Business Type
The decision to carry out an online business was influenced by the advantages of ecommerce. An online business is easy to maintain through the use of a good website. The consumers are able to check out all the items that the store is selling by clicking a button. The products are also arranged in the website according to various categories. The consumer can select the items he need to view based on his or her taste and preference. An online store also prevents face-to-face confrontations with customers. The online store saves time for both the seller and the consumer. The seller saves time by looking at the order requests placed by the consumers on the website, and then acting on those orders. The consumers save time by placing their orders on the website instead of walking into various stores in search of products that they need. Deliveries are made up to the customer’s doorstep.
The name City Wonderland was inspired by my vision of the business, and the business location. The business deals with products that attract most city dwellers. I had a vision that the business will do very well if I targeted people who live in cities. The products are not restricted to only the city dwellers, but also the people that desire to be stylish. The physical premise of the business is in New York City. The name City Wonderland was inspired by the fact that it is based in a city. The name was also inspired by my vision to create a business that will never cease to amaze people. The business is aimed to be a place that satisfies the wonders and dreams of people. The business will sell products that people dream or wonder about.
The company logo of the business is influenced by the vision of the business. I plan to run a business that will make people happy, and access their lifestyle dreams. The company logo is as shown below.
The company logo is made up of stars and the name of the company. There are two big happy stars and four smaller stars. The personification of the stars helps in relaying the message that the products bring happiness to the consumers. The use of stars indicates the dreams that people have. The business aims at making people’s dreams a reality. The smaller stars indicate distance; meaning that the business is aiming at reaching people from all over the world.
The use of bright colors is intended to attract the customers, and make them curious about the business. The name of the company is also included in the company logo so as to provide a starting point for the potential customers. The potential customers can be able to reach the website of the company by searching the name City Wonderland in the internet. The company logo had to be very attractive so as to capture the interest of the consumers.
Target Audience
My target audience is the people who like fashion and stylish lifestyles. The products of City Wonderland are designer clothes and household items. I plan to target a bigger audience with time, but at the moment my target audience is small because the business is starting up. I decided to target the people of Kentucky just for a test to see how the business would perform. My target audience fell in the age group 25-29. I targeted this group because people in this age group are usually ready to settle and have families. I figured that I would sell a lot of household items to people who are starting up their families. The people in this age group have stable jobs and a high sense of style. I would get more customers of the clothes by targeting this age group. Having families would also mean that the people in this age group will buy more products for their family members.
Married people were also my target audiences because of the high income they bring combine as opposed to individuals. Marriage represents stability, and I wanted my business to target a stable market that would guarantee sales. If one spouse lost a job, the other spouse would provide for the family. The sales would be reduced, but not eliminated. Individuals on the other hand are risky because lack of employment would mean that the customer would not be able to buy from City Wonderland.
I also targeted customers who had an income range of $60,000-$99,999 because these people would be able to afford my products. The people falling within this income range have extra money that can support a stable sales behavior from City Wonderland. I wanted to be able to guarantee stability in making sales. The people below this income range may make purchases from City Wonderland, but not consistently. The people above this income range are most likely to make their purchases from the designer stores themselves.
Challenges to be faced by City Wonderland
There are various challenges that City Wonderland will face in the daily operations of the business. One of the major challenges is high costs. The products that City Wonderland deals with are very stylish. The designer clothes and household items cost a lot of money, and this will increase the purchases budget of the company. The company will also need to hire employees who will offer support to customers who visit the website. I cannot handle all the work by myself especially when I get large orders. The company will need employees who will also help in managing the physical premise of City Wonderland. Employees will increase the cost of operating business. They can be costly when the business is not doing very well.
Other challenges include compliance to government regulations. The regulations set by the government are many, and can be challenging to apply all of them. City Wonderland needs to be always on the good side of the law so as to avoid penalties and fines. The taxation policies are also not very friendly and may limit the products that the company wants to stock. An example is the extra taxes charged on imports. The business may discontinue some products due to the high taxes, and end up losing some customers.
Direct Mail Postcard
The postcard bears a headline: “Great Purchases for Great Discounts”. City Wonderland will be giving 20% discount to customers plus an extra 5% discount to the customers who will send referrals to the company website. The 5% discount will be given if the referrals make actual purchases. The offers on the products are displayed on the front side of the postcard. The front side of the postcard also bears the company logo.
The postcard has other details on the back side. These details include the description of the promotion period, and the discounts offered by the company. The back side of the postcard also contains the website address: citywonderland.com and the company’s phone number. Customer instructions on how to register at the website are also displayed at the back side of the post card. The back side of the postcard also contains the name and address of the company. A space is left for fixing a stamp.
Radio Spot
