marketing plan- orb
TRANSCRIPT
Anthony Ashner
Ryan Colgren
Bonnie Rischmann
Michael Sullivan
Group Marketing Plan
Name of Company: Identity Green
Name of Product: Orb
Mission Statement: Natural is beautiful.
Target Demographic: Female Generation Z
Product Release: November 27th, 2015
Product Description: A onceamonth subscription box for tween girls that include organic and
ecofriendly makeup products and accessories like lip gloss, nail polish, nail art, hair chalk, and
much more. A supplemental app is also going along with the subscription box.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths Marketing
Ability of reaching target audience
Company Image How consumers perceive
products Available Technology
Use of a phone app and communication
Weaknesses Financial Resources
Difficulty of receiving loan Production Costs
How expensive the packaging and products, cannot attain economies of scale yet.
Opportunities Component lifestyle
Diverse needs Social Media
ability to reach and maintain connection with target market
Threats Competition
Will other firms drive us out of business
Consumer Privacy Sharing information with a
Ethnic Markets adaptability of product
Purchasing Power Add another target market
new company
Strengths
We at Identity Green believe that our organic, ecofriendly makeup and accessory
subscription box, Orb, will be a hit product. We believe our strengths will be our marketing in
product differentiation as tweens wish to act and look older than their actual age:
Tweens are also making an effort to look more mature at a young age. Sixtyone percent
of tween girls would like to wear more makeup than their parents allow. Covering
tweens and most teens, thirtyseven percent of girls ages nine to seventeen say they use
lip gloss or lipstick everyday, while thirtythree percent report applying mascara on a
daily basis. Twentyseven percent stencil on eyeliner every day, and sixteen percent use
foundation every day. Tweens are most likely to rely on their mothers to help with
purchasing decisions (seventythree percent) (Lamb, Hair, McDaniels 54).
Tween girls wish to wear makeup and this is where our opportunity lies. Our product
differentiation is our all natural, organic makeup. Many makeups are tested on animals and
inhumanely made with many chemicals. And since tweens look to their mothers for purchasing
decisions, the organic makeup will be able to sell itself to the mom. Then the product
differentiation that would excite the tween is the mobile app. “Tweens have grown up with
mobile technology and social media and begin using it at an early age (Lamb, Hair, McDaniels
54). The mobile app will allow the consumer to choose what they receive and to post their
wonderful experience with the product. The consumer will know that they are helping the
environment while looking beautiful. And with wonderful howto videos on new styles, the
consumer will not get bored with the app. Orb will have status which will allow for a solid IG
game. With all the information that is at the fingertips of tweens, they will start to change their
minds on what kind of makeup they use.
Usually when something is organic, or all natural, or ecofriendly, there will be a large
price tag on the item. At Identity Green, we are planning to revolutionize the subscription
makeup box. There will not be a hefty price tag on these items, allowing us to be more
competitive and even have our competitors start mimicking our business plan. Current
subscription boxes go $10$25, so with a price tag of $20, we are within the higher range of the
competition. This will be great for our company image. Our niche is that we are targeting female
tweens. Identity Green will ship out subscription boxes called Orb to each subscriber. Each Orb
can be considered collectible and will change each month. Each Orb will be in the shape of a
globe instead of a tradition box to show our devotion to ecofriendly products. Some may
wonder why this is our target market, but there is one major reason. Current members of the
tween age group are responsible for spending $180 billion on an annual basis (Lamb, Hair,
McDaniels 54). With all of the technology available today, there will not be a problem in getting
the right products to the right people. With a phone application, tweens will be able to see what
products are coming to their door and when. Another cool feature in the application is that the
subscriber can pick items they want for the month. If no selection is made, they will receive the
predetermined assortment for that month.
Weakness
Every business has weaknesses; a weakness of ours is that we are a very small company.
We will have to spend a lot of time and money on marketing our product which is hard for a
startup business to do. Advertising is not a cheap thing to do, especially during the holiday
season. It is also expensive to set up a business. Another problem will be shipping costs.
