Anthony Ashner

Ryan Colgren

Bonnie Rischmann

Michael Sullivan

Group Marketing Plan

Name of Company: Identity Green

Name of Product: Orb

Mission Statement: Natural is beautiful.

Target Demographic: Female Generation Z

Product Release: November 27th, 2015

Product Description: A once­a­month subscription box for tween girls that include organic and

eco­friendly makeup products and accessories like lip gloss, nail polish, nail art, hair chalk, and

much more. A supplemental app is also going along with the subscription box.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths Marketing

Ability of reaching target audience

Company Image How consumers perceive

products Available Technology

Use of a phone app and communication

Weaknesses Financial Resources

Difficulty of receiving loan Production Costs

How expensive the packaging and products, cannot attain economies of scale yet.

Opportunities Component lifestyle

Diverse needs Social Media

ability to reach and maintain connection with target market

Threats Competition

Will other firms drive us out of business

Consumer Privacy Sharing information with a

Ethnic Markets adaptability of product

Purchasing Power Add another target market

new company

Strengths

We at Identity Green believe that our organic, eco­friendly makeup and accessory

subscription box, Orb, will be a hit product. We believe our strengths will be our marketing in

product differentiation as tweens wish to act and look older than their actual age:

Tweens are also making an effort to look more mature at a young age. Sixty­one percent

of tween girls would like to wear more makeup than their parents allow. Covering

tweens and most teens, thirty­seven percent of girls ages nine to seventeen say they use

lip gloss or lipstick everyday, while thirty­three percent report applying mascara on a

daily basis. Twenty­seven percent stencil on eyeliner every day, and sixteen percent use

foundation every day. Tweens are most likely to rely on their mothers to help with

purchasing decisions (seventy­three percent) (Lamb, Hair, McDaniels 54).

Tween girls wish to wear makeup and this is where our opportunity lies. Our product

differentiation is our all natural, organic makeup. Many makeups are tested on animals and

inhumanely made with many chemicals. And since tweens look to their mothers for purchasing

decisions, the organic makeup will be able to sell itself to the mom. Then the product

differentiation that would excite the tween is the mobile app. “Tweens have grown up with

mobile technology and social media and begin using it at an early age (Lamb, Hair, McDaniels

54). The mobile app will allow the consumer to choose what they receive and to post their

wonderful experience with the product. The consumer will know that they are helping the

environment while looking beautiful. And with wonderful how­to videos on new styles, the

consumer will not get bored with the app. Orb will have status which will allow for a solid IG

game. With all the information that is at the fingertips of tweens, they will start to change their

minds on what kind of makeup they use.

Usually when something is organic, or all natural, or eco­friendly, there will be a large

price tag on the item. At Identity Green, we are planning to revolutionize the subscription

makeup box. There will not be a hefty price tag on these items, allowing us to be more

competitive and even have our competitors start mimicking our business plan. Current

subscription boxes go $10­$25, so with a price tag of $20, we are within the higher range of the

competition. This will be great for our company image. Our niche is that we are targeting female

tweens. Identity Green will ship out subscription boxes called Orb to each subscriber. Each Orb

can be considered collectible and will change each month. Each Orb will be in the shape of a

globe instead of a tradition box to show our devotion to eco­friendly products. Some may

wonder why this is our target market, but there is one major reason. Current members of the

tween age group are responsible for spending $180 billion on an annual basis (Lamb, Hair,

McDaniels 54). With all of the technology available today, there will not be a problem in getting

the right products to the right people. With a phone application, tweens will be able to see what

products are coming to their door and when. Another cool feature in the application is that the

subscriber can pick items they want for the month. If no selection is made, they will receive the

predetermined assortment for that month.

Weakness

Every business has weaknesses; a weakness of ours is that we are a very small company.

We will have to spend a lot of time and money on marketing our product which is hard for a

start­up business to do. Advertising is not a cheap thing to do, especially during the holiday

season. It is also expensive to set up a business. Another problem will be shipping costs.

Shipping is costly, just as labor and all the other expenses there are when it comes to running a

business. This describes our financial resource difficulty. Another problem that may occur is the

production of organic makeup with eco­friendly containers. The price for these products will be

higher at first as the production will not be as efficient as it can the first time around and there

probably will not be massive amounts ordered at first. Also, shipping the Orb may be expensive

as this will not be the cheapest packing option.

