Consumer Behavior and Purchase Decision Making Process Free Essays

Consumer behavior and purchase decision making process Every day we need to make a decissions – buy or not to buy anything. There are many things which helps us to make decissions like location, mood, advertisments and other. Consumer behavior is the mental and emotional processes and physical activities people engage in when they select, purchase, use, and dispose of products or services to satisfy particular needs and desires. We will write a custom essay sample on Consumer Behavior and Purchase Decision Making Process or any similar topic only for you Order Now A consumer goes through several stages before purchasing a product or service: 1. need; 2. information gathering/search; 3. evaluation of alternatives; . purchase of product/service; 5. post purchase evaluation. In my opinion, in this process there are two main steps – information gathering and evaluation of alternatives. These steps help to understand how much you need the product and how good it is. The buying process starts with comming needs. A need can be activated through internal or external stimuli. A need can also be aroused by an external stimulus such as sight of a new thing in a shop while purchasing other things. Need is the most important factor which leads to buying of products and services. Need infact is the catalyst which triggers the buying decision of individuals. After need arousal, the consumer tries to solve it and gathers the sources and information about the product. Depending upon the intensity of need, it produces two states of individual. The first state is called heightened attention when the consumer becomes more receptive to the information regarding the item he needs. If a consumer needs to purchase a refrigerator, he will pay mere attention to fridge ads and the remarks made by friends and associates about fridges. If need is more intense, the individual enters a state of active information search and he tries to collect more information about the product, its key attributes, qualities of various brands and about the outlets where they are available. There are a lot of consumer information sources like family, friends, advertisements, mass media, salesman. In my opinion, it is hard to arrange in the order wich one is the best source where get information about product. All these sources have pluses and minuses. If I prefer get information from family there is possibility that I do not get info about technical stuff. Or if I choose only salesman advice he can aggrandize about product advantages. That is why I recommend to take information as much as possible from every source. Having collected the information, the consumer clarify and evaluate the alternatives. There is, unfortunately no simple and single evaluation process used by all consumers or even by one consumer in all buying situations. Consumers can make choices based on their emotions and feelings. They elicit from memory their overall evaluations of products and choos the alternative for which they have the most positive feelings. One of the most current process of evaluation is to judge the product largely on a conscious and rational basis. Various considerations form the part of judgment such as product attributes, importance, weights, brand image, utility function for each attribute, and attitude and other. After evaluation of various alternatives, he takes the decision to buy or not to buy. Ofcourse, people can make choice on the spur of the moment, often without prior problem recognition. But I recommend going through all theese five steps focusing on information gathering and evaluation of alternatives. And always remember that the best impression about product you can get only after you try it. Izmantota literatura: http://www. managementstudyguide. com/consumer-decision-making-process. htm http://uwmktg301. blogspot. com/2010/01/evaluation-of-alternatives. html http://www. slideshare. net/Annie05/consumer-buying-behavior-and-decision-making-presentation How to cite Consumer Behavior and Purchase Decision Making Process, Essay examples

Integrated Marketing Communication

Question: Write an essay on Integrated marketing communication. Answer: Integrated marketing communication or IMC plan is one of the most important aspects of the business that facilitates the organization to integrate its marketing, advertising, and promotional activities in an effective manner. It provides the process of communicating strategies and tactics. Moreover, it allows the organization to transmit business messages to other organization. With the involvement of developing integrated marketing communication (IMC), the senior management of the organization easily enhances its business opportunities in the global market (Yeshin 2012). In this context, the researcher has selected a consumer goods company named Ansell for developing IMC plan for a selected product. The researcher has chosen construction gloves product for developing the IMC plan. In this report, the researcher has discussed the communication objectives and creative strategies along with its media plan. The researcher has provided a brief discussion on the market potentiality of the particular product. Background information on product and organization: Ansell is an Australia company that manufactures medical gloves, protective gloves, and condoms. The organization was established as Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Company of Australia Ltd in 1899. In 1929, the company merged with the Perdriau Rubber Company. The headquarter of the company is located in Melbourne, Australia. The revenue of the company is US$1.590 billion as of 2014. The net income of the company is US$206 million as of 2014. The CEO of the organization, Magnus Nicolin, has said that they have been trying to introduce a new range of products in order to enhance the business opportunity in the global market. Ansell has experienced several business solutions including medical solutions, industrial solutions, single-use solutions and sexual wellness solutions (Ansell.com. 2016). In this context, the researcher has selected the construction gloves for the particular research paper. The researcher will develop an IMC plan for promoting a newer version of the construction gloves in the market. The popularity of the products is quite high in the market. The researcher has selected the particular product, as the popularity of the product has been increasing within the construction industry. The product has a wide range of applications including