Sustainable Marketing Campaign for Virginia Community Capital Inc - Essay Example

SUSTAINABLE MARKETING CAMPAIGN FOR VIRGINIA COMMUNITY CAPITAL INC + Details Submitted Table of Content 1.0 Introduction………………………………………………………………….. 3 2.0 Targeted Market…………………………………………………………….. 3 3.0 SMART Goals……………………………………………………………….. 5 4.0 Positioning Map……………………………………………………………… 8 5.0 Marketing Mix……………………………………………………………….. 9 6.0 Marketing Budget and Implementation Calendar…………………………….. 14 7.0 References……………………………………………………………………. 15 Sustainable Marketing Campaign for Virginia Community Capital Inc Virginia Community Capital Inc (VCC) is a non-profit motivated and multi-million capacity organization that operates in the state of Virginia. The organization works towards activities that tend to or fully promote community development. This is realized through their products and services that are vast in the field of investment majorly in the housing sector. The organization looks forward to allocating loans, majorly housing loans to their clients. The ever non-profit institution aims to offer banking and investments reliefs and solutions in the existing diverse economic infrastructure of housing and related projects (VCC, 2014 p 23). The organization aims at fully aiding the weaker faction of the community by offering the housing loans and investments solutions for housing and community projects. This is a marginalized population and Virginia Community Capital Inc. is offering a solution to their economic woes. Through its numerous positions of jobs, VCC intends to create employment to the people of Virginia to reduce unemployment and social vices (VCC, 2014 p 24). VCC offers a financial solution to the people around and intend to change the face of Virginia through its diverse activities. Targeted Market Virginia Community Capital Inc as an organization intends to help the people of Virginia. As an organization, its primarily objective is to help the people within the boundaries of Virginia. It thus does not intend to reap from a community that host it but fully support them for the empowerment and growth of Virginia. Virginia as a state is large and hugely populated and VCC has identified this. To reach its targeted market, the organization has stratified its customers into groups. The groups that are highly prioritized are the most targeted customers of the organization (VCC, 2014 p 23). Virginia like any other metropolitan and urban society is divided into economic classes. The lower class is the most targeted one. Like in any other society, the lower class constitutes the greater part of the society. This is true of Virginia. The low class dominates Virginia and thus contributes to the GDP of Virginia negatively (Kotler, 2009 p.65). Most of these people are living in poverty. They hardly afford proper health care, proper education, better foods and other basic necessities of living. This factor has driven Virginia Community Capital Inc. towards them. Its major target is these people as it aims to empower them for their own development. Through the loans provided, such population is able to invest into housing, business and education to alleviate them from poverty and propel them to a situation in which they can have the basic living standards. There exists a population of retirees in the state of Virginia. Some of them are under the retirement pension schemes from their previous work places. However, others are not that lucky to be beneficiaries of pension scheme. Straight from work, these people are left hopeless and devastated. Virginia Community Capital Inc has identified this group of customers too. VCC hugely offers loan to most of non-pension retirees in Virginia so that they can continue to live in the normal living standards they were used to or even better (Kotler, 2009 p.55). This group is granted loans that they pay at affordable interests and are advised on better ways investing their money to generate income and profits. Aside from this, victims of retrenchments also meet the good will of VCC. Virginia Community Capital Inc has a unique bond with the women of Virginia. Apart from racial prejudices that has always rocked the United States of America, male chauvinism is a form of discrimination in the entire America and Virginia is inclusive. It is however important to note that the rate is relatively lower in this part of the world. Virginia Capital Community Inc is taking no chances. In its bid to eradicate m ale dominance, the organization has always embarked on a women empowerment mission (Chouinard, 2005. p.32). This they do by financially assisting and advising the women of the state. As early as eighteen years of age, women are permitted to borrow loans from the bank for investments’ that aim to make them be respected and appreciated in the society. This has made women the most frequent visitors to the counters of Virginia Community Capital Inc. SMART Goals of Virginia Community Capital Inc Anchored on Triple Bottom Line After having scrutinized and analyzed critically the triple bottom line (planet, people and profit) of the organization, Virginia Community Capital Inc. outlines goals that the company intends to achieve with regards to the triple bottom line analysis. Planet Every company claims to be a friend to the environment. Every company or organization claims to do much to conserve the environment. Virgin Community Capital Inc. does not make claims on what directly relate to the most prestigious clients with immediate effect. VCC is doing much and intends to do more to ensure that the community it is based in, Virginia is a green zone that is free and healthy for human living (Kotler, 2009 p.33). The organization intends to start up a campaigns and awareness of environmental conservations. An environmental committee has been set in place to run this program. With this in place, it is expected that all learning institutions, if not all then almost all, will receive visitors who are environmental specialists to give them talk on environmental conservations (Chouinard, 2005. p.32). This whole project will be sponsored by VCC and high profile environmental specialists will be sort for this. From this, VCC looks forward to having a society that is conscious of their environment that knows the benefit of conserving the environment. The committee is also to meet renowned media house that will be airing environmental awareness advert in the state courtesy of the organization. This year, Virginia Community Capital Inc. looks