Drone Tech
Marketing Plan
BY:Antonio El Hokayem
Fadel Sadedine
Wael Rif
Mousa Nasser
TO:Professor Michael Kfoury
25/04/2016
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY......................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................3
SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS..................................................................................................4
ECONOMIC FACTORS..................................................................................................................4
SOCIAL FACTORS..........................................................................................................................4
CULTURAL FACTORS..................................................................................................................5
POLITICAL FORCES.....................................................................................................................5
COMPETITOR ANALYSIS...................................................................................................6
CUSTOMER/CLIENT ANALYSIS.......................................................................................7
SWOT ANALYSIS..................................................................................................................9
STRENGTHS.....................................................................................................................................9
WEAKNESSES...............................................................................................................................10
OPPORTUNITIES..........................................................................................................................10
THREATS........................................................................................................................................10
MISSION STATEMENT......................................................................................................11
OBJECTIVES........................................................................................................................11
TARGET MARKET..............................................................................................................11
POSITIONING AND DIFFERENTIATION......................................................................13
MARKETING MIX STRATEGY........................................................................................14
PRODUCT.......................................................................................................................................14
PROMOTION.................................................................................................................................15
PRICE...............................................................................................................................................16
PLACE.............................................................................................................................................17
ACTION PROGRAMS/ IMPLEMENTATION.................................................................18
BUDGET.................................................................................................................................19
CONTROLS/ EVALUATION..............................................................................................19
REFERENCES.......................................................................................................................21
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Due to the advancements in technology in recent years, consumers are exposed to a wide
variety of unique products and offerings; an opportunity many organizations and
entrepreneurs are making use of. One of those unique products is the DJI drone, and it is our
goal and mission to introduce and sell this product and its benefits to the Lebanese public, as
the first official retailer in the country, through effective implementation of our marketing
strategy. The purpose of this report is to devise a thorough marketing plan allowing us to
focus on key areas that will have an impact on our performance. The outside in approach was
used when constructing the plan: viewing the current existing situation in Lebanon externally
by studying the implications of certain macroeconomic forces and performing a competitor
analysis as well as selecting the target market. With that information, we have the
fundamental tools to plan further and focus on building the overall marketing strategy, which
will help to put this plan into action. We are on a fixed budget and we have taken that into
account outlining all major expenditures in the first year ensuring that it is definitely feasible
to fund the project. Given the fact that our target market is highly aware and interested in our
offerings, there is a demand and need that will finally be satisfied. We believe that the
performance of the business will surpass all expectations and provide superior value to our
customers making this a very appealing and realistic venture to pursue.
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INTRODUCTION
Innovation, sophistication, and creation. This is the world we live in today; technology is
rapidly growing, developing and controlling our lives; whether, implicitly or explicitly. With
a currently unstable economy, comes a similarly unstable market. Which makes it harder for
firms to market, compete, and sell their products or offer their services. Especially, that
people in recent societies are currently more aware of what is going on in the market around
them; whether talking about technology or any innovations that might either improve or
worsen their lives. Mainly, they focus at “why would I want to buy this product?” and
measure the pros and cons of that certain product, because nowadays the well-being of our
societies comes first, so anything that interferes or disrupts that course would be mainly
unwanted or even banned (For ex: banning Kinder surprise in the US and banning
buckeyballs magnet), in addition to the increase in NGOs calling for preserving the earth's
health and our health. These people target issues like pollution, global warming, disease
control and many more. After assessing the market we are present in, we would like to say
that for a product to succeed it has to be a good idea that will stand out among the other
similar products in the market, eventually by offering unique features.
The question is what else can we add into technology? What else can we do with the
technology we have? What further dimensions can we achieve? What further records can we
break? Well, DJI a Chinese Drone Technology Company founded in 2006 by Frank Wang,
manufactures commercial and entertaining unmanned aerial vehicles for aerial photography
and videography and several other purposes. DJI, manufactures a wide variety of products in
order to target vast segments of society. Why DJI? Well, were you ever able to fly an RC
aerial vehicle above the clouds and safely land again, were you ever able to fly your RC
helicopter or quadcopter out of your line of sight and not fear for the worst, was is it easy to
take crystal clear images and ultra HD videos at heights reached by real life helicopters and
high speeds. DJI, offers a wide variety of its Aerial products that solve all these issues and
also encourages people to buy it because it offers fascinating features at affordable prices.
