Marketing Plan for Fancy Flowers Florist New Dried Flowers Product

Executive Summary

[ No Executive Summary required - the plan is short ]

Introduction

Fancy Flowers Florist is a retail outlet for floral products and associated gift lines. It is located on High Street near the centre of the city's central business district and has a high pedestrian count.

The product that it is seeking to increase sales of is dried flowers. These have declined in overall sales or remained static, when monthly sales of previous years are compared with current year sales.

Dried flowers are usually sold in floral arrangements of posies, bunches, or baskets, or as collections of single stem specimens to dried flower arrangers. The flowers themselves are sourced through specialist suppliers — usually firms that produce dried flowers themselves. Some florists purchase flowers that lend themselves to dried flower arrangements and dry them off using their own facilities. Fancy Flowers does not currently do this.

There is a long history and tradition associated with dried flower arranging, and the product is in the mature phase of the product life cycle. Without marketing attention, sales can slip into a declining phase.

The particular strengths of dried flower arrangements are their novelty and their longevity — they do not have to be replaced, as fresh flowers do. Weaknesses include the fact that they are prone to fading over time and that they can become passé if left in the same situation/location for too long.

Situation Analysis

Business confidence has recently gone though a crisis of confidence, but indications are that this has bottomed out and confidence may be on the rise again. Retail sales generally, however, have not paralleled this lack of confidence and are up on comparable sales for the previous year.

Supplies of flowers — both through markets and flower wholesalers — have generally been good over the past year, although when export varieties of fresh flowers have been in high demand (for example, hydrangeas) the same variety has usually been in short supply on local markets across the country. This trend is expected to continue as demand for New Zealand fresh flowers rises in overseas markets.

Fancy Flowers sales are more buoyant now than at the same time last year. This is partly due, however, to the introduction earlier this year of a service to nearby corporates. They buy floral arrangements, which are regularly tended and replaced by our firm under contractual arrangements.

Fancy Flowers Florist sales are to a large extent event and promotion dependent — sales increase with public holidays or festival events (such as Valentine's Day), when customers are celebrating, giving, or grieving, and after focused promotion of particular products. Some customers buy when they wish to decorate a room with a floral arrangement.

Our main competition is:

• other nearby local florists: Pretty Posies, Beautiful Bunches, and Sweet Violets
• dairies and supermarkets selling flowers and floral arrangements.

The local florists' strengths are:

• Beautiful Bunches and Pretty Posies: the quality of their floral arrangements
• Sweet Violets: their specialisation in floral decoration of rooms for special occasions such as functions, weddings, and so on

Their weaknesses are:

• Beautiful Bunches and Pretty Posies haven't differentiated their products in the market place and are not known for specialisation in any particular product, range, or service.
• Sweet Violets prices are perceived as expensive without necessarily providing high quality or value for money.

Pretty Posies has maintained or increased its market share of sales of dried flower arrangements over the past year. An investigation of its product showed that it is making use of dried flowers that have been treated with a new non-toxic chemical that enhances and promotes the colour of the flowers (including stems and leaves), and maintains the vibrancy of colour for 10 years or longer.

The strengths of supermarkets and dairies are that they can sell their floral products 'after-hours' and to impulse and convenience buyers. Their weaknesses are their limited floral product ranges and their lack of high end and customised arrangements.

Target Markets

The target markets for Fancy Flowers dried flowers products are:

1. Corporate organisations that have traditionally bought fresh flowers to decorate reception areas, board rooms and offices, and that do not want a service contract for fresh flowers or want a mix of fresh and dried flowers.
2. Existing individual customers (members of our 'Full of Flowers' frequent buyers club or other customers known to us) who might consider buying an enhanced dried flower arrangement product for room decoration.
3. Walk-in customers who could be attracted to purchase an enhanced dried flower arrangement product based on its novelty or 'difference' factor.

Goals and Objectives

Goal:	To increase sales of Fancy Flowers Florist dried flower products (posies, bunches, and baskets) through a mixture of market penetration and product development.
Objective:	To increase dried flower arrangement gross sales for the 12 months ending September 200X from $5,000 to $10,000 made up from the target markets as follows: corporate sales increase from $2,500 to $5,000 existing individual customer sales increase from $1,500 to $3,000 walk-in customer sales increase from $1,000 to $2,000

Strategies and Tactics

Our marketing strategy is to increase sales of dried flowers by enhancing our product and carrying out a promotion campaign that is tailored to our target markets. The tactics for each element of the marketing mix that we will use to achieve this strategy are:

Product

1. Source through internet search, buy and become effective in using the chemical used by Pretty Posies to enhance the life and vibrancy of dried flowers by [date].
2. Use trade and flower arrangement information sources to update our style of dried flower arrangements. Create a house product range of posies, bunches, and baskets that are modern, innovative and made from specimens treated with the longevity and colour-enhancing chemical by [date].
3. Assemble samples and limited stock-holdings of the product range by [date].

Price

4. Position the prices for the product range higher rather than lower, when compared with previous dried flower products. Spread the range of prices so that there is choice for customers' pockets. Finalise prices for the individual products by [date].

Promotion

1. Discuss the features and benefits of the dried flower products with all our staff (florists, counter staff — including casuals — and corporate sales and servicing) so that they can talk about these features when dealing directly with customers by [date].
2. Implement a promotion campaign for the dried flower product range that comprises the following:
3. a 'feature article' press release on the product range (with colour photos) for distribution to local newspapers on [date]
4. a window and point of sale shop displays of the product range samples for the period [dates]
5. plastic sleeve display folders containing colour photos of the product range for use by our corporate sales and servicing staff (Janet and Renata) to be ready by [date]
6. an advertising campaign in local newspapers that features the new products, but which uses our existing advertising space and bookings; campaign to commence on [date] and run until [dates]
7. a point-of-sale campaign with our existing individual customers — counter staff will draw their attention to the new product range; existing customer who are members of our Full of Flowers club will be entitled to double stamps on their club cards wen they purchase of any of the new product range for the six month period from [date] until [date].

Place

7. A corporate sales campaign conducted by our corporate sales and servicing staff will target existing corporate customers when they service existing contracts and new customers through cold-calling on corporate premises. Campaign to commence on [date].

Budget

Costs		$
Tactic:
1.	Cost of chemical (est.)	500.00
2.	Cost of each product of the product range yet to be determined. Budget allowance for total cost of product against predicted sales:	5,000.00
3.	Nil
4.	Nil
5.	Nil
6a.	Will write own press release. Colour photos:	100.00
6b.	Nil
6c.		40.00
6d.	Nil (already budgeted for)
6e.	Cost of 'free sales' est.	500.00
7.	Nil (wages already budgeted)
Total:		$10,000.00

Revenue:

As forecast in the marketing objective:

a.	corporate sales:	$5,000
b.	existing individual customer sales:	$3,000
c.	walk-in customer sales:	$2,000
Total:		$10,000.00