviews and endorsements. Social Analysis ● Demographics – There are roughly 242.5 million adults in the US and only 13% of those are not online. It is estimated that there will be 311 million mobile Internet connections in the US by 2017, which means more and more people are starting use their mobile connections to make purchases. Mintel’s Online Shopping US 2015 report showed that 69% of US online adults shop online every month. This means that roughly 145.6 million adults in the US are shopping online every month. (http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/09/07/some-americans-dont-use-the-internet-who-are-they/). (http://www.mintel.com/press-centre/technology-press-centre/nearly-70-of-americans-shop-online-regularly-with-close-to-50taking-advantage-of-free-shipping).. ● Consumer attitudes and opinions – 78% of US consumers say that they are more interested in purchasing American-made products than foreign-made products. Hometown Favorites looks to appeal to this consumer attitude by making it easier for US consumers to find and purchase these products. In addition, according to the United Parcel Service Inc.’s annual survey of more than 5,000 online shoppers, consumers are saying they made more purchases online than in stores (http://www.wsj.com/articles/survey-shows-rapid-growth-in-online-shopping-1465358582). Industry Analysis According to IBIS World, the e-commerce industry drives nearly $300B in annual revenue. The sector has grown at a strong 10.1% over the past 5 years and is expected to continue growth of around 4.4% for the next 5 years. The research firm, Forrester, predicts US online business to grow to $523B by 2020. Compare this growth to the slowing traditional department store sector, anchored by brick & mortar based retailing, at 3.2% decline over the past 5 years and expected further declines in the coming years. Key Drivers Key external drivers include per capita disposable income, number of mobile Internet connections, and world price of crude oil. Per capita disposable income is projected to increase at a moderate rate (+1-2%) over the next 5 years, which is critical when selling consumer goods. Next, there will be an estimated 311 million mobile Internet connections in the U.S. by 2017, up from only 6 million as late as 2006. As more and more consumers move to smartphone devices it will be critical to deliver a shopping interface optimized for mobile purchases. LeClair, Madeline. IBISWorld Industry Report 45411a, ECommerce & Online Auctions in the US. June 2016. Key Players The online industry is highly fragmented with an endless sea of competition large and small. Amazon represents the largest market share at about 20%. From there, brick & mortar based business like Wal-Mart, Target, and department stores reflect mid-tier share ownership. The strength of these competitors lies within their massive capacity and infrastructure to source goods from overseas. Their predominant reliance upon Chinese and Indian manufacturing is a major barrier of entry to become a Made In America pure-play retailer. There is not a key player delivering a curated assortment of products made in the United States, driven by a collaborative consumption omni-channel shopping experience. Competitors Hometown Favorites Made in America Store Etsy Amazon Walmart Made in the USA Niche Market Online Ordering Brick and Mortar Mobile Compatibility Brand Awareness Social Media All All Some products Some products Very little Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Yes No (at first) Yes No No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Low Low Medium High High Facebook: 0 Twitter: 0 Instagram: 0 Facebook: 50k Twitter: 5k Instagram: 4k Facebook: 2.5m Twitter: 2.7m Instagram: 1m Facebook: 33m Twitter: 837k Instagram: 713k High Yes High Rarely Varies Sometimes Facebook: 26.8m Twitter: 2.4m Instagram: 661k Varies Rarely Quality Customers can see what town products are made in Low No SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths ● ● ● ● ● ● Weaknesses Highly talented team Mobile compatibility - easy entry Low overhead - No inventory Unique focus on collaborative consumption model High Quality control due to curated, well made/vetted products Allows buyers to see what town products are made in ● ● ● ● No brand awareness No recognition of identified Made in USA authority. No established standards for what qualifies as American-made No social media presence Opportunities ● ● ● Threats E-commerce: Growing $300 billion industry Estimated 311 million mobile internet connections in 2017 78% of US Consumers say they are more interested in M.I.A. products ● ● ● Premium cost for M.I.A. U.S. Manufacturing recently declined in August after 5 straight months of growth Economy MARKET SEGMENTATION & STRATEGY Segment Who are they? Primary or Secondary? What do they need? Where do they get their Who do they influence? Niche Seekers The type of people seeking out rare and uncommon products Secondary Practical Shoppers The everyday online shopper Secondary American Made Enthusiasts Consumers willing to pay the extra cost to obtain Americanmade products. They may also have a stronger sense of patriotism. Primary They scan the internet for products that the everyday retailer will not have. They need something unique or with unique qualities. Products that they find interesting or fill the need they are currently looking to fill when shopping online. information? Scanning the web trying to find rare or fascinating finds of niche products. They also get their information through wordof-mouth. Randomly