Case Study Assessment Task 1

Case study: D.A. Garden Supplies Part 1

Procedure
1. Read the case of study at the end of this task
2. Prepare a proposal for D.A. Garden Supplies that addresses the following critical items
 What is market research and what is its role in identifying and resolving the current issue?
 How can market research contribute to the success of D.A. Garden Supplies?
 What are the research needs of D.A. Garden Supplies?
3. Draft research objectives
4. Your proposal should also include
a. A statement of the market research needs for D.A. Garden Supplies, based on an analysis of
D.A. Garden Supplies financial and performance records
b. Information on the project planning main stages of the research, including the consultation
process that will be required to progress to the next stage, for example, scoping the project,
gaining approvals
c. Details of at leas two industry individuals or external bodies you consulted in determining these
research needs
d. A description of relevant legislation or codes of practice that need to be followed in the
research
e. A preliminary project scope for D.A. Garden Supplies that:
- Identifies the human, financial and physical resources required and available
- Identifies any external market research assistance that will be required, and consultation
processes
- Describes possible research locations

PROPOSAL
The purpose of this proposal is to improve the marketing strategies of the company by understanding
this concept and applying behaviors that will better the business.
Market research is about knowing the context in which you’re going to sell your product, allowing to
have better knowledge on the decisions necessary to make grow a business around that product. It
also enables a company owner to know a market and its needs allowing him to meet those needs
through creative strategies created on the way. Market research is great also because through
analysis we can discover whether if a certain product is profitable or not and if it is what are the keys
of its success allowing me to create strategies and tools dedicated to growing that product based on
those key insights on the market. Knowing the market is strictly necessary when launching a product
and it determines its success in our company and specific context.
As stated above, knowing how a market works, how is the profit, what are the revenues and
expenses and etcetera can give us valuable insight to predict whether certain products would work or
not if we launch them in our specific context. Marketing research is a must in our present economic
system as it provides us tools to predict and create strategies around selling a specific product.
Research needs
Firstly, they need to investigate whether the location of their business matches with the needs of the
population of that area, they have been having success through the hard work of the owners, but
other areas may be more profitable and the extension of the business to other chains is
recommended. Other element to investigate is how they are combining two very different concepts as
food and gardening are, it is valuable to investigate data about the relationship between both and
come up with creative strategies in order to increase sales by combining and making their two
businesses collaborate. If done right, through marketing strategies the business can improve by
uniting the two separate concepts and by selling them in a different, stronger way. It is also needed to
investigate facts that had happened in their context or market throughout the past two years to
determine what factor or what element or what event could have changed or dropped their sales. This
event, factor or fact could be external or internal so it’s worth investigating things such as new
businesses in the area, the implementation of new policies in the enterprise such as in the state and
that sort of elements. The last element is that they may have been increasing attention on a group of
projects and thus their time to cover other projects had decreased and in consequence the profit
coming from that segment of the business. It is worthy of investigating if it is wise to hire more
professionals in order to cover more projects or what solutions should be given to the situation.
They need to do this market research because it is essential for knowing circumstances, elements
and facts important to improve situations as sales decrease and to even grow the business by
accessing to information that could possibly give us the insight to past events that could have
influenced the functioning of the business. Al of this will allow us to create marketing campaigns and
strategies that will make the business more profitable.
Research objectives
As we investigate facts, elements and information about changes throughout the past years that
could have influenced positively or negatively the course, profits, revenues and other elements of
Garden Supplies, we will know more about the roots of the most important changes and problems
and consequently we will implement better strategies targeting these problems. As listed, they are:
- To investigate past events that could have influenced positively or negatively the business
functioning in order to target the problems that have emerged with no apparent reason
- To investigate whether the company needs new workers in order to expand their activity
around the area
- To investigate elements such as location and search for areas that could be more profitable or
match the services, they offer better
- To investigate whether it is wise to open more stores around the city
- Review and investigate how food service and gardening could be possibly combined in order
to create a more integrated business
- Investigate what features of the business are needed to implement and which of those existing
need to be eliminated
Main stages: Consultation
It is needed to consult what is the budget of the company to know what is viable to do and what is
not. It is also necessary to consult priorities in order to know what to target first. Lastly it is needed to
present the project to stakeholders and change it to their will.
Stakeholders, managers of the business, staff of the business and external links of the company.
External help and council will be sought such as other companies or coaches and mentors on the
topic who provide professional help.
Legislation
It’s essential to investigate the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (CCA) as it is essential to our
marketing research as it applies to a lot of aspects of business such as price setting, transactions and
advertising. It is done in the principles of costumer-seller relationships, reputation enhancement, risk
assessment and management, costs of legal procedures and practices and frameworks for staff
around trading and business laws.
Another legislation important to target are the present pricing regulations as it is important when
setting a price to enter the market. The legislation around this includes important concepts such as
comparative pricing, recommended retail price, predatory pricing, price fixing, multiple pricing, unit
pricing code and much more. Understanding these concepts, frameworks, laws and limitations will
allow us to increase our awareness around what is allowed in the market in terms of price setting and
what are good strategies to set the perfect price.
The franchising code of conduct is also worthy of investigation as the business we are assessing only
has one branch and never have explored the franchises world. Done by the Australian Competition
and Consumer Commission, this document provides us an insight on franchising code, agreements,
history on disputes and penalties and infringements. Reading this is a great idea to understand better
what laws are established around franchising and what are some insights of being successful
creating a franchise on Australia.
Other documents worth of investigation are the fair-trading laws, the Australian standards, the
measurement laws, displaying privacy act and product labelling act.
Resources, location and more
Several resources are required. First, if the whole project passes, documentation and legislation
about hiring, franchising, prices and more topics are needed. Secondly, money is needed to establish
another branch, better marketing campaigns and hire more personal. It is needed an estimated of 1.2
million dollars to fully execute the project. Other resources recommended to the project is external
council. More personnel are needed to be hired and a new infrastructure to improve the business
according to the marketing strategies resulted from the plan.
As stated above external council is required to assess several points of the plan that are about
specific topics that are hard to manage if one does not belong to that area of work. Also, due to the
big investment that involves executing this plan more stakeholders to be included is advised.
To research all the data that is distributed on several fields of work a team dedicated to investigating
such things as political changes throughout the years or specialized marketing on gardening. I would
recommend that the company hires a staff of 10 people for the period of 1 month on the purpose of
doing an exhaustive research that at the end will result on invaluable insight on all the objectives of
the investigation. Once the staff is hired, they will work on 3 divided offices by hierarchy and they will
investigate their areas of work and specific designated by the general manager who oversees this
investigation.

