1. 1. Introduction
1.1 Marketing Definition
It is very difficult to find an exact definition for marketing that
everyone agrees with. The Collins Gem English dictionary defines it as
the, "Part of a business that controls the way that goods or services
are sold". Peter Drucker of the Management Guru says that, "Marketing
is not a function, it is the whole business seen from the customers'
point of view". There is also no specific definition for a marketing
campaign. The Collins Gen English dictionary says that a campaign is
a, "series of coordinated activities designed to achieve a goal". My
personal definition of a marketing campaign is based on the
definitions I have found: a series of coordinated activities designed
to achieve a goal, based on the part of a business that controls the
way goods and services are promoted and sold using the customers'
point of view.
1.2 Business Ideas
Apple Chips
Three in one oil
Paper soap
Sugar Cane Juice In Packing
Coffee Shop
The factors needing to be considered when planning a Marketing
campaign are basically to do with the 'four Ps' in the Marketing mix;
Product, place, pricing and promotion. The reasons for this are
defined here:
* "Product, which must be differentiated from its rivals' products
* Price, which must be low enough to be competitive
* Promotion, which is how customers will hear about the product
* Place, which is where the customer will find the products and how
they will be distributed to them."
(Huggett Business Studies GCSE textbook, 4th edition, 2001)
If these factors are not considered carefully, it is likely that the
marketing campaign for the business will fail.
The type of business I've decided to set up is a coffee shop in the
style of a 1950s diner which will be located within the Centre MK. I
have chosen this because I think that there is a niche in the market
for a new type of coffee shop. The Centre MK already has many coffee
shops, but most of them are very similar in style. My coffee shop will

2. include bright colours, a pop-art theme, chrome interior designs,
guitars hanging from the walls and music from the 1950-1990s will be
played. The customer segments I'm mostly targeting my business towards
people of all ages who are shopping in thecentre:mk (possibly groups
of friends or families).
1.3 Background Research
Before opening the business a lot of information needs to be found out
in order to have success. I will have to do some primary market
research to find out what customers want from a coffee shop in terms
of product, price and possibly place. I am planning to conduct a
questionnaire to members of the public to find out what potential
customers want from a coffee shop and to interview one or two existing
coffee shops to find out what sorts of things my business could
include. I will also have to conduct some secondary market research to
find out the different ways I could advertise, and how much each one
costs. This could be done using books or the internet. I will have to
look at all of the different means of promotion in terms of how much
they cost and how effective they would be for my company.
1.4 Factors affecting success
The main factor that will affect success within my business is
surrounding competition (will similar local businesses have better
appeal to customers?). This is based on the Marketing mix (four Ps).
If other businesses have better products, or if they have lower
prices, more effective promotion techniques or are located in a more
appealing place customers will choose to go to their coffee shop
instead. This is why so much information needs to be researched before
setting up the business to ensure that competition issues against my
business will not occur.
2. Market Research
2.1 Sources of Market Research Information
Market research is defined as the "systematic gathering, recording,
and analyzing of data about problems relating to the marketing of
goods and services". (American Marketing Association (1960), taken
from 'Marketing principles and practice' edition three, 1998). Market
research is conducted by companies in order to succeed. It is
important for two main reasons:
* To find out what the customers or potential customers for the
business want in terms of product, price, promotion and place.
* To find out what other similar businesses are doing, and how to
compete with them (eg. Finding out how much they are charging, and
offering a better price).
There are two main types of Market Research: collecting Primary data
and Secondary data. Primary data (often referred to as field research)

