Market Communication Plan for Pomegranate Cafe - Case Study Example

Market Communication Plan for Pomegranate Café Executive Summary Pomegranate Café resulted from a shared dream between daughter and mother, Marlene and Cassie Tolman. The vision which they had in mind is to create a space where foods having nutritious ingredients can be accompanied with exceptional service and environmental friendly atmosphere. Pomegranate café is a non-profit sector business. The owner of the café, Marlene Tolman has years of experience of working in non-profit sector. This paper will highlight the ways in which this business can utilize tools like social networking and developing website in order to attract more donations so as to run the business. Campaign Objectives Nowadays, whenever one sits in a café for coffees, they’ll notice people bending over their laptops, iPhones or Blackberry’s in order to check their mails, catching up with friends on facebook or following individuals on twitter. This paper reveals that these social networking websites and companies’ official websites can be used for several benefits as well. If taken appropriate actions, then companies can expand the awareness of their business through social networking websites. Nowadays, countless people are operating home based businesses through these websites and therefore these sites can be used to attract large pools of customers as well. If the people are directed towards these spaces by pre-planned strategies then it can help the non-profit organizations to increase the awareness of their business among common people. The basic purpose of this campaign is to attract larger amount of donations by creating awareness. In subsequent parts of this paper, a brief analysis has been done about how to utilize these technological services in order to enhance the speed of awareness. Target Market The target market which has been selected for this purpose are legacies and wealthy individuals. These entities need to possess healthy reputation and enough wealth so that substantial amount of donations can be acquired from them. In this regard, some specific strategies are required to be planned so that only particular target market is selected and catered. Campaign Explanation Nowadays, every big and small, poor and rich is using social networking websites. Almost all of the companies possess fan pages on these social networking websites in order to dive into the pool of viewers. They take the advantage of social networking websites and develop their companies pages on these sites and in this manner they raise awareness among common people about companies products and services. Pomegranate café can also take advantage of this technological enhancement in order to raise the amount of donations. The company can develop its official website and then develop a fan page on social networking websites in order to bring in more donors. Website Recommendations While developing websites for pomegranate café, a non-profit sector company, the company needs to take care of certain important fundraising tools as well as some volunteers. People can visit site due to any reason, but these recommendations will compel the visitors in making some donations or at least getting involved through some other processes. The most important tips while developing official website for a non-profit sector operating company include the following areas. 1. Including Essential Information of the Company The website must contain the company’s basic information including company’s address, telephone number, location, email address etc. This section needs to be made in a way that is easy to navigate. All the information provided here must be recent and functional. The mission and vision statement also need to be present in the centre. Adequate information about staff must also be present. 2. Showing the Personality of the Organization The websites needs to convey the image of organizations’ personality which is coherent with the fundraising techniques and marketing materials in order to develop strong relationships with donors. The philosophy of organization must be depicted by the overall presentation of the website for instance homey, scientific, traditional etc. In case of pomegranate café, the owners can take the best advantage of the noble deed which they are doing that is feeding people in just $2 per meal! Heart touching slogans can be utilized in order to attract the attention of donors. Examples include; “Let’s shake hands for eradicating hunger!” or “Always supporting you to feed the hungry!”. These slogans or taglines can grab the attention of donors who wish to donate some amount for this noble cause. 3. Providing Helpful Content and Interest Visitors need to get some evidence about what the organization is currently doing for this cause. In this regard, the company can put up list of some current and ongoing projects. Apart from this, visitors must also know the total amount that has been donated till date. So, a digitalized figure of total donated amount also needs to be shown at the homepage of the website in order to gain the trust of potential donors as there is a huge concern of trustworthiness due to ever increasing number of cybercrimes and frauds. These tactics can help in developing effective strategies for the company to achieve its mission. The company can take help from website developers for developing catchy websites which will also be in lined with company’s budget. It would be far less costly than other marketing tactics which includes print marketing, advertisement, brochures, etc. It would be one-time investment and therefore will last for longer tenure of time. Amendments and alterations in the website can be made as per the requirement but the basic content must be held same. The interface of the website must not be changed entirely as it will confuse the visitors because majority of the people in our society are reluctant to change. If all these tactics are followed carefully, then there are higher chances for the pomegranate café to attract more donors from a wealthy class in order to support the business. Social Network Recommendations Social networking websites are one of the most renowned names of the 21st century. Facebook, twitter are as common to every person as if they are essential ingredient of their lives. It is no longer a playing field for ages 16 to 15 but the fastest growing group on social networking websites is from ages 35 to 54 years. Professional and experienced fundraisers raises important questions like what does it have for non-profit sector organizations? In essence, they are an alternate marketing potential due to online marketing networks. Despite of the fact that social networking websites have not made fundraisers to earn donations of millions of dollars, yet acquaintance needs to be created and any opportunity must not be missed. Social networking websites have become a platform for sharing information and communicating with people. Their potential of providing benefits to fundraisers are yet to be realized. Director of Communications at the National Hospice Foundation, Susan Messina says that “Social networks have created a space that nonprofits like ours simply have to be in -- even though we don't yet know what will emerge as a result”. Being in that frame of mind, let’s take a look at the following important aspects of social networking. Getting familiar with the scene of social networking How to convert single time donors into recurring donors. Ways of reaching potential donors through these social networking sites 1. Getting familiar with the Process Many of the executives do not have much familiarity with social networking websites, therefore they need to get acquaintance with that. If owners at pomegranate café are savvy social networker they can omit this section. The owners need to include all the relevant pictures, videos and information on their official page so that visitors can glance and get details in q quick manner. 2. Converting One Time Donors into Recurring Donors In order to try to make every single person join the network, the company needs to be very selective at this step. Only those donors need to be retained which show willingness of giving donations in a future period as well. For this, pomegranate café needs to grant special attention to its most precious donors and must be in contact with them whenever they require. The page must be handled by a single admin. Staff and volunteers must be asked to operate their own social networking pages because mix causes related messages can create chaos. Apart from operating on just facebook, pomegranate café can also start a twitter feed for their organization. This will help in keeping the donors posted about the latest updates and efforts for any particular cause. Owners of pomegranate donors also need to track which donors are constantly following them and must stay in touch with them also. Donors need to be appreciated and thanked for their time and money. This can be done by sending them gifts and bouquets to their residence frequently. 3. Reaching Potential Donors Owners of Pomegranate Café needs to perform a little research about gaining information regarding who can be the potential donor for the company. They need to search friends through friend search bar. Apart from this, they can get help from their current friend and asking them to notify about potential donors which might be present in their friends circle. Taking appropriate measures can help companies in getting edge over their competitors. In case of non-profit organizations, Pomegranate Café can be in the line of leading non-profit organizations which acquire substantial amounts of donations and run their business in an exceptional manner. Works Cited Barry, F., 2012. 2012 Nonprofit Social Networking Benchmark. [Online] Available at: http://www.netwitsthinktank.com/social-media/2012-nonprofit-social-networking-report.htm [Accessed 18 June 2012]. Bergesen, S., n.d.. How Nonprofit Organizations Are (and Are Not) Using Social Networking. [Online] Available at: http://www.divinecaroline.com/22281/104236-nonprofit-organizations-and-not-using [Accessed 18 June 2012]. Bray, I., n.d.. Your Nonprofit's Website as a Fundraising Tool. 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