Ngan Duong

MKTG 3500
Summer 2019
Goodwill

Business Description:
Goodwill Industries International Inc is an American nonprofit organization that provides
job training, employment placement services, and other community-based programs for
people who have barriers preventing them from otherwise obtaining a job. In addition,
Goodwill Industries may hire veterans and individuals who lack education or job
experience or face employment challenges. Goodwill is funded by a massive network of
retail thrift stores that operate as nonprofits as well. Goodwill's answer to its profit status
is "As a unique hybrid called a social enterprise, we defy traditional distinctions. Instead
of a single bottom line of profit, we hold ourselves accountable to a triple bottom line of
people, planet, and performance."
The main reason that I select Seattle Goodwill as my course project is because they
understand how powerful social media for their marketing plan in particular and for the
company's development in general. Goodwill knows social media has been used
primarily as a personal communications platform and it is also quickly turning in as a
business communications tool. I think their employees are open to new ideas of spending
more time on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter’s advertise and so it helps their company
to have a great strategic lens. Although it is hard for promoting the thrift store’s items on
social media, Goodwill is still known as an ongoing thrifty online marketing that sets an
example for other thrift stores.

SWOT analysis:
Strengths:
● Goodwill gives back to the community: A nonprofit organization, Goodwill gets
more than 75 percent of its funding from retail sales at the 11 stores it operates. These
funds support Goodwill’s mission of employment and job placement for people in the
community with disabilities or other barriers to employment. Keeping a steady flow
of donations is important because any downturn can result in layoffs or a cutback in
work hours for the clients Goodwill serves.
● Goodwill creates jobs: On a number of enterprise platforms such as donated goods,
thrift retail, recycling, logistics, food and hospitality, commercial services and light
manufacturing, Goodwill creates jobs and unites caring and business to develop
individual and community potential. Goodwill’s commitment goes beyond providing
a job and a paycheck. They provide benefits and have a strong program emphasis on
 training, access to education, career advancement, poverty reduction, and social
inclusion.
● Hiring students: According to Seattle Goodwill, “Goodwill graduates are ready to
make a difference in your company. Our students learn excellent customer service
and come with a wide range of skills and past work experience. Let us know what
type of employees your business needs and we can refer qualified candidates.”
Weakness:
● Criticism that top executives at Goodwill are being overpaid: CEO of Goodwill get
paid to exceed $400,000 (and in some cases up to $1.3M) while they clearly can
afford to serve better their employees (about 7,3000 of the 105,00 employed by
Goodwill are being paid under federal law because of their disabilities.)
● Most employees have not received the required training. This exposes Goodwill
Industries to fines in the tens of thousands of dollars, and should an employee
become injured or killed as a result of this lack of training, civil damages could climb
into the millions.
● Budget restraints may stop them from being innovative.
Opportunities:
● 25-30 jobs are created every time a new location opens: It takes a lot of manpower to
run a Goodwill location and in many cases more than most retail establishments.
From sales associates to donation attendants it takes a strong team of good people to
make a Goodwill Store run at peak performance.
● Helping unemployed find work: “While most of us see Labor Day as a time for
picnics and celebrations, 13.9 million of our neighbors are still without work and
some have remained so for many months,” said Jim Gibbons, president, and CEO of
Goodwill Industries International. “Goodwill remains the pivotal link between skills
development and employment. We’re doing what we’ve always done, helping people
learn the skills they need to find jobs.”
● Projects such as the Donate Movement has helped Goodwill’s name positively. It is a
model of online efficiency for consumer engagement. “Waste not, want not.” They
don’t doddle around trying to explain their differentiation over other important
“green” causes and sustainability programs that compete for people’s attention. The
website involves people immediately by enabling them to donate and recycle.
Threats:
● There are many other resale shops offering similar products such as Lifelong thrift
store, Lucky Dog clothing, Out of the Closet, Stop N Shop thrift store,...
● Many online stores offer brand new clothes at affordable prices. They have even the
same price or cheaper.
● Employees may feel depressed when they find it unfair. They will go on strike or quit
their jobs and will lead to a crisis for Goodwill.
Target customers: s I observed at the Goodwill’s stores, I think the primary target customers are
women that are aged 25 to 60 and live in urban areas. Why do I think the goal is women? The
most plausible reason I can give is that most women often have husband families and at least one
child. In addition to their shopping preferences for themselves, they tend to buy things for their
husbands and children. More than that, Goodwill focuses on having a lower to medium class. I
also notice that Goodwill’s stores are spread out equally into each area and stores are usually 10
miles apart from each other.

