I wrote my start-up business plan for entrepreneurship class. But, \"description
ID: 333456 • Letter: I
Question
I wrote my start-up business plan for entrepreneurship class.
But, "description of product and services" is still blank.
"marketing and sales strategy" has some info but could use more.
Please add more information and write in detail.
Executive Summary
According to Wisconsin Farming bureau there are 77,000 farms in Wisconsin with a total of 14.4 million acres of land and agriculture in Wisconsin provides $88.3 billion to the states economy. With the advent of the organic foods trend younger households have seen a 68% increase in gardening. These farms and gardeners require soil replenishment yearly EcoPost seeks provide that service. While also recycling food waste which is a huge problem in America consumers have the added benefit of helping to save the environment. In doing this EcoPost LLC offers farmers and gardeners an environmentally friendly alternative to soil enrichment we offer not only an organic product, but also a product that helps cut down on food waste. We are environmentally friendly on both sides of our supply chain.
Our clients are gardeners and farmers who seek natural and organic methods to enrich their soils in order to better their crops. Our operations are located in Heartland, WI and we seek to help Wisconsin farmers and gardeners in finding greener alternatives to soil enrichment while bettering the environment by recycling food waste.
Currently there are other a few composting companies within Wisconsin, but none of these companies have reached out to big named grocers or multiple restaurants. They do pick up services weekly or monthly to individuals or businesses that contact them, by going out and creating partnerships with grocers such as Walmart, Roundy’s, and Sendik’s we ensure a steady supply and gain free publicity by grocers promoting their efforts against food waste utilizing our services.
EcoPost relies on outreach to market our product within our target market by maintaining our presence at farmers market, farming expositions, and the Wisconsin Gardening Club Federations. We seek to engage our consumers directly we build a real relationship with our customers. We pride ourselves in developing a superior product that is not only environmentally friendly, but also environmentally conscious. By engaging our consumers directly, we not only build a better relationship but also are able to address their needs and concerns which helps foster customer loyalty.
The corporate structure of EcoPost consists of an owner Abdul Guled, and four-part owners: Kyle Komplin, Qilin Jian, Hyung Suk Ji, and Tamara Alexander. [Enter individuals bios]
Industry and outlook
The compost industry is on the rise with the 2008 recession behind us and not a lot of manufacturing companies in the compost market allows for less competition. As stated by USCC Executive Director Frank Franciosi “Our record results indicate that the composting industry is growing and interest in expanding it has never been greater,”. Also, with the growth of urban gardening and the need for more organic and healthy foods consumers have begun to grow their own fruits and vegetables. This bodes well for our company since we promote organic materials with natural nutrients for soil development and to help grow organic and healthy foods. With consumers leaning more towards organic foods the need for using natural fertilizer has increased and the market has not seen much new competition. To this end our company takes advantage of two critical needs. First using organic materials to increase richness of soil and give better yields of crops. Secondly to reduce and reuse organic waste which helps better our environment and eliminates food waste. Based on the interviews we conducted this is a growing market with a lot of potential for entry and market share.
Now that people have a stronger sense of protection of the environment and are aware of the impact of the environment on society and humanity. In agriculture, the most common chemical fertilizer is inorganic fertilizer. The factory produces these fertilizers. Relevant investigations have shown that the utilization rate of chemical fertilizers is low, and the loss rate is high, which not only leads to soil pollution in farmland, but also causes organic infection to water bodies, eutrophication pollution, and even groundwater pollution and air pollution. Our company respects organic fertilizers. Raw materials for making fertilizers are made of natural materials that are readily decomposed. In this way, our products can meet the needs of consumers and protect our environment. Processing the organic waste into compost takes time and lots of equipment, but the once the process is started it becomes very profitable and there is little to no cost of sales. Most of the competitors in this market don’t not reach out to large grocers and do not partner with waste management instead they employ their own trucks for pickups and their services must be sought out. EcoPost reaches out to grocers and local waste management to effectively intercept tons of organic waste meant for landfills in order to process our product while also reducing food waste.
