Cape Cod Collectables

BU 473

Sarah Gray, Christine Petrone, & Katie Wilhelm

Business Choice

Small business offers handmade nautical gifts

• Located: Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Barnstable County

Town of Falmouth

Demographics

Cape Cod

• Population215,888

92.7% Caucasian

52.4% Female

30.1% = 40-59 years of age

Median income = $60,317

United States of America Census Bureau. U.S. Department of Commerce. Barnstable County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau. By U.S. Census Bureau. N.p., 18 Sept. 2012. Web. 15

Industry

Classified: Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Industry

• 30,000 stores

Combined annual revenue- $17 billion

Small businesses’ competitive advantages

• Unique items

• Local artists work

• Handmade items

• Exceptional purchasing environment

Hoover's Inc. "Gift, Novelty & Souvenir Stores." 2012. Web. 27 November 2012. <http://subscriber.hoovers.com/H/industry360/overview.html?industryId=1883>.

"Falmouth, Cape Cod" Falmouth Chamber of Commerce. Falmouth Chamber of Commerce. N.p., 2011. Web. 29 Nov. 2012. <http://www.falmouthchamber.com/>.

Research

Quantitative

Qualitative

Quantitative HypothesesHypothesis Statement

Main Hypothesis There is a demand for handmade nautical gifts on Cape Cod and a lack of shops that sell these types of products. Therefore, a store like Cape Cod Collectibles would be successful.

Sub Hypotheses Statement

Sub Hypothesis 1 The group of individuals believed to respond most positively to this survey would be of the following demographics; females between the ages of 30 to 59, who are married and are employed or have a spouse who is employed in some way. The expected education level of this demographic would be some college education. The projected income of this group would be between $69,001 and $99,000.

Sub Hypothesis 2 If technology is implemented it will have a positive effect on the business and will increase the amount of sales.

Sub Hypothesis 3 By offering customized and handmade nautical items on Cape Cod customers will respond positively.

Sub Hypothesis 4 Quality service greatly impacts customer satisfaction and therefore by providing quality service customers will be loyal to our company.

Sub Hypothesis 5 Price positively influences the perception of quality by offering handmade and customized items at a reasonable price, customers will be influenced positively which will influence their willingness to buy.

Qualitative Hypotheses Hypothesis Statement Main Hypothesis Cape Cod is an area of high tourism and seasonal businesses, by

considering other views of small business owners from a similar area or from Cape Cod itself, conclusions will be drawn that better depict the functionality of a small business.

Sub Hypothesis Statement Sub Hypothesis 1 Small gift, novelty, and souvenir stores will be more likely to offer their

customers a smaller variety of products with more details than a wide variety with several options.

Sub Hypothesis 2 Small gift, novelty, and souvenir stores will be more likely to internally produce a marketing plan if one is produced at all, rather than to contract it out to an outside source.

Sub Hypothesis 3 The most important part of customer satisfaction for any small business is that the customer is always right.

Sub Hypothesis 4 The inventory ordering process for a small gift, novelty, and souvenir store is on an as needed basis and is done by the owner of the store.

Sub Hypothesis 5 A small businesses four highest expenses are rent, payroll, utilities, and inventory.

Sub Hypothesis 6 Small gift, novelty, and souvenir stores will be more likely to use a manual accounting system to keep track of cash flow in and out of the business.

Quantitative Methodology

54 question sample survey

• Approved by IRB

• Survey software- surveygizmo

Facebook or E-mail

• Paper handouts

Known relationship or local businesses

• Criteria: visited, lived, or vacationed on Cape Cod

Consent Implied

Input data into SPSS

Qualitative Methodology

15 Individuals

• Approved by IRB

• Selected on criteria: owning a small business, on Cape Cod, or in a tourist town

30-40 Minutes

Commonalities

• Codes

Frequencies

Quantitative

Quantitative: Data Analysis

Constructs

• Price Point

• Product

• Demographics

• Marketing Strategies

• Customer Service

Price Point

Willing to pay for items

• Feasible inventory and attract customers

• Develop price range

Crosstabs

• Household Income X

Likeliness to purchase nautical gifts

Likeliness to purchase handmade gifts over factory made gifts

ProductPotential Products

Crosstabs

• Gender

Willingness to purchase nautical items or gifts

Willingness to purchase handmade nautical gifts

Willingness to purchase handmade gifts over factory gifts

Frequencies

• Gender with each specific item

Demographics

Insight about individuals

Pie charts

Crosstabs

• Willingness to purchase nautical gifts X with the following:

Yearly household income

Education

Employment status

Marital status

Age

Marketing Strategies

Marketing plan

Frequency

• Promotional offers

• Advertising methods

• Social media

Customer Service

Superior customer service

• Quality of service

Frequency Tables

• Identify hours of operation

• Online purchasing

• Shipment of products

Quantitative Results

Discussion

Sub Hypotheses Disproved

• Technology

• Positive Response

• Customization

• Loyalty

• Perception of Quality

Conclusion

Hypotheses – Disproved

One Correlation

Significance in data collected

Future Research

Ranking Questions

• Misunderstanding

• Incorrect data – could not be used

Expand sample group

Qualitative

Qualitative: Data Analysis & Discussion

Constructs

• Marketing Strategies

• Product Details

• Customer Service

• Business Experience

Marketing Strategies

Develop marketing plan

• Internally

• Externally

Discussion

• 80% responded - internally

Product Details

Nautical gift trends

• On the Rise

• Stagnant

• Declining

Wider variety vs. smaller variety

Inventory Management

• Internal vs. External

Inventory Order

• Routine vs. As needed basis

Customer Service

Customer Service

• Customer satisfaction

Discussion

• 66% - customer is always right

• 34% - customer satisfaction

Business Experience

Small business experience

Effects of tourism

Seasonality

Make a profit vs. break even

Markup

Advertising

Accounting system management

Four highest expenses

Unexpected challenges

Future Research

Conduct further research

• Target Interviews

More specific questions

Works Cited

"Falmouth, Cape Cod" Falmouth Chamber of Commerce.FalmouthChamber of Commerce. N.p., 2011. Web. 29 Nov. 2012. <http://www.falmouthchamber.com/>.

Hoover's Inc. "Gift, Novelty & Souvenir Stores." 2012. Web. 27 November 2012. <http://subscriber.hoovers.com/H/industry360/overview.html?industryId=1883>.

United States of America Census Bureau. U.S. Department of Commerce. Barnstable County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau. By U.S. Census Bureau. N.p., 18 Sept. 2012. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. <http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/25/25001.html>.