demolition, handling sheet metal, woodwork, digging, general construction, steel work and sawing. In the newer version of the product, the organization will include extra durability to gloves so that the workers can employ the product for the long timeline. It provided the versatile protection for all types of tough jobs. The product is coated with Foam Nitrile and comes in various colors including black, gray and orange. Target audience: The particular product category of Ansell targets construction industry, as the workers need to be protected gloves to execute the construction work in an effective manner. Although the company has a wide range of gloves, the organization has categorized each product with its individual applications (hman and Sikblad 2012). Gloves provide versatile protection for all tough jobs. In the construction industry, the utilization of the particular product is very high. Moreover, engineers prefer this glove for executing daily tough jobs. Hence, the organization has divided the customer category into two sections including general customers and corporate customers. General customers facilitate to enhance the product promotion through the word of mouth (Shimp and Andrews 2013). On the other hand, corporate customers contribute in enhancing the sales volume of the business. In this context, the organization targets their audience based on several factors including cultural, demographic, and s ocial. Hence, it can be assessed that the prime focus of the company is to target workers of the construction industry in order to enhance the sales volume. However, the organization has been focusing on products durability, as it will facilitate them in engaging a huge number of customers in the market. Communication objectives: The prime objective of the communication is to gain the marketing managers approval regarding new version of product launching in the market (Belch et al. 2014). Ansell has huge customers base across the world. With the effective communication, Ansell has been its products knowledge in the global market. The CEO of the organization has agreed with the fact that the business communication includes several beneficial aspects such as generate awareness, compare products, enhance sales volume, managing brand equity and align employees. In this context, the researcher will be communicating with the several construction companies in orders to accumulate product feedback and current market statistics. Ansell will include extra product features based on the current market trends. The communication process will be executed in the both general and corporate level. Marketing officers will be able to enhance the process of new version product launch through effective communication with several industries (Percy 2014). In this context, the researcher has built communication objectives based on the research topic. To accumulate feedbacks from workers and staffs involved in the construction industry To generate the awareness of product among workers and staffs in the industry To compare products with another brand in order to develop the product in an effective manner To enhance the sales volume in an effective manner for expanding its business in the large demographic market Creative strategies: In this context, the marketing manager will involve several creative strategies for promoting a new version of the products in the market. Primarily, the marketing manager will arrange a survey process for collecting feedbacks from industry workers (Blakeman 2014). With the involvement of survey process, the marketing officers will be able to identify the key area of development. On the other hand, the marketing manager will include social media marketing ideas, urban marketing ideas, contest-marketing ideas, and marketing ideas for context promotion. Moreover, the marketing manager will engage five construction companies for sponsoring the new products to them. Consequently, it will facilitate the organization to enhance product promotion in an effective manner. On the other hand, the organization will reduce the price of the new product in order to enhance its promotion in both domestic and global market (Thorson and Moore 2013). The marketing manager will include 6 months timefram e for transmitting product knowledge of new gloves. Within this timeframe, the management team will accumulate product feedbacks in order to experience the growth opportunity in the market. Creative strategies facilitate the organization to promote the product in the large marketplace. Media plan: Media planning indicates the best media combination for promoting a range of products in the market. Media planning consists of several factors including the cost of media engagement, advertisement frequency, and the areas of telecasting. In this context, the marketing manager will involve the particular process in order to enhance the promotion of construction gloves. The marketing manager believes that the local media engagement will be the beneficial aspects of the product promotion in the market (Lusch and Vargo 2014). However, it will be a challenging task for the management to choose the proper medium for advertisement of the product. In this context, Ansell has strong business assets. Hence, it will facilitate the higher management to involve different promotional medium including televisions, printing media, and the online portal (Mihart 2012). The new version of the product development will be advertised in the large marketplace. Marketing manager of the organization believes the fact that the social media is one of the major platforms for promoting products knowledge in the large demographic areas. The media plan will be executed through a systematic process that includes market analysis, the establishment of media objectives, media strategy development, and implementation, and evaluation and follow-up. Through the engagement of following this process, the marketing managers will be able to choose appropriate Medias for promoting the new and improves construction gloves in the market. Budget: Budget is one of the major parts of the product development process in the business (Reinold and Tropp 2012). The budget development for new product consists of several phases including development, production, promotion, contingency budget and total budget. In this context, the budgeting will include manufacturing cost, promotional cost, warehousing cost, and distribution cost (Barger and Labrecque 2013). At the initial stage, the marketing manager will manufacture small units of products. In the beginning, 50 