Shipping is costly, just as labor and all the other expenses there are when it comes to running a
business. This describes our financial resource difficulty. Another problem that may occur is the
production of organic makeup with ecofriendly containers. The price for these products will be
higher at first as the production will not be as efficient as it can the first time around and there
probably will not be massive amounts ordered at first. Also, shipping the Orb may be expensive
as this will not be the cheapest packing option.
Opportunities
There are many opportunities for Identity Green. Expanding into new markets would
increase sales. Tweens need to convince their parents to purchase items for them. If the parents
do not approve, the product will not be bought. Once tweens start purchasing our products, their
parents may do more research into our organic makeup. The mother may want to sign up for an
organic makeup subscription box so that a few months down the road, we may have a box that is
suitable for moms, sisters, etc.
Identity Green will focus on the component lifestyle. Tweens, and eventually other
generations, will want our product as it meets their diverse interests and expectations. We will
incorporate how not one word can describe someone anymore. People are no longer described by
what they do for a living or for just being a student.
Another opportunity is our knowledgable social media use. We will have our own
hashtag, Instagram filter, Facebook page, Snapchat, Cyberdust, and our own application. We will
be able to always be available for our beloved customers for any of their questions and give them
a sneak peek at our new developments. With the app we can show how not to use too much
makeup, how to properly put on and take off makeup, how to wear our accessories, and many
other tips and tricks that mothers and siblings may be too busy or not think of showing their
tween. Having a strong social media presence will help us get our name out there and to show
that we are a current, techsavvy company.
Our product also is something that will appeal to all ethnic markets. In “Principles of
Marketing” the authors explain how each market is best marketed for. We will have Hispanic
advertisements, advertisements that will be for African Americans on BET, Essence, and on the
radio. Asian Americans use the computer more so we will have advertisements on consumer and
electronics websites in order to spread the word on our product (5759).
Tweens, as mentioned earlier, have a substantial amount of purchasing power. They are
very good into getting their parents to buy them many items that they want. We can only hope
that tweens will beg their parents that they want our organic makeup subscription box the same
way they beg their parents to stay over their friends house for a slumber party.
Threats
The makeup field is a highly competitive market segment to break into. This would
mean we have to gain an upper hand on the giants of the industry by taking some of their market
share. This can be difficult as the makeup industry can be referred to as an oligopoly where such
a few number of firms have all the market share, which allows them to have control over the
price that is charged. Their marketing budget is much larger than a small startup, so they could
make it very difficult to get our name out there to the public and to our initial target audience.
Another concern will be privacy. With our boxes of makeup, we will have to know race in order
to send the correct products. Parent’s may not like the freedom that is allowed on the app and
may think it isn’t safe to actively participate on the app. We will have to recommend to parents
that they check on their child’s account every so often to make sure they approve of what they
can and cannot do on the app.
Company Analysis
Identity Green will come into existence November 27th, 2015. We are headquartered in
the city of San Antonio, Texas. San Antonio has a total population of 1,436,697 and is home to
26.8% of people under the age of eighteen with 51.2% of the population being female according
to the 2010 Census (US Census). San Antonio is home to the famous Riverwalk as well, which
provides an opportunity for a walkin store if we decide to go that route. In 2013, San Antonio
ranked 11th on the Forbes’ list of Best Places for Business and Careers (Forbes). San Antonio is
also popular with tourists due to the various attractions such as the Alamo. We chose this city
because the population size is ideal for a company that is subscription based. There is always
opportunities for advertising as well due to the fact that it is a big city and we can get the word
out via social media and by word of mouth as well. For the future, we will be rolling out
different size subscription boxes. The introductory product will have a price of twenty dollars.
The second largest would be fifty dollars, and the largest box would be seventyfive dollars.
With each tier of boxes, you will have more products within, and a larger size of products. We
will also be rolling out a subscription box for men that would include items such as cologne,
shaving cream and watches to name a few. These will also have varying price points depending
on the size of both the box and the products.
As of now, we have four members of the company. Anthony Ashner is the President,
Bonnie Rischmann is the Vice President of Marketing and Communications, Michael Sullivan is
the Vice President of Finance and Ryan Colgren is the Vice President of Information and
Technology. In the future, we will need to hire additional staff to aid in all aspects. The primary
aspect is production, we need people to oversee and produce the products that are going into the
subscription boxes. We also need to hire a few staff to help with application development and
troubleshooting. There is also a staff need for accountants and buyers in order to keep track of
both the income and spending budget as well as the product acquirement. Due to being a startup
business, there might be some issues with production and other things, but in time, this will be
not an issue at all.
