Executive summary
This report is a full marketing plan of a new business venture with the legal business name, ‘Gift Wrapping Bus’ to be launched here in United Arab Emirates. The plan provides the situational analysis, marketing strategy, controls, and financial, budgets, and forecast. It explains the product overview, competitive analysis, suppliers, inventor, research and development. So far, this nature of product and service is a new concept in the country. This is because it is the first time that it should be introduced UAE after it became a hit in Western countries and in Japan. The report also details the industry, competition and market. It defines the market of the business, compare and analyse its primary competitors, the market size, market growth, customer profile and location of the business and its competitors. The report covers the marketing plan that would explain comprehensively the competitive advantage of the business, the pricing of the products and services, distribution channels, promotional plan and feedback system.
The business is entering its first year of operation. A comprehensive strategy for marketing is paramount for the success of the business. Gift Wrapping Bus is a kind of business venture that offers customers both products and services. It seeks to provide customers with all kinds of gift wraps and packaging materials while at the same time also offer gift wrapping services. The company will be able to provide the services through the help of a gift wrapping bus that travel to the heart and outskirts of Abu Dhabi to give services for customers who call the store for their personal gift wrapping. The bus will be used for delivering gift wrapping items and providing the wrapping services through skilled wrapping staff. The company will target high profile clients who hold events and parties where people are issue gifts. For instance, wedding ceremonies, birthday parties, festive season, and some corporate events will be the primary targets for the company.
Nature of the product and service
The gift wrapping and packaging is not a new business in the market of United Arab Emirates but because of the advancement of technology, people’s lifestyles change and lives become sedentary. People want to maximize the utilization of technology to experience the utmost comforts and convenience of life. Today, we are living in a ‘push-button’ type of life where everything is run by push buttons. People just stay at the confines of their homes while their needs are delivered right at their doorsteps. The gift wrapping business will be competitive because of the ‘gift wrapping bus advantage. It would be competitive because the customers will be transported from their homes to the store back and forth or their items will be personally wrapped according to their special instructions from their homes with the well-trained artists of the stores. The mini-bus will be full of all kinds of wraps and packaging materials for the widest selection of customers.
Another unique proposition of the business is the fact that the bus itself is gift wrapped as a promotional strategy. Mini-bus will be coloured in pink to identify and promote the gift wrapping business. This idea will enhance the promotional and marketing strategy because once it gets popular, people will just wait for the gift wrapping bus to pass on their area and ask for the gift wrapping services or let their items be brought to the store. It will have the definite timing of passing a certain area or location within Abu Dhabi and its outskirts. An analysis of comparison of the product and services of the competitors, ‘Gift Wrapping Bus’ will be very competitive and advantageous because the business sells two things: convenience and time.
In fact, there are now many gift bags that can easily pass for gift wrapping but personalized gift wrapping adds significance to the idea of gift giving. To receive a gift wrapped beautifully brings a lot of meanings and genuine love and concern to the receiver of gift. A gift wrapped with special wrapping paper or material symbolizes how much you care for the person who will be the recipient of your gift. Furthermore, it would be something different if the artists visit your house and wrap any items you wish because you can give them special instructions. Also, visiting you home is a necessity especially if the items to be wrapped are huge and heavy like wooden boxes, figurines, porcelain plates and vases.
Market summary
The company has analyzed its target market and knows details about the customers. The information is key to planning and communication with the target market.
Market Definition, Potential and Demand
This section defines the market and highlights of its potential and demand.
Market demographics
The profile of the target market consists of the following
Geographic
The immediate geographical location is Abu Dhabi, the capital of UAE. Almost 30 per cent of the population lives in Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital. There are 4 to 5 million people more or less living in Abu Dhabi alone. Since lifestyle in the city is modern and the population income is at the average level, customers to the business are expected to be high. People want always to stay at their homes while provision of needs is done mostly on online shopping because of the advancement of technology. To save time and make it more productive, they would rather pay for the services of gift wrapping than doing it themselves. They would rather let the gift wrappers do the services at home so that they can personally supervise the gift wrapping according to their needs and likes.
Demographics
The 2010 National Bureau of Statistics (UAE) reported that the population of the country is 8,190,000. The age structure is:
- 0-14 years: 20.4% (male 500,928/female 478,388)
- 15-64 years: 78.7% (male 2,768,030/female 1,008,404)
- 65 years and over: 0.9% (male 27,601/female 15,140)
- 73.9% of the population in the 15-64 age groups is non-national (2010 )
Behaviour factor
One of the assets of the country is their people having very close family ties, friendly and loving. The country considers close relationships and unification of the people as one reason why the country is progressive and developed. This asset is the reason why gift giving is famous among people especially when there are special occasions like UAE national day, Ramadan, EidF’ter, Valentines, Mother’s Day and many more occasions. Gift giving for a love one is important and is a very significant for the giver and the recipient. The act imprints lasting effect and makes relationship getting closer. In the case of gift giving, what is outside should be as important as inside. In reality, some people just do not like to wrap gifts, so they are much happy and willing to pay any services that will do favour of wrapping their gifts. Others actually do not have time and find gift wrapping as not so productive that is why they want to use their time for other tasks and concerns. In addition, most of us acknowledge that gift wrapping is an art and therefore it needs people who have the aesthetic skill to do it so that the gifts look pleasant and attractive for the recipient.
Market size
The market size is the 78% of the population within the 15-64 age bracket. From this perspective, it is expected that the market size will grow because the population of the country has been projected to increase at a rate of 3 percent. Since the country is also improving its tourism industry, the coming of tourists increases 15% each year and this will continue to the market growth of this business.
Target Market and Positioning
The following age structures are the target market of the business.