units of a product will be manufactured. The management team will be focused on the durability of the products. Moreover, the gloves will be modified as per the market feedbacks. The pricing of each unit will be $65. Manufacturing cost $1750 ($35/ unit) Warehouse cost $300 Packaging cost $250 Promotional cost $1000 Other cost $200 Total Budget $3500 With the involvement of following these stages, the marketing manager will be able to make a proper budget for the topic. The organization will distribute these products to the construction companies in order to collect new product feedbacks. The budget of the process may be increased due to the involvement of the enhanced promotional activities. Relevant legislation and ethics: The development process will include legislation and ethics in the process in order to uphold the proper work design in the business. In the product development process, the organization faces challenges for resource allocation. Legislation will be involved in the process in order to get rid of the business challenges (Barker 2013). The governments approach towards the ethical consideration will facilitate to uphold an enhanced work design in the business. On the other hand, the ethics are set in the business by the higher management. Ethical dilemma indeed affects the work culture in the business. The advertisement process also includes the ethical dilemmas including truth in advertisement, advertisement of harmful products and wrong advertising tactics (Schlinke and Crain 2013). In this context, the marketing manager will obey the legislation regarding product design, materials. The marketing manager needs to consider consumer law for executing the entire process in an appropriate way. Moreover, the organization follows several business legislations including product, liability regulation, environmental legislation, and the privacy laws (Shimp and Andrews 2013). The Australian consumer law is the national law for upholding the fair trading and consumer protection in the market (Percy 2014). Hence, it can be assessed that the regulation and legislation are the important part of the business to develop integrated market communication. Conclusion: It can be concluded that the integrated marketing communication is the gateway to obtaining success in the business. An integrated marketing plan consists of several processes including target audiences, communication objectives, strategically approaches, media plan, budgeting, and business related legislations. In this context, the researcher has identified each strategy of IMC in order to execute the process in an effective manner. The marketing manager has selected the product of Ansell. The product is construction gloves, and the researcher has focused on the development of the particular product. The researcher has selected this particular product, as the construction gloves are increasingly popular due to its durability. With the involvement of following this process, the researcher will be able to execute the development process in an effective manner. References: Ansell.com. (2016).Ansell Corporate. [online] Available at: https://www.ansell.com/en-US/About/Corporate/About.aspx [Accessed 30 May 2016]. Barger, V.A. and Labrecque, L., 2013. An integrated marketing communications perspective on social media metrics.International Journal of Integrated Marketing Communications, Spring. Barker, R., 2013. Strategic integrated communication: An alternative perspective of integrated marketing communication?.Communicatio,39(1), pp.102-121. Belch, G.E., Belch, M.A., Kerr, G.F. and Powell, I., 2014.Advertising: An integrated marketing communication perspective. McGraw-Hill Education. Blakeman, R., 2014.Integrated marketing communication: creative strategy from idea to implementation. Rowman Littlefield. Castronovo, C. and Huang, L., 2012. Social media in an alternative marketing communication model.Journal of Marketing Development and Competitiveness,6(1), p.117. Lusch, R.F. and Vargo, S.L., 2014.The service-dominant logic of marketing: Dialog, debate, and directions. Routledge. Mihart, C., 2012. Impact of integrated marketing communication on consumer behaviour: Effects on consumer decision-making process.International Journal of Marketing Studies,4(2), p.121. hman, F. and Sikblad, S., 2012 Integrated Marketing Communications. Percy, L., 2014.Strategic integrated marketing communications. Routledge. Reinold, T. and Tropp, J., 2012. Integrated marketing communications: How can we measure its effectiveness?.Journal of Marketing Communications,18(2), pp.113-132. Schlinke, J. and Crain, S., 2013. Social Media from an Integrated Marketing and Compliance Perspective.Journal of Financial Service Professionals,67(2). Shimp, T. and Andrews, J.C., 2013.Advertising promotion and other aspects of integrated marketing communications. Cengage Learning. Thorson, E. and Moore, J., 2013.Integrated communication: Synergy of persuasive voices. Psychology Press. Yeshin, T., 2012.Integrated marketing communications. Routledge.

Comparisons of Early Greek and Early Roman Cultures

Abstract Early Greek and Rome had high contribution to western civilization. The early Greek and Roman cultures were passed down and still influence the modern way of life. While Ancient Greek consisted of isolated city states (poleis), early city of Rome expanded to an empire. Agriculture was the main economic activity for both ancient Greek and ancient Rome. Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Comparisons of Early Greek and Early Roman Cultures specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Ancient Greek will be remembered for its contribution to philosophy, modern education and democracy. On the other hand, ancient Rome will be remembered for its contribution to rule of law and western civilization. Early Greek and Roman and Cultures Element Greek Roman Geography Ancient Greek started as city states (poleis) at around 800 BCE. The geography was characterized by mountainous terrain and irregular coastline. The city state s were along the coastline and were separated from one another by hilly landscape. The poleis included Athens, Thebes, Delphi, Sicyon, Olympia, Argos, Corinth, and Mycenae (Burckhardt, 2002). Greek’s colonization of the Mediterranean region was in the form of extension of the isolated city states. Early Rome was situated in a plain. On the west, ancient Rome was bordered by the sea and mountain on the east. The city of Rome was prone to invasions and migrations from Sicily and Po River (Selincourt, Ogilvie Oakley, 2002). This threat