Opportunities

There are many opportunities for Identity Green. Expanding into new markets would

increase sales. Tweens need to convince their parents to purchase items for them. If the parents

do not approve, the product will not be bought. Once tweens start purchasing our products, their

parents may do more research into our organic makeup. The mother may want to sign up for an

organic makeup subscription box so that a few months down the road, we may have a box that is

suitable for moms, sisters, etc.

Identity Green will focus on the component lifestyle. Tweens, and eventually other

generations, will want our product as it meets their diverse interests and expectations. We will

incorporate how not one word can describe someone anymore. People are no longer described by

what they do for a living or for just being a student.

Another opportunity is our knowledgable social media use. We will have our own

hashtag, Instagram filter, Facebook page, Snapchat, Cyberdust, and our own application. We will

be able to always be available for our beloved customers for any of their questions and give them

a sneak peek at our new developments. With the app we can show how not to use too much

makeup, how to properly put on and take off makeup, how to wear our accessories, and many

other tips and tricks that mothers and siblings may be too busy or not think of showing their

tween. Having a strong social media presence will help us get our name out there and to show

that we are a current, tech­savvy company.

Our product also is something that will appeal to all ethnic markets. In “Principles of

Marketing” the authors explain how each market is best marketed for. We will have Hispanic

advertisements, advertisements that will be for African Americans on BET, Essence, and on the

radio. Asian Americans use the computer more so we will have advertisements on consumer and

electronics websites in order to spread the word on our product (57­59).

Tweens, as mentioned earlier, have a substantial amount of purchasing power. They are

very good into getting their parents to buy them many items that they want. We can only hope

that tweens will beg their parents that they want our organic makeup subscription box the same

way they beg their parents to stay over their friends house for a slumber party.

Threats

The makeup field is a highly competitive market segment to break into. This would

mean we have to gain an upper hand on the giants of the industry by taking some of their market

share. This can be difficult as the makeup industry can be referred to as an oligopoly where such

a few number of firms have all the market share, which allows them to have control over the

price that is charged. Their marketing budget is much larger than a small start­up, so they could

make it very difficult to get our name out there to the public and to our initial target audience.

Another concern will be privacy. With our boxes of makeup, we will have to know race in order

to send the correct products. Parent’s may not like the freedom that is allowed on the app and

may think it isn’t safe to actively participate on the app. We will have to recommend to parents

that they check on their child’s account every so often to make sure they approve of what they

can and cannot do on the app.

Company Analysis

Identity Green will come into existence November 27th, 2015. We are headquartered in

the city of San Antonio, Texas. San Antonio has a total population of 1,436,697 and is home to

26.8% of people under the age of eighteen with 51.2% of the population being female according

to the 2010 Census (US Census). San Antonio is home to the famous Riverwalk as well, which

provides an opportunity for a walk­in store if we decide to go that route. In 2013, San Antonio

ranked 11th on the Forbes’ list of Best Places for Business and Careers (Forbes). San Antonio is

also popular with tourists due to the various attractions such as the Alamo. We chose this city

because the population size is ideal for a company that is subscription based. There is always

opportunities for advertising as well due to the fact that it is a big city and we can get the word

out via social media and by word of mouth as well. For the future, we will be rolling out

different size subscription boxes. The introductory product will have a price of twenty dollars.

The second largest would be fifty dollars, and the largest box would be seventy­five dollars.

With each tier of boxes, you will have more products within, and a larger size of products. We

will also be rolling out a subscription box for men that would include items such as cologne,

shaving cream and watches to name a few. These will also have varying price points depending

on the size of both the box and the products.

As of now, we have four members of the company. Anthony Ashner is the President,

Bonnie Rischmann is the Vice President of Marketing and Communications, Michael Sullivan is

the Vice President of Finance and Ryan Colgren is the Vice President of Information and

Technology. In the future, we will need to hire additional staff to aid in all aspects. The primary

aspect is production, we need people to oversee and produce the products that are going into the

subscription boxes. We also need to hire a few staff to help with application development and

troubleshooting. There is also a staff need for accountants and buyers in order to keep track of

both the income and spending budget as well as the product acquirement. Due to being a start­up

business, there might be some issues with production and other things, but in time, this will be

not an issue at all.

