SWOT and 4 P's assignment-PHBM E-marketing plan

STRENGTHS:

Description of E-marketing plan: The Live Life Aloha Business is a Public Health Policy platform located in Hawaii and geared for the Hawaiian market struggling with Obesity. Emphasizing local climate, tropical allure and culture we bring Breath (Ha) and energetic aerobic lifestyles back into everyday Hawaiian life. Supporting wellness with a local twist we emphasize neighborhood ties and cultural availability with multi-cultural wellness modems featuring indigenous local food tips and preventative medicine.

Mission Statement:
Live Life Aloha sustains our local population with community and an everyday path towards fitness for your life and for your Hawaiian lifestyle. Lose weight right now and Live Life Aloha.

Internal strengths:
Our tech savvy staff is familiar with the internet and social media and has experience with event planning, marketing experience and computer programs calculated to present the best e-marketing plan supported by public funds and fitness products forward to the target marketplace. Familiar with Hawaii and its sense of place, this staff is the right mix of student, business people and overachievers who are willing to please and will give good customer satisfaction.

Most importantly the Staff Members bring a lot to the table: Using their own words and words of others-lest we forget what a dynamic team we have!

• Bob Steiff: This team project is important to me and I want to get the best grade possible. A driven Type A personality. I have been told that I expect too much.
• Brandy Franco: I'm great with organizing, power points, & communicating...I also have very few classes this semester, so my attention will totally be focused. Familiar with Facebook and Wiggio.
• Jared Masuda: Agree completely with you Bob. Google docs is easy to set up. Per Bob… “I believe (Jared) is experienced where we are going because he is in the capstone phase of ABIT. At least I know he can provide us with valuable insights.”
• Shawna Martin: I agree with you (Bob) because I also believe this team project is very important. I feel that I will meet your expectations and work hard to get the job done. I also want to help the team succeed.
• Alana D’Andrea: I agree with everyone, I am all about getting projects done on time and having quality work put into every assignment, with every group member participating equally. I check my email daily and am always on laulima. I am happy with any team members who want to succeed and are willing to participate. I know I have worked with Bob in a team project before and I thought we did great. Can’t wait to get started :)
• Danielle Konstantinos: Volunteered to be a leader! I am studying business through UHWO. I also currently manage MediSpa Maui (Health Organization!), Dr. Stolley and Dr. Martins office. I truly believe in preventative care and this is why I would like to be on the Obesity Reduction team. Has worked with event planning –check out her conference.
• Bevin Parker-Evans: I've worked on lots of teams in my professional life, so I've already checked my ego at the door. I'm very confident about my power point skills, have had some flash instruction and played with web design a little.


External Strengths:

1. The general population is more aware of health and nutrition than ever before.
2. There are many good examples of fitness programs which are working.
3. The state of Hawaii’s largest health groups already offer fitness and wellness programs which are similar so the target population may have already encountered information which supports our program.
4. Hawaiian citizens have cultural pride, weather and homogeneous love of the outdoors.

Internal weakness:

Lack of Education and Compassion. The team may not necessarily relate to the target? I’m only guessing about this. I’m throwing this concept out because if this team is typical, they are probably much younger and probably more fit than our target population ….possibly aged 18-26? It may be hard to understand Obesity unless your family or you suffers from it. Older participants may understand better, have children, and lead more sedentary lives. Age helps only because once you enter the work force it’s easier to sit more and exercise less and if you have kids, it is probably very difficult to eat correctly and/or lose weight. “Hmmm.hmmmm,”…she demurred from her office desk where her butt grew exponentially as she wrote.

I believe that we all probably need to begin to find out what we can about the Hawaiian Obese population to be able to understand our target market. I did my homework today and have shifted my focus. I’ve enclosed the link to the 24-page White paper written by a graduate student named Brooke Evans (Thank you Brooke for doing my research for me) on the subject of Public Health Policy of Hawaii Obesity at
http://www.publicpolicycenter.hawaii.edu/images/PDF/Obesity%20White%20Paper.pdf

If we suffer from educational elitism, youthful lack sensitivity or cultural misunderstandings, I believe we will fail at our task. Understanding the base population, we will gain public support and will not distance ourselves from the core population. If public health policy is our goal, and this is presumed, then we must first understand what motivates a person who may be disproportionately non-active, does not attend health classes and most likely does not have the money, interest, education or motivation necessary to start a fitness program.

