For my GCSE coursework I have been asked to write a report about how I intend to investigate a retail business moving to the area. I intend to market a clothes shop. My business will sell a variety of clothes and its products will be aimed at the members of the public. In order to do this I will need to complete a number of tasks which include researching, conducting questionnaires, arranging a meeting to speak to the competitors. Once I have done this I will use the information I have gained to write up the marketing plan and use the marketing plan.

I will also need to think about the factors which may affect the success of my marketing campaign such as social, environmental and economical factors. Examples of this might be pollution, waste, jobs Finally I will write up my marketing plan in to as much detail as I can within the 1500 words. Aims 1. To find out from the public whether there is any interest in setting up a new clothes shop in Amersham. 2. To find out the cost of using different advertising and promotion methods. 3. To find out what my main competitor sells and what prices they charge. 4. Write a structured marketing plan.

Objectives

1. Write a questionnaire, visit Amersham and present my questionnaire to the members of the public. 2. I will contact different businesses and use the internet, newspapers. Telephone local radio stations. 3. I will visit the shop and find out the prices. 4. I will analyse my findings and make decisions to write my marketing plan.

SWOT ANALYSIS

I have chosen to add SWOT Analysis into my report. It will help me to asses the current position or state of a business. It highlights the strengths and weaknesses of particular products or aspects of the business. It also identifies new opportunities available to the business such as the introduction of a product and threats from outside the business, which may affect sales of certain products. I am designing one for my business and using my competitors to help me. The reason why I chose to conduct a questionnaire is because it is the easiest way of collecting the information needed from such a wide variety of people.

I conducted my questionnaire in the high street of Amersham. The reason why is because that is where my business would be situated so I thought it would be the best place. Advertising – What is it? Advertising aims to raise awareness of a product or service. It is any message about itself or its products that the firm has paid for. The main aim of advertising is to increase sales by persuading people to buy a certain brand of goods or buy at a particular shop. In addition to this advertising is often used to raise awareness e.g. by promoting the name of a store it is hoped that the public will continue to shop there. There are many ways of advertising but it may be a costly mistake if you don’t make the right decision because for example if you wanted to advertise on the television about one shop in the town where you live then it would be pointless way of advertising because why would a shop in the south be useful to someone in the north. It also costs a fortune to advertise on the TV.

Some of the advertising methods are: 1. Television – This is an expensive way of advertising but there are some advantages of using TV. It offers colour, sound and movement to catch attention. The products could be demonstrated too. If you don’t want to advertise to a big audience then this wouldn’t be the right choice. 2. Newspapers and magazines – this is a relatively cheap way of advertising and could be place in specialist magazines for specific items or your advert could be placed in local newspapers etc 3. Commercial radio – This is a great way of advertising for a local business because it is relatively cheap way of advertising. The advert can also be repeated at different times of the day. 4. Outdoor advertising – This is a very cheap way of advertising. It gets your message across. If I went and actually open up this shop I would need to see how much it would cost to advertise it. I found out that: