BUSI 436 Week 8 Internet Marketing Plan Final Project Example

Internet Marketing Plan: Harbor Leaf Tea Company

Executive Summary

Of the $1.1 million Harbor Leaf Tea Company takes in each year, only about 6 percent comes through its website, even though the family business runs two busy tea shops in a coastal city. Its greatest strength, staff who help customers choose and brew tea well, is almost invisible on its basic website. This plan sets out how the company will grow online sales to 15 percent of total sales within twelve months by bringing that expertise online.

Its focus falls on enthusiasts, gift buyers and casual drinkers who choose tea for wellness, and it presents Harbor Leaf online as a family shop whose specialists guide each order. The program rebuilds the site with tasting notes, brewing guides and a quiz that matches shoppers to teas; puts organic and local search first, with a narrow paid search effort; grows repeat sales through personal email and scheduled reorders; and treats Instagram chiefly as a place to talk with current customers. A first-year budget of $36,000, about 3 percent of sales, funds the program. Every objective has a metric and target, and paid tactics will be tested before they are scaled. If the plan meets its targets, online sales will rise by roughly $110,000 a year, several times the budget.

Situation Analysis

The Business

The catalog holds roughly 120 loose-leaf teas along with teaware and gift sets. Its website is a simple online store with photos and prices but no brewing guidance, no reviews and no reorder function. Its email list of about 2,000 customers receives occasional sale announcements, and its Instagram account of about 3,500 followers is updated irregularly. In the shops, by contrast, staff routinely guide customers to teas they enjoy, and many customers return for that advice.

The Market and Customers

Online specialty tea buyers research before buying, because flavor cannot be judged on a screen. They read descriptions, brewing guidance and reviews, which favors sellers who explain their products well. Research on online decision making shows why this matters. Häubl and Trifts (2000) found that interactive decision aids, such as recommendation tools and comparison tables, reduced shoppers' search effort and improved the quality of their choices. Floyd et al. (2014), combining studies of online reviews, found that reviews meaningfully affect sales, with ratings mattering more than the number of reviews. A specialty seller that guides customers and gathers honest reviews addresses the two biggest uncertainties online tea buyers face.

Sales data and an illustrative survey of 140 shop customers point to three groups worth reaching online. Enthusiasts come back about once a month looking for unusual teas and advice. Gift buyers cluster in the last two months of the year and before holidays. Casual drinkers who choose tea for wellness stick with a handful of favorites and would value a quick way to buy them again. Roughly two in five of the customers surveyed said simple reordering would lead them to shop online.

Competition

Harbor Leaf competes online with national tea brands that offer polished sites and subscriptions, small independent online tea shops with strong content and communities, and marketplaces that sell tea cheaply with little guidance. Harbor Leaf cannot spend like the big tea labels or charge what marketplace sellers charge, yet its specialists know more than most small rivals, and its two storefronts lend a credibility online-only sellers lack. Trust is decisive. Bart et al. (2005) found that what builds online trust differs by type of site and customer, and that for sites where customers seek guidance, the quality of advice and reliable fulfillment are especially important. Harbor Leaf already delivers both in its shops.

SWOT Summary

Objectives

The objectives are linked: content and search drive traffic; a better site and trust signals raise conversion; email and reorders raise repeat buying; and together they raise the online share of sales. Roberts and Zahay (2018) advise setting objectives that are precise, quantified and dated so that results can be checked, and every objective above has a number, a baseline and a deadline.

Strategy

Target Segments and Personas

The plan focuses on three segments rather than on all online tea buyers. Enthusiasts are the most valuable because they reorder and spend more. Gift buyers bring seasonal volume and new names for the email list. Wellness-minded casual drinkers are numerous and can become regular buyers with simple tools. Customers who prefer to shop only in person remain important to the business but are served online mainly through reviews and referrals.

Three composite personas, drawn from survey answers and what shop staff observe, put faces on the segments. Dana, an enthusiast of about 38, searches for specific teas, reads tasting notes and follows tea creators. Marcus, a gift buyer of about 52, searches by phone in December for a thoughtful gift and worries about delivery dates. Priya, a wellness-minded drinker of about 29, browses by phone, reads emails and wants to reorder without thinking about it.

How Customers Move Online

Each persona takes a different path. Dana discovers Harbor Leaf through a search for a specific tea or a brewing guide, compares tasting notes and reviews, buys online and becomes loyal through new-arrival emails. Marcus finds the company through a local mobile search for gift sets, chooses a set with clear delivery dates and returns before the next holiday after a reminder. Priya hears about Harbor Leaf through a friend or an Instagram post, starts with a simple bundle and stays through automatic reorders. Two research findings shape these paths. Ghose et al. (2013) showed that phone users, facing costlier searches on small screens, lean heavily on the highest-ranked results and on nearby stores, more so than people searching from a computer, so a strong local listing is essential for reaching gift buyers like Marcus. Kumar et al. (2016) reported that shoppers who interacted with a retailer's posts went on to spend more and to buy across more categories, evidence that Instagram can strengthen ties with existing customers like Priya.

