Sustainable Marketing Campaign for Virginia Community Capital Inc - Essay Example

? Sustainable marketing campaign for Virginia Community Capital Inc. Contents Contents 2 Introduction 3 VCC Target market and the product 4 VCC: marketing campaign and its goals 5 Positioning map 7 Marketing Mix 10 Promotion Budget & Implementation Calendar 13 References 17 Introduction Virginia Community Capital Inc (VCC) is a non-profit organization of multi-million dollar size that operates in the markets of commonwealth of Virginia. The main activities of the organization are focussed towards community development through their products and services in the field of investments in the housing sectors in the form of innovative housing loan products. The non-profit entity offers banking and investment solutions in various economic housing infrastructure and developmental projects. More than the investments and the banking solution provided by the multi-million dollar enterprise, the services of the entity are directed to produce a positive impact on the community. The housing loans and investment solutions provided by Virginia Community capital Inc. for the housing and infrastructure development projects in the economy are aimed at benefit the economically weaker section of the community. The housing projects are also funded by the company in the geographically backward areas of the community. VCC was founded in 1995 and operated in micro lending projects in 3 countries till 2005. The organization transformed into a large multimillion dollar community development financial institution with its equity base rising to 17 million dollar. The capital base of the entity grew from 15 million dollar in 2005 to 19 million dollars in 2007 (Virginia Community Capital, 2013, p.1). The asset base grew to 28.3 million dollars by 2007. VCC has been involved in 23 housing projects aimed at community development in Virginia. The activities of VCC have created 623 housing facilities that are affordable to the economically weaker sections of the community. At the same time, 83 job vacancies have also been created in the housing development projects funded by VCC. VCC Target market and the product The Virginia Community Capital Inc. which is looking to expand its community funding activities in the field of economic housing development projects in the next three years could look to target the customers of the Southside market of Virginia. The company could plan to undertake activities of sustainable marketing campaign for delivering regulated community development financial services to this new market that has not been done earlier. The target market of Southside where VCC has planned to deliver funding solutions through savings programs and advisory services which had no or limited market penetration in the earlier stages have been shown in the map as given below (Virginia Community Capital, 2013, p.1). The Southside is the one of the vast regions of Virginia in which the Virginia Community Capital Inc. has provided investment solutions to the enterprises for carrying out economic housing development projects in order to create affordable housing facilities and increase the scope of employment in the region. The rationale behind choosing the customers of this market is to narrow the economic gap by increasing the purchasing power of the people through services like savings program, advisory services for fund investment in housing projects, etc. The savings programs would allow the economically downward sections of the communities of Southside to be able to purchase accommodation facilities that are already available at affordable prices in the economic housing development projects. Thus VCC would be able to play a crucial role in the stimulating the demand for the housing and facilities that are already available from the housing development projects. VCC: marketing campaign and its goals The three areas of interest for VCC in the marketing campaign are the people of the community, the planet or the communities in which VCC has the objective to achieve sustainable economic development through funding of housing projects and the profits which are to be allocated for further development of the communities. Specific: The marketing campaign aims to critically segment the market of Southside region of Virginia according to the income level of populations and then target the economically inferior segments to whom the services of the company has to be provided. A target population of 25,000 people are expected to purchase the loan and investment solutions of VCC at $100. As VCC is a non-profit organization, this is done with the objective of benefiting the planet or the community with a nominal profit of $2. Measurable: The marketing goals of the organization are in line with the overall objectives of the entity for community development through active participation in financing related services. In order to be the best financial solution provider in the non-profit sector, the marketing campaign aims to offer its savings program services to 15000 customers and advisory services to 10000 customers. This would help those customers who have struggling to purchase the housing facilities created in the community development projects. Attainable: In order to attain the goals of the marketing campaign, the organization has carried out activities for promoting their financial services in the form of savings programs and advisory services in the areas of Southside where these