motivated early Rome to expand to the legendary Roman empire. Art Early Greek had magnificent works of art. Ancient Greek art included architecture, sculpture, literature, music, and drama. Most of the works of art in ancient Greek were original (Goldhill Osborne, 1994). Ancient Greek orders such as Doric and Ionic were not only functional but also elegant. In addition, Early Greek sculptors were good at showing human perfection. The art most associated with ancient Greek is the Venus de Milo. Early Roman art were mainly imitative. Roman artists aimed mainly at producing realistic portraits chiefly for decoration (Green, 1996). The Romans considered their business as that of managing governments rather than of producing works of art. The art most associated with ancient Greek is mosaic. Economy Early Greek economy was based mainly on agriculture (Burckhardt, 2002). Wheat was the staple food and was produced in small farms. Big estates mainly for wine and olive oil also existed. Early Roman economy was also based chiefly on agriculture. Wine and olive oil were produced for export. Wheat, the staple food for early Roman was imported from neighboring nations. In addition to farming, the Romans engaged in trade and manufacturing. Social Classes Social classes in early Greek changed over time. The main divisions however included citizens, freedmen, slaves, metics and women. Social classes in early Rome also changed over time. The unique divisions included patricians, plebeians, slaves and freedmen. Women With exception of Sparta, women in early Greek had limited freedom. The women were valued for the way they managed their household, for producing legitimate children and for not gossiping (Goldhill Osborne, 1994). Though women could not be citizens, they were allowed to own property but could not sell them. Even after marriage, women remained under their fathers’ authority. Women in early Rome were subject to male figure in their household: Paterfamilias. Roman women had much freedom as compared to early Greek women (Selincourt, Ogilvie Oakley, 2002). They could own and sell property and could become roman citizens. Fathers Fathers in ancient Greek were dominant in their families. The fathers could even decide whether to keep a newborn or not. Grown up sons however could challenges their fathers. Paterfamilias was the head of early Roman family. The paterfamilias had authority even on their married sons. Government The city states in ancient Greek were mainly governed independently. The forms of governments changed from monarchy to oligarchy and then to democracy. Kings initially governed early Rome. The monarchy form of government gave way to republican government and later to emperors. Literature and Philosophy Early Greek literature and philosophy has great influence to the modern western culture. Influential early Greek literature includes Odyssey, Iliad and the Humor (Burckhardt, 2002). Early Greek philosophers such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle’s had great contribution to western thought. Early roman literature borrowed much from early Greek literature. The literature included epigram, drama and prose. Unlike early Greek literature, Roman literature tended to be satirical (Selincourt, Ogilvie Oakley, 2002). In fact, satire is originally Roman. In philosophy, early Rome brought about Stoicism. Stoicism represented the world view of the early Roman. Religion Early Greek was polytheist. The Greeks believed in gods and goddesses that included Zeus, Artemis, Poseidon, Dionysus, Hestia, Hermes and Ares. Greeks believed that worshipping the gods and goddesses would better their lives while offending the gods could bring misfortune. Ancient Rome was also polytheistic. Ancient Romans accepted many of Greek gods and gods from other nations that were part of the Roman empire (Green, 1996). Because of the many gods and ways of worship, the ancient Romans founded a college of pontiffs whose role was to regulate worship. References List Burckhardt, J. (2002). History of Greek Culture. New York: Courier Dover Publications. Goldhill, S. Osborne, R. (1994). Art and text in ancient Greek culture. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Green, P. (1996). Hellenistic History and Culture. Ewing: University of California Press. Selincourt, L., Ogilvie, R. Oakley, S. (2002). The early history of Rome: books I-V of The history of Rome fr om its foundations. New York: Penguin. This essay on Comparisons of Early Greek and Early Roman Cultures was written and submitted by user Mariano Herman to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

African Diaspora essays

African Diaspora essays After the Civil War and the emancipation proclamation by Lincoln the slaves of America were free. This was a huge step in making our country truly free to all people. The reconstruction of the south did not however work out smoothly for the freed slaves. There were many roadblocks along the way such as the Black Codes, the Plessy vs. Ferguson case and the terror of the Ku Klux Klan. The 14th amendment gave the freed slaves citizenship and some voting rights. From the reconstruction the 14th amendment the black Codes and the Plessy vs. Ferguson case all had significance on the status of African Americans from reconstruction to 1900. The radical republicans method of reconstruction called for an amendment that would do three things. Extend citizenship for all people. Punish the southern representation in the house if they didnt allow black voting, and not allowing and former confederates to hold office. These three things made up the 14th amendment. Also in the radical republican recon struction plan was the idea of station military in the south. This was very effective in giving the blacks their rights. Unfortunally when the military left the rights of the blacks went with them. The white supremacists treated the south as 2nd class people and were not given opportunities to get any jobs but manual labor. Also the KKK was formed to scare away blacks from voting and keep them in their so-called place, the plantation. The 14th amendment was a good thought, but it did not work out how the radical republicans had hoped going into the 1900s After Lincoln was shot in December of 1965, vice president Andrew Johnson took over office. He was a southern man and was not interested in blacks having the same rights as white people. Infact he encouraged southern states to intact laws limiting the blacks freedom. These laws were called black codes. They ranged in harshness through out the states but in all...

