Sample Marketing Plane

(Catering Industry)

Vision

Sumptuous Cuisine Catering seeks to promote itself as more than an upscale caterer for the Doeurveville area. With its upcoming addition of an upscale event venue, it will be able to offer full-service event planning and vendor services. Its image will be represented through visual elements and its high quality of service. Sumptuous Cuisine seeks to expand sales significantly, doubling over the next three years via implementation of this integrated marketing plan.

Goals

Personal Goals:

Limit Antero MacDougal's work to 50 hours per week to keep a sustainable work schedule CEO contribution to marketing efforts of at least ten hours per week

Business Goals:

Increase sales to $3 million in year three. Add 60 premium clients over the next three years (clients with at least three events in a year)

Strategic Goals:

Hold four non-profit events each year to build awareness Develop referrals from strategic partners Establish reputation through PR mentions

Tactical Goals:

Devote 30 hours per month to the marketing "theme" chosen Build Web traffic through search engine optimization, content syndication and advertising

Purpose

The purpose of the Sumptuous Cuisine Catering marketing plan is to systematize the addition of Sumptuous Ballroom, a new venue acquired by the business which will strengthen its offering. Ultimately, Sumptuous Cuisine Catering seeks to ease the worries of private and corporate event planners by providing an upscale one-stop-shop solution for catering, venue, and other vendors.

Picture

A client working with Sumptuous Cuisine Catering will quickly realize the direct benefits, which will translate to cost savings for corporate clients. Increasingly, the client will understand that their catering and planning functions can be outsourced and that they can achieve their goals through events more easily without expanding their in-house events department. In the end, clients will hold more events because their events are more successful and less expensive, leading to long-term relationships with Sumptuous Cuisine Catering and their venues.

Gap Dashboard

The key metrics will be pulled from the management information systems on a weekly basis and entered into the Gap Dashboard to see how they are shaping up to meet monthly goals. The Gap Dashboard represents some inputs and some outputs. Together, it is expected that meeting these numbers will contribute to the success in growing sales and profits for Sumptuous Cuisine Catering.

The growth represented will be achieved with the addition of more sales staff and the expanded options of services which can be sold, but primarily through the careful systematization of marketing systems detailed in this plan.

Gap DashboardYear 1 Year 2 Year 3

PersonalAntero MacDougal, marketing director, maximum hours 3,100 2,500 2,500 CEO marketing contribution 510 510 510

BusinessSales $2,251,998 $2,752,086 $3,346,846 Premium clients added 15 20 25

StrategicNon-profit events held 4 4 4 Referrals from strategic partners 84 100 120 PR mentions 37 36 40

TacticalHours devoted to marketing theme of month 1,530 1,530 1,530 Website hits 30,052 40,642 46,738

Ideal Customer

The ideal customer for Sumptuous Cuisine Catering is a Doeuvreville business with at least $10 million in annual revenues. Each year the company holds four quarterly all-company meetings for its ~100 employees, including a breakfast, presentation, lunch, additional presentations, and a reception at the end of the day. In addition, it holds an annual evening holiday party, periodic retirement parties, and client appreciation nights a few times a year.

The business has grown quickly and does not have an in-house facility suitable for large group events or luncheons. The company has an events department with a small staff (perhaps two employees) charged with planning company events, but they require additional assistance to provide contacts with vendors, recommendations, and day-of-event staffing. It is a great advantage to the company to choose a consistent, versatile catering venue for many of its events from both a financial perspective (they will save money by setting up recurring contracts with vendors) and a time perspective (the event planning department can stay small and focus on the strategic goals of each event rather than many of the details or venue scouting).

Market Description

The market analysis chart is provided for the Doeuvreville area in a radius of ten miles.

The corporate market is defined as businesses which hold at least one off-site event each year. Businesses often have audio-visual and public relations needs in concert with their events, which may serve a marketing function for the business. Whether entertaining the press, clients, or board members, businesses require professional execution, delicious food and drinks, and alignment between the event managers/caterers and their business's objectives for the event.

