1. Marketing Plan
Valley Pharmacy
“A marketing plan is a written document that outlines in great detail what the organization hopes
to accomplish by following the plan. The plan should have specific strategies when implemented
and will help the organization achieve its goals.”
Mckinney, Paul (2014). What is a Marketing Plan? Education-Portal.com. Retrieved December 1,
2014.

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Table of Contents
I. Executive Summary………………………………………………………………………2
II. Company Description…………………………………………………………………….3
III. Strategic Focus and Plan
1. Mission/ Vision………………………………………………………………………..3
2. Goals…………………………………………………………………………………..3
3. Core Competencies and Sustainable competitive Advantage…………………..4
IV. Situational Analysis……………………………………………………………………….4
1. SWOT Analysis……………………………………………………………………….5
2. Industry Analysis……………………………………………………………………...6
3. Competitor Analysis…………………………………………………………………..6
4. Regional Analysis……………………………………………………………………..7
5. Company Analysis…………………………………………………………………….7
6. Customer Analysis…………………………………………………………………….8
V. Market-Product Focus
1. Marketing and Product Objectives…………………………………………………..8
2. Target Markets…………………………………………………………………………9
3. Points of Difference……………………………………………………………………9
VI. Marketing Program
1. Product Strategy……………………………………………………………………….10
2. Price Strategy…………………………………………………………………………..10
3. Promotion Strategy…………………………………………………………………….11
4. Place Strategy………………………………………………………………………….11

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I. Executive Summary
Gain a majority stake in the market share by bringing a convenient pharmaceutical shopping
experience to the residents and nearby population of Middleburgh. That is our primary goal at
Valley Pharmacy, and in the following sections of this marketing outline we will discuss how to
accomplish this goal. The sections will include the company’s focus and direction, mission,
vision, goals, situational analysis methods, and a detailed overview of the marketing plan. The
goal of this document is to give you, the reader an insight into the preparation, research, and
information obtained to fulfill our goal.

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II. Company Description
Valley Pharmacy was created by Akrum Mourad with the assistance of Matthew Avitable in
2014 in the city of Middleburgh. Middleburgh is located in the historic and beautiful Schoharie
County in upstate New York. Mr. Mourad is looking to bring a small town feel to his pharmacy
for the entire Schoharie County.
In the past three years there hasn’t been a pharmacy in the town at all and forced residents to
drive to neighboring towns for any medical goods. Those pharmacies that did reside in
Middleburgh were successful and benefitted the town immensely. That is the main goal of
Valley pharmacy as well, to ensure that residents of Middleburgh and nearby areas can access
medical goods conveniently. Valley pharmacy go through some adjusting as far as management
and customers, however, with local government support, emphasis on customer satisfaction,
and local desire for pharmaceutical goods, Valley Pharmacy will become an essential part of the
towns economy.
Strategic Focus and Plan
Mission/Vision
Our mission: To provide services that competitors cannot compete with at prices that
competitors cannot compete with, while keeping a personal touch at a convenient location.
Our mission statement summarizes the core elements of what this business will meant to this
town. Our business is proof that this small town still has aspirations to grow and prosper. Even
though this business virtually monopolizes the pharmacies in the Schoharie County, it will still
work as the best option for people considering pharmacies in nearby counties.
Accomplishing this mission will take carefully constructed goals, analysis, and marketing, all of
which will be clarified in the following outline.
Goals
Our goal is to "gain the majority stake in the market share, attract customers in a 12 mi radius,
with products not available nearby, and gain customer loyalty with a personal touch." This will
take at the least 3 years if all goals are met. The goals for the next 3 years are:
● Providing small town exceptional customer service
● Establishing positive consumer reputation in Schoharie county
● Utilize location to increase convenience
● Achieving a growth rate of 150% in annual earnings for the first three years
● Beating the prices of competitors in Cobleskill and Albany
Goals beyond 3 years:
● Expanding inventory and services for customers
● Expanding customer territory and demographic
● Practicing environmentally friendly techniques
● Maximizing efficiency of everyday operations
● Increasing hours of operation and employees

