BUSI 338 Week 3 Discussion Board Forum 2 Example

Discussion Board Forum 2: Promotion and Distribution for a Small Venture

BUSI 338 Developing Entrepreneurial Opportunities, Discussion Board Forum 2 Thread and Replies

Thread by [Student Name]

The forum prompt and the classmates' ventures are composites; the textbook and research cited are real.

For Hill City Mobile Bike Works, earning reviews and referrals should come before buying advertising, because a mobile service is promoted mostly by the customers it has already served.

Byrd and Megginson (2018) treat distribution and promotion as separate parts of the marketing mix, but for a business with no storefront the two merge. The van is the channel: it delivers the service to homes, offices and campuses. It is also the advertisement, because every repair day at an apartment complex happens in front of residents who did not book it. The question is not where to place ads but how to turn each visit into the next customer. Pricing supports the same goal: a posted flat rate for a standard tune-up gives a satisfied rider a simple fact to repeat to a neighbor, which a vague promise of fair prices does not.

Research suggests that customers' own words carry more weight than paid messages. Chevalier and Mayzlin (2006) compared book sales on two large websites and showed that when a title's reviews improved on one site, its sales there rose relative to the other site, and that a one-star review moved sales more than a five-star one. Shoppers, in other words, read the complaints closely. For a small repair business, one angry review can undo several happy ones. A second study tracked members joining a social networking site and found that referrals from existing members produced far longer-lasting effects on sign-ups than traditional marketing events did (Trusov et al., 2009).

The marketing plan follows from these findings. After every visit, the rider receives a text with a link to leave a review, and any complaint is answered publicly and privately within a day, since an answered complaint shows future customers how problems are handled. Riders who refer a neighbor receive a free chain cleaning. Paid advertising is held back until the venture has at least 50 reviews, so that anyone who sees an ad and searches the business finds proof that the service is good. The van's side panel will carry the booking address and a line naming the number of riders served, updated each month. The first dollars go to earning trust, and the later dollars to spreading it.

Reply to Danielle

Danielle, your plan to post the food truck's weekly locations on social media is smart, because a mobile business has to tell customers where it will be before it can sell anything. Your point that the truck's line is its best advertisement matches what the chapter says about visible promotion.

I would add a step to turn those lines into reviews. Chevalier and Mayzlin (2006) found that a book's sales moved with the volume of its reviews as well as with their ratings, so a stream of new reviews may matter as much as a high average. A card at the window with a short link could do it, and so could a printed code on each receipt. Food trucks also show up on map apps, where reviews are often the first thing a hungry customer sees. Would you offer anything, such as a free drink, for customers who leave a review, or do you worry that would make the reviews less trustworthy?

Reply to Kevin

Kevin, your lawn care venture has a clear target market, and I liked that you chose one neighborhood to start. Concentrating there lets the trucks finish several yards in a single morning and keeps fuel costs down.

I would question the plan to rely mainly on printed flyers, which seem to be your whole promotion budget. Flyers reach every home, but they give a neighbor no reason to trust a new company. Trusov et al. (2009) found that referrals from existing members brought in new members far more effectively over time than traditional marketing events. A referral discount for current clients might reach the same houses with a recommendation attached. Lawn care is also a service people see happening, so a small yard sign left for a week after each job would tell neighbors who did the work. Could you try flyers and referrals side by side for a month and track which brings more calls?

References

Byrd, M. J., & Megginson, L. C. (2018). Small business management: An entrepreneur's guidebook (8th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.

Chevalier, J. A., & Mayzlin, D. (2006). The effect of word of mouth on sales: Online book reviews. Journal of Marketing Research, 43(3), 345-354. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkr.43.3.345

Trusov, M., Bucklin, R. E., & Pauwels, K. (2009). Effects of word-of-mouth versus traditional marketing: Findings from an internet social networking site. Journal of Marketing, 73(5), 90-102. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.73.5.90