The private market includes households with a combined household income of over $80,000 per year (those most likely to throw an upscale event in a rented venue). This group puts a great deal of pressure on caterers and requires added attention, as lavish events may be uncommon for them. They require hands-on work and planning as well as expert advice and referrals throughout the process.

The non-profit market is defined as non-profit organizations which hold at least one off-site event each year. Very price conscious, the non-profit market looks for in-kind donations and discounted services whenever possible. Some non-profits realize the benefit of paying for great events which lead, in kind, to improved perception of the organization and donations, while others will take the lowest price available at the minimal quality level acceptable.

Sumptuous Cuisine has traditionally targeted the private and corporate markets primarily. They will continue this focus with the launch of Sumptuous Ballroom. Private clients, although requiring additional labor and handholding, can be charged somewhat higher rates than corporate clients. Furthermore, they help to "recession-proof" the business by providing steadier revenue streams in economic downturns.

Corporate business can lead to repeat engagements with clients who have annual or even quarterly events and are more valuable as clients to acquire than private clients, even though the margin percentages are lower on each event.

Non-profit clients generally seek lower cost providers and venues and, while they do seek out Sumptuous Cuisine without mcu marketing to that group, the company's bids are generally not accepted. Sumptuous Cuisine will continue to choose specific non-profits to sponsor events for, to create visibility for strategic purposes or based on the charitable interests of the owners, but will not market directly to non-profits.

Remarkable Difference

Sumptuous Cuisine is Doeuvreville's only one-stop-shop catering venue. We ensure that clients do not have to be event planners to host an event at our facility, as we will take care of everything from food and flowers to entertainment and audio-visual.

Differentiators

Sumptuous Cuisine Catering will create a temporary competitive edge in Doeuvreville by becoming a true "one-stop-shop" for all-inclusive events with the purchase of Sumptuous Ballroom. Clients will not have to work with multiple vendors, but can work directly with their assigned Sumptuous Cuisine Catering account executive for all of their event planning and vendor coordination needs.

Currently, competitors in the Doeuvreville area do not offer the same combination of upscale catering, track record, flexibility of cuisine, and a beautiful venue, which Sumptuous Cuisine Catering will be able to offer.

Core Strategy

Sumptuous Cuisine Catering, with the addition of Sumptuous Ballroom, will position itself as an upscale full-service event provider.

Measurable results that will show Sumptuous Cuisine Catering is succeeding to meet this goal include:

Average revenue per event increasing significantly as more services are provided through the company

Repeat clients accounting for an increasing portion of business over the first three years Conversion rate of leads increasing to 20% as more clients become flexible on their dates,

fewer unqualified prospects contact the company, and sales associates gain experience

Core Branding Elements

Sumptuous Cuisine Catering's brand includes the following key elements:

Logo Common color scheme Tagline

The logo will incorporate the name with a classical, elegant typeface and the image of a glass of champagne signifying special events. The color scheme of light green will be used on marketing materials. The tagline will be "Your guests will dine with elegance."

Sumptuous Ballroom is an important sub-brand, which will share some of the branding of Sumptuous Cuisine Catering, such as the color scheme, but will have a variation on the logo and tagline. The logo

will be the name Sumptuous Ballroom with the same champagne glass. The tagline will be "Your special event, hosted with elegance."

Product/Service Innovation

Suspects will be offered free newsletter with event tips and ideas.

Prospects will be offered free entry to quarterly open house events with multiple vendors from event industry.

