14 This document outlines a marketing strategy and three budget proposals for Elm Tree Organics. It includes a situational analysis, objectives to improve the website and brand, and recommendations for digital, social media, and direct marketing. Three budgets ranging from €3,000 to €5,000 include costs for website design, trade show attendance, printing, and advertising. The strategies aim to increase awareness, sales and market size for Elm Tree Organics over the next year.

1. Elm Tree Organics
MK312 - Marketing Policy and
Strategy
Submitted to: Dr. Ann M. Torres, Discipline of Marketing, School of
Business and Economics, College of Business, Public Policy & Law, NUI
Galway
Name Student ID Number Course Programme
Donal Ennis 14102988 3BC - Shannon
Tracy Deane 14102986 3BC - Shannon
Amy Jordan 11466352 3BC1
Elaine Gibson 12519153 3BC1
Date: 18th March 2015 Word Count: 2897
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2. MK312 - Marketing Policy and Strategy
2014/15 (Semester 2)
Assignment: Elm Tree Organics
Signed Statement of Student
We hereby certify this material, which we submit for assessment on the programme of study
leading to the award of (Bachelor of Commerce) is entirely our own work and has not been
taken from the work of others, except to the extent that such work has been cited and
acknowledged within the text of our work. Moreover, we recognise that as a group, we are
individually and jointly responsible for the submission of this project.
Name Student ID No. Signature Date
Donal Ennis 14102988
Tracy Deane 14102986
Amy Jordan 11466352
Elaine Gibson 12519153
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3. Contents
Contents................................................................................................................................................3
I.Introduction.........................................................................................................................................4
II.Situational Analysis.............................................................................................................................5
III.Digital Marketing...............................................................................................................................7
A.Online Marketing............................................................................................................................8
B.Social Media Marketing..............................................................................................................9
C.Direct Marketing...........................................................................................................................11
IV.Budgets........................................................................................................................................13
V.Conclusions and recommendations..................................................................................................15
VI.Bibliography.....................................................................................................................................16
VII.Appendices and budgets................................................................................................................17
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4. I. Introduction
Our marketing team, DETA Marketing, has been approached by Mr Claxton who seeks to further
improve his current marketing campaign for his business Elmtree Organics., we will plan and set out
three separate budgets containing the most effective methods for Mr Claxton to achieve his objectives.
It will then be up to Mr Claxton to implement the plan and budget which he feels fits best with his
company.
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5. II. Situational Analysis
Elmtree Organics is a small business originating from the development of the Elmtree clinic which
specialises in acupuncture and fertility. Mr Claxton "specialises in an integrative holistic approach to
healthcare with a special interest in women's health and fertility enhancement" as seen on his
LinkedIn. Mr Claxton’s ideas are unique and so are his products as he provides the public with an
organic, high quality, personal products with the hopes of reaching a larger market than his clinic
currently grasps.
With Mr Claxton’s previous marketing to date consisting of minor newspaper advertising, in
store shelf advertising and word of mouth recommendations Mr Claxton finds himself in a position
where he hopes exploit a potential market and isn’t completely sure about his next steps.
Challenges which currently face Mr Claxton are the fact that he is restricted to stating the
benefits of what his product do with regards to IMB restrictions. These restrictions leave our client in
a situation where he cannot openly explain the benefits of what his products can assist with. Without
the opportunity to openly state the benefits of the products our client is left in an area of difficulty
where he is unsure how to communicate benefits without actually stating them on his products.
With no direct competitors in Ireland, Elmtree Organics find their closest competitors
overseas with “Zita West” and “Marlyn Glenville” both of whom fail to provide organic products and
the close support services which our client considers detrimental to his business.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
Mr Claxton has developed a unique line of products by creating three types of herbal tea to help
women conceive a child and to help women during pregnancy. “Pre Mama”, “Morning Bright”, and
“Afternoon Delight”. All products are seen as a significant strength as there are no similar competitors
in the Irish market. These products are mostly manufactured in Galway which creates local jobs and
can boost the local economy which can be observed as a strength. Mr Claxton has a client base of
over 7,000 women and their partners with a success rate of 77%. ElmTree Organics can use their
outstanding reputation to promote their products as being successful also.
Weaknesses
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6. Our marketing team have found that the products have been poorly marketed on the web. There is
also very little knowledge about them in the retail industry given that they are sold only in one
pharmacy so far. This provides little purchase opportunity to potential buyers and creates a smaller
market. The ElmTree Organics website design also does not aid easy consumer shopping in our
opinion.
