Gingersnap Final

[COMMUNICATION LAUNCH PLAN] 1
Lauren Greenfield

2
Index
Business Overview 3
Communication Launch Plan 4
Appendix A
News Release 16
Appendix B
News Release 17
Appendix C
Take-out Menu 18
Appendix D
Website 19
Crisis Management 20
Appendix E
Apology Letter 25
Media Plan 26
Appendix F
Menu Change 32
Employee Communication Plan 33
Appendix G
Employee Survey 40
Consumer Plan 41
Appendix H
T-Shirt Design 49
Appendix I
Coupon 50
Appendix J
Punch Cards 50

3
Gingersnap is a bakery & café that specializes in baked goods, breakfast, lunch and
dinner options. Located in Rockford, IL, Gingersnap will be a local business that will thrive
on its customers wanting delicious baked goods and sandwiches made on fresh daily
homemade bread. Open between the hours of 6 am-8 pm Monday-Saturday and 7 am-7 pm
on Sunday’s, Gingersnap will be able to provide reasonable hours to the people of the
Rockford area. Gingersnap will be able to seat around 30 people at any given time.
Gingersnap will focus mainly on carryout orders of sandwiches and desserts. If you choose
to not carry out, then one of the two waitresses working will assist you and bring you a
menu. While looking at the menu, you will see a variety of options such as traditional
sandwiches and a different sandwich special everyday. All of the sandwiches have the
option of being served on gluten free bread in order to accommodate more customers and
their dietary needs. If you come in for lunch during the weekend and you have your kids
with you, they can order off of the kids’ menu if they wish. Every dine-in or carryout order
will be served with a tiny, snack-size gingersnap cookie. Hopefully, this will entice them to
order more desserts or take some home with them.
In the bakery portion of Gingersnap, there will always be gingersnaps for sale.
There will be cookies, danishes, bagels, and cakes. There will also be gluten free cookies
and cakes. All of the gluten free items at Gingersnap will be more expensive compared to
the rest of the menu. Sandwiches will be $2 extra, cakes will be an extra $1.50 per slice and
cookies will be an extra $1. If you come in during the early hours of the day, you will also
have the option to order a breakfast sandwich/bagel made for you while you eat a danish
and sip on some piping hot freshly brewed coffee. These delicious breakfast sandwiches
and bagels will only be served until 10 am and then the regular menu will begin. The same
menu will be used for lunch and for dinner. Because Gingersnap will not be open very late,
there is no reason to have a separate menu for lunch and dinner. When customers need to
use the restroom, they are located in the back of the restaurant with a single restroom for
women and a single restroom for men. Everything in the restroom will be hands-free so
the customers do not have to touch any of the surfaces in the bathroom.
Gingersnap is a wonderful bakery and café located in Rockford, IL. Customers will
feel welcomed when they step through the door and will receive great service throughout
their entire visit. They will want to return as often as they can for our delicious food,
pastries and wonderful service.

Communication Launch Plan
Background
Rockford is a town of about 150,250 people and is growing every single day. Opening a
business in Rockford would be a wise business decision. New businesses pop up there
everyday and they survive due to the large population. Although there are many sandwich
shops, I believe that Gingersnap will standout because it would focus on carryout and on
sweet bakery treats.
Research
 I will survey the community around Gingersnap to find the demographics
 I will find out who my influencing audiences are
 I will look at other businesses around the area to see how they opened their
businesses
 The location that I would have for Gingersnap would be on a busy road in Rockford
Audiences
Gingersnap will cater to all ages and people who like to live their life gluten free.
Advertisements will focus on people that are 15 or older. Kids will have options when they
come with their parents so they won’t feel left out and are able to eat more kid friendly
food.
Customers-
Gluten free customers- catering to these individuals will open up my target audience
even more than if I were to just serve gluten filled products. Since there are a large
amount of people who choose to live their life this way or are intolerant to it, they
would have a restaurant that they would be able to come to and they would be able
to enjoy anything on the menu and not have to pay much extra for the products.
Customers 15 & older- by having my target audience start at the age of 15, I am
looking for people who would be able to drive to Gingersnap to eat the food. A
person with their learners permit could tell their parents that they want to go to
Gingersnap for lunch and that they could drive there. By having young adults and
adults be the target audience, I am not really leaving anyone out of the audience.
Gingersnap is a family friendly environment that is appropriate for all ages.
Kids- when children come to Gingersnap with their parents, they will most likely
want to order off of the kids’ menu, which we will offer. There will also be options
for gluten free items on the kids’ menu. Having something that the parents wouldn’t
have to worry about their kid eating is a good way for them to not be stressed about
what their kid would be able to eat when they go out for a meal.

First-time Customers- getting first time customers into the door will be a large task.
Having them interested enough to come into Gingersnap is a huge part of this. I will
always want to attract new customers into Gingersnap so that there is a potential
that they will be repeat customers in the future.
Carryout Customers- will also be a large part of Gingersnap. I want to attract the
people that want to come in for their morning coffee and then they decide that they
also want a baked treat to go along with that or a breakfast sandwich. I will always
want to attract new carryout customers and to have them be repeat customers.
Dine-in Customers- will be valued at Gingersnap. They have come to us for an
experience of a relaxing meal. We will give that to them with our quality service and
excellent food. Hopefully they will enjoy there time and be repeat customers.
Frequent customers- keeping the frequent customers happy is a very important
thing to do. By keeping them happy, Gingersnap will have their repeated business.
Gingersnap will make their frequent visitors comfortable and feel welcomed.
Although that would be done with all customers, it would be nice to do with the
returning customers, that way they feel their repeat business is appreciated.
Men- I believe that men would be a harder audience to get to come into Gingersnap
than women. Men would more likely to come into Gingersnap for a cup of coffee
rather than a pastry.
Women- would be a good gender to target in the age range that I have selected for
my target audience. Women would be more likely to come in for lunch and to get a
pastry than men. They may also suggest getting lunch or dinner with their
significant others which may make them lovers of Gingersnap.
Families- having families come into Gingersnap would be a good way for a family to
bond over a delicious meal. Children would be able to eat meals that they would
want to eat while parents could have something more refined.
College students- Gingersnap would be a great hangout spot for college students
because of the relaxed atmosphere. The food and coffee beverages arepriced
relatively cheap so they wont hurt a tight budget. Punch cards would be great for
college students so that they could work their way to a free coffee and cookie to help
them while they are studying.
Teenagers- Gingersnap would be a good hangout spot for people in high school who
want to get out of the house during the weekend for some delicious food and be
with their friends. It would also be a good place for them to come with their parents
for breakfast on Sunday morning, maybe after they go to church.

Current employees- being able to communicate with your employees is a very important
thing to do in order to run a successful business. You have to communicate with each type
of employee differently.
Full Time- since they will be there all day, I wouldn’t have to communicate with
them as much as I would have to with part time employees. Although, I most likely
would have very few, if any full time employees, I would still need to know how to
communicate well with them.
Part Time- part time employees would be the bulk of my staff, as I would have two
shifts per day. Since they wouldn’t be there all day, I wouldn’t have as much time to
get information across to them as I would full time employees. I would have to
make sure that they knew all of what was going on and keep them up-to-date on
everything.
Managers- they would be full time every day and they would be the ones to try and
communicate with the rest of the staff. They would need to know how to do that
and what works the best way with each group or employees.
Cooks- would be communicated with the same way as everyone else but I would
most likely have something in the kitchen so that they could have to read with
everything that is happening at Gingersnap.
Morning- the first shift people would be communicated with through either the
manager if they were to get there before opening every morning or there would be
notes left for them in an area that is still to be determined.
Night- the second shift workers would either be told by the manager or by the same
area where the notes for the morning people were left.
Prospective Employees- trying to communicate with prospective employees can be difficult
to do but I would put ads in the paper to reach a certain audience, I would advertise on the
building itself with a help wanted sign.
Employee’s families- communicating with the employee’s families is another
important thing to do because they support them and give them the energy to go to
work everyday. By communicating with them, I, as a boss, would show that I care
about them outside of work as well and that I care about their families.
Media- communicating with the media could be a difficult thing to do at first being a
new business. I would find some people at the stations and newspapers that are in
the area and I would email them and let them know when we will be opening and
invite them to the opening to have a delicious meal so that I could maybe receive
some coverage or a positive review in a newspaper.
Delivery Drivers- I would make sure that I would be at Gingersnap whenever a
delivery would be coming in. I would be as nice as I could with them and offer them
food periodically so that I could build a better relationship with them.
Food Suppliers- having a good relationship with the food suppliers will be very
important because the survival of my business will depend on it.

