Telecenter Operations and Marketing Plan

 

12
Marketing Plan

The goal of the marketing plan presented here is to provide some framework for marketing the Televilliage and Telecenter globally as well as marketing the specific product/service lines that have been discussed throughout this business plan. In developing the marketing plan, we have focused on the key elements of the marketing mix, which include, 1) positioning statement, 2) the market segementation, 3) the product/service philosophy, 4) the pricing models to be used, 5) the media to be used, 6) the customer service values that should be followed, and 7) the use of market research. Further, we have provided recommendations for the marketing of each product. We have also included recommendations on how the marketing process should be tracked, evaluated and judged. Finally, we have provided a budget for completing the marketing plan.

The Televillage and the Telecenter Globally

Making technology accessible and easy to use will drive the marketing of the Televillage. The Televillage will lead Klamath and Lake Counties into the next millennium on the cutting edge of technology, connecting Klamath and Lake Counties to each other and to the world.

The marketing philosophy of the Telecenter is to dovetail on to the current marketing efforts of its strategic partners in order to reduce operating costs. In order to do this effectively, this plan details the various marketing approaches that will be employed by the Telecenter. The strategic partnerships of the Telecommunications Consortium are the cornerstone on which this marketing plan rests.

Positioning Statment

The Telecenter will bring Klamath and Lake Counties to the cutting edge of the video conferencing and computer related resource centers. It will change the way people communicate, conduct business and how they get and stay informed as we move into the 21st century. The global positioning statement must reflect all of these issues and the fact that Klamath and Lake Counties will now be connected to the world community in a whole new way. Possible statements include:

Market Segmentation

In the case of the Telecenter, the target market ranges in size from small to large. The Video Conferencing Service is a small market. The Training Center and Resource lab is a medium sized market. The Self-Directed Resource Center represents a mass market.

The Telecenter will be introduced to some customers face-to-face and other customers may learn about the products and services through the mail, print, radio, Internet or on television. Pairing the right marketing approach with correct target market will be crucial. The larger the target market the more impersonal the marketing approach (direct mail, print advertisement, electronic media, etc.). The smaller the target market the more personal the marketing approach (face-to-face consultant sell, personal phone calls, etc.).

Product/Service Philosophy

The product/service philosophy must reflect the general positioning of being "hassle free." Having cutting edge technology is useless if customers perceive that it is to hard to use. All of the product and service lines rely heavily on technology. As a result it will be important to create a hassle free environment for use. This will be accomplished by always having tech support on site during business hours, training all staff in the use of the equipment and regular service and maintenance.

The other important aspect of a hassle free environment is making the customer feel safe using the equipment. This is not a physical safety but a mental safety. The customer cannot be made to feel inferior if they do not know how to operate a piece of equipment. Staff will make customers feel at ease about their potential lack of knowledge by not having expectations that all customers will be technologically savvy.

Attracting first time customers will be one of the biggest challenges the Telecenter faces. This challenge will be overcome by using an entry level pricing model for all products and services in the first year. Quarterly assessment of the pricing models will allow for determination of what prices can or should be adjusted. Price increases should come biannually and should be in small increments. This will ensure there are no large price jumps unless necessary.

Too often when new businesses utilize an entry level pricing model, they attempt to hold prices for a long period of time (one to two years). When they can no longer hold the prices they impose a large price increase. The consumer will not perceive this in the long term context ("well they haven't raised my prices for two years...") But instead, will complain about the size of the price increase. For this reason, it is always more consumer friendly to raise prices x% a year than to raise prices 2x% every two years.

Marketing and Promotion

Marketing the Telecenter will encompass a variety of media types and strategies. This section outlines some of the theories that will drive the overall marketing approach. First, the types of marketing campaigns are discussed. Second, the role of public relations in the marketing plan is considered. Third, media type variables will be weighed.

There are two basic types of marketing campaigns for electronic and print media, vertical and lateral. Each type serves a different purpose. Vertical campaigns seek to create short-term results. Lateral campaigns serve long-term goals. When used appropriately, they will provide the opportunity for almost immediate sales increases and build an image, respectively.

Vertical campaigns must create urgency, establish a saving and contain a call to action. A print ad for Nordstrom's that reads "Come to our half yearly sale and save 50% on every item...Sunday only," is an example of this type of campaign. The ad has a call to action, "Come to our half yearly sale," that asks the customer to do something specific. The ad also establishes a saving, "save 50% on every item," and urgency is established by offering these savings on "Sunday only. The creation of this need is accomplished by saturating the market with advertisements over a large daypart for a short period of time. This message may run every half hour on all local radio stations for two days (Saturday and Sunday). These types of campaigns can create the opportunity for a short-term increase in sales but are not likely to produce loyal customers.

