Sarka Industries produces custom material handling and automation equipment. They specialize in metal fabrication and hand produce all their products. Their main product is the Carhoe, which was originally developed in 1967 to safely and efficiently unload railcars. Sarka purchased the rights to the Carhoe in 2009 and modernized the design to make it more efficient with self-regulating technology. The Carhoe is primarily used to unload dried distillers grain, coal, and gravel. It creates a safer and more efficient unloading process compared to manual unloading. The marketing plan proposes expanding the sales team, improving YouTube videos, securing editorial placements, and offering discounts for early or financed payments to promote the Carhoe.

1. Sarka Industries
CARHOE:
Busting into the Market
Tim Dillon, Grant Ekleberry, Cory Frey
April 2015

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Table Of Contents
Product and Company Overview…………2
Situational Analysis………………………3
Marketing Research……………………....4
Segment, Target, Position Analysis……....5
Integrated Marketing Plan………………..7
References………………………………10

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Product/Company Overview
Sarka Conveyor and Automation
Sarka Industries, headquartered in Tiffin, Ohio, has been in business for over
25 years. Founded by Kenny and Larry Sarka, the company started off as a small
fabrication shop. Now under the ownership of Todd and Andrea Sarka, the
company has grown into a much larger operation with an international business
presence. The company produces custommaterial handling and automation units
while also specializing in metal fabrication. Sarka hand produces all of its products
in house to ensure that all products are made with precision and attention to detail.
The company prides itself on being innovative in design and can meet the needs of
it’s customers with over 25 years of experience, expertise, and knowledge. Perhaps
the most important characteristic of Sarka Industries is its quality and
craftsmanship. Customers of Sarka can count on receiving a quality productthat
will be built to meet their every expectation.
The CARHOE
In 1967, Albert Industries first produced the Carhoe, which forever changed
the way that railcars were unloaded. The productwas developed to serve as a safer
and more efficient solution to unloading frozen and packed railcars carrying a
variety of substances. After purchasing the building rights, Sarka Industries started
to build and producethe Carhoe in 2009. Sarka revamped the design of the
original Carhoe to make it more efficient and provided it with technology to make
it self-regulating and self-maintaining. Sold at a much cheaper price than its
competitors, the Carhoe has a high return on investment rate and will easily pay for
itself. The modernized Carhoe is used primarily for the unloading of Dried
Distillers Grain (DDG), coal, and gravel. This innovative productcreates easy
unloading of railcars that were previously unloaded by hand which took time and
often created unsafe working conditions for workers. The Carhoe will not only
save the customer money, but it will also create a safer and more efficient work
environment.

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Situational Analysis
Strengths
 Dramatically cheaper than all competition
 Self-monitoring system that regulates all machine maintenance.
 Safer option than manually unloading cars by hand.
 Offer higher efficiency, which means more cars per day saving time and
money.
 Aided installation and training provided.
Weaknesses
 Limited strength compared to competition.
 Limited sales team
 Low advertising budget
 Limited access to distant companies
Opportunities
 Multiple prospects available
 Limited competition
 Prospects have a high need
 Consumer operations are expanding creating a greater need
 Trade show market still untouched
Threats
 Larger competitor companies have more power and pull with consumers
 Unknown brand makes it hard for consumer recognition
 Competition has larger sales teams, which enables them to reach more
consumers.
 Many coal-burning facilities have been shut down or modified to reduce
green house gas.

