8-10 pages business marketing plan paper

Attached is an example marketing plan that was turned in last summer. Here are a few comments that would make this an even better paper:

1. Executive Summary : One paragraph on marketing strategies should have been included.

2. Psychographic Area : Include further research to support what was written. Use this website to find data for this section of your marketing plan: http://www.esri.com/data/esri_data/tapestry.html    You will need to enter the zip code for your business. Once you've done that, you'll receive three tapestry areas. These areas provide the psychographic data. Make sure to include a source with full web address in the paper and on the reference page.

3. Competition: Did a good job of locating other bowling establishments but should have included other forms of entertainment as competition. Most people won't drive 30 miles to bowl but will drive two miles to see a movie. Everyone has competition. You need to identify who the primary competitors are for the business.

4. SWOT : Could have had sources to back up information.

5. Objectives: Achieving 100% is tough for any business. A lower name recognition would have been more achievable. It might be hard to increase sales by 2% each quarter for each customer. It would have been better to have a flat percentage rate for the entire business.

6. Marketing Strategies: These were all good suggestions but needed more details and needed to be more specific. Names of publications or radio stations could have been included. What types of sales promotions would be implemented? How are you going to provide excellent customer service? Giving more details would have made this plan stronger.

7. Budget: An overview of what would be spent each area. Some of the marketing strategies areas are not part of this plan. Needed to include that information.

Tradelanes Bowl

Marketing Plan

2010

Prepared by:

Student Name

Executive Summary

The purpose of the Tradelanes Bowl is to provide the Staples area with a bowling alley that caters primarily to families. The atmosphere will be friendly and fun. The alley will be clean and well maintained. The alley's employees will display a great attitude. They will treat all guests like VIPs. The facility will have pool tables, video games, and dart boards. There will be a bowling pro-shop within the facility as well as a limited service café. The facility will use an exciting sound and lighting system. Our services will be offered at a competitive price. It is our intent to become a premier bowling alley and family fun center within two years. We will offer the best entertainment, atmosphere, and service in Staples, MN.

We intend to fill a void and provide a service that the community desperately needs. There has not been a bowling alley in Staples for over 15 years when the previous one burned down.

I. Current Marketing Situation

a. The Company: Tradelanes Bowl

Tradelanes Bowl will be a full service bowling alley providing family entertainment at a competitive price. We will try to promote an atmosphere of leisurely fun and playful competition. Owner Name will operate the business as a corporation. The principal shareholders will be he and his wife, Name. Initially, Name will manage the operation with daily input from Name and the other investors. New equipment, enhanced lighting, and sound systems will also give us market advantages. We intend to construct our own building so we have the freedom to expand to the full potential of this business when revenues will support the growth.

The biggest problem this venture will face will be creating customer awareness and loyalty. Repeat business and league participation are critical to the success of this type of business. We will use a combination of advertising techniques to increase this awareness. Once a general awareness is present, the industry has a virtually unlimited growth potential.

The future holds the promise for almost unlimited growth and income as the business matures and considers other markets and products. Upgraded equipment such as additional video games, pool tables, indoor mini-golf, and higher profile entertainment will all be considered in the future in response to customer surveys indicating their wants and needs.

b. Services Offered at Tradelanes Bowl

The bowling business is family entertainment. This is a sport that all ages can participate in and enjoy as individuals or in groups. The new computer technology enables anyone to experience the excitement of the sport without having to know how to keep score, because it is done automatically by the computer and displayed on a monitor. The core revenue producer is the league structure, which is all-encompassing. The basic element in leagues is its three levels--beginning with youth leagues, it progresses until it reaches the senior citizen. According to the Bowling Foundation, the largest number of league bowlers are in the 35-50 age group, married with two children, home owning, with an annual income between $30,000 and $75,000.