The Importance of Ethical Conduct and Professional Responsibility Essay

The Importance of Ethical Conduct and Professional Responsibility (criminal justice system) - Essay Example To understand the importance of ethical conduct and professional responsibility, the staff of the criminal justice system must first acquaint themselves with the relevant Codes of Ethics and Professional Responsibility. These codes are useful in enabling employees to aspire to the required level of ethical and professional conduct. Second, being ethically and professionally responsible helps criminal justice personnel to strive for excellence both at the personal and professional levels. To achieve high ethical and professional levels of performance, it is imperative that the criminal justice system’s personnel identify all the causes of professional and ethical misconducts, which are rather numerous considering the apparent diversity in the system’s clientele and tasks (Pollock, 2011). The main reason criminal justice personnel have lagged behind in achieving and maintaining high ethical and professional levels include failure to achieve high levels of competency through further education, work experience, and training. Since some employees do not seek continued education and training implies they are not abreast with the latest ethical and professional developments in the system. This lack of improved competency translates into reduced prompt, less efficient, unethical, and unprofessional performance by criminal justice personnel. Low levels of personal and professional integrity have also been cited as causes of professional and ethical misconducts in the criminal justice system (Pollock, 2011). ... criminal justice system’s personnel identify all the causes of professional and ethical misconducts, which are rather numerous considering the apparent diversity in the system’s clientele and tasks (Pollock, 2011). The main reason criminal justice personnel have lagged behind in achieving and maintaining high ethical and professional levels include failure to achieve high levels of competency through further education, work experience, and training. Since some employees do not seek continued education and training implies they are not abreast with the latest ethical and professional developments in the system. This lack of improved competency translates into reduced prompt, less efficient, unethical, and unprofessional performance by criminal justice personnel. Low levels of personal and professional integrity have also been cited as causes of professional and ethical misconducts in the criminal justice system (Pollock, 2011). What is more, failure to observe and mainta in the legality of professional competence and knowledge and ignorance of the available advice or assistance are the other common causes of professional and ethical misconduct in the criminal justice system. Similarly, some professionals’ personal life failures have impinged on their professional abilities and jeopardized their professionalism. The other causes of unprofessionalism, though to a slight extent, are poor communication, addiction to substance such as alcohol, failure to address client concerns, and excessive demands at work such as inappropriate work practices, poor mentoring and supervision (Pollock, 2011). Finally, personality conflicts and complacency towards professional standards have also had negative effects on professionalism since they escalate unethical behaviors. Addressing

Project (Starbucks corporation) final Assignment

Project (Starbucks corporation) final - Assignment Example From the year 1971 to 1976, Starbucks was at Western Avenue. After the company moved to 1912 Pike Place there has been no relocations. The company used to sell roasted Coffee. In the initial days the company was not selling any brew coffee. During the mid 1980s the company cashed in the opportunity to purchase Peets. However, during this time the company sales begun to fall. At that point of time, Starbucks was bought by Howard Schultz who had the vision of making Starbucks a real global brand. Howard Schultz decided to rebrand Giornale coffee chains as Starbucks. Since then there has been no turning for the company. Today the company has become the largest coffeehouse in the world. The company has 20, 891 stores on a global basis in over sixty countries. This includes over ten thousand stores in USA, over thousand stores in Canada, and over five hundred stores in UK, Japan, China, Mexico, turkey, Thailand, Germany and India. As on 2012 the total revenue of the company was US$13.29 b illion (Keller, 2012). II. Significance and Objective of the Project Research objective One of the major reasons for success of the company has been the branding and marketing strategy of the company. Unlike some of the other major firms Starbucks does not invest heavily in advertising and hence the marketing and branding strategy of the company is unique. The objective of the study: To critically analyze the key brand elements of the company To analyze the overall brand management strategy of the company To provide some recommendation that would help the company in gaining competitive advantage over the competitors. Management problems Starbucks Corporation is a US based global coffeehouse chain headquartered in Washington. It is the largest coffee house organization around the globe. The organization is operating in 62 countries with its 20,891 outlets. Unique organizational value helped Starbucks to increase their core competencies. Earlier the organization’s value was to provide high quality coffee to its customers. Moreover, they committed to provide effective customer service and a good coffee experience to its customers. When Mr. Schultz became the CEO of Starbucks they drifted away from the original organizational value. Lack of effective customer service is affecting the brand image of Starbucks in global market (Roger, 2010). Inadequate pricing strategy is reducing the customer preference. Due to fluctuating economic, political and weather condition in several countries, people are trying to reduce the coffee consumption from Starbucks. Moreover, it has been identified that in some place the quality of Starbucks’ coffee is decreasing. The management of Starbucks is worried about it. It is important for the organization to provide high quality coffee in order to maintain the leading position within the competitive global market place. The organization is lacking effective customer relationship. Several labor issues and internal organizat ional conflicts are reducing the motivation and self confidence level of customers. These issues are decreasing effective customer service activities. Marketing Research problems Starbucks

Funeral Home Business Plan