services have not been delivered earlier to the target customers (Virginia Community Capital, 2013, p.1). It has been planned by VCC to set a target of offering their services to 35000 customers. The targets have been set on higher side in order to raise the dedication level of the team. Relevant: The marketing campaign would lead to the delivery of widespread financial services for community development in the communities of Virginia which has not been focussed earlier. The goals of the marketing campaign are relevant for informing the customers of the financial services offered by the organization at affordable prices and to remove the economic disparity in the community. Time bound: VCC has planned to achieve its goal of community development through the promoting its financial services through the marketing campaign. The goal of offering financial services at affordable prices to 25000 customers from economically weaker section is to be achieved over a period of 6 months. The profits earned or the interest earned from the loans to be granted in the community would again be used in the community development financial services. Positioning map The positioning map has been created as follows that would be used in the marketing campaign by Virginia Community Capital Inc for promoting its community development financial service products in the markets of the Southside region of Virginia. The positioning map along with the keys for understanding of the abbreviations has been presented as follows. The VCC brand has been positioned in the map by taking into account the target customers along with the position of one of its competitor in the area of community development financial services. The map consists of four quadrants divide by the two axes of quality and prices of the financial service offered by the brand to their target customers (OaShaughnessy, 1995, p.73). Virginia Community Capital Inc. has the objective of engaging in financial services that would provide investment solution to the target customers of Southside region of Virginia that would primarily focus on positive impact of the community through sustainable development. Virginia Community Capital Inc. is a non-profit organization and would be interested in assisting customers who mainly belong from the economically backward classes. The organization would aim to offer savings programs and advisory services to those people so that they could afford to purchase housing projects which have already been funded by the organization and constructed as part of the economic housing development projects. In order to positional themselves in the perceptual map of the customers, the organization would need to indicate the position of their financial services brand in terms of the features of the lending services and the prices of those services to the target customers (McLoughlin and Aaker, 2010, p.66). The target customers are the people from geographically under-served areas of Southside who are not being able to afford the housing projects due to shortage of funds. As a non-profit organization and having created the availability of the economic housing projects in Southside, it is the prerogative of Virginia Community Capital Inc. to boost the economic status of the customers so that the housing facilities could be provided to the desired sections of the community. In order to ensure success of the marketing campaign, the VCC brand would positioned as a low priced brand with essential features and quality of financial service like advisory services to the target customers. This would help the low income groups in the community to benefit from the financial loans provided to them for purchasing the housing accommodations. The benefits of the savings programs in accumulation of the required savings for housing transaction would be promoted in the marketing campaigns. The benefits like of the advisory services in helping the customers to chose the right savings option as per the available schemes would lead to positive results in the marketing campaign. The marketing campaign would include agendas of highlighting the services of the competitors like the New Resource bank that is also engaged in the field of community development (Doole and Lowe, 2005, p.70). The target customers would also be made aware of the brand positioning of the competitor, i.e. the New Resource Bank as done in the positioning map. The new Resource bank has gained market share due to the green initiative adopted by them. However, the relative advantages of the services of Virginia Community Capital Inc. in terms of competitive pricing of their services combined with the supporting features would help them to get competitive advantage through the marketing campaign. The pricing of the financial services which is the interest to be paid by the customers for borrowing the funds for purchase of housing accommodation is the point that is going to provide an edge to VCC over its competitors. The increasing acceptability of the target customers due to the brand positioning of the financial services of Virginia Community Capital Inc that matches the demands of low income group customers would be the key to success of the marketing campaign aimed at achieving sustainability in business performance of VCC. The effective brand positioning of Virginia Community Capital Inc with respect to its competitors keeping in minds the needs of the target customers, mission of the organization for community development is a key