Produce Suppliers- having a good relationship with the produce suppliers will be
very important because the survival of my business will depend on it.
Local Media- I would enlist the local media to do my advertising of course. I would try to
find the most popular radio stations and look at their demographics to see which age group
they appeal to most. I would also try and find the most widely distributed Rockford
newspaper and advertise in there. If pricing is an issue, I would then probably just
advertise in the Sunday paper since more people would see the paper. Social media would
work for all of my age groups, since it is free I would just have to worry about people
finding out about the social media accounts that we will have. On the fliers that I will have
printed, I will say that we are on Facebook and Twitter and that people can like and follow
us for certain coupons and deals.
Catering- having a catering option at Gingersnap will open many more doors for this café.
We will be able to increase revenue with it and appeal to more customers & potential
customers. We will focus mostly on small and medium businesses. Gingersnap will cater
mostly for lunch at these businesses & for parties.
Goals, Objectives, Strategies & Tactics
The main goal will be to have a successful business in Rockford, IL. I want to be my
customers first thought when they decide that they want a bakery or café item and I want
potential customers to want to come in and eat the food that Gingersnap has to offer.
 Have Gingersnap appeal to all customers
o Have feedback about Gingersnap be 80% positive
 Collect contact information from customers
 Have employees collect information
o When people order at the register, the cashier can hand
them a sheet of paper asking them for their name,
address, phone number, e-mail address, gender and
how they heard about Gingersnap. The same card will
be given to customers who are dining in. Their waitress
will give enough for each person at the table when they
receive their bill
o When they fill these out, they will receive a coupon for a
free medium cup of coffee the next time that they are at
Gingersnap
o We would then use this information to send them
monthly coupons and surveys that they could take. If a
customer takes a survey they will receive a coupon for
10% of a meal their next time at Gingersnap

 Establish customers
o Create awareness by 90% in the area
 Advertise that Gingersnap is opening
 Newspaper ads
o The newspaper ads would consist of the logo, general
information about Gingersnap, when the opening day is
and the hours, address, phone number, it would
highlight on the fact that there would be free cookies for
every customer and that we serve breakfast, lunch and
dinner and have a bakery area. It would also mention
that we have everything in available in gluten free
options as well
 Radio ads
o The radio ads would consist of general information
about Gingersnap, when the opening day is and the
hours, it would highlight on the fact that there would be
free cookies for every customer and that we serve
breakfast, lunch and dinner and have a bakery area. It
would also mention that we have everything in
available in gluten free options as well
 Fliers
o The fliers would consist of the logo, general information
about Gingersnap, when the opening day is and the
hours, address, phone number, it would highlight on the
fact that there would be free cookies for every customer
and that we serve breakfast, lunch and dinner and have
a bakery area. It would also mention that we have
everything in available in gluten free options as well
 News Releases
o The news releases would consist of the logo, general
information on Gingersnap, when we are opening,
where we are located, phone number, they would
include dates for specific events that the news releases
are for, it would give more of an overview of Gingersnap
and a quote from the owner
o The first news release is going to highlight on the
opening of Gingersnap and the fact that there are free
cookies for every customer (See Appendix A)

o The second news release is going to focus on the grand
opening that will be hosted about a month after opening
day (See Appendix B)
 Social media
o We will have our own Facebook page and Twitter
account. We will actively use these to get the word
around Rockford that we are a new business and that
we offer many types of food and dessert options
 Signs
o The signs will go on the building, by the road, there will
be decals on the door, and another sign inside of
Gingersnap. There will also be take-out menus for
customers to take home with them (See Appendix C)
 Hire employees
o Hire and train 100% of staff by two weeks before opening
 Advertise need for employees
 Fliers
o The fliers would consist of the logo, the address, phone
number and the need for employees
 Newspaper ads
o The newspaper ads would consist of the logo, the
address, phone number and the need for employees
 Social media
o We would put daily statuses/tweets up saying that we
are hiring and need people to come in for applications
and interviews
 On the windows of Gingersnap
o We would have a standard “Help Wanted” sign hanging
in the window
 Have applications ready for when people come in
o Having applications ready to go before we even
advertise the need for employees so that we are ready
for when people come in asking for them
 Create recognition amongst the community
o Have 2 positive reviews in the newspaper
 Create professional relationships with people at newspapers and
radio stations
 Have an open house

o Having an open house with all of the media contacts &
potential media contacts that I have made/ will make
would be an excellent way to maintain these
relationships. Having it be exclusive to the media would
also be a good selling point to them. Unveiling a new
product would be an excellent idea at a function like
this
 Mail them letters/e-mail them
o Mailing/e-mailing the media handwritten letters just to
say that I appreciate everything that they have done for
Gingersnap is a good way to stay on their good side
 Give them goodie baskets
o If they were to receive a handwritten letter in the mail,
they would also receive a goodie basket full of sweet
treats from the Gingersnap bakery. They would get a
wide assortment of normal & gluten free desserts
 Call them
o Calling them with just a simple ‘thank you’ and to see
how they are is a good tactic to stay on their good side.
It may brighten their day as well and they are more
likely willing to remember that
 Invite them to Gingersnap for lunch
o Inviting the media for a complimentary quiet lunch time
out of the office may be a good way to lift their spirits. If
they haven’t had Gingersnap’s food, this would be an
excellent way to let them sample the food
 Continue those relationships so we receive good coverage
o Having these relationships last will be a good way to
ensure that we will have the possibility of receiving
good media coverage
o Have signage put up 2 weeks before opening
 Have 1 large sign by the road, on the building & doors
 Have the signage create awareness in the community
o The signage will look like the logo that was created. The
doors signs can feature daily specials and promotions
going on that day. Good way to increase awareness
 Provide food options that all customers will enjoy
o Have 100% of people be able to eat at Gingersnap
 Café and bakery will have a variety of options to choose from

 Gluten free items for both the café and bakery
o Having both normal and gluten free options of
sandwiches and desserts, we are opening our audiences
to a whole new group of people
 Free snack-sized gingersnaps for every customer
o Giving free cookies to every customer is a way to let our
customers know that we care about the little touches at
Gingersnap and that we value them enough as a
customer to give them a free cookie
 Provide good customer service to guests
o Make sure employees are trained starting 2 weeks before opening
 Hire experienced and friendly staff
 Train them to work well with customers
o Training them to how we want our staff to be at
Gingersnap will be time consuming. We want
employees to work well with the customers and to give
them an experience when they are at Gingersnap. We
want the way our employees treat customers to be a
reflection on Gingersnap itself
 Provide comment cards to customers so they can give feedback
on their experience at Gingersnap
o Providing comment cards to customers will give us a
chance to see things from the customers’ perspective. If
they had a less than satisfactory experience, we want to
know about it and we want to do everything that we can
not to lose customers
o If we did something right though, we also want to know
about it. Receiving positive feedback is a great way to
know that we are doing good and it gives us a chance to
even better ourselves and to step up our game with
customer satisfaction
o The comment cards will be given to all customers and
when they are paying or in the bag if they received a
take out order
 Create a website (See Appendix D)
o Have it up and running 2 weeks before opening

 Make sure that it is user friendly
 Put/say website URL on/in all forms of advertising
o Having the URL on all forms of advertising is a good way
for people to come and visit the website. They will see
all that the website has to offer and they can find out
that we have online ordering that they can take
advantage of
 Make sure that people know about the website
o Through various types of advertising, the word should
spread relatively quick about the website
 Have a Grand Opening Celebration
o Have 200 or more people in attendance
 Create awareness to the Rockford area
 Have sales and promotions
o At the grand opening, there will be discounts on the
food once the event starts. This will be a way for people
to try the food if they haven’t before or regular
customers can eat a meal for cheaper than they would
usually pay for it
 Raffles
o Customers will be able to enter their name for a chance
to win a $50 gift card to Gingersnap. If they enter, I will
use the information that they have provided and it will
be put into the system to be used for future reference
and coupons. The drawing will be at the end of the
celebration and the winner must be present to win
 Local artist
o Having a local artist come and sing at the grand opening
is a great way to show that Gingersnap supports the arts
and the local community. It will give exposure to the
artist as well
 News Releases
o There will be a news release printed a few days before
the event to create awareness to the community
Implementation
To implement all of these tactics, Gingersnap will follow everything that has been outlined
here and we will be looking at these frequently to see if there is anything that can be
changed to better Gingersnap as a business.