browsing through google trying to find a product that interests them or meets their standards. They also get information from product reviews, wordof-mouth, and other online sources like Facebook, Amazon, Twitter, etc. Websites that strictly focus around products made in the US and possibly American publications like magazines, newspapers, etc. Their peers and people who relate to their tastes and preferences Their peers and other online shoppers since they are likely to leave reviews on products This customer Their peers will go out of and people their way to who share the make sure their same tastes product is made and from America preferences but has a hard that they do. time readily finding products. Is also skeptical of some Made In US claims. The American Made Enthusiast will be their primary customer segment. Practical Shoppers & Niche Seekers were categorized into the secondary target segments. The Enthusiasts can be categorized by a psychographic and behavioral segmentation, meaning the products would be purchased according to the type of “lifestyle” the consumer lives and “why” they purchase the product. They are expected to have repeat purchases due to their interests in unique items and would be identified as a heavy or moderate users. Niche Seekers are looking for something that stands out, an uncommon or rare find, while the Enthusiasts will go out of their way to find products strictly made within the United States, regardless of the extra cost. The Practical Shopper is classified as a secondary target segment because they are most likely to just stumble upon our website for something that caught their eye. This segment would be considered a light and possibly moderate users due to the fact that there was no particular reason to coming to the website other than web browsing. The primary target segment will have medium to high average incomes. It is known that American made products usually cost more than exported products due to labor costs. Anyone in the Enthusiast segment will have or be willing to spend the extra money to obtain the product in which they desire. Just like the Enthusiasts, the Niche Seekers will spend money on a product that is different, unique, or that stands out from the ordinary. Hometown Favorites primary customer is likely to represent “middle America”, is more likely to be sub-urban or rural, and probably watches Fox News more than MSNBC. Their primary customer will be between 35-60 years old and mostly female. Both the Enthusiast and the Niche target segments will influence not only their peers, but others that share the same taste and preference as them as well. The Practical Shopper could range anywhere from low to high income, so they will influence peers or even other online shoppers by leaving reviews on products purchased. The supply chain will consist of the manufacturer, who will produce and list their product on the Hometown Favorites website. Hometown Favorites would be classified as the retailer because they are the middleman between the manufacturer and the consumer. The consumer would be anyone who visits the page to purchase products. Just like amazon, Hometown Favorites would leave it up to the manufacturer to determine the logistics portion of the supply chain would function. Value Proposition Statement for each segment American Made Enthusiasts Our Hometown Favorites helps people searching for American made products who want to discover unique items from all over the country by offering commodities from every city and state available, and offering a user-friendly website to find the perfect product anywhere in the United States. Niche Seekers Our Hometown Favorites helps people seeking out rare products who want to discover remarkable merchandise by making extraordinary purchases obtainable and offering highly talented team members to guide customers in the right direction to find that product that fits their need. Practical Shoppers Our Hometown Favorites helps customers find a stand-out product who want to purchase merchandise that offer dynamic and expandable product assortment breadth crossing many categories by making could have, should have, would have moments just one easy tap of the computer mouse away. MARKETING BUDGET, GOALS, AND OBJECTIVES The primary marketing objective for Hometown Favorites during the first 30 - 90 days will be brand development. They will deploy an aggressive marketing campaign using social media and site affiliates as our conduit. Over the first month Hometown Favorites marketing budget would be evenly divided up into 3 primary online adversitors: Pinterest, Google Adwords, and Facebook. The marketing director will monitor KPI results including traffic, click activity, and conversion % between the three partners to determine month 2 & 3 marketing expense strategy. Due to low overhead at start-up beyond site development and zero upfront inventory investment, the initial company investment dollars will focused on building site awareness. As the revenue begins to build over the first 90 days, the marketing director will begin to allocate marketing resources from a budget of 10% of ongoing operating profit. Furthermore, manufacturers will be encouraged to participate in marketing co-op based in return for boosting their brand to the landing page. It will be the responsibility of the each account manager to drive co-op as a % of sales with each assigned manufacturer. After 90 days, the overall marketing budget will be split equally into brand development and promotions. Also after 90 days, the marketing