Marketing Plan for Beauty Salon the Tulip - Term Paper Example

? Topic Table of Contents 0 Executive Summary………………………………………………………………………………...3 2.0 Current Marketing Situation………………………………………………………………………4 i. Market Description ii. Product Review iii. Competitive Review iv. Channels and Logistics Review 3.0 SWOT Analysis……………………………………………………………………………………...6 i. Strengths ii. Weaknesses iii. Opportunities iv. Threats 4.0 Objectives and Issues……………………………………………………………………………7 i. Objectives ii. Issues 5.0 Marketing Strategy………………………………………………………………………………..8 i. Positioning ii. Product/Service Strategy iii. Pricing Strategy iv. Distribution Strategy v. Marketing Communications Strategy vi. Marketing Research vii. Marketing Organization 6.0 Action Programs..................................................................................................................11 7.0 Budgets……………………………………………………………………………………………..12 8.0 Controls…………………………………………………………………………………………….. 9.0 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………. 10.0 Appendices……………………………………………………………………………………… Marketing Plan for beauty salon “The Tulip” I. Executive summary “The Tulip” beauty salon is devoted to providing customer satisfaction by offering them an extremely pleasant experience with top notch service and products in a soothing and serene atmosphere at an exceptionally reasonable cost. Mission: To supply products and services aimed at enhancing beauty while providing an atmosphere for the customers to unwind in. “The Tulip” beauty salon aims at a market that is ripe for its kind of service and product provision. In this fast paced capitalist world, people more than ever need time to unwind and tend to their bodies and “The Tulip’ provides them with just the opportunity. An idyllic location has been short listed for “The Tulip” that is located in XYZ shopping mall very close to Qatar’s main business district. This will allow for women with busy corporate lives to still be able to make time for their beauty regimen due to sheer convenience of location. Customer demand will also be generated from the neighboring residential districts where employed as well as unemployed women will make “The Tulip” their regular choice for beauty salon. “The Tulip’s” owner, Lucy Jane Marie is a beauty and cosmetology expert who is renowned in her field and has widespread understanding of this business. Due to the owners past success and fame, she will be able to attract additional loyal customers for “The Tulip”. “The Tulip’s” competitive edge lies in several factors. First and foremost is its central location, which is within easy access of the target market and gets a lot of foot traffic due to being located in a large and successful shopping mall. Secondly, the beauty salon provides and atmosphere and ambience that is contributes to relaxation, pleasure and beautification of the customer while radiating professionalism. Moreover, there is the convenience factor which is enhanced by setting salon hours around the general schedules of working women. For added convenience “The Tulip” beauty salon provides a wide range of products and services so that the customers can avail all beauty related services at the same place and not have to go to different salons for different products and services. Finally, “The Tulip” beauty salon has the added advantage of gaining from the reputation of its owner Lucy Jane Marie who has been renowned in this industry for many years. II. Current Marketing Situation A. Market Description The market for beauty salons requires the amalgamation of services in such a way that the beauty salon becomes a one stop shop for all customers. Beauty salons have experienced a boom in metropolitan cities all over the world in the last decade. As a result of this the sheer number of beauty salons has increased exponentially and so has the trend of full service beauty salons. Consumers require three main things in this industry; they want convenience with regard to services provided and location, they want customer service that pays superior attention to them and they want competitive prices such that befit the services provided. B. Product Review “The Tulip” beauty salon is an upscale, yet affordable beauty salon that offers a full range of services. These include: i. Hair: haircuts, perms, rebondings, shampoo, conditioning, blow-dry and styling. ii. Nails: manicure, pedicure and polish. iii. Skin care: facials, waxing and massages. In addition to these services, customers will also be able to purchase several beauty products, these include: i. Hair products ii. Nail care products iii. Skin care products Products will be available in a wide range and can be preordered. C. Competitive Review “The Tulip” is set apart from its competitors because it provides a full range of services as compared to other salons that provide only one or two specific services. According to the market research conducted for “The Tulip”, customers are bothered because they must go to different salons to acquire different services. “The Tulip” caters to this need by providing a host of services under one roof. Qatar has beauty salons that are similar to “The Tulip” with regard to the range of services provided but these “spas” are located in the most elite areas of the city and charge exorbitant prices for the same basic services. “The Tulip” provides its customers quality services in a much more affordable price. D. Channels and Logistics Review Since “The Tulip” operates only from one central location, it does not have much need for channels and logistics. However, they cannot be fully ignored because they could be of importance in the future if the salon were to expand operations. III. SWOT Analysis The following SWOT analysis lays out the strengths and weaknesses that “The Tulip” has and describes the opportunities and threats that it faces from the environment. A. Strengths i. Prominent location in a shopping mall that gets a lot of foot traffic ii. Professionally trained employees iii. Customer centered approach iv. Renowned owner, brings in loyal customers, expertise and recognition v. Wide range of quality services vi. Relaxing and soothing environment vii. Affordable prices B. Weaknesses i. Needs to build brand equity because “The Tulip” is a new market entrant ii. Need to maintain an edge in fashion, beauty and style trends iii. Start-up costs are considerably large C. Opportunities i. Market is stable and is continually growing despite adverse economic situations ii. As the customer base