Cloud 9 Books Store Case Study

Table of Contents

I. Company Description

II. Business Mission

III. Challenge Statement

IV. Marketing Objective

V. Situation Analysis

a. Industry Analysis

b. SWOT Analysis

VI. Marketing Strategy

a. Target Market Strategy

b. Marketing Mix

i. Product

ii. Place/Distribution

iii. Promotion

iv. Price

VII. Implementation, Evaluation, and Control

a. Marketing Research

b. Organizational Structure and Plan

c. Financial Projections

d. Implementation Timetable

e. Summary

VIII. Works Cited

A. Company Description

Our business, Cloud 9 Books, will be a used bookstore providing quality service and products. We will have a good location, next to Target on Highway 50, with a varied supply of books from other sellers and our customers. We will provide a clean, well-ordered, quiet environment. Cloud 9 Books will also include special orders for school and customers who desire new books as they come out.

B. Business Mission

"As we launch Cloud 9, a new used book store; our plan is to offer a varied selection of quality used books that consumers will want, at a competitive price. We will also offer a special order system to provide for harder to find books and "required reading" books for school. We hope this approach will not only draw new customers, but also repeat customers, which will allow us to have the leading market share of local used bookstores."

C. Challenge Statement

Our book store faces 3 challenges as we launch our used bookstore business.

a. Other used book stores in the area are our biggest competitors which may prohibit us from gaining a good market share.

b. We are also competing with major discount stores such as Target and Wal-Mart that sell new books.

c. Other competition includes online stores including e-bay and Amazon.com

D. Marketing Objective

Since this is a new company, we have no baseline for sales to match. Setting an achievable goal is ideal. Our main goal for year one of our business is to obtain 10 % of the market share. We hope to increase our market share by 5% each year until we hold 30% of the market. We will achieve this goal through a variety of ways. Using timely sales promotions to bring in more customers will be the main way in which we achieve this. In addition, offering discounts for frequent customers, as well as package deals will be key in maintaining lasting customer relationships. We will also advertise at the local college and high school campuses, as well as billboards near the interstate and around the town.

E. Situation Analysis

1. Industry Analysis

a. Trends

With the recent past economic hardships, consumers are learning to budget their money, and look for convenience. With our location being near a popular area, and our affordable used books we will be able to draw in more of the market that may have went elsewhere. Another trend is reading books electronically via the Kindle, Nook, or iPad.

b. Competitors

There is a wide range of competitors in the book industry. Not only do we have to compete with used book stores in the area, but also stores such as Target and Wal-Mart, who offer new books for a reasonable price. We also have to consider the latest trend of the Kindle, Nook, and iPad, all of which have been on high demand in the recent months.

c. Customer Profile

There is never a specific type of market segment that a book store can try to target, when every person young or old has a different preference in the genre of book they read. We would like to focus on middle aged men and women. We will offer a wide variety of books such as; science-fiction, non-fiction, romance, children's books, suspense etc. Our customers will be the ones who have a true appreciation for reading, and enjoy having the book physically in their possession for an affordable price.

d. Technology

Allowing customers to access our store online, will help us stay competitive with other stores, such as Barnes and Noble, and other local book stores. With the latest technological advances like; the Kindle, iPad, or the Nook, we have to be able to sell the benefits of actually owning the book, rather than just being able to read it electronically.

2. SWOT Analysis

a. Strengths:

I. Location:

a) Near a Target and a JC Penney's, a Famous Dave's and an Olive Garden, a Kinko's and a Starbucks

b) Within sight of Highway 50 in Kenosha and near I-94

II. Availability

We will buy our books from other used bookstores, online at stores like Amazon and eBay, and most importantly from our customers who we hope will bring their books back and get new ones.

III. Accessibility

a) We hope to be able to quickly and easily find any book within our store and special order new and used we do not have if the customers wanted

b) Each employee will have a particular section to straighten and fill. They will have to know which books they have in their section, how popular those books seem to be, how often they come in and out, and which ones never come in but are always demanded. Each employee will also need to have a general idea about what is in the rest of the store and which books are where, so they could easily find something even if that section's organizer wasn't there.

IV. School readings

We