Budget
This budget report will be for 6 months before the opening and six months after opening,
totaling one year of budgets.
All of the print advertising was not factored into the grand total.
Tactic Timeline
Goal 1
Have Gingersnap appeal to all customers
This will begin before Gingersnap opens its doors to the public. I will need to send out
surveys to the local area and I will need to find out what the demographics are. Based on
some of the survey answers I would invite some of the survey takers to come in and try the
food before the opening to see what their opinion is
Resources Time Price
Advertising
-Print
--Promotional
Flyers
-Social Media
-Radio
Website
One year
One year
-Full Page (1 day)
- 2 Full Pages+ (1 week)
200,000 online
impressions
-HalfPage (1 day)
-HalfPage + (1 week)
200,000 online
impressions
7 months
(2,000 brochures)
One year
One year
@ $500 a week
Start up
Total
$3,000
$9,900
$1,600
$7,200
$387
Free
$12,000
$1,500
$35,587
News
Releases
One every other month (6)
Total
$800
$4,800
Signs
-On building
-Street view
1 month before opening
Total
$120
$1000
$1,200
Grand Total $41,587

Goal 2
Establish customers
To establish customers I will need to let potential customers know that Gingersnap is
opening. I will advertise in all of the media outlets except for television commercials. By
generating buzz about the opening, I will hopefully have a customer base soon after the
opening
Goal 3
Hire & train employees
I will need to have the entirety of my staff two weeks prior to opening. They will begin
training then so I will need to be fully staffed. I will advertise through newspaper ads,
social media, fliers, and signs on the building
Goal 4
Create recognition amongst the community
I would like Gingersnap to have 2 positive reviews in the newspaper. I would like one or
two to be submitted and printed before the opening and then a news release to be printed
after the opening. I would want to start establishing relationships with someone at each
media outlet well before the opening of Gingersnap to ensure the relationship continues
after the opening
Goal 5
Provide food options that all customers will enjoy
By having gluten free options at my restaurant, I am setting myself apart from other
restaurants in the area. Although the gluten free “trend” is catching on at many
restaurants, I will be different because I would have started that way and not have added it
into the menu. I am catering to all of my potential customers by having everything offered
in either regular or gluten free. This will continue throughout the entirety of Gingersnap
Goal 6
Provide good customer service to quests
By hiring and training my employees the way that I want to, they will know that
Gingersnap customers will be treated with care while they are here
Goal 7
Create a website
Having a website will be a way for people to learn about everything Gingersnap has to
offer. They will be able to learn about the many different options that we have. The
website will go live 2 weeks before opening. Advertisements will then have the URL
Goal 8
Have a Grand Opening Celebration
A grand opening celebration is a good way to create recognition amongst the community.
It will draw in customers and media and we will hopefully receive some new customers.
The activities that will be taking place at the celebration will be fun for people of all ages
and the prizes & discounts will be a good way to keep customers there and to get some to
come in as well

Evaluation of Goals
Goal 1
Have Gingersnap appeal to all customers
 Review surveys and determine what is in the best interest of Gingersnap
 Evaluate idea of letting people try the food before opening day
 Surveying the community would be helpful to see what they want in a restaurant
 Having people come in and eat the food could generate positive buzz from them to
the local community
Goal 2
Establish customers
 By creating awareness in the community before opening day, I would want people
that live around Gingersnap to know about the opening
 Make sure that advertisements are generating positive talk from the community
Goal 3
Hire employees
 Having 100% of my staff hired and trained before opening would be helpful for
opening day
 Make sure that they are hard working employees who won’t quit
 Make sure that advertisements are working for the need of employees
Goal 4
Create recognition amongst the community
 Make sure that the news release is doing what it is supposed to be doing
 Continue to try and forge relationships with the media
 Make sure the signs are put up in the community to start generating buzz
Goal 5
Provide food options that all customers will enjoy
 Make sure that the customers like the food enough to be repeat customers
 Make sure the food is fresh
Goal 6
Provide good customer service to quests
 Look at customer comment cards to see what could be done to improve Gingersnap
 Make sure that employees are well trained by opening day
Goal 7
Create a website
 Determine if it could be better than it is
 See if the advertising is working and people are going to the site
Goal 8
Have a Grand Opening Celebration
 Determine if over 200 people were in attendance
 Determine if the event was a success

Appendix A - Sample News Release
500 First Street
Rockford, IL
815-555-8364
www.gingersnapcafe.com
March 14, 2015
Gingersnap to give away free cookies to every customer
Rockford, IL.—Gingersnap, a café and bakery, located on 500 First Street in Rockford, IL
will open its doors to the public on Saturday, March 21, 2015 at 6:00 AM. On opening day,
each customer will receive a free gingersnap cookie with every order.
Members of the Rockford community are invited to come to opening day to enjoy a
nice meal. Opening at 6:00 AM gives early risers a chance to get their morning coffee and a
delicious breakfast sandwich on our homemade bread or our gluten free bread. Don’t
forget about lunch and dinner though. Gingersnap is open all day long for every meal to
satisfy your taste buds. While here, try a scrumptious dessert from our bakery. The bakery
offers cookies, cakes, danishes, bagels, and gluten free cookies and cakes, there is certainly
enough to choose from.
Lauren Greenfield, owner, says that, “there is no other restaurant like Gingersnap in
Rockford. Come in today to try your new favorite restaurant and to get your free cookies.
See you Saturday!”
For more information, contact Lauren Greenfield, owner, at 815-555-8364 or at
gingersnapcafe@gmail.com.
About Gingersnap: Gingersnap is a quaint café and bakery that will entice all of your
senses with the sweet aroma of delicious desserts and freshly made bread. Stop in for
breakfast, lunch & dinner and try our sandwiches and complimentary gingersnap cookies.
With its wonderful customer service from our trained staff, you will not forget your time
spent at Gingersnap.
-end-

Appendix B -Sample News Release
500 First Street
Rockford, IL
815-555-8364
www.gingersnapcafe.com
April 28, 2015
Gingersnap to host Grand Opening
Rockford, IL--- Gingersnap, a café and bakery, located at 500 First Street in Rockford, IL,
will have their grand opening celebration on Saturday, May 1, 2015 starting at 11 AM. At
the grand opening, customers will receive discounts on their purchases, be able to enter for
chances to win a gift certificate to Gingersnap, and they will be able to listen to local artist,
John Doe, sing a variety of songs.
Members of the Rockford community are invited to celebrate the grand opening.
The event will begin at 11 AM on May 1, 2015 at Gingersnap. There will be lots of food &
fun for the whole family. With food options that will satisfy everyone, Gingersnap should
be your destination for lunch on May 1. Offering coffee and a delicious breakfast sandwich
on our homemade bread or our gluten free bread. Gingersnap is open all day long for every
meal to satisfy your taste buds. The bakery offers cookies, cakes, danishes, bagels, and
gluten free cookies and cakes, there is certainly enough to choose from.
Lauren Greenfield, owner, says that “everyone should come to Gingersnap on
Saturday to enjoy a fun-filled day of excitement and good food.”
For more information, contact Lauren Greenfield, owner, at 815-555-8364 or at
gingersnapcafe@gmail.com.
About Gingersnap: Gingersnap is a quaint café and bakery that will entice all of your
senses with the sweet aroma of delicious desserts and freshly made bread. Stop in for
breakfast, lunch & dinner and try our sandwiches and complimentary gingersnap cookies.
With its wonderful customer service from our trained staff, you will not forget your time
spent at Gingersnap.
-end-

