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XX. Marketing Plan

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A marketing plan is a comprehensive document or blueprint that outlines the advertising and marketing strategy for the coming year.  It describes the business activities involved in creating and accomplishing our specific marketing objectives within a set time frame.  We will approach our marketing efforts from multiple levels and directions in order to effectively cover a broad  area in general, while also running a laser focused and targeted marketing campaign based on a specific criteria of geographics, demographics, psychographics, and the behavioral activities of consumers, using a wide variety of unique tools that we have at our disposal to effectively promote us and our advertisers. 

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Our marketing mix has 8 components called the 8 P’s of marketing which includes Product, Price, Place, People, Promotion, Process, Physical Evidence and Principle (this one is very important to us).  It is the operational/tactical part of a marketing plan that is used to show the different variables that individuals must use to successfully market their product or service.

 

 

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Although there are many versions and requirements based on the goals of each company, the 8 P's that we have choosen to implement, are the ones shown above.  Now I will explain each category as it pertains to our business.

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Products and Services

 

The core of any marketing effort, is to provide the products/services that customers desire. The best marketing in the world will have difficulty selling something for which there is no demand. Therefore, we must understand how the products/services will help the customer solve a problem or achieve a goal. We must also understand the product's/services relationship in the market -- how is it superior to the competition?

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Offering the right products and services at the right prices are also very important aspects in building the foundation of any marketing campaign.   In other words, give the customer what they are looking for, more affordably, with greater attention to quality and customer service, so that they will be happy to become and remain loyal customers.

         

We can offer better pricing, because we will be generating our profits from dozens of industry related services and over 900,000 products that we can sell to the public, via our online stores and to our advertisers, through an exclusive, members only link where they will receive special offers and discounted pricing.  We will work on the front end to generate the sales, while our distribution partners will work diligently on the back end, as an extension of our company by providing inventory control, product fulfillment and shipping.  This symbiotic relationship will allow us to reduce overhead, while creating the appearance of a much larger company. We will be able to offer lower pricing, while generating healthy profits through the commissions from our efforts.

 

 

 

 

Our company will be divided into 4 distinct departments (shown below).

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Certain things in life will always be needed and people will spend their

hard earned money to have their needs fulfilled.  In business the need

is customers.  We go into business in order to make money.  The only

way to make money is to attract customers. The only way to attract

customers is to advertise. It is a paradox!

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Being small business owners, we have experienced the dilemma that

these entrepreneurs are facing each day. We had to choose where to

spend our advertising dollars, where it would gain the maximum amount

of exposure, with the minimum amount of investment.  We were placed

in this paradox all too many times which ultimately lead us to create Pro-

Motion Advertising and offer something better. We set out on a mission

to provide the most effective and most affordable “Out of Home” adver-

tising system in the world. 

 

The problem with most of the typical advertising available is that they are very expensive and only offer 1 channel (newspapers, radio, direct-mail, television, etc...) for the buck.  For example, a customer needs to purchase advertising for their business and they have a budget of $800 for the month.  What are their options?  (refer back to section one for a complete picture). 

 

• $800 per month will glean; two black and white, one column inch display newspaper ads, source: http://www.gaebler.com/Courier-Journal-KY-Newspaper-Advertising-Costs++6861.

• 15 radio ads, source: http://www.gaebler.com/WSFR-FM-KY-Radio-Advertising-Costs++2400. 

• By using the Direct-Mail-Cost-Calculator https://www.uspresort.com/direct-mail-cost-calculator $885 will deliver 1,000 4"x 6" post cards (standard rate) to residential locations. 

• The cost of billboard advertising ranges from about $700 to $2,500 a month per sign, source: http://www.gaebler.com/Billboard-Advertising-Costs.htm. 

• TV advertising is prohibitive due to high production costs, and pricey air time costs.

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Small businesses simply can't compete against larger companies who have larger marketing budgets and vast resources at their disposal to overwhelm the competition.  Our intention is to help small businesses compete for their market share of the profits to not only remain in business, but to thrive and grow.  Here is what our advertising members will get for their $799 a month.

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• Each route will be covered by an advertising/event vehicle with a Local Area Sales Represent-ative driving.

• These vehicles will showcase our customers advertisements in vivid full color, on our wide format mobile digital billboards from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm Monday thru Saturday, rotating thru at 2880 times a month, in some of the area's busiest routes with the highest daily traffic counts, closest to the advertisers place of business (focused advertising).

• The ads can be easily and quickly changed out to accommodate changing messages.

• Advertisers can track their ads through real time GPS and live broadcast video displayed on our website and accessed with a laptop, PC or other devices.

• The Sales/Event Vehicles will set-up at various busy areas on their routes to promote our business offerings and those of our advertisers thru presentations, dissemination of literature, flyers, business cards, promotional products, samples etc.  Each vehicle is equipped to conduct prize drawings, raffles, games and more to attract attention and engage the audience.  

• Our advertising members will be given a free gallery in our Go-Local business directory located on our website.  The Go-Local directory can be accessed 24/7 and is packed with features like maps, directions, logos, photos, videos, pertinent info and coupons that can be displayed on potential customers cell phones for redemption at our advertisers places of business.  Coupons will have bar codes or QR codes on them for tracking purposes.  We will promote the directory on our vehicle signs, links on our website, social media campaigns, and other advertising sources.