Customer Analysis

Generation Z females amount to about 10 million, providing a substantial opportunity for

sales (Lamb, Hair, McDaniels 54). Identity Green strives to appeal to the female population of

ages 8­12, but at the same time capture the interests of age groups surrounding. Future efforts

may involve appealing to different age demographics like teens and adults, or even branching out

to a male demographic with male products (e.g. cologne, hair spray, gels).

Because of the type of service Identity Green provides, location of operations is held in

San Antonio, Texas. The company will focus on shipping its product to the homes or locations of

the customers on a monthly basis. Identity Green is intended to be a mail­based service with no

walk­in locations. Instead, customers can access the complete list of items included for that

specific month in the companion app. Accessing an app rather than traveling to a walk­in

location will save time, effort, and money for the customer.

The majority of buying power from this demographic comes from parents and guardians

(Lamb, Hair, McDaniels 54). Identity Green hopes for parents or guardians looking for a

solution to treat their children with a monthly surprise to find satisfaction in Orb. Purchasing a

subscription to Orb is as simple as filling out payment information on a PC or smartphone. The

consumer will be able to pay with Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, Apple Pay,

Android Pay, Samsung Pay, and PayPal. This ease of access should appeal to the ones spending

their time and money to treat their children to something extra.

Generation Z finds maturity appealing. Children are trying to grow up earlier and faster

now more than ever. Orb is something that pre­teens will want because it fulfills their desires to

appear more mature. Orb’s purpose is to help pre­teen girls feel fashionable and more mature by

having a variety of accessories and organic makeup to experiment with and wear. With the help

of Orb’s companion app, pre­teen girls can have access to makeup tutorials to assist them with

learning how to correctly apply every product.

Generation Z was born connected to the internet. With that in mind, Identity Green

developed a companion app to always be connected to customers. In this app, customers may see

a complete list of included items for that month, see descriptions and user­submitted tutorials for

each item, and can post their own picture wearing that specific item. Adding this social element

to Orb will help Identity Green keep in touch with customers, and help young customers feel

trendy by being a part of the social media’s community.

Competitor Analysis

Product of Competition

Main Price Box Contents Subscription/ Flexibility of Subscription

Target Demographic

iBbeautiful $20 a month $28 a month

for big subscription with graphic T­shirt

Lip gloss Hair products Jewelry

accessories Necklaces *graphic

T­shirt

monthly 3 months 6 months Yearly Same price

Tweens Teens

LYFNow $29 a month Functional products like makeup, accessories, inspirational items

Month­to­month

Yearly= free month

No specific age shown, seems targeted to crowd of 13+

Posh Pak $29 a month Health/ beauty products

Fashion accessories

Technology School

supplies Some

designer labels

$29 month­to­month

$169 for 6 months

$329 for 1 year

Different boxes for different ages groups

5­8 9­12 13­18

The Boodle Box

$25 a month Nail polish Nail art Accessories Latest beauty

trends Non­beauty

items

$25 Monthly

$20 3 month

$20 6 month free shipping

$20 1 year free shipping

Targeted to teens and tweens

Selling point is “fashionistas in training”

Subscription boxes are becoming a fast­growing product, especially in the current

technological age. While there are multiple makeup and accessory subscription boxes currently

in the market, including iBbeautiful, LYFNow, Posh Pak, and The Boodle Box, Orb will stand

out from these competitors with the product’s materials and revolutionary app. Some of the

main deficiencies with these companies consist of a lack of advertising, no eco­friendly products,

and no technological aspects.

iBbeautiful

iBbeautiful will be Orb’s main competition. iBbeautiful is strong in the aspect that it has

separate boxes for tweens and teens, and flexible subscriptions with fun products. It also is the

most popular kids beauty product on boxes.mysubscriptionaddiction.com, which is the most

popular subscription box website. However, there are some notable flaws with iBbeautiful that

Orb can build upon. While iBbeautiful is the most popular kids beauty product, it is not towards

the top of the most popular kids products on boxes.mysubscriptionaddiction.com. There are 47

other kids subscription boxes that appear under the “kids” category before iBbeautiful appears.

