What are the new marketing challenges you face? Based on the material covered in this chapter, use the 4 Ps of marketing to make a preliminary marketing plan.

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Margo Switches Coasts

For 17 years Margo Williams owned a jewelry store called Margo’s Diamond Mine near the naval base in San Diego. The large majority of her customers were sailors and their families and her most successful items were wedding rings, inexpensive necklaces, and low-priced brand-name watches. Because her customers were often stretching their finances to make what they felt was a major purchase, Margo’s store provided lay-away plans that allowed her clients to pay for items over time.

Margo’s mother, who lived in Ft. Lauderdale, recently became ill, so Margo decided it was time to close the store in San Diego and relocate both her home and business to Florida. She found a vacant store at a reasonable price in a small upscale strip mall in which the other businesses included an expensive dress shop, a gourmet food store, and a craft outlet. The surrounding area consisted mostly of high-end condominium developments which catered to retirees and people who spent about half the year in Florida.

Margo knows the jewelry business, including how to value items she takes on trade-ins, which suppliers are best to work with, and how to design and manage a store. Although she doesn’t know her new Florida market very well, some issues are clear:

  • The new market is older, wealthier, and includes many retired people.
  • People appear to wear much more expensive items.
  • The existing competition consists of two well-known chain jewelry stores that aim their products at middle-income markets.

• Advertising and promotion tend to be concentrated in newspapers and pennysavers.

Margo was not sure she wanted to use the Margo’s Diamond Mine name in this new market and she really did not know how to go about designing a marketing and promotion plan for the Florida market. To get started, Margo focused on two issues. First, she wanted a preliminary plan that would address—as best she could—the new marketing challenge she faces. Second, she wanted to research background information so she could refine her preliminary marketing plan.

Case exercise:

You are Margo. What are the new marketing challenges you face? Based on the material covered in this chapter, use the 4 Ps of marketing to make a preliminary marketing plan.