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Marketing Research
Dried Distillers Grain (DDG)
In 2014, nearly 26,000 Ohio corn growers harvested 3.35 million acres of corn,
producing a record crop of more than 546 million bushels. Approximately 300 million gallons of
fuel from corn were produced in 2014 by the ethanol industry.
Projections show Corn Stocks Up 11 Percent from 2014. Dries Distillers Grain (DDG)
production was one million metric tons. Dried Distillers Grains (DDG) value was $120 million
Ohio Corn Growers Association Dwayne Siekman
(740) 201-8088 www.ohiocorn.org dsiekman@ohiocorn.org
Soybean Mill
Ohio is the seventh largest soybean-producing state in the country with 4.5 million acres
of soybeans planted in 2014 by 26,000 Ohio soybean farmers. Ohio’s top five soybean
producing counties include Darke, Wood, Madison, Pickaway and Putnam. 2015 projections
show Soybean Stocks Up 34 Percent. Number of bushels harvested was 222 million. Average
price paid was $9.60/bushel Average yield was 49 bushels/acre. Soybean industry value was
$2.1 billion
Increases of 200,000 acres or more are anticipated in Arkansas, Iowa, and Ohio compared
with last year. If realized, soybean acreage will be the largest on record in Kentucky, Minnesota,
New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
Ohio Soybean Association Jamie Butts
(614) 476-3100 www.soyohio.org jbutts@soyohio.org
Coal
28,456,000 (28.4 Million) tons of coal was produced by Ohio in 2014 a number that has
risen every year since 2011. Coal was also responsible for powering sixty nine percent (69%) of
Ohio’s electricity.

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Ohio Farm Counties
The top corn producing counties
1) Drake
2) Wood
3) Madison
The top soybean producing counties:
1) Wood
2) Putnam
3) Hancock
STP Analysis
Macrosegment
a. Geographic
1) Work like the waves from a rock in a pond- start local and slowly
work your way out. Can go out as far as one is willing to travel
2) Once you start to push outside the local area, brand awareness will
increase and people will begin to come to you
b. Customer Size
1) Start and focus on the smaller companies first
2) The lower priced product allows for you to focus on their #1
obstacle and that is money.
3) Once you have a good reputation and the manufacturing capacity
to serve the smaller companies, you can begin to branch out to the larger
companies.
c. Customer Type
1) Once you increase sales team, divide the customer type (feed mill,
quarries, coal, DDG) up among your team so the salesman can become the
expert of the project.

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Micro segment
d. Purchase Criteria
1) Show the companies that this will save them money and pay for
itself within the first X amount of time. This can be done by showing the
increase in productivity plus the decrease in wages for the people
swinging the hammer all day
2) Show that the machine will last a certain amount of time. Also
show that the machine manages itself and little maintenance is required.
Can enforce a warranty on the product so the companies feel safer in
making the investment
3) Guarantee that the equipment will be up by a certain amount of
time. People get Amazon Prime because when they order something, they
want it as soon as possible. This may require you to hire more workers,
but you need to get the minimum amount of time between purchases and
set up.
4) Offer a 24/7 maintenance meaning that someone is always on call
and can be on site to help the company fix their machine or troubleshoot
the problem
This map represents where the concentration of poultry feed mills are located in the United States. From
this, it is easy to see where Sarka’s target market is located.

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Integrated Marketing Communications Plan
Personal Selling
Personal selling is the area of the Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC)
process that Sarka LTD. has proven that they do very well. With a product like the
Carhoe, it sells itself which makes it easier for Sarka to sell the product once in contact
with the customer. Developing lasting relationships with customers is very important for
your sales team. It ensures that customers are comfortable with the company they are
dealing with, and people are more likely to purchase from people they trust. When it
comes to selling, it is important that Sarka LTD develops an attitude of “the customer is
always right,” and is willing to work closely with customers to develop agreements that
satisfy both parties’ needs.
As mentioned in the Situational Analysis, one of Sarka’s major setbacks in the
personal selling of the Carhoe is their small sales department, which consists of one
person. Competitors of the Carhoe have larger personal selling departments, which
means they have the ability to reach more people. It would be recommended that
Sarka expand their sales force responsible for selling the Carhoe to two or three
individuals. These individuals will be responsible for making personal phone calls to the
owners and managers of the target market. Research and development, which will be
discussed in the direct marketing portion of this plan, will gather phone numbers and
email addresses of theses people. The new sales force will use these tools to get in
contact with major decision makers. As the following graph shows, developing
relationships with customers is the most important and most successful part of
marketing.