Leagues will be made up of married couples with similar backgrounds. Local businesses, single adults, school-booster organizations, and churches are also excellent sources for forming this type of league. Tradelanes Bowl is a multi-media entertainment center that will also have a billiard and dart parlor with its own league structure. The Train Station will feature a limited-service café. The Depot will be an in-house pro shop that sells bowling balls, shoes, bags and custom apparel.

c. Target Market& Demographics

The target market for Tradelanes Bowl is families, senior citizens, church groups and other organizations, and college students in the Staples area including up to a 20-mile surrounding radius. Cities served would include Motley, Verndale, Pillager, and Aldrich.

(Map and some demographic & geographic data below provided by City-Data )

i. Demographic Characteristics

· White Non-Hispanic (96.3%)

· Hispanic (1.5%)

· American Indian (1.2%)

· Two or more races (0.9%)

· Median resident age:  35.6 years

· Males: 1,450  (48.0%)

· Females: 1,569  (52.0%)

· Average household size: 2.4 people

· Percentage of family households:  57.3%

· Median household income is $40,465

ii. Geographic Characteristics

· Staples is located on Highway 10 about 60 miles north of St. Cloud, MN and about 20 miles southwest of Brainerd, MN.

· Residents of Staples typically drive to go shopping or seek healthcare.

· There is a large hospital, clinic and senior services facility in Staples.

· Staples-Motley has a school district with two elementary schools, a middle school and high school. Central Lakes Community College has a campus in Staples.

· Staples has many parks, a community center, and public beach

· There is an Amtrak Depot in Staples as well as public transit services provided by the Friendly Rider.

iii. Psychographic Characteristics (Information provided by Staples-Motley Chamber of Commerce and the City of Staples )

Residents of Staples tend to have strong family values. They lean towards a healthy lifestyle, wish to preserve the past and protect the environment. They enjoy many outdoor activities. Outdoor enthusiasts enjoy hunting and fishing as this is the heart of the Brainerd Lakes area. Families enjoy biking, walking, golfing, boating, and other outdoor sports. Families are very active in middle school and high school sports and activities.

iv. Benefit Usage Characteristics

Bowling is one of the most popular sports in the world. One of the reasons for its popularity is its adaptability: children and adults of nearly every ability level can participate, and it can be enjoyed as leisure, recreational and social activity or as a competitive opportunity. Children too young to execute a full approach can stand near the foul line and, using two hands, gleefully shove the ball down the lane. Teenagers, middle-aged people, even octogenarians frequent the lanes. Bowling leagues abound. No other sport in the world has such a diversity of participants. Why? Bowling is fun, good, clean, laugh-it-up fun. Other major benefits of bowling include its easy accessibility to facilities, equipment and instruction, as well as practice, league and competitive play.

d. Competition Competition in the bowling business in Staples is non-existent. There is a bowling alley located in the city of Wadena, located 20 miles west of Staples. There are two bowling alleys located in Brainerd/Baxter which is approximately 25-35 miles northwest of Staples. Details about each facility are listed below. None of the incumbent establishments have either the level of technology, or the wide range of services that will be offered by Tradelanes Bowl. Furthermore, customer service, which is the underlying criteria for success in this business, has not been stressed by the current management of the competing bowling centers. Like other types of entertainment, price is not the only buying criterion as customers expect to enjoy the whole process of having fun. Customer service, a spotless environment, and properly working equipment equally contribute to ensuring the customer will want to come back again. There are three bowling centers within 30-miles of Tradelanes Bowl. All are independently owned and operated. Two of them, Paul Bunyan Bowl and Jack’s House, will not have any impact on Tradelanes’ potential customers. Both are located northwest of Staples in the Brainerd Lakes area. Typically, customers do not travel from Brainerd to do business in Staples. However, Staples residents frequently travel to Brainerd to do business. The third bowling alley, Wadena Bowl, is located 20 miles west of Staples. Recently, however, the Wadena Bowl as struck by a tornado and severely damaged. Whether it will reopen is not known at this time.

e. SWOT Analysis

The idea of a family entertainment center has been well received and marketing is now critical to its success and future profitability. The basic market need is a comprehensive entertainment center that addresses an entire family's interests.

Strengths:

· Strong understanding and recognition of technology and its appropriate uses.