3. is "obtained by using one or more of the following four market
research techniques: observation, surveys (interviews), projective
methods, experimentation". (Marketing principles and practice, edition
three, 1998). Secondary data (often referred to as desk research) is "Information
which already exists due to other people's research. It is collected
by desk research, for example reading documents." (Huggett Business
Studies GCSE textbook edition 4, 2001).
Different Market research methods are appropriate at different times.
Both primary research and secondary research have good and bad points.
The main advantages of primary research are that it's reliable and up
to date and speaks directly to the customers. Disadvantages are that
it can be expensive and it is hard to make sure that the information
is reliable. Advantages of secondary research are that it is cheap and
easier to carry out. Disadvantages are that it is not very accurate
because it doesn't necessarily speak directly to customers and may not
be very up-to-date. A mixture of the methods is the best way to carry
out research. This is what I aim to do.
2.2 Customer Questionnaire Design
I have chosen to carry out primary research because I want to speak
directly to my potential customers and I feel that primary research is
the most reliable and up-to-date way of finding out what they want. I
have chosen to carry out a face-to-face questionnaire with members of
the public because I feel that this will have a high response rate and
will be cheaper than carrying out postal or telephone surveys. This
questionnaire will be useful for me to find out what the people of
Milton Keynes want and using the information I receive I will be able
to display my findings. I will show my questionnaire findings in
result tables, bar charts and pie charts to show the percentage/amount
of people that have chosen certain results. I will question at least
30 people because I feel that this is a high enough amount to analyse
and will provide me with reliable data. I will be asking people from
all over the place, I will question some people in school (teachers
and pupils), some outside Walnut tree local centre and some within
thecentre:mk. This will provide me with a varied sample. I will use
mainly closed questions (where there is a choice of answers) because
this makes it easier to show the results in tables and graphs
afterwards. A disadvantage of using closed questions is that it is
sometimes thought that this is like putting words into the person's
mouth, or making their decisions for them. To avoid this, I will allow
a space for the person to make their own decision if I have not
specified it in my choice of answers.
2.3 Analysis of Questionnaire Results
I questioned 30 people in a few different locations (outside Tesco
express, walnut tree, thecentre:mk, in school, friends and family).
The people I questioned were of a varied age range, although there
were more people aged 16-25 than any other age range (see figure I),
which could make my results slightly biased.
[IMAGE]

4. Figure I - shows the ages of the people I questioned.
The results from my questionnaire are very useful as they have given
me a lot of information. To show me whether or not it was worth
opening a coffee shop with food facilities, I asked people, "When you
visit thecentre:mk do you ever stop for a cup of coffee/something to
eat?". My results showed that the majority of the people I asked said
yes (See figure II), proving that coffee shops are popular.
[IMAGE]
Figure II - shows whether or not people stop for a cup of coffee/
something to eat when they visit thecentre:mk
To outline who my competition will be, one of my questions was asking
which places people often stop to eat or drink in. This was a multiple
choice question, but had an 'other' box for people to name their
choice, and a few people did choose this option, naming their
preferred choice. This question could be answered as many times as
necessary by the person being questioned, so it wasn't necessarily one
answer per person. The results from this question showed that my main
competitors would be Costa coffee and Mc Donalds (See figure III).
Using this information I could choose to interview one of these
businesses and find out what techniques they use in order to have
success. This would help me because I could use the same techniques as
them in my business.
[IMAGE]
Figure III - shows where people visit to eat or drink at thecentre:mk
Next, I asked people to describe what they thought of the coffee shops
in thecentre:mk. Again, this was a multiple choice question (but
included an 'other option, although no-one chose to use this), and
again people could answer as many times as necessary. The choices I
included were based on the amount of coffee shops, their style and
their prices. My results showed that the coffee shops are too
expensive and too similar in style (See figure IV). With this
information, I can choose to make my new coffee shop completely
different to others in style (which it will be, seeing as there are no
others in style of a 50's diner), and I will have to make prices
competitive.
[IMAGE]
Figure IV - shows people's thoughts on the current selection of coffee
shops in thecentre:mk
I wanted to know whether or not people would be interested in my idea
of opening a coffee shop in the style of a 50's diner, so I asked this
in my questionnaire. My results showed that most people would be
interested (see figure V) showing that my idea should be carried out,
as it would appeal to people.