Customer Analysis
Generation Z females amount to about 10 million, providing a substantial opportunity for
sales (Lamb, Hair, McDaniels 54). Identity Green strives to appeal to the female population of
ages 812, but at the same time capture the interests of age groups surrounding. Future efforts
may involve appealing to different age demographics like teens and adults, or even branching out
to a male demographic with male products (e.g. cologne, hair spray, gels).
Because of the type of service Identity Green provides, location of operations is held in
San Antonio, Texas. The company will focus on shipping its product to the homes or locations of
the customers on a monthly basis. Identity Green is intended to be a mailbased service with no
walkin locations. Instead, customers can access the complete list of items included for that
specific month in the companion app. Accessing an app rather than traveling to a walkin
location will save time, effort, and money for the customer.
The majority of buying power from this demographic comes from parents and guardians
(Lamb, Hair, McDaniels 54). Identity Green hopes for parents or guardians looking for a
solution to treat their children with a monthly surprise to find satisfaction in Orb. Purchasing a
subscription to Orb is as simple as filling out payment information on a PC or smartphone. The
consumer will be able to pay with Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, Apple Pay,
Android Pay, Samsung Pay, and PayPal. This ease of access should appeal to the ones spending
their time and money to treat their children to something extra.
Generation Z finds maturity appealing. Children are trying to grow up earlier and faster
now more than ever. Orb is something that preteens will want because it fulfills their desires to
appear more mature. Orb’s purpose is to help preteen girls feel fashionable and more mature by
having a variety of accessories and organic makeup to experiment with and wear. With the help
of Orb’s companion app, preteen girls can have access to makeup tutorials to assist them with
learning how to correctly apply every product.
Generation Z was born connected to the internet. With that in mind, Identity Green
developed a companion app to always be connected to customers. In this app, customers may see
a complete list of included items for that month, see descriptions and usersubmitted tutorials for
each item, and can post their own picture wearing that specific item. Adding this social element
to Orb will help Identity Green keep in touch with customers, and help young customers feel
trendy by being a part of the social media’s community.
Competitor Analysis
Product of Competition
Main Price Box Contents Subscription/ Flexibility of Subscription
Target Demographic
iBbeautiful $20 a month $28 a month
for big subscription with graphic Tshirt
Lip gloss Hair products Jewelry
accessories Necklaces *graphic
Tshirt
monthly 3 months 6 months Yearly Same price
Tweens Teens
LYFNow $29 a month Functional products like makeup, accessories, inspirational items
Monthtomonth
Yearly= free month
No specific age shown, seems targeted to crowd of 13+
Posh Pak $29 a month Health/ beauty products
Fashion accessories
Technology School
supplies Some
designer labels
$29 monthtomonth
$169 for 6 months
$329 for 1 year
Different boxes for different ages groups
58 912 1318
The Boodle Box
$25 a month Nail polish Nail art Accessories Latest beauty
trends Nonbeauty
items
$25 Monthly
$20 3 month
$20 6 month free shipping
$20 1 year free shipping
Targeted to teens and tweens
Selling point is “fashionistas in training”
Subscription boxes are becoming a fastgrowing product, especially in the current
technological age. While there are multiple makeup and accessory subscription boxes currently
in the market, including iBbeautiful, LYFNow, Posh Pak, and The Boodle Box, Orb will stand
out from these competitors with the product’s materials and revolutionary app. Some of the
main deficiencies with these companies consist of a lack of advertising, no ecofriendly products,
and no technological aspects.
iBbeautiful
iBbeautiful will be Orb’s main competition. iBbeautiful is strong in the aspect that it has
separate boxes for tweens and teens, and flexible subscriptions with fun products. It also is the
most popular kids beauty product on boxes.mysubscriptionaddiction.com, which is the most
popular subscription box website. However, there are some notable flaws with iBbeautiful that
Orb can build upon. While iBbeautiful is the most popular kids beauty product, it is not towards
the top of the most popular kids products on boxes.mysubscriptionaddiction.com. There are 47
other kids subscription boxes that appear under the “kids” category before iBbeautiful appears.