Case study: D.A. Garden Supplies Part 2

Procedure
1. Re-read the case study in Assesment Task 1
2. Consider the following scenario:
The client, D.A. Garden Supplies owner David, has requested you email a copy of your research plan
to him or Alison for review and approval. David and Alison are also interested in the methodology you
will employ in gathering and analyzing market data to meet the company´s needs. The client would
like a range of qualitative and quantitative data to be used, but requires that at least some of the data
be quantified to enable further analysis, statistical inference, or generalization from the sample to the
total target market for D.A target market.
3. Using feedback from Assesment Task 1, develop a detailed market research plan,
including:
a. Finalised scoping, including any revisions to research objectives asked for by the client that
will put the research more in line with company strategy
b. An estimation of resources and detailed timelines required for the market research to meet
objectives. Ensure your planning includes all steps needed to implement your methodology; for
example, choosing a sample, designing instruments, conducting surveys, analyzing results,
reporting, and evaluating the research. Include a detailed budget for physical and human
resources required for each stage of the research project.
4. Send an email with the detailed planning document attached to your assessor to obtain
approval to implement the plan
5. Write a short report on your methodology. Describe the overall methodology, including:
a. A description of why the research is important for the business
b. The role of hypothesis testing in the research
c. The process of selecting a sample
d. A description of survey instruments and those intended to be used in the research
e. A description of statistical methods to be used and an exploration of why these are
appropriate
6. Ensure your methodology is consistent with your research plan. In addition, ensure
that, in your report you:
a. Discuss the types of data required for this research noting what combinations of data will be
best for this research
b. Identify and evaluate at least three suitable data gathering methods for this research project,
describing why your method or methods were chosen
c. Identify the sources of the required data and explain why these were chosen
d. Explain how you will quantify the required data; i.e, put in a form where it can be counted,
measured or subjected to further analysis
MARKET RESEARCH PLAN
Introduction
The main problem that the investigation aims to target is the fact that the overall net worth of the
business has not progressed, on the other hand, it had decreased. That is the main reason to find out
problems and solve them through categorical solutions.
The overall purpose of this research is to arm David and Allison with new tools and strategies to
improve the functioning of their business and raise their performance.
Research objectives
The objectives of the market research are to create consciousness in the company about probable
mistakes, external influences and things in general that are not functioning that had affected
negatively their sales in order to correct them. Another objective of this research is to encounter
creative solutions in order to solve some existing problems as the shorthand of personnel and the
decrease of the net worth of the company. The ultimate objective is to raise sales, revenues and if
necessary, invest more in the company in order to make it grow.
Resources
Several resources are required. First, if the whole project passes, documentation and legislation
about hiring, franchising, prices and more topics are needed. Secondly, money is needed to establish
another branch, better marketing campaigns and hire more personal. It is needed an estimated of 1.2
million dollars to fully execute the project. Other resources recommended to the project is external
council. More personnel are needed to be hired and a new infrastructure to improve the business
according to the marketing strategies resulted from the plan.
As stated above external council is required to assess several points of the plan that are about
specific topics that are hard to manage if one does not belong to that area of work. Also, due to the
big investment that involves executing this plan more stakeholders to be included is advised.
Timelines
The theoretical investigation that involves discovering problems, searching for methods and finally
proposing solutions will last a period of 1 month. The second phase of trial that is when we have our
strategies ready, we will try them by sampling products and releasing new marketing campaigns and
trying the validity of the results of the investigation will last one month and a half. Finally, if the results
are positive, we will implement the big changes as creating another branch and hiring more stuff. This
stage will last for 3 months, if applies, as it is the most complicated one to set.