5. [IMAGE]
Figure V - shows how many people would be interested in the opening of
a new coffee shop in the style of a 50's diner.
2.4 Competitor Analysis
I wrote up an initial interview with questions that were specially
formatted in order to find out what I needed to know about the
companies I was interviewing. I did both of my interviews by
telephone. The first interview was conducted on 18th March 2004 and
was with Andy - the assistant manager of Costa coffee, thecentre:mk
(competitor 1). The second interview was done on 24th March 2004 and
was with Kaisha Morris - the assistant manager of The end bar,
thecentre:mk (competitor 2). Although I was hoping to have three
competitors to analyse, unfortunately this was not possible as other
companies that I called said that they were unable to participate in
research related interviews.
2.4.1 Competitor 1
Looking at the secondary research I found on the Costa coffee website
(www.costa.co.uk), I found that the franchise offers a fair trade
coffee option on all of its coffees. I also found that they claim to
make the "perfect cup" of coffee. In the primary research (interview)
I found out about the company's marketing mix (price, promotion, place
and product), and also about their aims and objectives. Costa coffee's
main aims and objectives are to make £10million pure profit each year.
Their product, as well as selling a range of drinks and snacks, is "an
excellent staff training programme" (Andy - assistant manager of Costa
coffee). When asking them if they thought that their location (place)
was important they said that it was 100% important. The branch that I
chose to interview is located near the department store John Lewis,
and they said that this is where they feel that their business comes
from. They especially notice this on Mondays, when they have no
business. They believe this is because it is the day when John Lewis
is shut. Another issue in discussion was pricing. They say that the
opening of a similar business nearby would make them, "check out their
prices and compete against their services" (Andy - assistant manager
of Costa coffee). Costa coffee doesn't tend to use advertising methods
for promotion, but do offer, "Free samples of food about once a month.
The coffee sells itself so free samples of coffee aren't necessary"
(Andy - assistant manager of Costa coffee). From this information I
have learnt that location, and competition are important things to
consider when opening a coffee business. Promotional methods aren't
necessary because the products tend to sell without using these.
2.4.2 Competitor 2
The End bar has a fairly different attitude towards their customers
and why they have success. Their main aims and objectives, unlike
Costa coffee's money related aims and objectives were to "To achieve a
well run business, good staff and atmosphere, quality food" (Kaisha

6. Morris - assistant manager of The End bar). They feel that the main
service that they provide is being the only bar in thecentre:mk where
people can smoke. This could be possibly something some people would
find to be a bad point of the business. They feel that location is
very important in success because in their case, being in a busy
shopping centre location, "People just walk past and see it" (Kaisha
Morris - assistant manager of The End bar). The End bar feels that the
opening of a similar business wouldn't necessarily affect their
success because they have regular customers who come in everyday,
although they would compete against a similar business's prices. The
End bar, surprisingly, use no promotional methods at all, they don't
advertise or have special offers.
3. Marketing Campaign
3.1 Promotional Methods
Promotion can be outlined using the AIDA model. The Financial Times
'Marketing principles and practice' edition 3 (1998) describes the
stages of promotion using the AIDA model as:
"Attention - Gain attention of the audience.
Interest - Kindle interest in the product/service on offer.
Desire - Arouse desire for your product above any desire for your
competitor's product.
Action - The customer buys the product".
The purpose of promotion is to gain awareness from your potential
customer and persuade them to buy your product or service. There are
two main types of promotion, above the line and below the line. Above
the line promotion is through independent media, such as the TV or
newspapers. It does not involve the company directly contacting their
potential customers. Examples of above the line promotion are:
television, radio, cinema, the internet, newspapers. Below the line
promotion is promotion through other methods which the firm has direct
control over. It involves the potential customer being directly
contacted. Examples of below the line promotion are: exhibitions and
trade fairs, handbills, direct mailing.
3.2 Advertising Methods
My coffee shop business could use a range of methods for advertising
and promoting. When interviewing coffee shops (Costa coffee and the
end bar), I found that Costa coffee often gave out free samples of
their food, but the end bar used no promotional methods because they
feel that it is unnecessary. I don't feel that as a coffee shop many
promotional methods are needed, because coffee does tend to sell
itself in a busy shopping centre location, but here is a list of
possible advertising methods I could use:

7. Method of advertising
Advantages / why would they be appropriate for my business?
Disadvantages / why would they be inappropriate for my business?
Free samples
Cheap because not much is given away, If people enjoy what they have
tried they will come back regularly, if they think that the company
are after pleasing their customers by giving away things for free,
they are more likely to go back and 'return the favour' by buying
their products.
If people don't enjoy what they have tried for free they are even less
likely to go back than if they hadn't tried it in the first place.
Posters
Most groups covered, if close to shop could encourage impulse buyers,
seen every time the person walks past, can put poster right near the
coffee shop so that target audience will see it, weather will not
damage it as it could be placed within thecentre:mk, colour techniques
possible.
Can't put too much information on effectively
Radio
Cheap, most groups covered, use of sound
No visual techniques can be used, may be seen as annoying because it's
interrupting music, not necessarily getting target audience (people in
thecentre:mk)
Television
Can attract attention and have a massive impact, can demonstrate the
shop in use, vast audience.
Very expensive, may not necessarily remember the advert when visiting
thecentre:mk, not necessarily getting target audience (people in
thecentre:mk)
Magazines
Colour techniques possible, can reach target audience with specialist
magazines.
No movement or sound, a long time between advertisements being placed
and magazine being printed.
Internet

