Your Marketing Plan

Table of Contents

1. Executive Summary
2. Mission Statement
3. What Are Your Goals?
a. Financial
b. Non-Financial
4. Core Competencies
5. SWOT Analysis
6. Target Market
7. Core Buyers Persona
8. Marketing Mix
9. Your On Going Marketing Efforts
10. Budget
Executive Summary:
(This is a basically a summary of the entire marketing plan. Write this last.)

The goal of the Zoo is to raise sufficient funds in order to keep the Zoo going to raise awareness about animals
and conservation. In order to help this goal, memberships are established. The plan is to be a competitive
membership geared towards families, specifically mothers that are interested in education and a safe learning
environment for less. As a community Zoo, we want to be families go to place for something to do and to gain
a new adventure every visit. With this said, having an admission at the front gate may drive the regular visitors
away because they feel as if they cant afford to come to the Zoo whenever they would like. With a
membership, they could access the Zoo without hurting their bank account and still feel satisfied they are
giving their kids access to a great opportunity. These great opportunities are our education programs, events,
and the chance to be with animals they couldnt get close to anywhere else. With our strength of getting people
to these events and enticing them with our knowledge, we would be gaining money because more members
would have access to more of our information and therefore, be more involved. The more involved they are the
more money we make on our different events and fundraisers. The admission prices are an added bonus
because if they dont get a membership, they pay us a lot more. It will cost little on our end because the biggest
expense is a card machine. Anything else we have been doing in the past.

Mission Statement:

(Answer these questions and then combine them into 1 or 2 nicely organized paragraphs.)

What do we do? We raise sufficient funds for animals and spread the education of conservation while providing a
cheap, safe, fun, learning environment where people can bring their families.

How do we do it? We provide opportunities and educational events that incorporate fun activities the whole family
can enjoy while also raising money through our non-profit organization. We give people the knowledge they need
though our different activities while also giving them a meaningful experience thats worth their money.
Who are we doing it for? We do this for the benefit of the Zoo, animals, and the wellbeing of the environment. We
are also doing this for the people so they live better, more knowledgeable lives.

What value are we bringing to the table? We are bringing the value of family, community, compassion, fun,
knowledge, safety, and respect.

Paragraph: The mission of Friends of Columbian Park Zoo Memberships is to secure sufficient funding in order to
ensure the quality of life of Zoo animals through education and conservation and to create, promote and maintain
awareness of the Zoo for all in the Greater Lafayette Area.

Goals:
Financial Goals:

(How much money do you want to make? What are your goals?)

How Much Revenue You Need to Generate from Your Inbound Marketing Efforts

How Many Sales You Need to Hit Those Revenue Goals

Non-Financial Goals:

This is the perfect place to write down all your goals. What do you want to accomplish in your company or blog?

Keep people from coming to the Zoo less because there is an admission fee.
Raise our Ed. program and camp attendance along with booking more birthday parties.
Increase awareness in conservation to the point that we are making a difference in our community.
Raise our social media reach to more of the Lafayette area.
Increase our ratings
Spread the word about memberships
Expand our animal exhibits to include penguins and cats.
Have the Zoo be a community icon, something people always recommend and are proud of.
Become more tech savvy and get an app.
What are your SMART Goals: (these are rough estimates since I dont know what our usual yearly growth/loss is
and how many people in ed programs we have or how many people even visit the Zoo)

Specific:

Short Term: From January 1, 2019 to the opening of the Zoo, we want to gain 60 new members, making
our total membership 177.

Long Term: From January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019, the Zoo wants to have a total of 350
memberships.

Measurable: We want to gain 350 new agreed and paid memberships, no matter the level, for the Zoo.

Aspirational: The Zoo aspires to have 500 members total in the year 2019.

Realistic: The Zoo will gain around 150 new memberships in the year 2019.

Time-bound: The Zoo hopes to raise the total memberships up to 350 from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019

Some other examples of non-financial goals:

- Write an e-book
- Podcasting
- Video blogging
- Writing more blog posts

What Are Your Core Competency:

What are your strengths as a team?

As a team, we are creative and driven. Everyone has a passion for animals and conservation so pushing this Zoo to
make it better is a goal everyone can get behind. The team is also creative and can engage just about anyone with
their knowledge. Another strength we have is that we are well aware of how important our customers are for the
success of the Zoo so customer service is a strong point. I also think everyone has great communication.
Zookeepers jobs are very different than the administrative jobs yet everyone is in contact with each other to keep
everyone in the loop on each others progress.