REPORT
This report aims to answer some basic questions about the methodologies and procedures of this
market research.
This marketing research is necessary as it compounds the most important aspects of building a
successful business within gardening and food service and considers the specific needs of David and
Alison´s company. It is also necessary to trace problems that are lowering sales and revenues and
trace them to their root on the past in order to correct them. Another important aspect is that by
researching all this the team will be able to create better strategies in order to grow. This marketing
research will also find out if it is wise to found more franchises and hire more employees, simple
shifts that can make a great difference.
Hypothesis testing has a great role in this investigation since through this method we can give a
logical probability to scenarios that are worth of studying for improving our mechanisms of marketing,
including strategies and more.
To research all the data that is distributed on several fields of work a team dedicated to investigating
such things as political changes throughout the years or specialized marketing on gardening. I would
recommend that the company hires a staff of 10 people for the period of 1 month on the purpose of
doing an exhaustive research that at the end will result on invaluable insight on all the objectives of
the investigation. Once the staff is hired, they will work on 3 divided offices by hierarchy and they will
investigate their areas of work and specific designated by the general manager who oversees this
investigation.
Although the purpose of this research is deeper than focusing on one just product there is a section
of the research that will try several products at the end of the theoretical investigation according to the
marketing strategies produced by the findings of it. We will try 5 products, 3 new innovative food
products and 2 gardening products. The population of target is the people that live nearby and
Australian males and females between 22 and 69 years old. To sample the new products, we will
make little versions of it and in the case of the food we will give it as a sample to the people that
participate in the surveys. In the case of the gardening products we will offer them to 25 of our
customers on personalized sessions and ask for their opinions
We will need quantitative data first, then theoretical data about stuff in general in our investigation, we
need historical data and finally pragmatical data. All this data is required to research context,
background and to check whether the execution of the plan is possible or not. The combination of
data needed is of theoretical + historical that will equal on contextualizing and will result on needs on
the market and for the specific business information then the quantitative + pragmatic research that
will finally tell us strategies and steps to take in order to achieve our marketing goals.
We have chosen three methods in which this investigation relies on. First, we will use the research of
documents, books and records in order to contextualize and give deeper insight on the history and
process of the company and its environment. Then we will use observation and creative talks, focus
groups, meetings and record all of that in order to come up with strategies considering the former
method results. Lastly for the pragmatic part of the investigation we will use interviews, sampling,
questionnaires and surveys to test our results and finally telling what is suitable to execute and what
needs and adjust.
The sources of data will be mainly the government, banks, external counselling and agencies related
to the environment that surrounds the company. These sources are carefully chosen as we will have
a group of experts researching on those and the number of additional ones that are necessary and
pop up on the run. These will be used as they are related to the data and facts we are investigating.
The external counselling has the purpose to specialize and understand in a better manner all the
information.
We will require large amounts of data as this project is vast and covers a lot.
We will quantify data by statistical measures that will be provided by software companies.

PROJECT ASSESSMENT TASK 1

Part A
1. Choose an organization to analyze, identify two marketing opportunities for the
organization you have chosen. To identify opportunities, analyze information on your
chose organization’s market and business needs, for example:
a. Comparative market information
b. Competitors performance
c. Customer requirements
d. Legal and ethical requirements
e. Market share
f. Market trends and developments
g. New and emerging markets
h. Profitability
i. Sales figures
2. Research potential new markets for the organization for example:
a. Export markets
b. Segments of the market not currently penetrated
3. Consider strategic marketing approaches, such as:
a. Increasing market share
b. Developing new markets
c. Developing new products
d. Diversification
4. Using a suitable methodology, such as gap analysis and identify two marketing
opportunities to focus on and investigate further. In your analysis consider types of
markets and aspects of the marketing mix, such as distribution, products and types of
promotional activities, for example:
a. E-commerce
 b. Business to business marketing
c. Direct marketing
d. Ideas marketing
e. Marketing of goods
f. Public sector marketing
g. Services marketing
h. Telemarketing
5. Estimate the effect of the two marketing opportunities on the business, for example:
a. Effect on sales volume
b. Growth
c. Market share
d. Profitability
6. Use numerical analysis or statistical methods to forecast effects. For example, use the
least squares method to estimate demand. Use estimated demand to calculate effect on
sales and profitability.

7. Explore and develop entrepreneurial, innovative options for each opportunity to apply
the marketing opportunities in the context of organization. For example, if you identify
an e-commerce opportunity, determine how to apply it to the organization including
aspects such as media, web-design to appeal to target markets, integration with
existing operations, marketing strategy and overall strategic directions.

REPORT
This report intends to present two approaches or opportunities to marketing improvements. They will
be supported by arguments in the following report.
BBQ fun will be the leading outdoor lifestyle retailer, catering to the growing need for furnishing new
and renovated dwellings in the greater Brisbane area. The assortment offer of BBQs, outdoor
furniture and BBQ accessories will position BBQ fun as best-in-class for outdoor lifestyle retailing.
We intend to target our customers via social media and traditional media.
The assortment offer of BBQs, outdoor furniture and BBQ accessories will position BBQ fun as best-
in-class for outdoor lifestyle retailing. Its current situation in the market looks like this:
● Overview greater Brisbane area:
○ high population growth of 5% per year
○ new homes and renovated homes growing from a base of 50,000 per year
○ low unemployment of 4.7%.
● Geographic:
○ our immediate geographic target is the area of Brisbane with a population of 1,000,000
○ a 30 km geographic area is the average store market footprint
○ the total targeted population is estimated at 250,000.
● Demographics:
○ male and female
○ ages 20–50, this is the segment that makes up 50% of the Brisbane new and renovated house
markets, according to the Chamber of Commerce
○ high % of young professionals who work in the central business district
○ high % have attended college/graduate school
○ an average household income of over $130,000.
● Behaviour Factors:
○ no concerns about debt; will borrow on the future to enjoy today
○ looking for security in purchasing
○ looking for the ‘house-proud’ factor in outdoor lifestyle purchasing.