Sumptuous Cuisine Catering offers the following products and services currently:

Event management ($40 per hour/manager) Coat-check, door check, and restroom attendants ($30 per hour/staff person) A variety of cuisine for breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and appetizers (range of per person prices) Non-alcoholic, wine, beer, and liquor beverage service ($35/hour/bartender and beverage

service prices from $5 per person for non-alcoholic to $20 per person for premium) Wait service ($30/hour/waiter)

Through subcontractors, Sumptuous Cuisine Catering offers:

Floral design (range depending on size Space design and decor (range depending on scope) Musicians and DJs (from $500 for DJ to $5000+ for multi-piece band) Event equipment and furniture rentals Cakes (range depending on size)

Through referrals, Sumptuous Cuisine Catering offers:

Lighting ($40/hour/lighting technician, rental fees vary) Audio-visual rentals and support ($50/hour/AV technician, rental fees vary) Event security ($35/hour/security guard) Valet service ($25/hour/valet + applicable parking facility charges)

Future plans include the following additions with the opening of Elegance Hall:

Hall rentals for half-day or full-day ($1,500 for half-day rentals to $2,500 for full-day with some holiday/peak day exceptions where prices can go up to $5,000)

Space rental with a per-head full-service catering fee or as a fee separate from catering, beverage, and other services (price varies)

Facility management service ($40/hour for facility manager)

Premium clients (those who hold three or more events per year) will be given contracts granting lower per-event fees in exchange for guaranteeing this number of events with deposits ahead of time. They will be given priority scheduling. These clients will generally generate $40,000 per year or more.

Price Rationale

When looking at event venues, companies and individuals are interested in the cost per guest primarily. They do not want to pay for more space than they need, which happens when they have fewer guests than the average capacity of a space. Prices depend on many variables, as event details can be customized to the individual client. For example, an average sit-down dinner may range from $75 to $200 per guest depending on the number of guests, extent of food options, and additional services selected.

The pricing model for Sumptuous Ballroom will include a premium over the average event space based on the high level of service, value-added event planning, and upkeep and beauty of the space. The hall will be priced similarly to upscale venues of similar usable square footage.

During the initial launch of the space, there will be introductory spring and summer rates to encourage early rentals (the normal rate of $2,500 will be discounted to $2,000 during this period). This will create a trial pricing period that coincides with a slow time for corporate events (in the summer)

Marketing Materials

Suspects that become prospects (generally identified by a site visit to Sumptuous Ballroom or appointment with a sales rep at their event site) will be presented with the marketing kit.

This kit will be flexible enough to allow for inserts based on the specific interests of the client. The kit will include:

Case statement - reason for Sumptuous Cuisine Catering's existence and opening of Sumptuous Ballroom

Difference summary - what it means to be a one-stop shop for Doeuvreville events Ideal client description - loose enough to incorporate a variety of clients, but focused on the

benefits to the client and their need to get help that makes their event planning process much easier

Story of founding of Sumptuous Cuisine Catering Service offerings with prices or price ranges where applicable Case studies on long-term clients, one-time events.Two case studies will be selected from a

library of ten, one page case studies covering private events, corporate events, meetings, dinners, receptions, etc. More case studies will be included if the client is an event planner or company that throws many types of events. Each includes a photo from the event.

Testimonials from past clients in the form of a few sentences or paragraphs of praise - Many have been collected already and an attempt will be made to collect a testimonial after every successful event with the post-event satisfaction survey.

Past client list, broken into categories of types of clients Frequently asked questions - covering policies of Sumptuous Cuisine Catering or Sumptuous

Ballroom. If the client is doing an off-site event, include just the former and if at Sumptuous Ballroom include the latter.

Event planning process checklist - steps of the event planning process including what is required of the client and what is provided by Sumptuous Cuisine Catering

Top two press articles about Sumptuous Cuisine Catering An applicable article from a recent newsletter which might be useful to the client

Web Plan

The Sumptuous Cuisine Catering website's purpose is to educate prospects and suspects about what Sumptuous Cuisine Catering does and encourage them to call to discuss a specific event they are planning. The website provides much of the detail available in the marketing kit, as well as a resources page with additional links and the archived newsletters (within a searchable database so specific articles of interest can be found).For example, users can find articles specifically about food presentation, choosing vendors, choosing a space, day-of-the event checklists, legal and insurance questions, etc. Most of the marketing kit itself can be downloaded as a PDF from the website.

Sumptuous Cuisine Catering will develop a website for Sumptuous Ballroom which is under the same domain, but contains information specific to the hall and its services. These pages will include photos of the space.