Funeral Home Business Plan EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Death is an inevitable phenomenon. When one dies, it is inorder that he or she gets a good send off from friends and family members. Ohio, one of the greatest states in America has numerous towns with funeral homes. However, they do not offer an all round service for the disease. Unfortunately, Monroe, one of the towns in Ohio has no funeral home consequently citizens move to other towns, an expensive and time-consuming issue. This plan outlines the strategy by which a new funeral home, Dobrozsi will define and dominate a new perspective of funeral service provision in Monroe town, Ohio State and extend to the whole USA. It also focuses on the untapped opportunity in the cremation of the dead bodies. Up to now, very few funerals home are cremating the dead bodies. Change in worshipping has resulted into many people going for cremation instead of burial. The plan outlines how these opportunities will be made use of to increase the business scope and turn over there by increasing the profit margin of the business. It will also bring out how these services will be achieved in both the long and the short time. It explains how it shall use the competitive advantage to ensure that it is on top of the business. The plan also brings out the mission, vision, and the objectives of the business. It analyzes the mission of the business its vision and goals as well as the organizational culture. The business will be built on the philosophy of divided we fall united we stand this means that the business can not do a lone minus the other key stakeholders in the sector which include the families, employees, the owners and the environment at large. It describes the culture and what will be done to attain the culture of the business. On a different perspective, the plan describes the business to be started. It gives a brief summary of the business, the type of the business, which is Limited Liability Company. It clearly defines the shareholder who is the sole owner of the business. The plan analyzes the opportunity available through research and how the opportunities will be exploited. The plan identifies the very good and many good opportunities, the entities already in the market, how the incoming entity will take a competitive advantage over the other rivals and outwit them. It mentions the available competitors in the market. It goes ahead to discuss the marketing strategy and plan that the business would use. In this chapter, it discuses identification of the customers or consumers of the product will be identified and mechanisms to reach them. Market segmentation is discussed in this chapter with at least four different segments that the business will try to meet in its endeavors to provide the best quality diseases. It identifies the target markets out of these segments and a market strategy to reach to them. It discuses management and operations of the service business the entity is going to engage in to meet the needs of the customers. The competition in the business has been described vividly together with the different buying patterns experienced in the industry. The plan also identifies the competitive edge and the sales strategy that may be employed to attain the target sales. To conclude, the plan gives a financial breakdown of the required amount for financing the project. It the goes ahead to give a request for funding and the exist strategy. It closes by giving appendix. MISSION, VISION AND CULTURE Mission The mission of the Dobrozsi Funeral Home is to take the best care of the families and friends in the time of a lost loved one by providing the homely environment. The facilities involved will help accommodate the families and friends and the homes serenity will give much consolation to them. The funeral home will, through provision of such services grow to be the best funeral home not only in the town but also in the state of Ohio and to the larger USA. It will use these service provisions to be the most profitable home in the environs. Vision The vision of the funeral home is to be the first successful funeral home in Monroe with the best service. This will be attained through provision of the highest quality services with well the best facilities in the state, well trained, and experienced personnel at the most affordable rates. Culture In order to achieve the set mission and vision, the funeral home will develop a culture of a combination of healthy work environment, hard work, and family and customer service. The healthy work environment will be ensured through provision of better working equipment to the employees with good pay in turn promoting hard work amongst them. The main concern of the funeral home is to take care of families at the point of bereave thus, they will form part of our culture achievable through provision of better services and more especially customer service. COMPANY DESCRIPTION Dobrozsi Funeral Home a comprehensive type or mode of a funeral home with unique services and characteristics form the other funeral homes. It will handle services for all faiths, cremation, and pre-planning on a location of 45050 Monroe at Ohio State found on street 6305 Hamilton along the Lebanon Rd with operations of the business scheduled to begin on February 1, 2011. It is going to be the first funeral home ever in Monroe. The funeral home will be a limited liability corporation (LLC) and the owner will hold all its shares. Evan Dobrozsi, the owner of the funeral home is known for his well-managed entrepreneurial skills that have helped him start up businesses resulting into changing lives of most citizens. With this motivation, he has decided to start up a funeral home at Monroe. This is will be a funeral home of its kinds though with competition from Middletown, Hamilton, Franklin, and Liberty Township and West Chester area having other different funeral homes. Making it an exceptional funeral home will be the normal home looking buildings together with different chapels of different sizes. The home looking building will create a home environment for the mourners giving them a sense of hope while the different chapels sizes will be due to different service-size demands. Their main intentions are to help in the celebration of a life well lived by the deceased, provide consolation, and hope to friends and relatives through services in the chapels. In addition, it will ensure better customer service to take on board the families as part of the organizational culture. OPPORTUNITY ANALYSIS AND RESEARCH State of Ohio has a population of about 11.5 million people being the seventh highest in the USA. The death rate of the USA citizens has been on the increasing note every year according to research conducted of late. In Monroe, the death rate has been significantly increasing with no funeral home around. The closest funeral homes are found in the other towns of the Ohio state, making people to move for long distances taking a lot of time before they get a funeral home.There is no funeral home in Monroe and the death rates are increasing considerably. This means that the cost of sending off a loved one is higher due to the additional costs incurred in transporting the bodies to and from the far funeral homes. It also leads to too much time wastage between the towns of the state and looking for a funeral home. Time lost is a very valuable resource and once lost can never be recovered. Many people in turn are getting disappointed and demoralized when they, in real sense as supposed to be consoled. Though there are funeral homes around, their services have been limited, slow, and expensive. Staffs in these funeral services lack the experience to offer the best funeral service. Whats more, they concentrate so much on the dead rather than on the people bereaved. There are no measures to console them. In addition, they do not take of other ways of sending off the loved ones such as cremation. The funeral homes having these facilities are very poor with inadequate number of employees some of whom