Marketing Plan- GoGreen Renewable Energy

MKW 3881: Electronic Marketing

Assignment Part II Marketing Plan

Michelle Dianne van Vriesland

20406320

Word Count: 5325

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 Marketing Plan- GoGreen Renewable Energy

Table of Contents:

Summary of the Business Model:.........................................................................................................3

Executive Summary:.............................................................................................................................4
Introduction- Purpose/Objectives of the Report:..................................................................................5
1. Implementation of the Programme:..................................................................................................5
Customer experience and interface:.................................................................................................5
The Customer Experience Hierarchy............................................................................................6
(Sources: Geissler, 2001:489-492 & Mohammed, et al, 2003:134-143.).....................................7
1.1.2 The Process of Creating a Desirable Customer Experience:...............................................7
The Seven Design Elements of Customer Interface:....................................................................9
The Seven Deadly Sins of Customer Experience/Interface:.......................................................11
1.2 Assumptions.............................................................................................................................12
Electronic Customer Relationship Management Strategy:.............................................................12
1.2.1 The Stages of a Customer Relationship:............................................................................13
1.2.2 e-CRM Strategy: Adoption and Diffusion:........................................................................14
Marketing Mix Strategy:................................................................................................................16
Objectives of the Marketing Mix Strategy:................................................................................16
1.3.2 Marketing Mix: Product:...................................................................................................17
Marketing Mix: Place:................................................................................................................17
Marketing Mix: Price:.................................................................................................................18
Marketing Mix: Promotion:........................................................................................................18
Individualisation and Interactivity:.................................................................................................19
1.1Media Plan and Budget:............................................................................................................21
Marketing Plan Evaluation:............................................................................................................22
1.7 Limitations of the Marketing Plan:...........................................................................................24
2. Anticipated Risk in Integrating the Programme:............................................................................25
Conclusion:.........................................................................................................................................25

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 Marketing Plan- GoGreen Renewable Energy

Summary of the Business Model:

<Table One> Key Ideas covered in Assignment One: Business Model>
Item Overview
Business GoGreen aims to provide its customers with more than a product through the
Description expansion from a “bricks” organisation to a “clicks” one. By educating clients,
forming strong relationships with stakeholders, providing services such as
installation, repair, and maintenance, GoGreen will differentiate itself from
competitors by targeting the above disparities.
Opportunities GoGreen aims to rise above the existing value system and offer its customers
within the added benefits by offering advantageous, helpful and free services before, during,
Market and after sales. By becoming a ‘service-oriented product provider’, GoGreen will
not only distinguish itself from competitors, but will also fill in the gaps that existing
renewable energy companies in South Africa battle with.
Value Type GoGreen will create value by offering a hybrid value system which indicates that
the company will create value by disrupting pricing, enabling ease of access, and
extending its market reach. This means that GoGreen will simultaneously unlock
trapped value and create new benefits.

Value Creation -Significantly altering the trends of product pricing tendencies: GoGreen will gain a
significant competitive advantage and will offer customers added value. (GoGreen
will also illustrate how consumers will save money after their investment).
-Will not only ease access to renewable energy products by expanding online, but
will also create value through the option of personal sales; the key idea is that the
consumer will be able to get all the necessary information without leaving the
comfort of their own homes (without diminishing face-to-face personal aspects
which many online organisations lack).
- GoGreen will not be constrained by the physical limitations of in-store
information diffusion; short information sessions will be accessed by customers
online, at no cost to the user.
Situation - Direct competitors recognised are ‘Kestrel’, and ‘Builders Warehouse’. Indirect
Analysis competitors include ‘Macro’ and ‘Siemens’.
- The government has committed to generating 4% of its power from renewables
by 2012.
Market Size By 2012, GoGreen envisions itself with a large customer base with which strong
and Potential relationships are held. Will be recognised as a top service provider in the nation,
and will re-invent its marketing communication programme in order to reach wider
audiences and promote the need for renewable energy.
E-Business - The Market Segment for GoGreens Strategy is: well educated, middle-class
Strategy (STP) individuals who have access to internet occasionally (3-4 times per week) and
who are aware of green energy but have not had the opportunity to access it and
need for information about it.
-‘New-Opportunity Targeting’ will be adopted, as the focus of effort will be on the
entire segment, yet customer similarity illustrates different customers.
- The online customer base will have a much wider reach, and will therefore give
GoGreen the opportunity to establish a new position to new customers; GoGreen
will position itself online as a service-oriented firm which puts its customers and
their needs first.

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 Marketing Plan- GoGreen Renewable Energy