How about your company strengths?

The companys strength is that Columbian Park Zoo is passionate about what good the Zoo does for the community
and animals so they often give their all to raise funds of the cause. They are good at creating and following through
with their fundraising events and enticing people to attend. We are also great at educating kids and the community.
Our educators travel all over the city to schools, nursing homes, and more to spread knowledge about animals and of
conservation. Therefore, we are good at bringing the community together and teaching them about our message. We
are also great for the city because we give families a place to go and have fun while being safe. A community wants
their city to have a lot of things to do and we are one big attraction where families can go and enjoy a nice day.
What are the strengths of your products or content?

The strengths of a membership are it gives families and individuals the chance to take advantage of our
opportunities without being burdened by prices. This is also a chance to create a mutually beneficial relationship for
both the members and the animals here at the Zoo because the members receive great opportunities while the Zoo
receives the funds it needs to thrive and grow.

How can you be the best in your industry or niche?

We can be the best by offering the most for a reasonable price. We want to give our members a worthwhile
experience without having to hinder the responsibility and care we give the animals. We need to be a
competitive contender in our area when it comes to memberships. We also need to not only be a visiting Zoo,
but a Zoo the community can get behind and feel as if it is theirs so we can gain valuable members.

SWOT Analysis:
What are your companys or products strengths?

Our memberships strength is that it would provide an opportunity to freely visit the Zoo whenever they would like,
making it more convenient to come since there would be minimal planning involved. Its also easier to be involved
because they would have more readily available information about all of our events and programs. This means they
get a wider range of opportunities to be involved with not only the community, but the animals as well.

What are your companys or products weaknesses?

Our memberships weakness is that members would have to be highly involved if they wanted their moneys worth.
They would have to visit the Zoo multiple times and take part in our events. Also, it may not be great unless they
have children. Our events usually focus on kids and therefore, individual or senior passes may seem unenticing.

What opportunities does your company have?

We give customers the chance to get close to the wild like they never would be able to anywhere else. Having
animals from all over the world gives people the chance to go on an adventure in their own community. We offer
them knowledge they dont usually get along with entertainment for the whole family. We also offer further
exploration like meet and greets and birthday parties with different Animal Ambassadors so people can get even
closer to the animals. We offer opportunities for discounted fun programs, family fun events, and free admission in
order to visit the Zoo whenever members want. There would also be discounted fees for our other amenities such as
train rides and our gift shop.

What threats are there?

There are threats from other town attractions like the art gallery, the pools and waterpark, and all other
memberships. There are also other things in the park to do like the waterpark and the Aviators so we are competing
with them for those who come to Columbian Park.
Target Market:
What is the majority of my markets gender? Female

How about their age range? 25 - 45

Whats their annual income? Median is $50,000 (not average because of extreme outliers)

Where are most of them located? Greater Lafayette Area

Audience/Customer Persona:
Ask yourself these questions to find your audience/customer persona:

Who are they? They are mothers

What is their personality? They are outgoing, attentive, loving, and curious.

How about their family life? They are involved mothers who like doing family related activities. They have family
nights and often are there for her kids. They may work but they are more focused on being involved in their kids
lives. This means being home for dinner and attending all their kids games/events.

What are their values? Community, family, education, safety, fun.

What do they do?

Whats their job title?

Where do they live? Somewhere in, or close to, the Greater Lafayette Area.

What are their challenges? - Finding a safe environment for their kids to have fun, learn, and enjoy family time.
They want their kids to stay out of trouble and to keep them occupied without having to spend a lot of money or
traveling time.

What are their pain points? Mothers or families may find it a pain that we dont have food, we dont have enough
water stations, parking, and finally, our Zoo is a little smaller so they go through it too quickly.

What are their needs? They need to be able to get to feel safe and to be able to have stuff for their children to do.

Extra questions to really help you know your audience/customer persona:

What scares them? Their kids getting hurt or not being able to provide a fun time or experiences for their kids.
They are scared their kids are going to grow up and get into bad stuff or make the wrong friends and get into bad
situations.

