Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing 2010

Marketing Plan 2010

Anaconda, Montana

Daniel Chandler
Scott Magnuson
Jessie Mazzone
Ginger Singer

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Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing 2010

Executive Summary

Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing will be celebrating 25 years in business the summer of
July 2010. Barb Killoy has been running this business and has plans to retire and sell
Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing in three years. Her plans for the next three years is to
increase the stores net income by 10% each year in order to make her business more
valuable for a buyer.

Mother Lode gifts and Mailing is a gift shop located in Anaconda, Montana. Products in
the store include; jewelry, balloons, decorations, coffee mugs, and t-shirts. This store is
unique to Anaconda because it has a mailing center. Customers are encouraged to
leave their packages unsealed in case they wish to make a last minute purchase to add
to their packages.

In order to increase profitability over the next few years, Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing
will need to implement different strategies to make the store more competitive. First of
all, Barb wishes to hire a manager. Having a manager will make it possible for Barb
and her husband to leave town while still having someone take care of their store.

One of Barb’s goals is to increase UPS sales. In order to do that she will offer a punch
card to customers. Each time a customer ships a package with UPS they will receive a
punch on their card. After the customer has filled the punch card they will be able to
redeem the card for a coffee mug.

To increase the number of customers for Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing, current
customers are encouraged to bring in new customers. Every customer that brings in
someone that has never visited the store before will receive 10% off on their purchase
along with the new customer. This will increase regular traffic and satisfy exciting
customers.

Currently Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing does not have a logo or a website. The logo
has been designed, but it still has not been used in advertisements or signage for the
store. The logo will help remind customers of the store when they see the logo around
town. Although there is not a website at this time, it is currently being worked on. This
website will allow customers to shop online and it will allow Barb to sell products that
are not in stock at the store. The use of a website will give Mother Lode Gifts and
Mailing a competitive advantage over other gifts shops in Anaconda.

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Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing 2010

Every summer during the months of June, July, and August, Anaconda hosts Alive After
Five. Alive After Five has many local venders and live music. Barb Killoy has set up a
booth and will continue to this summer. This booth allows her to visit with potential
customers without them having to enter her store. She is also able to show customers
some of the products the store carries. The booth is particularly beneficial this summer
because it is Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing 25 th anniversary.

For the store’s 25th anniversary, there will be a sale the first three weeks in July. Each
week Barb will have a different product marked down to 25% off. By switching the
products that will be on sale, customers will be encouraged to come into the store to
find out which items have the discount.

Every year around the 25 of July, Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing has a Christmas in July
sale. The Christmas in July sale sells Christmas decorations for a discount. Because
Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing will already have the 25 th anniversary sale the entire
month of July will be about promotions.

Included in this marketing plan are projected financial data for 2010 and 2011 affected
by the strategies described in this document. A Gantt chart is located at the end of the
document to supplement Barb Killoy in implementing the promotions for Mother Lode
Gifts and Mailing.

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Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing 2010

Table of Contents

Mission Statement 5

Company Description 5
History 5
Values 7
What They Do and Who They Do If For 7
Marketing Issue 8
Business Goals 8

Situation Analysis 9
SWOT Analysis 9
BCG Matrix 11
Sustainable Competitive Advantage 13
Porter’s Five Forces 14
Environmental Factors 16

Market Strategy 17
Marketing Objectives 17
Target Markets 17
Product Positioning 18
Product Differentiation 19
Competitive Advantage 19

Marketing Mix 20
Product 20
Pricing 21
Place 22
Promotion 22

Financial Data and Projections 23

Past Financial Data 2009 23
Future Financial Data 23
Future Financial Data for 2010 and 2011 24

Implementation Plan 25

Evaluation 26

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Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing 2010

Mission Statement
Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing works to make your shopping experience the best it can
be and caters to all your gift giving needs.

Company Description
“Our goal to reach the ultimate “mother lode” of success can only be achieved by
treating our customers like the “gold” they are,” Said Barb Killoy, owner of Mother Lode
Gifts and Mailing. For the last 25 years Barb has been doing business in the small town
of Anaconda.

Starting out as a ware house for a food company, Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing slowly
changed and transformed into the gift shop that it is today. After moving three times
Barb finally bought a building where she could provide all the services that she offers.

Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing is a locally owned and operated small business that
offers many different services. Barb has gifts and balloons for all occasion for people of
all ages, including gift wrapping and decorating services for all party needs. Along with
the basic gift shop services she offers copies, faxes and water delivery. Barb works with
the UPS mailing system and does packaging with all her other services.

History

Jim and Barb Killoy have moved multiple times during their marriage together due to
Jim being in the Navy. It wasn’t until 1972 when they moved to Anaconda, Montana and
made the decision to settle with their family in this small town. After 13 years of living in
Anaconda Barb was approached by Yurika Foods, a multi-level marketing health and
convenient foods company. Yurika Foods was looking for someone to run a business
and transport their goods from one ware house to another.

In 1985, Barb joined with Yurika foods and opened a store front at 520 East Park Street
in Anaconda. Jim remodeled the building to fit the needs of having a food ware house.
After renting that building for a year they were forced to move because the building was
sold.

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In 1986, Barb along with Yurika Foods moved into a new building at 300 East
Commercial after Jim remodeled it. This new location was bigger than the last building
which gave Barb the idea to add gifts to the store front. When she did this, the gifts she
took in were only locally made crafts. Shortly after the gift section was added to the
store Barb went on a vacation to Kentucky to visit her family where she found “Gift in a
Balloon”. Barb found this product very interesting and unique, so she decided to add
this product to her line. Not only was it unique but it was something that could not be
found locally. It was something new that she wanted to bring to Anaconda. Barb
thought adding this was going to help increase sales because she could put other gifts
into the balloon as a new version of gift wrapping.

Even after adding “Gift in a balloon” Barb knew that wasn’t going to be enough so she
added a whole balloon line. It was at this location that she began buying her own
product after adding the balloons and taking in less local crafts. With the extra room in
the store Barb partnered with Linda Shandy and UPS by adding a mailing center to the
front of the store. This location was also sold forcing them to move again.

In 1987, they moved to their third location yet again after Jim remodeled it. This building
was located at 517 East Park, just across the street from the first location. Shortly after
they made this move, Barb bought UPS from Linda Shandy. Not long after they did that
the Yurika foods company went out of business leaving Barb with gifts, balloons and
mailing services.

Though they lost Yurika foods Barb picked up a dry cleaning transportation service
since this was currently not available anywhere in Anaconda. Barb would take people’s
clothes and bring them over to Butte to have them dry cleaned making it convenient for
the customers not having to drive over to Butte multiple times a week. This service
lasted until a small dry cleaning business opened up in Anaconda. Shortly after Barb
gave up the dry cleaning gig she added water delivery to her list of services, through the
Summit Valley Beverage Company.

In 1992 Barb moved her business to its last and final location at 822 East Park Street.
Throughout the time she had been in business Barb had always rented, but was always
looking for a store front to buy. After she made the purchase her husband Jim
remodeled the old gas station into a quaint gift shop. One thing that sold her on this
location was the size of the parking lot, which made it more convenient for the UPS
drivers and customers.

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Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing 2010

By this time the store was completely a gift shop with a few extra services. Even though
Barb bought her own line of product at this time she occasionally took in local crafts, but
not as much as when she had first opened. Prior to operating out of this new location,
Barb only had one person working for her and she decided to start hiring other
employees. She found this very helpful when she and Jim needed time off for a
vacation or to go to market. The employees ranged from daughter-in-laws to people in
the town and family friends.

One motto that Barb has lived by the last 25 years is that if there is a need in the town
they would put forth the effort to try and fill it.

The Values

Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing has always been very involved in the community. Barb
and the other gift shop owners within Anaconda work together to keep business within
the town local. All the gift shop owners communicate with each other so that they do not
end up with the same products and are able to send customers to each other when they
are looking for something specific. Whenever there are state sporting events Barb calls
all the local businesses to see who wants balloons to put outside their store front to
show their support.

What they do and who they do it for?

Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing has been known for being your “one-stop-shop-all gift
shop”. Barb sells a lot of figurines, coffee mugs, gift baskets and balloons for people of
all ages. Outside of gifts and balloons Barb also does UPS and Fed Ex for anyone who
needs to mail a package. The process she uses for this is easy, convenient and fast for
anyone. Barb is also known for the decorating services that are offered. Anyone who is
having a big party or wedding can find decorating deals at Mother Lode Gifts and
Mailing.

