Posted: March 24th, 2023
Marketing Plan
Contents
2.0 Current Marketing Situation. 6
2.4 Channels & Logistics Review.. 11
4.2 Second Year Objectives. 17
5.5 Marketing Communications Strategy. 19
5.7 Marketing Organization. 21
6.2 Develop a Marketing Plan. 22
6.3 Creating a Marketing Calendar 22
6.4 Measurement of Results. 22
The Jewelry Place is a company dealing with the designing and manufacturing of diamond jewelry. The company will be dealing with diverse designs as pendants, earrings, and pins. The products will be primarily the designs of Ali Fazul based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The company is a start-up, but hoping to grow and attain a high level of market penetration. Over the coming three years, the company will be working to achieve these production/marketing goals:
- The use of the designs made by the company 60% of the target consumers.
- The sales of the designs made by the company by at least 30 different retail shops.
The Jewelry Place will be located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as a designer and manufacturer of diamond jewelry. The company will be dealing with a number of different designs, primarily earrings, pendants, and pins. The designs will be the work of Ali Fazul. The business will be based in an industrial shop in the city, and the products will be sold through retail shops and through the digital media directly to individual customers. The company will use sales representatives whose responsibility will be handling the individual customers and the retail shops.
The jewelry market is one of the greatly fragmented as it has numerous dealers, all focused on marketing for the same clients. There are those dealers who are designing and selling their products to the local market, but there are those who are selling in the national and international markets. Generally, The Jewelry Place joins a market that has competition.
- Manufacturers designing and manufacturing jewelry on large scale and for the national market.
- The design and manufacturing of jewelry in-house without the need for outsourcing.
- The manufacturers who are creating the products on their own and sell them at wholesale and retail.
The Jewelry Place will be focused on selling the products to two different customer segments. The products will be sold directly to individual customers and also through retail shops that sell the products to the end customers. The retail shops will be used as the channels for the distribution of the jewelry. The end users will be able to go online and make purchases of the products that will be delivered through different means despite the distance.
The Jewelry Place will be built using loans from a local bank, which will be given to Ali Fazul via his account with the bank. The company is expected to break-even within the first year of operation. By the third year, the annual revenue will be 281,250 as conservative projections founded on sales. The next three years projections are indicated below.
For the first three years, The Jewelry Place will operate to achieve three objectives:
- To establish a company in jewelry production with the main objective of exceeding the expectations of the customers.
- The sale of the jewelry manufactured by The Jewelry Place in at least 30 retail shops.
- To sell the products to more than 60% of the target individual customers.
- To create a profitable and sustainable jewelry manufacturer.
The Jewelry Place has the mission of manufacturing innovative jewelry products from Diamond. The existence of the company is with the aim of attracting and maintaining customers. It is by following this mission that the objectives of the company will be achieved.
2.0 Current Marketing Situation
The Jewelry Place will be operating in a highly competitive market, and it will target two main segments. The company will be marketing the jewelry to individual customers. The individual customers will be mainly making their orders online and those who will be physically visiting the manufacturer to make their orders. Deliveries will be made at the convenience of the customer through various means. The second segments of customers that will be targeted are the retail shops, which will be the main distributing channels for the products. The retailers will be identified from exhibitions and through the internet, and then contacted to request for their involvement in the sales of the products. It is expected that the company will begin long-term relationships with the retailers for continued sales of the products even as the company expands. The sales representatives hired by the company will be taking part in exhibitions and visiting different retailers to get contact and potentially sell the products.
2.1.1 Market Segmentation
The Jewelry Place will be targeting two markets for the products, individuals, and retailers. The individuals will be the customers who will become familiar with the products offered by the company (Terpstra, Foley, & Sarathy, 2012). There are various ways through which the individuals will become aware of the product, either through the social media applications, including the company’s website and Facebook or by coming across the product in exhibitions or by being contacted by the sales representatives. Because of the direct sales made to the customers, it is anticipated for the sales made to the individual customers to be greater than those made using the distribution channel. The customers are most likely to belong to high class and middle class and mostly living in the cities and suburbs. The target group will also be the highly progressive ones because they are most likely to be appealed to by the jewelry.