8. Cheap, easy to set up, number of views can be shown, can be aimed at
target audiences, can be changed
Limited audience, technical problems are always possible, not
necessarily getting target audience (people in thecentre:mk)
Regional newspaper
Better than national newspapers because the coffee shop will be local,
not national so target audience is more likely to be reached
No movement or sound, more expensive than national newspapers (in
terms of cost per reader), may be poor quality, not necessarily
getting target audience (people in thecentre:mk)
National newspaper
Relatively cheap, national coverage so more people will read than a
regional newspaper
No movement or sound, usually only black and white colours, there's
usually so many adverts that many go un-noticed, not necessarily
getting target audience (people in thecentre:mk)
I feel that the most appropriate advertising methods for my type of
retail business would be free samples and posters. These would not
only grab the target audiences' attention (target audience being
people walking around thecentre:mk) and encourage them to go into the
store (posters), but once they had entered the store they could try
out the free samples and be tempted to buy food and drinks. These
methods are also not too expensive.
3.3 Costings
I have researched how much various places charge for advertising.
MK Web (Milton Keynes' website)
MK Web charge £100 per month for any of the options below.
Banners - guaranteed to be viewed on a minimum of one in every 6
pages.
Banner Example
Square buttons - guaranteed to be viewed on a minimum of one in every
3 pages.
Square Button Example
Rectangular buttons - guaranteed to be viewed on a minimum of one in
every 3 pages.
Rectangular Button Example

9. Panel advertising
Advert is permanently displayed on the home page of one of the
following section.
Business directory, restaurant guide, accommodation guide, pubs and
clubs guide.
This includes a link to a full advertorial containing up to three
pictures and 250 words of text. Ideal for a business who wishes to
target the audience attracted to a specific section. Limited
availability.
Milton KeynesCitizen Newspaper
Milton Keynes Citizen is a local newspaper to Milton Keynes. They have
a variety of advertising options and rates including leaflets.
Leaflets
£17.50 per 1000 leaflets (up to A4 size)
Run of paper
£11.15 per advert per week
Yellow Pages
The Yellow pages also offer a range of advertising options. The prices
range from £28 - £8991 in the Bedford/Milton Keynes area for
publication in April 2005.
3.4 Legal Constraints
The ASA (advertising standards authority) is "the independent,
self-regulatory body for non-broadcast advertisements, sales
promotions and direct marketing in the UK" (www.asa.org.uk). They
claim to "ensure that advertisements are legal, decent, honest and
truthful".
The ASA Code of Practice is basically the laws that have to be
followed legally in advertising. They will affect how I advertise my
business because I will have to follow their rules and regulations in
order for my advertising to be legal. There are many rules on
advertising but a few examples of the rules that the ASA enforce are:
* "All marketing communications should be legal, decent, honest and
truthful"
* "Any stated price should be clear and should relate to the product
advertised. Marketers should ensure that prices match the products
illustrated."
* "No marketing communication should mislead, or be likely to
mislead, by inaccuracy, ambiguity, exaggeration, omission or

10. otherwise."
(Points taken at random from the "CAP Code" on www.asa.org.uk)
There are other laws that my business will need to be aware of. Here
is a list of them, taken from the Huggett Business studies GCSE
textbook edition 4 (2001):
* "1968 Trade Description Act - stops businesses giving a false or
misleading description of goods or services.
* 1970 Equal pay act - says men and women should receive the same
pay for the same work or work of equal value.
* 1973 Fair trading act - sets up Office of fair trading.
* 1974 Consumer credit act - protects people who buy on credit.
* 1974 Health and safety at work act - requires employers to provide
safe premises and healthy working conditions.
* 1975 Sex Discrimination Act - makes sex discrimination illegal.
* 1976 Race relations act - make it illegal to discriminate on
grounds of race, or colour, or ethnic origins.
* 1987 Consumer Protection Act - makes businesses liable for any
damage caused by defective goods.
* 1994 Saleand Supply of Goods Act - says all goods must be safe,
durable and free from defects.
* 1995 Disability Discrimination Act - makes big firms treat
disabled people no less favourably than other employees.
* 1995 Environment Act - controls pollution of land, air and water.
* 1998 Competition - makes anti-competitive agreements between firms
illegal
* 1999 Employment Relations Act - makes trade union recognition
easier and improves parents' rights."
4. Conclusions and Recommendations
I have chosen these methods to promote/advertise my coffee shop retail
business:
Free Samples
· Advantages - free samples wouldn't cost much to the business, if the
potential customers like what they are trying they will come back for
more.