forward to organizing and hosting annual; tree planting day in the state. The organization intends to buy ten thousand seedlings of various kinds of tree that are to be planted on that day. The board of management and an invited guest, a top government official are expected to preside over the function that will be held in the whole of Virginia. The organization also intends to organize regular communal service. This will entail cleaning most part of the town. The schedule is to be conducted by the bank’s staff and hired services. The community and volunteers are invited towards making Virginia a clean town. People Virginia Community Capital Inc. aims to appeal to the people that make it a better entity; the employees and stakeholders. VCC do not want to have a bad picture or reputation towards the eyes of its most prestigious employees and distinguished stakeholders and partners. For this reason, the organization strives in the following ways to make it better and fair trading grounds for the stakeholders by the end of the financial year (Kotler, 2009 p.23). VCC has redrafted its wage scheme so as to ensure that the workers are offered competitive salaries best on the various credentials of the workers (VCC, 2014 p.44). Apart from this, VCC intends to improve the wages of all its workers so that the staff is well motivated and as an organization it does not infringe the labor laws. The bank also intends to offer and boost the retirement plan 401k to its entire staff regardless of the qualifications on the table. Other services that Virginia Community Capital Inc aims to provide for its staff include life insurance, health programs, vision and dental health care that will be fully paid by the institution. Workers are also being guaranteed ten fully paid holidays annually as a way to make them relax and feel appreciated, cared for and motivated. VCC intends to alleviate the unit from discrimination of workers by providing free and fair recruitment procedures that anchors itself on merit and credentials (Hutt and Speh, 2012 p.28). Regarding its partners, VCC sends a message that it is not profit motivated by any means. It therefore does not intend to exploit its partners in any deal they engage in. Instead, it offers a fair deal to partners and assures them that their interests are prioritized more in the deals they make provided it does not hurt the bank that act as a solace to the people (VCC, 2014, p.45). Profit It is important to note that Virginia Community Capital Inc do not intend to make profit. It is not profit motivated. However, as a business entity, it cannot survive entirely on the initial capital and thus it is forced to make profits. These profits from interest of borrowers are well taken care of and audited for transparency. From the triple bottom analysis, the organization was not making much profit as it was expected to. The figure shows the banks financial position by 2010 The trend shows a decreasing borrowing rate over the coming years that if not well taken care of can lead to a crisis in the bank (Hutt and Speh, 2012 p.26). The bank has thus come up with goals that aim at increasing the gross profit by a small percentage to sustain the bank to the level that it can comfortably serve the clients. The bank intends to reduce the interest rates so as to attract more borrowers aware that a proliferation of borrowers yield more profit. The reduction rate is expected to be by 0.05% effected in the next fiscal year. The bank also intends to increase its adverts in the local media houses to attract more clients immediately. Positioning Map KEY STL- Short term loans LTL- Long term loans The map highlights some of the most targeted customers. In this map, the criteria that distinguish the customers is the length of time taken to repay loans. This therefore means that VCC has two categories of customers; the short term loan borrowers and the long term loan borrowers. The brand of VCC is represented by the name of the company. Its location is where it is strategically located in reality. The competitor here is the New Resource Bank whose brand is represented by its name. The location on the map is its actual geographical location (Hutt and Speh, 2012 p.29). As seen in the map, mostly women seek short term loans in Virginia and this indicated by the dimensions in the map. Long term loans are preferred by the working class in the town. Both banks share this customer. Marketing Mix Virginia Community Capital Inc. has no alternative but to adopt marketing mix strategy. It has to be displayed in the marketing campaign to allow the target clients or customers make quick and suitable decisions over the services offered by the company. Marketing mix encompasses product, the price, the place and promotion. All these have to be looked at here. In terms of price, the bank currently vests so much reduced ATM and counter transaction services and lower interest rates for loans. Other banks, especially the competitors charge 50% more of the rates charged at Virginia Community Capital Inc. This has made most customers prefer the bank to other and it is therefore able to outdo them in terms of clients that visit or seek the services of the bank. The staff is also well trained with vast communication skills. This has improved the relationship that exists between the clients and the staff (VCC, 2013 p.32). This rapport increases the menace of clients in the bank. The bank interests’ rates are very low. We are aware that the bank is non-profit motivated, but then the bank is not earning much and can barely support itself. Rates must be increased by a smaller percentage just to earn enough revenue to sustain the bank and get enough money for borrowing by clients. The regular training program of the staff by communications experts needs to be put in a tradition so as to attract more clients. Virginia Community Capital Inc. must strictly employ decoy pricing strategy. Currently, the organization blends decoy and freemium. Well freemium as a pricing strategy does not earn the bank any penny and with the current situation of the bank, freemium is not the best alternative. Decoy on the other hand entails offering three services of which two are of the same price. The two with the same price are most expensive while the other has a lower price (Martin and Schouten, 2011 p.65). This will give the customers a chance to compare between lower price and higher price services and opting on one. It is obvious the bank will have two sets of customer and