Opportunities
We feel there are fantastic opportunities for ElmTree Organic products. Firstly, a huge effort can be
made to promote it on the internet in different platforms and social media sites to heighten the
awareness of the benefits and uniqueness of these products. It can also create a wider target market
and reaching consumers in Ireland and internationally. We believe it is important that ElmTree
Organic’s products are stocked in retail outlets across Ireland and promotions and merchandising will
become a significant part of sales.
Threats
Although there are no competitors here in Ireland and Europe there are similar competitors in
America which could provide competition internationally.
Objectives
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7. DETA Marketing set out with the aim to include SMART goals for a yearlong marketing strategy. By
following the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Relevant and Time- Related) goals and
focusing on three key objectives with the overall aim of return on investment we trust that we can
propose and achieve a successful marketing strategy for Elmtree Organics. Our main objectives are as
follows;
- Improved development of website and online shop
- Development of the brand with assistance of a tag line.
- Increase the market size
We believe that these objectives are achievable over the next year for Mr Claxton and his business.
We have outlined in the following paragraphs the ways in which these objectives can be achieved to
enable Mr Claxton to achieve further expansion.
III. Digital Marketing
For our strategy, we have decided to focus on three major areas which collaborate to achieve the
overall objectives which we have outlined above. By focusing on A) Online Marketing B) Social
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8. Media Marketing and C) Direct Marketing we can give our client different areas to develop as he
progresses throughout the year.
A. Online Marketing
The first area that we, the authors believe should be looked at is the website. With Elmtree Organics
currently operating as a small start-up, Elmtree Organic’s website is invaluable to its further
successes. While Elmtree Clinic is currently attracting 50,000 views a month to its website which has
a clear navigation and an aesthetically pleasing layout it can be improved. There are certain elements
that the authors suggest in order to increase traffic, increase sales and customers which are the main
objectives for Elmtree Organics in the coming year.
Welcome Page
By introducing a welcome page, Elmtree Organics can display a simple naivigational map with
reduced clutter. If Elmtree Organics is to develop a brand around comfort and stress free remedies
then this needs to be uniform in everything they carry out. By having soft pages with more free space,
potential clients are not pushed away but instead encouraged to further delve into the site.
Testimonials
With Elmtree Organics produce currently revolving around sensitive, somewhat-humiliating subjects,
testimonials should be shown early on to enforce credibility regarding the products. In this section,
there should also be a link to the shop as clients may impulsively decide to try the product out.
Font and phrasing
We, the authors feel the font on the website can be changed to a more simplistic look. We, the authors
feel that the font could be changed to a more basic one with an emphasis on joining a family rather
than the current “tribal” enticement. With current clients emphasis already on developing their own
families this can be encouraged by being part of another family. With this in mind, a potential tagline
for the product would be 'Fertility Foundations For Your Family'
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9. Mobile Compatibility
Currently, the Elmtree Organics website is difficult to operate on the mobile which is the platform of
the moment. While all elements load quickly, they reveal a very cluttered opening page. Considering
mobile visitors impatient nature, a redesign of the mobile site to provide a friendly, welcoming visit
with ease of information access would help to acquire customers.
Email Collection
We, the authors feel that the collection of an email database is important, the way in which Elmtree
Organics is currently going about acquiring this can be altered by having this as an optional area
somewhere on the main page. Visitors will then be more inclined to view the site and then be drawn
into the brand instead of immediately being turned off the idea of giving a personal email address.
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)
SEO is the process of determining the presence of a website on a search results page by altering the
visibility of that page. SEO considers how search engines work, what people search for, the actual
search terms or keywords typed into search engines.
DETA’s SEO optimization would include:
· Well written content that is unique, with focus on keywords
· Good quality backlinks from relevant websites
· Fresh input through blogs or website alterations
· Adding Viral Components: Reviews, sharing functions, ratings, visitor comments.
Content on Mr Claxton’s website should be continuously updated perhaps by hiring someone to do
this regularly. This would allow Mr Claxton to focus on the other areas of marketing development.
B. Social Media Marketing
Social media is often seen as a public arena rather than a private arena, it is important for Mr Claxton
to realise that it can be used in both ways and that he utilizes this opportunity. So, we would
recommend that he uses Facebook, Twitter and the Galway hour to reach the general public in order
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10. to develop a recognised brand. It is suggested that he uses the more targeted intimate mediums of
Instagram, YouTube and conversational forums to target his market in order to develop a trusted and
credible brand. The choices of posts he employs will be fundamental in translating the values and
missions of his business to the external environment.