11. · Disadvantages - if the potential customers don't like what they try
they are less likely to visit the coffee shop than if they hadn't
tried the sample in the first place, people could try the samples for
the sake of it without any intention to make a purchase.
· A person will stand close to the coffee shop giving out the free
samples (there will be two samples at any one time, one a type of
drink and one a snack). They will then explain about the coffee shop
and show the potential customer where it is located.
· I chose this promotional method because it fits in excellently with
the marketing mix. It promotes the product close to the place where
the business is located and introducing members of the public to the
prices. This method is below the line promotion, because it involves
direct interaction with the potential customer.
Posters
· Advantages - poster can be put right near to the coffee shop to
reach the target audience, the weather wont damage it because it can
be put inside thecentre:mk, encourages impulse buyers.
· Disadvantages - can't put a lot of information on posters
effectively (people get bored when too much information is disclosed),
people could walk straight past posters without noticing them, a very
specific location will need to be found where most people will see it.
· I will put up a large coloured poster which is of a cup of coffee in
a brightly coloured mug on top of a retro style stall. It will say
something along the lines of "New 50's diner coffee and refreshments
cafe, located next to Marks and Spencers. Eat. Drink. Enjoy! (Without
breaking your budget!)" The writing will be in a multi-coloured font
and will curl around the coffee mug to grab attention.
· This promotional method also complies with the marketing mix. It is
promoting the cup of coffee (product), telling the customer where to
go (place) and telling them that it's not expensive (price). This
method is above the line promotion, because it doesn't go directly to
the potential customer (such as direct mailing, exhibitions and trade
fairs).
Quite a few parts of my research helped me to decide how to promote my
business:
* My questionnaire results - when I asked people to describe the
coffee shops within thecentre:mk, the majority of people said that
they were too similar in style and too expensive. Therefore,
within my poster advertisement I have included the fact that my
new coffee shop is different in style to most, and that it is
cheap.
* When interviewing Costa coffee, they said that they don't tend to
advertise but do offer free samples about once a month. Seeing as

12. Costa coffee appears to be a popular coffee shop, with 26% of the
people I questioned saying they visit it regularly, I thought it
would be a good idea to use similar promotional methods to them.
* I chose to use methods that would be situated close to the
location of the coffee shop so that I could reach my target
audience effectively. I didn't use methods such as the radio,
newspaper and television because these are less likely to reach my
target audience.
* The prices which I researched for MK Web, Citizen Newspaper, and
Yellow pages seemed expensive for a type of advertising that I
didn't feel would be effective for my type of business.
Improvements
I am convinced that the advertising methods I have chosen to promote
my business are suitable for the type of business I am opening, and
will encourage customers to visit my coffee shop and purchase my
products. However, in the future I may want to make improvements to
these methods and perhaps change them due to a change in
circumstances. At the moment my aim for the near future is to make
customers aware of my coffee shop and make them visit it. If my aim is
accomplished, and the business has success, I may want to expand my
advertising methods in the future. I may want to start advertising in
the local newspaper or sending direct mailing to people around Milton
Keynes, perhaps including special offers. This would help the business
in the long-term because it would expand my target audience to be not
only people who are already in thecentre:mk. It would also help the
business to achieve profit-maximisation. Another thing I could choose
to do if my business has success is to open another store, either
somewhere else in Milton Keynesor in another town or city. This would
create a chain, which would have brand-name loyalty to customers. It
could take a long time before improvements such as this happened. This
improvement would help the business in the long-term because it would
help with achieving profit-maximisation. The possibilities are endless
when talking about expanding the business in the future, but for a
starting-up business I am happy that the promotion methods I have
chosen to carry out will help my business to mature, ready for these
developments.