There is also a lack of advertising for iBbeautiful on other subscription box websites. Due to this

minimal advertising, parents would only find iBbeautiful if they were specifically looking for a

kids beauty subscription box. Orb would have a significant focus on promotion to make sure it

appears higher on popular lists. If Orb was higher up on popular lists and had more brand name

recognition, we would be able to appeal to the masses more. Another flaw with iBbeautiful is

that there are no deals or offers for subscribing for 6 months or a year. While there are 6 month

and 1 year options, they are the same price as paying month­to­month. This may turn some

customers away.

LYFNow

LYFNow is a similar box to iBbeautiful, with a few notable differences. While they only

have one box that is $29 a month, they have a deal where you get a free month when you

subscribe for a year. Also, LYFNow succeeds by having a specific theme: loving yourself. This

may appeal to parents who are hesitant about buying their young daughters makeup. However,

this box markets itself to an older crowd of ages 13 and up. LYFNow is missing out on a

promising crowd by not marketing their box towards tweens as well. Also, the $29 price point

may be a bit high for some parents. Orb will have a more reasonable price, as well as market the

box toward tweens. LYFNow is also not as popular as iBbeautiful, which means it was even

harder to find on subscription box websites.

Posh Pak

Posh Pak is a well put together subscription box for various age groups. A strong aspect

of Posh Pak is how there is a box for three different demographics of girls: ages 5­8, 9­12, and

13­18. The different demographics is helping build their brand as more appealing. There are

also deals for paying for a 6 month subscription, as well as a year long subscription. However,

similar to iBbeautiful and LYFNow, Posh Pak is not advertised strongly, and therefore is harder

to locate on subscription box websites. Also, some other weaknesses that Posh Pak and the other

kids beauty subscription boxes exhibit is not having a technological presence and not having

eco­friendly products. Orb’s app will significantly be advertised with the subscription box, and

it will allow the box to stand out from the competition, as well as be more applicable to the

technologically savvy demographic of tween girls. Advertising eco­friendly and organic

products will not only help build the branding image of Orb, it will widely appeal to parents

looking to buy for their daughters.

The Boodle Box

The Boodle Box shows strength with popularity and price. It is very close on the most

popular list to iBbeautiful on www.boxes.mysubscriptionaddiction.com. It also has a more

accessible price range of $25, and targets the product to “fashionistas in training.” A flaw with

The Boodle Box is in its subscription flexibility. While it offers cheaper options for those

willing to pay more over time, there is only free shipping in the 6 month and 1 year

subscriptions. iBbeautiful, LYFNow, and Posh Pak have free shipping on all products, so it is a

bit of a detriment to The Boodle Box that they only offer free shipping on extended

subscriptions. The idea of paying for shipping, as well as the price of the box, when there are

cheaper alternatives on the market may not appeal to parents.

Marketing Information Needs

Identity Green will likely use focus groups in order to gather information. These focus

groups will be located in the eleven regions of the United States, which are Northeast, Mid­

Atlantic, South Atlantic, Mid­ South Atlantic, Southeast, Great Lakes, Central, West Central,

Gulf, Northwest, and Southwest. These focus groups will gauge the interest of the Orb, and will

also help Identity Green adjust the marketing mix. If the initial promotion is not enough, then

Identity Green will modify the strategy. If their consumer surplus from the purchase is large,

then the price can be increased. If an ingredient turns out to make everyone break­out, then we

will be able to change that ingredient before launch so there isn’t any bad publicity at the start of

our business. All publicity is good publicity, except when a product leads you to your

dermatologist. Another possibility would be a mail or email survey. This would allow people to

answer at their convenience and in their home. The main problem with mail surveys is getting

people to fill them out and if they do, they do not always have meaningful answers. The more

reviews of the product before it is released to the public, the better. Focus groups and surveys

should be enough in order to get Orb going. Offering a free trial box with no strings attached

should get enough people interested in the product. This will be a logical step for Orb because

there are no physical stores. Orb will also have a large online presence and offer free, no­hassle

returns which should also get people hyped about the subscription box. On the consumer side,

this purchase is a low risk, high reward purchase.