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SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS
ECONOMIC FACTORS
There are many factors that play a role when having the intention of purchasing a DJI drone,
such as income levels, saving levels and consumer confidence. Here in Lebanon, the income
levels are relatively low in comparison to other countries and the majority of people save
money for future use. Therefore, we are offering a variety of DJI drones with different
pricing levels so customers of different income can purchase our products.
SOCIAL FACTORS
Introducing a DJI store in Lebanon will make it very convenient for consumers to buy drones
for whatever purpose they desire. This might be a concern for many people around the
country as Lebanon has experienced numerous terror attacks and violent events in the past.
For this reason, members of the Lebanese public will be fearful of people using these drones
for the wrong reasons. This is a natural response that we intend to handle with effective
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personal communication and applying certain rules and regulations when it comes to
purchase, which will be discussed later in the report.
CULTURAL FACTORS
One of the most fundamental and prevalent beliefs in Lebanon is that of marriage and the
importance religious institutes, leaders, and parents place on it. This is a very valuable core
belief that impacts the performance of DJI in Lebanon. With every wedding the couple will
want the event filmed and DJIs do that exceptionally well. Another important note to point
out is the growing influence western society has on the younger generations, the millennials.
For this reason, millennials are shifting their beliefs from the norm and adopting more
adventurous and independent approaches to experiencing life. This cultural shift fits in
perfectly with DJI's values and brand personality.
POLITICAL FORCES
In this part of our marketing plan, we will be discussing the political forces that may affect
the marketing process of our product whether in a direct or indirect manner. The political
forces that will interfere with our business are stated as political stability, Lebanese
governmental policies, trade agreements and the taxation arrangements (Lebanese customs).
Starting with political stability, political stability is the constant integrity and durability of the
current Lebanese ruling system. With an empty presidential seat, an increasing number of
Syrian refugees resulting from the war in Syria, and the constant tension with Israel; we can
easily say that instability is on the rise. All these forces stand in the way of our business. As a
result, this causes increase in corruption leading to ineffective governments. As shown below,
the control of corruption is decreasing as time passing; consequently, meaning that corruption
is on the rise (World Bank Group 2015).
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After analyzing and explaining the degree of political stability in Lebanon, it is crucial to see
how it would affect our product. Our business depends on selling Aerial Unmanned Drones
for Photography, videography, and several other functions. So taking into consideration the
current state Lebanon is at, people or other organizations wouldn’t buy it as it is not a crucial
element of their daily lives or in fact might be a source of fear and terrorism to some people,
which in turn would cause the demand for our products to decrease. However, in order to
balance out the degree of skepticism people have towards drones. We could use them for
many helpful purposes meaning that, drones could be used for military use, which would
serve in preserving the safety of Lebanon’s skies, people can use it for personal surveillance,
and film makers/directors can use our drone to aerially film their movie at extremely low
costs rather than renting a helicopter which would gulp a lot of their budget, far from these
examples the Lebanese Ministry of Tourism rented a DJI drone in order to film the Lebanese
beach, our horizon, our mountains, and many more sceneries. Second is Lebanese
governmental policies, at first the Lebanese government didn’t set any policy towards drones;
however, things eventually changed. Once they were used by a terrorist group in the Bekaa
and eventually shot down, and an unknown individual from Tripoli once bought 20 drones,
but the owner of the shop recognized that there was something somehow fishy about the idea
and called the police, eventually he was arrested and charged for terrorism. Following to
these incidents the Lebanese Army had to take action. According to the daily star, upon entry
of these drones to the country, programmers in the Lebanese army re-program the drone in
order to limit the maximum altitude it could reach and control how far away it could travel.
Last but not least is the trade agreements and the taxation arrangements. Well, Lebanon is
known for its relatively high taxation on imported goods on the borders or at the port.
Speaking of taxation, the Lebanese customs will charge any solid technological import
500,000lbp per 50kgs. Finally, till now no trade agreements have been made towards drone
trading in Lebanon (Lebanese Customs 2015).
COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
It is crucial to analyze the competitors our business would face throughout its expansion in
the Lebanese market. After thorough research, we can conclude that DJI has little or no
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competition in the market; however, a lot of competition exists in other Middle Eastern
countries. Nevertheless, the Lebanese community might find other substitutes like the
Chinese quadcopter drones that are being sold for a maximum price of 50$, but they aren’t
comparable to DJI quadcopter drones whether speaking of stability, efficiency, automation,
and photography. Although the cheapest DJI quadcopter drone is priced at 435$, but on the
other hand it offers a huge set of benefits and advantages with it; as in the user wouldn’t fear
any crash and poor filming or camera quality. In addition, it is important to emphasize the
type of market our drones would be in. Now, even though there are a few sellers of those
Chinese nondurable drones, but there isn’t any major seller for high quality drones. So we
can conclude that we are in a monopoly, since we are the only seller of DJI drones.
According to our experiences, the few negligible competitors that exist do not even adopt a
proper marketing method; however, they focus on the selling concept of marketing which is
an inside-out vision. Meaning that they produce what they want and try to enforce it in the
Lebanese society by adopting the doorstep method and massive sales person activity. This is
a wrong approach in marketing, like DJI; they should see what the society needs and tune
their production into satisfying the people’s needs. You may ask “what do people or
organizations now demand from drones?” Well, people want to use drones for surveillance
meaning they need a good camera, a durable long lasting battery, and an automated system
allowing the drone to evade obstacles automatically or safely land and take off on its own.
DJI has the outside in view of marketing and successfully targeted the demand of consumers
in order to satisfy their demand. In order to prove that DJI has a successful way of targeting
the market, according to the daily star DJI’s revenue in 2011 was only 4 million dollars, in
2015 DJI managed to become a $6 billion business and currently own 70% of the Drone
market share.
Below is a comparison between DJI drone pictures and other drone pictures,
DJI OTHER DRONES
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CUSTOMER/CLIENT ANALYSIS
The DJI Product targets the upper middle class on the younger scale, who value having new
products. That are technologically advanced, to keep up to date with the newest trends. The
wants of these potential buyers can be classified as exploratory wants; to explore the
surrounding areas using an eagle eye camera that captures every single movement that
happens in order to save memories. Also it can be job related, for example the NFL uses the
DJI drones to live stream their matches. Public Organizations are also our major target,
Ministries of Agriculture in lots of countries all over the world are using a DJI drone
specially equipped with pesticides that would hover above the fields of different types of
crops and efficiently spray 6-7 acres of land in an hour much faster and efficient than worker.
In addition to the ministry of agriculture, another prospective customer is the Lebanese
military, because our drones can be tuned to adopt several combat accessories such as
thermal optics to detect bombs and enemies from miles away and also terrain mapping which
gives a clear drawing of the grounds in a combat this helps soldiers in unfamiliar land to
navigate easily. However, these preferences of the people might change, because as we
already mentioned it targets the young people, and as a result of their growth their tastes and
preferences change. So to refocus their sight on the DJI we can use extensive promotion
campaigns that highlights the benefits of having such a user friendly state of the art
technology.
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SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
1. The business is going to be branch based, which will solve many issues like people
complaining from lack of communication with DJI as no one in Lebanon is an official dealer
of DJI, people could only order online, making consumers annoyed as they cannot visually
interact with people who understand this product. It also targets problems like repairs, well
our branch will be able to repair and maintain your drone; rather than sending it to the U.S for
any repair.
2. DJI drones could be in use for different tasks; therefore, targeting different market
segments whether targeting people from Generation Y/Millennials(Teens) or people from
Generation X (Parents) and targeting people for personal use, film directors(Aerial filming),
Aerial Photographers, wedding planners(Wedding films), civil engineers, The Lebanese
Army, and Lebanese Ministry of Tourism or Agriculture.
3. DJI drones stand out from all other drones in the Lebanese market and the world, offering
mind blowing features. When talking about DJI drones you talk about the speed, efficient and
durable battery, auto piloting system which offers safe flying and obstacle evasion, crystal
clear 16 megapixel still images and extremely clear shiver free videos at 4K,1920HD, terrain
mapping, and thermal optics for the use of military combat. The following capabilities could
never be achieved by any drone in the market, hence making our product incomparable to
existing ones in the Lebanese Drone Market.
WEAKNESSES
1. Since the idea of drones is new to the Lebanese society, people are unaware of these
drones and their abilities and lack information about them, which would cause a lack of
interest in this field of technology.