Current marketing strategy

BBQfun’s advertising budget is set at $250,000 for the year. The advertising program will target local
letter box drops, Instagram, Facebook, radio and magazines. BBQfun will use direct mail and local
advertising, with coupon inserts in the BrisNews magazine likely to be the most successful of the
campaigns.
BBQfun will try to get articles about BBQfun into the BrisNews magazine. Previous features in the
BrisNews magazine has seen a dramatic increase of sales immediately after the article was
published.
Legal requirements
Privacy Act 1988:
Care must be taken when you collect, use, secure and disclose a customer's personal information to
ensure you comply with the Privacy Act 1988.
Misleading & deceptive conduct
When promoting your products or services, you need to ensure that any branding, statement, quote
or any other representation is not false or misleading. Component pricing is when the price of a
product or service is advertised or displayed in separate parts.
The Competition and Consumer Act 2010
The Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (CCA) covers most areas of the market: the relationships
between suppliers, wholesalers, retailers, and consumers. Its purpose is to enhance the welfare of
Australians by promoting fair trading and competition, and through the provision of consumer
protections.
Broadly, it covers:
• product safety and labelling
• unfair market practices
• price monitoring
• industry codes
• industry regulation – airports, electricity, gas, telecommunications
• mergers and acquisitions.
Market Trends
The market trend for outdoor lifestyle stores is headed toward a more sophisticated and informed
customer. The outdoor lifestyles patron today relative to yesterday is more sophisticated in a number
of different ways.
● Item quality – the preference for high quality items is increasing as customers are learning to
appreciate the quality differences.
● Unique – our patrons appreciate the opportunity to include outdoor lifestyles in their home that
stand out from the mass produced and low quality items.
● Selection – people are demanding a larger selection of choices; they are no longer accepting a
limited offer in outdoor lifestyles.
The reason for this trend is that within the last couple of years there has been an explosion of media
in the form of TV shows and magazines that have promoted exotic and different outdoor lifestyles.
Consumers no longer need to accept a limited number of options. With more choices, patrons have
become more sophisticated. This trend is intuitive as you can observe a more sophisticated patron in
larger city markets such as Sydney or Melbourne where there have been more choices made
available.
BBQfun strongly believes that customers are more interested in range of products, after sales service
and easily managed payments than any other issues. These are the reasons that they will shop with
us and become loyal patrons.
Technological developments with the broadband rollout across greater Brisbane and Australia have
opened significant opportunities for internet shopping and for providing information for our customers
about our product range.
Competition
The following SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis captures the key
strengths and weaknesses within the company, and describes the opportunities and threats facing
BBQfun.
Strengths:
● Excellent staff that are highly skilled and knowledgeable about outdoor lifestyles.
● Retail space that is bright, functional and efficient for a commercial urban district.
● High customer loyalty among repeat customers.
● Assortment of products that exceed competitor offerings in quality, range and accessibility.
Weaknesses
● A limited marketing budget to develop brand awareness due to the lack of critical mass and
store cover.
● The struggle to continually fund the growing long-term repayment plans taken out by our
customers.
Opportunities
● A growing market in a high growth area with a significant percentage of the target market still
not aware of BBQfun’s offer.
● Increasing sales opportunities outside of our target area – greater Brisbane.
Threats
● Competition from local independents that can reduce prices as owner operators lower than our
staff-run stores.
● Competition from national chains moving into the Brisbane market.
● A slump in the economy reducing customer’s disposable income spent on outdoor lifestyles.
Local Competition
● All independents. These stores are owned by individual owner operators. Ranges vary
according to owner preferences. There are very few imports. Mostly retailing Australian manufactured
goods. Collectively their average item sale price is $250, they have a market share of 48%, and are
growing at about 8% per year.
Sales performance
The following charts will represent the performance of the company

Sales Performance
$20,000,000
$18,000,000
$16,000,000
$14,000,000
$12,000,000
$10,000,000
$8,000,000
$6,000,000
$4,000,000
$2,000,000
$0
2011 2012 2013 2014

Total Revenue Total Gross Profit on Sales

Sales Performance
$20,000,000
$18,000,000
$17,191,375
$16,000,000 $15,682,075
$14,000,000
$13,168,200
$12,000,000
$11,001,765
$10,000,000
$9,974,650 $9,964,100
$8,000,000 $8,000,650
$6,000,000
$5,284,750
$4,000,000
$2,000,000
$0
2011 2012 2013 2014

Total Revenue Total Gross Profit on Sales

New markets
BBQfun is providing its customers with a wide selection of merchandise in its chosen field. BBQfun
seeks to fulfil the following benefits that are important to their customers.
● Selection – a wide choice of options.
● Accessibility – the patron can gain easy access to the store with minimal wait.
● Customer service – the patron will be impressed with the after sales service and guarantees.
● Competitive pricing – all products/services will be competitively priced relative to comparable
high end outdoor lifestyle lines.
Above all, BBQfun believes that easy access to stores with extensive choices in our chosen fields,
that are sold on an easily managed payment plan with a three year guarantee are the keys to our
customer’s needs and wants.
Approaches
In BBQfun there are several approaches and methods used for improving sales and increasing
revenue. Above all, BBQfun believes that easy access to stores with extensive choices in our chosen
fields, that are sold on an easily managed payment plan with a three year guarantee are the keys to
our customer’s needs and wants.
• Delphi techniques:
Delphi technique is a forecasting method based on the results of questionnaires sent to a panel of
experts. Several rounds of questionnaires are sent out, and the anonymous responses are
aggregated and shared with the group after each round.
• Top-down forecasting:
Top-down sales forecasting begins with combined data on sales of all products, for example all
models or colors in all locations. Then it applies the methods of statistics to predict sales of individual
items at particular locations.
• Bottom-up forecasting:
Sales, and the revenues that they generate, are subjected to some fundamental limitations.
Depending on the type of business these may include hours in the day, capacity of a machine or
plant to produce widgets, or numbers of sales people making customer calls, to name a few. Beyond
these physical limitations the firm is also bound, in most cases, by pricing constraints imposed by
competitors for comparable products and services. Think of this collection of limits as the supply side
of the forecast.
BBQfun’s advertising budget is set at $250,000 for the year. The advertising program will target local
letter box drops, radio and magazines. BBQfun will use direct mail and local advertising, with coupon
inserts in the BrisNews magazine likely to be the most successful of the campaigns.
BBQfun will try to get articles about BBQfun into the BrisNews magazine. Previous features in the
BrisNews magazine has seen a dramatic increase of sales immediately after the article was
published.
Strategy Pyramids:
The single objective is to position BBQfun as the premier outdoor lifestyles store in the greater
Brisbane area, commanding a majority of the market share within five years. The marketing strategy
will seek to first create customer awareness regarding their services offered, develop that customer
base, and work toward building customer loyalty and referrals.
The message that BBQfun will seek to communicate is that BBQfun offers the widest, most exotic,
easy access outdoor lifestyle products in Brisbane. This message will be communicated through a
variety of methods. The first will be direct mail. The direct mail campaign will be a way to
communicate directly with the consumer. BBQfun will also use ads and inserts in Brizzy magazine.
BBQ fun is currently over-performing in all areas of the products we are selling. Each year our
products have gone up in sales which is good for our business.
Forecast
The following is the prediction for sales the next year:

Item Average Averag Average Units Revenue Gross

price e COGS contributio profit on
n sales
BBQ $625 $390 $235 7,999 $4,999,375 $1,879,765
Outdoor
Furniture $2100 $500 $1600 4520 $9,492,000 $7,232,000
BBQ
accessories $50 $15 $35 54000 $2,700,000 $1,890,000

Total 17,191,375 11,001,765

Conclusion
BBQfun can penetrate the Instagram world to reach new audiences and create a radio campaign to
improve engagement through traditional media.

PART B
1. Prepare a 15-20 minute presentation for marketing peers explaining and supporting the
two marketing opportunities you have identified. Ensure you complete the following:
a. Describe two marketing opportunities and how you identified them. Describe the process
you undertook to analyze your organization to identify the marketing opportunities. Refer to
the current organizational marketing plan and products/services, as well as organizational
procedures and protocols
b. Support your choice of marketing opportunities with reference to market information such
as market trends and sales figures. Include relevant statistics
c. Describe the effect of opportunities on the business, for example:
- Sales volume
- Growth
- Market share
- Profitability
d. Refer to quantitative or qualitative data
e. Show results of statistical methods of forecasting demand
f. Show results of break-even or profit analysis
2. Describe innovative or creative options to appy the marketing opportunities in the
context of the organization. Refer to aspects of marketing mix. Refer to principles of
marketing that apply to your approaches to realizing the proposed opportunities
 3. Prepare and keep presentation notes and other materials used in the presentation such
as PowerPoint slides and handouts

CASE OF STUDY ASSESMENT TASK 2

PART A
1. Read all materials required for this activity. BBQfun simulated business, information
supplied in the scenario, and information supplied in the BBQfun sales data worksheet
of this assessment task
2. Using all the information that you have been provided, fill in the blank spaces in the
BBQfun sales data worksheet in the following order:
a. Forecast the total market potential for the coming financial year
b. Use the market share for each opportunity and the total market potential to forecast the
number of buyers in each category for the e-commerce market opportunity
c. Use the number of buyers from market potential tables to calculate the unit sales volume
for the e-commerce and bargain market opportunities
d. From this information, calculate estimated total revenue and gross profit
e. Use the additional fixed costs and the BBQfun simulated budget to determine the net profit
for each opportunity
f. Use gross profit and total fixed costs from each opportunity to calculate the profitability
index in each opportunity
g. Use information from this assessment task and the BBQfun simulated business to calculate
total cost of operational changes
Potential revenue in 2020

Item Average Averag Average Units Revenue Gross

price e COGS contributio profit on
n sales
BBQ $625 $390 $235 7,999 $4,999,375 $1,879,765
Outdoor
Furniture $2100 $500 $1600 4520 $9,492,000 $7,232,000
BBQ
accessories $50 $15 $35 54000 $2,700,000 $1,890,000