elements for success of the marketing campaign (Kotler, 2009, p.105). Marketing Mix The marketing mix has to be adopted by Virginia Community Capital Inc. in a strategic fashion which must be displayed in their marketing campaign in order to enable target customers to take quick and informed decision over availing their services offered by the company. The marketing mix would include the attractive product features, competitive prices, place of offerings and the information provided with the promotions done through marketing campaign. The promotion of the community development oriented financial services to be provided by Virginia Community capital Inc in the Southside area of Virginia is the most important part of the marketing mix. The promotion campaigns would be carried out in all remote area of Southside in order to spread the information on the savings programs and the advisory services that are intended to be provided to the rural as well as low income group of people in the community of Southside. The media that would selected for promoting the VCC brand is the print media and the promotional camps to be set up in remote locations of Southside. The promotional campaign would start one month before the launch of the services and would continue for a period till the organization is not able to provide desired number of loans. The message of the promotion campaigns would stress on the social responsibility of the organization (Hutt and Speh, 2012, p.94). The organization would pass the message that their services are aimed at narrowing the gap of economic disparity in the community. This would lead to increase in trust and loyalty for the brand among the target customers. The effectiveness of the promotional campaigns would be judged not only in terms of the sales as the organization is a non-profit entity. The success of the campaign would be judged on the acceptability of the VCC brand among the customers and the level of brand loyalty in the market. This would help in fast achievement of the organizational goals by Virginia Community Capital Inc. Attention: Virginia Community Capital Inc has chosen to offer the savings products and advisory services in order to attract the attention of the target customers of Southside region of Virginia. The savings programs would increase the availability of funds in the hands of the people of Southside through programs for accumulation of savings. The savings programs are being offered by the Community Capital Bank of Virginia which is a subsidiary of VCC. Interest: The features of the service would generate interest among the customers for accessing the services. The savings programs of VCC have been offered to the target customers who are potential savers but lack current fund requirements. The product would help them realize their dreams for purchasing housing accommodation (Chouinard, 2005, p.37). The savings programs of VCC also allow the target customers to receive credits for the purpose of reinvestment in community housing development projects against the deposits kept by them in the community development bank. Desire: The desire to buy the product would arise as the customers would be convinced about the pricing of the financial services in form of savings programs and advisory services which are relatively lower as compared to the competitor product prices. Due to the low pricing of its products, VCC would be able to acquire large section of customers who fall in the economically backward classes. Action: The branches would provide advisory services to the local people for taking action in selecting the deposit scheme for accumulation of savings and channelize the funds for purchase of housing facilities. The places of availability of the financial services like the savings programs, advisory services are important elements of the marketing mix that would be considered by VCC in their marketing campaign. The non-profit organization has set up branches in selected regions of Virginia which are the contact points of the customers for availing housing loan and advisory services from the community development bank (Martin and Schouten, 2011, p.84). In order to promote and offer the financial of the company in the Southside region of Virginia, the company would need to set up more number of distribution centers that would cater to the target customers in the Southside region of the state. Virginia Community Capital could look to expand the branches of its subsidiary community development bank that would enable the organization to identify the local needs and allocate appropriate funds and resources for development of the community. Satisfaction: VCC has the aim to satisfy their customer through offering financial services at affordable prices backed by advisory services. The people in the marketing strategy of Virginia Community Capital Inc are the target customers of the Southside region of Virginia. VCC has the objective of serving the economically underserved sections of the community who are not able to afford the housing infrastructure facilities constructed for them through funding of the economic housing development projects. The pricing of the savings programs are meant primarily for these customers as VCC is a non-profit organization and it aims to create sustainable development by offering competitively priced financial products that are affordable for the target customers. Keeping these factors into consideration, VCC would continue to market the comparatively low