Social Media Plan

The e-newsletter will create content that can be syndicated to other locations on the web: blogs, industry websites, About.com, etc. The marketing director will submit this content to those locations to build additional incoming links to the website and to develop a greater professional reputation for the caterer, especially with locally-based sites.

The website will be promoted through search engine optimization efforts (the archived newsletters being part of that) and search engine marketing around event and rental keywords for the local area.

Lead Generation Plan

Sumptuous Cuisine Catering will generate leads from individuals and companies in the Doeuvreville area through the following methods:

Advertise in Doeuvreville Magazine, a local luxury-focused magazine with half-page color ads showing a photo of the new space

Promote the website through search engine optimization and search engine marketing around event and rental keywords for the local area

Email campaign of an e-brochure announcing the new space to all past and current clients Create and send press kit with information and details on the new space to key clients and press Create a featured listing on BizBash.com, a website devoted to event resources and venues

focused on the corporate market Promote the space at local summer business fair Sponsor four non-profit events per year, all chosen for the exposure they receive to the press

and to high net worth individuals Create Yellow Pages ad for both physical and online phone book

Submit website to event vendor and venue directories

Advertising

Media Tracking Kits Requested

Advertising MediumContact Name

Contact #

Distribution Cost/AdTotal CPM

Doeuvreville MagazineJanet Parks omitted 45,000 negotiable negotiable

Online phone directory and Yellow Pages J. Stewart omitted unlimited negotiable negotiable

BizBash.comBert Kenny omitted 35,000 negotiable negotiable

Other event space databasesna na na dependant dependant

Pay-per-click advertisingna na na dependant dependant

Referrals

Clients cannot be expected to refer their contacts to Sumptuous Cuisine Catering wholeheartedly until after they have held their first event and they are delighted with the results. After each event is completed, clients will be asked for referrals in a follow-up interview. Along with their post-event satisfaction survey, they will be sent a form to fill out with the names and contact information of these referrals. They will be encouraged to provide qualified referrals, as they will be offered half-off of a full-day rental of Sumptuous Ballroom (venue price only) for every referral that books an event of the same value. If three referrals book, that means an offer of one-and-a-half days free (or three half-days free). This will encourage past clients to use those credits (and spend additional money on catering, rentals, staff, etc. as needed).

Professional referral sources include PR companies, private event planners, and event vendors (entertainment providers, AV companies, rental companies, etc.). All of these complementary service providers are in a position to recommend caterers and venues to clients. The strategic partners for Sumptuous Cuisine Catering will be the ones most likely to refer clients, as they will seek to strengthen their relationship so that Sumptuous Cuisine Catering brings more clients to them as well.

Lead Conversion Plan

The Sumptuous Cuisine Catering e-newsletter is its primary method for repeated contact with prospects. Produced every other week, this newsletter will include:

Catering corner: Tips, recipes, or ideas from Sumptuous Cuisine Catering chefs Vendor profile: Feature on a preferred vendor or partner with Sumptuous Cuisine/Sumptuous

Ballroom Making the event special: Three new tips on making your event special - different focus each

week. Written by Sumptuous Cuisine Catering event planning staff What's New: Information and photos of events over the past month, changes in services and

options at Sumptuous Ballroom Other items of interest, press mentions of Sumptuous Cuisine Catering/Sumptuous Ballroom,

promotions, links to industry articles and reports

The newsletter is a collaboration of all staff members. It is the responsibility of each department to contribute ideas and language. The marketing director edits, collates, and sends the newsletter. The newsletter will be archived on the website to be seen upon demand and to build the website's content and search engine rankings.The template for the newsletter will be the same from month to month and will be developed by the marketing director.

Beyond the newsletter and leads that are generated through repeated contact with prospects, high-potential prospects will be contacted directly by sales director Rudy Electrum and two staff account managers who each handle a portfolio of clients. Rudy focuses on new business development and relies on the account managers to service, retain clients, and develop their business by encouraging them to use Sumptuous Cuisine for more events.