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Core Competencies and Sustainable Competitive Advantage
Valley Pharmacy has four key competencies. First, a rare asset to strengthen the business is a
delivery service for goods and flu shots. Our delivery service is unique and exclusive to Valley
Pharmacy making our business not just product oriented, but service oriented as well. We have
an advantage over our competitors because they are farther away and do not offer convenient
amenities. This is especially beneficial for the elderly population in Middleburgh and nearby
towns.
Our second advantage in many ways is the prices we offer on all store brand products. The
store brand products we sell are significantly lower than name brand, and other store brand
competitors.
Our third advantage caters to the demographic of people over 65 years old. Certain specialty
products are sold in the pharmacy which are rare and generally hard to come by. These goods
include walkers, portable toilets, and adult diapers, all of which are not common in pharmacies.
The fourth and final advantage happens to be the location of Valley Pharmacy. The pharmacy is
located on Main Street, the most popular street in town, near parking spaces, and most of all
closer to the customer demographic then competitors. The nearest competing pharmacy is a
15-20 minute drive, and for some people that live south of Middleburgh, the drive is as much as
twice as long.
Situation Analysis
Local owned Pharmacies have previously been successful in Middleburgh, especially for the
local convenience and the personal touch of a home business. Valley Pharmacy is on the rise
thanks to the detailed analysis of our situation. Analysis methods include SWOT, competitor
analysis, and demographic analysis, and were performed 9 years ago. They are highlighted in
this section.
The previous analysis of a local pharmacy and the other analyses we have done in this town
gives us a look into the future of Valley Pharmacy. Currently we face an up-hill battle changing
the routines people have been maintaining for three years. However, the demand for local
essentials is very high in Middleburgh, especially after the destruction of hurricane Irene.

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SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Opportunities, Weaknesses, Threats)
Strengths
● Generic products are inexpensive
● No local competition
● Personal Touch
● Prime location
● Available equity
○ Internal Analysis
● Management
○ Excellent people skills
○ Leadership experience
○ 13 years of pharmacy experience, part of National Association of Boards
of Pharmacy, registered pharmacist in New York and New Jersey
● Facility
○ Prime location
○ Customer continence based store layout
● Service
○ Offers variety of payment options and health care providers
○ Delivery service
● Finances
○ Accurate price strategy and Profit and Loss Statement
● Logistics
○ Automatic inventory reorder
○ Next day resupply from supplier
○ Located close to supplier
● Hiring Practices
○ Part time employees only
○ Looking to hire full time when business takes off
Opportunities
● New York State grant opportunities
● Large demographic of older people
● People always get sick
Weaknesses
● Name brand products are expensive
● Small staff
● Private company; less equity than competitors
● New business take time to turn a profit
Threats
● Buying power; smaller than competitors power
● Lack of parking in front of store
● Breaking existing habits; hasn’t been a pharmacy in town for 3 years
● Cobleskill business hub
● Name brand products are not as competitive

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Industry Analysis
As mentioned before, the town is being refurbished after the terrible hurricane Irene left it
severely damaged. There is a huge demand for local business of every kind to rebuild the great
town of Middleburgh. The nearby towns that did not take as much damage are benefitting from
the lack of business in Middleburgh.
Competitors in Cobleskill are rooted in there town and are functioning above expectations.
Cobleskill is a short 15 minute drive and has reliable pharmacies at a reasonable prices. Even
though several local customers have been going to towns like Cobleskill for three years, the
desire to support local business and refurbish the town is a priority for the local demographic.
Other competitors in the Schoharie County are large name brand pharmacies that don't provide
a warm home atmosphere and a personal touch with all their customers. With such larger
companies focused on turning a profit and not customer satisfaction and quality guaranteed, our
business will succeed in gaining customer loyalty for years to come.
We have also made a large effort to market our business to all potential customers in the local
area and they are south of Middleburgh where most of our customers are likely to come from.
Competitor Analysis
Our managers and researchers believe that our competitors do not have the same marketing
strategy as ours. All of our competitors are large companies with little desire to expand or
benefit the community further than provide the basic services. Valley Pharmacy is not that
linear.
We have a degree of pride that comes with our intentions on providing services to our
community that would make Middleburgh a better place. We are going to have to work harder
than the large companies, however, we are more than willing to because this business is built
by people that care about community. We hope to gain support so that we can continue to
better the beloved town of Middleburgh and all its inhabitants.
Valley Pharmacy has 5 competitors, all are geographically distant. There are 4 in Cobleskill (12
miles away) and 1 in Esperance (15 miles away). All the competitors are largely known and
popular, such as; Hannaford, Price Chopper, Wal-Mart, Rite Aid and Walgreens. All of which
have a significant reputation, larger floor space, competitive prices, and larger selection.
However, it is our hope that these amenities are not as important to the local population as a
personal touch and convenience service.