Appendix C - Sample Take- Out Menu
Breakfast
Breakfast Sandwich
Choiceof breadand toppings
Breakfast Bagel
Choiceof bagel andtoppings
$5.00
3Eggs
Choiceof how they areprepared
$3.50
$4.50
Pastry Assortment
Mix-n-Match 5different pastries
Lunch & Dinner
All choicesservedwithoneside
Turkey Sandwich
A turkey sandwich onyour choiceof
breador bagel andtoppings
Ham Sandwich
A hamsandwichon your choiceof bread
or bagel andtoppings
$5.00
Macaroni & Cheese
A bowl of our traditional macand
cheese
$4.50
$5.00
Lunch & Dinner
Soup of the Day
A bowl of our specialty soupof theday
Sandwich on Flatbread
Your choiceof sandwich on our
handmadeflatbread
$6.00
Turkey & Cranberry Sandwich
Our traditional turkey sandwich added
with creamcheeseandcranberries
$6.00
$3.00
Cobb Salad
Traditional CobbSaladwithchoiceof
saladdressing
Bakery
Gingersnaps $1.50
Danish $2.00
Chocolate Cake $3.00
Red Velvet Cake $3.00
Carrot Cake $3.00
Assortment of Cookies $1.50
each
[ 500First Street] [ Rockford] ,[ IL] [ 61107]
Phone:[ 815-555-8364]
Web:[ www.gingersnapcafe.com]
$10.00
$6.00

APPENDIX D –Sample Website

[CRISIS MANAGEMENT] 20
Crisis Management
Crisis
Two weeks after opening, a food critic at a local paper in Rockford has come into
Gingersnap for a review. While here, the critic ordered a turkey sandwich and a bag of
potato chips as his side. His complimentary gingersnap however, was burnt to a crisp. He
had to wait 15 minutes before being waited on even though it was not busy that day. After
he was done eating his lunch, he went over to the bakery area and decided to try a piece of
chocolate cake. He had three bites, scribbled onto his notepad, and left.
Two days later, the critic’s review was in the Rockford Register Star. The review was
anything but positive. He said that although the atmosphere was pleasant, the service and
food was anything but. He wrote that the bread was hard, the cookies were burnt and the
cake was dry and the good customer service we claim to have was non-existent. The
Rockford Register Star has a circulation rate of 36,000 on Friday’s and 45,350 on Sunday’s,
so the review was seen by a good amount of people. Business slowed down for two days
after the review was published in the paper, but after that, business picked back up to its
normal pace.
Research of the Crisis
 Determine who was working the day the critic was at Gingersnap
 Find out what happened
 Find out what the staff thought that they could have done differently that day
 Research the food critic
 Look at other restaurants he has reviewed and see if they were positive or not
Audiences
Customers- being involved in a crisis of having a bad review in the paper would hurt my
relationship with my current customers and any potential customers that I will have. To
mend my relationship with them, I will put coupons in the paper and do everything that I
can in order to fix/keep the relationships that I have.
Media- mending my relationships with the media could be tricky. I would contact the food
critic personally and make sure that everything is squared away with him.
Employees- when a bad review comes out in the paper, it doesn’t just affect my business,
and me, it affects everyone that works for me as well. Depending on the severity of the
review, I may lose some employees that feel that their job may be on the line. I need to
make sure that they know that their jobs are safe and that they won’t leave to go work
somewhere else.

Food critic- is an important relationship that I need to fix, and fix quickly. By having a bad
review from a critic, I am straining my relationship with that person and they may have a
negative outlook on Gingersnap because of the bad experience that they had. I need to do
everything that I can in order to fix this relationship so that they end up liking Gingersnap
and maybe printing another review in the paper that is positive.
Plan to fix Crisis
I would look at my recipes for my bread, cookies and cake and tweak them so they would
come out soft, not burnt, and not dry. I would also write a hand written letter to the food
critic and explain to him that it was an ‘off day’ for Gingersnap and that he could come back
and enjoy a meal anytime on the house.
Even though business slowed down for two days, customers were gracious that a week
after the review came out; I put a coupon in the paper for a free cup of coffee and
gingersnap for 3 days to do damage control on the situation.
 Fix relationship with the media
o Have 1 positive review printed after the negative one
 Contact food critic
 Write the critic a letter apologizing (See Appendix E)
 Invite him back for a complimentary meal
o Try and receive another review out of this meal
 Fix relationship with customers
o Provide coupons in the newspaper for 3 days
 Bring in customers
 Make sure that the coffee and gingersnaps are excellent for
when people redeem the coupons
 Make sure the staff is on their best behavior
 Answer any questions about the bad review from the public in
a positive way
 Don’t lose any customers because of the bad review
o Have 100% customer retention
 Provide coupon in the newspaper
 Make sure that the coffee and gingersnaps are excellent for
when people redeem the coupons
 Make sure the staff is on their best behavior
 Answer any questions about the bad review from the public in
a positive way

 Fix relationship with employees
o Have 100% employee retention
 Have an all staff meeting
 Let them know that their jobs are not at risk
 Let them know that Gingersnap will not suffer
 Calmly ask the employees who were working the day of the
critic what happened
 Let them know that it is no one person’s fault
 Ask them of their opinions on what to do in this situation
 Make them feel valued & appreciated
 Have a successful employee crisis communication plan
o Have employees trained 100% in this by opening day
 Start training them 2 weeks before opening
 Teach them the basics
 Have them voice any concerns they have about their job or the
opening
 Have a fake crisis to see how they would react to see if any
further training would be needed
Implementation of the Crisis Plan
I mailed the letter to the critic at the Rockford Register Star to show my appreciation that
he took the time out of his day to come and review Gingersnap. I put the coupon in the
newspaper and hoped that people would cut it out and receive their gingersnap and coffee.
Budget
Resources Quantity Price
Coupon
-To run
-Free coffee & gingersnaps
3 days worth
3 days worth
$250
$600
Two free meals for the critic 2 sandwiches,
2 cookies,
2 sides
2 beverages
$15
Grand Total $865

Tactic Timeline
Goal 1
Fix relationship with the media
Contacting the food critic is a big step in trying to fix this crisis. Having a bad review in the
paper is not good for business and the critic could make or break the success of Gingersnap.
These steps would all take place one week after the review was printed in the paper
Goal 2
Fix relationship with customers
Providing coupons is a way to bring customers in and mend what had happened with the
critic. The coupon would run for three days in the paper and would start about the same
time as the letter would go to the critic
Goal 3
Don’t lose any customers because of the bad review
Having the coupon in the paper hopefully means that more people would be coming into
Gingersnap. Having the coffee and gingersnaps ready will take time to prepare but it is
worth trying to get more customers in the door and the bad review out of their mind
Goal 4
Fix relationship with employees
Having the employees tell me their side of the story helps me understand everything from
all parties involved. This conversation would take place the day that the review came out
so that the employees wouldn’t have to wait very long and wonder what their future at
Gingersnap would look like
Goal 5
Have a successful employee crisis communication plan
Having a certain crisis plan in place ensures employees of Gingersnap that they know what
to do if a certain event like this were to happen. It would give the employees more
confidence in how to act in this type of situation

Evaluation of Goals
Goal 1
Fix relationship with the media
 Determine if the letter to the critic was successful
 Determine whether or not a second review is possible
 Determine if the relationship with the critic is damaged
Goal 2
Fix relationship with customers
 Determine if coupon was successful
 Determine if 3 days is too long to run a coupon
 Look at coupons brought in and determine how many people utilized the coupon
 Taste the coffee and gingersnaps each morning while the coupons are in print
 Evaluate employees behavior during the next week or so after the crisis took place
Goal 3
Don’t lose any customers because of the bad review
 Determine if coupon was successful
 Determine if 3 days is too long to run a coupon
 Look at coupons brought in and determine how many people utilized the coupon
 Taste the coffee and gingersnaps each morning while the coupons are in print
 Evaluate employees behavior during the next week or so after the crisis took place
 Evaluate what was said to the customers that asked about the review
Goal 4
Fix relationship with employees
 Determine which employees were involved in the crisis
 Teach them how to act in the future when a critic comes in for a review
 Make sure they understand that they are not going to be fired
 Evaluate the staff meeting to see if it was productive or not
 Evaluate any suggestions that employees had
Goal 5
Have a successful employee crisis communication plan
 Determine if the plan is a success
 Determine if employees understand the plan
 Make sure I evaluate any concerns the employees had
 Make sure that the employees know what to do while they are working