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Phone calls should accomplish the following:
 Create initial relationship with customer.
 Develop an understanding of customer’s operations, current method of railcar
unloading.
 Create a need for the Carhoe
o Inform customers of Carhoe’s capabilities.
 Increased safety
 Increased productivity
 Save time and money
 Invite customer to check out Sarka’s website and offer to send video and
pictures of product.
 Thank customer for their time
Most of the target market for the Carhoe is located out of state; therefore traveling
to each potential customer would prove tiresome and costly. It is important that Sarka
LTD utilize these phone calls, along with other direct marketing solutions, to reach these
customers to develop an initial relationship. Once the relationship is developed and the
potential client has shown an interest in the product, then personal visits can be
arranged to work out details and finalize sales. Utilizing personal selling through phone
calls will save the company time and money while increasing reach and sales.
Advertising Plan
The advertising plan for the Carhoe is one of the largest and most important
parts of the Integrated Communications Plan. However, unlike an advertising plan
developed for normal products, the Carhoe must use a niche-advertising plan in order
for it to be seen by its potential customer. This advertising plan will not consist of large
billboards and television commercials to be seen by the masses, but more specialized
mediums of advertising that will be seen by Carhoe’s target market.

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YouTube
According to the information provided from Sarka LTD., a large majority of
customers learn about the Carhoe through the video uploaded to YouTube. YouTube
will serve as the backbone in this advertising plan, however major renovations will need
to be made. The Carhoe is a sophisticated, advanced piece of machinery and it should
have a YouTube channel that resembles that.
The quality of video in which the Carhoe is portrayed is very poor and appears to
be filmed on a personal phone. These videos need to be viewed as a quality
commercial for a quality product. Sarka should either purchase a camera and video
editing software, or hire this work done. Videos posted online should be crisp and
appear more like a commercial than just a video showing the Carhoe in action.
YouTube videos under this advertising plan should exhibit the following traits:
 Todd Sarka should introduce the company and the product
 The commercial should demonstrate the easy installation and use of the product
 The Carhoe should be exhibited working with DDG, Coal and Stone.
 Benefits of using the Carhoe should be stated or listed
 ADVERTISE: Sarka’s logo along with the Carhoe logo should appear multiple
times throughout the video
o Phone number and email should always be in the screen
 Website link should be accessible at the end of the video.
 If possible, previous customers should be interviewed on the videos to serve as
testimonials for new customers. People trust people, that’s the bottom line!
Ultimately, the YouTube videos need to appear professional and well put together. If
Sarka wants people to take their product seriously, they must present it in a serious
fashion. Although the upfront cost of the equipment or labor cost to produce such
videos may be expensive, YouTube is a free advertising source, which means there is
no long-term cost in advertising through this medium. The initial cost is a small price to
pay when a properly produced video could yield thousands in increased sales
The other aspect of using YouTube videos for advertising is the channel in which the
videos currently appear. Currently, there are two sources of Carhoe videos; Todd
Sarka’s channel and SarkaConveyors channel. In order to better fit the needs of

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potential clients, the YouTube videos will need to operate from one channel; whether it
be Todd Sarka or a new channel specifically for the Carhoe. The profile picture should
display the Carhoe Logo, and the cover should have pictures and contact information
for customers. The cover page of the YouTube channel should also provide links to
social media sites along with the link to the Carhoe page on SarkaConveyors.com.
Below is the top of the YouTube channel for Ford Motor, but can serve as template for
Sarka to follow.
By making simple adjustments to the company’s YouTube channel, clients can easily
view the Carhoe and can find information on how to contact Sarka industries. Once the
YouTube Channel and videos are polished and in place, it can serve as the centerpiece for the
rest of the advertising plan and as the foundation for all future marketing plans.
Editorials and Trade News
The other important aspect of the advertising plan for Sarka should focus on print
advertising to trades specific literature. There are hundreds of specialized magazines and
newspapers that circulate to specific trade industries and geographic locations. For Sarka,
focusing on these mediums that circulate to the target market of feed mills and coal burning
facilities will serve valuable.
Web Links
Profile Picture
Cover Photo

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When it comes to the Feed Mill target market, some key literature to feature the Carhoe in would
be:
 Feed and Grain Magazine
o Viewed by over 2,000 Feed Mills and poultry producers a month
o Circulates over 15,000 copies a month
o Specific to feed industry
 Southeast Farm Press
o Exclusive to the Southern United States where most feed mills are located
o Circulated specifically to large farming operations
o Featuring the Carhoe in an editorial article is FREE
 American Coal Council
o Read largely by coal using facilities
o Readership is over 24,000 every month
o Offers free editorials for companies and products such as the Carhoe