Positioning

The position is simple: Harbor Leaf is the family tea company whose shop specialists stand behind every online order, since a good cup depends on good advice. Customers can see the evidence in signed tasting notes, guides written in house, a promise of fresh tea and two storefronts open to visitors. Kannan and Li (2017) describe digital technology as remaking the points of contact between firms and customers, and Harbor Leaf's aim is for each of those online contacts to feel like a conversation at its counter.

Tactics

Website and Content

The website rebuild is the foundation. Every product page will carry tasting notes, brewing instructions, origin information and customer reviews. A tea finder quiz will ask about flavor preferences, caffeine and brewing method and recommend three teas, applying the research on decision aids to help customers choose well. Clear shipping times, a freshness guarantee and a plain-language privacy statement will appear throughout, addressing the trust factors that matter most for a guidance-based seller. Two new articles each month, on brewing, origins or the season, will build a library that enthusiasts value and that lifts organic search results for every segment.

Product Pages and the Tea Finder

The product page is where an online tea shopper decides, so each one will be rewritten to answer the questions customers ask at the counter. Every tea will have a short description of its taste in everyday words, a note from the specialist who chose it, the region and season it comes from, brewing temperature and steeping time, and two or three teas a customer who likes it might also enjoy. Photographs will show the dry leaf, the brewed liquor and the size of each bag next to a teacup, since shoppers struggle to judge quantity from a weight alone. Sample sizes will be offered for the most expensive teas, lowering the risk of a first purchase. The tea finder quiz will ask six quick questions about flavor, caffeine, time of day and brewing equipment and recommend three teas, with an option to save the results by entering an email address. The quiz does the work a specialist does in the shop, and its answers also tell the company which flavors and needs are most common among online visitors.

Content Calendar

Content is the engine that feeds search, email and social media, so it deserves its own plan. Each month the shop specialists will produce two pieces: one practical guide, such as how to brew oolong in a regular mug or how to cold-brew green tea, and one story, such as the history of a tea garden or a profile of a grower. Every piece will link to the teas it discusses, so readers can buy what they have just learned about. Seasonal topics will be planned a quarter ahead: calming teas and gift guides in late autumn, iced teas in early summer, and new harvest teas in spring. Older pieces will be updated each year rather than abandoned, since a brewing guide that ranks well in search can bring customers for years. The coordinator will keep a simple spreadsheet listing each piece, its target search phrase, its publication date and the orders it produces, so the team learns which subjects customers care about most.

Pricing and Offers Online

Online prices will match shop prices, because customers who visit both should never feel that one channel treats them worse. Rather than discounting broadly, the plan uses offers that teach customers something or reward loyalty. New subscribers receive a free sample with their first order, chosen from their quiz results, so the incentive introduces a tea they are likely to enjoy instead of cutting the price of one they already know. Customers who choose automatic reorders save a small, fixed percentage on every delivery, which rewards the behavior the plan most wants to grow. Gift sets are priced in three clear tiers, about $30, $55 and $90, so a buyer like Marcus can choose by budget in seconds. Sales events will be limited to two a year, an anniversary sale and an end-of-season clearance, which protects margins and keeps the brand's position as a guide rather than a bargain outlet. Shipping charges, a common reason shoppers abandon carts, will be kept simple: one flat rate below the free shipping threshold and free delivery above it.

Search

Organic search will be the priority: each guide and product page will be written around the specific tea names and category phrases customers search, and both shops' map listings will be complete with photos, hours and reviews. Paid search will favor category and gift phrases on which Harbor Leaf already ranks without paying, because Yang and Ghose (2010) showed that appearing in both the paid and unpaid results for one query lifts the clicks each receives. Ad positions will be tested as well, since Agarwal et al. (2011) found that the top paid position draws the most clicks but is often not the most profitable.

Email and Automatic Reorders

Email is the main tool for repeat purchases. New subscribers will receive a welcome series introducing the shops' specialists and offering a sample with the first order. Enthusiasts will receive a monthly new-arrivals email, gift buyers a reminder before major holidays, and wellness drinkers a reorder reminder timed to when their tea is likely to run low. Customers can also set up automatic reorders. Messages will greet each subscriber by name and suggest teas drawn from what that person has bought before. Sahni et al. (2018) found that adding a recipient's name to an email subject line raised opens and reduced unsubscribes, and Ansari and Mela (2003) found that customizing email content to individual interests raised click-through substantially. Email that remembers what a customer drinks is the online version of the shop clerk who remembers a regular's favorite tea.