• They will also receive an ad in the Go-Local Magazine that will be printed in house and placed in the highly visible Go-Local Magazine racks located strategically across the area (member locations).

• We will produce numerous live stream videos and video podcasts to promote ourselves, our advertisers, local events and more.  These broadcasts will be found on our website, YouTube, Facebook, etc...

• Each member with a physical location will receive Social WiFi Hotspot Software.  Each location will have a custom landing page that their customers can use to access free WiFi while at their business.  The landing page will feature advertising for the location, advertising about us, links to the Go-Local Directory, calendar of events and a link to the free internet that can be accessed using their social media or email accounts.  Using their email and social media accounts will provide the location and our company with vital contact info and analytics for ongoing promotions and advertising endeavors.  It will also create a vast network for the promotion of our advertising members and ourselves.

• Private Social Media

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• Advertising members will also receive a 15% discount on our many other services and products.

 

This system was created to be effective enough to stand on its own, while being affordable enough to be integrated into existing campaigns!

 

The aforementioned information explains our mobile billboard advertising system, now we will talk about the additional advertising programs that we will offer in order to: handle unique or specific situations, be able to provide even more focused campaigns, supplement our advertisers existing programs or to attract attention to a special event.  In order to overwhelm our competition, attract more customers and provide a massive arsenal of advertising options that will effectively get our clients noticed in most any advertising situation, we have taken the land, sea and air approach.

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Our creative services department will include full color direct-to-garment printing & embroidery, full color UV printers that can print on multiple substrates and thousands of products from signs, promo products, personalized gifts, awards, trophies and much more, vinyl, sublimation printing & heat press services, 3D printing/scanning services will let us create full color products ranging from souvenirs to mock-ups, photo/video production services, graphic & website design. 

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These products and services will allow us to offer vital products and services to our customers at discounted prices.  We will be able to handle all of our own internal projects like company uniforms, vehicle graphics, digital printing and much more. They will create new sources of income for our company, our investors, our sales reps who will make the sales, added money for employee bonuses and charitable giving, and increase our brands visibility.

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Pricing

 

Contrary to popular opinion, price is not the main reason customers buy. An inappropriate price can still cost you a great deal of money, though -- whether it's in lost sales or in "money left on the table." Therefore, check that prices of products and services are appropriate both to the reality of the market and the cost of delivering them.

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Often, changing the terms of sale or combining products together may create a negligible effect on the cost while creating a tremendous effect on the perceived value. These "extra bonuses" may cost next to nothing while making our prices instantly far more attractive.

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Pricing is a delicate balance between sufficient profits and affordability.  If we charge too much for our products or services, customers may look for a better price and we might lose a sale.  If we charge to little for our products and services, we will lose money.

 

Advertising is vital to attract customers.  One analogy to describe advertising is as follows, "A person could be standing in the middle of the woods handing out 20 dollar bills, but if no one knows where they are or what they are doing...they won't be able to give away a single one".  Advertising, in what ever form, must be able to convey the advertisers message, the who, what, when and where, to as many targeted people as possible without going broke or wasting money in the process.  

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The problem with most forms of advertising is that they give the customer so little, but charge so much, as I demonstrated in section 1.  We will flip this around by providing our customers more for less.  There is definitely strength in numbers.  The more advertisers we have, the better our system works.  We will use numerous support mediums and methods along with our mobile digital billboards, to effectively and affordably blanket the area with our customers ads.

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Cost comparisons based on “CPM” or “cost per thousand impressions,” show that mobile billboards have the lowest CPM's in the advertising industry.  More for less!

 

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Mobile Billboards have a CPM of $.75 – $2
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Stationary Billboards – CPM: $3 – $4
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Direct Mail – CPM: $26-$27
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Newspaper – CPM: $17- $22
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Internet – CPM: $4 – $27
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Television – CPM: $6 – $26
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Radio – CPM: $10 – $16
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Magazines – CPM: $8 – $20                               

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Source: OAAA (Outdoor Advertising Association of America)

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Pricing Structure/Discounts

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This unique advertising program, with all of its fantastic offerings, amazing benefits and awesome perks, will be very affordably priced at $799 per month.  Compared to the more traditional advertising mediums, it puts a quality set of campaign tools well within reach of most small business owners who must be more frugal and budget conscious.

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Place

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Where the customer meets the salesperson is the "place." Direct sales methods include outside and inside sales of a product or service.  Outside sales is all sales conducted away from a store, by a sales person via face-to-face interaction with potential and existing customers in their homes & offices, trade shows & other events. They are our front line, responsible for establishing a memorable and positive first and ongoing impression of our company through their commitment to superior customer service through professionalism, product and service knowledge, as well as the interest in and willingness to go the extra mile providing hands-on explanations of any new or updated products when necessary.  Inside sales is also conducted face-to-face with a customer by a sales person but within a physical location (brick and mortar shop) where the customers come to them.  Online stores replace the salesperson with a website.  Wholesale, re-seller, referral and fundraising programs utilize an authorized third party to make sales on our behalf for commissions or as an independent business purchasing our products wholesale and re-selling them to their customers  

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We intend to use a combination of these methods to produce the best results.

