Background information and works cited for speech-language pathology assignment

¶ … target market will need a number of critical pieces of information. Some of this information will be fundamental, such as the name and address of the business, and possibly the hours, phone number, URL and email address as well. Additional information that the audience will need is about the nature of the store (what it sells) and the nature of the product (handmade, local).

There will be some personal selling involved. The artist/principle will be running the store, along with potentially other staff members. While the artist will clearly have passion for the work, some selling skills will also be required. The artist will train primarily in an informal manner, learning from friends who have sales experience and understand best how to sell to people. There will not be a paid sales force. Evaluation will simply be measured by the sales of the store, and some attention will also be paid to the number of customers who enter the store and make a purchase -- this percentage should improve as the sales skills of the owner improve.

The initial round of communication will carry messages announcing the store and selling its attributes. The store is a unique concept in Davis and this needs to be conveyed. The primary advertising media will be local outlets -- the local newspaper, campus newspapers and possibly local radio. Flyers may also be used during the launch phase. The store's signage will also be an important part of the advertising program. Moonbright Arts will be somewhat limited with respect to marketing budget, so much of the work will need to be done online. Social media and the store's website will be the focal point of promotion and public relations. The messages will focus on the uniqueness of the art jewelry in order to create a mystique about the talents of the artist and the specialness of the pieces. Ideally, the reputation of Moonbright Arts will extend well beyond Davis, which may facilitate an online selling venture.

A public relations program will also be required to help sell the business. If advertising in the local paper is decided upon, for example, then an article in the same paper should be forthcoming extolling the virtues of local artisans. In general, the public relations should focus on selling the art. People are not expected to buy simply because it is local; they will buy because they will recognize the local art as something special. That is the public relations message that will get across at every opportunity to promote local arts.

Sales promotion is slightly different than public relations. While the latter program is designed to spread the word at every opportunity -- and too create opportunities by mingling at events -- sales promotion will require a more direct approach focused at improving sales. This will be done primarily with customers in store, who will be sold on the benefits that every piece of jewelry offers them. If the customer sees a benefit in the product, the customer is more likely to purchase the product and more likely to feel good about the purchase afterward.

Social media will be used as both a public relations and a sales promotion tool. Social media will be used to bring customers together, and to continually promote new designs and new pieces that are available. The objective of this strategy is to create a mystique about the products. When new works of art are put up for sale, the intent is that customers will know right away. The jewelry is unique, so it is scarce, and when customers begin to compete for the right to wear a new, unique piece, this will enable the shop to recoup the cost of production and more.

Email and text are good ways of keeping in touch with customers. This flow of information should be two-way. Moonbright can send customers information about new products in order to help spur demand, but customers can also give their feedback to Moonbright. In this way, a relationship can be created by Moonbright and its customers. This is expected to be important, as the business is likely to rely on repeat customers in order to thrive in the long-run, and just as importantly to grow beyond the Davis area.

Because many of our customers will be students, it is important to generate a steady flow of word-of-mouth, so that new students can emerge as customers when older students leave. It is also important to focus marketing efforts and expenditures when students arrive for each new year, to capture the market immediately. If there are opportunities to advertise in materials that are aimed at incoming students, those opportunities will be pursued.