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As demonstrated, marketing through these mediums can provide Sarka with a wide reach of
advertising for the Carhoe product with little expense. Most of these mediums offer editorial
articles for free and any company willing to submit an article for that month. In this space, the
Carhoe’s history, uses, specifications and other details can be featured along with pictures of
functioning products. Again, including testimonials from satisfied customers make for a more
relatable article and people trust people. In the concluding paragraphs of the editorials or in any
of the advertisements in this medium, the main focus should be to direct readers to the Sarka
website to view the Carhoe.
Overall, the advertising plan adopted by Sarka should focus on increasing traffic to the
company website and YouTube channels. Keeping the marketing budget in mind, all of the
options discussed in this advertising plan are relatively cost effective, which is why they are
viable options for Sarka. All social media campaigns along with free print space in magazines
will provide Sarka with exposure, demonstrating the Carhoe’s abilities while spreading around
the website. Traffic to the company website and social media pages can be tracked through
programs such as Google Ads, which will be discussed later in the direct marketing section.
Decisions on whether to further the advertising campaign or not could then be decided based off
this information. Regardless, having a cost effective advertising campaign that reaches the
masses of the niche market in which the Carhoe is sold is a vital part of the whole marketing
plan.
Sales Promotion
The Carhoe is a business-to-business product, which means that sales promotions will
have to reflect a business model. What this means is that buy-one-get one, and other promotions
that are commonly used in the consumer market will not work or be possible in this market. For
this marketing plan, there will be two sales promotions that could be used by Sarka.

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Payment Options
The basis for this sales promotion lies around when a client pays for the Carhoe. At
$130,000, the Carhoe is sizably cheaper than its competition. This means that everyone from the
big corporation, to the small unloading company can own one. Sarka needs to have sales
promotion pricing that reflects this availability. The sales promotion pricing is as follows.
 Large Corporations
o Paying in full upfront results in a 5% discount ($6,500)
o Paying in full within 30 days of purchase yields 3% discount ($3,900)
Both of these payment options allow corporations who are readily available to pay an advantage
of paying in full earlier while not cutting into profits too much.
 Smaller companies
o Offering a lower financing rate
o 30-day trial guarantee.
Although these options are not as enticing as the other discounts, they still offer some
negotiability for the smaller companies without the purchasing power as the corporate
businesses.
Ultimately, when it comes to pricing the final negotiations make and break a deal. Sarka
will need to set aside an amount of the budget before negotiations begin that can be discounted
and used in deals. Having an exact budget in mind before entering negotiations will allow for a
better interaction in the personal selling sector that will ultimately result in happier clients.
Instructional Guide
Another possible sales promotion for Sarka to offer to customers is a pre-loaded iPad.
This iPad would serve as a sales promotion and as an instruction guide on how to use the Carhoe.
It would be loaded the instruction guide, along with detailed videos on how to use and master the
Carhoe. The most recent iPad with enough storage would cost Sarka $500, but serves as a small
sales promotion to make clients feel like valued customers which is worth a lot more in the long
run. It will also cut down on training question phone calls that cut into valuable office time.

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Public Relations
As previously stressed in this marketing plan, people trust people. Clients are more likely
to trust the word of other customers before they trust a sales representative for the company.
This means that money and time spent to satisfy previous customers is never wasted.
Developing and strengthening these relationships through public relations is an important part of
the marketing process.
Sarka Industries will need to keep good relationships with their previous customers in
order for them to feel confident in the Sarka name and in turn provide the company with positive
testimonials; which are key for much of the advertising contained in this plan. The public
relation plan for Sarka includes:
 Follow up phone calls with clients
o Check for satisfaction and room for improvement
o Stress their importance of being part of “The Sarka Family”
 Sending holiday cards with their complete Carhoe and a simple thank you message
o This is a cheap yet effective way to show clients they are important business
partners.
 Provide clients with Sarka T-shirts and freebees upon purchasing of the Carhoe
 Featuring new clients in editorials and press releases
o Press releases allow the Carhoe to be featured along with the client’s business as
well.
o In many cases, this is free and benefits both parties involved.
Overall, the public relations section of this marketing plan is not meant to be long and
extensive. Many of the avenues listed above are cheap or even free, which makes public
relations even more enticing. Public relations does not need to be a large and expensive
campaign. Just showing a little interest in clients after the initial purchase can go a long way in
terms of referrals and future business created by word of mouth.