Facebook
We, the authors, suggest that Facebook be used as a general platform for advertising Elmtree Organics
to increase awareness and trustworthiness of the l brand through testimonials, competitions and
should act as an information base with a link to ElmTree’s website.
Instagram
Instagram could be employed as a platform for Mr Claxton to subtly promote his products in a
motivational fashion in order to eventually make fertility products trendy and mainstream. It provides
a portal where people interested in fertility products could view them in a discreet fashion should they
wish to do so.
Twitter and the Galway hour
It would be beneficial for Mr Claxton to make the most of twitter through effective uses of hash tags
in order to gain recognition and credibility in his successes in the fertility world. The Galway hour is a
two hour slot each week whereby a Galway twitter page facilitates networking and the promotion of
businesses. They could advertise his website, giveaways and talks about his products. This could be a
venue whereby Elmtree Organics could become a recognised brand by the general public.
YouTube channel
It is recommended that Elmtree creates a YouTube channel in order to add credibility to his products.
Mr Claxton could create brief videos about how to consume each of his products along with health
plans that could increase their effectiveness. He could also use it to provide satisfied client
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11. testimonials and an insight into his client’s success journeys. An arena whereby prospective
customers can encounter real customer’s opinions could be invaluable to his business.
Role as an advisor
It would be advised for Mr Claxton to act in an advisory role in online forums and blogs whereby he
promotes his brand by providing valuable insight into fertility to women who want to examine the
natural therapies first. His posts should not be openly publicize his company and should come across
as friendly and would co-inside with organisational goals by becoming a recognised brand due to the
closeness of these anonymous private communities.
LinkedIn
LinkedIn could serve as a convincing forum whereby Mr Claxton could network with shop owners
and chemists who may wish to stock his products.
C. Direct Marketing
Direct marketing could prove to be a very valuable source of marketing for Mr Claxton in promoting
the Elmtree Organic’s products and increasing online sales. Direct marketing has no channels or
intermediaries and is therefore an excellent way Mr Claxton can reach his target audience. With the
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12. targeted nature of his customer base, it means Mr Claxton can employ personal selling and express
personally the benefits of Elmtree Organic products.
Trade shows
There are many fertility and holistic trade shows held in Ireland which attract thousands of women
annually. The SMA Pregnancy and Baby show which is held over 3 weekends in Dublin and Cork is
specifically segmented event for the market which Mr Claxton wishes to attract. At events like these,
Mr Claxton could speak directly to his potential market and portray the benefits of his product or
perhaps use it as an opportunity of getting the Elmtree Products name into the market and encourage
the word of mouth awareness of his product.
Print Media
Print media is still a popular method of advertising. While, Printing signage, posters and
advertisements can be costly, it can also be worth spending some of your marketing budget on
creating a powerful and attractive sign or media to place in specific locations to promote your product.
We recommend creating a powerfully attractive poster which Mr Claxton can use in various places
like doctor surgeries, hospitals and chemists. If it is decided to spend a little of the budget on printing
and reaching the market through magazines and print media we recommend Mr Claxton uses
magazines which will not only reach the audience who are trying to get pregnant, but also the couples
who are currently pregnant and can benefit from using the Elmtree Organic products.
Email
On the Elmtree website you can sign up for a newsletter and give the webpage your email. It could
also be an option for Mr Claxton while at trade shows to collect a database of emails so he can contact
potential customers in the future with offers and make them aware of the products available.
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13. Broadcasting
When Elmtree Organics becomes a more well-known name among households in Ireland, it may be
possible for Elmtree to gain the time themselves free of charge due to a popularity in interest from the
general public but this is not a feasible option currently.
Core Products
We, the authors feel that Mr Claxton needs to heavily back 2 to 3 of his products to become
synonymous with his brand. Focus groups can be carried out to allow for the decision of which
products to start off with. By introducing new products slowly, the public see the company as an
active business looking to expand.
IV. Budgets
3 potential budgets have been put together for our client, Mr Claxton. As can be seen from the
previous pages, we do not suggest Mr Claxton use an overly large amount of his budget for his initial
year. With all budgets, we have included a 10% contingency plan. Although, we feel our advice to be
clear and well structured, plans must always make to prepare for unlikely circumstances.
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14. €3000
For Mr Claxton’s lowest budget we would like to focus on a choice of one or 2 social media options
done well. By employing an intern from a web design course such as from a college such as CIT for
€50 a week for 12 months of the year, Mr Claxton can have ease of mind that there will be constant
development on social media channels of his choice. €100 of the remaining budget can be used for the
purchasing of leaflets and business cards for Mr Claxton to use as he begins to network more and
attend trade shows. It is recommended that the remaining €300 is used for a 10% contingency plan.
