Example Marketing Plan - Mosaic Buttons

The following market plan is an actual plan written by a woman-owned business. Names of some businesses and cities have been fictionalized at the owner's request.

Mosaic intends to supply Michigan with the most visually interesting buttons available today. They will delight their users and provide a springboard for creative activity. Mosaic believes artistic expression enhances life. It appreciates the skill of human hands and the sensitivity of human hearts. It regards buttons as small works of art in which we are able to see ourselves.

A very simple need which Mosaic addresses is the need to have fun! Buttons are wonderfully expressive objects that add unexpected vitality to clothing. Apparel manufacturers are witnessing a competitive advantage to using fun and distinctive buttons. Mosaic makes such buttons available to home sewers and others involved in the needle arts. Providers of interior design services are also served by Mosaic in their efforts to create custom bedding, slip covers and window treatments.

With growth, Mosaic will also establish a working studio for the surface design of fabric. Workshops for the painting, dyeing and printing of fabric will be offered throughout the year. These will be conducted by the sole proprietor of Mosaic and by guest artists with particular expertise.

Mosaic opened for business on August 5, 1996, with an inventory valued at ৳1,050. In the first eight months of operation another ৳1,290 of inventory was added. Sales totaled ৳1,376 for the same period with the average monthly total being ৳172. Sales have increased steadily over this eight month period.

Organizations and businesses served include:

Funding for the company has come from the personal income of the sole proprietor and from the income generated by sales. Additional funding is sought for the expansion of inventory and for advertising.

PRODUCT OR SERVICE DESCRIPTION

All garments benefit from buttons that contribute to their character. Mosaic offers an opportunity to reinvent ready-made clothing and engages people in a creative process. Buttons are a form of ornament. They allow people to express their personal style in a novel manner.

"Makers" of garments who have invested a great deal of time and energy are unwilling to use buttons with nothing to offer but an attractive price. These people are looking for the perfect button for their creation. Mosaic helps people accomplish this and brings the entire process to a satisfying conclusion.

The charm of buttons is increasingly evidenced in the home, where they are used as a design element on pillows, bedding and window treatments.

Buttons are often purchased not for reasons of utility, but simply for their beauty. Collections of antique buttons represent a significant investment and historically rise in value.

Mosaic is currently located in a second floor suite in the Tower Building. With growth, it would like to relocate to the building's south end. The benefits of this location are first floor access, room for expansion, higher visibility from large arched windows, more convenient parking, closer proximity to area retailers and reasonable cost.

The availability of the serger may account for these increases. This machine seams, overcasts and trims all in one motion, cutting sewing time in half. Also, today's sewing is technologically advanced, eliminating the need to thread needles and trim excess thread. Computer memories have also enhanced the creative potential of the sewing machine.

Sewing is one of several creative industries served by Mosaic. As this country reassesses its priorities, home oriented leisure activities enjoy increased levels of interest. Gallop Organization's 1990 report on leisure trends indicated that sewing/knitting ranks fourth in activities pursued by the general public.

Throughout Michigan, there are guild chapters for sewing, weaving, knitting (machine and hand), embroidery and quilting. Michigan also hosts a chapter of the National Button Society, an association of button collectors.

This profile is supported by direct observation of Mosaic's customers.

People who pursue the creative industries value objects made by hand and purchase them for themselves, their friends and their families. They are deeply involved in home-based leisure activities such as reading, gardening and exploring the culinary arts.

Within the Altamount-Fairhills-Levine DMA, 23 percent of households sew and 20 percent practice a form of needlework. This is slightly above the national average and compares favorably to the City of Indianapolis, which supports Buttons Galore, a similar enterprise with an annual trade of ৳500,000.

A larger percentage of people from the Altamount-Fairhills-Levine DMA attend cultural events and patronize fine art and antique galleries than from Indianapolis. The median income for this area is also slightly higher than that of Indianapolis.

Mosaic also serves design businesses that focus on residential interiors. Buttons are used increasingly in the home as an element of interest and design.

The Threadminder offers a limited selection of unusual buttons purchased from the same suppliers as Mosaic for the same price. They offer one-stop shopping for the knitting and weaving community, but buttons are not their focus. Unless shoppers were looking for yarn, they would not know that buttons were available at the Threadbender. Mosaic will compete by focusing on buttons and by offering a broader and more exciting selection.

The Threadminder develops their market by offering classes in knitting and weaving. Participants who love fiber and the textile arts will be open to exploring other avenues of expression. Mosaic will offer instruction in those areas.

Mosaic will also compete on the basis of location. It is centrally located with easy access from all parts of the city.

The Fabric Alley in Cashill, Michigan, appeals to serious sewers who are given to spending considerable sums on fine fabric. They offer a very broad selection of buttons in the same price range as Mosaic. Sewers can locate buttons and fabric in one location. However, access to the buttons is difficult. They are poorly displayed and shoppers must be very determined to locate buttons they find attractive. Once spotted, the clerk must retrieve the buttons from stock before the customer can fully assess them. This is both frustrating and time consuming.

Buttons are displayed prominently at Mosaic in a manner consistent with their quality and character. Again, Mosaic will compete by focusing on buttons. The company will also compete on the basis of location. Those whose needs are met by the local fabric stores and who may be unwilling or unable to travel across the state will depend on Mosaic for distinctive buttons.

Twelve Buttons and Renewal Buttons offer a product impressive in its range of quality, price and character. They are both centrally located in the metropolitan Chicago area. They are the model upon which Mosaic patterns itself.

Mosaic will entice fans away from the Chicago shops by diligently procuring buttons of high originality. Independent buttonsmiths will be showcased whenever possible. Mosaic will also maintain a large collection of vintage and antique buttons. Relationships with the local interior design trade are also vital to success.

Indirect competition comes from the local chain stores: Northeast Fabrics, Wisconsin Fabrics, Joan's Fabrics and Fieger's Fabrics. Mosaic offers buttons which cannot be found in these stores and which are priced generally higher. Mosaic will attract customers who may be willing to spend more on buttons than on fabric to achieve a higher level of style and expression.

Strategies for achieving this goal include:

Another goal which Mosaic needs to address is that of building inventory. Summer months will allow a greater portion of the company's resources to be directed toward augmenting inventory.

The average retail price of hand-crafted and vintage buttons is ৳4.25. Manufactured buttons range in price from ৳1.45 to ৳2.00, depending on what material is used. Buttons of natural materials are more expensive.

In the eight months Mosaic has been in business, the best selling button has been a natural corozzo nut button that sells for ৳1.20.