Price

With a price tag of $20 for Orb, this will be an aggressive pricing strategy to penetrate the

market. At a price of $20, which includes shipping, our target market will find this as a

spectacular deal. With a low price tag relative to the competition, parents will be easier to

convince to subscribe to the Orb box. It would appear that the price set by the competitors is

around $25, which is something that needs to change. Those products cost $300 a year, which is

a lot to spend for beauty products for young girls. Identity Green’s Orb will only cost $240 a

year which is more reasonable to spend on something that gets removed at the end of the day.

The demand for make­up is price elastic. Since Orb is not an established name or priced to show

luxury, consumers will be price sensitive. That is why Orb cannot be priced higher than the

competition. This low price will penetrate the market and then after, we may consider a price

increase if we cannot keep up with demand or if others prices start to skyrocket. Another way to

differentiate is to offer discounts to our consumer base. Our discount is included to all

customers. The way that Orb is set up is to be consumer friendly, which is $20 a month, no

commitments, which means the consumer can drop our service with no obligations. Free

shipping is a strong marketing strategy which will work to our advantage. To keep our loyal

customers, we will throw in an additional products in their birthday box. This birthday box for

the month of that customer's birthday will include one additional product. Orb’s price shows that

it is here to help the consumer and the environment.

Product

In regards to the products contained within the Orb, each product is made from all­natural

and all organic materials. This ensures that each product is of high­quality material with no

chemicals or other agents that can be harmful. By using all­natural and all organic materials, we

have an edge over the bulk of the other makeup and accessory boxes out there. Some of the

all­natural products that will be in the box include lip gloss, nail polish, nail accessories, hair

chalk, eye shadow, hair accessories, facial makeup, and much more. An example of one of our

ingredients is derived from ylang­ylang. Ylang­ylang acts as a skin balancer while also adding a

floral scent. The unit that Orb is housed in is an spherical shaped container in order to reflect an

orb itself. In regards to a warranty, not one exists at this time. However, a return policy of ten

days after receiving the Orb with a cancellation of your subscription will be offered if the

customer is dissatisfied with the Orb. For the brand, Identity Green prides itself on being

all­natural and organic makeup and accessories that is offered at a fair price point when

compared to other non­organic or non­natural boxes. Identity Green provides the highest quality

products and the company stands by that guarantee. Our image is a wholesome and organic

company that is committed to helping the environment. We at Identity Green believe that our

customers should be receiving the highest quality products. The value of Orb is excellent when

compared to others, even though it is a little higher than the others. Orb is a new product and

Identity Green is a new company, so we do not have the reputation that some of the other

companies have. Orb provides things that other box services do not. An example would be an

application so the customer can see what is in that month’s Orb. As a whole, Identity Green’s

Orb subscription box is an excellent product that customers will love and they will keep coming

back.

The Orb subscription box also comes with a supplemental app. This app is available for

all Apple and Android products, including phones and tablets, and will be free on the respective

app store. This app is what will give the Orb a competitive advantage over other products.

Tweens generation are proven to be a technologically savvy generation, and this application will

cater directly toward them. The app will consist of three main parts: tutorials, products, and

Glitz, Orb’s social media. On the tutorials section, Orb users can watch different makeup and

accessory tutorials that will relate directly to products that they just received in the mail. These

tutorials will be very helpful for girls who do not know what to do with some of their products,

or for girls who would like inspiration and insight into some of the products. The product

section will explore each of the products that one would possibly receive in the Orb box.

Clicking on a product will open up a separate lightbox, with information about the product, as

well as picture demonstration and pictures of other girls using them. The products sections is an

area where girls can learn about what they are receiving in the mail, including the organic and

eco­friendly benefits of them. The most exciting aspect of the app is Glitz, Orb’s direct social

media. It is a take on picture­posting social media sites like Instagram and VSCO catered

specifically to the tween demographic using Orb. Like most social media sites, you can follow

your friends, and girls have the opportunity to post photos of them using their Orb products for

others to see. This will allow the Orb users to create a community among themselves, keep in

touch with their friends, and see how others are using their Orb products. We project that this

will be extremely popular to tweens, who enjoy social media platforms like Instagram and

Snapchat. We will also have a feature where users of Glitz can post their pictures directly to

Instagram through the app, and we are working on a feature where they can post a picture

directly to their Snapchat story.