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Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing 2010

Marketing Issues

Every company has goals they want to reach and obstacles that get in the way. After 25
years into business Barb Killoy still has dreams for the business she created from a
food company.

Over the last few years the economy has had a slight impact on the sales at Mother
Lode Gifts. One short term objective that Barb has for her store is to promote her 25 th
anniversary in July. Barbs plan is to promote different product within the store every
week for the first three weeks. The last week in July Barb wants to promote Christmas
products for her Christmas in July annual sale. Standing in her way is the extra costs of
advertising and promoting the sale along with having multiple items at 25% off.

A second objective for Barbs is to increase her sales in UPS. With the way the economy
has been lately most people have stopped mailing packages and are simply mailing gift
cards. The US postal service has also played a part in the effect on Mother Lode Gifts
and Mailing by offering the “if it fits, it ships” deal. Even though Barb offers to package
materials the USPS deal has still taken a toll on her sales.

Business Goals

 Offer punch card that allows customers to punch in their card every time they
mail a package.
 Create a website
 Hire a manager
 Increase Profits 10% each year
 Sell business in three years

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Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing 2010

Situation Analysis
SWOT Analysis
Figure 1 shows internal factor, these include the strengths and weaknesses (SW) of the
Mother Lode Gifts and Shipping store in Anaconda, Montana. The figure covers topics
such as management, offerings, marketing, personal, Finance, and manufacturing.

Internal Factors Strengths Weaknesses

Management Husband and Wife owned for 25 Does not have replacement
years, one other employee that employee in case of absence,
has worked 6-7 years great only had to fire one employee
worker

Offerings Accepts credit cards, Dollar grab
bags, Summit Valley Water,
Birthday Gifts, Shipping, Faxing,
Copies, Montana mud apparel,
high-quality products
Men’s products hard to come
by, Changing credit card
companies, Busy during certain
occasions.

Marketing Bring a Friend new customer Only able to discount so much

discount, adds on radio and paper or no revenue is made, Only
during occasions, Sign on street use butte Standard, No Website
with balloons, Christmas in July at this time

Personnel Worked 25 years, Highly Relatively small number of

motivated, have been in employees and limited space for
anaconda for 18 years, believe new product
strongly in the originality of their
products, Montana made

Finance Family owned and operated
Manufacturing 10 different venders, people stop
in and show new product,
Venders are good about replacing
broken product, Montana made
Unless items are sold new items
cannot be brought in
May be to many venders,
occasional back order

Figure 1. SWOT Analysis for Mother Lode Gifts and Shipping (internal factors)

Figure 2 demonstrates the external factors for the Mother Lode Gifts and Shipping, the
opportunities and treats (OT). Topics that are covered are consumer/social, competition,
technology, and economics.
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Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing 2010

External Factors Opportunities Threats

Consumer/Social Product is marketed toward Larger businesses in Butte and
everyone but is most appropriate other surrounding areas, location
for middle to upper class, party is hard to see
supplies, water

Competitive Only mailing service in area, E-Bay, Wal-Mart, people do not

other gifts shops talk to assure realize the opportunity in town
different products, great at
sending customers back and
forth

Technological Working on website for online Website not currently in use

shopping and shipping, Weigh
station for shipping

Economic Consumer consumption is low People are spending less money,

due to economy but priced
reasonable so people do not
mind purchasing
sending gift cards instead of
mailing gifts, experienced small
decline in sales over last year,
Mailing went down $20,000 in
December

Price Very competitively priced, been Tried selling higher priced items
complemented on price, many they sell but take more time
$6 birthday deals

Competitive Many small businesses in one, Does not carry western, wildlife
Advantage variety of work balloons one day
then delivering water the next,
Tries to find the cheapest way to
ship your mail, Religious figures
are big sellers
Figure 2. SWOT Analysis for Mother Lode Gifts and Shipping (external factors)

BCG Matrix

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The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) growth share matrix is based on a product life
cycle, which is a theory used to determine which priorities should be given in the
product portfolio for a particular business. A business should have a portfolio of
products that contains both low growth and high growth products. The BCG matrix
contains two axes, one being the market growth rate and the other being the relative
market share. The matrix has four different quadrants which include: stars, cash cows,
dogs, and question marks. This can be seen in Figure 3.

