L.S School Supplies

I. Introduction
L.S School Supplies is general merchandise owned by Leslie Sotero. It is located in Poblacion, Sual Pangasinan (Please see attachment location map). L.S School Supplies aim to offer quality school supplies at great value for the people in Sual or Sualinians as they are called. L.S School Supplies was originated from the initials of the name of the owner. The owner starts a capital of P1, 000,000.00 to be able to acquire all the possible school supplies needed including stationery, notebooks, papers, pen, magazines, calculator, flash drives, bags, correction tape/fluid and any other school supplies you needed. Aside from providing quality school supplies, the business also want to build friendly and positive lasting relationship to customers. The owner believes that to be able to succeed is to help customers be successful as well by striving to cooperate with, listen to what they say, respect their views. Developing and maintaining relations to the customers is the way to stay competitive in an ever changing economic environment. It is only through this that L.S School Supplies can always be close to the market. L.S School Supplies offers a brand which includes Faber-Castell, Dong-A, Leeho, Deli, Shiny, Sterling, Maped, Sanford, 3M, and more which are known for their worldwide reputation of product integrity. Realizing that “good products make good business sense.”

Mission and Vision Statement: L.S School Supplies is “Customer Service Driven for Profitable Growth”. It provides quality school supplies at great value for the people in Sual. A major benefit of L.S School Supplies is ability to provide great customer service in a convenient location with comfortable atmosphere.

Others. . (CsiAlaminos/Dagupan, Magic Convenience Store )| TV ADS, Tarpaulins, Streamers| | | 55%| Considering the table above, Disu Enterprise the first who offers school supplies in Sual have a better image in that business and next to it is Emta School Supplies. Disu use streamers & word-of-mouth as their promotional & advertising activities while EMTA School Supplies, according to interview is they are just into selling (word-of-mouth) and they are not offering any discounts. L.S School Supplies then enter into the market to cover of at least 15% share in the market for its starting.

The estimated numbers of individuals (pupils, students, teachers including sari-sari owners for bulk purchasing) ranges from 500-1,500. L.S School Supplies to be able to compete to its competitors tries to be a keen-observer and that the owner sees the weakness of the competitor. Giving discounts, offering two-for-the-price-of-one (buy-one-take-one), giving samples when it is needed, distributing pamphlets/flyers and sponsorship if possible, are the planned promotional activities of L.S School Supplies. Aside from that, the business will also focus on communicating to customers to achieve the 15% target market because the owner believes that understanding what customers want and reacting to their needs quicker than competitors can give crucial advantage in a tough market.

III. Opportunity and Issue Analysis
For every company the goal is to always be profitable and create a competitive advantage in whatever market that it resides in. In order to stay competitive successful business, SWOT Analysis is important to enable you to see where your business is in the marketplace and what strategies you can develop to increase your market share. L.S School Supplies wants to stay competitive so, here includes its Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats and Issue Analysis: L.S School Supplies is able to give really good customer service, the store is in good location and it offers competitive prices. Special orders provide more ordering options than available in other store and it allows consumer to purchase just the quantity needed.

Not everything will be perfect, L.S School Supplies has limited capital and that its weakness. Having that weakness is not the reason for L.S School Supplies to give up and it will stay in the business to compete effectively. Because there is still a big opportunity which includes: increasing number of students in Sual because of K+12 programs. Although Sual is a small town, townfolks are friendly and that they value good customer service, though there is still threats like competitors are adding services like having a photocopy center, lamination and printing in their store, still L.S School Supplies will compete to them and have this determination to cope up with its competitors. Time will come that L.S School Supplies will also have that photocopy center, lamination, printing, etc. IV. Objectives

To be able for L.S School Supplies to be fully successful, the business sets its objectives to be achieved or it serve as a guide. The following will be the focus of this marketing plan: * to be more price-competitive,

* to increase new numbers of customers,
* to increase customer satisfaction, reduce the number of complaints in complaint box while making complaint box more visible * to increase the percentage of customers who are returning customers to 2% * to increase buyer awareness

* to increase adequate supplies per year round
* increase sales and profits by 5%

V. Marketing Strategy
Based on the objectives the strategy to improve the performance of L.S
School Supplies will include the following:
Target Market: Pupils, students including high school and college level, teachers And those sari-sari store owners for bulk purchasing

Positioning: The best value-for-money products

Product Line: Adding new products or supplies that is new to the market
Price: Competitive price, affordable depending on the quality

Distribution Outlet: Distribution of pamphlets and flyers, tarpaulins, streamers

Service: Highly good customer service

Sales Promotion: Develop a new advertising campaign, a low budget but high quality advertising package, giving samples (if necessary), giving discounts

By examining each of these aspects, it will become clear what must be done to adjust the marketing mix to improve profitability and help school supplies meet its objectives/goals.

It includes here the samples of primary offered products of L.S School Supplies: Writing Instruments: Pens, Pencils, Markers, and More..
You can never have enough pens, pencils, sharpeners, markers, highlighters, or other writing instruments. Buy in bulk and you won’t have to worry about running out to the store (or running out of ink) any time soon.

Writing Pads, Notebooks, & Clipboards:
Notebooks and writing pads are useful for taking notes during class or writing a note to that special someone. Stock up on your favorite back to school paper supplies from Mead, 3M, Tops and many more brands.

Erasers, Correction Tape and Fluid:
Everyone makes mistakes, but covering them up can sometimes is tricky. Shop for quality erasers, correction tape and fluids from brands like Paper Mate, Sanford, 3M and more.

Binders and Accessories:
Keeping organized is a sure way to be successful in school. Shop for cool new binders and organization accessories like round ring binders, whole punches, DVD and disc binders and more.

Staplers, Tape, and Glue:
Stick to doing well in school and we’ll stick to helping you find the best staplers, tapes, and glues at the lowest prices. With everything from Pentel to Bic, we’ve got you covered.

Calculators
Math can be a major drag, but with the help of a calculator, it can become your major! Shop for calculators from brands like Texas Instruments, Casio, Hewlett-Packard and more.

Backpacks and Bags:
A backpack is a must-have for any school girl or boy, and shopping for one is just part of the fun! Check out stylish and versatile backpacks from brands like JanSport, The North Face, Dakine, Nike and more.

Flash Drives:
Carry all your important school files with you instead of carrying around CDs or even worse, floppy disks! Check out the latest styles and capacities from names like SanDisk, Lexar, Kingston, Transcend and more

VII. Action Programs
Here is how L.S School Supplies will carry out its marketing strategy: * Evaluate prices and reprice higher set items to a lower more affordable price system to be more price-competitive and to increase profits. Implementation would be before and after back-to-school-season

* Set up a once-a-month mandatory one hour Saturday Training Course, Have owner put together different ways, ideas, knowledge, and focus to teach employees about products, special ordering, business cards, rubber stamps, etc. To increase knowledge of sales staff on products and services.

* Create low budget but high quality advertising package (tarpaulins, streamers, pamphlets, flyers, sponsorship)

* Develop and maintain relations to the customers by striving to cooperate with, listen to what they say, respect their views.

VII. Projected Profit-and-Loss Statement
L.S School Supplies
Projected Profit & Loss Statement

VIII. Controls
* An increase in the market share of supplies. This will be controlled through comparative sales data with other store.

* Increase in profits. This will be done through evaluating financial report.

* Increase to the customer satisfaction as it pertains to adequate inventory. This will be measured through customer surveys. All customers will be provided with a short satisfaction survey that can be immediately filled out