director will report weekly marketing effectiveness based on Return On Ad spend. Dollar allocation will need to be optimized each week with the expectation of ROA growth over time. MARKETING MIX IMPLEMENTATION Marketing Mix Product (What) Hometown Favorites The exclusive opportunity to find unique quality in-town products that offer dynamic and expandable product assortment breadth crossing many categories Price (Why) The products will vary in price depending on the customer's needs. While they are just the middleman, they will promise their full dedication to get the best price possible from our suppliers. By implementing a loyalty program, they would be able to pick customers up where other websites dropped them off Promotion (How) Loyalty programs, discounts, user-friendly website, coupons, phone application, social media webpages, public relations, social media marketing via advertisement Place (Where) Hometown Favorites will be operated online and customers can purchase their products through either the website or on the phone with one of their knowledgeable specialists People (Who) Offers highly talented consultants to guide customers in the right direction to find that extraordinary product Marketing Mix Summary- Get-Keep-Grow GET - based on previously gathered information, most of their competition gets traffic from search engines. Thus the proper approach to attract target customers will be to set up a campaign through Google Adwords and target ideal keywords related to the category of goods and terms associated with Made In America or American Made. KEEP - The key vehicle to retain customers will be the revolutionary loyalty program that will reward users for not only shopping the site, but for driving content and social media exposure. The App will serve as the rewards hub to track user engagement - the more the consumer endorses, reviews, and post on social media - the more rewards points will be earned for cashback and site discounts. Hometown Favorites must also implement an email marketing campaign to drive sustained consumer consideration among the existing customer file. GROW - Hometown Favorites will drive growth through increasing the market basket. The exponential impact of consumers driving incremental product content by introducing their own “hometown favorites” will widen the audience and drive higher UPT per customer. The primary target customers will search for Hometown Favorites products based on keywords, and specifically, search for products to fit the consumers specialized needs. The Enthusiast will serve a dual role as their largest source of revenue as well as strong brand ambassadors which build content over time through the product review & recommendation function. As far as the practical shoppers, they will stumble across Hometown Favorites products, but could become repeat shoppers due to the loyalty program, which would offer rewards, discounts and coupons. Overall Approach to Implementation Each staff member will be trained to handle a specific area of the company such as updating website features, marketing via social media, and making it easy as possible for new suppliers and customers to join. In order to be more innovative, ideas on how to improve Hometown Favorites as far as the loyalty program, user-friendliness, and user access would always be welcomed. A website and application developer would be needed to get things rolling, but the suppliers and customers would find their way to the website via keyword searches or marketing advertisements. The website would function as an online-retail marketplace that focused on bringing unique American-made products to the consumer by the click of a mouse. Social media channels like Facebook, would be great channel platforms to advertise. Facebook ads are based on the user’s searched interests online, therefore someone searching for American made products could lead to displayed advertisement for Hometown Favorites. By actually creating an account for social media, such as Pinterest or Instagram, the company would be able to display and share products being sold, which could be used as a marketing tool by gaining followers and having them share content. EVALUATION AND CONTROL The executive team at Hometown Favorites will need to closely monitor marketing effectiveness over time. To ensure the company stays on track Get/Keep/Grow customers, KPI’s must be tracked and actioned upon weekly. The following pillars will be the focus: ● Site traffic - Goal to average 1000 visitors per day by end of Month 1. Increase traffic by 20% each month. Continue to test & seek optimal traffic driving methods. ● Loyalty engagement - track user sign-up rates and number of product reviews per customer per month. Goal to achieve 100% loyalty program enlistment among all active customers. Goal to average 2 reviews per month for Red-level loyalty members and 5 reviews per month for Whitelevel loyalty members and 10 reviews per month for Blue-level loyalty members. Loyalty manager will be accountable to drive loyal engagement and will be encouraged through tiered bonus incentive compensation. ● Assortment growth - Goal to grow assortment breadth by 50% each month for first six months through new supplier set-ups and existing supplier SKU expansion. The broader the assortment, the broader the brand recognition and online search relevancy. Account manager will be accountable for SKU growth rate results and will be encouraged through tiered bonus incentive compensation. As each KPI is tracked over time, marketing resources will be adjusted accordingly in order to drive any gaps vs the respective goals. The guiding principal in the marketing plan is to grow each of these components at the same rate, as it relates to the respective goals. One pillar should not lag behind the other two. Appendix Traction Bullseye Highest Potential Channels (Inside Circle) 1. Public Relations: Hometown Favorites can gain access to a lot of target customers by receiving positive PR in local newspaper and business magazines (like Forbes, Inc., Fast Company, etc.). 