Promotion

Identity Green has various elements in its promotional mix to exchange information with

the target audience of tweens for Orb. The company’s promotional plan involves a combination

of various advertising, sales promotion, public relations, and social media marketing. Identity

Green determined that digital advertising will be an extremely effective way to reach the target

market of tween girls. Orb’s digital advertising will consist of both online and television

advertising. Tweens’ daily activity usually consists of doing something digital. Half of girls

ages 8­12 use the Internet for entertainment, social networking, and social gaming purposes, and

35% of girls ages 3­12 own their own smartphone (Pew Research Center). This does not account

for tweens who have access to tablets and laptops through their families, as well. Tween girls

are connected digitally, and promotion for Orb would be extremely appealing in this medium.

Online advertisements could include banners and side ads on websites, especially ones that are

desirable to tween girls. These online advertisements would be visual, and would highlight Orb

and the Orb application, and they would provide a link to the main website for Orb. They would

be flashy and very graphic, since that style appeals to tweens. We will also have advertisements

that appeal to the parents of girl tweens, that will go on websites like Facebook. These

advertisements will also showcase Orb, but also highlight a deal of a free trial box. The price and

deal aspect will appeal to parents, who may want to buy the product for their tween daughter.

Identity Green will also release online campaigns that will be played before videos on YouTube

and Twitter. Tweens spend a lot of time on YouTube, and a video advertisement and video

banner will appeal to them and hopefully, Orb will stick in their mind. The idea of sales

promotion is also something that Identity Green is pursuing for Orb. Identity Green is allowing a

free trial box before purchasing the product. We will promote this free trial through

advertisements, as well as in person in Identity Green’s hometown of San Antonio.

Social media marketing is also going to be an important part of Identity Green’s

promotional mix for Orb. Social media marketing is imperative for Orb in order to see the target

market directly in a habitat where they constantly are. This will also help Orb find customers

that may not have heard about the product otherwise. When targeting directly to tweens, the

most important social media outlet that Orb will utilize is Instagram. Most tweens are not using

sites like Facebook or Twitter, but Instagram and Snapchat are very popular with them. It is very

important for Orb to target tweens through Instagram. In regards to Instagram, there will be an

Instagram account created just for Orb. This Orb profile will make posts that include pictures of

the product, reminder of the deals of buying, and promotion of the Orb app. The hope with

Instagram marketing is to target the tweens who have Instagram accounts. This will hopefully

build recognition and interest for the Orb product. We will also have a feature on the social

media portion of the Orb application where girls can post pictures of them and their products

directly to Instagram. The posts to Instagram will have a small watermark that shows the picture

came from the Orb app. This will help build a community across social networks of Orb users,

as well as bring brand recognition to Instagram users who may not have known about Orb

beforehand. Identity Green will also have a Facebook page for Orb that will cater more toward

parents. This will consist of more informational social media marketing, as through this

Facebook page, parents will be the target audience. Typical Facebook posts could include about

pricing, updates with each month’s Orb release, app information, tutorials for the Orb users, and

more.

Place

Identity Green’s warehouse is located in San Antonio, Texas. San Antonio is a very large

city with a population of 1.4 million people, making it an ideal place to start a business (US

Census). Furthermore, San Antonio is a very smart place to start a subscription based service

because of the low tax rates, low cost of doing business, and high job growth rate (Forbes). Since

Orb is a mail­based service, there are no walk­in locations. Orb is shipped from the warehouse

and then by plane to locations across the U.S. and then mailed directly to the customer. Orb is

packaged into a 10” x 8” cardboard shipping box. The orb itself is packaged in its official box,

just big enough for the Orb to be packaged tightly. In between the cardboard box and the Orb’s

packaging, there is a layer of bubble wrap to prevent abrupt or harsh collision from inside the

box. Opening the box, the customer will find the Orb, a plastic container shaped like an sphere

that opens in half, and which contains the monthly jewelry and makeup. The makeup and jewelry

are tightly secured into a sheet with concave molds of the specific item. This prevents damage to

the any of the products and acts as a harness to keep the items from moving.

