Interior Views is a retailer that sells home decorator fabrics, home accessories, and other resources. The store is approaching its fifth anniversary. This destination store offers the advantages of providing fabrics specifically designed for home decorator use in fabric widths of 54 inches and greater. More than 900 fabrics are on hand at any given time. There are also more than 10,000 samples available for custom ‘#8220’ cut orders. Customers can touch, feel, take and return the fabric to their homes as they make their purchasing decision.
Interior Views learned many things from its past years. The market has changed. Interior Views will be making key business decisions, including the 5 year lease. Now is the time for us to look back at our past and set a vision for the future. This is the main purpose of the business plan. It will address location, finance, product, and service issues that will be key to the future success of the business.
Interior Views currently has a local informational content website but has not given it the attention or focus needed to assess its marketing potential. This site is a collection of information but it does little to increase revenue or enhance the business’ image.
Market research indicates a specific and growing need in and beyond the local area for the products and services Interior Views offers in the local retail market it serves and there are indications that Web sales will play an increasing role in connecting customers with sellers. The greatest challenge is the fact that core customers, women between 35 and 50 years old, are not likely to shop online. The shopping experience for decorator fabrics presents another challenge.
The online marketing objective is to actively support continued growth and profitability of Interior Views through effective implementation of the strategy. The online marketing and sale strategy will be cost-effective and use the eBay website to reach more customers. The Web target group will be the Web-savvy, younger customers the store serves (women between 25-35 years old) as well as potential customers outside of the local area that are already shopping online for Interior Views products. eBay’s website will emphasize its selection, competitive prices, and customer support to stand out among other Internet options.
1.1 Objectives
- Maintain a healthy gross margin each month.
- Every business day, every month, make sales.
- Realize a modest annual growth rate this year.
- Increase revenues through eBay-based sales to $5,700 per month by the end of the first year, with a 5% growth rate thereafter.
- Enhancing “information channels”, to give customers more options to obtain information from the store.
- You can reach customers far away from your immediate area with eBay/Web Accessibility.
1.2 Mission
Interior Views LLC sells quality decorator fabrics as well as accessories and furniture for the discerning buyer. The store celebrates the home through the color and texture of fabric. This experience informs, inspires and shows customers how to make their home a personal expression of themselves. Interior Views seeks to encourage people to imagine what can be, and help make this vision a reality.
1.3 Keys to Success
These factors are the primary keys to the company’s success.
- Get the best customer support possible and sell products of the highest quality
- Keep in touch with our customers by continuing to use the newsletter, postcards, or our website.
- Maintain gross margins in excess of 45%
- Keep customers happy to make repeat purchases and refer others.
- Generate additional sales to cover all expenses in support of the website as an individual profit center.