It is my opinion (like Jared) that finding the target population and getting them into and using the program is probably going to be our biggest challenge. Unlike Jared, I do not believe that most of these people are capable of social media and/or computer use. See the White Paper details below.


External Weaknesses:

1. Public funding sources for development of the project were limited and the budget was low in 2008 and 2009 for Hawaii.

2. The Local Public Health Projects in Hawaii are inexperienced in dealing with problems of the Obese.
3. The cultural differences in Hawaii may somehow interfere with our mission statement.



Macro-Environment

External opportunities:

• Because of the concerns of citizens toward this topic, the development of a project that related
to health in Hawaii for the Hawaii target market could be perceived as interesting and remarkable. See Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move public policy program for National intent. www.letsmove.gov/

• New technology and organizational solutions had been developed which may make it easier to reach persons who would normally not be available to marketing outreach at all.
• Public health crisis and cost of health concerning the Obese population in Hawaii may enable us to have public funding from either the state economic outreach programs and/or Quest.
• Seek out advice and cooperation with well known preventative medicine and local nutrition expert Dr. Terry Shintani’s work on Obesity in the Native population. Who knows, we may be able to tap into his market and work simultaneously with his program or patients and /or use his materials as guidelines and Bible for our nutrition leads. See his website for ideas.
http://wn.com/Terry_Shintani

• The increasing cost of health care to government and to private business is one area which we can use as an opportunity. If we can incentivise businesses to cooperate in our program and/or get public funding to incentivise individuals, we may have a way to steer persons to our website or social media programs, i.e.…let employees use business computers to participate and if they participate at work and actually prove weight loss, they are given bonuses, days off, gym memberships, weight watchers membership etc….OR, have participants sign up at work and if they prove membership in gyms, weight loss programs to their bosses, they are given some kind of monthly allowances for those programs. The same could be said of public welfare or Qwest programs who might offer computer time to the identified target person and/or given the program as a mandatory compulsion for completion in a work-training or medical procedure. For instance, Qwest might offer lap-belt weight reduction surgery if the patient first exhibits real interest and motivation by first losing 20 lbs. in our program. Lap belt surgery is reported to work well for weight loss only in motivated patients and it is proven that a person, who loses weight, can prevent disease and more health care cost rise. The cost of this surgery is said to be going down in the next 5 years from $10,000 per patient to $2,500.00 per patient.


External threats:

1. Competition is either through the local health insurance groups, public programs such as: and our private practitioners like Dr. Terry Shintani.

2. Most citizens are skeptical about any public health policy and it is not adhered to unless there is a threat and/or some outer pressure or compulsion to comply, i.e.…non coverage of your insurance policy unless you participate.
3. The public health policy route gives us very little funding in the time of economic upheaval. The plight of the Obese will not be a sympathetic cause for fund raising. Children and teens would do better when appealing to the masses for funds. vending machines and thought they
4. Getting, keeping, reporting current accurate information which is not litigious.
5. Litigation
6. Privacy of customers
7. Anonymity of customers which is an entirely different issue than privacy. It means that shame must be erased in a small rural community where everyone knows everyone else. Large support groups in big cities work. Try going to an Obesity Anonymous or Weight Watchers meeting or on Kauai??? On Maui? Not so anonymous I think.




The Four P’s

Product-
• Our product is Obesity Behavior Modification in Public Health in the state of Hawaii. We will make an ecommerce plan which uses technology, computers, the internet, web-based programs and social media and mobile technology to accomplish our behavior changes. Our product will be unique to the Global Obesity Market, because we will target the “at risk” populations in Hawaii which are unique in their behavior, activity levels, climate, lifestyle, nutrition availability and food preparation practices.

• Use safe, healthy, quality, free or nominal exercise programs and food choices. Backed by a well-known program of nutrition and fitness levels??

• Sell quality health goods, books and clothing from third party representatives such as Amazon.com and 10-15% commission will be used not for profit but for website and social media management fees.

• Our warranty may include a Doctor or Nutritionist on staff or on the board of Directors and our social media and websites will include legal scrutiny. These members may have literature or products or rules our website must follow.

• Third Party users: May provide rules and regulations we will have to conform to.


Price

USERS
• Primary User: The Obese market. The price for the primary user will be free or paid for by a third party. The costs of the program management will be born by public health, government social and/or economic programs or by Quest, the state health program and advertising dollars.