prices of their advisory services in relation to the competitor’s services in community development projects. Promotion Budget & Implementation Calendar The promotional budget for carrying out the marketing campaign on the financial services to be provided to the target customers in the markets of Southside in Virginia have been prepared by taking into account the objectives and tasks to be accomplished with the help of marketing campaign. Since the marketing campaign of Virginia Community Capital Inc has been planned to be completed within a period of one month before the financial services for community development are offered to the target customers in the Southside region of Virginia, the timelines have also been planned for completion of the promotional activities to be conducted by VCC. The budgeted expenses allocated are based on the timeline for completion of the promotional tasks by the organization. The implementation calendar includes a period of one month with the several promotional activities spread over the mentioned timeline (Rogers, 2001, p.51). The major objectives of the marketing campaign include the contribution of the organization towards increasing the purchasing power of the economically backward classes in the Southside region of Virginia. In order to accomplish this objective, the organization decided to promote the savings programs through its subsidiary banking division. The organization would be conducting promotional camps in the first two weeks of the implementation calendar. The budgeted expenses for the promotional camps have been fixed at $20000. The second objective of the non-profit organization would be to help the people of the low income group in purchasing real estate properties and housing accommodations at affordable prices. This would be achieved through the marketing campaign on the advisory services to be provided to the target customers of Southside region in Virginia. The benefits of the advisory service would be marketed through the marketing campaign and benefits to the target customers in receiving guidance for selection of the savings scheme and subsequent investment in housing purchases would be emphasized (Dibb and Simkin, 1996, p.27). The promotional tasks would be carried out through the consultation camps that would be organized by Virginia Community Capital Inc for providing expert advice to the customers. This promotional activity would be implemented in the second and third week of the implementation calendar. The budgeted expense for this promotional activity would be $30000. The penultimate objective of VCC is to attain inclusive community development. This could be achieved by the organization through promotion of the ways that could reduce the economic disparity between the groups of people in the community of Southside region in Virginia. The organization would promote its activities on financing housing needs in the marketing campaign of the services to be provided by the company (Abrams and Abrams, 2003, p.48). The promotional channel to be used in this case is the newspaper that would contain the related advertisement. The promotional activity would be implemented in the last three weeks of the months after the initial promotional camps are held. The budgeted expense for this activity is $50000. The ultimate objective of the organization is to achieve sustainable development of the community through financing procedures and provision of funds for the economically weaker sections of the society. The objective could be achieved with the help of new branches being opened in the Southside which would provide easier contact for the people of the community. The opening of the new branches would be promoted through the television channels that are mostly viewed by the people in the community (Kozami, 2002, p.111). The expense budgeted for this promotional activity is $100000 that is to be implemented in the last two weeks of the month leading to the launch of the services. The review of the implementation calendar for the one month period reveals that the total budgeted expense for the promotional campaign of VCC is $200000. References Chouinard, Y. 2005. Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman. Virginia: Penguin Press. Martin, D. M. and Schouten, J. W. 2011. Sustainable Marketing. New York: Pearson Prentice Hall. Virginia Community Capital. 2013. Our Goals. [Online]. Available at: http://www.vacommunitycapital.org/mission. [Accessed on 02 December, 2013]. Hutt, M. D. and Speh, T. W. 2012. Business Marketing Management: B2b. New York: Cengage Learning. OaShaughnessy, J. 1995. Competitive Marketing: A Strategic Approach. New York: Routledge. McLoughlin, D. and Aaker, D. A. 2010. Strategic Market Management: Global Perspectives. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Rogers, S. C. 2001. Marketing Strategies, Tactics, and Techniques: A Handbook for Practitioners. New York: Greenwood Publishing Group. Dibb,S., and Simkin, L., 1996. The Marketing Planning Workbook: Effective Marketing for Marketing. 2nd ed. Stamford: Cengage Learning. Kotler, P. 2009. Marketing Management. New Delhi: Pearson Education India. Doole, I. and Lowe, R. 2005. Strategic Marketing: Decisions in Global Markets. Stamford: Cengage Learning. Abrams, R. and Abrams, R. M. 2003. The Successful Business Plan: Secrets & Strategies. Toronto: The Planning Shop. Kozami, A. 2002. Business Policy and Strategic Management,2e. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Read More