Stars: are products with high growth and high market share. For Mother Lode Gifts and
Mailing, these products include: angels, angel pins, kids jewelry, shipping, copies,
faxes, and bottled water.

Question Marks: are products with high growth and low market share. In Mother Lode
Gifts and Mailing, these products include: Montana Mud t-shirts, and candles.

Cash Cows: are products with low growth rate and a relatively high market share. For
Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing, these products include: Webkinz, God’s Hearts, and
seasonal decorations.

Dogs: are products that have a low growth rate and a relatively low market share. For
Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing, these products include: coffee mugs, wildlife clocks, and
wildlife mirrors.

Figure 3: BCG positioning throughout the life cycle of the product

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Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing 2010

       

  BCG Matrix for Mother Lode Gifts and Shipping  

  STARS QUESTION MARK ?  

Angels, Angel Pins, Kids Jewelry, Montana Mud T-shirt, Candles

Copies, Faxes, Shipping, Bottled
Water

   

  CASH COW Dogs  

MaWebkinz, God's Hearts, Decorating Coffee Mugs, Wildlife Clocks,

(seasonal) Wildlife Mirrors
rke
t
Gr
ow
th
  Rat  
e
   

   

       

Figure 4: BCG matrix for the Mother Lode Gifts and Shipping

Sustainable Competitive Advantage

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At Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing, they have recognized that the quality of the products
and services are big factors when trying to maintain a competitive advantage over other
local businesses. Because the business is located in the small town of Anaconda, there
is very little competition between businesses. Being a small, local business and knowing
the owners of the other small businesses in the area, Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing
manages to differentiate their products from other stores. This is done by each store
buying from different suppliers, and different types of items being sold at each of those
locations. While most companies try to run each other out of business, the small
businesses in Anaconda help one another by referring customers to other local stores
for specific products.

Throughout the 25 years of business, the Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing has managed
to obtain many small businesses in one. The company covers a wide arrangement of
products such as party decorations, balloons, shipping, faxing, copies, gifts, clothing,
and Summit Valley Bottled Water. By doing this the company can take advantage of
slow time frames by selling gifts and shipping. Then when the weather becomes nicer t-
shirts and water delivery begins to increase in number of sales, ultimately keeping the
company busy at all times.

Because of the lack of a website the company loses some of its competitive advantage
to online businesses. This dilemma is being taken care of as one of the promotion
processes of this project, and in doing so we believe that revenue will increase
dramatically. The gifts will be able to be viewed from the comfort of one’s house, then
wrapped and shipped from the same location, making it much more convenient for
buyers who do not feel like driving to Anaconda.

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Porter’s Five Forces Model

When analyzing a business, Porter’s five basic forces must be taken into consideration.
The five forces are organized using the Porter’s five forces model as seen in Figure 5.
Porter suggests that the industry should examine the following topics: 1.) potential
entrants, 2.) suppliers, 3.) buyers, 4.) substitutes, and 5.) industry competitors.

Potential Entrants: Western Wishes is a similar gift store in Anaconda, but has a
different variety of products such as western themes and horses. The company is a
treat because Mother Lode Gifts and Shipping does not carry many of these products.
Beyond Necessity is another small business in Anaconda that has small gift items, but
focuses on wildlife and outdoor products. Because the two businesses have a different
product line is opposes a threat to the Mother Lode Gifts and Shipping, customers may
be looking for a product only the other two companies may have. EBay has also
become a threat due to the availability of online gift shopping and shipping, as well as
Wal-Mart’s low pricing discouraging people to come in and compare their prices to Wal-
Mart’s everyday low pricing.

Suppliers: The Mother Lode Gifts and Shipping has many suppliers to bargain with.
The Local companies are good about using different suppliers in order to establish
product differentiation. Mother Lode Gifts and Shipping will turn down sellers that have
been to other local stores in the area. Meanwhile, Summit Valley Water is the only
supplier of bottled water, but the Mother Lode has established a great relationship with
them.