Executive Summary:
The marketing plan for GoGreen.co.za addressed the following aspects; Customer
experience and interface, customer relationship management, the marketing mix strategy,
individualisation and interactivity, budgeting, monitoring, evaluating, limitations,
assumptions, and anticipated risks. To Summarise, the plan unveiled the plans to follow.
With reference to the customer experience hierarchy, aspects of functionality included the
anticipation of users needs, and the organisation of content around customer needs.
Aspects of intimacy covered the creation of personal accounts, and various communication
channels such as a live chat option, e-mail, or a blog. In order to leverage evangelists,
GoGreen will instigate a loyalty card system.
An e-CRM strategy was adopted whereby, GoGreen will utilise both online and offline
communication tactics in order to create awareness, will encourage exploration by
emphasising the attraction of the website, will market itself as an online community in order
to gain committed customers, and will avoid dissolution by monitoring competitive
offerings.
The marketing mix was adopted for strategy planning and consists of the 4 P’s; Product,
Place, price, Promotion. The communication channels and other website features act as
the product offering, with which GoGreen will be able to utilise feedback from to improve
their product and service quality. Furthermore, both online and offline places were
recognised; the internet will be used to gain the customers through a wider reach, then the
customers will be retained and tended to over physical space. In terms of price, GoGreen
will increase marketing messages concerning its offline services when competitors online
raise their prices. Lastly, Promotion will be incorporated into GoGreens service delivery.
By incorporating the 2I’s into the plan, GoGreen will be able to move customers through
the relationship phases at an extremely quick rate which will help the firm gain and retain
more customers.
The Budget of the marketing plan for GoGreen is 539273.28 Rand.
Potential risks that GoGreen may face when integrating the plan into the programme
include; Security risks, privacy issues, fraud, and liability, however, the report discussed
how GoGreen will counteract such threats to lessen their effects.

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 Marketing Plan- GoGreen Renewable Energy

Introduction- Purpose/Objectives of the Report:

This section of the Electronic Marketing Report will formulate the marketing plan for
GoGreen renewable energy as an online organisation. GoGreen has established itself as
an offline organisation, however, will make the transition onto the internet in order to
differentiate itself from competitors. The purpose of this marketing plan is to illustrate how
the electronic marketing programme will be implemented, to discuss and anticipate
potential risks of the programme, and to incorporate wider research in order to validate the
intended proposition. The primary aim of GoGreen as an electronic organisation is to
distinguish itself as a ‘service-oriented product provider’; GoGreen will fill the present gaps
in the renewable energy market by offering additional services both electronically and
physically. Four objectives have been identified which illustrate the desired achievements
of this marketing plan;
i. To successfully propose a web-site that will fulfil each of the seven stages of
creating a desirable customer experience.
ii. To consider the value of customer relationships, and to manage these relationships
through the planning of the website and the marketing mix strategy.
iii. To incorporate aspects of individualisation and interactivity into the plans in order to
create a high level of customer loyalty and to offer customers a personalised
approach to their energy needs and preferences.
iv. To develop a solution to the risks involved with online marketing and to formulate a
consistent monitoring strategy in order to assess evolving trends in both the
customer base, and the technology involved.

1. Implementation of the Programme:

The following subheadings will comprise of the main aspects of the marketing plan for
GoGreen. Five features of the programme will be discussed; customer experience and
interface, customer relationship management, the marketing mix strategy, individualisation
and interactivity, and the proposed budget, monitoring technique, and evaluation.

Customer experience and interface:

Both traditional publications and networked-economy publications emphasise the

importance of offering customers a distinctive and rewarding experience, however the term
‘customer experience’ on its own, it not as clear cut. In its simplest form, customer

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 Marketing Plan- GoGreen Renewable Energy

experience refers to the perceptions and interpretations of the target customer in

correspondence to the stimuli encountered while interacting with a firm (Mohammed,
Fisher, Jaworski, and Paddison, 2003:130). Online, customer experience relates to an
array of variables, from its ease of use to the emotional reactions the website instils; the
entire range of the visitors perceptions of the website make up customer experience. Thus,
customer experience definitely refers to how users react to a website and its associated
community; however, it also reflects deeper interpretations of the encounter shifting a large
portion of the experience from the ‘realm’ of the sites operation to aspects of emotion
(Mohammed, et al, 2003:130).
Technology in today’s society, such as the internet, has revolutionised the manner in which
customers interact with firms. The face-to-face encounters which once dominated the
commonplace in the retail environment have now been replaced by screen-to-face
interactions (Mohammed, et al, 2003:159). The mode of interaction is referred to as
‘interface’; examining the interface design is crucial as the interface can directly affect
customer experience. Therefore, customer experience and customer interface are
integrated aspects of this report.

The Customer Experience Hierarchy

The customer experience hierarchy consists of three stages, from the users initial click on
the website to the point where the customer gains loyalty, or evangelism (Mohammed, et
al, 2003:159). The three stages imply that customer experience of a specific stage can not
be achieved without first achieving that of the previous stage; for example, a customer can
not experience intimacy with a website before that individual has experienced functionality
first. Figure A below illustrates the Hierarchy of customer experience.
<Figure A: The Customer Experience Hierarchy>

(Source: Mohammed, et al, 2003:134-142)

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 Marketing Plan- GoGreen Renewable Energy

Table two illustrates the intended stages of customer experience for GoGreen; the first
column states the generic desired customer experience for each stage, followed by the
specific offerings that GoGreen will deliver through the online strategy.
<Table Two: The stages of customer experience for GoGreen.co.za>