APPENDIX E - Sample Apology Letter to the Food Critic
Mr. Food Critic April 30, 2015
Rockford Register Star
123 Sixth Street
Rockford, IL
Dear Mr. Food Critic,
I want to thank you for the time that you spent at Gingersnap last week. It was a
great privilege to have you in the restaurant.
I would like to apologize for the experience that you had with us. After reading your
review, I have talked with my employees and have received their side of the story. I would
love to chat sometime and hear what you have to say about the things that didn’t have the
chance to make it into your article. Our food is not usually of this nature and it is
unacceptable that it had to happen to you.
I would love for you to come back anytime so that you can have a complimentary
meal on us. It is the least that we could do.
Enclosed, is a voucher for a free meal.
Have a great day,
Lauren Greenfield
Owner

[MEDIA PLAN] 26
Media Plan
Background
To communicate with my target audiences, I would use the radio, television, newspaper,
social media and fliers to spread the word about Gingersnap. I would have occasional news
releases as well before the opening and then one or two after the opening so that people
can still find out about Gingersnap being a new business in Rockford
Research
 I would find out what my target audience would like to see most in an
advertisement for a new restaurant
 I would look into local media outlets and see what my best options would be for the
price points that I would want to pay
 When looking for prices and where I should put my advertisements, I will look at
press kits and media kits to learn more about the businesses and what they stand
for and their demographics
 I would also contact similar restaurants to see what they did when they were
opening and how they continued to advertise after they opened
 I would look at the fact if they were a successful restaurant or not
 I will try and make new contacts within the media to help further my relationship
with people within the media & I will watch to see who leaves and who comes
 I would try and find out what people are listening to and watching to get their
information from
 I will watch for what stories the media is reporting on and try and have pieces that
follow that angle
Audiences
Local Media- I would enlist the local media to do my advertising. I would try to find the
most popular radio stations and look at their demographics to see which age group they
appeal to most. I would also try and find the most widely distributed Rockford newspaper
and advertise in there. If pricing were an issue, I would then probably just advertise in the
Sunday paper since more people would see it. Social media would work for all of my age
groups, since it is free, I would just have to worry about people finding the social media
accounts that we will have. On the fliers that I will have printed, I will say that we are on
Facebook and Twitter and that people can like and follow us for certain coupons and deals.
Customers
Customers 15 and older- teenagers would most likely respond more to the radio and
to TV advertising. One month before opening I would have mostly radio and
newspaper ads to promote the opening. I would try to get them by the comics
because most people read those, even if you are a teenager. I would use social media
would attract new customers to Gingersnap.

[MEDIA PLAN] 27
Customers 30 and older- they would respond well to all forms of advertisement and
I believe that newspapers and radio would be the two outlets to reach this audience
most.
Potential customers- advertising is a huge marketing strategy to bring in potential
customers. By having advertisements that appeal to potential customers, I will
potentially increase my customer base. Advertising and word of mouth are the best
ways to get new customers through the door.
Frequent customers- when customers who frequent Gingersnap hear or see our
advertising, it reminds them again of why they enjoy our food and beverages so
much. Hopefully it will make them want to come in soon for a hot beverage or a
meal.
Goals, Objectives, Strategies &Tactics
The main goal with the media plan is to attract media from all angles. I want to always
have something being advertised and I always want it to be bringing in new customers. I
want to create relationships within all different forms of the media so that I have a contact
in all areas of the media
 Utilize relationships made within the media
o Have contacted 100% of key media contacts every year
 Find different ways to make contact with each person
 Have an open house
o Having an open house with all of the media contacts &
potential media contacts that I have made/ will make
would be an excellent way to maintain these
relationships. Having it be exclusive to the media would
also be a good selling point to them. Unveiling a new
product would be an excellent idea at a function like
this
 Mail them letters/e-mail them
o Mailing/e-mailing the media letters just to say that I
appreciate everything that they have done for
Gingersnap is a good way to stay on their good side
 Give them goodie baskets
o If they were to receive a handwritten letter in the mail,
they would also receive a goodie basket full of sweet
treats from the Gingersnap bakery. They would get a
wide assortment of normal & gluten free desserts
 Call them

[MEDIA PLAN] 28
o Calling them with just a simple ‘thank you’ and to see
how they are is a good tactic to stay on their good side.
It may brighten their day as well and they are more
likely willing to remember that. When I call them, I can
also find out what their interests are and incorporate
that into my relationship with them
 Invite them to Gingersnap for lunch
o Inviting the media for a complimentary quiet lunch time
out of the office may be a good way to lift their spirits. If
they haven’t had Gingersnap’s food, this would be an
excellent way to let them sample the food
 Gain media attention
o Have 3 stories in the local media
 Submit pieces that would interest the media
 Advertise menu changes
o Advertising menu changes in the newspaper would be a
good idea because the public would be intrigued by it
and hopefully, so would the writer of the story. They
would be invited into Gingersnap as well to try the new
item(s) so that they could incorporate that into their
story (See Appendix F)
 Have human-interest pieces about employees
o If there is an employee that has a disability or if they
have a close relative that does, there could be a story on
them in the paper. It could tug on the heart strings of
the public & media and they may want to come in to try
the food or meet the employee
 Sponsor an event at for a local charity
o The event could be for a local hospital, raising money
for a disease, etc. Sponsor it to be on all of the
advertisements for the event so Gingersnap will receive
more recognition amongst the community
 Increase awareness
o Increase awareness by 20%
 Continually increase awareness by 10% each year
 Advertising
o Continually advertising amongst all different mediums
will always help in increase awareness amongst the
Rockford community

[MEDIA PLAN] 29
 Community work
o Being involved within the local community is a great
way to receive recognition for the work that has been
done, but people would be more willing to eat at
Gingersnap because of it
 Word-of-mouth
o Hopefully we would be able to rely on our customers
and employees for this. Word-of-mouth advertising is a
very effective way to increase awareness amongst those
that don’t know about us
Budget
Resources Time Price
Advertising
-Print
--Promotional
Flyers
-Social Media
-Radio
One year
One year
-Full Page (1 day)
- 2 Full Pages+ (1 week)
200,000 online
impressions
-HalfPage (1 day)
-HalfPage + (1 week)
200,000 online
impressions
7 months
(2,000 brochures)
One year
One year
@ $500 a week
Total
$3,000
$9,900
$1,600
$7,200
$387
Free
$12,000
$34,087
News
Releases
One every other month (6)
Total
$800
$4,800
Signs
-On building
-Street view
Total
$120
$1000
$1,200
Grand Total $40,087

[MEDIA PLAN] 30
Implementation
To make sure that all of my goals will be implemented, I will be following my tactics very
seriously and coming up with better ones as the business progresses. I will make sure that
all of my advertising is up to par and I will make sure that my relationship with each
business I use to advertise with is good.
Tactic Timeline
Goal 1
Utilize relationships made within the media
This will begin before Gingersnap opens. I will want to have a good rapport with the media
before opening day. I will do my best to continue these relationships with them. By
sending letters, baskets and calling, I believe that they will not want to end the professional
relationship either
Goal 2
Gain media attention
Ideally I would have their attention before the opening based on the relationships that I
will have with them. I would like to have the human-interest piece come out within 3
months of opening. Sponsoring an event will happen after we have been established for a
little while and have enough revenue to sponsor an event. Menu changes most likely
wouldn’t happen until after about 6 months after opening. It could bring in new customers
and hopefully attract media attention
Goal 3
Increase awareness
Increasing awareness will happen over time but it can’t take too much time. A regular
customer base needs to be established fairly soon after opening. After that, awareness
needs to increase and new customers need to be brought in
Evaluation of Goals
Goal 1
Utilize relationships made within the media
 Determine if open house was a success or not
 See if any media coverage came from the open house
 Determine if mailing or emailing people in the media is an effective way of
communication
 Determine if the goodie baskets are a good idea and if the media people enjoy them
 Determine if the goodie baskets could be different and filled with different things
 Determine if calling people in the media is an effective way of communication
 Determine if inviting them to a complimentary lunch is working
 See if any media coverage came from the complimentary lunch

[MEDIA PLAN] 31
Goal 2
Gain media attention
 Determine if putting the menu changes into the media is an effective way of
advertising and spending money
 Determine if there are enough employees that could have human-interest pieces
written on them
 Look at sales after the piece has been printed and see if sales have gone up within
that month
 Determine what event to sponsor
 Determine would kind of publics they have
 Determine how I could serve and cater to those publics to bring them in to
Gingersnap
Goal 3
Increase awareness
 Determine if advertising is bringing in enough customers
 Determine what other areas I could be serving the community in
 See how the local area is reacting to the community work that Gingersnap is doing
 Determine how new customers found out about Gingersnap by having them fill out
their contact information when they come in