Buyers: Because there is a wide variety of products and services, there is a large
window of buyers for the Mother Lode Gifts and Shipping. Buyers vary from gift buyers
to shippers, water consumers, faxes, copies, and party supplies. This assortment helps
keep sales steady, and keeps the business active.

Substitutes: If consumers are looking for products containing wildlife or western

themes, the Mother Lode Gifts and Shipping does not have much to substitute for this
demand.

Industry Competitors: Mother Lode Gifts and Shipping’s top competitors are the other
local businesses such as Western Wishes and Beyond Necessity. These companies
specialize in gifts and figurines much like the Mother Lode Gifts and Shipping does. The
company on the other hand also specializes in shipping and other products which helps
differentiate our company from the others.

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Potential Entrants
Western Wishes
Beyond Necessity
E-Bay
Wal-Mart

Suppliers
Many suppliers to bargain with Industry Competitors
Buyers
Wide variety of product Wide Variety of Buyers
Rivalry among existing firms
Do not allow same suppliers as other local companies Shippers, water consumers, gift buyers

Rivalry among Existing Firms

Substitutes
Horses and Western Product
Wildlife collectibles

Figure 5: Porters 5 Forces Model for Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing

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The Environmental Factors

The Environmental factors are ones that cannot be controlled. These consist of social,
economic, technological, competitive, and regulatory factors. These factors are
important when trying to establish a high-quality situational analysis.

Social: The Company has no control over the social aspect of the market. The focus of
this market does not seem to be affected because of the types of product that the
business possesses.

Economic: There is some economic factors that have acted on the company in the past
couple years. Because of the economic downfall of the time people are spending less,
and purchasing gift cards to mail instead of mailing a gift. Between the years 2008 and
2009, the business has seen a $2,000.00 decrease in sales, as well as a $20,000.00
decrease in sales in December alone.

Technological: There is not a lot of technology involved in this business other than the
shipping and faxing. This equipment has been dependable since the time of purchase.

Competitive: There is some competition in the area for the Mother Lode Gifts and
Shipping, but as stated before the businesses do a legitimate job carrying different
products to give each other a competitive advantage.

Regulatory: The Mother Lode Gifts and Shipping is very straight forward and have not
introduced any marketing add that was false or misleading in any way. The business
loves their customers and does everything to keep them satisfied with the prices and
product they have to offer.

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Marketing Strategy
This section of the marketing plan describes the marketing objectives for the past,
present, and future of Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing. Also included in this section are
the target market, product positioning, product differentiation, and the competitive
advantage that Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing has over other local competitors.

Marketing Objectives

Barb Killoy, owner of Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing is planning on retiring after three
years and selling her business. Her goal is to make her business more profitable in the
upcoming years so that she can sell the business to someone else. This year will be
the 25th anniversary of Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing. There will be a booth located at
Alive at Five with promotions celebrating Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing’s 25 years in
business. In the past, Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing has not had a website or a real
business logo. This year a website will be created so that her customers can shop
online. This will bring in more revenue and more customers into her store. The logo will
help Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing because it will give the company a visual to remind
customers about her store.

Target Market

The target market for Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing is mostly Anaconda locals. Mother
Lode Gifts and Mailing encourages its customers to purchase local products rather that
going to Butte or Missoula. This gift shop offers decorations, mugs, and gift items.
Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing keeps prices low in order to keep customers coming
back. The goal of this marketing plan is to get more of the locals and tourists to shop at
the store.

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Product Positioning

Most of the products at Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing are gifts, trinkets, jewelry,
decorations, coffee mugs, and balloons. She tries to find things made in the U.S. and
items made in Montana. The main focus is on tourist and locals. She wants locals to
shop locally instead of heading into Butte and she wants tourists to be the stop in when
they pass through.

This store is the one stop shop of Anaconda. Barb has various gifts for all ages and
backgrounds. She also has a complete mailing service and is the only mailing service
in Anaconda which includes FedEx and UPS. Fax and copying services are offered for
customers that don’t own the technology.

She sells wildlife decorations for lake side cabins. The owners of the cabins at
Georgetown Lake buy many of these items which include deer, elk, moose, and bears
wall hangings. Other wildlife products include wooden sculptures, decorative plates,
welcome signs, and wine bottle holders made out of deer antlers.