Stage Generic Desired Customer Experience What GoGreen.co.za will Deliver

Functionality -The site is user friendly -The site will anticipate the users’ needs.
-Navigation through the site is easy. -The content will be organised around the
-Quick downloads/Page loads. customers needs.
-A reliable site with limited downtime and few -Various services and products will be easy
incorrect downloads. to find and use.
-Trustworthy and secure website. -Enough visual stimulation without slowing
-Ability to download to various media platforms. down the speed of the site & no crashes
and limited downtimes; maintenance/IT on
standby.
-Guarantee of privacy, security, and trust
with payment options.
Intimacy -The site tailors its products and services to -By creating an account, each customer will
individuals’ specific needs. receive their own ‘Green Guide’; an
-Quick and efficient two-way communication individual who will help them through the
between customers and customer-service process of meeting their specific needs.
representatives. -Customers will have the option of
-Experience(s) with the website are replicable communicating with experts and customer
over time. service representatives through an e-mail
-A high level of trust with the website, option, a live chat option, or through a blog
salespeople, and the organisation. on the website where questions can be
-To receive exceptional value, and to become posted.
attached to the brand, product, or the -The formation of friendships and
experience. relationships as opposed to simple
-To view a visit to the website as a pleasure as business transactions to create high levels
opposed to a task. of trust, and a replicable experience.
Evangelism -Wish to develop a passion for telling a brands -Loyalty “I’ve Gone Green” cards to our
‘story’. committed customers, offering them added
-Want to receive a good deal relative to benefits for earned points.
competitor’s products, and want to exert -Loyalty card holders invited to fundraisers
energy into convincing others of this. and mixers which the organisation will hold
-Want to participate with like-minded folk who biannually where important decisions are
share their passion; want to cement emotional presented and pitched; Allows customers to
ties to the company. make virtual appointments with the CEO in
-Want to feel as though their opinion makes a order to voice their ideas and opinions.
difference in business decisions.

(Sources: Geissler, 2001:489-492 & Mohammed, et al, 2003:134-143.)

1.1.2 The Process of Creating a Desirable Customer Experience:

There are seven steps for designing positive customer experience. In table three, each of
these steps are recognised, described and applied to GoGreen’s strategy.

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 Marketing Plan- GoGreen Renewable Energy

<Table Three: The Seven Steps of Creating a Desirable Customer Experience>

Step Description Application
1. Create Rich Description of Gaining a deep and thorough Well educated, middle-class
Target Customers. understanding of the target individuals who have access to
customer by painting a clear internet (3-4 times per week) and
picture of these people. who are aware of green energy
but have not had the opportunity
to access it and need for
information about it.
2. Develop Use-Case Outline specific scenarios that GoGreen will put itself in
Scenarios for Each Target might bring a target customer to a customers’ shoes in order to
Segment. web-site; the firm must put itself in create an intuitive navigation
the customers’ shoes in order to system which ensures usability
anticipate needs for web-design. and tailors to customers specific
needs.
3. Integrate Online and Creating an integrated experience GoGreen will keep its message
Offline Experience. for the customer consisting of both and its offerings consistent in both
customer-facing and back-office offline and online tactics in order
forms of integration. to ensure that customers are given
a clear and total Green
experience.
4. Articulate Stages of Stages which outline the desired GoGreen will communicate the
Desired Experience. experiences of the customers and benefits of its loyalty card system
illustrate a ‘road map’ in order to in order to promote customers to
track the effectiveness of the become evangelists and
website. experience passion towards the
organisation through involvement
in the decision making process.
5. Assess Levels of The classification of customers By informing customers of their
Hierarchy. into one of the three stages of the status of loyalty, GoGreen will be
experience hierarchy; functional, able to promote increased
intimate, or evangelist, in order to commitment and allow customers
gain insight into a customers’ level to feel of value to the organisation.
of commitment to the organisation.
6. Leverage the Evangelists. Actions taken by the firm in order Loyalty “I’ve Gone Green” cards to
to influence the most important GoGreens committed customers,
group of customers, and to gain which offers them added benefits
insight into product uses and for earned points, as well as
development. invitations to fundraisers and
mixers where such customers can
take part in important decision
making.
7. Monitor and Adjust. The process of monitoring Customers and IT employees will
performance and the barriers to work together; The website has a
movement across experience comment option which allows
levels due to the constant evolving customers to state problems with
of external factors. the website, or what will make it
better. IT can then use these
comments to adapt the website.
(Source: Mohammed, et al, 2003: 144-150.)

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 Marketing Plan- GoGreen Renewable Energy

The Seven Design Elements of Customer Interface:

The interface is the virtual or visual portrayal of a firms chosen value proposition
(Mohammed, et al, 2003:161). A useful framework for considering and improving the items
that make up a web site design is the 7C’s model for customer interface design (Rayport
and Jaworski, 2003:151). Traditionally, five items constituted the dimension; two tapped
into content (good selection, depth of information), one into communication (does not
waste my time), one into commerce (quick and easy to complete transactions), and one
into customisation (right level of personalisation and tailoring) (Carvana and Ewing,
2006:366). Today, a further three elements make up the framework for web design which
consist of context (layout and design), connection (degree to which a site is linked to other
sites) and community (the presence of user-to-user and user-to-firm communication)
(Carvana and Ewing, 2006:366). Each of the 7C’s discussed are applied to the context of
GoGreen below;
• Content: All digital subject matter on a website (Mohammed, et al, 2003:161). -
GoGreen.co.za will consist of text, graphics, audio, and video mediums. The digital
subject matter will deliver messages of product offerings (the renewable energy
products that GoGreen offers, including solar panels, wind turbines, etc), Service
offerings (delivery options, ‘Green Guide’ offerings, maintenance and repair, etc),
and information offerings (the educational aspect of GoGreen, including informative
short courses, videos, pod casts, statistics, etc).
• Communication: The dialogue that unfolds between the user and the website
(Mohammed, et al, 2003:161). – As previously discussed in the customer
experience section, customers will have several different options for communication
in order to fulfil their three communication needs; firm-to-user, user-to-firm, or user-
to-user. Customers will be able to register for e-mail communication which can take
place between both firm-to-user, and user-to-firm. Furthermore, user-to-user and
user-to-firm communication can take place through a live chat option called ‘Green-
Gossip’. For more general queries, a blog on the website allows customers to
communicate with other customers about previous experiences, queries, etc, the
firm can then post responses to the blog mail.
• Commerce: The transactional capacity of a website (Mohammed, et al, 2003:162). –
GoGreen.co.za will take the satisfaction of its customers and their experience with