The retailers are the other segment of customers that will be targeted by the company. These are the customers who will be selling in retail, which means that they will buy the products in bulk to sell to the individual customers. In fact, this will also be another channel of distribution that will be used by The Jewelry Place. Some of the retailers will be artisan jewelry shops and other stores that specialize in selling jewelry. While this will be an important segment for the company, it will not provide a high sales margin as the sales made to individual customers. The retailers will also involve a high cost in marketing. The upscale and modern retail shops will, however, allow the company to sell in high quantity. They also have more customers because of the propensity towards attractive displays.
From the pie chart below, it is evident that the individual customers will make up the largest percentage of the customers, followed by the retailers.
2.2 Product Review
The Jewelry Place is in the business of manufacturing diamond jewelry. There will be three types of products, including earrings, pendants, and pins, which will be manufactured. All the three products, the designs of Ali Fazul, will be made out of diamond. The diamond is selected as the main source of the products because of its value and attractiveness to the customers. The value means that the products are most likely to be attractive to the customers seeking value for their money. The dazzling nature of the diamond means that it will attract the customers from far and wide. Even without adding any other element such as color, jewelry made out of diamond is inherently attractive and appealing to the eye. Hence, the jewelry will be the most suitable mineral for displays; hence, it will appeal to the retail shops desiring to attract more customers to their shops. It is also easy to cut diamond and shape it into the different designs that will be produced for marketing. A huge piece of diamond will be easily cut into many pieces for making the three products. Diamond promises value to the company and the potential for increased sales for greater profitability.
From the analysis of the market, it is evident that this is a market that is highly competitive. There are thousands of other companies that are in the same business of manufacturing and selling jewelry. There are those companies that are currently engaged in the production and sales of the products at the local level, which means that they only target a localized market. There are those that are engaging in the manufacturing and sales of the products at a national level, and there are those that engage in an international business of jewelry. The market is also evident of those manufacturers who have specialized in manufacturing the products for larger companies. While some design and sell the products, there are those who outsource the functions (Terpstra, Foley, & Sarathy, 2012). However, because of the dispersed nature of the manufacturers, it has become challenging to come up with a list of all the competitors. However, there is an adequate understanding of what The Jewelry Place should be ready to deal with.
The competition facing The Jewelry Place will take the form below:
- The manufacturers of jewelry who design and produce in bulk and sell them on a national level. These are the producers who are well known in the country with their own distribution channels with their products being marketed under a known brand (Bodie, 2013). In case the company does not have a known brand, it might be marketing the product under the name of its manufacturer who is already known. To deal with this form of competition, The Jewelry Place will have to carry out extensive marketing to ensure that the brand is known within the jewelry market.
- Companies that are designing their products in-house. Indeed, this means that the entire process, from designing to production of the jewelry is carried out in-house, which also includes wholesale and retail sales of the products. The designers, manufacturers, and marketers can also be contracted by the producer of the jewelry. Given the fact that The Jewelry Place will produce the jewelry in-house, it is best placed to deal with this kind of competition.
- There are the companies that engage in designing their products on their own, which is the model that The Jewelry Place is assuming. The company will also do the marketing on its own, including the wholesale and retail sales.
The consumers’ purchase behavior is expected to come in two categories: impulse and gift purchases. The impulse is mainly in the occasions where the customer is seeking an accessory for an outfit and comes across the jewelry. There are other customers who come across the jewelry when they are on other businesses and decide to make the purchase. The customers under the category of the gift will make the purchase while looking for a gift to buy for themselves or someone else. In this case, there is planned buying behavior (Bodie, 2013). In whatever the situation, it is critical for the company to be ahead of the competitors by making the products more attractive and appealing than those offered by the competitors. Therefore, it is critical for the company to select a product to offer where there is a choice between a number of them.
The competitive edge for the company is very straightforward. The company will gain an edge over the competitors by using creativity and innovativeness in designing the product for the affluent market. The shapes that the diamond will be cut into will be appealing to the clients, both the direct clients and the retailers. Although it is possible to replicate the strategy, by the competitors, it is rather challenging because it is based on the exceptional expertise of the designer. Making such unique designs will necessitate skills that are unique to the designer. While Ali Fazul might not be the only person within the market with the skills, he has the potential to continue playing around with his creativity to remain relevant in the market. Therefore, this means that there are chances that the company will continue to design and manufacture products that are eye catching and appealing to the customers.
2.4 Channels & Logistics Review
The Jewelry Place is expected to target two main customer segments, which means that it will capitalize on two main distribution channels. One of the channels is the direct channel, which the company will use in targeting the individual customers. However, there are various means through which the company will distribute the products to the customers (Bodie, 2013). Online marketing is one of the channels through which the company will reach the target customers. The company will receive and process orders online which will then be delivered to the customers using the most convenient means. There are those customers whose needs will be met directly by the sales representatives. For this group of customers, the company will employ a number of sales representatives who will do direct marketing to the customers. The sales representatives will also have the responsibility of selling directly to the customers, whom they can contact through telephone or email. In that case, the customers will be served using direct contact.
The company will also use retailers as another important channel to market and sell the jewelry. The company will use the available catalog of those retail shops that sell diamond. Depending on their location, various means will be used to reach them, including walking into the stores, making telephone calls, or emailing them. The retailers will be contacted with the aim of convincing them to be part of the sales channel for the company. They will be served with samples of the jewelry to have a look of what they are expected to be selling if they agree to be part of the business (Bodie, 2013). The retailers will not only make sales on the behalf of the company, but they will be an important part of the marketing strategy. Some clients will be able to hear about Ali Fazul through the retail stores.
The representatives of the company will also take part in displays in exhibitions where they will be showcasing the company. The shows are normally attended by the final consumers of the products and the retailers who could be convinced to market the products. In addition, online marketing through the internet will be engaged actively by the company. The Internet is a powerful channel through which the company will be able to reach the real and potential customers. Particularly, if well implemented, the internet is an avenue where thousands of potential customers are found (Bodie, 2013). The company will use its website and create accounts on other social media applications to reach the customers. Major sales are expected to be made online.
The criticality of understanding the internal and external environments of the company is based on the need to understand its viability (Grant, 2016). There are important factors within the internal and external environments that will have an impact on the working of The Jewelry Place. It is important to understand the impact of the internal environment for the success of the company (Kajanus et al., 2012). Analysis of the internal environment will provide the way of making sure that the resources of the company are utilized in such a way that creates value for the customers (Grant, 2016). Besides identifying the strengths (resources), it is critical for the management to establish the limitations (weaknesses) that have to be addressed to make the business productive and profitable.
The Jewelry Place is in a position to configure the value chain to create value for the customers. The company aims at cutting the cost of production to ensure that the final products are sold to the customers at a cost lower than most of the competitors. One of the ways of cutting the cost is through the use of one platform spreading services to different locations. The company will also collect and store data on the real and potential customers and make the information accessible by the strong team of sales representatives (Grant, 2016). The representatives will be carefully selected and trained to offer the services required by the customers. They will also be well compensated with exceptional benefits to be motivated to provide services at the level necessary to make the company more competitive.
The company has the chance to take advantage of technological platforms to perform market research and to sell the finished products to the customers. The company is determined to invest adequately in technological innovation in order to take advantage of opportunities coming up through technological development (Kajanus et al., 2012). The online sales will allow the company to gain more customers and make more sales. The technology will make research and development faster and more convenient. With research, it will be possible to continue expanding the market and diversifying its products.
