Gentle Touch Creations
Strategy and Implementation Summary
Gentle Touch Creations will focus first on building a client base with herbal health product companies. Joanne Lovejoy will be responsible for marketing the company’s services to potential customers.
Currently, the company has been successful in acquiring 2 contracts with the following companies:
- Forest Meadows Products
- WindWalker Products.
5.1 Competitive Edge
The competitive advantage of Gentle Touch Creations is the consistent quality of the herbs that are at the core of each product. The products have been tested locally for years developing and establishing the customer satisfaction level demanded by Gentle Touch Creations.
5.2 Sales Strategy
Joanne Lovejoy has seven years of experience in the herbal product industry. She has worked as a Product Manager for both Jerry’s Herbal Products and Safe Soap. She has maintained her contacts in the industry and has already signed contracts with Forest Meadows Products and WindWalker Products to supply herbal therapy packs, salves, balsam eye packs, and Saint-John’s-wort oil.
Joanne Lovejoy will build on these successes and market her product line to herbal product companies through face-to-face selling.
5.2.1 Sales Forecast
Gentle Touch Creations anticipates that sales will start quickly. The first billing will be sent out in mid-May.
The following sales forecast table and chart are for three years. Monthly figures for the first year are in the appendix.
| Sales Forecast | |||
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
| Sales | |||
| Herbal Products | $282,000 | $340,000 | $420,000 |
| Other | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total Sales | $282,000 | $340,000 | $420,000 |
| Direct Cost of Sales | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 |
| Herbal Products | $141,000 | $170,000 | $200,000 |
| Other | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Subtotal Direct Cost of Sales | $141,000 | $170,000 | $200,000 |
5.3 Marketing Strategy
Joanne Lovejoy will market the company’s product line at regional craft fairs. She will coordinate her fair participation with presentation meetings with herbal company representatives. In addition she will regularly send free samples to her potential clients so that they can experience the quality of her products first hand. The key to her marketing though will be face-to-face sales.
Joanne will also launch the Gentle Touch Creations website. The site will be designed to promote her products, list a calendar of her craft fair appearances, and, initially, offer a selection or her most popular products for direct web-sales. She will rely on the experts at 1st-at-the-Top.com Internet and E-commerce consultants for the design, hosting, and search engine placement of the website.
5.4 Milestones
The accompanying table shows specific milestones, with responsibilities assigned, dates, and (in most cases) budgets. Joanne is focusing, in this plan, on a few key milestones that should be accomplished.
| Milestones | |||||
| Milestone | Start Date | End Date | Budget | Manager | Department |
| Setup Production Facility | 3/1/2002 | 5/1/2002 | $40,000 | Joanne Lovejoy | Owner |
| Establish Inventory | 4/1/2002 | 5/5/2002 | $5,000 | Joanne Lovejoy | Owner |
| Confirm Craft Fair Dates | 5/1/2002 | 6/21/2002 | $1,000 | Joanne Lovejoy | Owner |
| Develop Website | 4/1/2002 | 7/1/2002 | $2,000 | 1st-at-the-Top.com | Web |
| Totals | $48,000 | ||||
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