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the website very seriously. Commerce plays a very large role in this, therefore, The
Seven Deadly Sins of Customer Experience (which will be discussed in greater
detail subsequent to this section) have been considered while designing this aspect
of the website. Firstly, A search option will be inserted which will allow customers to
narrow down the offerings to suit their needs. Once the desired product or service is
found, customers can add the product to their ‘shopping cart’ and click a button
labelled “Consult Green Guide”; where they can request the opinion of an expert as
to whether that particular product is right for their lifestyle and whether it will fulfil
their needs. GoGreen guarantees that all products will be in stock at all times,
therefore customers do not have to worry about proceeding to check-out only to find
the product is out of stock. Furthermore, “Green Gift” allows a customer to purchase
gift certificates online for their products; including t-shirts and other merchandise as
well as the renewable energy products themselves. Shipping, delivery, and
cost/payment options will be offered early on in the check-out process to avoid
shopping carts being abandoned; both online and personal sales transactions will
be offered. Lastly, the confirmation of the order will be sent immediately after check-
out, and allows the customer to choose a “printer friendly” option, or a digital receipt
for the very ‘Green Go-ers’.
• Customisation: A site’s ability to modify itself- or be modified by- each user
(Mohammed, et al, 2003:161). – GoGreen will offer aspects of both personalisation,
and tailoring. Personalisation will allow customers to manage their own
customisation through the creation of an account where they can control their own
interactions with the site and where they can choose to sign up for a ‘Green Guide’.
Secondly, by putting the firm in the shoes of its customers, GoGreen will tailor to
specific needs through the creation of an organised navigation system.
• Context: Captures the aesthetics of the site, as well as the functional look-and-feel
(Mohammed, et al, 2003:161). The primary contextual goal of the site is the
educational aspect of renewable energy, and the need for renewable energy.
Therefore, the focus of context at GoGreen.co.za will be on the colours; green and
silver, which will illustrate environmental care in the modern age, and the design
features which have been previously discussed. Being extremely service-oriented, a
great deal of emphasis will be on the aspects which provide customers with a

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positive experience; including the personalisation, relationship management, and

helpfulness of the GoGreen team.
• Connection: The network of links between the site and other sites; clickable links
that connect the site with others and vice versa (Mohammed, et al, 2003:161-162).
GoGreen will be found through the Google search engine; According to the Google
Website, “Google is the closest thing the web has to an ultimate answer machine”
http://www.google.co.za/intl/en/corporate/ (Updated 2008), therefore, customers will
be able to access the website through the search engine if they do not know the full
web address of GoGreen. Furthermore, GoGreen.co.za will offer a page of links to
websites with further information; for example, more in-depth information
concerning global warming, or the ecological impacts of non-renewable energy use.
GoGreen.co.za will offer various links within the site itself to pages which have been
previously discussed in this section.
• Community: A set of interwoven relationships built upon shared interests
(Mohammed, et al, 2003:161). - One of the intentions of the web design for
GoGreen is to instigate relationships of friendship and partnership as opposed to
mere business transactions. The aim of this is to form a community which instils
trust and a rewarding experience. For the evangelists, GoGreen offers loyalty cards
to form a community of devotion to making our planet and livelihoods Green ones.

The Seven Deadly Sins of Customer Experience/Interface:

Figure B depicts a checklist of The Seven Deadly Sins of Customer Experience and
Interface; the purpose is to ensure that GoGreen.co.za has not violated any of these ‘Sins’.
<Figure B: The Seven Deadly Sins of Customer Experience and Interface>

(Source of Information: Mohammed, et al, 2003:144)

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1.2 Assumptions
Assumptions need to be stated in order to put limits on what would otherwise be too large
a task for GoGreen to consider. Stated below, are six assumptions of aspects relating to
the plan in order to reduce the number of considerations.
• GoGreen.co.za will assume that the research conducted on competitors pricing is
legitimate, and that these figures can be used to gain a competitive advantage.
• The marketing plan is designed assuming that customers feel obliged to, or want to
help save the environment, or that doing so will give them personal satisfaction.
• The Web-site design is surrounded by the assumption that GoGreen has the
finances to implement all stages of the design.
• By portraying itself as a ‘service-oriented product-provider’ GoGreen assumes that it
will hold a competitive advantage.
• The marketing team of GoGreen will assume that it is ethical to promote green
energy by expressing the need for it and the effects on the environment in its
absence.
• Lastly, it is assumed that GoGreen has already obtained the necessary licences(s)
for its web construction, and the appropriate level of expertise for the instalment and
maintenance offerings.