The company is looking to implement a resource-based perspective, which is another source of its strength. The competencies that will be used will be Reliable Web Infrastructure (Kajanus et al., 2012). The company will use the most advanced online retailing platform, where the customers will order and have their products processed online. Indeed, this will allow for convenience in their purchases and the delivery of whatever they order. The company is located in the city, which is strategic and will allow for access by various means of making deliveries to the customers.
The company is a start-up, which means that it is not possible to tell for sure the kind of profitability potential it has. It is possible that at the beginning the company will operate at a lower margin (Kajanus et al., 2012). At the beginning and during the period when the company will be operating to break even, the profits will not be very high. Hence, the management will be forced to operate with the start-up capital for the initial year or two.
The company is in its initial stages, yet there is a lack of physical access to the customers to view the products and make their sales. The company will be operating from an industrial store where the products will be manufactured from. The retailers who buy the products will be the ones to make the displays on the behalf of the company. Without the physical presence, this will be a disadvantage for the customers who want to interact directly with the designer.
The company will be operating at low cash flow at the beginning. The cash that will be coming into the business will not be so much because of the low-profit margin. The company will have to operate with capital flows from the bank loan. Another weakness that will be experienced by the company includes the inadequate cash flow during the initial periods of running the business until when the cash flow will stabilize.
Technology is one of the opportunities that the company has in its operations. Clearly, technology has become the channel of choice in marketing for companies (Grant, 2016). With the advent of the social media, many customers are moving online in search of the products they require. In addition, the company can advertise on the social media to take advantage of the potential customers online, who might not necessarily be there in search for jewelry, but can make impulse purchases simply by coming across such adverts. The growth in social media creates a greater market for the company, locally, nationally, and internationally.
The Middle Eastern market has been expanding and will continue to expand in the future. The market is also expanding such that companies in the region are taking advantage of international markets. The reality indicates the potential of the expanded market for The Jewelry Place. With the growth in the market, coupled with the stability of the economy in the country and the region, there is the potential for continued expansion of the company. The company has the chance to grow even in the global market, through mergers and other expansion strategies (Kajanus et al., 2012). The company has the chance to increase spending in new markets. The expansion will address the cash flow problem and increase profitability for the company.
There is an increase in the interest of sustainability, which is a threat for the company in case of any of its business processes that do not operate according to the standards of environmental sustainability. The company faces serious national and global demands to ensure that all of its operations are in line with the environmental standards.
Competition among other manufacturers and sellers of jewelry is another threat that is facing The Jewelry Place. There are many companies, both small and huge, that are posing a threat to the company because they are all dealing with jewelry. The company is expected to be in direct competition with all the companies, and ensure that there is an edge over the competitors. Some of the main competitors are 3D CAD Jewellery, Erum Jewelry, and Abdrab Al Amer Hassan Nassir Jewellers Store among others. These are not the only sources of competition in a market where there is potential for new entrants. However, the company seeks to establish a strong brand, allowing it to compete in the market effectively. The company, with time, will bring a strong portfolio to compete well in the market, allowing it to be as competitive as those which have been in the market for a while. However, it is necessary for The Jewelry Place to adapt its strategies to handle the threat posed by the competition.
The figure below indicates the objectives of the company regarding increased sales over the next five years. The figures are expected to continue increasing through the three years. The sales are expected to increase by 8 percent based on the retailer, while 10 percent regarding the individual customer at the end of five years
First year, Second year, Third year, Fourth year, Fifth year
Potential Customers Growth CAGR
Retailers (Galleries) 8% 9,469 10,132 10,841 11,599 12,413 8.00%
Individuals 10% 620,531 678,380 737,253 803,606 875,933 10.00%
Other 0% – – – – -. 0%
- The first objective during the first year of the operation is to increase the sales made to the retailers from 9,469 to 10,132.
- The second objective is to increase the sales made to individual customers from 620,531 to 678,380.