Shipments begin on the first day of the month, every month. Shipping is not an additional

charge because it is covered by the subscription itself. Every month an Orb package will be

delivered to the customer in a timely fashion. Shipment may take a few days, depending on how

far away the destination is. Creating warehouses in different locations across the United States

will eventually speed up this process by dispersing shipping points to be closer to the farther

regions of the country. Production usually takes place in one area and with shipping warehouse

being a separate entity. Identity Green’s plan is to have one large production plant and to ship

from there. The production plant could possibly be a walk­through plan where interested

consumers can watch and see how makeup is made, etc.

Any damaged products may be returned by being shipped back. Damaged products will

either be replaced or compensated for with other items. Customer satisfaction is a big

consideration for Identity Green because customer loyalty can be the difference between being

sold or not.

Implementation

It is estimated that it costs about $10,000­15,000 dollars to start­up a makeup business

(Patton). We have a budget of $15,000 before our first sale. There will be a monthly, quarterly,

and fiscal year budgets in order to track progress. This will allow Identity Green to catch

anything or see when we are over­budget. This will also allow for adjustments to product

development so we can make the production process more efficient or manufacture to economies

of scale. The idea is to start advertising once the product is made and ready to ship. Our social

media presence will release updates and get the word out about our product before any money is

spent on advertisements. With a release date of November 27th, 2015 this will make a great

holiday season gift. Since this is a start­up, the plan is to meet on at least a weekly basis. This

may seem to be micromanaging, but this is required for a start­up as there is not much room for

error. In the meetings the internal discussions will consist of what needs to be done better. Does

Identity Green need to run more promotions or adjust the price? What is keeping consumers

from purchasing our product? In short, anything that can be done to make any process more

efficient that will benefit the customer. Another internal discussion would be how product

development is coming along. How often should we release a new product? Our external

discussions will most likely be with the bank that lent the money for Orb. This will require us to

keep track of expenses and show the lender an income statement and balance sheet. The lender

will give us ideas on how to maximize profits or what has worked for other start­up companies.

The lender will want to know which products are the most profitable and if any money is being

lost along the way. The lender could help determine when a product should role out and how it

should be rolled out. They will also want to know if we plan on adding more product lines.

Control

How are consumers responding to the product? Consumers come first and with Orb, we

are trying to eliminate any cognitive dissonance that would be associated with the purchase of

our product. We want the best for the consumer as they make our business possible. In order to

see how consumers are responding to the product, we will use our market research. Test groups

do not always find the problems with a product which is why focus groups, surveys, and

interviews are important. The focus groups, set up across the U.S., will be used to gauge the

interest and overall satisfaction of the product. Our interview process will be most likely over the

phone, where Identity Green will if parents are pleased with the product as it is ultimately their

money. They will be able to tell us any difficulties with the product or something that they might

not deem fit for their child/children. Surveys will be the largest part of our market research and

control. There will be different surveys for each part of the process. A survey will be available

on the side homepage of the website where it will ask what they like and dislike about the

appearance of the website. Another survey will be offered after purchase to see if the consumer

thought the check­out process was easy enough and if they feel the website is secure. Two weeks

after they receive their Orb, there will be a email that is sent that is another survey. This is where

they will be able to let Identity Green know if they are satisfied with the product. We will take

away the first two surveys after a few months since this is when there will be enough data and

the little changes to the website should be done by then. Orb will not have product reviews on

our website as we feel this looks tacky. Instead, consumers will be able to review Orb on

FaceBook, Twitter, or Instagram. This will allow people to either leave long, short, or hashtag

reviews. With all of this data, Orb will have to adjust the marketing mix after the first couple

months. Is there an ingredient that is causing a lot of problems? Are we not offering enough

promotions for first time buyers? Are we going to rely on customer loyalty or do we need to

offer additional promotions to the loyal customer? Do we need to lower the price or does demand

exceed supply, resulting in the need for a price increase?

Conclusion

Orb lives by its mission statement of “Natural is Beautiful.” Identity Green strives to

provide organic makeup and accessories for tween girls who are interested in these types of

products or who may want to try something like this out for the first time. The Orb app will

greatly appeal to tween girls who are technologically savvy.

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