Electronic Customer Relationship Management Strategy:

Electronic Customer Relationship Management (e-CRM) is a fairly new technique that
firms are adopting in order to increase and enhance the skills and capabilities of their
marketing (Scullin, Fjermestad and Romano, 2004:410). Scullin, et al, demonstrated in a
2004 study that established organisations have found a great deal more success by
implementing e-CRM. Similarly, a 2003 study conducted by Lee-Kelley, Gilbert &
Mannicom, illustrated that the adoption of e-CRM can tremendously enhance the loyalty of
internet customers. Marketing managers have a wealth of eCRM tools available to them in
order to help them in achieving their marketing goals and objectives. Marketing managers,
along with e-CRM combined, can successfully implement new products, launch new
marketing campaigns, and satisfy the needs and wants of customers (Scullin, et al, 2004:
414).

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1.2.1 The Stages of a Customer Relationship:

There are essentially four stages that a customer experiences when forming a relationship
with an organisation; Awareness, Exploration/Expansion, Commitment, and Dissolution
(Mohammed, et al, 2003:213). It is important to recognise, however, that a customer may
not go through each one of the four stages in a sequential order, or through each of them
at all. Figure C depicts the four stages of a customer relationship, and the pathways a
customer may take through any of these four stages.
<Figure C: The 4 Stages of a Customer Relationship>

The consideration of each of the four stages of a customer relationship will help an
organisation to attract loyal, long-term customers. Table Four illustrates the objectives of
each stage, and explains how GoGreen can strategically apply marketing techniques in
order to encourage commitment of customers.
<Table Four: The four stages of a customer relationship applied to GoGreen.co.za>
Stage Objectives Application
Awareness To get the customer to recognise GoGreen will have to use
the firm as a possible exchange awareness-generating tactics both
partner, when they have not online and offline. Online,
initiated any communication with advertisements can be placed on
the firm, or purchased any of its various websites and the site may
products. be accessed through Google.
Offline, the web address;
GoGreen.co.za will be publicised
using traditional marketing
techniques (discussed in later
sections of the report), as the web
address will be easy for potential
customers to remember.
Exploration/Expansion To get the customer to consider GoGreen will have to do the
the possibility of an exchange, and following in order to encourage
perhaps initiate trial purchases. exploration; initiate
communication, focus on the
attraction of the website, Develop
trust and norms, establish power
relations, and instil satisfaction in
the minds of the customer.
Commitment To instigate a feeling of obligation GoGreen will need to encourage
or responsibility to the firm within an emotional contribution from the
the customer. customer; in other words,
Commitment (Continued) To instigate a feeling of obligation GoGreen needs to be promoted
or responsibility to the firm within as a lifestyle as opposed to a
the customer. transaction. This will be achieved
through the online community
established by the website, as well
as the ongoing relationship in
terms of maintenance, and repair
of the purchased product(s).

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 Marketing Plan- GoGreen Renewable Energy

Dissolution To avoid the customer from exiting In order to avoid dissolution, it is

or terminating the relationship withimportant that GoGreen continues
the firm. to monitor competitor’s offerings,
and new customer needs.
Furthermore, GoGreen will have to
continuously confirm the personal
details of the customers in order to
avoid neglect or apathy. Lastly, as
GoGreen is marketing itself as
being extremely service oriented;
ongoing staff evaluations need to
be completed in order to monitor
the upkeep of high service quality,
as well as product quality.
(Source of Information: Mohammed, et al, 2003:212-222)

1.2.2 e-CRM Strategy: Adoption and Diffusion:

Traditionally, marketers have put most of their focus, in terms of expenditures and actions,
on acquiring customers; however, neglect the aspect of customer retention (Mohammed,
et al, 2003:678).By transferring this emphasis to retaining customers, marketing efficiency
and profitability can be greatly improved. As previously discussed, CRM is a philosophy as
well as a process that puts emphasis on retaining customers (Mohammed, et al,
2003:678). Via the internet, advanced technology can be applied in order to transfer focus
towards maintaining a one-to-one dialogue and contact with each individual customer. The
CRM strategy discussion below indicates how GoGreen will adopt such a strategy, as well
as how the firm will diffuse the information relating to it.
Table Four briefly explained the adoption of GoGreen’s CRM strategy; however, this
aspect must be discussed in more depth. In order to create awareness, GoGreen will need
to adopt awareness generating tactics. The combination of online and traditional forms of
marketing will increase awareness amongst potential customers. Online, GoGreen will
advertise on other websites such as Facebook, Yahoo, Google, and eBay; these being
websites with highest hit rates amongst the target audience, and may even instigate Word
of Mouth marketing. Offline tactics will be more effective, and are important for getting the
web address embedded in the minds of potential customers. ‘Google’ is highly recognised
due to the simplicity of its web address and the tactics used to promote it. For example,
Google endorsed Pamela Anderson to wear a t-shirt with Google written on it, where the
O’s were written across her breasts. Although the strategy caused some controversy, it
was highly effective, and customers remember the web address very easily. The aim is to

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achieve such a level of recognition for GoGreen. The tactics which will be used in order to
achieve this are;
• A Publicity Stunt: The firm will take a busy section of a shopping mall and create a
‘walk through reality’, where potential customers can journey through an area that
depicts the world in 50 years without the adoption of green energy. At the end of the
walk-through, each individual will be given an informative pamphlet, as well as a key
ring with a small torch on it that can be wound up to generate light (no batteries
needed). GoGreen.co.za will be written on both the pamphlet and the torch.
• Sponsorships: GoGreen will sponsor events such as concerts, where they will
power a certain extent of the technology involved with Green Energy. Furthermore,
merchandise will be given out at the concerts and events with the web address
clearly labelled. Figure D below illustrates a potential design for a T-Shirt.
<Figure D: T-shirt design Template for GoGreen.co.za Sponsorships>