[MEDIA PLAN] 32
Appendix F - Sample Menu Change Advertisement
500 First Street
Rockford, IL
815-555-8364
www.gingersnapcafe,com
We now offer smoothies!
Peach, Strawberry, Banana, Mango, Kiwi
Come in today and use code word:
Snappy10
To receive 10% off of your
smoothie!
TODAY ONLY
(May 6, 2015)

[EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION PLAN] 33
Employee Communication Plan
Background
To make my employees feel at home and the most comfortable while they are at work, I
plan to create a very friendly and hospitable work environment. I want my employees to
not really feel like they are at work and that they can call Gingersnap a home away from
home.
Research
 I will look at other restaurants in the area and see how they hired their employees
 I will look at what the other restaurants pay their employees and if they have
benefits or not
 I will see what other restaurants in the area’s retention rate’s are and what they do
to make their employees want to stay
 I will find out what my employees want to get out of working at Gingersnap
 I will survey my employees to see how they wish to learn of things at Gingersnap
and if they want their to be any changes at all
Audiences
Current employees- being able to communicate with your employees is a very important
thing to do in order to run a successful business. You have to communicate with each type
of employee differently.
Full Time- since they will be there all day, I wouldn’t have to communicate with
them as much as I would have to with part time employees. Although, I most likely
would have very few, if any full time employees, I would still need to know how to
communicate well with them.
Part Time- part time employees would be the bulk of my staff as I would have two
shifts per day. Since they wouldn’t be there all day, I wouldn’t have as much time to
get information across to them as I would full time employees. I would have to
make sure that they knew all of what was going on and keep them up-to-date on
everything.
Managers- they would be full time every day and they would be the ones to try and
communicate with the rest of the staff. They would need to know how to do that
and what works the best way with each group or employees.
Cooks- would be communicated with the same way as everyone else but I would
most likely have something in the kitchen so that they could have to read with
everything that is happening at Gingersnap.
Morning- the first shift people would be communicated with through either the
manager if they were to get there before opening every morning or there would be
notes left for them in an area that is still to be determined.

Night- the second shift workers would either be told by the manager or by the same
area where the notes for the morning people were left.
Prospective Employees- trying to communicate with prospective employees can be difficult
to do but I would put ads in the paper to reach a certain audience, I would advertise on the
building itself with a help wanted sign.
Employee’s families- communicating with the employee’s families is another
important thing to do because they support them and give them the energy to go to
work everyday. By communicating with them, I, as a boss would show that I care
about them outside of work as well and that I care about their families.
Media- communicating with the media could be a difficult thing to do at first being a
new business. I would find some people at the stations and newspapers that are in
the area and I would email them and let them know when we will be opening and
invite them to the opening to have a delicious meal so that I could maybe receive
some coverage or a positive review in a newspaper.
Delivery Drivers- I would make sure that I would be at Gingersnap whenever a
delivery would be coming in. I would be as nice as I could with them and offer them
food periodically so that I could build a better relationship with them.
Food Suppliers- having a good relationship with the food suppliers will be very
important because the survival of my business will depend on it.
Produce Suppliers- having a good relationship with the produce suppliers will be
very important because the survival of my business will depend on it.
Catering- having the catering option at Gingersnap is another way to add extra revenue. I
will need to teach employees how to take orders over the phone and what they need to do
when they need to complete an order.
The main goal with my employees is to create a hassle free environment where my
employees feel comfortable and I want to communicate with them well enough that they
always know what is going on.
 To have successful employee retention
o To have an employee retention rate of 85% within the first year of business
 Have happy employees
 Make them feel comfortable at work
o Feeling comfortable at work is a necessity if you want to
have a happy job and stay working for your company.
Making employees feel like they are comfortable at
work is one way to have employee retention
 Don’t create too hard of a work environment

o Being the ‘mean’ boss is not a good way to have
employee retention. Being laid back most of the time is
one way to let employees know that it is okay to have
fun at work but that they need to work when it is
needed of them
 Let them know that it is okay to have fun while working
o Creating a work environment that is not too demanding
is a great way to have happy & healthy employees. Sad
and grumpy employees don’t send a good message to
customers. If employees are happy behind-the-scenes,
that happiness will overflow into their work ethic and
they will be polite to customers as well
 Give them incentives to want to work harder
o EX: An extra paid vacation day, a gift card to a place of
their choice, a menu item named after them for a month,
employee of the month, etc.
o These incentives will hopefully make employees want
to work harder so that they are able to receive one of
these rewards. If they work hard enough for a reward
they will be an excellent employee who will be great
with customers and with their co-workers
 Pay them a decent salary
 Start out at minimum wage and depending on business and
budget, give some raises out to deserving employees
o All employees will earn minimum wage at first and they
will have the option to have their salary grow. If they
show that they are dedicated employees, they should be
rewarded for that service. The salary increase will be
gradual and depending on the quality of service and
dedication that they show to Gingersnap they may even
have the opportunity to be promoted
 Find out how employees want to be notified about things that are
happening at work
 Implement as many of these ideas as possible
o By cooperating with the employees on ways that they
want to receive information I would be more willing to
reach them. If they wanted email, mass texts or bulletin
boards, these would be evaluated and possibly
implemented into Gingersnap

 To have an employee manual
o Have employees know 100% of the manual by opening day
o The manual would consist of policies of sick and
vacation days, fire-able offenses, how to properly deal
with customers; especially rude ones, payroll
information, contact information, company information,
sexual harassment policy, maternity leave policy, etc.
 Once they are hired, give them the manual
 Once training starts, give them quizzes on the manual to see if
they know things about the policies that are instilled at
Gingersnap
o Giving the employees quizzes on the manual is a way to
make sure that employees read the manual and know
the standards that Gingersnap has and how they are
expected to act when they are at work
 They will need to keep taking the quiz until they receive 100%
on it
o If they don’t receive a 100% on the quiz, they will need
to take the quiz until they do. This ensures that they
know the manual
 Give them quizzes once every 3 months after opening
o Continuing the quizzes after opening will also ensure
that employees wont forget the content of the manual
and that they will remember the standards that are
expected of them while employed at Gingersnap
 Have a way to easily communicate with employees
o Have 2 bulletin boards in Gingersnap for employee communication
 One will be in the kitchen and the other in a hallway in the back
 Whenever someone of staff or management has something that
is needed to know by all, they will post it on the bulletin boards
so that the employees can see it all day while they are working
o Having bulletin boards to communicate with employees
is a way to ensure that employees and managers see the
important content that is on the board. If it is on the
board then it is important for employees to know. It
will be their responsibility to remember to look at the
boards
o Having one in the kitchen and one in a general area also
ensures that all employees see the important
information. The workers in the kitchen may not go in

the hallway very much so they should be able to have
their own bulletin board
 Teach employees about the catering aspect of Gingersnap
o Start teaching them 2 weeks before opening
 Make sure they know about it 100%
 During training, teach them about catering
o Customers will be able to call orders in and come pick
them up later that day, in a few minutes or the next day.
They will learn how to take orders over the phone, how
to take payments over the phone, when delivery is
appropriate and when they should put me on the phone
with a customer
o They will learn how to make the food and have it
packaged and ready for when the customer comes in to
pick their food up
o Teach them that it is extremely important that they
include a take-out menu in each order that is received
o Teach them how to check online for the orders that
were sent in through the website
 To find out employees thoughts and ideas
o Have employees complete two anonymous surveys a year on Survey Monkey
 It will be the same survey twice a year (See Appendix G)
 This is to ensure that Gingersnap is up to their standards, to
see if they are happy, what could be improved, what do they
want more of, if they have any suggestions for anything
o By giving employees surveys twice a year, I will be able
to determine what issues there are in Gingersnap that I
may not know about. It will give the employees a
chance to express their opinion without feeling that
they will be reprimanded for their thoughts and ideas
Budget
Communication Tools Price
Employee Manual x20 at $100 each $2,000
Employee training/Crisis training $10,000
2 bulletin boards at $10 each $20
2 surveys on Survey Monkey $0
Total $12,020