2. Due to the poor economy in Lebanon, people might not want to pay hundreds of dollars on
a drone, and buy a regular fake Chinese drone costing 50$(DJI replicas).
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3. Other things that can limit our success are legal complications, further limitations on the
capabilities of the drone set by the government, and the limited cash budget available.
OPPORTUNITIES
1. Our company will be the only official licensed DJI retailer in Lebanon creating trust and a
feeling of prestige in the market. It is always a competitive advantage to be the first to create
an idea or bring in a new product, just like Apple did with the IPod.
2. DJIs will be the ‘go to’ camera and device for many event planners across the country,
dominating the industry.
3. In addition, our products have the potential to be of great service in various fields such as
agriculture, construction monitoring, the Ministry of Tourism or even the Lebanese film
industry. Any organization looking to use high quality photography or videography for their
business goals will find great value in our offerings.
THREATS
After careful analysis of the possible threats that we face when it comes to selling DJIs
drones, we have come up with the following:
1. Misuse of DJI drones , especially in Lebanon since we have many attacks most of which
are bomb attacks, we feel that they may fall at the wrong hands and become a possible threat
to the Lebanese people, which may lead to injuries ( minor or serious ) or possible death. This
is the biggest worry we are facing, if this occurs, we are very liable to get sued and in the
worst case scenario, ultimately shut down.
2. Due to advancements in technology these days, DJI makes excellent use of that and its
performance is second to none. However, traditional photographers and film crew used at
weddings and other events will begin to decrease their price and possibly spread bad word
about our products in order to compete, which may hinder our progress into introducing DJI
drones to our target audience.
MISSION STATEMENT
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“Creativity is at the heart of every dream. Every idea, every groundbreaking leap that changes
our world starts with the vision of talented creators. At DJI, we give these creators the tools
they need to bring their ideas to life.”
OBJECTIVES
- Form agreements and contracts with credible event planners around the country, so that DJI
drones are present at every wedding, concert, ceremony, etc.
- No matter the occasion, when people look up at the sky, they will see a DJI drone casually
flying around. One year after opening, we predict that 75% of weddings in Lebanon will use
a DJI drone.
- Sales goals in the first month: Minimum of $150,000 from in store purchases of drones, not
accounting for accessories, renting or package sales.
- Provide training for every customer upon purchase, whether personal or by CD.
- Delivery within 24 hours for every online purchase.
- Deal with complaints swiftly and repair damaged drones as soon as possible.
TARGET MARKET
We intend on selling and distributing our products and services to the following target
markets:
Event planners in Lebanon for weddings, concerts, and other events. There is great potential
in this market and concentrating our marketing efforts in this segment is essential.
The reason is that event planners are purchasing DJIs online and having them shipped in from
abroad; therefore, there is an awareness of the product and its benefits and there is an existing
demand. In a recent concert in Beirut, DJ Steve Aoki performed where a DJI was present to
capture some of the scenes. In addition, several wedding in Lebanon are incorporating the use
of DJIs due to the advantages it has over a manual filming crew. Besides concerts and
weddings, DJIs can be used in almost any event or ceremony from football matches to school
ceremonies, New Year celebrations and much more.
Professional and amateur photographers/filmmakers between the ages of 20 and 27. There is
no doubt that photographers and filmmakers will be interested in DJIs but when analyzing the
situation and determining what specific type of photographers/filmmakers in Lebanon will
take action to buy the product and thus serve as the most profitable market, it is definitely the
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early adopters. The young ones who are passionate about their work, willing to take risks and
try out new ideas that can enhance their experience, are the ones that will take initiative and
serve as potential customers in the early stages of our opening. After the first couple of
months, we expect other experienced professionals in the field to join in with the early
adopters.
Other potential target markets include: Ministry of Tourism in Lebanon, Agriculture, and
construction companies to monitor progress of infrastructure and other public organizations.
Deciding whether to act on one of these target markets will depend on our performance in the
first few years.
POSITIONING AND DIFFERENTIATION
Now that we have decided who to serve, it is necessary to understand how we will serve
those target markets. Since they are different markets, they require different marketing
strategies to appeal to their unique needs and values. Our marketing strategy revolves around
2 basic principles: positioning and differentiation. This allows us to forms our Value
Proposition which serves as the foundation for the next step and that is the implementation of
the marketing strategy through the 4Ps.
