EMERGENCY I NEED HELP IMMEDIATELY

Week 4 Assignment

Your Company Name: Ethan's

Antonio Harris

10/30/2016

Masters of Business Administration

Partial Fulfillment in the Requirements for MKT 500

Strayer University

Your Company Name: Marketing Plan

Introduction

Ethan's is a Soul Food restaurant located in Memphis, TN. At Ethan's we serve soulful southern dishes; that is both good for you and good to you. We focus on making dishes using healthy organic ingredients and spices. The idea from the restaurant came from my uncle. He was diagnosed with diabetes last year. He told me that he has begun to eat better by eliminating those foods that were not good for him. A year later, he is doing much better and on the verge eliminating his diabetes. Even though he is doing better he misses all of his favorites soul food dishes that he enjoyed for years. I came up with the concept of cooking healthy soul food. That is why I am opening Ethan's: Healthy Soul Food, named after my son, Ethan.

Environmental Analysis

The importance of the Macro-Environmental Analysis is to examine the things that can influence a business’s plan. That plan must focus on the influences in the environment that can affect a business. Those influences are competition, economic, political, legal, technological and sociocultural. They are all considered to be external and uncontrollable. Each influence helps a business make decisions and make plans on how the business will operate. Understanding the influences of this analysis can determine the success or fail of a business.

Competitive

The area I am looking to open Ethan’s, there are only two fast food restaurants and a Chinese food restaurant. Those places are competition, but they do not offer the product we offer. At Ethan’s we focus on quality food that tastes good and is prepared in a healthy way. I have eaten at the restaurant in this area, I must say that fast food isn’t healthy nor do they focus on the quality of the food. In order for Ethan’s to be successful, as well as be above the competition we must. In doing they we must understand our customers. Those three restaurants are the only choices customers in this area have. We are coming in to give the customers another choice. Philip Kotler is of the opinion that the best way for a company to grasp the full range of its competition is to take the viewpoint of a buyer.

Economic

We decided to open Ethan’s in a community that is expanding and growing. The 38104 community in the Midtown Memphis area, has seen a rebirth and revitalization in the last four years. The average household income in the 38104 area is now $61,522 and the median income is $36,938(Income by Zip Code Web Site, 2015). With all the great hings happening this community and taking the income of the residence into consideration, made our choice of this location a great one. Our food and supplies is also an important part of the economics of the business. Food costs are just one of the expense lines that restaurants manage, but the increasing costs of key ingredients remains a challenge facing the restaurant industry (Lander, 2004). Our food costs want have a huge effect on Ethan’s, because we will be getting our meats and produce from local farmers. This will save us money, while giving helping the local economy in the city.

Political

Politics seems to play a role in everything around us, and starting a business is no different. Lawmakers introduce bills, legislation, or ordinances that can the operations of a business. Some are good for business and others are can have a negative effect on a business. The City of Memphis city council created and funded the Renaissance Business Center. This center helps new small business in many ways. It educates and support the new business owners to be successful. Other resource providers are available on premise at the Renaissance Business Center to offer counseling, financing options, special training, seminars and other technical assistance programs (Business: City of Memphis, 2016). I plan to utilize the center to help with opening Ethan’s. Another political factor that will affect our business, are the food service permit fees set by the commissioners that sit on our County Board. The Commission set the fees based on the seat capacity of the restaurant; 50 seats or less the fee is $210 per year and 51 or more seats the fee is $360 per year (Food Inspections, 2016). Ethan’s has a total of 72 seats in the resturant. That means each year we are open we are will be paying $360 for the permit to serve food. I hope the Comission won’t raise these fees anytime soon. Extra cost and fees can hurt a business in the long run.

Legal

Labor laws will be on the biggest concerns we will have when it comes to the legal side of this analysis. The FLSA establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and youth employment standards affecting employees in the private sector and in Federal, State, and local governments. Covered nonexempt workers are entitled to a minimum wage of not less than $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009. Overtime pay at a rate not less than one and one-half times the regular rate of pay is required after 40 hours of work in a workweek ("Wages", n.d., par . 1). I will start all my employees with minimum wage, until we are able to pay them more. The minimum wage is still at $7.25, but if the new wage is set $15.00 might cause us some problems. Another, law we will face will be the Child Labor law. We will also hire young people who would like to work and earn some money while in school. So we must follow the laws set for hiring young people. Laws like the times and days they are allowed to work during school days, and age limits. For example, we can not hire anyone under 14, or no one under 16 can cook or bake food or they can only work 3 hours on a school day and no more than 18 hours during a school. One law I learned about is the importance of keeping the records of employees work time. The records must be kept for at least three years. Those records contain improtant information such as the employee pay rate, hours worked, overtime, and their personal information.

Technological

Technology will be major in our operations. Our security system is web based. Myself or a manager can control the system from our cellphones, tablet or computer. If someone forgets to turn the system on after closing for the night, we will be able to set the alarm from where we are. We will also be able to see the watch the camera feeds at any time. If we are closed I can monitor the restaurant from home. If someone is attempting to break into the restaurant, I can alert the police at that exact moment. I may able to stop them before any damaged is done. We also use technology to advertise on social media. We will hold contest using social media. On Facebook, the 100th person to like and follow our page will receive a free lunch with dessert. We will use POS systems in our restaurant, these systems are the latest in helping with inventory control, cashiering, bookkeeping and recordkeeping. With the POS system, we can accept many forms of payments credit cards, cash, and mobile wallets. A mobile wallet is a way to carry your credit card or debit card information in a digital form on your mobile device. Instead of using your physical plastic card to make purchases, you can pay with your smartphone, tablet, or smartwatch (Mobile Pay, n.d.). Paypal, Apple Pay, and Google Pay are some of the most common mobile wallets today.