Description of Products and Services
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Marketing and Sales Strategy
Marketing Outreach
Summary of Market Research
1. Of the 25 farmers interviewed
* 100% of them use or have used compost
* 16% use all organic materials to grow their crops
* 84% do not use organic materials (due to costs)
* 100% of farmers will not pay more than $3 (per cu ft.)
* 86% of farmers favor recycled organic compost over yard trimming compost
* 72% of farmers would like to have a compost supplier
* 84% of farmers would like their compost delivered
* 12% of farmers compost their entire land
* 60% of farmers want to reduce food waste
2. Of the 25 gardeners interviewed
* 40% use compost
* 2% do not use compost
* 58% have use every other season/depending on crop
* 24% use 0-2 bags of compost
* 16% use 2-4 bags of compost
* 32% use 4-6 bags of compost
* 16% use 6-8 bags of compost
* 12% more than 8 bags of compost
* 96% of gardeners use organic material
* 4% of gardeners do not use organic material (ammonia fertilizer)
* 80% of gardeners would pay $3+ for organic compost
* 96% of gardeners favor recycled organic material
* 100% of gardeners want to reduce food waste
3. Of The 10 grocers interviewed
* 80% want to eliminate food waste
* 70% believe their consumers are environmentally conscious
Explanation / Answer
i) Product description
The Compost will be packed according to the needs of the target market. Since the target market contains both Small time gardners and farmers, the product will be packaged in 1,5 and 50 Kilos respectively.
Compost mainly contains Pottassium,Nitrogen and Phosphorus, the 3 key nutrients that plant needs to survive. In addition the other nutrients such Calcium, Manganese and Carbon,Boron, copper,Iron. etc are also present. Compost also regulates soil ph, regulate moisture, encourage microbes.
The product pack and the associated pamphlet should contain details of all the nutrients present in the Eco post and how each of the nutrients will aid in the growth of the plant.
Unlike chemical fertilizers which produce each nutrients separately, this cannot be done for compost based fertilizers. Compost will be produced and packaged as single product only, which contains all the vital nutrients.
ii) Service description
a) A free visit to the gardeners and farmers site to analyse the soil.
b) Free Collection of soil for the purpose of testing in a laboratory.
c) Testing of soil in a lab for a fee,Soil testing would determine what nutrients are depleted in the soil.
d) Providing the report from the Lab as a soil report card and suggesting the best suitable soil replenshiment product by Eco post ,and also the quantity of eco post that needs to be given to the soil.
e) A weekly or monthly check up during the growing season, to check how well the crops are growing.
f) Transportation of bulk orders to the field of farmers from the manufacturing site.
iii) Marketing and sales stratergy
The markting and sales stratergy is based on proper segmentation of market and 4 P's of marketing.
1) Segmentation
The segements which Eco post is targeting is Both small time gardners and Farmers. The needs of both the customers is different, and the product shall cater to both the segments needs
2) Product
a) Small time gardeners will be targeted with 1 and 5 kilo packages, where as farmers will be offered 50 kilo bags
3) Price
a) Pricing plays a very important role because, the targeted segment is price sensitive. Pricing shall be in such a way that it will be lesser than the chemical fertilizers initially. This pricing stratergy is adopted because to capture the existing market from chemical fertilizers and encourage new users to think of alternative product to chemical fertilizers.
b) Discounts will be given for bulk buyers.
c) To increase repeat purchase coupons will be provided for clients, which can be redeemed on a future purchase
d) Advance booking , by taking half the amount should be encouraged ,so that future sales happens.
4) Promotion
a) Keep a list of the prospects, and keep them informed about the product. The arrival of the product should be intimated for the prospectus 3 months in advance via teaser campaigns and mailers
b) Sufficient advertising presence will be built via Local radio and TV stations, farmers markets, bill boards,pamphlets etc
c) Social media, email marketing,search engine marketing will be used to build Eco post presence in digital map
d) Progressive farmers will be taken for a free manufacturing visit, and they will be used for positive word of mouth marketing.
5) Place
a) The product will be made available in a oultet present in the maufacturing premises
b) along with it the product will be made available in local farmers markets, community centers etc.
c) Online portal should be developed where the customers can order for eco-post product.