Implementation
To make sure that all of my goals will be implemented, I will be following my tactics very
seriously and coming up with better ones as the business progresses. I will make sure that
my employees are still meeting my standards and that I am meeting theirs as well.
Tactic Timeline
Goal 1
To have successful employee retention
Retaining my employees is a good way to have a successful business. If you have new
employees all the time, customers may wonder why this is and may not want to eat at
Gingersnap. All of the tactics that I have implemented would all begin before the opening
and they would continue throughout the entirety of Gingersnap
Goal 2
To have an employee manual
The employee manual would need to be done and in the store 3 weeks before opening. If I
am going to have all of my staff hired and starting to train them 2 weeks before opening, I
need the manuals in time for when that begins
Goal 3
Have a way to easily communicate with employees
The bulletin boards would go up about 2 weeks before opening, when the employees arrive
for training. During training they would learn about how the boards work and that they
always need to look at them for new information. I will periodically ask employees what
they think of the boards and if they think they could improve in any way
Goal 4
Teach employees about the catering aspect of Gingersnap
The catering part of Gingersnap will bring in extra revenue. Having a successful system is
dependent on the people that are involved in it. By training employees how the catering
side works, they will become familiar with it and they will be comfortable taking orders
over the phone. The website will be a large place for orders as well and teaching
employees how to access that will make them more dependent at Gingersnap
Goal 5
To find out employees thoughts and ideas
Having anonymous surveys, this gives my employees an outlet for their thoughts if they
don’t feel comfortable sharing them with me. As of now, the surveys would be in January
and June. Taking the same survey twice a year ensures that I can fix problems or know that
I am doing something good at Gingersnap and that my employees are happy with how
things are going

Evaluation of Goals
Goal 1
To have successful employee retention
 Determine if my employees are happy working at Gingersnap
 Make sure that the work environment is suitable for employees
 Determine if employees are having fun while they are employed at Gingersnap
 Determine if the incentives are actually working
 If the incentives aren’t working, think of new ones to put in their place
 Determine which employees are eligible for a raise or a promotion
Goal 2
To have an employee manual
 Find out if the employees know the manual
 Determine how the employees did on the quiz and if people need to retake it
 Determine which employees are better at the quiz than others
 Determine if the quizzes are a good idea for employee morale
Goal 3
Have a way to easily communicate with employees
 Determine if the bulletin boards are an effective way to communicate with
employees
 If it isn’t, find a new way
 Determine what is bulletin board appropriate material
 Determine which employees utilize the boards the best and which ones do not
Goal 4
Teach employees about the catering aspect of Gingersnap
 Determine if the catering is a successful part of Gingersnap
 If it is, try and increase it
 If it isn’t, find ways to market it better
 Determine which businesses to market to, to let them know about the catering and
that the catering is great for lunch meetings
Goal 5
To find out employees thoughts and ideas
 Determine if the surveys are a good way to find out what the employees views are
 Determine if the survey itself is up to par
 Determine if the survey needs to be changed
 Determine if Survey Monkey is an acceptable way to distribute surveys

Appendix G - Sample Employee Survey
1) Are you happy as an employee of Gingersnap?
Strongly disagree 1/2/3/4/5/6/7 Highly agree
2) Do you think that the communication amongst management & staff is acceptable?
3) Do you think that employee training prepared you well?
4) How old are you?
a. 18-25 c. 36-40
b. 26-35 d. 40+
5) How many years have you been with Gingersnap?
a. Less than 1 c. 2-4 years
b. 1-2 years d. 5+ years
6) What is your position?
a. Waitress c. Kitchen
b. Cashier d. Clean up
7) Please rank your 3-favorite/least favorite promotions to deal with (coupons, ads,
etc.)
Favorite Least Favorite
a. a.
b. b.
c. c.
8) Do you think that the bulletin boards are a good way for receiving information?
a. Yes
b. No
If no, please explain
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
9) Do you have any suggestions?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

[CONSUMER PLAN] 41
Consumer Plan
Background
Learning what my customers want will be a successful part of making Gingersnap the place
to be in Rockford, IL. By figuring out which customers would fit in the best with
Gingersnap, I would be more likely to find the right audience and have a higher customer
retention rate.
Research
 I will survey the community located around Gingersnap to find out what their
demographics are
 I will survey the customers to find out what they think could be improved about
Gingersnap
 I will survey my customers to see what they think would be the best way to issue a
customer complaint
 I will find out who my influencing audiences are
 I will look at surrounding restaurants target audience demographics
 I will look at how surrounding restaurants keep their customer retention
 I will find out when people usually decide that they want to try a new restaurant and
why they want to
 I will research what is the best way to get the word out that Gingersnap is
opening/has opened
Audiences
Customers- this will include all of my customers old and new. Being able to find out what
my customers want will be a large part of the consumer plan
First-time customers- these will be the most important customers to try and keep.
Having first-time customers come back to Gingersnap would be a huge success.
Connecting with them enough so that they want to come back again is one of the
main outcomes that I want to have.
One-time customers- if customers only came into Gingersnap once, then something
must have been wrong. By attempting to contact these people, maybe I could find
out why they decided to never come back to Gingersnap.
Frequent customers- keeping the frequent customers happy is a very important
thing to do. By keeping them happy, Gingersnap will have their repeated business.
Gingersnap will make their frequent visitors comfortable and feeling welcomed.
Although that would be done with all customers, it would be nice to do with the
returning customers, that way they feel welcome.

[CONSUMER PLAN] 42
Men- I believe that men would be a harder audience to get to come into Gingersnap
than women. Men would more likely to come into Gingersnap for a cup of coffee
rather than a pastry.
Women- would be a good gender to target in the age range that I have selected for
my target audience. Women would be more likely to come in for lunch and to get a
pastry than men. They may also suggest getting lunch or dinner their with their
significant others which may them make them lovers of Gingersnap.
Families- having families come into Gingersnap would be a good way for a family to
bond over a delicious meal. Children would be able to eat meals that they would
want to eat while parents could have something more refined to eat.
College students- Gingersnap would be a great hangout spot for college students
because of the relaxed atmosphere. The food and coffee beverages arepriced
relatively cheap so they wont hurt a tight budget. Punch cards would be great for
college students so that they could work their way to a free coffee and cookie to help
them while they are studying.
Teenagers- Gingersnap would be a good hangout spot for people in high school who
want to get out of the house during the weekend for some delicious food and be
with their friends. It would also be a good place for them to come with their parents
for breakfast on Sunday morning, maybe after they go to church.
Gluten free- Since I am having gluten free options, I am opening up my audience to
more people. I am not limiting myself to only people that can eat yummy gluten
filled bread but I am catering to those who either cannot eat it or choose not to. By
charging more money for these products, I will also be making a higher profit than I
would by just selling normal bread and desserts.
Media & Advertisers- The media and potential advertisers would be good to reach out to in
order to generate some media coverage. By emailing them or inviting them to come to
Gingersnap for a complimentary meal, I would be creating a relationship with them and
maybe receive some coverage out of it.
Potential Advertisers- locating the advertisers that I would be using would be
a good step to forging a relationship with them. Being on the advertiser’s
good side would be beneficial when I need advertising and the contact that I
would have there could potentially help with cutting a deal as well.
Employees- Gingersnap employees are going to be daily consumers of the food and
beverages while they are working. They will be able to eat there for breakfast, lunch or
dinner depending on their shift and they will be able to say if the food is good enough or
not for customers to consume.
Community- Being involved in the community and getting the word out that we are a new
business would be one of the first steps to having a good customer base and be a successful
business in the Rockford area. Being amongst a good respected area of the community

[CONSUMER PLAN] 43
would go a long way during the opening stages of Gingersnap. Having the support of local
community members too would be a good way to thrive and have repeat customers.
The main goal would be to have good relations with my consumers and to make sure that
they always want to be frequent customers of Gingersnap and that they will successfully
spread the word about their new found love for Gingersnap.
 To have successful customer retention
o To have a customer retention rate of 90% within the first year
 Have happy customers
 Make them feel comfortable while at Gingersnap
 Create a fun and relaxing environment that they can enjoy
themselves in
 Give them incentives to come back
o Punch cards for buy 9 coffees get the 10th one free plus a
free cookie or gluten free cookie
o Turn in 10 fully punched punch cards and you receive a
free t-shirt (See Appendix H)
o Start a loyalty program where they can earn points for
every purchase they make
 Surprise upgrades
 The computer would randomize it and
every 50th customer or so would receive a
free item from the bakery
 Excel at customer service
 Train my employees during training week so that they are the
best at interacting with customers
 Provide ways that customers can give feedback if they are
happy or upset with something that happened during their
visit
o Comment cards provide customers with ways to voice
their opinion & concerns about Gingersnap
 Have new customers always coming in
o Have 70% new customers within the first 3 months
 Have ways that interest potential customers
 Newspaper coupons
o Newspaper coupons are always a good way to get
customers to come in. If they read the paper, they are
going to find the coupon and come into Gingersnap