This sales strategy will continue with the opening of Sumptuous Ballroom. Rentals at the hall will be promoted by all staff when they work with clients. Salespeople will be added for Sumptuous Ballroom over the first three years of its operations as business grows.

Service Experience

The service experience is an integral part of marketing for Sumptuous Cuisine. Loyal clients will be invited to take part in periodic open houses. All clients will experience the same WOW process which will allow quality assurance as well as additional surprises which should delight the clients.

Loyalty Product/Service Offerings

Loyal clients (defined here as those who return to host at least three events) are to be treated as gold by Sumptuous Cuisine. They will be given priority scheduling, allowing them to reserve dates for a longer time than other leads.

At each quarterly open house event, one loyal client will be invited to speak briefly about their events, which will offer them a specific opportunity to promote their business to the attending businesses. This should be seen as an opportunity for the client and will certainly build the credibility of Sumptuous Cuisine at these open house events.

WOW Process

A client's sense of WOW will be created through a careful system of double-checks and added-value services, starting with initial planning and going through the event to post-event reviews. This system includes:

Customized internal event checklist of steps for the client (based off of a standard event planning template) with each item assigned to both an implementing employee and a supervisor who must double-check that the work has been done by its specified due date. This includes client written sign-off on key decisions.

At each client appointment, the associate or employee meeting with the client is required to present a useful article or idea to the client either for their business, their event, or of personal interest.

Each sales associate is empowered to offer a free service or upgrade of up to $250 in value to clients, based on the specific interest of the client.

Post-event, a direct interview will be held by phone to hear what went right and what may have gone wrong. A post-event satisfaction survey is sent to get candid responses (as much as possible) on the services received and testimonials from clients.

Problems with events that are the fault of Sumptuous Cuisine Catering will be apologized for with gifts, direct apologies, credits, or even partial refunds to the client.

Clients will each be sent a set of fine chocolates as a thank you gift for each event. After a second event, the type of gift will be varied and of a greater value. Gifts will increase in value with each subsequent event held by a client.

Marketing Calendar

The marketing and sales director, Antero MacDougal, will work full-time on marketing activities. Initially during the launch of Sumptuous Ballroom, these will be heavily focused on the milestones listed in the table. Going forward, this work will shift to a combination of monitoring and maintaining all marketing systems along with the specific monthly projects listed on the monthly table. Each will be given at least 30 hours per month in order to provide specific time to revamp and review systems.

On a weekly basis, marketing is reviewed at the all-company meeting within a 45 minute period. If there are serious gaps between plans and actual results (either negative or positive) MacDougal will set up an additional inquiry meeting with the relevant staff or vendors to examine further and come up with a plan for rectification or a recommendation to adjust goals.

Monthly

Months Marketing Theme

1 Referral system revamping

2 Testimonial development

3 Case study revision/writing

4 Advertising media review and upgrades

5 Online advertising review and upgrades

6 Service process review

7 Service innovation focus

8 Client renewal focus - loyalty efforts, thank yous, etc.

9 Newsletter format and content revamping

10 Open house format review and planning

11 Non-profit event strategic focus

12 Goal setting for next year

Milestones

Advertising Start Date End Date Budget Manager DepartmentSumptuous Ballroom photo shoot 2/15/2010 3/1/2010 $3,000 JR MarketingDoeuvreville Magazine new ad 3/15/2010 4/15/2010 $5,000 JR MarketingOther local ads with new space announcement 3/15/2010 4/15/2010 $2,000 JR MarketingTotal Advertising Budget $10,000 PR Start Date End Date Budget Manager DepartmentWrite press release for Sumptuous Ballroom 1/12/2010 2/11/2010 $200 JR (w/ copy writer) MarketingContact press to pitch articles re: Sumptuous Ballroom