There is also a lack of advertising for iBbeautiful on other subscription box websites. Due to this
minimal advertising, parents would only find iBbeautiful if they were specifically looking for a
kids beauty subscription box. Orb would have a significant focus on promotion to make sure it
appears higher on popular lists. If Orb was higher up on popular lists and had more brand name
recognition, we would be able to appeal to the masses more. Another flaw with iBbeautiful is
that there are no deals or offers for subscribing for 6 months or a year. While there are 6 month
and 1 year options, they are the same price as paying monthtomonth. This may turn some
customers away.
LYFNow
LYFNow is a similar box to iBbeautiful, with a few notable differences. While they only
have one box that is $29 a month, they have a deal where you get a free month when you
subscribe for a year. Also, LYFNow succeeds by having a specific theme: loving yourself. This
may appeal to parents who are hesitant about buying their young daughters makeup. However,
this box markets itself to an older crowd of ages 13 and up. LYFNow is missing out on a
promising crowd by not marketing their box towards tweens as well. Also, the $29 price point
may be a bit high for some parents. Orb will have a more reasonable price, as well as market the
box toward tweens. LYFNow is also not as popular as iBbeautiful, which means it was even
harder to find on subscription box websites.
Posh Pak
Posh Pak is a well put together subscription box for various age groups. A strong aspect
of Posh Pak is how there is a box for three different demographics of girls: ages 58, 912, and
1318. The different demographics is helping build their brand as more appealing. There are
also deals for paying for a 6 month subscription, as well as a year long subscription. However,
similar to iBbeautiful and LYFNow, Posh Pak is not advertised strongly, and therefore is harder
to locate on subscription box websites. Also, some other weaknesses that Posh Pak and the other
kids beauty subscription boxes exhibit is not having a technological presence and not having
ecofriendly products. Orb’s app will significantly be advertised with the subscription box, and
it will allow the box to stand out from the competition, as well as be more applicable to the
technologically savvy demographic of tween girls. Advertising ecofriendly and organic
products will not only help build the branding image of Orb, it will widely appeal to parents
looking to buy for their daughters.
The Boodle Box
The Boodle Box shows strength with popularity and price. It is very close on the most
popular list to iBbeautiful on www.boxes.mysubscriptionaddiction.com. It also has a more
accessible price range of $25, and targets the product to “fashionistas in training.” A flaw with
The Boodle Box is in its subscription flexibility. While it offers cheaper options for those
willing to pay more over time, there is only free shipping in the 6 month and 1 year
subscriptions. iBbeautiful, LYFNow, and Posh Pak have free shipping on all products, so it is a
bit of a detriment to The Boodle Box that they only offer free shipping on extended
subscriptions. The idea of paying for shipping, as well as the price of the box, when there are
cheaper alternatives on the market may not appeal to parents.
Marketing Information Needs
Identity Green will likely use focus groups in order to gather information. These focus
groups will be located in the eleven regions of the United States, which are Northeast, Mid
Atlantic, South Atlantic, Mid South Atlantic, Southeast, Great Lakes, Central, West Central,
Gulf, Northwest, and Southwest. These focus groups will gauge the interest of the Orb, and will
also help Identity Green adjust the marketing mix. If the initial promotion is not enough, then
Identity Green will modify the strategy. If their consumer surplus from the purchase is large,
then the price can be increased. If an ingredient turns out to make everyone breakout, then we
will be able to change that ingredient before launch so there isn’t any bad publicity at the start of
our business. All publicity is good publicity, except when a product leads you to your
dermatologist. Another possibility would be a mail or email survey. This would allow people to
answer at their convenience and in their home. The main problem with mail surveys is getting
people to fill them out and if they do, they do not always have meaningful answers. The more
reviews of the product before it is released to the public, the better. Focus groups and surveys
should be enough in order to get Orb going. Offering a free trial box with no strings attached
should get enough people interested in the product. This will be a logical step for Orb because
there are no physical stores. Orb will also have a large online presence and offer free, nohassle
returns which should also get people hyped about the subscription box. On the consumer side,
this purchase is a low risk, high reward purchase.
