Dis 8

Assignment 4: Product Launch and Profitability

Submitted on

26th of November, 2022

by:

Jeanne de Virieu , Wenwen Luo, Wint War War Phoo (Wayne)

742727,743553,739348

Submitted to:

Dr. U. N. Umesh

New Products & Entrepreneurial Marketing

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Table of contents

I- Business development ........................................................................................................ 2

A- Advertising and promotions ....................................................................................... 2

B- Prototypes .................................................................................................................. 3

C- Consumers test ........................................................................................................... 3

D- Physical product testing ............................................................................................. 3

II- Goal Timeline ................................................................................................................ 3

III- Human Resources Management .................................................................................... 5

IV- Expenses ........................................................................................................................ 8

A- Market Research ........................................................................................................ 8

B- Office Rental .............................................................................................................. 8

C- Paperwork .................................................................................................................. 8

D- Payroll ........................................................................................................................ 9

E- Marketing & Maintenance ............................................................................................. 9

V- Revenue........................................................................................................................ 10

VI- Net Margin ................................................................................................................... 10

VII- References .................................................................................................................... 12

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I- Business development

A- Advertising and promotions

Below is our marketing plan for the three years following the website creation.

YEAR Year 1 Year 2 Year 3

DIGITAL

MARKETING

Introducing

Yourcalifornianguide

to the market by

creating social media

accounts and reserving

all domains and copy

right for company texts

and information

provided.

Collecting all data

insight from year 1 to

know what to improve

and see most popular

content and can aim

our focus on what our

potential customers

want to book.

With data from year 1

and year 2 will give our

business a clear

understanding of what is

most popular content

and having the

opportunity to advertise

a well-developed

business by year 3.

TRADITIONAL

MARKETING

Releasing information

about special offers in

local newspapers and

putting up flyers in city

area.

Will have a great

activities choice and

being able to update

and improve ads in

newspapers and flyers

from year 1.

Will have a great

activities choice and

being able to update and

improve ads in

newspapers and flyers

from year 2.

INFLUENCER

MARKETING

By hiring influencers to

promote our website on

their social media we

will generate a bigger

traffic and spread of

Yourcalifornianguide.

Will know from year

1 which influencers

are right for us and

continuing inviting

them to try the

different businesses

available on our

website.

From year 2

Yourcalifornianguide

will know on average

the traffic brought by

influencers and know if

the influential marketing

is still needed.

PARTNERSHIP

MARKETING

Having partnerships

with local businesses

and disability

associations in

California will lead to a

bigger networking

expansion.

From year 1

Yourcalifornianguide

will know which

partnerships are most

suitable and

continuing a

marketing partnership.

From year 2 we will

know which partnerships

are most suitable and

continuing a marketing

partnership.

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B- Prototypes

To know what is the best design for our website, we need to create different websites before in

order to find the most suitable design for our business. It will require the help of our web

designer and our graphic designer to make it as realistic as possible.

C- Consumers test

Once we have decided on the most suitable website for our business, we will give it a trial with

our relatives. We will invite them to act as they were customers to receive feedbacks in what

we can improve. It will allow us to have honest feedback and evaluate our website’s

effectiveness.

D- Physical product testing

We will not need to do any physical product testing given the fact that our business is an online

website.

II- Goal Timeline

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III- Human Resources Management

To make our business happen, we need to hire employees that will be able to maintain the

business. The different employees we need are:

-1 graphic designer to create and design the website. The employee must have the following

skills: Use of design software, time management skills, communication skills, problem-solving

skills, creativity, and attention to detail.

The education required is a 3 years Bachelor in Design. Regarding the experience, we ask for

at least 2 years of experience as a graphic designer.

-1 web developer to include an online payment on our platform but also to take care of the

reservation system among other technical tasks. The employee must have the following skills:

analytical skills, programming skills, attention to detail, interpersonal skills, search engine

optimization, numeracy skills, problem-solving skills.

The education required is a 5 year Bachelor in engineering. Regarding the experience, we ask

for at least 3 years of experience in web development.

-1 employees will be charged with checking the documents provided by the businesses. The

employees must have the following skills: attention to detail, communication skills, teamwork

skills, and analytical skills.

The education required is a 3 years Bachelor in Business Administration. Regarding the

experience, we do not ask any but having experience will be a plus during the selection

process.

-1 employees that will update the offers proposed by the different companies (if there is any

discount offered for a specific period, if they went for renovation,...). The employees must have

the following skills: attention to detail, problem-solving skills, communication skills, research

skills, analytical skills, and time management skills.

The education required is a diploma from a Business School. Regarding the experience, we do

not ask for any but having experience will be a plus during the selection process.

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-1 customer service employee to answer any questions from customers but also from the

businesses we will work with. The employee must have the following skills: empathy,

adaptability, problem-solving skills, communication skills, self-control, patience, speaking

skills, and active listening.

The education required is a high school diploma or equivalent. Regarding the experience, we

require at least 2 years of customer service experience.

-1 marketing specialist to promote the website. The employee must have the following skills:

communication, creativity, attention to detail, use of software, leadership, communication

skills, data analytics

The education required is a 3 year Bachelor in marketing or related field. Regarding the

experience, we require at least 3 years of experience as a marketing analyst.