2. Search Engine Optimization: Since Hometown Favorites is operating online through its own website and social media channels, SEO is one of the most important marketing strategies that Hometown Favorites can take advantage of. Optimizing for search terms like: Made in USA, Made in America, American Made, Handmade, Local Products, and Hometown Favorites. 3. Existing Platforms: Hometown Favorites can take advantage of a lot of existing platforms. Building a stand-alone website is mainly how Hometown Favorites will operate its business. Products will be sold and advertised through the website. In addition, Hometown Favorites can take advantage of social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to help promote its products and business. Developing an app for the iPhone and Android can also be really beneficial to Hometown Favorites, especially since a lot of people are using mobile internet connections. Possibilities (Middle Ring) 1. Trade Shows: Trade shows are a great way for Hometown Favorites to both reach customers and supplier of American-made products. Attending craft and vendor shows can be beneficial to Hometown Favorites. Local businesses will most likely be attending. Hometown Favorites can set up a booth to advertise to customers while also walking around to other booths and contacting other crafters and vendors who could potentially become suppliers to Hometown Favorites. 2. Offline Events: Offline events goes hand-in-hand with trade shows, since trade shows are considered to be offline events. 3. Speaking Engagements: Several trade shows also have speaking components and presentations. Hometown Favorites could use this to their advantage in several ways. We, as the owners, could speak on behalf of what our company is doing and how it is beneficial to consumers and suppliers. We could also have some of our suppliers speak on behalf of our organization, as well. This would allow them to get the word out about both their products, as well as Hometown Favorites. We could also speak in ECON classes at local universities to help stress the importance of buying American-made products. 4. Targeting Blogs: Consumers tend to listen to what other consumers are saying about products and businesses. Hometown Favorites could approach reputable and high-traffic bloggers who focus on handmade, American-made, and new products. Good blog reviews could be great for Hometown Favorites, but it is riskier since we are not guaranteed a good review. Long-shots (Outer Ring) Long shots include all remaining traction channels. 1. Search Engine Marketing (SEM): PPC ads on Google. 2. Social/Display Ads: Facebook ads targeting US citizens who have an interest in online shopping. 3. Offline Ads: Sponsor events relating to patriotism. 4. Viral Marketing: Share discount coupons at events. 5. Content Marketing: Blog about new products (how they are made, where they come from, who makes them, etc.). 6. Email Marketing: E-newsletter about new products, handmade spotlights, specials, sales, etc. 7. Engineering as Marketing: ??? 8. Business Development: Partner with department stores to help get American-made, local products on their shelves 9. Sales: Personal selling, kiosk at a mall. 10. Affiliate programs: Groupon or loyalty program. 11. Community Building: Sponsor or attend local events like farmer’s markets and local craft/vendor shows. Marketing Plan Rubric Executive Summary A synopsis of the overall marketing plan. It should provide an overview of the entire plan with goals and objectives, strategy elements, market share/profitability, implementation issues and expected outcomes. 2 Points Possible Situation Analysis A thorough analysis of the internal, the customer and the external environments. 4 Points Possible You will cite the sources where the external analysis was found. SWOT Analysis Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats based on your situation analysis. 4 Points Possible Marketing Segmentation and Strategy Identify and describe primary and secondary target markets as well as product, pricing, distribution/supply chain, and marketing communication and promotion strategies. 6 Points Possible Marketing Budget, Goals, and Objectives Each must contain specific and measurable outcomes, the time frame for completion and identify the person/unit responsible for achieving the goals or objective. 2 Points Possible Marketing Mix Implementation This section will describe the overall approach 3 Points Possible to implementing the strategies and define specific tactical activities. This section should include quantifiable goals, staff duties, resources needed and what internal marketing activities will be used. Evaluation and Control This final section will address measurements for evaluation of the overall plan as well as individual components and what process will be used to make changes to the plan, if necessary. 2 Points Possible Spelling and Grammar Double-spaced, final draft (no typos or errors), written in 3rd person. 2 Points Possible Total
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