Price
With a price tag of $20 for Orb, this will be an aggressive pricing strategy to penetrate the
market. At a price of $20, which includes shipping, our target market will find this as a
spectacular deal. With a low price tag relative to the competition, parents will be easier to
convince to subscribe to the Orb box. It would appear that the price set by the competitors is
around $25, which is something that needs to change. Those products cost $300 a year, which is
a lot to spend for beauty products for young girls. Identity Green’s Orb will only cost $240 a
year which is more reasonable to spend on something that gets removed at the end of the day.
The demand for makeup is price elastic. Since Orb is not an established name or priced to show
luxury, consumers will be price sensitive. That is why Orb cannot be priced higher than the
competition. This low price will penetrate the market and then after, we may consider a price
increase if we cannot keep up with demand or if others prices start to skyrocket. Another way to
differentiate is to offer discounts to our consumer base. Our discount is included to all
customers. The way that Orb is set up is to be consumer friendly, which is $20 a month, no
commitments, which means the consumer can drop our service with no obligations. Free
shipping is a strong marketing strategy which will work to our advantage. To keep our loyal
customers, we will throw in an additional products in their birthday box. This birthday box for
the month of that customer's birthday will include one additional product. Orb’s price shows that
it is here to help the consumer and the environment.
Product
In regards to the products contained within the Orb, each product is made from allnatural
and all organic materials. This ensures that each product is of highquality material with no
chemicals or other agents that can be harmful. By using allnatural and all organic materials, we
have an edge over the bulk of the other makeup and accessory boxes out there. Some of the
allnatural products that will be in the box include lip gloss, nail polish, nail accessories, hair
chalk, eye shadow, hair accessories, facial makeup, and much more. An example of one of our
ingredients is derived from ylangylang. Ylangylang acts as a skin balancer while also adding a
floral scent. The unit that Orb is housed in is an spherical shaped container in order to reflect an
orb itself. In regards to a warranty, not one exists at this time. However, a return policy of ten
days after receiving the Orb with a cancellation of your subscription will be offered if the
customer is dissatisfied with the Orb. For the brand, Identity Green prides itself on being
allnatural and organic makeup and accessories that is offered at a fair price point when
compared to other nonorganic or nonnatural boxes. Identity Green provides the highest quality
products and the company stands by that guarantee. Our image is a wholesome and organic
company that is committed to helping the environment. We at Identity Green believe that our
customers should be receiving the highest quality products. The value of Orb is excellent when
compared to others, even though it is a little higher than the others. Orb is a new product and
Identity Green is a new company, so we do not have the reputation that some of the other
companies have. Orb provides things that other box services do not. An example would be an
application so the customer can see what is in that month’s Orb. As a whole, Identity Green’s
Orb subscription box is an excellent product that customers will love and they will keep coming
back.
The Orb subscription box also comes with a supplemental app. This app is available for
all Apple and Android products, including phones and tablets, and will be free on the respective
app store. This app is what will give the Orb a competitive advantage over other products.
Tweens generation are proven to be a technologically savvy generation, and this application will
cater directly toward them. The app will consist of three main parts: tutorials, products, and
Glitz, Orb’s social media. On the tutorials section, Orb users can watch different makeup and
accessory tutorials that will relate directly to products that they just received in the mail. These
tutorials will be very helpful for girls who do not know what to do with some of their products,
or for girls who would like inspiration and insight into some of the products. The product
section will explore each of the products that one would possibly receive in the Orb box.
Clicking on a product will open up a separate lightbox, with information about the product, as
well as picture demonstration and pictures of other girls using them. The products sections is an
area where girls can learn about what they are receiving in the mail, including the organic and
ecofriendly benefits of them. The most exciting aspect of the app is Glitz, Orb’s direct social
media. It is a take on pictureposting social media sites like Instagram and VSCO catered
specifically to the tween demographic using Orb. Like most social media sites, you can follow
your friends, and girls have the opportunity to post photos of them using their Orb products for
others to see. This will allow the Orb users to create a community among themselves, keep in
touch with their friends, and see how others are using their Orb products. We project that this
will be extremely popular to tweens, who enjoy social media platforms like Instagram and
Snapchat. We will also have a feature where users of Glitz can post their pictures directly to
Instagram through the app, and we are working on a feature where they can post a picture
directly to their Snapchat story.