Pricing and Competitor:

1. Product: Toys are the products that Seattle Goodwill should be developed. The toys that
are currently selling at the stores look boring and is easy to get broke. The company should
focus on upgrading toys for both girls and boys. Toys should vary from intellect to action
so children can have many choices. In addition, Goodwill should carefully select
interesting and quality items for young children in which the prices remain low.
2. Pricing Strategy: I choose value-based pricing to decide the cost of toys in which it involves
redesigning existing toys to offer more quality for less cost. Goodwill has to decide which
toys will best serve the customers so they can feel the value of the products. In the end,
customers will be happy when they can have the most value at a particular price. By
maintaining this customer focus, value-based pricing provides real data, helps Goodwill
develop higher quality products, and even improves customer loyalty. Of course, value-
based pricing isn’t perfect. The process requires time and resources, along with consistent
dedication, not just a “set it and forget it” mentality, especially because the willingness to
pay differs for different customer personas, regions, and even offers.
3. Pricing Rationale: A value-based pricing strategy works to determine the true willingness
to pay of a target customer for a particular product by utilizing customer data. Most
common pricing strategies and methodologies forget about the customer, instead of
focusing on internal reasons and/or competitive metrics to justify prices. Yet, customers
don’t care how much something cost you to make or your competitors, they care how much
value they’re receiving at a particular price. Every parent in the world sees their children
as treasures of their lives. Because of that, they always want to give the kids the most joy.
In particular, toys are indispensable for children’s happiness. Wherever parents go
shopping, most people often buy their children at least a set of toys. And when their kids
follow them, they often ask to more than the number of one. If customers can realize
Goodwill is working hard to improve their children’s toys, they will thunk the company
values them and will come back to purchase at the stores more.
4. Comparison Pricing: Ross is the most dangerous competitor to Goodwill. By choosing
value-based pricing, Goodwill can easily beat Ross because they use cost-based pricing.
When a company uses that strategy to set their price, they usually do not care a lot for their
customers and that is why sales are going down. Ross wants to gain more than what they
give and it raises up the price of toys. There are a few people choose to shop at Ross to buy
 toys. They just walk away and buy on online. So if Goodwill can successfully use value-
based pricing, their toys’ prices will be much lower and better quality than Ross.

Marketing Objectives: Achieve brand preference within a competitive market (thrift stores,
discount department stores, and off-price retailers) by improving the lifetime value of the
customers by increasing the frequency of visits and purchases. Position Goodwill stores as
premiere thrift stores and increase new and current customer visits by 20% within 12 months.
Educate the target market about how Goodwill has redefined the thrift store experience (e.g.
clean, bright, organized, colorful stores with great items to buy) using social media. One of the
keys to overcoming the challenges Goodwill faces is in the education of our target market.
Customers must be made aware of the efforts Goodwill has taken to improve the overall thrift
store shopping experience and the great items we sell. Convey the community benefits of
shopping with Goodwill. Everything Goodwill does go back to the mission of helping people
with barriers to employment and/or disabilities get jobs. As a result, it is important to tie all
messaging back to the good feeling customers should have when shopping at Goodwill.
Essentially, a customer’s single purchase helps fuel our employment services and programs.
Customers can directly see the effects their purchases have when shopping, as every employee in
the store is paid using the revenue generated through the sale of goods.