Total 17,191,375 11,001,765

Buyers

Brisbane City (BC) Gold coast

Custom BC: Pre-tax BC: Custom SC: Pre-tax SC:
er household Outdoor er household Outdoor
number income $ home ware number income $ home ware
spend $ spend $
1 141,917.40 17,030.09 1 99,724.51 5,983.47
2 132,476.70 15,897.21 2 73,762.43 4,425.74
3 120,251.50 14,430.18 3 67,561.46 4,053.68
4 119,381.90 14,325.83 4 109,280.60 6,556.83
5 126,690.50 15,202.86 5 60,555.51 3,633.33
 Brisbane City (BC) Gold coast
Custom BC: Pre-tax BC: Custom SC: Pre-tax SC:
er household Outdoor er household Outdoor
number income $ home ware number income $ home ware
spend $ spend $
6 129,411.70 15,529.40 6 80,996.57 4,859.79
7 122,839.20 14,740.70 7 104,734.30 6,284.05
8 123,600.70 14,832.09 8 119,793.20 7,187.59
9 136,968.50 16,436.22 9 107,021.90 6,421.31
10 128,570.90 15,428.51 10 93,674.20 5,620.45
11 134,620.80 16,154.50 11 70,030.66 4,201.84
12 128,567.10 15,428.05 12 111,375.00 6,682.50
13 118,349.60 14,201.95 13 118,161.60 7,089.69
14 135,124.50 16,214.94 14 117,042.30 7,022.53
15 113,004.40 13,560.53 15 109,850.50 6,591.02
16 121,926.80 14,631.22 16 96,423.13 5,785.38
17 129,937.40 15,592.49 17 88,916.10 5,334.96
18 140,172.80 16,820.73 18 79,135.89 4,748.15
19 128,760.30 15,451.24 19 103,948.50 6,236.90
20 116,400.40 13,968.05 20 74,352.01 4,461.12
21 128,965.60 15,475.87 21 108,963.90 6,537.83
22 129,643.90 15,557.27 22 148,810.10 8,928.60
23 122,743.60 14,729.23 23 98,265.31 5,895.91
24 133,026.20 15,963.14 24 98,095.50 5,885.73
25 121,658.30 14,599.00 25 50,030.27 3,001.81
26 134,905.40 16,188.65 26 107,360.10 6,441.60
27 124,530.10 14,943.61 27 69,240.90 4,154.45
28 117,690.10 14,122.81 28 112,079.00 6,724.73
29 109,617.00 13,154.04 29 85,799.60 5,147.97
30 119,613.10 14,353.57 30 103,748.90 6,224.93
31 115,141.90 13,817.03 31 103,622.00 6,217.32
32 119,711.40 14,365.36 32 96,541.08 5,792.46
33 133,159.30 15,979.11 33 77,158.45 4,629.50
34 135,789.80 16,294.77 34 80,695.68 4,841.74
35 120,319.70 14,438.37 35 75,180.60 4,510.83
36 134,554.20 16,146.51 36 78,664.88 4,719.89
37 112,029.70 13,443.57 37 76,461.98 4,587.71
38 130,243.00 15,629.15 38 90,893.98 5,453.63
39 136,044.30 16,325.31 39 102,436.30 6,146.17
40 124,939.40 14,992.73 40 71,866.00 4,311.96
41 137,191.20 16,462.95 41 114,338.10 6,860.28
42 131,718.80 15,806.25 42 68,271.32 4,096.27
43 116,829.10 14,019.49 43 124,621.90 7,477.31
44 113,549.50 13,625.93 44 91,609.39 5,496.56
45 136,552.10 16,386.25 45 83,630.24 5,017.81
46 139,752.20 16,770.27 46 71,926.24 4,315.57
47 122,178.70 14,661.45 47 120,858.70 7,251.52
 Brisbane City (BC) Gold coast
Custom BC: Pre-tax BC: Custom SC: Pre-tax SC:
er household Outdoor er household Outdoor
number income $ home ware number income $ home ware
spend $ spend $
48 122,000.70 14,640.08 48 91,960.48 5,517.62
49 153,252.00 18,390.24 49 86,336.73 5,180.20
50 127,501.40 15,300.17 50 93,647.72 5,618.86

Market opportunity
BBQfun’s advertising budget is set at $250,000 for the year. The advertising program will target local
letter box drops, radio and magazines. BBQfun will use direct mail and local advertising, with coupon
inserts in the BrisNews magazine likely to be the most successful of the campaigns.
BBQfun will try to get articles about BBQfun into the BrisNews magazine. Previous features in the
BrisNews magazine has seen a dramatic increase of sales immediately after the article was
published.
Internal and external sources of information that is relevant to BBQ Fun’s business activities:
The BBQfun customers are mostly aged between 20 and 50, making up 50% of the new and
renovated dwelling market.
During the initial phases of the marketing plan development, several focus groups were held to gain
insight into a variety of patrons of outdoor lifestyle stores. These focus groups provided useful insight
into the decisions, and decision-making processes, of consumers. An additional source of market
research that is dynamic is a feedback mechanism based on a suggestion card system in store
Market share

The Yard BBQ’s R us Outdoorz BBQfun

FY2013 of 16,000 BBQs
– 4,000 4,000 8,000
sold in Brisbane
FY2014 of 20,000 BBQs
– 6,000 6,000 8,000
sold in Brisbane

Sales Forecast

FY2014 FY2015 FY2016

Total sales 11,000,000 12,000,000 15,000,000
Gross profit 1,800,000 2,400,000 4,200,000

Profitability outcomes budget

Profitability Average price Gross profit

BBQ $600 45%
Outdoor furniture $920 50%
BBQ accessories $50 60%
BBQ Fun current product list:
• BBQ – currently we are doing well and we are over-performing. The sales are up each year for
buying a BBQ set.
• Outdoor furniture – in this area we are over-performing as the sales keeps going up.
• BBQ accessories – the sales have gone down slightly but it is not a major issue as it’s only
down by $5 from the previous year.

Below are some new product development we would like to get into. If we expend in other areas this
will help us to increase our market share and overall profit.
• BBQ gas bottles and refills
• Pizza stone oven product range
• Charcoal Roaster

Marketing Expense Budget

Expenses FY2014 FY2015 FY2016

Direct mail 40,000 50,000 60,000

Magazine adverts 110,000 100,000 80,000
Radio promotions 30,000 50,000 70,000
Total 180,000 200,000 210,000

Conclusion

Sales Performance
$20,000,000
$18,000,000
$16,000,000
$14,000,000
$12,000,000
$10,000,000
$8,000,000
$6,000,000
$4,000,000
$2,000,000
$0
2011 2012 2013 2014

Total Revenue Total Gross Profit on Sales

 Sales Performance
$20,000,000
$18,000,000
$17,191,375
$16,000,000 $15,682,075
$14,000,000
$13,168,200
$12,000,000
$11,001,765
$10,000,000
$9,974,650 $9,964,100
$8,000,000 $8,000,650
$6,000,000
$5,284,750
$4,000,000
$2,000,000
$0
2011 2012 2013 2014