- The first objective of the second year is to increase the sales made to retailers from 10,132 to10, 841.
- The second objective of the second year is to increase the sales made to individual customers from 678,380 to 737,253.
There are issues that have to be addressed for the company to achieve the objectives stated for the first two years and to achieve the projected increase in sales for the next five years. One of the issues is the need to build reliable contacts with the retailers and individual customers to get the forecasted increase in sales. Convincing retailers to invest in a new line of jewelry will be a difficult task, and so will be convincing the customers to buy new accessories. However, once the trust is built, the sales will increase as anticipated. Another issue is the lack of physical location from where to display the products for individual customers. Because the retailers will have the main distribution channels, they might end up making more sales to direct customers, even as they have other products competing with those manufactured by The Jewelry Place. The other issue is the distribution of the products bought which might increase the cost of operations for the company, especially if the customers are dispersed.
It is critical for the company to position its products strategically in the market to make more sales and profits (Gianos, 2013). In fact, this highlights the steps that will be taken by the company to market the products to the potential customers, especially given the fact that the products are new in the market. The initial step will be to create an attractive image for the products focusing on the target customers. A striking message will be sent to the customer to market the products as appealing accessories that will make the customer stand out from the crowd. The positioning strategy will be critical to make a mark on the mind of the customer and encourage them to come back for more of the products and even market them to other clients (Stutely, 2012). Positioning will use the sales representatives to sell the strong message to the potential customers of The Jewelry Place.
According to Gianos (2013), the marketing of a product that can sell and make profits for the company is critical. The company is targeting to create three jewelry lines, pendants, earrings and pins, all made of diamond. The product is selected because of the reality that they are mostly used accessories. The products are designed with the target market in mind. They are made for the affluent first class and second class, mostly women who want to stand out. Hence, to achieve this end, the designer will use his exceptional skills to cut the most appropriate signs to suit the need for accessories within the target market. The products will also be made in attractive designs since they are meant to appeal to the retailers. The retailers will have no problem buying products that, when displayed, will attract even the impulse buyers. The designer has in mind the reality that he is venturing into an already saturated business and hence, has to stand out and make products that are different from what other jewelers are manufacturing and selling.
Pricing is critical for the product because it is the measure that will be used in selling the product. The price for the product should be that which the customers will be willing to pay in line with the value promised (Stutely, 2012). Before pricing the jewelry, the company has carried out an intensive research on the prices of similar products in the market. Besides, pricing is determined by the cost of production (Gianos, 2013). Hence, the company has taken into consideration the cost of the raw material (diamond) and the cost of the entire production process to come up with the ideal price for the pendants, earrings and the pins. The desired sales forecast will also be an important factor to consider in pricing the products. All factors taken into consideration, a pendant will retail at 873SAR, a pin 521SAR and 673SAR for earrings. For the prices offered to the retailers, considering that they will sell the items to make a profit, there will be a reduction from the direct selling price. However, the price will be based on the agreement between the company and the retailer.
The products have to reach the customers through the most effective distribution channels (Stutely, 2012). For The Jewelry Place, two distribution channels will be used to have the products arrive to the final consumer. One of the channels will be direct sales, which include the sales made online. This will be the channel in which the sales representatives will reach the customers directly to offer them the products. Besides the sales representatives, who will represent the company, there will be no middlemen. The second channel that will be used by the company will be the retailers who will be a major distribution channel for the company. The retailers will get the products from Ali Fazul and sell them, on his behalf, to the final consumers. This way, they will act as a means of distributing the pendants, pins, and earrings to the customers. The channel is critical given the fact that the retailers are much closer to the consumers.