do not have the skills to offer such services.Research has proved that many citizens are now going out of the state to look for a friendlier funeral home for the services of these loved one lost. Most of these funeral homes in any case, use the non-automated systems making service delivery ineffective. There is push towards cost, as people prefer funeral homes with low costs without compromising on the quality of the service offered. Majoring on these weaknesses of the competitors and the unavailability of the funeral homes in the state, Evan Dobrozsi created an opportunity and is about to venture into serious business. Dobrozsi funeral home will take up the opportunity by focusing much on the competitors weaknesses in order to strengthen them as well as taking the bigger opportunity of the lack of funeral homes in Monroe. In this case, it will enjoy the monopoly status within the region. It will bring services closer to Monroe citizens as compared to the others. MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN Identification of the customers In a bid to know the real customers of the funeral home, it is better to segment the market, dividing it in need categories. Most funeral homes if asked today will admit that they do not know their customers. American population is segmented in correspondence with generations making up the population. The funeral will hence concentrate on the generations. Statistics has proven that people age 23 and over are capable of making a purchasing decisions, thus our strategy will be to reach out to people of ages 23 and above. The funeral home will also target other faith that believes in the cremation of the dead. Most funeral homes have ignored this area for a very long time. Our better, high quality resources will enable us perform the cremation services to the bodies of the deceased who believe in the cremation. The most effective market among the segments id the Generation with a high demand and very little supply hence the funeral home will focus on the market. Market Segmentation Monroe has a family percentage of 76% with an average age of 39.7 years old. Our market segmentation will be based on the Americas division of people in terms of ages. We have realized that within these segments, generation as used by USAs demography, the purchasing power differs and focusing on all of them leading to a variety of market hence needs and services. The market divided according to decision makers on purchasing is has the following segments for focus: V.2.1 The GI Generation (born 1901-1924 and may be referred to us post World War I)   According to the USA demographics as at 2003, these are people who are now 76 years and above. In this business, it is the most active with a mortality rate of about 10.9% per annum. Due to this high mortality rate, they have to make funeral arrangements either by themselves for those not afraid or their caretakers will make for them. They in most cases have very little hope in living, more that is a fueling factor for their mortality. The new funeral home will take on this market with a lot of enthusiasm. V.2.2 The Silent Generation (born 1925-1945) With a mortality rate of 3.1%, most funeral homes tend to concentrate so much on them. Unexpectedly, the Boomers rather than the G1 have influenced them. Much of their lifestyles revolve mainly on the Boomers trying to much them. A reason that has made many funeral homes to concentrate so much in them is due to other causes of death other than natural attrition. It is considered the working generations with so much experience and many years of service. In effect, they are the richest and help the G1 and the Boomers meet their expectations of funeral services. V.2.3Boomers (also called the post World War II born 1946 through 1964)  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Compared to the two generations, their mortality rate is quite low about 0.5%. However, the majority of this generation are considered very productive, innovative and more enthusiastic than the above two generations. As a result, they are engaged in planning services and especially for funeral arrangements. For our success, we cannot leave the generation since they will bring business when are attracted to good and high quality services. We win them they bring business. V.2.4 Generation X (1965-1980)   Amongst all the cohorts, this is the last and the youngest with a low mortality rate but may experience some changes due to change of behavior. They are so adventurous, a fact that is currently changing their mortality rates. They believe in themselves but are also very influential not necessarily in death but they also participate in the funeral arrangements of their parents and grand parents. Even though they have very little to do with funeral matters, they still influence decisions regarding the funeral arrangements especially if they have no relations in Silent and G1 but boomers. The Target Market for the home The target market of the funeral home will be the G1, Silent, and the Baby Boomers. The three cohorts have different needs, tastes, and potential very significant in the operations of the funeral home. Through the three cohorts, the funeral home will learn how to provide differential high quality services to the customers and the families involved. The other target will be the less tapped opportunity in cremation services especially around Monroe. Many funeral homes fear venturing into this type of product and we shall take advantage of this fact to help us have differentiated products to the customers. Marketing Strategy Our culture is to enhance the correlation between the employees, the customer and the management, the funeral home focus will to establish a link between the three parties for the success of the business. This will be achieved through provision of high quality services to the consumers at an affordable price, ensure that the employees have the best working environment consequently, high return for the owner. The chapels will be available for the families of the bereaved to offer service to the deceased and get consolation that he or she has started a new life for the believers. MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS Having toured the funeral homes and seen the management of the homes below expectations. Dobrozsi funeral home will have the best management of human resources and the services delivered. It is going to gain a competitive advantage through provision of high quality services as compared to the rivals. It strategic management policies will ensure that it achieves the objectives, mission, and vision. The existing funeral homes are far from the people with low quality services and they have failed to offer-differentiated products to the varied needs and wants of the consumers. It is on this basis that the Dobrozsi funeral home will be managed in order to out do our competitors. From Portes five forces that affect the operation of the business, the funeral home shall develop better policies to enhance its effectiveness and avoid any further threats from the incoming entities in the same industry. Analysis of the service business to be implement In the event of death, a person has to be buried of cremated depending on the deceased culture and traditions. Since the remains of the deceased are never useful to the family members and relatives there is an option of a funeral home. Funeral