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Regional Analysis
For this selection of our Marketing Plan, Valley Pharmacy conducts economic, demographic, ad
housing research related to the growth and current state of our area. The focus is on
Middleburgh only.
According to our research, a 2005 census shows that the town of Middleburgh is 17%
composed of people 65+ years old compared to 15.5% in 2000. This statistic shows a growth of
elderly people, which means a greater demand for medication. Also Middleburgh has a
population of low to moderate income of 66.9%, showing that the beneficially low costs of
medication at Valley Pharmacies generic brand of medication will cater to that demographic of
people. Many of these people are recipients of HUD assistance, SNAP, HEAP, and Medicare.
We will not go into detail of the specific demographic of our target market. That can be found
here in the Customer Analysis and also the Target Market section.
Our immediate target market are the towns of Middleburgh, Schoharie, Fulton, Blenheim, and
Broome. Altogether, this area has over 5,000 residents within reasonable driving distance. In
previous years this population sustained both competing pharmacies and each was able to have
profitable balance sheet. Both closed due to non-compete buyout offers from larger chains.
Middleburgh is a peaceful small town, nestled in the Catskill Mountains, full of history and
beautiful scenery. Majority of the population or 63.5%, falls under the Midlife Junction segment
which is a suburban urbanization group that is "Traditional Living" oriented. This segment mainly
lives in single family houses and low-density apartments. The second important segment
composed of 35% of the population falls under the Rustbelt Traditions segment. This segment is
the backbone of the manufacturing and transportation industries that sustain the local economy.
The 1.5% not mentioned is not large enough to have a significant impact of our business.
Other details about our potential customer demographic can be found in the "Target Market"
section later on.
Company Analysis
For this section, we will expand on our intended methods to complete the goals we have set for
ourselves in the goals section of this document.
Our goals section states that we intend on "gaining a majority stake in the market share." We
are implementing retail politics to gain the support of the local community. We held a local
opening ceremony and invited the whole town to come and witness the mayor of the town
endorse our business and cut the ceremonial ribbon. We have also bought local radio air time
on WSD 1190 AM, and recorded several advertisements to be played 5 times a week for 3
months.
Our business is planning on achieving our goals through a close connection with the town
mayor. Mayor Avitable has helped organize a mail letter to all the residents of Middleburgh and

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the town of Schoharie. Avitable has also given added us to the online news in Middleburgh and
a town newsletter that the mayor sends out each week. Mayor Avitable has also been a strong
influence in local gossip and the "grapevine," spreading the word by any verbal means
necessary.
These strategies will also help us work towards our second goal of attracting customers within a
12 mile radius. Spreading the word through as many different possible ways is also our key way
of attracting locals and people in nearby villages. Once we get our message out to potential
customers, our personal touch and competitive prices will gain the loyalty of their business and
ensure we will meet our goals.
Customer Analysis
Unfortunately, since we have just started our business, we are not sure what our everyday
customer will be, however we can make a prediction. Our demographic research shown in the
Regional Analysis states that the elderly population is increasing heavily. It is safe to say that
there will be a demand for certain specialty goods that we can offer them conveniently. They will
also have regular medication that we can supply as well. That will probably the only everyday
customer unfortunately, however our analysis shows us other potential customers.
The majority of the population within a 12 mile radius is single family houses. The needs of any
family can stretch from over the counter pain medication, seasonal allergy medicine, flu
medication, and a large variety of health needs. Most of our sales will most likely come from this
demographic considering the fact that this is a larger percentage of the population.
Our customers can be read about in more detail in the target market section later on in this
document.
Market-Product Focus
Marketing and Product Objectives
This is an extremely important part of our business because we are a new business and most of
our customers have routinely gone to different towns for their pharmaceutical needs. Our
objectives are to inform people of the better option we offer, and gain loyal customers. This can
be achieved most effectively through the techniques we have stated in the Company Analysis
section of this document.
The overall technique is retail politics by attending local church dinners and spreading the word
and becoming a part of the community. The other marketing strategies are mailing letters to
residents, local news coverage, and a radio advertisement.