· Solid relationships with many of the influential players within the community.

· High quality services offered.

Weaknesses:

· We are new to this type of business so we will have a high degree of risk in this area.

· It will take time to gain knowledge in developing the business and creating customer awareness of our facility and our concept.

· High start-up costs.

Opportunities:

· Participation within a high growth industry. Bowling is in the top five fastest growing sports & top ten participation sports according to the Bowling Foundation.

· Increased sales opportunities as the community of Staples continues to grow.

· The ability to spread fixed costs over an increasing revenue base.

Threats:

· Customers are not interested in forming bowling leagues.

· Local demographic is uninterested in this type of family entertainment.

· Wadena Bowl reopens and remodels, ultimately attracting new customers.

II. Objectives

· Increase public awareness of Tradelanes Bowl from zero to 100%

· Increase the revenue per customer by 2% every quarter.

· Establish a minimum of one full league night per week the first year and three full league nights by the end of the second year

III. Marketing Strategies

We recognize that the key to success at this time requires extensive promotion. We intend to implement the following marketing strategies.

a. Advertising

· Increase public awareness of the Tradelanes Bowl and its services through local radio, newspapers, and community events.

· Create a website with information about the facility as well as advertising and discounts

· Advertise at local school sporting events

· Distribute flyers and posters at the Community Center and local fitness centers regarding the health benefits of bowling

b. Personal Selling

· All prices will be competitive, fixed, and clearly displayed

· Word of mouth will be key in creating a local “buzz”

· Website will eventually provide e-commerce for pro-shop as well as online lane reservations

c. Sales Promotion

· Cross promotion will be utilized with local businesses

· Offer package discounts, senior citizen discounts and league benefits

· Offer special discounts and coupons via website

d. Publicity/Public Relations

· Participate in charitable community events such as “Bowling for a Cure” or similar.

· Increase recognition by donating to local foundations & library

· Use of social networking such as facebook, twitter, and blogs to promote the facility and events.

· Promote family bowling events through the school district

· Become a member of the Chamber of Commerce

e. Direct Communication/One-to-One Marketing

· Customer Service – A high level of customer service must be maintained in order to ensure a large percentage of repeat customers.

· Direct Mail Marketing – Send an initial introduction postcard to announce grand opening and provide a coupon.

IV. Financial Information

This section will offer a financial overview of Tradelanes Bowl as it relates to the marketing activities.

Expense Forecast The expense forecast will be used as a tool to keep the department on target and provide indicators when modifications or corrections must be made for the proper implementation

Marketing Expense Budget
	2010	2011	2012
Advertising/Publicity	$65,700	$70,003	$81,000
Website	$9,200	$15,000	$10,000
Other (Public Relations)	$2,220	$4,000	$5,000
	________	________	________
Total Sales and Marketing Expenses	$77,120	$89,003	$96,000
Percent of Sales	5.45%	5.85%	5.91%

V. References

� The Bowling Foundation 621 Six Flags Dr. Arlington, TX 76011 USA � HYPERLINK "http://www.bowlingfoundation.org" ��www.bowlingfoundation.org�

� City Data – Staples, MN � HYPERLINK "http://www.city-data.com/city/Staples-Minnesota.html" ��http://www.city-data.com/city/Staples-Minnesota.html�

� Staples-Motley Chamber of Commerce –136-4th St. Staples, MN 56479 � HYPERLINK "http://www.staples-motleyarea.com" ��www.staples-motleyarea.com� �

� City of Staples – 122 6th Street NE, Staples, MN, 56479 � HYPERLINK "http://www.staples.govoffice.com" ��http://www.staples.govoffice.com�

� The Benefits of Bowling – Special Olympics Website: � HYPERLINK "http://info.specialolympics.org/Special+Olympics+Public+Website/English/Coach/Coaching_Guides/Bowling/The+Benefits+of+Bowling.htm" ��http://info.specialolympics.org/Special+Olympics+Public+Website/English/Coach/Coaching_Guides/Bowling/The+Benefits+of+Bowling.htm