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When deciding on a strategy for introducing and developing DJI in Lebanon, we noted the
following possible competitive advantages:
- High quality and performance (clear pictures/videos, stable motion, features and abilities)
- Ease of use
- Multi Purpose
- Speedy delivery and after sale service (training, filming and repair)
- Design
- Durability and ruggedness
We selected 1-2 main competitive advantage for each target market allowing us to build a
unique and specific value proposition that is both appealing and memorable to our target
markets.
Event Planners: Performance and after sale service. Demonstrating the quality and scope of
the camera, height and distance the DJI can cover and the incredible stability of the drone are
all benefits that very few other drones on the market can provide. Once purchased, we offer
free training and explain exactly how to use the drone. If purchased online away from Beirut
we promise quick delivery within a maximum of 24 hours and training by DJI employee
upon arrival or the option of having the employee use the drone to film the event (one of the
packages to be discussed in the Price section)
Photographers/Filmmakers: Ease of use, multi-purpose and price. Nobody wants to buy a
drone only to spend hours trying to figure out how to use it. With the DJI that is far from the
case. (Put real life example of ease of use) The price is a possible advantage when comparing
it to other professional cameras which can be quite expensive.
We have opted for a ‘more for more’ positioning strategy. The relatively high selling price is
backed up by high performance, top quality salespeople and trainers, reliable and quick after
sales services allowing our customers to capture their memories and experience the beauties
of the world in the most unique ways possible.
Unique Selling Propositions (USP):
“To event planners, our DJI products are state of the art manually controlled drones that take
photography and filming to the next level with a high quality camera and a powerful drone at
your disposal, you will be amazed with the difference in performance and results. In addition,
we value customer service and will provide you with quick delivery and all the training and
knowledge you need to be a master flyer, capturing the moment like never before”
“To passionate and adventurous photographers and filmmakers, our DJI products are what
you have been waiting for. They are state of the art manually controlled drones, with the
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ability to take wonderful high quality pictures or videos and with our help and training, they
are very simple to use, and great for a variety of purposes from filming movie scenes to
capturing the beauty of nature from distances only dreamed of. Take your experience to the
next level”
MARKETING MIX STRATEGY
PRODUCT
This Business should emphasize on generating a high level of customer-perceived value
through a well-thought and organized market offering. When observing this business, we can
find that it offers a wide range of products that can be marketed to a variety of target
audiences from the upper-middle class, to the NFL which live streams its matches, to movies
makers through the industrial drone which gives best professional aerial photography, another
drone is the inspire which from its name you can deduce that inspires great camera and aerial
performance. Visualizing what the product is all about gives an insight on what are the
important aspects to integrate in the product strategy; which are design (the dynamics and the
performance), branding, and product support service.
Regarding the product design, the DJI company keeps on updating its products with the latest
technologies and perfecting its old models with newer more attractive ones for example take
one of the DJI drones the Phantom series 3 was released January 5, 2016, then they modified
its specs and released a Phantom series 4 on March 5, 2016. With every different type of
drone this company introduces, it expands its target audience that’s why it has the different
models to give different customers the perceived value that they deserve. After all the most
appealing trait in any product is its design and performance that is why the DJI drones are the
easiest flying objects that any individual can use with the utmost confidence that it would not
get destroyed, because of the lack of experience in fly quadcopters.
Branding is very essential in this type of business, because you are entering a new market and
thus you have to brand it in a way that it attracts the people you are targeting. Therefore, in
branding such a product an emphasis should be made on its quality, and that would help
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attract a bigger number of people that could be interested in buying a drone. Furthermore,
when branding a product in this cast the DJI drones they should be positioned in the minds of
the buyers as mentioned earlier as desirable designs with the power to perform up to the level
that exceeds the buyer's expectation in order to capture value on return. That is why the
company is going to emphasize on delivering this brand message to the client in order to
construct a strong brand reference.
Concerning the product support services, they are very important in such businesses. These
services include the website that we will create for the Lebanese region, helping people solve
any problems they might face, and also get the information needed to deliver the drones the
buy in an organized and timely way. Furthermore, the website will help the clients in buying
the model that best fits her/his taste. Therefore, with all of these features that help make the
customers life a bit easier will also create more customer perceived value as they will notice
the company delivering a product with an outstanding overall marketing offering.
PROMOTION
Even the cheapest of products can be expensive if we are not able to sell on its value.