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Target Markets
Earlier in the Regional Analysis section of this Marketing Outline we mentioned the different
segments that the local people fall under. In this section I will outline those segments in detail.
63.5% of our population falls under the Midlife Junction segment. Composed mostly of people
employed in the labor force, and approaching retirement with about 30% already drawing
retirement income. This market is in the "Traditional Living" Life Mode and lives mostly in homes
but, many have moved into apartment buildings. The demographic is somewhere between
urban and rural. There median age is 40 years and average household income is $43,800.
35.0% of our population falls under the Rustbelt Traditions segment. They are the mainstay of
the older, industrial cities in the states along the Great Lakes and they are also in the
"Traditional Living" Life Mode. They reside in the "Urban Outskirts." This segment, as mentioned
earlier, are the backbone of the manufacturing and transportation industries that sustain the
local economy. The majority of the segment are single family homes with a median value of
$93,000. The median age is 36 years, with a mix of family and household types, including not
only married couples, but also single-parent households and singles? The median household
income is $43,800.
The last 1.5% of the segmented population is divided into "Salt of the Earth (1.2%)" and "Rooted
Rural (0.3%)." These two groups are a small part of the economy with blue collar jobs such as
agriculture. They have a median age of 40 years with median home values of $82,800 and
median household income of $47,400.
The most important data in this section is that 98.5% of the population is under the category of
"Traditional Living." These are the people that we will be targeting the most, the people with the
value for a personal touch from a business that not only offers a product but a service based of
the convenience of the customer as well.
Points of Difference
As described directly above, our service in a product based industry, is the pinnacle of our
business strategy. We offer a delivery of flu shots and other goods at the time that best fits the
customer.
Our business is also far different from the competitors because it is a locally run business and
not a large chain company. This is a smaller detail, yet an important one. The local community
is part of a segment that values more traditional locally owned, locally managed businesses with
a warm feel.
The final point of difference from our competitors is the location. Geographically we have an
advantage over them because they are much farther away. Conveniently located on the Main
Street of Middleburgh, local residents will reach this location easily and quickly.

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Marketing Program
Product Strategy
Valley Pharmacy offers:
● Vitamins and supplements
● General cleaning supplies
● bathroom supplies
● cosmetics
● geriatric products
● braces
● feminine hygiene products
● birth control
● allergy medication
● cold and cough medicine
● ointments and crèmes
● full service pharmacy
● full fax and copy service
● office supplies
● candy and drinks
Our local supplier, Kinray, stocks the store with nearly everything listed above. They stock it with
a name brand version and a Kinray version of the product at a price significantly lower than
name brand, making our prices extremely cheap and unbeatable. Kinray uses technology and
an automatic inventory tracking system that knows when our store is out of stock of any item
Kinray supplies. When the tracking system records the sale of the last piece of inventory being
sold of a certain product, they will schedule a delivery to come to the store and re-stock the
shelves.
Price Strategy
Our price strategy is only partly in our control, however the part that we do control we keep
reasonably priced compared to our competitors. The part of the store that we can control the
prices are only products that Kinray doesn't supply our store with. Unfortunately, that is the
majority of the inventory in the pharmacy. The margin on prescription drugs is very low, ranging
from zero to fifty percent. Everything that Kinray supplies is a preset price, and out of our
control. The average markup is 10% for all goods, and unfortunately we have a relatively low
amount of equity available. Our real competitive advantage are the store brand Kinray goods
compared to the name brand products and competitor price strategies.
Unfortunately again, because we are a relatively new business, information for this section is
scarce.

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Promotion Strategy
Our supplier Kinray also supply’s Valley Pharmacy with some promotional goods as well. They
deliver flyers and posters in addition to the actual goods. Aside from this marketing strategy, we
have our own strategy that has been mentioned earlier. This includes our own radio
advertisement, local news coverage, church dinners, business cards, and a Facebook page
updated with store news.
Place Strategy
Externally, our geographic location is superb, as mentioned earlier. Located in the center of
Middleburgh's Main Street, our store is seen constantly by hundreds of people a day. There is
large parking behind the store and a few parking spots out front. We are also located close to
our supplier, and as I mentioned they use an inventory tracking system to re-supply our store. It
just so happens that because we are so close to them, when the system notices we are out of
stock, we are re-supplied the next day.
Concerning the store internally, the layout is simple, easy to understand, and efficient. The
pharmacy is located at the back, the checkout is closer to the front. There are isles that go the
width of the store, this allows customers to walk to the back of the store in a nice straight line.
While walking they also get a look at the other products we offer. However, our location is not
limited to the geography of our location and the layout of the store. The beauty of offering a
delivery service expands our location to anywhere you need us to be, making our location
wherever the customer needs it to be.