 

People

 

We know how important it is to recruit, hire and retain excellent team members.  The only way to accomplish this is by creating a superior work environment that will bring out nothing but the absolute best from each individual member of our team. 

 

By reducing or eliminating many of the negative work place and after work stressors (such as being overworked, underpaid, lack of appreciation and respect, no opportunities to advance, no reward for exceptional work, feeling of being in a dead end job, boredom, little or no training, no recognition, lack of communication, lack of feeling like a vital team member, feeling unimportant or unheard, among many others), our team members will be able to flourish and better commit themselves to contributing more fully to the ultimate success of our company.  Happy team members make better team members.

 

We will in turn commit ourselves to them by offering livable wages, cash bonuses for hard work, quality benefits, a positive, happy work environment, filled with opportunities for personal growth, job diversity and advancement within the company, importance placed on providing time off to relax, encouraging creativity and input of ideas, ongoing training, necessary tooling and valuable resources to make them comfortable, competent and confident members of our business.

 

Much of how customers rate the service experience hinges on the person delivering it. Professionalism and courtesy go a long way in any business. Other attributes become critical depending on what products/services are being offered -- discretion in a psychiatric practice or tact in funeral services, for instance.

 

Our front line will be our team of Local Area Sales Representatives, or LASR's (Lasers) for short.  We will have 8 LASR's, each covering specific routes in Louisville.  Each LASR will have have a sales/event vehicle equipped with everything they need to conduct sales and promotional events.  They will make face-to-face contact with business owners or managers

to introduce our business offerings.  Each LASR is assigned to a team which includes their sales/event vehicle, the ad vehicle with three drivers who will split up the days in the week, working two days driving and either two days working in other departments.  Everybody will drive a vehicle until their secondary job has the ability to sustain itself at which time their secondary job will be come their primary job and another driver will be hired.

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Promotion

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Promotion is the heart of what most people think of as "marketing." Promotion encompasses every aspect of packaging, advertising, sales methodology, and salespeople, all working together to engage, educate, entertain and inform the public about the various products and services that we and our advertisers offer in hopes of attracting new customers.

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Even the smallest changes to a promotional campaign, can produce dramatic changes in sales and overall profits. A tiny tweak, for example, can easily double  sales.  As we move forward, we must always keep in mind that no marketing plan will work forever. Therefore we must be prepared to develop new approaches, strategies, and offers on an ongoing basis in order to keep ahead of the market's changing tastes.

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Our primary focus will be to implement a direct marketing campaign utilizing our Local Area Sales Representatives (LASR's) to conduct face to face meetings with local business owners.  Each LASR will have a complete mobile billboard system that they will use to demonstrate what our company has to offer (see image to the right).  The mobile sales/event vehicles are designed to get noticed and fully equipped to draw a crowd.    

 

The mobile billboard unit is the primary sales tool at the LASR's disposal, followed by the Samsung Galaxy Tablet that will allow our reps to access and show the customer our company website and marketing materials.  It will also be used to generate invoices (that can be electronically signed by the customer) and to accept credit cards to close the sales.  LASR's will also utilize specially designed business cards that are as unique as our company (click on the business card to the right to view). 

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We will maintain memberships with the local Chambers of Commerce.  This will be a great resource for our sales reps to use.  The reps can attend the numerous activities and events that each Chamber offers in order to network and introduce our company and its services to the members.

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The sales representatives will also attend local trade shows, business fairs and other events where they will either setup the trade show display or our event unit.

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Our advertising campaign will also include running ads in several local area entertainment    periodicals that share a similar target audience.

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Processes

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As tempting as it is to think of process in terms of your needs, to marketers process is in fact what your customers experience. The process issues that are most annoying for a customer are the process elements which put the provider's convenience ahead of the customer's. Therefore, it is important for us to design our process to maximize the customer's enjoyment throughout and take care of the customers needs and wants.  Running even a modest marketing campaign can be a very frustrating and time consuming process and as they say "Time is Money".  However, marketing and advertising, if you don't know what you are doing, the money will go to the person who does. 

 

Many small business owners are very limited with the time and money it takes to manage the day to day operations of their companies.  It is our job to help them effectively, efficiently and economically lighten their load.  Our one-stop-shop concept will provide the small business owner with all of the vital business tools, resources and qualified, experienced staff that the corporate giants have with out the burden of hiring any additional people.

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Physical Evidence

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All the visible and tangible traces of our business that a customer encounters prior to buying are the physical evidence. Advertising, signage, physical location, signage, vehicles, printed materials, even our staff uniforms are part of the physical evidence of our business. We intend to use our physical evidence to stand out from the competition and create a strong brand image, because you never get a second chance at a first impression.

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A lot of time and energy has gone into creating a unique business look that will stand out in the crowd. 

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Principle

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Due to low trust, customers and employees turn to businesses and their leaders to lead change. According to 2022 Edelman’s Trust Barometer, businesses must stand for something more than making a profit.

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