Promotion, Channel of Distribution, and Metrics:

Objective: Position Goodwill stores as premiere thrift stores and increase new and current
customer visits by 20% within 12 months.
Strategy 1: Educate the target market about how Goodwill has redefined the thrift store
experience (clean, bright, organized, colorful stores with great items to buy) using social media.
One of the keys to overcoming the challenges Goodwill faces is in the education of our target
market. Customers must be made aware of the efforts Goodwill has taken to improve the overall
thrift store shopping experience and the great items we sell. With this target market, it is
important to utilize the following tactics:
• Layout monthly outfit showing clothing, shoes, and accessories using a minimalist design on
Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Reveal how much the total cost of the outfit is compared to
purchasing it at a competing or high-end retailer.
• Create blog posts showcasing images of store design and merchandise to show-of the quality
and variety of Goodwill products and how Goodwill works.
• Use Spectacled Owl blogger to show how to find items at Goodwill to repurpose and up-cycle.
Items should include furniture and clothing.
• Campaign (Action): Create a hashtag on Twitter and Instagram (#SDGoodwillTreasures) that
people use to post photos of clothing and/or items they find in Goodwill stores. Advertise the
campaign in stores and through social media to develop interest. Once every week, an individual
who used the hashtag will be selected to win a $25 Goodwill gift card.
• Appeal to Moms: Develop a #sdgoodwillmoms Facebook/Instagram campaign for mothers that
shop at Goodwill to share deals they find and DIY projects they’ve completed. It can be a source
of information and inspiration for mothers, encouraging them to shop at Goodwill to save
money.
Strategy 2: Convey the community benefits of shopping with Goodwill. Everything Goodwill
does go back to the mission of helping people with barriers to employment and/or disabilities get
jobs. As a result, it is important to tie all messaging back to the good feeling customers should
have when shopping at Goodwill. Essentially, a customer’s single purchase helps fuel our
employment services and programs. Customers can directly see the effects their purchases have
when shopping, as every employee in the store is paid using the revenue generated through the
sale of goods. The following tactics would be possible ways of communicating the benefits of
shopping at Goodwill stores:
• Mission Highlights: Post photos and quotes taken from employees Goodwill has helped to
convey their stories on social media platforms (Facebook and Instagram).
• Articles & Advertorials: Develop advertorial and articles for San Diego Family Magazine to
highlight Goodwill’s Local Loop (through print or social media). Include infographics and
articles describing the donation, purchase, jobs cycle. Also, how everything is kept local and
helps improve our community and local economy.

Executive Summary: Goodwill Industries International, Inc. is a consignment retailer that aims
to “enhance the dignity and quality of life of individuals and families by helping people reach
their full potential through education, skills training, and the power of work.” They have job
training programs specialized for youth, seniors, veterans, people with disabilities, criminal
backgrounds, and other specialized needs. Eighty-nine million employees work at Goodwill
across the country and more than 318,000 people were placed into higher employment due to
Goodwill’s dedication to professional development.
Problem Statement: The public perceives Goodwill as a second-hand consignment shop instead
of a trendy place to buy lightly worn designer clothes, and because of this they are missing an
important audience with huge buying power. Millennials feel inclined to help others, so
Goodwill should actively publicize not only their trendy product base but also their mission to
help others through meaningful work.
Program Goal: Goodwill aims to increase sales to millennials by 10 percent by June 2017 by
creating a better environment, promoting awareness of community initiatives, and offering a
wider selection to that audience.
Target Audiences: I determined that single millennials are the target audience because they
have a negative perception of Goodwill, but still shop there for specific items. I hope to entice
young millennials to shop at Goodwill for trendy clothes and encourage them to volunteer their
time there. A secondary audience is in the millennial group, but the older millennials who are
settled down with a partner from ages 25--32. They are still interested in serving businesses that
give back to the community and are on a 5 budget. A tertiary audience is millennials interested in
volunteering. Although my main goal is to bring revenue to Goodwill, I am interested in bringing
volunteers to the organization to satisfy the mission of Goodwill.
Discussion: It is safe to say that millennials are not very loyal to Goodwill. They will donate
when needed just to get rid of their clothes, but that’s really all they view Goodwill as when it
comes to benefits: a place to get rid of your clothes. “Higher­end” thrift shops like Plato’s Closet
and retail stores like TJ Maxx are definitely the store preference of choice for millennials when it
comes to getting a bargain. However, they do not shop there for their everyday clothes. The
answers coming from the focus group members were very similar - they shop at Goodwill for
random, unique clothing or furniture. One thing I noticed while conducting the information from
my friends was that the members seemed stressed while talking - like they were trying to get
their point across to us but seemed stressed just explaining their experiences. I always go by
myself and I do not want anyone else to see mine there because it’s “embarrassing.” That is one
thing I hope to change in the minds of millennials. I want Goodwill to be associated with good
experiences, a clean environment, and a place where millennials can go to get nice clothes at an
affordable price. My audience said they are aware that Goodwill “does stuff for the community,”
but they haven’t actually seen it first hand. Once, I asked my friends that if anyone was aware
of/has donated to “Donation Days” on Ball State’s campus and no one had ever donated. It’s our
responsibility to change millennials’ perception and stigma that they have of Goodwill so they
can enjoy going there and not think of it as a place just for “knick-knacks and clothes for themed
parties.” Therefore, my mission is to start publicizing the values of Goodwill as a company and
start changing the view that millennials have of a company that does so much for the
communities they’re located across the United States.
Conclusion: I come up with a solution for their future brand image and consumer perception. I
have indicated that Goodwill must brand themselves as a place where people want to volunteer
and donate as well as a retail store that attracts millennials and everyday consumers. To achieve
these efforts, Goodwill must provide incentives for volunteers to attract a higher number of
donations. To change consumers’ perceptions of the stores, Goodwill should consider changing
the aesthetics of their store environment. This will make customers feel like they are shopping in
a more suitable, fun, and attractive environment. In conclusion, my hypothesis about millennials
and Goodwill was right, so it was easy for us to use millennials as our target audience. My
insights show that Goodwill should focus their marketing efforts on getting millennials to want
to come into the store and shop.