Total Revenue Total Gross Profit on Sales

PART B
1. Complete a report according to the following requirements
2. Referring to the BBQfun simulated business documentation, analyze the three
opportunities outlined in the scenario in terms of likely fit with organizational goals and
capabilities. Consider:
a. Organizational marketing plan, structure, products and services
b. Principles of marketing and the marketing mix
c. Additional marketing information such as survey results in the BBQfun sales data
worksheet
3. Using information in the BBQfun sales data worksheet, evaluate each opportunity in
terms of impact to current businesses and customer base. Evaluation should include
investigation of:
a. Sales volume for each opportunity in upcoming financial year
b. Gross and net profit for each opportunity
c. Use numerical analysis or statistical methods to forecast, for example, the size of potential
markets
4. Consider also
a. Impact on growth plans
b. Market share
c. Knockout factors to rule out opportunities
5. Assess external factors that may be relevant to each opportunity. Identify
a. Codes of practice and models
b. Regulations
c. Relevant legislation
6. Refer to relevant BBQfun policies and procedures
7. Referring to BBQfun stimulated business documentation, summarize major costs,
benefits and risks associated with each opportunity, including risks associated with
potential competitors. Identify at least two strategies or approaches to mitigate risk
8. Using information in the BBQfun sales data worksheet, assess the return on investment
for each opportunity. Calculate the profitability index for each opportunity.
9. Based on your analysis so far, rank the three marketing opportunities. Justify your
ranking in terms of bouth financial and non-financial factors such as organizational fit
 10. Using information from the BBQfun sales data worksheet, for the top-ranked marketing
opportunity identify changes to current operations in order to take advantage of the
opportunity. Ensure changes identified are adequate to:
a. Service an increased or different customer base
b. Ensure continued quality of service
11. Ensure you can justify changes on the basis of maintaining quality
12. Using information from the BBQfun sales data worksheet to estimate and justify
resource requirements and costs for changed operations. Consider:
a. Additional staff
b. Distribution costs
c. Equipment
d. Promotional costs
e. Staff training
13. Prepare the report for the board of directors to document your evaluation of the three
marketing opportunities and operational changes for the top ranked opportunity.
Ensure you include the following in your report.
a. An executive summary
b. The results of your investigation of marketing opportunities in steps 3-8. Document the results
of your investigation at each step. Consider documenting each step separately. Under its own
section heading.
c. For the top ranked opportunity, the results of your evaluation of required changes to operations
in steps 9-10. Document the results of your evaluation of each step. Consider documenting
each step separately under its own section heading
14. Ensure your report is written with appropriate language and level of formality to satisfy
needs of your readers
REPORT
BBQ fun will be the leading outdoor lifestyle retailer, catering to the growing need for furnishing new
and renovated dwellings in the greater Brisbane area. The assortment offer of BBQs, outdoor
furniture and BBQ accessories will position BBQ fun as best-in-class for outdoor lifestyle retailing.
The assortment offer of BBQs, outdoor furniture and BBQ accessories will position BBQ fun as best-
in-class for outdoor lifestyle retailing.
BBQfun’s advertising budget is set at $250,000 for the year. The advertising program will target local
letter box drops, radio and magazines. BBQfun will use direct mail and local advertising, with coupon
inserts in the BrisNews magazine likely to be the most successful of the campaigns.
BBQfun will try to get articles about BBQfun into the BrisNews magazine. Previous features in the
BrisNews magazine has seen a dramatic increase of sales immediately after the article was
published
The BBQfun customers are mostly aged between 20 and 50, making up 50% of the new and
renovated dwelling market.
During the initial phases of the marketing plan development, several focus groups were held to gain
insight into a variety of patrons of outdoor lifestyle stores. These focus groups provided useful insight
into the decisions, and decision-making processes, of consumers. An additional source of market
research that is dynamic is a feedback mechanism based on a suggestion card system in store. Here
is an overview of the distinct areas in which we operate.
● Overview greater Brisbane area:
○ high population growth of 5% per year
○ new homes and renovated homes growing from a base of 50,000 per year
○ low unemployment of 4.7%.
● Geographic:
○ our immediate geographic target is the area of Brisbane with a population of 1,000,000
○ a 30 km geographic area is the average store market footprint
○ the total targeted population is estimated at 250,000.
● Demographics:
○ male and female
○ ages 20–50, this is the segment that makes up 50% of the Brisbane new and renovated house
markets, according to the Chamber of Commerce
○ high % of young professionals who work in the central business district
○ high % have attended college/graduate school
○ an average household income of over $130,000.
● Behaviour Factors:
○ no concerns about debt; will borrow on the future to enjoy today
○ looking for security in purchasing
○ looking for the ‘house-proud’ factor in outdoor lifestyle purchasing.

Analysis of Data of market share:

The Yard BBQ’s R us Outdoorz BBQfun
FY2013 of 16,000 BBQs
– 4,000 4,000 8,000
sold in Brisbane
FY2014 of 20,000 BBQs
– 6,000 6,000 8,000
sold in Brisbane

1. FY2013 of 16,000 BBQs sold in Brisbane

a. BBQ Fun had a 50% market share
b. The Yard had a 0% market share
c. BBQ’s R Us had a 25% market share
d. Outdoorz had a 25% market share
2. FY2014 of 20,000 BBQs sold in Brisbane BBQ Fun had a 40% market share
a. BBQ Fun had a 40% market share
b. The Yard had a 0% market share
c. BBQ’s R Us had a 30% market share
d. Outdoorz had a 30% market share
3. BBQ Fun market share is declining
4. No sales growth year on year

Customer survey on social media and traditional media impact

 New product Product Product
acquisition upgrade replacement
Have visited BBQfun in previous 70% 70% 50%
month
Have bought a BBQfun product in 70% 65% 50%
previous month
Customer service is essential 90% 95% 60%
Price is most important 10% 20% 95%
Australian made is important 80% 65% 55%
Will buy online 100% 100% 100%
Will pay delivery charges for 100% 100% 100%
online purchases
Loyal customer 30% 20% 10%

Analysis of Data:
 There are opportunities for greater online presence and marketing
 Customer service is vital
 Pricing is not an important factor
 Opportunity to increase per customer spend

Sales performance analysis including social media and traditional media strategies

FY2011 FY2012 FY2013 FY2014

Gross sales $ (ex. 5,000,000 8,000,000 10,000,000 11,000,000
GST)

1. FY2011 gross sales $5,000,000

2. FY2012 gross sales $8,000,000
3. FY2013 gross sales $10,000,000
4. FY2014 gross sales $11,000,000
5. Gross sale have increased year on year but percentage growth has declined dramatically.

