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Introduction

Terms of reference 3-4 Action Plan 5 Marketing 6 Market Research 7-15 -What is market research 7 -What is field research 7 -What is desk research 8 -Desk research 9-10 -Questionnaire 11 -Questionnaire results 12-15 Marketing Mix 16-18 -shop design 19 -front of shop 20 interior of shop 20-21 Product Life Cycle 22-24 -Boston Matrix 25-26 Promotion Techniques 27-32 Channels of Distribution 33-34 Consumer Law 35 Conclusion 36-38 Recommendations 39-41 Bibliography 42 Webliography 42 Jack has decided to open a greetings card shop in Hounslow town centre, however similar businesses already exist within the area, and in order for him to be successful and attract customers I am going to design a small scale marketing plan and formal report. Jack is a sole trader and who is setting up a small business and he should be aware of the following advantages and disadvantages of being a sole trader. The advantages are that it is easy to set up, less capital is required, speedy decisions can be made as few people are involved, personal attention is given to business affairs, can cater for local people, profits do not have to be shared and business affairs can be kept private. The disadvantages are that you have unlimited liability this means that there is no limit on the amount of debt the business may run up and you may end up losing personal possessions. Another disadvantage is the difficulty to raise finance, small scale limits discounts, prices are higher than bigger organisations and you will get less holidays as it may affect the running of the business. Market research To research similar businesses and produce a marketing plan for Jack I will need to conduct both types of market research, desk and field. To research similar businesses I will need to do some desk research by looking at their websites and shops, such as Jack's major competitor Clintons. ...read more.

Middle

According to the market research the majority of the people in the area usually pay �1.00-�1.49 for a card, therefore the prices of most of the cards in the shop should be �1.00-�1.49. Desk research was conducted to find out the average earnings of the people in the area, the results showed that the people in the area are quite high earners, therefore it would be suitable to be an upmarket business, however the market research shows that the price of the cards shoppers will prefer is middle market, so Jacks shop should be a middle market business. The competitors in the area were Clintons, WHsmith and Birthdays, all of theses shops are mid-market/upmarket shops. They are the competitors which Jack will be competing against for the market share; therefore to attract his target market Jack's shop should also be mid-market. In conclusion, by looking at the three factors (market research, consumers and competitors) Jack's business should launch off as a mid-market shop using the penetration method as well and start selling most of his cards at �1.00-�1.49 and then as it grows it could progress to mid-market/upmarket to overtake his competitors, this would require a different promotion strategy, he could do this by selling high quality cards which would have quite high prices, this could give his business a good reputation for good quality products, and help him overtake his competitors. As Jack's business moves into the cash cow section of the Boston Matrix, he could also incorporate sales and special offers to give him the competitive edge over his competitors when his business matures and therefore inject new life into the business. There are four parts of the promotional mix: advertising, publicity, selling and sales promotion. One of the best forms of advertising is the product itself. But advertising still plays an important role. There are four main reasons why firms advertise: 1) ...read more.

Conclusion

I rejected the advertising mediums of T.V. and the internet due to the size and scale of Jack's shop. Jack is a sole trader setting up a small single shop in Hounslow, if he advertised on the television and the internet it would be very expensive and broadcast to people who live extremely far away from Jack's shop and would be very unlikely to visit it, therefore Jack would be wasting a lot of money on people who would never visit his shop, that is why I rejected these mediums. As Jack's business grew and he opened more shops across the country then national T.V. and radio could be used as advertising mediums as they would appeal to his target market and would be fairly close to his shop to visit it. Channels of Distribution I would advise Jack to use the 'traditional' channel of distribution where products are delivered to Jack via a wholesaler. I rejected the other methods because they did not involve Jack's business and Jack is setting up a small business and would not be able to buy in bulk because of space and he there is not a guarantee that he will sell all that amount of stock because of the size of his business. However as Jack's business grew and he opened up more store he could consider the 'direct' channel of distribution however he will have to maintain sales and require many large shops to make this method work productively. Consumer Law For Jack to stay within the business he needs to fall within government laws and guidelines. Therefore he needs to carefully consider these laws, and he must choose which manufacturers to trade with and what products to sell to abide within these laws. Books * Business Studies for you Publisher- Stanley Thornes Author-David Needham, Robert Dransfield * Business Law Publisher-Pitman Author-Denis Keenan, Sarah Riches Websites * www.clintoncards.co.uk * www.whsmith.co.uk * www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize * www.statistics.gov.uk/census Marketing coursework Siraj Shariff 11D- Isleworth and Syon School - 1 - ...read more.

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