Citation:

Seattle Goodwill. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://seattlegoodwill.org/locations

Richards-Gustafson, F. (2016, October 26). Thrift Store Marketing Plan. Retrieved from
https://smallbusiness.chron.com/thrift-store-marketing-plan-14146.html

Popescu, T. (2019, April 18). A homeless man steals clothes from a Seattle Goodwill, goes to jail.
His story isn't unusual. Retrieved from https://www.kuow.org/stories/a-homeless-man-steals-
clothes-from-a-seattle-goodwill-goes-to-jail-his-story-isn-t-unusual

Green marketing - Goodwill's sustainable Donate Movement "Care Tag: You're It". (2019,
January 17). Retrieved from https://businessofstory.com/goodwills-thrifty-online-marketing-
strategy-for-its-new-donate-movement/

Gibbons, J. (2014, July 23). The Good Business Model at Goodwill. Retrieved from
https://hbr.org/2011/10/the-good-business-model-at-goo

Lawson-Zilai, L. (2018, November 14). What You Never Knew About Goodwill and How You
Can Harness the Power of Social Media for Your Brand. Retrieved from
https://www.adlibbing.org/2018/11/08/what-you-never-knew-about-goodwill-and-how-you-
can-harness-the-power-of-social-media-for-your-brand/

Carter, M. (2018, March 19). If You Think Goodwill Charges Too Much for Used Clothing, You
Need to Read This. Retrieved from https://www.countryliving.com/shopping/a18198848/is-
goodwill-a-nonprofit/
(n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.guidestar.org/profile/53-0196517
Think Before You Donate - and Get the Facts about Online Rumors! (2019, July 29). Retrieved
from https://www.goodwill.org/statement/think-before-you-donate-and-get-the-facts-about-
email-rumors/
Creating opportunities through training. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://seattlegoodwill.org/job-
training-and-education

CEO of Goodwill Raked In Almost $730,000 in Salary While Paying Employees with Disabilities
Pennies. (2019, January 11). Retrieved from https://www.diversityinc.com/ceo-of-goodwill-
raked-in-almost-730-000-in-salary-while-paying-employees-with-disabilities-pennies/

/@aliceminium. (2019, January 06). The Dark Reality Behind America's Greatest Thrift Store
Empire. Retrieved from https://medium.com/@aliceminium/the-dark-reality-behind-americas-
greatest-thrift-store-empire-183967087a1e