Lateral campaigns, by contrast, build an image, create awareness and associate values with an organization. Advertisements spaced over a long timeframe are used in vertical campaigns. A textbook example of a vertical campaign is Nike's "Just Do It," campaign in the 1980's. The advertisements helped create a corporate image of Nike as the shoe for the aggressive, hard working, committed athlete (or those who wanted to look that way). Additionally, the campaign generated a high level of product awareness. This is often created by placing the advertising message in key programs over a period of weeks and/or months. Locally this is often done, by sponsoring a radio news broadcast every morning at 7:30 a.m. or placing a display ad in the Wednesday Local section of the newspaper every week for 13 weeks.

This high level of product awareness is called "top-of-mind" awareness. Marketing research shows that the average person can only track three different alternatives for any one product or service (i.e. Nike, Rebook, and Adidas in the case of athletic shoes). The company that comes to mind first is thus said to have top-of-mind awareness.

Using the proper mix of vertical and lateral marketing campaigns is only one part of a successful marketing plan. The role of public relations cannot be neglected. Given that the Telecenter is a nonprofit organization and operates in the public good, it should be possible to derive a large amount of "earned" media. Coverage in the local press will not be free. The Telecenter staff will have to work to get the story of the Telecenter and the Televillage told. This will include writing numerous press releases, giving interviews, doing media relations, assembling press kits and conducting special events.

The public relations component of the marketing plan should begin six weeks prior to the opening of the Telecenter. The goal of all of these activities is to generate media coverage. It will be necessary to pitch a large number of angles on the Telecenter "story." This will accomplish two things. First, having diverse angles of the story improves the likelihood a media outlet will pick up the story. Second, the stories will appeal to wider audience.

The last thing that must be accounted for in this section is the issue of media type variables. The three variables that demand the most attention are demographics and psychographic, penetration and segmentation. Understanding these variables is central to making sound decisions in media purchasing. Demographics and psychographic are who is being reached and what motivates them. Penetration refers to how many people in a specific market are reached by a specific media. Segmentation describes how much of the market is reached by the specific media in a specific geographic area (i.e. how many viewers of the Medford television station KOBI are in Klamath and Lake Counties).

Customer Service Values

On going customer feed back will be a part of the Telecenter culture. Prompt acknowledgment of customer feedback will be the main customer service value. All feedback will be responded to in writing within 48 hours. This response will restate the customer's concern and inform them of any action taken as a result of their comment.

The Telecenter customer service will also strive to be knowledgeable. This means the staff will need to have continued training in order to insure they can answer any and all customer questions that arise.

Market Research

Market research will allow the Telecenter to determine how they are serving their customers and how to improve that service. Generally, this research should not come at a high cost. The bulk of the market research will consist of the executive director or business relations person's reports on client meetings. This information will also be supplemented by customer comment cards, dialog with other telecenters around the country and possibly mail or phone surveys. In four to five years the telecenter may want to consider a confidential customer interview process. This will allow the staff to get unfiltered opinions and messages from the customers.

Any research should take in to account both qualitative and quantitative data. Qualitative data may offer insight to customer experiences, while quantitative data may reveal larger trends in customer satisfaction. Both forms of data are useful in determining future courses of action.

Marketing Philosophy

The goal of marketing is to stimulate interest in a product and/or service from a target market. Marketing experts generally agree, that marketing techniques cannot directly generate revenue (this is the role of the sales function), marketing can only create an opportunity for a sale to take place. This primer on marketing is important, in that since marketing's role is to create interest, measurements tracking marketing efforts should be based on interest generated not sales consummated. Some marketing people use the numbers of collateral material distributed as a measurement. However, this is generally only an effective measurement for mass-market products. Products that have a more limited niche must focus on qualified prospects. If distribution of collateral is going to be one of the marketing measurements, the distinction between active and passive must be addressed. By definition, an active request is one where the person has actually requested more information. By contrast a passive request is where someone routinely acquires more information (such as picking up a flyer from a stack on a counter). Traditional marketing would estimate that passive requests would generate no more than 3% qualified prospects.