Promotion
Identity Green has various elements in its promotional mix to exchange information with
the target audience of tweens for Orb. The company’s promotional plan involves a combination
of various advertising, sales promotion, public relations, and social media marketing. Identity
Green determined that digital advertising will be an extremely effective way to reach the target
market of tween girls. Orb’s digital advertising will consist of both online and television
advertising. Tweens’ daily activity usually consists of doing something digital. Half of girls
ages 812 use the Internet for entertainment, social networking, and social gaming purposes, and
35% of girls ages 312 own their own smartphone (Pew Research Center). This does not account
for tweens who have access to tablets and laptops through their families, as well. Tween girls
are connected digitally, and promotion for Orb would be extremely appealing in this medium.
Online advertisements could include banners and side ads on websites, especially ones that are
desirable to tween girls. These online advertisements would be visual, and would highlight Orb
and the Orb application, and they would provide a link to the main website for Orb. They would
be flashy and very graphic, since that style appeals to tweens. We will also have advertisements
that appeal to the parents of girl tweens, that will go on websites like Facebook. These
advertisements will also showcase Orb, but also highlight a deal of a free trial box. The price and
deal aspect will appeal to parents, who may want to buy the product for their tween daughter.
Identity Green will also release online campaigns that will be played before videos on YouTube
and Twitter. Tweens spend a lot of time on YouTube, and a video advertisement and video
banner will appeal to them and hopefully, Orb will stick in their mind. The idea of sales
promotion is also something that Identity Green is pursuing for Orb. Identity Green is allowing a
free trial box before purchasing the product. We will promote this free trial through
advertisements, as well as in person in Identity Green’s hometown of San Antonio.
Social media marketing is also going to be an important part of Identity Green’s
promotional mix for Orb. Social media marketing is imperative for Orb in order to see the target
market directly in a habitat where they constantly are. This will also help Orb find customers
that may not have heard about the product otherwise. When targeting directly to tweens, the
most important social media outlet that Orb will utilize is Instagram. Most tweens are not using
sites like Facebook or Twitter, but Instagram and Snapchat are very popular with them. It is very
important for Orb to target tweens through Instagram. In regards to Instagram, there will be an
Instagram account created just for Orb. This Orb profile will make posts that include pictures of
the product, reminder of the deals of buying, and promotion of the Orb app. The hope with
Instagram marketing is to target the tweens who have Instagram accounts. This will hopefully
build recognition and interest for the Orb product. We will also have a feature on the social
media portion of the Orb application where girls can post pictures of them and their products
directly to Instagram. The posts to Instagram will have a small watermark that shows the picture
came from the Orb app. This will help build a community across social networks of Orb users,
as well as bring brand recognition to Instagram users who may not have known about Orb
beforehand. Identity Green will also have a Facebook page for Orb that will cater more toward
parents. This will consist of more informational social media marketing, as through this
Facebook page, parents will be the target audience. Typical Facebook posts could include about
pricing, updates with each month’s Orb release, app information, tutorials for the Orb users, and
more.
Place
Identity Green’s warehouse is located in San Antonio, Texas. San Antonio is a very large
city with a population of 1.4 million people, making it an ideal place to start a business (US
Census). Furthermore, San Antonio is a very smart place to start a subscription based service
because of the low tax rates, low cost of doing business, and high job growth rate (Forbes). Since
Orb is a mailbased service, there are no walkin locations. Orb is shipped from the warehouse
and then by plane to locations across the U.S. and then mailed directly to the customer. Orb is
packaged into a 10” x 8” cardboard shipping box. The orb itself is packaged in its official box,
just big enough for the Orb to be packaged tightly. In between the cardboard box and the Orb’s
packaging, there is a layer of bubble wrap to prevent abrupt or harsh collision from inside the
box. Opening the box, the customer will find the Orb, a plastic container shaped like an sphere
that opens in half, and which contains the monthly jewelry and makeup. The makeup and jewelry
are tightly secured into a sheet with concave molds of the specific item. This prevents damage to
the any of the products and acts as a harness to keep the items from moving.