Strategies which will be used for exploration and commitment have already been
discussed in sections 1.1 and 1.2, however, to summarise, they are; the trust factor that
GoGreen will offer to its customers (the various guarantees for both in-stock products and
trust, security, and privacy with payment procedures). The attraction factor of the services
offered by the firm, making it easy to go green (stating that renewable energy does not
have to be a complex transition). The ‘I am included’ factor; creating commitment of
customers by forming a community that customers feel a part of where they are assured
their opinions make a difference.

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 Marketing Plan- GoGreen Renewable Energy

To avoid dissolution is a more complex issue which will require tactics on its own. As
discussed in table four, GoGreen will need to;
• Continue to monitor competitor’s offerings, and new customer needs.
• Continuously confirm the personal details of the customers in order to avoid neglect
or apathy and,
• Perform ongoing staff evaluations in order to monitor the upkeep of high service
quality, as well as product quality.
GoGreen will achieve these tasks by hiring staff teams for various issues. For example,
one team will be in charge of market research in terms of competition and technology. By
monitoring new product offerings of GoGreens main competitors, the firm can avoid losing
its customers, and focus on retaining them by sustaining a competitive advantage. Similar
teams will be hired for item two and three listed above.

E-CRM Strategy
• GoGreen will create awareness, promote exploration,
encourage commitment, and avoid dissolution through it’s
electronic Customer relationship strategy in order to retain
customers.
• The use of online and offline tactics will help the firm to
achieve the above intentions.
• A publicity stunt, event sponsorships, the “it IS easy being
green campaign and the formation of an online community
will aid GoGreen in implementing the CRM strategy.
• At this point in the report, objective i has been met.

Marketing Mix Strategy:

An online marketing strategy goes hand-in hand with the marketing programme, or
marketing mix. The marketing mix includes levers such as product, price, promotion, and
place (Mohammed, et al, 2003:92). Furthermore, it provides a useful framework for
decision-making (Allen and Fjermestad, 2001:16), therefore, the 4P’s will be applied to the
GoGreen online Strategy.

Objectives of the Marketing Mix Strategy:

Listed below are a set of objectives which GoGreen will aim to meet through the
implementation of the marketing mix strategy. If the objectives are successfully met within
the stated time frame, then it is fair for GoGreen to conclude that the Marketing Mix
strategy is successful.

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 Marketing Plan- GoGreen Renewable Energy

• To utilise online customer feedback in order to generate product/service innovations

which will result in 50 percent of customers being more satisfied within the first two
years of operation.
• To extend market reach and curtail the value chain through the implementation of
online transactions by 50 percent each way within the first year of operation.
• To have customers label GoGreen as the ‘best quality for less money’ organisation
compared to 80 percent of competitors on the web by the third year of operation.
• To gain an additional 5,000 GoGreen members as a result of promotional
campaigns by the end of the first three months of operation.

1.3.2 Marketing Mix: Product:

According to Allen and Fjermestad (2001:14), a product is anything that can be offered to a
market for attention, acquisition, use, or consumption that might satisfy a want or need. For
online strategies, it is important to realise that information has become its own viable
product (Rayport and Sviokla, 1994:142) and that physical products have been replaced
by information about the product; navigation on a website is also considered a product.
GoGreen is extremely information based, as the hope lies in the idea that once customers
are more educated about the issue, that they will feel compelled to purchase a product.
However, GoGreen is service-oriented, therefore the communication channels and other
website features act as the product offering, with which GoGreen will be able to utilise
feedback from to improve their product and service quality.

Marketing Mix: Place:

Generally, the majority of organisations view the ‘place’ aspect of the mix as marketing
channels; marketing channels may be defined as ‘interdependent organisations involved in
the process of making a product or service available for use or consumption (Allen and
Fjermestad, 2001:16). ‘Place’ is the aspect of the marketing mix which is most affected by
the internet, as the online community allows for a purchase decision to take place
anywhere a connection to the internet exists. In simple terms, the internet has formed the
largest marketplace to ever exist (Allen and Fjermestad, 2001:16).
Furthermore, the internet allows an organization to ‘skip over’ certain parts of the value
chain (Allen and Fjermestad, 2001:16). With these aspects in mind, GoGreen will be able
to reach a much wider and larger audience via the internet than ever before. Thus, it is

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 Marketing Plan- GoGreen Renewable Energy

important that the organisation considers this widespread audience when formulating
communication messages. Although the audience will be widespread, physical services
such as delivery, maintenance, and repair will not withhold the same benefits. Thus,
GoGreen’s ‘place will be both online and offline, meaning that the internet will be used to
gain the customers through a wider reach, and then the customers will be retained and
tended to over physical space.