1/12/2010 2/11/2010 $0 JR Marketing

Total PR Budget $200 Event Marketing Start Date End Date Budget Manager DepartmentCreate open house guest list 4/1/2010 4/15/2010 $1,000 JR MarketingInvite and advertise first open house 4/15/2010 5/15/2010 $1,000 JR MarketingHold first open house 5/15/2010 5/15/2010 $5,000 RG OperationsChoose annual non-profit events 5/1/2010 5/15/2010 $0 JR MarketingHold first non-profit event 8/1/2010 8/1/2010 $0 RG OperationsSummer business fair plan and attend 7/9/2010 7/20/2010 $5,000 JR MarketingTotal Event Marketing Budget $12,000 Web Development Start Date End Date Budget Manager DepartmentRevise online ads and listings 3/1/2010 4/1/2010 $500 JR MarketingRevise pay-per-click campaign 3/1/2010 4/1/2010 $0 JR MarketingSearch engine optimization campaign revamp 3/1/2010 4/1/2010 $3,000 JR (via vendor) MarketingResubmit to event databases 3/1/2010 4/1/2010 $0 JR MarketingRevise website with Sumptuous Ballroom 2/1/2010 2/28/2010 $10,000 JR MarketingTotal Web Development Budget $13,500 Other Start Date End Date Budget Manager DepartmentRevise marketing kit 3/1/2010 4/1/2010 $1,000 JR MarketingUpload new marketing kit to website 4/1/2010 4/1/2010 $0 JR MarketingTotal Other Budget $1,000

Totals $36,700

Critical Numbers

The critical numbers for Sumptuous Cuisine Catering will be tracked with the following systems:

Salesforce.com database - Tracking leads, referrals, conversion rate, etc. QuickBooks - Tracking revenue, transaction size, number of premium clients, etc.

Integrated reports will be generated on a weekly basis to see this data in the Gap Dashboard mentioned earlier.

Sales Forecast

Renovation of Sumptuous Ballroom will occur in the first three months of 2010, preparing for a March 15 opening of the space.

Off-site food and beverage has traditionally been the largest revenue stream for Sumptuous Cuisine Catering, as this is the driver behind all of the other revenue streams. Subcontracted services, staffing, referral fees, and event planning are only offered when there is a core food and beverage package sold for an event. The F&B for Sumptuous Ballroom events has been separated out for separate tracking, going forward, as have venue rentals of Sumptuous Ballroom.

A typical event is a $10,000 food and beverage package with $5,000 in subcontracted services, $8,000 in staffing, and $1,500 in event planning fees. Typical events at Sumptuous Ballroom will also incur a hall rental of $2,500 as a base fee.

The F&B cost is low, at 25% of the combined off-site and Sumptuous Ballroom F&B revenues. Ingredients are purchased in bulk whenever possible at wholesale rates.A high markup can be earned on food and an even higher markup on liquor, which can sometimes cost as little as 15% of sales.

The cost of hourly event staff (bartenders, waiters, coat check, door check, restroom attendants, event managers, etc.) is recognized on the P & L statement under other cost of sales as it is subcontracted services and not a cost of inventory.

Sumptuous Ballroom revenues will scale up sharply in the first year as the space is better utilized, but this growth will level off in years two and three, as not all event dates are as desirable to clients and the most popular dates will book first. This projection incorporates the objective that the hall be utilized on 50% of days by the end of year three.

Sumptuous Cuisine Catering will continue to operate as the in-house caterer to Corporate Hall. They believe that this business line of events will continue even with the addition of its own space, because Corporate Hall hosts primarily smaller meetings than can be accommodated at Sumptuous Ballroom. Sumptuous Cuisine Catering considers the two spaces to not be in direct competition. The relationship with Corporate Hall will allow Sumptuous Cuisine to refer smaller meetings to that space, perhaps helping to build business at Corporate Hall through new inquiries.