benefit and not like in freemium. Take for instance; the previous interest rate for short term loans was 15% per month. The new prices under decoy would be 13% per month and 15% per month owing to the fact that the closest competitors charges 16% per month (Thrasher et al, 2011 p 33). The services must reach the clients. At this point, customers can access the bank services through the website that is well managed. In the social media like twitter and face book, the bank has accounts where customers can post questions or seek clarifications about our services and will be attended by professionals. The bank also has a customer care hotline serving the same purpose. The organization also has its branches spread all over Virginia (Blomström, Lind & Persson, 2012 p.12). ATM booths are well scattered in the town so that the customers will not have to rely on the main headquarters for withdrawals but can withdraw cash at their convenience since the machines operate throughout. The organization has also linked with mobile service providers so that customers can withdraw money straight from the bank using these services. This increases the efficiency in which clients access the services of the bank. The next step is to embark on promoting the services of the bank and the name of the bank. We need to show the customers and non-customers that we are the best and offer good banking services for all. Virginia Community Capital Inc must be known through promotion that adheres to the following principles: Attention, the customer’s prospective attention must be realized first (Hutt and Speh, 2012 p.22). They must know that VCC is a banking unit that exists in Virginia like others. We will do this through direct marketing, trade shows and direct sales to meet the customers out there and trigger their interest towards us (Blomström, Lind & Persson, 2012 p.11). The customers having been attracted will need to be made interested of the services that we offer. Their attention does not mean they like us. We must therefore find what they like most and link it with VCC so that they may develop an interest towards our bank. The company should thus rely mostly on celebrity advertising for this purpose (Hutt and Speh, 2012 p.22). Renowned or prominent personality could be used in VCC TV commercial to generate interest of the clients or public. Caution is to be taken since the personality must be popular and loved. The company also needs to upload more of their information in Google to make the clients more intrigued We are aware that interest does not provoke the desire to use our services by the customer. We thus have to evoke this desire. We should then opt for very catchy video advertisements to create desires. Apart from this, we could create adverts with customer testimonies about how good our services are to create confidence of the public in us (VCC, 2013 p 23). We need to act and ensure that customers actually use our services. They may have been attracted, interested and have the desire yet are not able to afford our services. The bank needs to come up with offers and reduced interest rates to make the customers use our services. For example, free account opening. Customers must be made satisfied with our services so that they can come again. Basic services must be offered promptly and well to the customers (Martin and Schouten, 2011 p.44). Regular reviews about VCC must be done online. If possible, the bank needs to contact the customers through their emails or cell number to thank them. The performance of the bank must be checked. A special team must be selected to be in charge of this. They need to do a survey on the number of people that visit the website of the company and review the all the comments made about VCC in the website and social media such as face book account and twitter handles. This will let the bank know how the customer view and rate them. Sales could also be used in this part but to a lesser role. It must not be relied on (VCC, 2013 p.32). Marketing Budget and Implementation Calendar The promotional budget for the marketing campaign with regards to financial services offered by has been clearly outlined. Consideration has been taken in the objectives and tasks to aid the marketing campaigns. Because the marketing of the VCC is to plan to take one month, so is the time line. The budgets for expenses allocated are anchored on the timeline to facilitate the completion of the task by VCC (Martin and Schouten, 2011 p.67). The calendar of implementation has a one month period that will entail vigorous promotions. The table below shows the proposed budget for the marketing campaign. Also included in the budget are timelines that show when the given tasks should be completed. The greatest objective of the marketing campaign is to include the contribution that comes from the organization. These contributions aim at heightening the purchasing power of the low class citizens of the town. The organization has opted to promote the existing saving program via its subsidiary banking division. The organization, in the first two weeks plan to carry promotional programs of the implementation calendar as seen in the above table (Chouinard, 2005. P.45) Virginia Community Capital Inc. is a moving bank that has come to the rescue of many people in the town. Through this marketing campaign, that is to be implemented, we have the conviction that the bank will grow even more and the citizens will benefit most. List of References Blomström, R., Lind, E., & Persson, F. 2012. Triggering Factors for Word-of-Mouth: A case ctudy of Tipp-Exs viral marketing campaign. Chouinard, Y. 2005. Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman. Virginia: Penguin Press. Hutt, M. D. and Speh, T. W. 2012. Business Marketing Management: B2b. New York: Cengage Learning Kotler, P. 2009. Marketing Management. New Delhi: Pearson Education India Martin, D. M. and Schouten, J. W. 2011. Sustainable Marketing. New York: Pearson Prentice Hall. McLoughlin, D. and Aaker, D. A. 2010. Strategic Market Management: Global Perspectives. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Thrasher, J. F., Huang, L., Pérez-Hernández, R., Niederdeppe, J., Arillo-Santillán, E., & Alday, J. 2011. Evaluation of a social marketing campaign to support Mexico Citys comprehensive smoke-free law. American Journal of Public Health, 101(2). Virginia Community Capital. 2013. Our Goals. [Online]. Available at: http://www.vacommunitycapital.org/mission. [Accessed on 02 December, 2013]. Read More