-1 accountant. The employee must have the following skills: knowledge of accounting, data

analytics, numerical skills, attention to detail, time management skills, critical thinking skills,

and communication skills

The education required is a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting or Business. Regarding the

experience, we require at least 2 years of experience as an accountant.

-3 managers (the founders) in order to supervise the team and daily operations. The skills

needed are communication skills, caring skills, active listening, attention to detail, analytical

skills, persuasion skills and time management skills.

The education required is a Bachelor’s Degree in Hospitality Industry. Regarding the

experience, we will not have any other experience except two internships before starting the

business.

Our employees will be working about 30 hours a week.

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IV- Expenses

Below is a table representing our revenue, expenses and net profit for the five years following

our website creation but we will focus for this part on the expenses.

A- Market Research

This is the projected financial strategy for the next five years; to better stay on top of trends

and adapt to changes, we will be regularly purchasing market research studies. As a result of

our ability to meet ongoing needs, this would also maximize our cost-effectiveness.

B- Office Rental

Our office is located at "R Street," Sacramento, CA, 95811; the rent is $495 per month, and it

can comfortably fit our entire crew. We would not need to add any further expenses to the

budget because all the necessary equipment was already included with the monthly rental

(Offices n.d.).

C- Paperwork

As starting a business requires handling paperwork, we would like to delegate this task to

experts. There are services that offer a whole package, filling out all the necessary paperwork

will not take as much time or money as it might otherwise.

We have provided more information and costs in the prior assignment for the domain and the

trademark.

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D- Payroll

The creator and two co-founders would make up our original management team of three,

together with the other seven specialists. Since our working time is 6 hours per day, which adds

up to 30 hours per week, we have taken the average pay rate from the US that was suggested

by the government for other employees since the founders of the senior management won't be

receiving any money at the moment. The first two years' worth of compensation is calculated

at a constant rate, with an additional salary rise in the third year (US, 2022).

The salary for the graphic designer is $2,925/month.

The salary for the web developer is $4,518/month.

The salary for the customer service employee is $2,130/month.

The salary for the marketing specialist is $3,687.6/month.

The salary for the accountant is $4,518/month.

The salary for the administrative employee is $2,137.2/month.

The salary for the sales employee is $7,356/month.

For the 3rd year, every employee is going to receive a 20% annual salary increase. In the 4th

year, they will receive a 5% annual increase compared to the 3rd year. In the 5th year, they will

receive a 5% annual increase compared to the 4th year.

In terms of benefits, we do not want to use the money on itself by giving compensation or

incentives. But of course, employees will be up to bonuses when they will achieve outstanding

performances but not on a monthly basis. In fact, we want to promote our team’s well-being

by giving them the freedom of choice. For example, our employees will only work from home

or from wherever they are in order for them to be comfortable as much as possible. It is an

advantage that cannot be denied in today’s world where health and well-being is more

important than ever. On the other hand, when we will not need them at work they will be free

to enjoy the holidays. It will be about 8 weeks per year which is higher than the average holiday

time in California.

E- Marketing & Maintenance

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In addition to the marketing strategies listed above, our biggest expenses would be newspaper

advertising and working with influencers to get visibility, both of which we believe we could

handle the designing process ourselves because we have a graphic designer on staff. In the

same way, we would invest more in maintenance as our scale has expanded, but for now, we

believe it would be doable.

V- Revenue

Below is a table representing our revenue, expenses and net profit for the five years following

our website creation but we will focus for this part on the revenue.

As our service primarily works on social platforms, which is our major source of revenue, we

have anticipated that we will be able to assign 500 users at first, rising significantly. We are

also offering a premium service, which will cost $11 per month. This includes additional access

to information of the locations while also enjoying discounts from our partnership property. In

addition to providing discounts as we have grown in size, the lifetime cost to download the app

is $25. Customers could use the app on up to 4 different devices using the same user account.

VI- Net Margin

Below is a table representing our revenue, expenses and net profit for the five years following

our website creation, sbut we will focus for this part on the net profit and cash on hand.

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With the revenue stream from the app itself, our initial investment of $100,000 from friends

and family would have resulted in the first quarter of year 1 being in a net loss, which is typical

for a start-up.

Net profit of Year 1 - $131,669

Net profit of Year 2 - $860,217

Net profit of Year 3 - $574,671

Net profit of Year 4 - $662,735

Net profit of Year 5 - $964,418

Motivator for those seeking to borrow money :

• High credibility of the person

• In good term with that individual

• Willing to invest in a potential project

• Having confidence in that the project would generate profit

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VII- References

US (2022) Graphic designers : Occupational outlook handbook, U.S. Bureau of Labor

Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Available at: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/arts-and-

design/graphic-designers.htm (Accessed: November 26, 2022).

Offices (no date) Executive suites for rent in Sacramento, Executive Suites in Sacramento |

Serviced Offices. Available at: https://www.instantoffices.com/en-us/us/office-

space/executive-suites/sacramento (Accessed: November 26, 2022).