Effective promotion is the key to communicating the value and benefits of a product to
consumers. Promoting DJIs is an important factor in the company’s success, since it is a
relatively new idea in Lebanon. Consequently, it is crucial to communicate with customers
and try to make them aware of this business’ activities and what the business is offering. The
promotion mix consists of public relations, advertising, sales promotion, and personal selling.
The type of budget that will be used is the affordable method, since it emphasizes on
affording the promotion that we are using. The promotion mix strategy that will be used in
promoting the drones is the pull strategy, since there aren’t strong channels to handle the
marketing of such a product.
Advertising includes targeting a message towards the public. Therefore, we would be using
and informative type of advertising to inform the clients of the products they offer, and the
goal in mind is communicating customer value by introducing a line of new products. The
advertising message should spread awareness about the type of drones which the company is
offering with its various types that accommodates the needs and wants of different customers
from people who find it as a hobby of owning a drone to showcasing an important event. This
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distinction in how the public is addressed will make the customers remember the products on
display in a unique way.
The next step would be choosing the advertising media. The planned percentage of coverage
of the targeted clientele will be 50% in the first 6 months of integrating the company in the
Lebanese market. An average occurrence of 3-5 times per week is favorable. The main media
channel would be the internet through social media and Arab e-commerce firms like
Dubizzle.
The public relations strategy that would be implemented will be achieved by taking the
product line and introducing it in an exhibition that will promote the drones in an area with
crowded people and that would increase its publicity. Regarding the sales promotion tools,
the company would use price packs for example: the customer would buy a drone and pay for
it in full but will only pay 75% on the second drone he/she will buy.
Finally, the last tool in the promotion mix is the personal selling. Therefore, in this category a
salesperson will be use to attract the customers and persuade them to buy the product by
pointing out the benefits of getting a drone and how it would connect with the client, also the
salesperson would keep in touch with the buyer when he/she face any problem with the
product and help keep them satisfied. Moreover, word-of-mouth will influence other buyers
to buy drones by promoting, how the experience of buying and interacting with the company
was a great one.
PRICE
Pricing plays an extremely important role when it comes to selling any product to a
consumer. It is worthy to note that each model has a different price based on features and
benefits, and prices may range from $400 to $5,999. We are going to sell these models and
the prices respectively:
DJI phantom 2, price: $400.
DJI phantom 3 , price :$575
DJI phantom 3.4k , price : $675
Phantom 3 advanced , price : $999
Phantom 3 professional , price $1,100
Phantom 4 , price : $1.399
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The newest models of DJI, The DJI Inspire 1.
- Inspire 1 V2.0, Price: $3,099 which only comes with a remote to control your drone.
- Inspire 1 V2.0 (all-inclusive package), Price: $3,499. Includes: Two quick release
propellers, battery heater in order to fly safely in cold temperatures, second remote control,
monitor hood to prevent sun from interfering with your perfect view and a spare intelligent
flight battery to capture more shots.
- Inspire 1 pro, Price: $ 4,499
- Inspire 1 pro (all-inclusive package), price: $4,899. Includes: Two quick release propellers,
battery heater in order to fly safely in cold temperatures, second remote control, monitor hood
to prevent sun from interfering with your perfect view and a spare intelligent flight battery to
capture more shots.
- Inspire 1 pro black edition. Price: $4,799
- Inspire 1 RAW (dual remote), Price: $5,999. The most expensive model that we are selling.
PLACE
Place is a very important factor when opening any store, you need to choose a place where is
fair and an area which attracts your target audience. Therefore, we have chosen to base our
company in Downtown Beirut (for now), renting an area of around 75 m2.
We have chosen Drone Tech to be in Ramleh IL Bayda, because we feel that is an area
convenient for our target audience and very well respected. Hence, word of mouth will be
helpful to our business, people would be willing to drive a distance in order to come to our
company and purchase our products.
Our store will be around 75 m2. Our storage room will be 25 m2 consisting of 100 DJI’s. 30
of which will be DJI Phantom 2 and phantom 3 as these models will be price convenient to
our customers, 10 DJI phantom 3.4k, 10 DJI phantom 3 advanced, 10 phantom 3
professional, 10 phantom 4, 5 DJI Inspire 1 V2.0, 5 DJI Inspire V2.0 (All-inclusive package),
5 DJI Inspire 1 pro, 5 DJI Inspire 1 pro (All-inclusive package), 5 Inspire 1 pro black edition
and finally 5 Inspire 1 RAW. All our products will come directly from the factory producing
DJI’s.