Email Program in Detail

The email program is built from a small number of automated messages and a regular newsletter. The welcome series sends three emails over two weeks: an introduction to the shops' specialists with a short video, a brewing guide matched to the subscriber's quiz results, and an invitation to request a free sample with the first order. After each first purchase, a follow-up email asks how the tea is going and invites a review three weeks later, when the customer has brewed it several times. The reorder reminder estimates when a customer's tea will run low from the size of the bag and the customer's past buying pattern. The monthly newsletter leads with new arrivals for enthusiasts and closes with a simple wellness routine for casual drinkers, so one email serves several personas. Gift buyers receive a reminder three weeks before Mother's Day and in early November, with their previous gifts shown for convenience. Subscribers can choose which messages they receive, and the company will remove inactive subscribers twice a year to keep its list healthy and its messages welcome.

Paid Search Plan

Paid search will play a supporting role, filling gaps that organic search cannot close quickly. Campaigns will be limited to three groups of phrases: the names of the company and its shops, so competitors cannot capture people looking for Harbor Leaf; gift phrases combined with the city and nearby towns, run from October through December and before Mother's Day; and a short list of specific tea names for which the shop has strong pages and good stock. Ads will send visitors to the matching page rather than the home page, and spending will be capped each week. Every campaign will be judged on its cost per order and the value of the orders it produces, and any campaign that costs more to win an order than the order earns after the first quarter will be paused, with its budget moved to email or content.

Reviews Program

Reviews will be gathered steadily rather than in bursts. Every online customer will receive a review request about three weeks after delivery, and shop customers will be invited by a small card at the counter to review the teas they buy. Reviews will be published whether they are positive or negative, apart from abusive language, and a specialist will answer every critical review with advice or a remedy. Reviews will appear on each product page with the overall rating near the top, matching the research finding that ratings carry more weight than review counts. The company will not offer discounts in exchange for positive reviews, since rewards tied to a rating would mislead shoppers.

Social Media and Creators

Instagram will carry three posts a week, alternating vivid content, such as short videos of tea being brewed, with interactive posts that invite followers to share their own routines. De Vries et al. (2012) found that vivid posts earned more likes while interactive posts drew more comments, so each format will be judged by the outcome it is meant to produce. Because the conversation customers create often carries more weight than a brand's own posts, as Colicev et al. (2018) found in linking owned and earned social media to consumer mindset and firm value, the company will encourage customers to share photos and reviews and will answer every comment.

Social Program in Detail

The social program will follow a monthly rhythm that the coordinator can sustain alongside other work. Each week brings one vivid post, usually a short video of tea being brewed or poured; one conversation post, such as a question about favorite rainy-day teas; and one post featuring a customer's photo or a specialist's recommendation. New seasonal teas will be announced in pinned posts. The creator program will be small and selective: five regional creators whose audiences care about food, wellness or slow living, each receiving teas to try and a modest fee, with every post clearly marked as a partnership. Success will be judged by comments, shares, tracked codes and new email subscribers rather than by follower growth, because the plan uses social media to deepen relationships and spark conversation rather than to chase reach.

Local and In-Store Integration

The two shops will send customers online: every receipt will print a first-order code, specialists will mention the email list at checkout, and each counter will hold a tablet running the quiz. In the other direction, online shoppers may pick up orders at either shop, where a specialist can greet them in person. This integration reflects the textbook's emphasis on combining online and offline strategies rather than treating them as separate businesses.

Customer Experience and Fulfillment

The best marketing will fail if the experience after the click disappoints, so the plan includes the operational standards that make its promises true. Orders placed by 2 p.m. will ship the same day from the larger shop, which will hold online inventory in a separate area. Every order will be packed with a handwritten thank-you note and a brewing card for each tea, carrying the in-store experience into the customer's kitchen. Shipping times and costs will be shown before checkout, and orders above a free shipping threshold, set slightly above the average order, will ship free. Customers can contact a specialist by email or chat during shop hours and receive an answer within one business day. Problems such as damaged packages will be resolved with a replacement first and questions later. These standards support the trust factors research identifies as important for guidance-based sellers, especially order fulfillment, and they make every order a reason for the customer to return and to recommend the company.

Roles and Responsibilities

A plan this size needs clear owners, because a small company has no marketing department to absorb unassigned work. One owner will act as the plan's sponsor, approving budgets and leading the monthly review. A part-time digital marketing coordinator, hired in the first month, will manage email, social media, the content calendar and reporting. The shops' two senior specialists will each give about four hours a week to writing tasting notes, recording short videos and answering online questions. An outside web developer, contracted for the rebuild, will complete the website in the first quarter and then provide a few hours of support each month. Fulfillment staff at the larger shop will pack online orders and track any shipping problems. Writing these roles down at the start keeps the plan from depending on goodwill alone, and it gives each person a clear share of the monthly results.