Sociocultural

One of the reasons we are opening Ethan’s is because of a sociocultural trend. Our foods will be prepared in a health yet tasty way. We will be cooking to help prevent and reduce diseases such as diabetes, help with weight loss, and even lower cholesterol. A lot of people are watching what they eat. They choose items that are gluten free and organic. Our restaurant is two doors down from a brand-new Planet Fitness gym. We are hoping to attract the members of the gym to our restaurant, with our menu and with the way we prepare our food. Our menu will feature some gluten free items and we will definitely have items and meals that are organic. Our produce and meats will come from locally owned farms, who do not use pesticides or any other chemicals to grow and care for their products. We are hoping to keep up with the latest trends for many years, when it comes eating good food.

Target Market

A Target Market is the reason a product is sold or a business opens. It also helps you determine where to put advertising dollars. My target market would be those that are into healthy eating and living. When trying to decide my target market I have to look at the 4P’s, 5C’s and the STP of marketing.

4Ps:

The first P is product. The product we are selling is healthy eating. With so many people on the healthy living kick. At Ethan’s we service soul food that is prepared in a healthy way, that our target market looks for. The second P is place, being in the right location is very crucial in the restaurant business. Ethan’s is located in an area that has seen growth and expansion in the last few years. It will be located in a shopping center next door to a gym. Within a one mile radius of Ethan’s there are hospitals, a medical school and a walking trail. The third P is price; we will make sure to beat the prices of other similar restaurants in the city. We have to think about having a great and affordable price for our customers. Most soul food places around the city charge prices between $7.99 to $12.99, I have even seen some places charge up to $15.00. Our prices for a serving of meat, 2 vegetables and cornbread for $6.99. The fourth and final P is promotion; we have promotions for our target market while also attempting to attract new customers. Some of the promotions we will have, 15% off a meal for gym members, college students, and free dessert for people who follow or like our social media pages. We will also run ads on radio, the local magazines and newpapers (Memphis Flyer, Tri-State Defender and Downtown) to reach our market.

5Cs:

The first C is Customer; we are working to give our what they need. The trend that will affect our target customers is healthy eating. We are going to give our customers exactly that, a great healthy and delicious product. The second C is Company; our company is in a great place to deliver a excellent product to the customers. We have all we need to to satisfy the needs our customers. The third C is Competition; there is no real competition for our market. The nearest place to our restaurant that is comparable is at least five miles away. That restaurant is a Vegan restaurant, but they do not offer the menu items that we will offer. The fourth C is Collaborators: we are working with a few local companies to supply our restaurant. Some of our supplies will come from local farmers, that I have met at around town at Farmer’s Markets. They will supply the vegetables and meats we will need for. Our dessert will be provided by Kesha’s Kakes. Kesha is a bakery home makes desserts from her home, she makes her dessert using healthy ingredients. She will come into the restaurant make the dessert and we split the profits instead of her being on payroll. The fifth C is Context; the only context factors that may affect are the sociocultural trends, which for us is healthy eating. Another is political environment, there are laws, policies, and rules we must follow when opening a restaurant. Passing health inspections and law labors are just two of the many laws we must follow.

Primary Target Market

Age: 40-60

Income: $30,000-$60,000

Lifestyle: Healthy eaters and Exercisers

Geographical: Residents one mile radius of restaurant

Secondary Market

(Thoroughly specify the secondary target markets for your company.) Simply highlight and retype over this information.

Goals

(Thoroughly decide the main goals that you would like to achieve within the next year (short term) and the mains goals that you would like to achieve within the next five (5) years (long term). Thoroughly determine the most appropriate ways to measure both short- and long-term goals. Give a brief discussion of the reason behind your goals here. ) You do not have to hit TAB or ENTER to space over, the template is set for you. Simply highlight and retype over this information.

Short-Term Goals

(Thoroughly decide the main goals that you would like to achieve within the next year (short term) and give a brief discussion of the reason behind your goals here.) You do not have to hit TAB or ENTER to space over, the template is set for you. Simply highlight and retype over this information.

Long Term Goals

(Thoroughly decide the main goals that you would like to achieve within the next five (5) years (long term)and give a brief discussion of the reason behind your goals here.) You do not have to hit TAB or ENTER to space over, the template is set for you. Simply highlight and retype over this information.

SWOT Analysis

(Enter the reasons why a SWOT Analysis is important to a company's marketing plan.) You do not have to hit TAB or ENTER to space over, the template is set for you. Simply highlight and retype over this information.

Strengths

1. (Enter 4 Company Strengths here)

Weaknesses

1. (Enter 4 Company Weaknesses here)

Opportunities

1. (Enter 4 Company Weaknesses here)

Threats

1. (Enter 4 Company Threats here)

(Enter a few conclusions that can be found from your SWOT Analysis)

Conclusion

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References

(Enter your references here.) You do not have to worry about spacing the second line over to be in accordance of APA, because as you can see, the format is set in the template. Hit enter after this line of text and enter your references, then go back and delete this text.

You are required to have a minimum of 4 references for each time you submit the paper, totally in a minimum of 4 references. However, if you look at the rubric, to gain maximum points for the references section, you must include more than the minimum for each week. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not quality as academic resources.