Sales ForecastYear 1 Year 2 Year 3

SalesOff-Site Food & Beverage $784,537 $941,444 $1,129,733 Sumptuous Ballroom F & B $79,687 $103,593 $134,671 Subcontracted Services $354,801 $425,761 $510,913 Hall Rentals $168,750 $236,250 $307,125 Staffing $648,168 $783,778 $948,303 Referral Fees/Commissions $108,028 $130,630 $158,051 Event Planning $108,028 $130,630 $158,051 Total Sales $2,251,998 $2,752,086 $3,346,846

Direct Cost of Sales Year 1 Year 2 Year 3Food and Beverage Cost $216,056 $261,259 $316,101 Other $0 $0 $0 Subtotal Direct Cost of Sales $216,056 $261,259 $316,101

Marketing Expense Budget

Regular marketing expenses will increase each year by about 5% with the exception of the "Service Process" category, which increases faster as it moves in tandem with the number of clients.

Event marketing includes non-profit events (space and some services will be donated, but attempt will be made to break even on out-of-pocket expenses for these events), summer business fair, and quarterly open house events.

One-time costs associated with Sumptuous Ballroom in the milestones table are not represented here generally.

Marketing Expense BudgetYear 1 Year 2 Year 3

Advertising $27,000 $28,350 $29,768 PR $2,400 $2,520 $2,646 Web Development $36,000 $37,800 $39,690 Event Marketing $33,000 $34,650 $36,383

Service process (thank yous, etc) $7,959 $9,550 $11,460 Other $6,000 $7,200 $7,560

------------ ------------ ------------Total Sales and Marketing Expenses $112,359 $120,070 $127,506 Percent of Sales 4.99% 4.36% 3.81%

Key Marketing Metrics

Leads will be the driver behind most growth. They will lead directly to referrals and testimonials (an average of one referral and one testimonial from each converted lead). Premium clients (those planning at least three events per year) will grow consistently as a group.

Due to practice and focus both the average transaction per customer and the conversion rate are expected to increase over the next three years.

Key Marketing MetricsYear 1 Year 2 Year 3

Revenue $2,251,998 $2,752,086 $3,346,846 Leads 1,929 1,489 1,529 Leads Converted 9.25% 11.00% 12.00%Avg. Transactions/Customer 1 1 1 Avg. $/Customer $10,000 $11,000 $12,000 Referrals 360 328 367 PR Mentions 37 36 40 Testimonials 180 164 183 Number of new "Premium Clients" 15 20 25

Marketing Training Game

Marketing training will include the following components:

New employee orientation: Consisting of five, two hour sessions covering 1) Core strategy and differentiation; 2) Lead generation efforts; 3) Lead conversion methods and newsletter; 4) Marketing kit and materials, website; 5) Service experience and methods. Additional practice with each component is necessary, but these ten hours will be a standard process to start.

Weekly marketing meeting: A 90 minute weekly all-company meeting will have 45 minutes devoted to marketing and 45 minutes devoted to operations. This will be a time to introduce new tips and marketing best practices, to generate ideas from all employees, and to review goals and whether they have been met or not, and why.

Appendix

Sales Forecast

Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5 Month 6 Month 7 Month 8 Month 9 Month 10 Month 11 Month 12

Sales

Off-Site Food & Beverage 0% $50,000 $52,500 $55,125 $57,881 $60,775 $63,814 $67,005 $69,685 $72,472 $75,371 $78,386 $81,522

Sumptuous Ballroom F & B 0% $0 $0 $5,000 $5,500 $6,050 $6,655 $7,321 $8,053 $8,858 $9,744 $10,718 $11,790

Subcontracted Services 0% $25,000 $25,750 $26,523 $27,318 $28,138 $28,982 $29,851 $30,747 $31,669 $32,619 $33,598 $34,606

Hall Rentals 0% $0 $0 $5,000 $7,500 $11,250 $13,750 $16,250 $18,750 $21,250 $23,750 $25,000 $26,250

Staffing 0% $37,500 $39,375 $45,094 $47,536 $50,119 $52,852 $55,744 $58,303 $60,998 $63,836 $66,828 $69,983

Referral Fees/Commissions 0% $6,250 $6,563 $7,516 $7,923 $8,353 $8,809 $9,291 $9,717 $10,166 $10,639 $11,138 $11,664