Utilizing the model above, we recommend that the number of active requests for information is measured and monitored. Because the active request is the outcome goal of the marketing approach for these products, all marketing must include a call to action. For instance, when using electronic media, a tag line saying call for more information must be included. When using print media, a business reply card (BRC) should be included. Finally, when the field representatives of the strategic partners distribute printed materials, a request for more information card should be included.

Marketing Video Conferencing Services

Positioning Statement

Video Conferencing is a relatively new concept available to South Central Oregon. While on the surface the costs and technology may provide a somewhat intimidating alternative, for businesses, the marketing approach much emphasize the value and convenience of the video conferencing services available at the Telecenter. Finally the technical support team included in the services, should be marketed to develop a sense of user-friendliness. Possible positioning statements:

Market Segmentation

The initial target markets will be attorneys, physicians and large employers in the area who conduct business in cities with other video conferencing sites. Government agencies, educational institutions and non-profit organizations will be an additional target market. KCEDA will use the video conferencing service as a tool to recruit new business to the area. These businesses represent a secondary target market.

Product/Service Philosophy

The video conferencing product and service philosophy is "We take the hassle out of the process." The product and service philosophy must be geared toward making use of this product simple and hassle free. One of the reasons many business and professionals stick with the traditional forms of communication is that they don't feel they have the time to learn how to use new tools. It is not uncommon to see a highly trained professional using an old word processor or spread sheet, because they don't feel they have time to learn a new piece of software, even though they acknowledge that it is more efficient. This has aptly been described as "too busy fighting the fires to turn around and turn the gas off..." By having a service philosophy that focuses on "hassle free" all decisions on how to deliver the product must meet this litmus test. This allows customers to choose the video conferencing service with the confidence there will be little to no learning curve. Using the video conferencing service must be perceived as being as easy to use as making a conference call. The customer makes an appointment for a video conference, show up for that appointment, has their meeting and never once has to wait on the technology.

Pricing Model

In order to capture first time users, the pricing model should utilize the low to medium scale. Pricing breaks should be offered to non-profit organizations, community groups, educational groups and other charter members or sponsor groups. The pricing model should be reassessed at the end of each phase of the project. Revenue generation and market research should be used to determine if the pricing model needs to be adjusted up, down or stay the same.

Marketing and Promotion

The primary method of marketing the video conferencing service will be face-to-face approaches utilizing the consultant sell technique. This will consist of the Executive Director or business relations person meeting directly with groups and individuals that are part of the target market. The initial meetings will not focus on the services available from the video conferencing facility but instead will attempt to draw out the communication obstacles that the prospects are experiencing.

Once these obstacles are identified, the representative will attempt to identify how the video conferencing facilities may address these needs. Because we are recommending this type of approach, custom proposals and hands on demonstrations, will be more important than traditional printed and electronic collateral marketing materials. A prospecting database which helps identify target markets and manages the follow up approach will also be important to the effectiveness of the marketing the video conferencing services.

A secondary marketing approach will include direct mail to area attorneys, physicians and large employers will be used to reach a broader audience than can be reach in the personal meeting. Advertising on local broadcast television and radio networks will also be used. The final method of marketing will be Internet banner advertising on area service providers, which will be linked to the Telecenter home page. All of these forms of marketing will focus on generating prospects as opposed to selling product.

Customer Service Values

Repeat customers and word of mouth advertising are necessary for success of the video conferencing component of the Telecenter. Excellent customer service is essential for customer retention and inspiring customers to "talk up" the Telecenter. Each new customer of the video conferencing service must be viewed as a repeat customer that can be lost if they receive poor service.

The staff must understand the clients of the video conferencing service are highly probable to need the service again and if they are treated right the client will return to the Telecenter to fill that need. Having all staff trained in the use of the video conferencing equipment will provide a comfortable approach for the customer. However, by having all staff trained in customer service techniques will provide the greatest opportunity to meet or exceed the customers needs.

Market Research

Market research will be collected in three forms. The most useful data will come from the Executive Director or business relations person who meets with the various individuals and business. These meetings will help the Telecenter staff asses what aspects of the video conferencing service are meeting or exceeding customers' expectations and what gaps need to be filled in the service. The second form of market research will take the form of phone and mail surveys of past customers. The sample size of the survey will be calculated using statistical techniques. The third form of market research will be a compilation of all customer comment cards and correspondence. As the project enters phases two and three, other video conferencing service providers should be consulted in order to glean any information that may be useful for the Telecenter.

Recommendations

While the goal of most traditional marketing is simply to generate interest in a product or service, the marketing of the video conferencing service will be significantly different from other marketing techniques. Rather than focusing on the generation of interest in the video conferencing service, the Executive Director or business relations person will center their presentations and/or consultations on assessing the needs of the client. Only when the Telecenter staff person has assessed the needs of the potential customer can they transition into the marketing of the products and services of the Telecenter. In short, the staff member will have to discern what the potential client needs before they can determine the most effective positioning of the service.

The Work Connection distribution of marketing materials will generate one pool of prospects. The other prospects for the video conferencing service will be generated through the other techniques outlined in this marketing plan (direct mail, print and electronic media). These two pools of potential customers need to generate between forty and fifty clients during its first year in order to meet revenue projections. The Executive Director or business-relations person must be able to close approximately 10% and 15% of all the prospects. This means the combined marketing efforts of the Telecenter, Work Connection and KCEDA must produce 200-250 prospect meetings. Assuming only one in five who receive or request collateral materials will be qualified customers willing to meet with Telecenter staff, a total of 1000 to 1250 requests for information must be made per year. The staff person conducting the face-to-face marketing will have to aggressively pursue all leads because of the limited size of the target markets for the video conferencing center.

Total presentations and/or consultations per week will be the measure of the success of the video conferencing marketing plan. To reach the goal of 200-250 meetings per year, the Executive Director or business relations person must meet with 4-5 prospects per week. Evaluation of this goal should begin on a week by week basis after the first month of operation. In the first month this person will most likely be occupied with other tasks associated with the first month of business in a new venture.

If the target number of meetings is not achieved for three consecutive weeks then a reassessment of marketing process is necessary. A specific change in method or media should be tested. Given the nature of marketing this service, attention should focus on: 1) interpersonal approaches; 2) collateral materials; and 3) media. If no improvement is made after six week then the entire marketing approach should be reevaluated and revised.

The Telecenter will be the primary provider of video conferencing services in Klamath and Lake Counties. Effectively eliciting needs of prospects and identifying the problems they face is the best way to insure weekly and monthly marketing goals are meet. By doing these things well, future marketing efforts will be more capable of focusing on probable and highly probable customers.

Budget

Staff time$3,000
Collateral materials and proposals$ 800
Mailings$ 500
 
Total$4,300

Marketing the Training Center and Resource Lab

Positioning Statement

Training employees and teaching classes in a one to many style computer lab is not a new concept in Klamath and Lake Counties. Multi-media sales seminars and software, hardware and technology demonstration are less familiar service concepts. Because the training center and resource lab will be marketed towards customers with varying degrees of familiarity with these type of products and services the marketing approach must be distinct for each niche. There will be separate product and service positioning for employee training, educational institutions and sales/product demonstration.

Businesses continue to need high quality training facilities and educational institutions are always in need of more space to teach technology based classes. For businesses, the marketing approach must focus on the convince of the Telecenter site: the lack of distractions of the office, the cost effectiveness of training large numbers of employees at once and hassle free use. Possible positioning statements:

OIT and KCC will be using the training center and resource center as part of the strategic partnership. As a result they will be in the best position to market these product and service lines. They should continue their current marketing efforts and also expand these efforts to include new segments of the community. Possible target markets for new classes are small business owners and stay at home parents. In addition to the current positioning statements being used by OIT and KCC, the following position statements are suggested:

The training center and resource lab will allow multi-media sales presentations and software, hardware or technology demonstrations. Few businesses and organizations in Klamath and Lake Counties are utilizing these types of service. By marketing the training center and resource lab as an interactive sales tool that is hassle free the Telecenter will attract niche that is primarily distinct from the other target markets. The following are possible position statements:

Market Segmentation

There will be some overlap in markets. For instance, a business that uses the training center and resource lab for software, hardware or technology demonstrations is likely to need training for their employees if they purchase one of the demonstrated products. The product demonstrations should always produce prospects for the training center.

The initial target markets will be software, hardware and technology sales companies; businesses or institutions that need computer training facilities; and businesses who use multi-media sales presentations.

Product/Service Philosophy

The training center and resource lab product and service philosophy is "We remove the distractions so you can train harder." Like the video conferencing service, our product and service philosophy must be geared toward making the use of this training center and resource lab simple and hassle free. Prospective customers must understand that using the Telecenter facilities is both more effective than on site training and ultimately easier. By having a service philosophy that focuses on "distraction free" all decisions on how to deliver the product must ensure this is a reality. This allows customers to choose the training center knowing their employees will be able to cover the material in larger numbers and in less time because of the lack of distractions. Fulfilling these two goals in conjunction with providing a successful video conferencing service will help establish the Telecenter as technology leader in Klamath and Lake Counties.

Pricing Models

The pricing model of the Training Center must also utilize the low to medium scale. The same pricing breaks should be offered to non-profit organizations, community groups, educational groups and other charter members or sponsor groups that are offered by the Video Conferencing service. Unlike the Video Conferencing service, the Training Center has more competition. Price increases for this product and service line may have to stay in the low to medium range longer than the conferencing service.

Marketing and Promotion

The Training Center and Resource Lab are targeted at a medium size market. As a result a combination of face-to-face and mass marketing will be used. This will consist of the staff person meeting directly with groups and individuals that are part of the target markets. The initial meetings will attempt to draw out the training obstacles that the prospects are experiencing. Once these obstacles are identified, the representative will attempt to identify how the training center and resource lab may address these needs.

The second approach will include direct mail, advertising on local broadcast television and radio networks and Internet banner advertising on area service providers, which will be linked to the Telecenter home page. All of these forms of marketing will focus on generating interest as opposed to selling product.

Customer Service Values

Both the Video Conferencing service and the Training Center are entirely dependent on technology. A technician could feasibly set up a video conference and the customer would have no direct interaction with the technology (other than watching a video monitor). The Training Center, by definition, will require direct interaction with technology.

For this reason, the Training Center will require more staffing to achieve customer service goals. Having an adequate number of tech support persons present at each training will ensure that the customer service value of "instant solutions" is put in to practice. This will help meet the over all customer service value of responding to customer concerns as well.

Market Research

One unique form of market research for this product line will consist of observing training session when possible. This will allow staff to understand the environment of use. Factor that the Telecenter can control such as room layout, temperature and equipment setup can be tracked. Adjustments could then be without direct feedback from the customer. This will supplement other more traditional forms of market research. Exit surveys offer another research alterative for this product line.

Recommendations

Assuming, all customers will utilize the facility for multiple hours and many customers will use the facility over multiple days, we can estimate 25-35 customers (renters of the facility) will be needed in the first calendar year to meet the revenue goals. Assuming that 20% of the qualified prospects eventually are turned into customers (closed), the marketing effort must produce a 125 to 175 qualified prospects a year. Finally, assuming one in five individuals who request information on the facility will actually be potential customers (qualified), the total number of requests for information the marketing approach must generate per year would be 625-875 per year.

The target number of active requests should be between 12 and 18 per week. This should be monitored on a weekly basis, should the request fall short three consecutive weeks, a review of the marketing process should be conducted, a specific change should be tested (media or message) and the results tracked. Should the request fall short 6 consecutive weeks, the entire marketing approach (media and message) should be reviewed.

Budget

Staff time$11,000
Collateral materials and proposals$ 2,000
Advertisements$ 3,000
 
Total$16,000

Marketing Self Directed Resource Center

Positioning Statement

The Self-Directed Resource Center will provide another option for customers looking for everything from copying and faxing to Internet and computing needs. Some customers will be professionals in need cutting edge graphic design technology and some will be visitors who want to check their email while they are away from home. The self-directed resource center must be positioned to attract a large spectrum of customers. Possible positioning statements:

Market Segmentation

The initial target markets will be home businesses, students, job seekers, would-be entrepreneurs, visitors to town and nonprofit organizations. Work Connection will also market the self-directed resource center in all phases of the project. After the Telecenter moves out of the temporary site at Work Connection they will market the Telecenter as a supplement to their services. In phase two and three, telecommuters/teleworkers should be considered as a new niche market. KCEDA could use the availability of this product as a way to recruit business to the area.

Product/Service Philosophy

The self-directed resource center product and service philosophy is "Giving you the tools for business and play." Customers should find themselves in an environment where they are comfortable and that they can find the tools they need no complete their latest project. The target markets desire products and services they can use on their own, at their own speed that are available when they want them. Providing hours of operation beyond regular business hours and self serve style access to equipment is necessary. This will allow all customers to meet their needs at a time convenient to them.

While the products of the self-directed resource center is designed to be self serve, the service component of this product line is different. Customer service representative must be approachable and knowledgeable. This will allow customers to overcome any obstacles in navigating the self-directed resource center without feeling inept. With a philosophy centered on providing "tools," decisions on how to deliver the products and services of the self-directed resource center should strive to make products easier to use and cover the full range of needs of the self guided customer. Utilizing the product and services should be as intuitive as possible. A customer should be able to come in, be pointed in the right direction, complete their project and be on their way.

Pricing Models

This product line should also utilize the low to medium scale. A customer reward system will provide one form of price break. This system will track the number of time a customer uses a service and reward them with price cuts for any service in the center after number of uses. The exact number of time a customer must use a product and/or service before being rewarded should vary form product to product and service it service (i.e. 10 hours computer use results in a price cut, 100 copies results in a price cut). Additionally, pricing breaks should be offered to non-profit organizations, community groups, educational groups, other charter members or sponsor groups and high volume customers. The pricing model should be reassessed at the end of each phase of the project. Revenue generation and market research should be used to determine if the pricing model needs to be adjusted up, down or stay the same.

Marketing and Promotion

The main marketing approach will include direct mail to home businesses, nonprofit organizations, and area businesses. The second method of marketing will be Internet banner advertising on area service providers, which will be linked to the Telecenter home page. All of these forms of marketing will focus on generating interest.

Advertising on local broadcast television and radio networks will also be used. OIT and KCC will distribute traditional collateral materials to students. Three particular distribution methods should be used: 1) School bookstore point-of-sale inserts into bags; 2) accompanying registration packets; and 3) bill stuffers. Utilizing the variety of distribution method available to OIT and KCC will be a large asset to the Telecenter, much like utilizing the Work Connection distribution channels. These marketing methods will focus on generating interest in a traditional fashion.

Customer Service Values

Customer service will supplement the products and services in the self-directed resource center. "We're here to help," sums up the customer service values of the self-directed resource center. The products are the driving focus of this component of the Telecenter. The model user experience would consist of the customer interacting with the Telecenter staff three times. The customer would be greeted by staff upon arrival, the customer would have staff check to make sure things are going smoothly and the customer would pay for services and be asked if everything went well at the point-of-sale.

Because the self-directed resource center must generate a large portion of the operational budget, the customer service must support the product line of the self-directed resource center seamlessly. In short, what the customer doesn't see is equally important to what they do see. The customer service staff will be responsible for unseen duties such as keeping paper stocked in copiers and checking on the status of equipment between uses. Carrying out this aspect of the customer service philosophy is in keeping with the "We're her to help," motto. Doing things right behind the scenes allow the customer to compete their projects in with the least amount of staff assistance later.

Market Research

Market research will be collected in three forms. The most useful data will come from the staff persons who work in the resource center. They will need to log customer question and problems on a daily basis, provide reports and recommendations on product and service lines and collect comment cards. The second form of market research will take the form of phone and mail surveys of past customers. The sample size of the survey will be calculated using statistical techniques. The third method will use the customer rewards program data to find customer trends. As the project enters phases two and three, other self-directed resource center providers should be consulted in order to glean any information that may be useful for the Telecenter.

Recommendations

The goals of the marketing plan and measurement of those goals must reflect the nature of marketing methods being employed. In phase one, the self-directed resource center will be marketed in a traditional manner. There are two goals of the marketing plan: to generate visits to the self-directed resource center create interest in the products and services available.

The self-directed resource center is targeted at a large market than other products and services currently being considered by the Telecenter. This makes the use of mass marketing measurement technique appropriate. We will measure the amount of collateral material distributed, the number of viewers/readers reached by broadcast and print advertisement, the number of hits on the website and the number of inquiries per week

The total number of potential customers reached by these efforts must be 20,400. By reaching 20,400 people it can be assumed 3% percent will use the products and services offered. If 612 customers (3% of 20,400) use the self-directed center 14 hours each the revenue forecast will be meet.

In order to reach this goal, 1,700 customers must be reached each month. Rolling monthly evaluation of this goal is most appropriate because of some advertising will only appear in monthly publications and tracking collateral materials distributed on a weekly basis may not be practical. A second measure to track is the number of inquiries. One hundred inquires per week is the goal for this measurement.

If the goals are not met for two periods the marketing method should be reviewed (message, media or distribution) and a specific change should be tested. If the goals are not meet for three consecutive periods the entire marketing approach should be reviewed and completely revised.

Budget

Staff time$1,000
Collateral materials and mailing lists$7,200
Advertising$6,500
 
Total$14,700

This page was last updated on August 12, 1999 by
webmaster@sobusi.com