• Entrepreneur User-Fitness coaches will also pay us nominally for their placement on the websites and for the social media management. This fee will be low-cost such as $5.00 per month and shall be not for profit and will be listed only for program management fees. The screening registration and payment of fees by teachers/trainers/coaches will vest the users but will not guarantee usage in the program in order that we keep the quality and safety in the highest predictable margins of success. There could be a discounted price for persons who teach more than one class or more than one type of activity.

• Third Party Users: Private Business and Public Health or Government program such as Quest –Obligatory participants in the program will pay the website management team a consulting cost either one-time or per patient. Businesses could sponsor tennis teams or paddling teams for persons identified as Overweight or Obese. They could pay for their own team’s uniform and sponsor activities with healthy snacks or group meetings with nutritional advice. They could market their promotions on their own networks. There could be a volume discount for these users.

• We would monetize all of our websites and social media with advertising and with an On-line store through Amazon.com direct sales-Sales of fitness/health books, exercise DVD’s and exercise equipment such as yoga mats, hula practice skirts, paddles from Hawaii, paddling boards, boogie boards or other fitness articles which fit our marketing plan. All click-through sales would lead to 6-10% consignment from Amazon depending on the POS. Advertising dollar goals would be to sell at least half of our total cost or $1,200,000 in annual sales in order to gain a minimum of $120,000 of our annual budget.


MANAGEMENT COST:

STAFF:
Website Manager- 40 hours per week-
Social Media Director-40 hours per week
Retail Sales Manager-40 hours per week

OFFICE COST:
Newsletters would be E-mailed out. Staff would work at home. Office costs would include four computers with internet and DSL services and software management. Any postage/shipping costs would be included in home office expenses or per diem wages. As another option, staff could agree to work as full time consultants, free agents, independent of benefits.

Even at the lowest level of Hawaii salary price structure, this cost would be at minimum $140,000 annually and in realistic and sustainable wages with benefits, probably more in the range of $240,000 annually.

No inventory or shipping costs. Purchases to maintain marketing materials and computer maintenance would have to be budgeted for.








Place-Hawaii
Product must be current and revolving and new
Product must be relevant to all users.
No warehouse or brick and mortar place is necessary.
Staff could work at home for the first five years.
Sales persons could meet at places of user businesses.
Coordination could be by email and skype meetings.
Business would keep track of payments by third party users and advertising income.
In addition Business would keep track of opportunities for clients
Give Enterpreneurial clients limitless expression to expand and grow.
No inventory necessary.
Provide primary users with the appropriate means to measure and change behavior
Provide private businesses and govt. third party users cost metrics versus their cost savings
Provide entrepreneurial users place to market their wares in an environment of potential growth
Provide advertisers opportunity for sales.
Unique Mystery and Allure of Hawaii and it’s culture for potential universal and global appeal-Growth

Promotion

Name, Branding and Logo should reflect all of the above.
Mission statement should reflect all of the above and be targeted to all user markets.
Sales and Marketing to Govt. agencies, Entrepreneur Coaches and to Third Party users will be primary
Keeping the business relavent and current will be essential
Targeting our Hawaii market is keeping the mission statement in mind when making primary decisions.
Marketing to press and to the public at large will be just as essential as to our primary and other users.
Keeping name in the public eye will mean more than just press releases, promotional events, contests.
MKT Budget will have to be done in combination with other users, entrepreneurial and private business.

Summary of the White Paper in case you don’t want to read 24 more pages:

Graduate Student Brooke Evans- UH Manoa wrote : Obesity in Hawaii. It is really required reading in my opinion because it taps into ideas that some of us may not be thinking of. For instance, if I am reading this correctly, Obesity in Hawaii is at about 18% when the national average is 12% and the childhood obesity factor is twice the national average. While Caucasians, Japanese, Asians or Other racial groups including Filipinos account for most of the obese (63%), the Native Hawaiian population alone, counts for 37% of all Hawaii Obesity. This may mean that our target market has to address this group which is disproportionately in poverty, hungry (defined by food insecure), has inadequate nutrition on a daily basis and has a high quantity of poor or lack of preventative medicine and advice.

http://www.publicpolicycenter.hawaii.edu/images/PDF/Obesity%20White%20Paper.pdf

Please read through 24 pages. My summary analysis boils down to getting the Hawaii state government and Qwest involved in public support to change attitudes by mandating and funding this through the state programs and/or by Qwest since the target market is very involved with public support and Qwest.
These programs would provide the users and we would have all of their contact information and we could input it into the computer for them. Having access to internet and/or social media may not be possible, but linking these persons to public access to computers may be possible.

Micro-Environment