When it comes to kid birthday parties she has it all; balloons, kid gifts, ribbons and
more. She is also a local distributor of homemade candy. Whenever a store is doing a
promotion or special event, she is always the one supplying the balloons and decorative
attractions.

By creating a logo and a website Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing will look more
professional to customers. Customers will be able to go online if they are not able to
come to the store. They will also be able to go online and look at what the store has to
offer if they have not been in there before. With the logo, Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing
can make signage to attract customers to come into the store.

Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing is located in downtown Anaconda. It is sometimes hard
to see because it is off the street; however, it is positioned between two bars so it
receives a lot of foot traffic. By creating promotional signs that can be seen off the
street, more tourists will become aware of the store and stop in.

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Product Differentiation
Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing is not the only gift shop located in Anaconda. It is
however, the only gift shop that customers are able to ship packages in. Customers
that are shipping gifts are able to put last minute purchases from the store into their gift
boxes. Customers are encouraged to leave their package unsealed until they are ready
to ship.

Very few stores in Anaconda have a company website. This will be a huge
differentiation for her store to sell her products. She has a very unique line of products
and this will be an effective way for the public to notice them.

Competitive Advantage

Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing uses its mailing center to bring regular customers into the
shop. By including a gift shop in this mailing center customers are able to purchase last
minute gifts in their packages. Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing offers gifts targeted
toward younger children at a low price. Parents are able to bring their children into the
store to purchase a gift at an inexpensive price rather that driving to a bigger town to go
shopping.

The creation of the website will make the business more marketable for both Anaconda
locals and tourists. The locals will be able to shop and look up products online.
Tourists coming to town will be able to run a search on-line for Anaconda and find
Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing as a place to stop and visit.

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Marketing Mix
This section of the marketing plan will describe the components of the marketing mix
including: product strategy, price strategy, place strategy, and promotion strategy.

Product

Products located in the store will stay the same. Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing will
continue to sell the products that have previously sold well in the past and add new
products that come out in the marketplace that are in high demand. The proportion of
income for Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing from each product being sold can be seen in
figure 6.

Percentage of Income from Products

1% 1% 3%

Gifts
26% UPS
Candy
42%
Copies
Fax
Water
FedEx

1%

26%

Figure 6: Percentage of Income from Products

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Pricing

The prices of the products have done well in the past. Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing
will continue to offer low prices to keep its competitive advantage. The out-of-state
customers think the pricing is unbelievably low. Many tourist like this little store because
it has a lot to offer. They have plenty of gifts for everyone and can package them to
send to their relatives. Seen in figure 7 on the Price/Value Map shows how customers
perceive the products’ price and value.

High Skim Premium

Price

Penetrate
Low Economy

Inferior Value Superior

Figure 7: Price/Value Map

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Place

Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing is currently in the fourth location in the history of the
business. The owner rented the last three locations, but currently owns the building. The
store is located on the main street headed out of town.

Alive after Five is a great promotional attraction for the stores in the community. Mother
Lode Gifts and Mailing has a booth set up every summer. Alive at Five occurs every
Friday night during the summer starting at five. This is a way for locals to interact with
the owners of the local businesses and see what the store has to offer. Mother Lode
Gifts and Mailing usually has dollar gift bags for sale along with some other little gifts.
She also has a list of her main products and current discounts at her booth.

Barb’s granddaughter is currently working on producing a website for Mother Lode Gifts
and Mailing. This website will increase sales and increase the amount of people
exposed to what Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing has to offer.

Promotion

This summer Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing will celebrate its 25 years of business with
a huge sale. This will start July 18 and will last the first three weekends in July. Every
item in the store will be knocked down. This will bring in a lot of revenue and a way to
thank the customers for all the support over the years.

The last weekend in July is “Christmas in July”. Every summer Mother Lode Gifts and
Mailing holds a sale with discounts on Christmas decorations. This summer it will start
on July 25 and go through the weekend. The whole month of July will bring in a lot of
customers and produce a lot of revenue.

Currently a promotional discounts is going on that allows exciting customers to bring in

one new customer and a 10% discount off of 1 item for both of them.

Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing will be starting punch card for customers mailing
packages. Every time a customer ships an item they get a punch on their card. Once
the card is full they will receive a free mug of their choice.

Mother lode Gifts and Mailing doesn’t use many media advertisements. Only on special
events will it be mentioned in the newspaper or on the radio. Advertisements toward the
general public have not produced much revenue in the past because most of her
customers are tourist and local people from Anaconda.

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Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing 2010

Financial Data and Future Projections

This section of the marketing plan gives the financial data for three years. The first set
of sales data will be from 2009. Then a projection for the current year 2010 and 2011
will be estimated.

Past Financial Data 2009

Sales Revenue $35110.52

Less: Cost of Goods Sold $4358.59
Less: Operating Expense $2430.88
Net Income $28321.05

Future Financial Data

We project the future revenue will increase 10% each year. There will be no labor cost
for the logo and the website. The website will cost an extra $8 a year for the site fee.
The logo will benefit Mother Load Gifts and Mailing by giving the company a visual
brand. The new website will allow customers to search products that are being sold.
Customers can make purchases online which will bring in more users and cut costs for
stocking the store.

The 25th anniversary will have a 25% promotion on a different product each week. By
doing this, customers will be encouraged to come into the store every week to see
which product is on sale. Although this promotion will cost the business money, it will
bring in regular and new customers each week.

There will be an ongoing promotion of 10% off a purchase for each customer who
brings in a friend that has never been into the store. The new customer will also receive
10% off a purchase. This promotion uses word-of-mouth advertising to bring in more
customers and revenue.

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Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing 2010

We predict that sales will increase as the years go on. In the past years the number of
sales has been affected by the recession. These promotions will increase the number
of products being sold and the number of regular traffic in the store. The website will
make access easier for the consumer to search and purchase products in the store. By
using a website, customers not located in or around Anaconda will be able to make
purchases.

Future Financial Data for 2010 and 2011

2010 2011

Sales Revenue $38,400 $42,240

Less: Cost of Goods Sold $4,000 $4,000

Less: Operating Expense $2,500 $2,500

(Promotion Expense)
Net Income $31,900 $35740

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Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing 2010

Implementation Plan
In order to increase the profit of Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing in the next couple years,
five promotions will be implemented in 2010. The planning stage and time of
implementation can be seen in Figure 8.

2010 Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
Logo

Website

25th
Anniversar
y
Christmas
in July
Alive
After 5
10% off w/
new friend
Punch Card

Figure 8: Gantt Chart for Promotions in 2010 Planning Stage

Implementation

There are a variety of products that are sold at Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing. Some of
the products are only sold seasonally while others are always in stock due to the
constant demand. Some of the products that are sold year round become star sellers
during specific seasons. Figure 9 shows when products are in stock and when they
become star sellers.

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Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing 2010

Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.

Mugs ____ XXX ____ XXX ____ ____ XXX ____ ____ XXX ____ XXX

Angel
Figurines XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX

Balloons XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX

Montana
Mud Shirts ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ XXX XXX XXX ____ ____ ____ ____

Over the Hill XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX

Wildlife
Products ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ XXX XXX XXX XXX ____

Kids Jewelry XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX

Webkins ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____

Water ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ XXX XXX XXX ____ ____ ____ ____

Grab Bags ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ XXX XXX XXX ____ ____ ____ ____

Valentine
Decorations ____ XXX

Easter
Decorations ____ XXX

4th of July
Decorations ____ XXX

Halloween
Decorations ____ XXX

Thanksgivin
g
Decorations ____ XXX

Christmas ____ XXX

Figure 9: Seasonal Products for Sale Star Seller XXX

In Stock ____
Not In Stock

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Mother Lode Gifts and Mailing 2010

Evaluation
With the use of this complete marketing plan Mother lode Gifts and Mailing will be able
to implement the marketing strategies presented in this plan. This detailed document
provides insight for how the company has done the past. Included is a description of
the products, strategies, and strengths that have benefitted this company. The Gantt
chart will be useful to control when the promotional strategies will be used. In
conclusion, the responsibility of the marketing plan being implementing is up to the
owner. She must continually re-evaluate the strategies to ensure that the promotions
are benefitting the business.

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