homes universally offer some important services to the dead which includes Provision of a service for then deceased Ensuring that the body of the deceased is well preserved   and ready for viewing Moving of the body from the funeral home to residential home and to the burial site Provision of certain resources to aid the funeral such as casket, urns, remembrance products Providing immediate burial minus a service depending on the culture an tradition of deceased Providing cremations service not common to many funeral home Competition and Buying Patterns in the market People would choose a funeral home first for convenience purposes, service to the family and reputation derived from the funeral home. The biggest percentage goes for convenience in terms of location and costs. Monroe has not had a funeral home since time immemorial. Having identified the buying pattern, customers will go for the easiest and fastest option, we are going to launch our funeral home at Monroe to take up this opportunity. Freedom of worship has also changed the buying pattern. Many people are now joining the religious groups of their choices. Consequently, there has been an increased demand for cremation, an are not well exploited by the funeral homes. People are also becoming too religious. For this reason we are going to have different chapels of different sizes and we shall provide cremation to have competitive advantage not only over the rivals in the market but also for those who may want to join the industry. Competitive Edge Dobrozsi Funeral Home is one of the best homes to be started in Monroe. It will provide caring atmosphere with facilities to ensure a person is given a dignified send off by the home. It ensures that the remaining family members and friend are consoled in order to have the faith that one day they will meet again. The upcoming funeral home will explore its competitive edge to offer these values and functions and help promote the living standard of the employees. Its competitive edge is the fact that many have not ventured into the business in Monroe as well as the cremation, which is offered by very few funeral homes. It will uphold the values and purposes of a burial or a funeral for that matter. The values and the purpose of a funeral gathering is to appreciate someone for the life well lived, wish him a farewell and support the ones left behind with consolation. Sales Strategy In meeting our sales, a strategy has been laid down to ensure its achievements. The home will bring on board executive directs sales agent who will employ the process of personal selling to approach customer, present the product, convince the customer to purchase the product and close the sales. The sales executive may then request for more leads from the customer. Once a sale is closed, the customer will be like part of us. Through him, we shall reach other hundreds of customers out there VII. FINANCIAL ANALYSIS AND PROJECTIONS This analysis and plan aims at getting a loan of $ 184,000 with the total net worth of the business being. Our start-up expenses of $32,500 and asset purchases of $151,500 are to be financed by loan Start-up Funding Amount in $ Start-up Expenses to Fund 32,500 Start-up Assets to Fund 151,500 Total Funding Required 184,000 Assets Non-cash Assets from Start-up 58,500 Cash Requirements from Start-up 121,250 Additional Cash Raised Cash Balance on Starting Date Total Assets 235,300 Liabilities and Capital Liabilities Current Borrowing 184,000 Long-term Liabilities Other Current Liabilities (interest-free) Total Liabilities 184,000 Capital Planned Investment Owner 58,500 Investor Additional Investment Requirement Total Planned Investment 58,500 Loss at Start-up (Start-up Expenses) (32,500) Total Capital 26,000 Total Capital and Liabilities 210,000 Total Funding 242,500 VIII. FUNDING REQUEST AND EXIST STRATEGY Starts up costs of a funeral home are much higher than businesses of the same size. The costs of cars are very high and the small amount of equipment that is needed is high. All these items are things that you have to have to operate a funeral home aside from the facilities. All the things that are in this list are things that are absolutely required and are not things that you can do without. To have a funeral home you must be able to embalm a body and make-up which you need tables for. The embalming table is stainless steel which is what makes it so expensive. You must have a van and a cot to make removals. Another big thing is the cost of the hearse with is probably the biggest expense cause it has to in a since be custom made. The last large expense is a cooler to keep bodies in that arent embalmed or are going to be cremated We are therefore requesting for a funding of $ 184,000 which we are sure to pay in the next one year that is a period of 12 months. The amount is to assist us get the required material for the start of the business. We shall repay the amount together with the interest required. On a straight line basis without the inclusion of the interest rate we are sure to pay the following amount: Amount borrowed $ 184,000 Period of repayment 12 months Monthly repayment 184,000 / 12 months = $ 15,333.33 per month Once the amount is paid up we shall be glad to be a member of the bank. All our proceeds shall be used through your good bank. We therefore humbly request for the financial assistance to help us achieve the objective and promote the lives of the people of Monroe by giving the family members of the deceased a good consolation and ensuring that the deceased is given the best send off by the people he or she loved. We are proud to be associated with you and we look forward to doing business. APPENDICES Appendix 1: Financial Requirements Appendix 1a): The financial requirements of the firm visa a viz the actual that we be used up during the implementation Item Cost Estimate/Actual Start-Up Expenses Accountant Fees 1500 Expensed Equipment 2500 Financial Institution Fees Identity Set/Stationary 3000 Insurance 5000 Legal Fees 10000 Licenses/Certificates/Permits 1000 Marketing Materials (cards) 2000 Payroll (with taxes) 2000 Professional Fees Other 2000 Travel Utilities 1500 Web Fees 2000 Other Total Start-Up Expenses 32500 Start-Up Assets Cash Balance for Starting Date Equipment 25000 Furniture Fixtures 30000 Leasehold Improvements Cars Rent Deposit Signage 3000 Utility Deposit 500 Other Total Start-Up Assets 58500 Total Start-Up Requirements 151500 Appendix 1 b): The required assets Item Quantity Cost Equipment Hearse 1 100000 Removel Van 1 35000 Embalming Table 1 2000 Removal Cot 1 1300 Prep Table 1 900 Embalming Pump 1 800 Church Truck 1 1000 Prep Stuff 1 2500 Cooler 1 8000 Other Costs Start-Up Investment-TOTAL $242500 Cash Reserve $121250 Total Start-Up Investment + Capital Reserve $363750 Appendix II: The Work plan and how the activities will be done PROJECT JANUARY MARCH APRIL JUNE JULY SEPTEMBER OCTOBER DECEMBER Drawing the plan Collection of the materials Seeking for funding Purchase of the assets Building project inception Doing a market research for determination of the demand level Getting the required people in time to begin business Registration of the company Appendix III: Statistics found out on the marker of the Monroe State Series 1 represents the Mortality rate of the Boomers Series 2 represents the Mortality rate of the Silent generation Series 3 represents the Mortality rate of G1 Generation