The Jewelry Place will use an integrated media campaign to market itself and the products it will be dealing with. By being integrated, it means that the company will use a number of media channels to do the marketing campaign. The conventional media will be used, print and television. However, the focus will be on a digital media campaign because much of the activities of the company will be carried out in the digital media. The company seeks to build a strong digital presence using its website and other social media applications such as the Facebook. This way, the company will not only do marketing, but increase the sales through targeting the customers who make their purchase online. Applications will be created online targeted for use by the company whose content will be mainly the products designed by The Jewelry Place. The social media has increased in use, which means that the majority of the real and potential customers will be met online (Kerzner, 2013). Many shoppers in Saudi Arabia and other countries are increasingly shopping online because of the convenience it provides.
From design to marketing the final products, market research is a very important activity (Chernev, 2015). It is always important to understand the market where the products will be sold. Research and development will be done at the very start to understand the market regarding the designs that are most appealing and most likely to sell. The designer will engage a few researchers with the necessary skills to collect and analyze data to provide a clear understanding of the jewelry market. Besides, the team will engage in performing a research on the market prospects for the product. The research will also be carried out before the products are designed and manufactured to avoid making products that will not sell. Kerzner (2013) posited that the importance of the research is to find out what exactly the clients want to fulfill their needs. The extensive research is also critical to allow value proposition in the products that will be designed, manufactured, and marketed to the target customers.
Besides Ali Fazul, who will be the main designer and manufacturer of all the products, there will be a strong marketing team. The team will be made up of a marketing president who will be the overall leader of the team. Under the leader, there will be a team of managers heading various marketing departments. In each department, there will be a team of staff performing the duties in that department.
There are important steps that will be involved in planning for the business.
The initial step will be the market research during which data will be collected on the potential performance of the product in the market (Chernev, 2015). The information that will be collected includes the demographics of the customers, the desires and lifestyles of the customers, and the state of competition within the jewelry market. Both qualitative and quantitative data will be collected and analyzed.
After the information is obtained through the market research, a marketing plan will be written (Demil et al., 2015). The plan will include the entire picture of the business, responding to the identified needs of the customers. It will also include the objectives the business seeks to achieve within a particular period.
6.3 Creating a Marketing Calendar
The calendar is the specific breakdown of the marketing plan, indicating the activity that will be carried out at each particular time (Hollensen, 2015). Plans for each day, week and month will be included. The calendar will ensure that all the actions are performed promptly.
It is critical to track the outcomes to ensure that the marketing actions deliver the returns on investment (Demil et al., 2015). The results of each marketing activity will be measured to get the whole picture of the returns.
The cost to start up the business will include some individual costs, with the raw materials costing the highest. In total, a budget of 49,560 will be required to begin the business. The budget will be catered for by finances from different sources as indicated in the chart. The start-up costs for The Jewelry Place will include the following:
| Item | Cost |
| Legal fees | 375 |
| research and development | 3,750 |
| Office furniture | 1,875 |
| Website creation fees | 3,800 |
| Computer and printer | 2,000 |
| Copier and fax machine | 1,500 |
| DSL hookup | 360 |
| Phone line | 350 |
| Cutting tools | 1,800 |
| Raw materials (Diamond) | 37,500 |
| Total cost | 53,310 |
The figure below shows the start up for the company in details.
The controls are important in the efforts to maximize the returns on the marketing plan. In fact, to track the progress, there are important controls that should be used (Jasra et al., 2012). Determinants Analysis of the controls provides information on the comparison between the projections and real performance of the marketing plan. The information provides any need for changes in the marketing plan. The controls that will be used in the marketing plan for The Jewelry Place will include feedback from the customers, target market sales, budgeting and actual market share. In fact, those concepts will offer fundamental information based on the business performance.
Creating a good marketing plan is the basis for convincing investors to invest in the business and also to convince the customers that you are providing products that will give value for their money (Berry, 2012). Hence, it is necessary to use effective marketing plan tools to prepare the marketing plan. The particular tool that was used in creating the marketing plan was Sales and Marketing Pro. The software was supportive in creating the plan which would set the path for the new business. Use of the tool is critical for making an effective marketing plan which communicates the actual plan for the business.
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