Internet Marketing Plan

Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC

Steady Pivot Consulting:

Elizabeth Del Valle
Gregory Hanson
Karyn Lewis
Zach Myrow

In association with:
0105-440-01 Internet Marketing
Rochester Institute of Technology
Professor Neil Hair
Winter 2008

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Terms and Liabilities………………………………………………………………….. 4

Executive Summary………………………………………………………………….. 6
About Us………………………………………………………………………………... 7
Elizabeth Del Valle…………………………………………………………... 8
Gregory Hanson……………………………………………………………. 9
Karyn Lewis………………………………………………………………….. 10
Zach Myrow…………………………………………………………………. 11
Preface……………………………………………………………………………….. 12
Assumptions…………………………………………………………………………. 15
Introduction………………………………………………………………………….. 17
Where are we now? ……………………………………………………………….. 19
Industry……………………………………………………………………….. 20
Current Goals……………………………………………………………….. 22
Target Market……………………………………………………………….. 23
Competition………………………………………………………………... 24
SWOT Analysis…………………………………………………………......... 26
Current E-Business Model…………………………………………………. 28
Website Taxonomy………………………………………………………… 29
Sustainable Value Proposition…………………………………………… 30
Focal Benefits…………………………………………………………......... 31
Key Resources (7S Framework)………………………………………….. 32
Current Marketing Strategies……………………………………………. 35
Where do we want to be? ………………………………………………………... 36
SMART Objectives Defined………………………………………………. 37
SMART Objectives Proposed…………………………………………….. 38
1. Brand Awareness/Recognition…………………………….. 38
2. Online Activity and Customer Feedback………………... 39
3. Credibility and Perceived Trustworthiness……………….. 41
How might we get there? ………………………………………………………… 43
Strategies/Recommendations…………………………………………... 44
Which way is best? ………………………………………………………………… 46
Tactics……………………………………………………………….. 47
Website Redesign…………………………………………………. 47
Website Forum with Registration……………………………….. 48
Google Adwords and Analytics………………………………... 52
Organizational Memberships…………………………………… 53
Choice Criteria…………………………………………………….. 56
How do we ensure safe arrival? ………………………………………………… 57
Key Resources Revisited (7S Framework)……………………………... 58
Suggested Steps…………………………………………………………… 60

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 Metrics & Standards for Success………………………………………… 62
Customer Feedback………….…………………………………………… 62
Google Analytics Software………………………………………………. 63
Budget……………………………………………………………………….. 65
Risks…………………………………………………………………………… 66
Limitations……………………………………………………………………………. 67
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………… 69
Letters of Thanks……………………………………………………………………. 70
Bobbi Goodridge & Associates of Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC……… 70
Neil Hair of Rochester Institute of Technology……………………….. 71
References…………………………………………………………………………… 72
Index………………………………………………………………………………….. 74
Examples of Good Web Designs……………………………………..… 74
Examples of Poor Web Designs……………………………………….… 77

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TERMS AND LIABILITIES

This report and the information or materials contained therein are

provided "as is" without any representations, warranties or covenants of
any kind, either express or implied. The content of this Internet marketing
plan for Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC is the intellectual property of Elizabeth
Del Valle, Gregory Hanson, Karyn Lewis, and Zach Myrow representing
Steady Pivot Consulting. All information is being given free of charge to
Bobbi Goodridge of Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC for unlimited personal use to
change or modify in any way. Any material may be copied, reproduced,
republished, uploaded, downloaded, posted, transmitted, or distributed
without our express written consent, but any citation of this document to
other entities must credit Steady Pivot Consulting. Elizabeth Del Valle,
Gregory Hanson, Karyn Lewis, and Zach Myrow representing Steady Pivot
Consulting take no responsibility for any follow up service or for providing
any information not already included in this report.

By implementing any element of this report, Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC

clears Elizabeth Del Valle, Gregory Hanson, Karyn Lewis, and Zach Myrow
of liability for any results or issues that may arise. We do not warrant that
the information in this report will be operable, uninterrupted or error free.
We also not provide any warranty regarding the accuracy, timeliness,
authenticity, completeness or reliability of any information or content
provided through this report.

The use of the information provided in this report is at your sole risk and
discretion. You agree to indemnify us and hold us and our director Neil
Hair absolutely harmless from any claim arising from or in any way
connected to your use of this information. In no event will we or our
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directors, officers, employees, agents and/or representatives be liable to
any party under any circumstances for any indirect, incidental, special, or
consequential damages or lost profits that result from your use of, or your
inability to use, these materials.

Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC does not owe any additional response or

information to Elizabeth Del Valle, Gregory Hanson, Karyn Lewis, or Zach
Myrow as of the completion of this report.

Signed,

Steady Pivot Consulting

February 24, 2009

Elizabeth Del Valle ___________________________

Gregory Hanson ___________________________
Karyn Lewis ___________________________
Zach Myrow ___________________________

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This proposal sets forward a comprehensive five-question approach to an

Internet marketing plan, with the ultimate goal of providing Grandma‘s
Helpers, LLC tremendous opportunities for increased efficiency and
effectiveness of current and potential marketing activities. The plan
evaluates your firm‘s current Internet marketing strategy and proposes
enhancements to that strategy.

In this report, we examine relevant industry research to evaluate your

competitive position, key value propositions, target market, implications to
the marketing mix, and implementation issues. Our objectives for
Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC include enhancing brand awareness and
recognition, increase online activity and customer feedback, and expand
credibility and perceived trustworthiness.

There are a large number of strategies laid forward in this Internet

marketing plan with specific tactics for improving the website quality,
increasing perceived trustworthiness, improving communication through a
forum, and improving search engine optimization. A set of measurements
are suggested for examining the success of this marketing plan as these
tactics are implemented.

By following this Internet marketing plan, we expect Grandma‘s Helpers,

LLC to see a noticeable increase in all key objectives.

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ABOUT US

This Internet marketing plan has been developed by a talented group of

four Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) undergraduate students
participating in Professor Neil Hair‘s 0105-440-01 Internet Marketing course
in the winter quarter 2008-2009. Representing Steady Pivot Consulting, the
group consists of highly motivated, creative, and passionate young
individuals with a love for business communication. Combined with our
technological backgrounds and business, advertising, and public relations
experience, we propose to you cutting-edge information and marketing
experience to help your organization develop a strong Internet presence.
Following are brief, personalized biographies about each of us.

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Elizabeth Del Valle

Elizabeth was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican

Republic. She moved to Rochester, New York in
September of 2005. She moved with her family with
the main purpose to pursue her studies in
international business. Since very young, Elizabeth
showed to be interested in management and
marketing. She studied at a Polytechnic Institution in
Santo Domingo where she obtained a technical
degree in Commercial Administration with a mention in Finance and
Marketing. Very young, she started working at Verizon International
Teleservices as a telemarketer and customer service representative in
Santo Domingo. Within that time she developed great leadership and
management skills that allowed her to become a Bilingual Trainer for
different operations of Verizon International Teleservices.

Currently Elizabeth is a senior at the Rochester Institute of Technology

pursuing a degree in International Business/Marketing and International
Relations. She is a student leader with a global vision; she has been able
to develop leadership skills in global programs such as the Global
Leadership Program in Prague. Furthermore, she is the solo founder and
former President of the Model United Nations Organization at RIT and has
developed research skills as a scholar for the McNair Scholars Program.
Elizabeth is also Board Member of the Institute of Finance Leaders of the
Americas; a non-profit organization tasked with introducing Latin
American youth to financial markets.

Elizabeth Del Valle

(585)690-1635
elm1221@rit.edu

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Gregory Hanson

Greg was born and raised in Rochester, NY. He

attended high school in the Penfield district where he
was an active athlete in the school‘s soccer and
tennis programs. After winning a state championship
his senior year with the soccer team, he moved on to
college at Monroe Community College playing one
year of college soccer. Through soccer he was able
to gain a better understanding of working in groups
and being a team player. After finishing two years at Monroe Community
College, he transferred to Rochester Institute of Technology where he is
pursuing a bachelor‘s degree in Marketing.

At RIT, Greg has found an interest in marketing and the idea of promoting
products and services in new and creative manors. Over the numerous
marketing classes he has taken, he has found most interest in the sports
field as well as the use of the Internet. He plans to graduate from RIT with a
bachelor‘s degree by December, 2009.

Gregory Hanson
(585)267-9402
Ghh6382@rit.edu

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Karyn Lewis

Karyn grew up in a small town in southern New York,

where she was well known in the community for her
ability to draw and design logos and advertisements
for various events in the area. Throughout high
school she pursued the arts in a variety of different
courses, including drawing, illustration, photography,
media arts, studio art, ceramics, and sculpture. She
was also heavily involved in advanced English and
writing programs. When it came to college, she chose to expand her
knowledge of information design and technology at Rochester Institute of
Technology (RIT).

