Marketing Plan for Internet Cafes In India

Marketing Plan for Internet Cafes In India

Executive Summary

The goal of this marketing plan is to outline the strategies, tactics, and programs that will make the sales goals outlined in this Internet Cafe business plan a reality in the year 2003 in few states in India. This plan is for Indian Markets only.

Internet Cafe, unlike a typical cafe, provides a unique forum for communication and entertainment through the medium of the Internet. Internet Cafe is the answer to an increasing demand. The public wants: (1) access to the methods of communication and volumes of information now available on the Internet, and (2) a place to socialize and share these experiences with friends and colleagues.

Marketing will play a vital role in the success of Internet Cafe. Internet Cafe must build a brand around the services it offers by heavily promoting itself through local television, radio, and print advertising. Marketing efforts are just beginning by the time a potential customer enters Internet Cafe for the first time. A strong emphasis will be put on keeping customers and building brand loyalty through programs focused on staffing, experience, and customer satisfaction.

Target markets include:

• Students from nearby housing centers.

• Business people from the downtown business centers and professional buildings.

• Seniors from nearby retirement facilities.

• Family members – People who have relatives abroad. This group is very large in few states in India especially states like Kerala where minimum one member from each family living abroad.

Situation Analysis

Internet Cafe opened its doors for business a little over a year ago. Business is good, and customers have been impressed with our offerings, but we need to focus our efforts on implementing the strategies, programs, and tactics outlined in the original business plan.

Differentiating ourselves from other more traditional cafes has given us the ability to effectively compete on the beverage and pastry side of the business with the already entrenched competition. Sales are brisk and in-line with projections.

The Internet services side of the business is rapidly being accepted by the local community. Memberships are meeting the projections outlined in the business plan, and sales of Internet services are meeting the goals forecast. Students love to gather for late...

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...ove the allocated 20%. We'll be able to hire the marketing manager earlier, and we'll be able to provide more equipment and possibly add an additional location.

Revenues miss projections - We have to be prepared for this possibility. If we miss our projections, we simply have to re-double our marketing efforts. The danger in this scenario is that the first reaction to missed projections is to decrease spending, particularly marketing expenses. We can't do that! We have to get our message out to the target market, and we can't do that if we stop spending on marketing. Additional capital infusions may become necessary and that possibility is detailed in the business plan.

Internet side of business plays a lesser role - Our customers might not be willing to pay for Internet access or Internet Cafe memberships as Internet access costs and hardware costs continue to fall. If this scenario materializes, we will need to move our focus to beverages and pastry items, perhaps even providing deli-style lunches. Internet services in the scenario would still play an important role in attracting customers; we'd just have to charge less and move our numbers around to accommodate this trend.