Marketing Mix: Price:

Price is the only element of the marketing mix which will generate revenues online. As
Kotler (cited in: Allen and Fjermestad, 2001:17) suggests, all the other elements of a
business operation represent costs. On the internet, pricing decisions are equally
important as they are in traditional forms, if not more important. The internet leads to
increased price competition due to the increase in speed of competitive price
dissemination, thus resulting in higher pricing pressures. GoGreen aims to be evaluated as
delivering more value for a smaller price. Due to the fact that it is easy for customers to
monitor the prices of competitors, GoGreen needs to continuously monitor the pricing
strategies of its competitors, while striving to offer more value through its services.
Currently, competitors such as Builders Warehouse and Kestrel are marketing their solar
panel products at prices ranging between 6,000 and 10,000 rand, without any additional
services. Therefore, GoGreen will offer such a product at 6,000 rand with the various
services included such as delivery, maintenance, and repair. According to Yan (2008:53),
when a company is utilising both online and offline channels, the best pricing strategy is to
offer customers added value offline when the online prices are higher, and offer them
added value online when the offline prices are higher. Therefore, GoGreen will increase
marketing messages concerning its offline services when competitors online raise their
prices.

Marketing Mix: Promotion:

Promotion for the online sector covers all the different methods a firm uses in order to
communicate its products and service to the customer in order to persuade them to
become aware of, and explore their website (Allen and Fjermestad, 2001:18). Incumbent
retailers have certain advantages in terms of promotion for products and services on the
internet; the internet provides a low cost method for building direct links to customers with

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 Marketing Plan- GoGreen Renewable Energy

which they can combine their traditional sources of information such as focus groups or
questionnaires (Rowley,1998:384). The adoption of data mining allows these firms to build
customer profiles with which they can provide their customers with tailored promotional
messages (Rowley,1998:384). Two-way communication within promotion is highly
encouraged, according to Allen and Fjermestad (2001:18), especially in the contexts of
service and relationship marketing. As GoGreen is highly service-oriented in terms of its
marketing, promotion can be incorporated into its service delivery. For example; when
making a delivery, the truck and the uniform of the staff will all be promotional variables.
Furthermore, the fulfilment of a maintenance service may encourage customers to write
positive feedback on the website, or spread the news by word of mouth; such instances
would also promote GoGreen.co.za to other individuals.

Marketing Mix Strategy

• The marketing mix provides a useful framework for decision-
making; therefore the 4P’s were applied to the GoGreen online
Strategy.
• Product: The communication channels and other website
features act as the product offering, with which GoGreen will be
able to utilise feedback from to improve their product and service
quality.
. • Place: Both online and offline; the internet will be used to gain
the customers through a wider reach, then the customers will be
retained and tended to over physical space.
• Price: GoGreen will increase marketing messages concerning its
offline services when competitors online raise their prices.
• Promotion: Promotion will be incorporated into its service
delivery.

Individualisation and Interactivity:

Although aspects of the 2I’s (Individualisation and Interactivity) have been discussed in
previous sections, this section will illustrate the importance of incorporating these aspects,
and how they affect customer relationships.
The combination of the 2I’s on the internet has allowed organisations to select levers
which have the ability to move customers through the relationship phases (discussed in
section 1.2.1) at a greater rate, and to a greater extent, then ever before (Mohammed, et
al, 2003:541). Furthermore, the 2I’s allow organisations several new possibilities to
maintain commitment with their customers. Listed below are tactics of the 2I’s which have

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 Marketing Plan- GoGreen Renewable Energy

been incorporated into GoGreen’s strategy. Each of these items have been discussed in
detail in previous sections of the report.
• The creation of a personal account on the website which will allow customers to
received tailored information and navigation pathways.
• Price incentives for products which appeal to specific customers.
• The loyalty card system which will offer discounts to the card holder.
• The online communication options such as the live chat, e-mail option, or blog.
• The relationships formed and sustained may be heightened through the “Green
Guide” option, or through the personal delivery system.

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 Marketing Plan- GoGreen Renewable Energy

1.1 Media Plan and Budget:

Figure E represents the Media plan and the Budget for GoGreen Renewable energy for eight different mediums over the
course of one year (2008).
<Figure E: Media Plan and Budget for GoGreen.co.za>

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 Marketing Plan- GoGreen Renewable Energy

GoGree
Fe Total
n Jan Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec
b (R)
2008

Facebook 51,962.25

Yahoo 63,545.34

Google 78,325.32

eBay 54,218.98

Publicity
Stunt 35,000.00

Sponsors
hips 50,000.00

Television
:
Discovery
and 125,456.37
National
Geo.
Magazine
s 80,764.98

116,691 17,835. 19,684. 6,968.3 8,506.0 47,594. 32,542.

7005.00
7,457.3 38,756. 78,254. 155,976 539273.2
.28 65 98 4 3 69 64 6 23 65 .47 8

Marketing Plan Evaluation:

Once the marketing plan for GoGreen.co.za has been implemented, the strategies within
the plan will need to be evaluated for effectiveness. This will tell the marketing team
whether or not the plan was successful, or whether changes need to be made accordingly.
In order to evaluate the plan, GoGreen will use the following framework in relation to the
objectives of the plan stated in section 1.3.1.
1. Look at GoGreens sales (or fee income), are they going up?
2. Ask the customers; where did they hear about GoGreen?
3. Does GoGreens advertising and/or promotional activity produce direct responses?
(It should).
4. Do GoGreens networking activities create new opportunities for the firm and the
Customers?