Legislation
Privacy Act 1988:
Care must be taken when you collect, use, secure and disclose a customer's personal information to
ensure you comply with the Privacy Act 1988.
Misleading & deceptive conduct
When promoting your products or services, you need to ensure that any branding, statement, quote
or any other representation is not false or misleading. Component pricing is when the price of a
product or service is advertised or displayed in separate parts.
The Competition and Consumer Act 2010
The Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (CCA) covers most areas of the market: the relationships
between suppliers, wholesalers, retailers, and consumers. Its purpose is to enhance the welfare of
Australians by promoting fair trading and competition, and through the provision of consumer
protections.
Broadly, it covers:
• product safety and labelling
• unfair market practices
• price monitoring
• industry codes
• industry regulation – airports, electricity, gas, telecommunications
• mergers and acquisitions.
The following SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis captures the key
strengths and weaknesses within the company, and describes the opportunities and threats facing
BBQfun.
Strengths:
● Excellent staff that are highly skilled and knowledgeable about outdoor lifestyles.
● Retail space that is bright, functional and efficient for a commercial urban district.
● High customer loyalty among repeat customers.
● Assortment of products that exceed competitor offerings in quality, range and accessibility.
Weaknesses
● A limited marketing budget to develop brand awareness due to the lack of critical mass and
store cover.
● The struggle to continually fund the growing long-term repayment plans taken out by our
customers.
Opportunities
● A growing market in a high growth area with a significant percentage of the target market still
not aware of BBQfun’s offer.
● Increasing sales opportunities outside of our target area – greater Brisbane.
Threats
● Competition from local independents that can reduce prices as owner operators lower than our
staff-run stores.
● Competition from national chains moving into the Brisbane market.
● A slump in the economy reducing customer’s disposable income spent on outdoor lifestyles.
Local Competition
● All independents. These stores are owned by individual owner operators. Ranges vary
according to owner preferences. There are very few imports. Mostly retailing Australian
manufactured goods. Collectively their average item sale price is $250, they have a market
share of 48%, and are growing at about 8% per year.

Profitability and sales including the two strategies

Sales Forecast
 FY2014 FY2015 FY2016

Total sales 11,000,000 12,000,000 15,000,000

Gross profit 1,800,000 2,400,000 4,200,000

Profitability outcomes budget

Profitability Average price Gross profit

BBQ $600 45%

Outdoor furniture $920 50%
BBQ accessories $50 60%

The first marketing opportunity to implement is the social media approach and the second will be the
traditional media marketing approach, this is the order of the approaches because social media
reaches more audiences, generating a greater profit than the traditional media revenue would.

For implementing the strategy on social media the following methods will be followed:

BBQfun is providing its customers with a wide selection of merchandise in its chosen field. BBQfun
seeks to fulfil the following benefits that are important to their customers.
● Selection – a wide choice of options.
● Accessibility – the patron can gain easy access to the store with minimal wait.
● Customer service – the patron will be impressed with the after sales service and guarantees.
● Competitive pricing – all products/services will be competitively priced relative to comparable
high end outdoor lifestyle lines.

We will be using various techniques in our organisation to gather the information required. Some of
these techniques are as follows:
Delphi techniques:
Delphi technique is a forecasting method based on the results of questionnaires sent to a panel of
experts.

Top-down forecasting:
Top-down sales forecasting begins with combined data on sales of all products, for example all
models or colours in all locations.
Bottom-up forecasting:
Sales, and the revenues that they generate, are subjected to some fundamental limitations.
BBQ Fun is a growing company and it will keep growing if we perform the way we have been. We can
introduce new products in order to increase our profit.
Major costs

Marketing Expense Budget

 Expenses FY2014 FY2015 FY2016

Direct mail 40,000 50,000 60,000

Magazine adverts 110,000 100,000 80,000
Radio promotions 30,000 50,000 70,000
Total 180,000 200,000 210,000

This cost is justified because marketing is totally needed to penetrate the social media and traditional
media.

Executive summary

In conclusion. BBQfun has over-performed in the market due to its clean marketing practices. By
improving our approach to social media marketing we can creater a bigger impact online. Reaching
new audiences, increasing opportunities to network with more companies and augmenting the
engagement in general. For these reasons, it is justified the cost of marketing budget and more
expenses stated on this report. BBQfun will continue to generate the same profit and increase it
according to data evidenced above.

Social media results and forecasting (2011+)

Sales Performance
$20,000,000
$18,000,000
$16,000,000
$14,000,000
$12,000,000
$10,000,000
$8,000,000
$6,000,000
$4,000,000
$2,000,000
$0
2011 2012 2013 2014

Total Revenue Total Gross Profit on Sales

Traditional media results (2011+)

 Sales Performance
$20,000,000
$18,000,000
$17,191,375
$16,000,000 $15,682,075
$14,000,000
$13,168,200
$12,000,000
$11,001,765
$10,000,000
$9,974,650 $9,964,100
$8,000,000 $8,000,650
$6,000,000
$5,284,750
$4,000,000
$2,000,000
$0
2011 2012 2013 2014

Total Revenue Total Gross Profit on Sales

The investment on both off the methods approached were converted into profit each year and is
forecasted to continue this trend.

Social media

More attention has to be put on social media as it is a great tool for generating engagement online
and free. For this reason, and the performance it has shown for the company, social media will be a
target for 2012 on approaching marketing and strategies around it.