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Direct Marketing
Marketing in a niche market like the one that the Carhoe operates in can be very difficult.
This is why direct marketing is such an essential part of the overall marketing plan. Direct
marketing allows businesses to communicate directly with clients through various mediums such
as social media and print. In business-to-business marketing, this allows companies to be more
selective with whom they advertise to and ensure that the target audience of their choice hears
their message. The direct marketing plan for Sarka can be broken down into three major
components.
Researchand Development
Sarka would greatly benefit from developing a research and development sector in their
business. This sector will be in charge of archiving information of previous clients, while also
researching and collecting information on new clients. Researching new clients will involve
Internet searching and phone calls to discover potential clients in the target markets. For
example, a person in this role may search and find the phone number and address for every large
feed mill that has access to rail in Georgia. This information will then be stored and used to
create direct mail and phone call messages to inform these industries of the Carhoe and its
abilities. It is recommended that this data is stored in an online database such as salesforce.com.
These programs cost money, but allow Sarka to safely store and collect information on clients.
Many of these programs even will do the research for their users, which would cost more but
prevent Sarka from having to hire a person to fill this position. Salesforce.com even will track
the traffic to the website and social media sites to inform a user which mediums of their
marketing campaign are being visited the most. This will be discussed in the social media
section of the direct marketing plan.
Direct Mail and Phone Calling
Once a list of potential clients has been made from the research and development
position, the information can be used for direct mail and the phone calling, which has been
discussed in personal selling. Direct mailing allows a company to send literature directly to the
mailbox of decision makers who might benefit from the Carhoe. Direct mail can be personalized
to address a specific person and contain information specific to their operation, which increases
the chances of it being viewed. For Sarka, a personalized post card will be sent out with the
benefits of using the Carhoe. On the post card, links to the company website and the company
phone call will be listed, giving readers contact information. It will also contain pictures of the
Carhoe, which will make readers want to learn more about the machine they are viewing. An
example of this post card has been attached to the end of this marketing plan.

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Social Media and Website
Aside from the YouTube channel, which has already been discussed, Sarka has some
changes that need to be made to their social media presence. The Carhoe should have its own
Facebook page, which will contain updated YouTube videos of the machine along with pictures
from units that are installed and working. Contact information should also be available on this
page. Facebook is a viable tool that people use to find other people and find information on
companies and products. Sarka will want to improve their Facebook page as well, to ensure that
it looks professional and updated. People are more likely to feel positive about a company appear
professional on all areas of exposure, which is why it is important to make sure this area of social
media is perfected.
The other social media site that Sarka could greatly benefit from is LinkedIn. Through
this platform, information about key decision makers can be accessed and used to market too. At
the same time, information about Sarka’s company and employees can be accessed as well.
Again, it will be important that all of these profiles and pages be kept up to date to provide the
most accountable information, so that potential clients can contact you as well.
Finally, the company website could use some simple changes that would allow for
viewing ease. Currently, the company website has multiple hyperlinks embedded throughout the
text. A person could spend hours reading through the text and clicking on the links to be taken in
circles around the webpage. Links are good, but in moderation. Also, the webpage should
provide links directly to the updated YouTube videos, if not provide the videos directly on the
website. This will provide product viewing ease for customers, which makes it easier for them to
see the Carhoe’s capabilities. Finally, Sarka should access a program such as Google Analytics
to track the traffic coming to their company webpage along with YouTube and social media
channels. This program will be able to show which areas of advertising are receiving the most
traffic and are working the best, while showing which areas need improvement. These simple
fixes could boost sales, and cost the company almost nothing.

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