Event Planning 0% $6,250 $6,563 $7,516 $7,923 $8,353 $8,809 $9,291 $9,717 $10,166 $10,639 $11,138 $11,664

Total Sales $125,000 $130,750 $151,773 $161,581 $173,038 $183,670 $194,752 $204,972 $215,580 $226,599 $236,806 $247,478

Direct Cost of Sales Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5 Month 6 Month 7 Month 8 Month 9 Month 10 Month 11 Month 12

Food and Beverage Cost $12,500 $13,125 $15,031 $15,845 $16,706 $17,617 $18,581 $19,434 $20,333 $21,279 $22,276 $23,328

Other $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Subtotal Direct Cost of Sales $12,500 $13,125 $15,031 $15,845 $16,706 $17,617 $18,581 $19,434 $20,333 $21,279 $22,276 $23,328

Marketing Expense Budget

Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5 Month 6 Month 7 Month 8 Month 9 Month 10 Month 11 Month 12

Advertising $3,000 $3,000 $3,000 $0 $0 $0 $3,000 $3,000 $3,000 $3,000 $3,000 $3,000

PR $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200

Web Development $3,000 $3,000 $3,000 $3,000 $3,000 $3,000 $3,000 $3,000 $3,000 $3,000 $3,000 $3,000

Event Marketing $0 $7,000 $0 $0 $7,000 $5,000 $0 $7,000 $0 $0 $7,000 $0

Service process (thank yous, etc) $500 $525 $551 $579 $608 $638 $670 $704 $739 $776 $814 $855

Other $500 $500 $500 $500 $500 $500 $500 $500 $500 $500 $500 $500

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Total Sales and Marketing Expenses $7,200 $14,225 $7,251 $4,279 $11,308 $9,338 $7,370 $14,404 $7,439 $7,476 $14,514 $7,555

Percent of Sales 5.76% 10.88% 4.78% 2.65% 6.53% 5.08% 3.78% 7.03% 3.45% 3.30% 6.13% 3.05%

Key Marketing Metrics

Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5 Month 6 Month 7 Month 8 Month 9 Month 10 Month 11 Month 12

Revenue $125,000 $130,750 $151,773 $161,581 $173,038 $183,670 $194,752 $204,972 $215,580 $226,599 $236,806 $247,478

Leads 125 131 152 144 154 163 156 164 172 181 189 198

Leads Converted 8.00% 8.00% 8.00% 9.00% 9.00% 9.00% 10.00% 10.00% 10.00% 10.00% 10.00% 10.00%

Avg. Transactions/Customer 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

Avg. $/Customer $10,000 $10,000 $10,000 $10,000 $10,000 $10,000 $10,000 $10,000 $10,000 $10,000 $10,000 $10,000

Referrals 20 21 24 26 28 29 31 33 34 36 38 40

PR Mentions 8 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

Testimonials 10 10 12 13 14 15 16 16 17 18 19 20

Number of new "Premium Clients" 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2

Gap Dashboard

Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5 Month 6 Month 7 Month 8 Month 9 Month 10 Month 11 Month 12

Personal

Antero MacDougal, marketing director, maximum hours

280 280 260 260 260 260 250 250 250 250 250 250

CEO marketing contribution 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 43

Business

Sales $125,000 $130,750 $151,773 $161,581 $173,038 $183,670 $194,752 $204,972 $215,580 $226,599 $236,806 $247,478

Premium clients added 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2

Strategic

Non-profit events held 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0

Referrals from strategic partners 4 5 5 6 6 7 7 8 8 9 9 10

PR mentions 8 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

Tactical

Hours devoted to marketing theme of month 128 128 128 128 128 128 128 128 128 128 128 128

Website hits 2,000 2,080 2,163 2,250 2,340 2,433 2,531 2,632 2,737 2,847 2,960 3,079

Read more: http://www.mplans.com/catering_and_ballroom_rental_marketing_plan/appendix_fc.php#ixzz14KjElYzX