[CONSUMER PLAN] 44
 Newspaper Advertising
o Normal newspaper advertising will attract the same
customers that will bring in the coupons. They may be
more inclined to read the paper if they know that there
will be coupons in the paper. The newspaper ads would
consist of the logo, the address, phone number, and list
a sandwich that they could eat at Gingersnap
 Radio
o Radio is a certain audience. To attract the younger
crowd, I will advertise on the popular pop radio station
in Rockford. The radio ads would consist of general
information about Gingersnap, when the opening day is
and the hours, it would highlight on the fact that there
would be free cookies for every customer and that we
serve breakfast, lunch and dinner and have a bakery
area. It would also mention that we have everything in
available in gluten free options as well
 Fliers
o Fliers around town are powerful too. They could catch
the eyes of someone who doesn’t listen to the radio or
read the newspaper and they may want to come in and
try Gingersnap. The fliers would consist of the logo,
general information about Gingersnap, when the
opening day is and the hours, address, phone number, it
would highlight on the fact that there would be free
cookies for every customer and that we serve breakfast,
lunch and dinner and have a bakery area. It would also
mention that we have everything in available in gluten
free options as well
 Social Media
o To attract more of a younger audience, I will post on
social media in hopes that they will come in and have a
meal with us. The posts would have tidbits of
information to appeal to customers
 Have a good relationship with media & advertisers
o Have 95% of media coverage be positive during the first year
 Keep the media people happy
 Make sure that the food is at its best on the days that they
come in to Gingersnap

[CONSUMER PLAN] 45
o Make sure to tell the cooks that important people are
coming in to Gingersnap that day and that the food had
to be at its best
 Keep a good relationship with them when Gingersnap is not
receiving media coverage
o Have an open house
 Having an open house with all of the media
contacts & potential media contacts that I have
made/ will make would be an excellent way to
maintain these relationships. Having it be
exclusive to the media would also be a good
selling point to them. Unveiling a new product
would be an excellent idea at a function like this
o Mail them letters/e-mail them
 Mailing/e-mailing the media letters just to say
that I appreciate everything that they have done
for Gingersnap is a good way to stay on their
good side
o Give them goodie baskets
 If they were to receive a handwritten letter in
the mail, they would also receive a goodie basket
full of sweet treats from the Gingersnap bakery.
They would get a wide assortment of normal &
gluten free desserts
o Call them
 Calling them with just a simple ‘thank you’ and to
see how they are is a good tactic to stay on their
good side. It may brighten their day as well and
they are more likely willing to remember that
o Invite them to Gingersnap for lunch
 Inviting the media for a complimentary quiet
lunch time out of the office may be a good way to
lift their spirits. If they haven’t had Gingersnap’s
food, this would be an excellent way to let them
sample the food
 Have current advertising bring in customers
o Have a 70% new customer rate within the first 3 months
 Make the advertising look and sound appealing to potential customers
 Have more coupons in the paper to attract customer

[CONSUMER PLAN] 46
o Coupons attract customers and customers bring money
 Sell on the fact that there are free cookies for every customer
o Everyone loves free cookies. Let Rockford know that
we have them for free
 Market that we have the option of take-out
o If people are on the go they want to have the option of a
fast meal. They can get that here and their food could
be ready by the time that they get here if they called in
ahead
o Catering needs to really be advertised in any media
form possible
 Have the money that was spent on advertising before the opening be made back
o Have 100% of the money be made back in 5 months
 Have more coupons in the paper to attract customers
 Have the customers spend more money in order to get the free
item on the coupon (See Appendix I)
o EX: Buy 2 Danishes get the third one free!
 Have punch cards for ‘buy 9 coffee’s get the 10th one for free
and a free cookie’ (See Appendix J)
o Hand these out to every single customer as they are
paying at the counter if it is just a bakery item or as they
are paying the check for dine-in service
 To have the customers that come in within the first month be returning customers
o Have a 90% retention rate of these customers
 Give them impeccable service & have the food be at its best to ensure
that people would want to return
 Train the staff so they know to work well with the customers
and each other so that things go smoothly as much as possible
o At this point, the staff should be well trained and they
should be treating the customers with respect
 Train the cooks to cook the food to the specifications that
already would have been set
o The cooks should already know too that their efforts
should be the best that they can give
Implementation
Gingersnap is going to make sure that all of these plans are laid out and executed to the
best that they can be. We will try and make our consumers have a great experience

[CONSUMER PLAN] 47
while they are at Gingersnap so that they will continue to come back and be lifelong
customers
Budget
Consumer Tools Price
Punch Cards x 1,000 $30
Newspaper Coupons x one week every month $100
T-Shirts x 80 at $12.58 each $1,006.40
Website $500
Total $1,621.40
Tactic Timeline
Goal 1
To have successful customer retention
Attracting customers will begin before Gingersnap’s opening day and we will always want
to have customer retention. Frequent customers will be what drive Gingersnap and the
more customers that we can get through the door; the longer Gingersnap’s doors will stay
open
Goal 2
Have new customers always coming in
Advertising will always draw in new customers. The advertising that Gingersnap will
produce will start before opening day and there will always be advertisements running
Goal 3
Have a good relationship with media & advertisers
Having a good relationship is the best way to stay on the good side of the media. I will try
and forge these relationships before opening day and I will do everything that I can to keep
the relationships alive and to create new ones
Goal 4
Have advertising bring in customers
Advertising will always draw in new customers. The advertising that Gingersnap will
produce will start before opening day and there will always be advertisements running
Goal 5
Have the money that was spent on advertising before the opening be made back
Being able to make the money back that was spent on advertising before opening day will
be a lengthy process. I will want to do it by the time that Gingersnap has been open for six
months
Goal 6
To have the customers that come in within the first month be returning customer

[CONSUMER PLAN] 48
Being a repeat customer says a lot about a business. If you see that same customers come
in all the time, it means that we are doing something right at Gingersnap. Trying to have
new customers become frequent customers will be a little more difficult but it will be a
good challenge
Evaluation of Goals
I believe that the consumer plan that I have implemented would help Gingersnap be a
successful business. Through staying in contact with the media and trying to get in touch
with the customers, I think that they will help Gingersnap thrive. With the reasonable
objectives that I have in place, Gingersnap will make its money back; have good customer
retention and good media coverage, which will all help Gingersnap in a positive way.
Goal 1
To have successful customer retention
 Determine if customers enjoy the atmosphere at Gingersnap
 Determine if the punch cards are a good investment
 Determine if the coupons in the newspaper are worth the investment
 Look at the number of punch cards turned in
 Look at the number of coupons turned in
 Determine the number of people that used these forms of advertisements
Goal 2
Have new customers always coming in
 Determine if all of the advertising is working
 Determine if there is one form of advertising that is better than the other
Goal 3
Have a good relationship with media & advertisers
 Determine if I should keep relationships with certain media people
 Determine if I should be forming a relationship with anyone else in the media
Goal 4
Have advertising bring in customers
 Determine if the advertising looks more appealing than it did before
 Determine if the advertising is bringing in customers
 Find out how many people come in only for the free cookies
Goal 5
Have the money that was spent on advertising before the opening be made back
 Determine if the coupons that were used for this were turned in
 Look at the number of coupons turned in to see how many people came in
Goal 6
To have the customers that come in within the first month be returning customers
 Determine if new customers like the food or not
 Make sure the staff is working at their best
 Make sure the cooks are cooking at their best

[CONSUMER PLAN] 49
Appendix H – Free T-Shirt Sample

[CONSUMER PLAN] 50
Appendix I – Sample newspaper coupon
Appendix J – Sample punch card design
Buy 2 danishes get one for free
Expires April 30, 2015
815-555-8364 www.gingersnapcafe.com Rockford,IL
815-555-8364 www.gingersnapcafe.com Rockford,IL
1 32 4 5
6 7 8 Free9

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