grows, marginal fixed costs can be decreased, the company may achieve economies of scale and report lower costs and higher profits iii. Sales will increase as people who used to go to different salons for each service will find it better to make a one stop shop at “The Tulip” D. Threats i. Tough competition from established salons and spas ii. Most customers are already loyal to certain spas and hesitant to try out a new place for the same service iii. Change of foot traffic pattern in mall, this will reduce the expected customer base IV. Objectives and Issues A. Objectives Some objectives that “The Tulip” has short listed with concern to priority include” i. Increase repeat customers by set percentage per six months ii. Maintain positive steady growth per month iii. Increase product sales by set percentage per annum iv. Increase profit margin by set percentage per annum v. Enter profitable stage by the end of first fiscal year B. Issues Since the “The Tulip” is still in speculative stages, it faces some critical issues mostly concerned with sticking to a prudent fiscal approach. This is because even with predictions the future is uncertain to a large extent and it is important for the long term viability of the business to be prudent from the start. V. Marketing Strategy The marketing strategy of “The tulip” is aligned with its corporate and business level strategies. (Sebastian Salicru). It achieve its marketing strategy by implementing the following: A. Positioning “The Tulip” is positioned as a beauty salon that provides posh quality services at affordable rates for women; it is convenient and provides full service under one roof. “The Tulip” will have an edge over its competitors by providing superior customer service. Personalized attention will be given to each customer and though the layout of the salon it will be seen to that the place does not get too over-crowded and that it is possible to cater to more and more customers in a very personalized manner. Furthermore, “The Tulip” will train its employees to give their clients the best possible experience at the beauty salon this will produce customer delight and give “The Tulip” an edge over its competitors. B. Product/Service Strategy “The Tulip will use various product/service strategies. These include: i. Product Differentiation This will be done by providing superior quality at a much more affordable price. ii. Price based Product Strategy This will be done by introducing frequent discount packages for loyal customers. (Christopher Carol, 2012). C. Pricing Strategy Beauty products will be charged at standard price which will be similar for all competitors. Mark-up percentage is also set at the industry standard of 60% above cost. Services will be priced considerably below that of the competitors, while maintaining similar quality standards. D. Distribution Strategy Products and services will only be available to customers from the beauty salon itself. E. Market Communications Strategy The location is set in a very busy and famous shopping mall, which will be an advertising strategy in itself. Furthermore, “The Tulip” will also use targeted advertising to communicate its messages to relevant market segments. Advertisements will be placed in two popular local newspapers, targeting areas geographically by newspaper distribution areas. Secondly, In-Store and Store-Front displays will be put up to attract and retain customer attention. F. Marketing research During the initial stages of the marketing plan for “The Tulip”, focus groups were held to gain customer insight. Surveys and questionnaires were also disseminated physically and through social media websites. Customers were asked about their level of satisfaction regarding the products and services for existing salons; they were further provided some information about “The Tulip’s” offerings and asked how they would respond to that in terms of their buyer behavior. These methods of research provided us with invaluable information about the customers and gave us feedback on how the market would react to “The Tulip”. (Emin Isikli). G. Marketing Organization Marketing Organization builds marketing momentum and allows the business a higher chance of developing individual systems and strategies. The following chart shows how “The Tulip’s” marketing can be organized: (Jon Jantsch, 2008). VI. Action Programs “The Tulip” will commence services on April 15th 2013, once the finances have been received. According to our estimates, we will be servicing between 100-150 customers a week for all the services. Within the first six months, it is expected that these figures will increase by 20% and that there will be a 15% increase in sales every consequent year. As the customer base increases, “The Tulip” will also expand employee base to include 1 receptionist, 1 financial manager, 4 hairstylists, 2 nail technicians, 2 massage therapists and 2 facialists. VII. Budgets VIII. Controls Small businesses need to implement measures of internal control in order to function effectively. Components of internal control may include monitoring, control environment, risk assessment and control activities etcetera. (KJ Henderson). The following areas will be monitored to gauge performance: i. Monthly and annual revenue ii. Monthly and annual expenses iii. Repeat customer percentage iv. Customer Satisfaction IX. Conclusion According to the market research done in this regard and the consequent market plan drawn up, “The Tulip” seems to have considerable market demand and will turn out to be a successful venture. X. Appendices A. Resume i. Owner, CEO Lucy Jane Marie B. Market Survey C. Product and Service Price List D. Insurance Contracts E. Location specification and building layout F. Financial Documents G. Letters of recommendation References 1. John Jantsch. (2008). Your Marketing Organized. [http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/blog/2008/10/07/your-marketing-organized/]. 2. Christopher Carol. (2012). Product Strategy Examples. [http://www.ehow.com/way_5815713_product-strategy-examples.html]. 3. Emin Iskili. Marketing Research, Methods and Tools. [http://ressources.ciheam.org/om/pdf/c61/00800154.pdf]. 4. Sebastian Salicru. The process of Formulating and Implementing Marketing Strategy. [http://www.appliedinnovation.com.au/Portals/0/docs/Brochures/Formulating_Marketing_Strategy.pdf]. 5. KJ Henderson. (2012). Components of Internal Control Structure. [http://smallbusiness.chron.com/components-internal-control-structure-3806.html]. Read More