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 Marketing Plan- GoGreen Renewable Energy

5. Do GoGreens marketing tactics make it easier to sell the services?

6. Does GoGreens plan have a positive return on investment (ROI); does it bring in
enough new/repeat business to justify the expenses stated in section 1.5?
If the marketing team finds that they can generate positive answers to the above
questions, then the marketing plan is successful and does not need to be modified until
external factors force it to. However, in most cases, marketers will find that at least one
aspect of the plan will need to be changed in order to make the plan more successful.
GoGreen will be able to perform its first marketing plan evaluation after six months of
website operation.

Sections 1.4, 1.5 and 1.6

The combination of the 2I’s on the internet has allowed organisations
to select levers which have the ability to move customers through the
relationship phases at a greater rate, and to a greater extent, then
ever before.
The budget for the GoGreen Marketing Plan is 539273.28 Rand.
Subsequent to evaluation, marketers will find that at least one aspect
of the plan will need to be changed in order to make the plan more
successful. GoGreen will be able to perform its first marketing plan
evaluation after six months of website operation.
At this point in the report, Objectives i, ii, and iii have
been met.

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 Marketing Plan- GoGreen Renewable Energy

1.7 Limitations of the Marketing Plan:

Although forms of wider research were utilised in the formation of this marketing plan,
there are still, and will always be, limitations. Firstly, although a firm can influence
customer behaviour, it is not possible to control it. Therefore, the tactics selected will be
presumed to have an affect on the customers; however, GoGreen can not fully understand
what will occur in the minds of the consumers. Secondly, the transition from a bricks to a
clicks organisation will form a great deal of confusion for employees for the transition
period. The plan has not taken this into consideration; therefore, the timeframes of the
objectives may not be accurate as the firm will need a month or two to get used to the new
system. GoGreen has offered customers two guarantees; the first concerning stocks, and
the second concerning privacy and security. Although employees may exert all their effort
into fulfilling such promises, there are certain aspects beyond ones physical control which
may hinder such a commitment. For example, Internet hackers may find a way to break
into the system which would cause customers details to be exposed, and thus violating the
pledge of security. Lastly, the budget may be considered as a limitation as in many cases
a budget must be flexible in case of unexpected expenses. For example, if GoGreen were
implementing the publicity stunt and a piece of equipment broke or malfunctioned, the firm
would have to invest more money and resources in order to fix the problem. Therefore, it is
important for marketing managers to predict such limitations in order to be prepared for
unplanned issues such as those discussed above.

Limitations of the Marketing Plan

• Although a firm can influence customer behaviour, it is
not possible to control it. Therefore GoGreen can not fully
understand what will occur in the minds of the consumers.
• The timeframes of the objectives may not be accurate as
the firm will need a month or two to get used to the new system
(from bricks to clicks).
• Although employees may exert all their effort into fulfilling
guarantees, there are certain aspects beyond ones physical
control which may hinder such a commitment.
• The budget may be considered as a limitation; in many
cases a budget must be flexible in case of unexpected expenses.
• At this point in the report, Objectives i, ii, and iii have
been met.

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 Marketing Plan- GoGreen Renewable Energy

2. Anticipated Risk in Integrating the Programme:

<Table Five: How GoGreen will Overcome Potential Risks>

Risk Factor Description Counteraction

Security and Privacy Visitors must be sure that GoGreen will employ the services
transactions are secure, and that of VeriSign; a company that
their personal details will not specialises in online security to
dispersed or stolen. ensure that customer details are
kept private and secure. With this,
GoGreen will receive digital
certificates and repudiation logs.
Fraud A crime in which the perpetrator GoGreen will refer to websites
develops a scheme using one or such Bizrate.com in order to
more elements of the internet to investigate reputations before
deprive a person of property or transactions occur. Online
any interest, estate, or right by a feedback mechanisms allow
false representation of a matter of customers to publicise their
fact, whether by providing transaction experiences with
misleading information or by sellers by posting comments and
concealment of information. rating the quality of the service
provided. By doing this, GoGreen
will be deemed as trustworthy.
Liability Liability is a situation in which a GoGreen will purchase online
firm is liable, or responsible, for liability insurance so that it will not
some form of wrong-doing. be held responsible for any
liabilities in terms of financial, or
any other compensation.
(Sources: Mohammed, et al, 2003 & Ba and Pavlou, 2002)

Anticipated Risk
• GoGreen will employ the services of VeriSign in order to ensure
security and privacy.
• GoGreen will investigate transactional relationships before they
occur.
• GoGreen will purchase online liability insurance.
• At this point in the report, Objectives i, ii, iii and iv have been
met.

Conclusion:

At two different stages in the marketing plan, objectives were set with reference to
GoGreen. After the completion of the plan, it is feasible to state that the objectives have
been met. The purpose of this marketing plan was to formulate a strategy through which
GoGreen could become a ‘service-oriented product provider’ online. This purpose was
transformed into the creation of GoGreen.co.za.
The formation of a marketing plan illustrates several marketing lessons; the importance of
customer retention as opposed to gaining new customers, the extent to which a website

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 Marketing Plan- GoGreen Renewable Energy

can cater to the individual as opposed to the entire target group in general, and the role
monitoring plays in the success of the plan. There are several lessons to be learnt,
however, the application and implementation of these lessons will reveal the real effect of
them. If a marketer were to perform market research after a set period of time, results
would possible illustrate the success of the marketing plan. The plan for GoGreen.co.za
will be monitored in order to observe the impacts of the various marketing lessons.

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 Marketing Plan- GoGreen Renewable Energy

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