At RIT, Karyn has focused on a wide range of digital tools as she‘s

explored the variety of courses that New Media Design, New Media
Publishing, and Advertising and Public Relations has to offer. Her focus has
been in Communication and Professional Writing Studies, where she
continues to employ a better understanding of self and society as an
effective strategy in the creative and technical field of design. She has a
passion for making things look and sound better and for creating and
developing dynamic content from simple concepts. She plans to attend
graduate school in RIT‘s Communication and Media Technologies
program starting fall 2009. You can view her online portfolio at
www.klewisportfolio.com.

Karyn Lewis
(607)759-0115
karyn.lewis@gmail.com

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Zach Myrow

Zach is a young mind in the Advertising Industry.

Currently, he‘s finishing his junior year at Rochester
Institute of Technology with a major in Advertising
and Public Relations. He also holds minors in
Marketing and Creative Writing.

Zach has worked at such agencies as Partners +

Napier (Rochester, NY), Travers Collins & Company
(Buffalo, NY) and Prime Source Inc. (Buffalo, NY). He started work in the ad
industry when he was 16; eager to do get his hands dirty. They are filthy.
He started as a graphic designer and spent his nights neglecting math
homework and instead tore through how-to books on design. He moved
from there to account work and the cold-call lifestyle. He then started
writing and hasn‘t dropped the pen since. Zach is a writer by trade, but
concept development is his true love. When he wasn‘t writing ads, he
worked in the real estate business and the insurance industry and was
lucky enough to work on a movie set in NYC on the movie, ―Old Dogs‖
with Robin Williams and John Travolta. This past summer Zach wrote the
content for the advertising agency he started out in: Prime Source. That is
up and viewable at www.primesourceinc.com. Zach‘s most recent
endeavor was something new for him. He produced a training video for
the town of Pittsford, NY. Right now he is gearing up to work in the Public
Relations department at RIT, and applying for internships for the summer.
See Zach‘s work: http://wordpress.zachmyrow.com

When he‘s not working, he concepts. When he‘s not wordsmithing or

concepting, he travels the globe. His favorite places include Cairns,
Australia (the scuba diving is magnificent), Ireland, England, Amsterdam,
Hawaii and Boulder Colorado. Zach is an avid soccer player, bicycler, car
enthusiast and technology obsessor.

Zach Myrow
(716)998-7706
zmyrow@mac.com

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PREFACE

A strategic Internet marketing plan is essentially a logical sequence or

series of activities leading to the setting of marketing objectives and the
formulation of plans for achieving them (Hair, 2008). This forces an
organized approach which makes efficient use of resources, improves
unity of effort, gains commitment, reduces overall friction, and highlights
potential opportunities for your business. The plan should be developed
with an iterative 3-5 year viewpoint based on sound information and
suitable analysis.

The ideas presented in this proposal are designed expose you—the

client—to many ways in which marketing concepts and issues can be
enhanced through effective use of the Internet and associated
technologies in an online Business to Consumer (B2C) environment. The
proposal is strategic in nature and will deal with the application of
concepts learned by us—the participating students in Professor Neil Hair‘s
0105-440-01 Internet Marketing course in the winter quarter 2008-2009.

In this report, we will run through a five-question approach to developing

an effective Internet marketing plan for Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC. Each
question is clearly identified in the context of your situation and answered
in detail for clarity and comprehension. The five questions addressed are
as follows:

1. Where are we now?

2. Where do we want to be?
3. How might we get there?
4. Which way is best?
5. How do we ensure safe arrival?

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Examining each question individually will allow Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC to
understand the process Steady Pivot Consulting followed in developing
this report.

The first question, ―Where are we now?‖ combines information gathered

from conversations with you, personal observations, and secondary
research from a variety of sources. This information provides us with a
starting point for comparison and determining the objectives set forth in
question two.

Question two, ―Where do we want to be?‖ is dedicated to a set of SMART

(Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Reasonable, and Time‐based)
objectives. These objectives were developed based on reasonable
assumptions from conversations with you, personal observations, and
secondary research from a variety of sources and reasonable assumptions
from our primary research. These set the overall goals that we believe
Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC should be aiming for.

Next is ―How might we get there?‖ This question seeks to identify a wide
variety of strategies that could possibly be used to move forward and
meet the previously stated objectives. This section briefly touches on each
of the many strategies and supports their value mainly through secondary
research. At this point we do not recommend following every strategy laid
forth, but found it useful to provide groundwork for question four, and to
leave options open for Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC for a later time.