What are their life beliefs? They believe in exploration and taking advantage of fun opportunities. They believe
family is important but so is living their lives to have fun.
What stresses them out? Time because they are so busy. Worrying about safety stresses them out because the
world is dangerous. Money is also a stress because nothing is cheap these days yet they want to be able to do
different activites.

What keeps them up at night? Worrying of their kids will grow up with the knowledge they need and if they are
giving their kids all that they can.

What would solve all their problems? If there was a safe place their kids could go to make memories and gain
great experiences without costing a lot

(Once youve answered all these questions come up with an idea of who your persona is and type out who your
persona is in paragraph form. Remember this is a fictional character that represents your audience and customers.
Give them a name and find a picture online that will represent them.)

The moms name is Lisa. She is 32 and has 2 kids, Ben who is 9 and Katie who is 4. She is married to her
childrens father, Daniel. Daniel works as an insurance agent and works 40 hours a week. Lisa did work
as a beautician, but quit her job once Katie was born to take care of the kids since childcare was
expensive. However, she still takes some clients at home to raise a little extra cash. Neither Lisa nor
Daniel went to college, and together they make around $65,000 annually. As a result of their lack of
education, they want their kids to grow up well educated so they are active in their kids school life.
Education and family are a top priority, and they often take trips on the weekends to the park or the Zoo
for a fun day. They also try to stay active in their life by supporting them in their sports. Ben plays little
league baseball and Katie wants to start ballet. All these activities start to get expensive, but they want
their kids to have opportunities. They try different things and go to all the community events in order to
stay connected with other people and to socialize.

Marketing Mix - Four Marketing Ps

What Product Are You Marketing? (Memberships)

(Set your user persona and target audience next to you when you fill out these questions. And after
answering the questions write all your ideas in paragraph form.)

What does your audience want? - The audience wants to have a place to go with their family that isnt
costly yet is still fun. They want to bond and create experiences with their family that each one of them
can enjoy.
Why do they need it? They need this because they want their kids to be occupied and safe and they want
to be able to do things with their kids. They want their family to be close so they need these chances so not
only do the kids have fun, but they have fun WITH their parents/family.

What makes it special and different? (Why should your audience care?) Memberships make it special or
different because it gives them a go-to place to spend time with their family. They can always depend on
our discounted prices for education programs or events to have a good time without spending a lot.

The audience wants to be able to do things with their family without having to spend too much money.
Although typical game nights are fun, these familys want more out of their time together so they want a
place to learn and explore. They want their kids to be safe and connected to the community too so going
out for different experiences are usually more appealing. With our membership, they could have a
dedicated cheap place where they could learn something new each visit and feel safe enough to let their
kids enjoy all there is to offer.

Where Should Your Product Be Sold? (Place)

How would you sell your product? Through a brochure or a person selling them. They could also be sold
through a membership drive.

Are you selling it in a physical store or on E-commerce? - Both

How Much Should It Be Sold For? (Price)

Individual: $40
Senior: $35
Family: $60
Grandparents: $50

Is it a good value for what your audience would be getting? Yes, I do believe so. For instance, lets say
the admission price for adults was $8 and children were $5. With this admissions price, an individual
would have to only come 5x for their moneys worth and thats only from admission. A family of 4 would
get their moneys worth in just 3 visits. This doesnt include the use of education programs, train rides, gift
shop savings, and more.

How does the price compare with your competitors and others in the market? - This price is competitive
with the surrounding memberships in Lafayette. Others are also $35 - $75 but for us, you get a new
experience each time. Also, most of the other memberships are of museums and not interactive family
events like this one. Therefore, being around the same price and getting more for their money would be
worth it.

How Are You Going To Promote It? (Promotion)

Where are you going to promote your content/product? At the Zoo, online, social media, brochures, and
the Parks Department.

How are you getting it in front of people? Membership drives and ads throughout the Zoo, special
offers, social media posts, and handouts.

Will you do ads? And if so where will you do them? Maybe a commercial if the budget permits, or an ad
we promote online.

Budget:
(This is a great place to put what youll need to budget for. What services is your company using?)

What things does your company need to pay for?

Card machine
Ink
Stamps/envelopes/paper
Cards
Computer program to scan and keep track of things
Advertisements
Punch cards
Posters
Items put in membership bags (zoo posters, animal plush, pens, etc.)

Do you have a budget for ads/marketing? If so, how much do you allow monthly for it?