Implementation Calendar

A part-time marketing coordinator, drawn from current shop staff with an interest in digital work, will manage day-to-day execution for about fifteen hours a week, with the owner approving content and budget changes. Shop specialists will write tasting notes and guides, which keeps the content authentic and draws on the expertise the plan is built around.

Budget

The budget is weighted toward the website because every other tactic sends customers there, and toward content because it serves search, email and social media at once. Paid search receives a moderate amount that will grow only where tests show profit.

Budget Rationale and Expected Return

The $36,000 budget represents about 3 percent of current annual sales, a level the owners can fund from operating cash without borrowing. The expected return justifies it. At 14,000 monthly visits converting at 2.2 percent with orders averaging about $55, the site would bring in close to 300 orders worth about $17,000 each month by the end of the year, against roughly 96 orders and $5,300 now. Spread across a year that builds toward that level, online sales would rise by roughly $110,000, and the margin on those sales would cover the budget several times over. The plan also creates assets that last beyond the first year, including a content library, an email list three times its current size and a body of reviews, which will lower the cost of marketing in later years.

Measurement and Testing

Each objective will be tracked monthly on a one-page dashboard: visits and conversion from site analytics, online share from sales records, subscribers from the email platform and repeat purchase from order records. Each tactic will also have its own measures: guide traffic and quiz completions for content, cost per order for paid search, open, click and reorder rates for email, comments and shares for social media and code redemptions for in-store promotion.

Paid tactics will be tested before they are scaled. The team will compare ad positions by what each order costs, pause paid search for one month to learn how many orders it truly adds, pit personalized emails against plain ones, and rate creator partnerships on codes redeemed and subscribers gained instead of likes. Lamberton and Stephen (2016) note that digital media serve as a source of market intelligence for firms, and this testing program turns Harbor Leaf's online activity into a steady stream of evidence about what its customers value.

Testing Calendar

Tests will run one at a time so their results are clear. In the second quarter, the team will compare two versions of the welcome email subject line and two layouts for the gift page. In the third quarter, it will test whether showing the specialist's photo beside tasting notes raises conversion, and whether a smaller free shipping threshold increases orders enough to pay for itself. In the fourth quarter, it will compare two gift reminder schedules. Each test will run for at least four weeks or until it reaches a set number of orders, and the winning version becomes the new standard.

Review Process

The owners and the coordinator will meet for an hour each month to review the dashboard. The meeting will follow a fixed agenda: progress on each objective, results of any tests completed, spending against budget, and decisions about the next month's priorities. Each quarter, a longer session will compare results with the targets, move budget between tactics and update the calendar. At the end of the year, the team will summarize its wins and misses in a brief report that opens the planning for year two. This rhythm keeps the plan from becoming a document written once and forgotten, a fate that befalls many small business plans.

Risks and Responses

The plan faces several risks. Shipping costs could rise, eroding margins on small orders; the company will set a free shipping threshold above the average order and promote bundles. National brands could discount heavily; Harbor Leaf will compete on guidance and freshness rather than price. The website rebuild could run late, delaying everything else; the contract will set milestones and the content library will be written in parallel. Content production could stall if shop staff are busy; the coordinator will schedule writing time in slow weeks. Finally, privacy expectations are rising; the ethics section below addresses how the company will collect and use customer data.

Ethics: Customer Data and Honest Claims

Internet marketing depends on information about customers, and the plan uses purchase history to personalize email and recommendations. Harbor Leaf will collect only the data it needs, explain plainly how it uses that data, let customers change their preferences easily and never sell customer information. Research suggests this restraint is also effective, since trust shapes customers' willingness to buy online (Bart et al., 2005). Claims will be honest: health statements about tea will be limited to well-established information and never promise cures, reviews will never be faked or filtered to hide criticism, and every creator partnership will be disclosed. These practices reflect the company's family values and the conviction that a business serves its customers best by telling them the truth.

Looking Ahead to Year Two

If the first year meets its objectives, the second year can build on the foundation. Possible next steps include a monthly tea subscription for enthusiasts, a corporate gift program for local businesses, wholesale accounts with cafés that want to serve Harbor Leaf teas, and tasting events in the shops that are announced to the email list and streamed online. Each would be tested on a small scale first, following the same discipline as this plan, and each builds on the core position of expert guidance from a family business customers can visit.

Conclusion

Harbor Leaf Tea Company has the expertise online tea buyers want but has not yet brought it to the web. This plan does so through a rebuilt website with guidance and decision tools, search that reaches people looking for specific teas and gifts, personalized email and reorders that turn first purchases into habits, social media that deepens relationships, and integration with the shops. With a budget of $36,000, clear objectives, a schedule, a testing program and an ethical approach to data, the plan gives the owners a practical path to making online sales a strong second engine of growth.

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