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The 50 m2 will consist of a front desk, shelf stands to display our various models, couches for
convenience, room for maintenance and repairs, drawer for filing, a small area for customer
trial of DJI phantom 2 and DJI phantom 3.
ACTION PROGRAMS/ IMPLEMENTATION
Marketing implementation is transforming the company’s marketing plan into actions. It is
just as important as designing the marketing plan. After acquiring all the work permits to start
working in Lebanon, the implantation process will begin by renting a space so that the
company can set up shop preferably in downtown Beirut, then we will hire employees to
manage the shop, supplies, and sales. There should be a constant monitoring of the
performance and all inflowing and outflowing data, and to correct any errors that might
occur. Before this, the company should start finding suitable social media outlets that would
be used for advertising, like Facebook and Instagram as well as other means of promotion.
Finally, the business will begin its operations and customers will start visiting the DJI store
and purchase their desired drone. Furthermore, the company will monitor its marketing and
advertising efforts progress on a monthly basis, to check if any changes are needed. The
measures set for the company’s marketing plan will focus on operating customer-centered
controls like customer retention and ensuring that the marketing plan meets the pricing and
marketing objectives. The sales promotions and discounts should be updated frequently to
keep them circulating in the minds of the customers, which will make the DJI drones more
appealing.
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BUDGET
Cost Object Estimated Budget Percentage
Rent, Property, Utilities $140,000 %23.3
Work Permit and Related
Taxes
$6,700 %1.1
Employee Salaries $100,000 (Excluding Commission per Sale %16.6
DJI Drones on hand $108,000 %18
Advertisement & Promotion $100,000 %16.6
Cash on Hand $145,300 %24.2
CONTROLS/ EVALUATION
Once the plan has been put into action, now begins the process of monitoring and controlling:
ensuring that the results and performance of the company are in line with its objectives. Key
areas to look into are sales, customer satisfaction, and return on marketing investment. We
have come accustomed to the term ‘Cash is King’ but we are aware that in the opening few
months we will be incurring a few losses. However, as a few months go by, consumers will
become more and more aware and convinced with our products and their value, sales begin to
steadily increase and by the end of the quarter we will compare that sales number to our
projected quarterly sales. If the outcome is way below what was expected, we will take a
closer look at our marketing strategy and take corrective action.
The success of the business is directly related to the level of customer satisfaction. How do
we measure that? One way is by sending them direct emails or phone calls (after scheduling a
time), asking them questions about the product and their experience and what can be
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improved. Once we have that information, we enter it into the customer relationship database
where we keep a detailed record of the unique characteristics of our customers and can focus
on improving in the areas they mentioned. The level of employee satisfaction has an impact
on customers as well. If we find in our questionnaires that our salespeople are rude,
unenthusiastic and unhelpful, we know where the bottleneck is. Developing and maintaining
great relationships with our customers will lead to a positive word of mouth and that is the
greatest form of marketing.
Finally we will be concerned with the return on our marketing investment, especially in the
opening few months due to the high level of promotion and costs to be incurred. Were the
exhibitions, social media marketing, and other efforts effective? Were they responsible for
people walking in the store and making the purchase? Estimating the marketing ROI is no
easy task but one way to find out the effect of our promotion efforts is to ask current
customers how they found out about our products and what caused them to buy, through
emails or even personally as they purchase the product.
Monitoring the performance of the business relative to the objectives and constantly adapting
to important and relevant findings is a sure way to enhance customer relationships, boost
sales, and invest our marketing efforts in value added tasks that have the most significant
impact on consumer buying behavior.
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REFERENCES
1. Customs Guide ( اللبنانية Retrieved April 24, 2016, from .(August 5 ,2013) .(الجماركhttp://www.customs.gov.lb/customs/laws_regulations/Trader_guides.asp
2. Worldwide Governance Indicators| World Databank. (2014, March 10). Retrieved April 24, 2016, from http://databank.worldbank.org/data/reports.aspx?source=Worldwide-Governance-Indicators
3. DJI, products and services. (2012, July 2). Retrieved April 24, 2016, from http://www.dji.com/product/phantom