Appendix:
(This is a great place to refer to a source, graphics, graphs, tables, or even your creative ideas.)
The wild is calling (pic of shouting animal)
o Answer whenever youd like with a membership to the Zoo!
Every day is a new adventure at the Zoo
Be part of the Zoo Crew!
Get more days of fun for less!
Swing on in whenever youd like! (monkey pic)
Come closer (pic of up close animal)
 Dive in! (otter diving)
Take a bite of the good life (animal eating obnoxiously)
Be part of the Zoo family!
Dig even deeper into the Zoo (prairie dog digging)
Youre overdue for a day at the Zoo!
Expand your Zoo adventure with our membership opportunities!
You ask whereto and we say the Zoo! Come whenever youd like..

What would memberships include?

All that there is now

A package with Zoo stuff, like a stuffed animal, a bag, and stuff advertising the Zoo.
Punch card for train rides or have Membership Mondays where members get a free train ride.
Member-Get-aMember. Refer a friend to a membership and get money off yours or an extension for 1
month.
Offer the chance to add (free) guest passes to a package or more categories that include guest tickets.
Have not only membership passes but donation packages as well that have a more extensive list of benefits.
Offer certain sales/discounts that entice people to sign up for memberships RIGHT THEN. For example, if
someone is signing up for an Ed. program, offer 10$ off a membership but only if they sign up right then.
Get money off food if we have that in the future with admission. If we dont have food in the park, offer a
gift card or deal with the frozen custards place or Arnies across the street.
Get membership feedback after 1 year
Have a veterans, firefighter, or paramedic discount.

One Page Marketing Plan Sheet

(Keep the answers behind each of the points to a couple sentences long.)

Executive Summary-Our goal of helping animals and to raise awareness about conservation can be aided by the
money we make through memberships. We will gain more memberships by targeting mothers with children who
want their kids to have amazing experiences without costing too much. Having admission prices will give them the
push to save money through our memberships, and eventually be more involved because they will have more
extensive information of our opportunities. This will all raise our numbers to the 300s without costing us too much.

Mission Statement- The mission of Friends of Columbian Park Zoo Memberships is to secure sufficient funding in
order to ensure the quality of life of Zoo animals through education and conservation and to create, promote and
maintain awareness of the zoo for all in the Greater Lafayette Area.

What Are Your Goals?- Our goals are to have 350 memberships at the end of 2019 no matter what level they are.
We want to raise our member number to what it used to be in the past.

Financial-
Non-Financial- We want to have the same amount of visitors as we do now without admission. We want them to
actually go up and raise our attendance in all of our programs and events as well. We want the word of the Zoo to
spread and become a proud icon of the community. We will need to see this in our social media and ratings.

Core Competencies- Our team is strong because they have passionate values that resonate with the goals of the Zoo.
Both care deeply about the wellbeing of the animals and what our knowledge can do to help people care about
conservation. Our memberships strength is that it helps aid the Zoo in taking those steps towards achieving these
goals. It attracts members with opportunities and discounts while giving us the people and money we need to take
care of the animals and spread the word of conservation.

SWOT Analysis-

Target Market- The target market is for mothers and parents between the ages of 25-45 years old, with an income
around $50,000.

Core Buyers Persona- Our buyers persona is one who cares deeply about family and gaining experiences, while
also not wanting to spend a fortune. They love to spend time with the family and want their kids to go on great
adventures while being safe and learning. Therefore, they care about community, education, family, and safety.

Marketing Mix- Our customers want a safe environment where they can go and enjoy learning with their family.
Memberships will give them these opportunities and more by giving them easier access to the Zoo and our events.
Our memberships will be sold to families for $60, grandparents for $50, one individual for $40, and Senior for $35.
The will be sold through brochures or signup sheets handed out both online and in person. To gain peoples
attention, we will promote them through ads, handouts, social media, membership drives, and more placed here at
the Zoo, online, and throughout the parks department.

Your On Going Marketing Efforts- Our ongoing marketing efforts consist of different promotions on our website
and social media, along with the dissemination of different ads and handouts. We are doing a lot of research for the
future on what our customers want and finding ways to incorporate that into our memberships.

Budget- We do not have a budget yet but hope to in the future. In addition to what we spend now, we may need a
card machine, cards and ink, the normal office supplies, and Zoo goody bag stuff.