€4000
For the middle budget of €4000 we recommend that Mr Claxton continues to keep the intern to take
care of his social media. In relation to redesigning his current website, Kyrnin, J suggests allocating
€400 of the budget for this task. We would also raise the budget for the creation of business cards and
flyers to €250 as we feel it would be beneficial for Mr Claxton to also attend the SMA Baby and
Pregnancy Fair in Dublin and he would need more flyers etc. for this event. The cost of a 2 square
metre stand at this fair would be €350 which would also be taken out of this budget. The remaining
balance of €400 would be the 10% contingency plan.
€5000
For our final budget we have the following recommendations for Mr Claxton. Like the previous
budget’s we recommend he continues to keep the intern to take care of his online media presence. We
also recommend he raises his budget to €400 for printing of business cards and flyers. The Pregnancy
and Baby fair is held over 2 weekends, one in Cork and one in Dublin. We recommend that Mr
Claxton now attends both trade shows which will increase the price to €700 and the use of the extra
flyers will be accounted for in the budget above. We researched the possibility of a Run of Paper
advertisement for Elmtree Organics in the Sunday Independent newspaper on four Sundays which we
would recommend to be placed in around the time of the trade shows. It is estimated that the cost of
the run of paper on each individual time is €122.80 and the cost for four advertisement placements
would be €491.20. It is important to have the website up to date so we would keep an allocation of
€300 to redesign the current website. In conclusion we would use the remaining balance of €500 for
the 10% contingency plan.
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15. V. Conclusions and recommendations
Overall, we recommend that Mr Claxton focuses on creating awareness for his brand and increasing
overall sales for Elmtree Organics. We would suggest that he does this through the mediums of digital
marketing, social media marketing and direct marketing with a particular emphasis on the
optimization of the Elmtree website, their social media sites and trade shows. We have outlined how
we would implement these items in a year-long time scale and budget summary in appendix 1 and 2.
It is suggested that Mr Claxton monitors the success of his project through google analytics, Sysomos,
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16. tweetdeck, and tradeshow questionnaires. We hope that the utilization of all these features combined
will succeed in increasing awareness, sales and the customer base of Elmtree Organics.
VI. Bibliography
1. De Chernatony, L. McDonald, M. & Wallace, E. (2011) Creating powerful brands. 4th ed.
Amsterdam; Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann.
2. Shimp, T. (2006) Integrated marketing communications in advertising and promotion. 7th Ed.
Mason, Ohio: London : Thomson Learning 2006.
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17. 3. Cork Institute of Technology. (No date) E-learning Design and Development. Available at:
http://www.cit.ie/course/CRHELDE9. (Accessed: 02 March 2015).
4. Claxton, I. (No date) Ian Claxton. Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ianclaxton
(Accessed: 04 March 2015)
5. Kyrnin, J.(No date) “How Much Should a Web Design Cost”. Available at:
http://webdesign.about.com/od/beforeyoustartawebsite/a/how-much-should-a-web-design-
cost.htm (Accessed: 04 March 2015)
6. Sunday Independant (2009) Advertise with us. Available at :
http://www.independent.ie/editorial/pdfs/Rate-card-2013.pdf (Accessed: 04 March 2015)
7. SMA know-how. (Date unknown) Pregnancy and baby fair. Available at:
http://www.pregnancyandbabyfair.ie/ (Accessed: 02 March 2015)
VII. Appendices and budgets
BUDGET €3,000
Student Intern €2,600
Leaflets & Business Cards €100
10% Contingency Plan €300
€3,000
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18. BUDGET 2 €4,000
Student Intern €2,600
Redesign of Website €400
Leaflets & Business Cards €250
Trade Show €350
10% Contingency Plan €400
€4,000
BUDGET 3 €5,000
Student Intern €2,600
Redesign of Website €300
Leaflets & Business Cards €400
Trade Show €700
Advertisements (x4) €491.20
10% Contingency Plan €500
€5,000
Appendix 1: Budgets
Timeline of events
May - July • Heavy work on redevelopment of website
• Followed by advertising on social media for new website
• Finalisation of main 'core products’
August - October • Introduction to social media world
• Attendance on OMIG
November -
December
January - April • Heavy push for sales through all media
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19. • R&D for next products to introduce
• Planning for expansion and overseas sales
• Campaign development
Appendix 2: Timeline of Events
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