- 0-14 years: 20.4% (male 500,928/female 478,388)
- 15-64 years: 78.7% (male 2,768,030/female 1,008,404)
- 65 years and over: 0.9% (male 27,601/female 15,140)
- 73.9% of the population in the 15-64 age groups is non-national (2010 )
In addition to this target market, the business is better positioned to offer services and products to the high income earners of the city. The business has two strong competitors namely “I Care Group and Wrapt” and Westbrook, all are located in the city of Abu Dhabi, hence they are considered direct competitors of the business. Finally, the business is also better positioned compared to its competitors because it has a unique selling proposition (USP) and that is the mini-bus. The mini-bus is free of charge for the store customers. The same mini-bus brings the services to any home that calls for home gift wrapping service
Marketing strategy
The main strategy is creation of awareness and development of brand equity. The strategies will enable the business to build a strong customer base within the market and to gain an edge over its rivals. The business will embrace the niche marketing strategy because of the unique selling proposition of the product and services. In addition, since the business seeks to target a certain geographic location and demography of the population, this strategy will succeed. Certain parts of the city mentioned earlier will be the concentration area of the business especially in Al Buttain, Al Mushref and Al Moroor. The business is also targeting the potential market with ages 15-65 years old and finally the rich or the high income earners of these places targeted.
Marketing Plan Mission:
Marketing Plan Vision:
With the lives of the people becoming more confines at home because of the introduction of modern technology, life becomes more comfortable and convenient. To respond to their new lifestyles, this business venture will enhance this mode of living by providing a product and services right at homes of the customers. It will also encourage the close family ties among people; gift giving activity is designed to be more exciting and significant. The business visualizes that within five years, the business will have expansion in all the seven emirates and ten years after, it will expand to the Middle East Region.
Positioning Statement:
“To offer the best way of expressing our love for our love ones, a more innovative and most comfortable way of preparing our presents to them will be provided for the first time in Abu Dhabi, UAE by the “Gift Wrapped Bus” business.
Target marketing
Create awareness - education and awareness of the people about the new product or service need to create buzz by maximizing the use of local airwaves, print and broadcast media and internet. Logo of the company and pictures/photos of the products and information about the services will be heard, read and seen in various communication channels. Therefore, the budget to that marketing campaign will be increased.
The business will use innovative strategy because since gift wrapping is not new here, yet I will be introducing the new services in re-launching the product of gift wrapping. First, to make the marketing strategy successful I have to do the following:
Boost consumer confidence – in the marketing campaign, I will emphasize the quality and value of the products and services. Since this strategy can possibly boost the confidence of the customers, more likely this confidence will likely to translate into more action at the cash register.
Positioning
The products and services will be available in the store in Hamdan St., Abu Dhabi and at the respective homes of the customers. It will be the gift wrapped bus that will come to the customers and or bring the customers to the store at their most convenient time. The gift wrapping bus business will have its store at Hamdan Street, Abu Dhabi because this is the busiest area and we believe that more people mean more buyers and customers. However, the garage is in Al Buttain Area because the focuses are the places of Al Musref, Al Moroor and this area. The company will have the small bus that we believe will help the business very much because we will not only offer products like souvenir items or gift items, but also gift boxes and ready-made presents. The services meanwhile will be at the Hamdan Store and at the same time the home services of gift wrapping.
Communication
Another strategy of the business marketing is to give focus on the business communication network. This area is the best to improve and achieve successful results in business especially in the marketing stage of product or service. The product or service should be communicated to the consumers to increase awareness; therefore the internal and external communications must be very effective to convey the message. The object of communication to clients is definitely the benefits they could have gotten from the products or services. The project marketer needs to have substantial knowledge on the concept of Integrated Marketing Communication or - IMC, because this will help effectively in the dialogue with the customers by inviting interaction through the coordinated efforts of content, timing and delivery of the products or services. Clarity of the message especially the benefits of the business’s product or service offered to the clients will encourage the customers to try the new business offer.
Marketing mix of the product would be the examination of price, distribution, advertising and promotion and most importantly the quality of customer service that will be offered to the potential target market. The project strategies and tactics are included in the following communication tools that will be utilized and used in this project.
Competitor Analysis
The business considers only two major primary competitors which are doing similar business in the city of Abu Dhabi. They are the following:
- “I Care Group and Wrapt: Address: Abu Dhabi, UAE. It is a wholesaler and retailer of skin and body care products and offer also gift wrapping services. It is a medium size company with 16-25 employees established in 2007. Its main markets are in Middle East with headquarters in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
- Westbrook Trading LLC. Address: Hamdan St. Abu Dhabi, UAE. It sells soft toys, mugs, gift bags, wrapping rolls, corporate gifts, etc.
They become primary competitors of the business because they are also doing business in Abu Dhabi and are servicing the gift wrappings to customers. They also sell gift wraps like the business. The market shares of the competitors presently are:
“I Care Group and Wrapt” – 35%
Westbrook Trading LLC – 28%
Others (companies not mentioned) – 37%
Financial analysis
This sections provides an overview of the budget and financial resources needed for the business to market this product.
Projected sales
Product prices
Cost of service
Works cited
Benne, P.D (2012), Definition of Marketing Objectives, Goals, Strategies and Tactics,
Retrieved 07.10.2012 from http://suite101.com/article/definition-of-marketing-objectives-goals-strategies-and-tactics-a321854
UAE population put at 7.2 mn, (2012), Retrieved 07.10.2012 from http://www.emirates247.com/news/emirates/uae-population-put-at-7-2-mn-2012-04-03-1.451861
"United Arab Emirates" (2010) International Monetary Fund, Retrieved Oct. 07, 2012 from http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2010/01/weodata/weorept.aspx