Shipments begin on the first day of the month, every month. Shipping is not an additional
charge because it is covered by the subscription itself. Every month an Orb package will be
delivered to the customer in a timely fashion. Shipment may take a few days, depending on how
far away the destination is. Creating warehouses in different locations across the United States
will eventually speed up this process by dispersing shipping points to be closer to the farther
regions of the country. Production usually takes place in one area and with shipping warehouse
being a separate entity. Identity Green’s plan is to have one large production plant and to ship
from there. The production plant could possibly be a walkthrough plan where interested
consumers can watch and see how makeup is made, etc.
Any damaged products may be returned by being shipped back. Damaged products will
either be replaced or compensated for with other items. Customer satisfaction is a big
consideration for Identity Green because customer loyalty can be the difference between being
sold or not.
Implementation
It is estimated that it costs about $10,00015,000 dollars to startup a makeup business
(Patton). We have a budget of $15,000 before our first sale. There will be a monthly, quarterly,
and fiscal year budgets in order to track progress. This will allow Identity Green to catch
anything or see when we are overbudget. This will also allow for adjustments to product
development so we can make the production process more efficient or manufacture to economies
of scale. The idea is to start advertising once the product is made and ready to ship. Our social
media presence will release updates and get the word out about our product before any money is
spent on advertisements. With a release date of November 27th, 2015 this will make a great
holiday season gift. Since this is a startup, the plan is to meet on at least a weekly basis. This
may seem to be micromanaging, but this is required for a startup as there is not much room for
error. In the meetings the internal discussions will consist of what needs to be done better. Does
Identity Green need to run more promotions or adjust the price? What is keeping consumers
from purchasing our product? In short, anything that can be done to make any process more
efficient that will benefit the customer. Another internal discussion would be how product
development is coming along. How often should we release a new product? Our external
discussions will most likely be with the bank that lent the money for Orb. This will require us to
keep track of expenses and show the lender an income statement and balance sheet. The lender
will give us ideas on how to maximize profits or what has worked for other startup companies.
The lender will want to know which products are the most profitable and if any money is being
lost along the way. The lender could help determine when a product should role out and how it
should be rolled out. They will also want to know if we plan on adding more product lines.
Control
How are consumers responding to the product? Consumers come first and with Orb, we
are trying to eliminate any cognitive dissonance that would be associated with the purchase of
our product. We want the best for the consumer as they make our business possible. In order to
see how consumers are responding to the product, we will use our market research. Test groups
do not always find the problems with a product which is why focus groups, surveys, and
interviews are important. The focus groups, set up across the U.S., will be used to gauge the
interest and overall satisfaction of the product. Our interview process will be most likely over the
phone, where Identity Green will if parents are pleased with the product as it is ultimately their
money. They will be able to tell us any difficulties with the product or something that they might
not deem fit for their child/children. Surveys will be the largest part of our market research and
control. There will be different surveys for each part of the process. A survey will be available
on the side homepage of the website where it will ask what they like and dislike about the
appearance of the website. Another survey will be offered after purchase to see if the consumer
thought the checkout process was easy enough and if they feel the website is secure. Two weeks
after they receive their Orb, there will be a email that is sent that is another survey. This is where
they will be able to let Identity Green know if they are satisfied with the product. We will take
away the first two surveys after a few months since this is when there will be enough data and
the little changes to the website should be done by then. Orb will not have product reviews on
our website as we feel this looks tacky. Instead, consumers will be able to review Orb on
FaceBook, Twitter, or Instagram. This will allow people to either leave long, short, or hashtag
reviews. With all of this data, Orb will have to adjust the marketing mix after the first couple
months. Is there an ingredient that is causing a lot of problems? Are we not offering enough
promotions for first time buyers? Are we going to rely on customer loyalty or do we need to
offer additional promotions to the loyal customer? Do we need to lower the price or does demand
exceed supply, resulting in the need for a price increase?
Conclusion
Orb lives by its mission statement of “Natural is Beautiful.” Identity Green strives to
provide organic makeup and accessories for tween girls who are interested in these types of
products or who may want to try something like this out for the first time. The Orb app will
greatly appeal to tween girls who are technologically savvy.
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