Question four, ―Which way is best?‖ chooses several key strategies from
those identified in question three and runs them through a set of choice

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criteria to support their value. These strategies are broken down further
and given a set of tactics, or specific actions, that we recommend in
order to implement the strategies.

The final question, ―How do we ensure safe arrival?‖ measures the success
of the tactics as Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC goes ahead with the plan.
Specific measures of success are suggested, and the actions necessary to
accurately measure this information are provided.

This entire Internet marketing plan has been designed with this five
questions approach in mind. Other models are included in the report, but
are individually explained as they are introduced.

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ASSUMPTIONS

Each participating student entered Professor Neil Hair‘s 0105-440-01

Internet Marketing course with a basic understanding of how to use
computers and Web browsers, significant motivation to search, read and
download information from the Web, and the capability to produce
formatted documents in electronic form.

This report may cover many aspects of Internet marketing and the various
forms of e-commerce, but this proposal does not involve or obligate the
members of Steady Pivot Consulting to the actual design of the website or
teaching of Internet programming languages. All consultancy work
completed is done so on a pro-bono basis agreed-upon prior to project
initiation. Our main objectives for this Internet Marketing project are as
follows:

1. Become conversant with the terminology of the online landscape

2. Develop clearer understandings of strategic business opportunities
3. Develop necessary skills in evaluating possible forms of online
competitive advantage
4. Review critical marketing management skills to develop a clearer
understanding of the issues and problems of the new age
5. Understand and introduce basic website planning, design, and
strategic marketing auditing issues
6. Identify implementation issues surrounding the move from real
world to virtual world for organizations and the need for reconciling
business aims and objectives with the challenge of the virtual
landscape

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 7. Identify the regulatory and ethical issues related to Internet
marketing and incorporated this understanding in our strategic
recommendations
8. Develop hands-on experience of the virtual world, evaluating
experiences and demonstrating capabilities in the virtual
environment

Not all marketing plans follow exactly the same format, as clients,
consultancy firms, and professors all have their own preferences. For this
report, emphasis is placed on the content and purpose of the plan for
Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC.

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INTRODUCTION

The senior care industry is already booming and it's just getting started
(Senior Care Marketer, 2007). From home care services and medical
products to senior housing options like assisted living and moving, the
demand for products and services related to the care of older Americans
is growing exponentially. The move management industry, previously a
cottage industry, is now coming to the forefront. With about 500 move
management consultants around the country, senior move management
companies are ready to tap into the 78 million Baby Boomers headed for
retirement and the dwindling members of their parents‘ generation.

Including Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC, there are an increasing number of

senior move management businesses offering services to retirees who are
moving and must sift through the detritus of a lifetime. Grandma‘s Helpers,
LLC and similar companies help seniors move from a beloved home to
somewhere more suited to their circumstances, sorting through leftover
possessions, supervising the sale of some items, shredding documents and
packing boxes for charities to haul away. You also recommend estate-
sales specialists, appraisers, and auction houses, and even offer advice.
Overall, you make something in a smaller version while maintaining the
features of the original—now empty—house (Heath, 2009). Senior move
managers are essentially the wedding planners of the moving industry.

As comedian George Carlin once said, ―A house is just a pile of stuff with
a cover on it.‖ When people downsize, selling a house is usually not as
difficult as dealing with its contents (DeSimone, 2006). The sheer amount
and sentimental meaning of ―stuff‖ stashed in attics and basements often
confound older adults or children whose elderly parents die or fall seriously
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ill. Picking through possessions, dividing them fairly and discerning what
has monetary value and what does not can be a mammoth job,
especially if it‘s done under distress or during a time of grieving. Senior
move managers are prepared to play a variety of roles as they help
clients through this transition. You give the kind of help a person would
want from a devoted and highly organized child or relative, stepping in
and dramatically reducing stress levels as you accomplish countless tasks
that might otherwise overwhelm your clients or their adult children. Your
approach is deeply ethical and very meaningful.

Many customers are caught in the vortex of emotion and confusion about
where to start and what to keep, as contemplating the breakup of a
household can cause conflict within the family and bring up thoughts of
mortality (DeSimone). Jewelry, art or antique furniture can be earmarked
or itemized in a will, but other knickknacks might have emotional value.
You work with aging baby boomers and their parents who now live in their
house happily surrounded by their own stuff, their parents‘ stuff, and their
kids‘ stuff. It‘s not an easy task.

People who use transitional assistance, move management, consulting

and design services can spend up to several thousand dollars depending
on the selection of services and nature of the move (DeSimone, 2006). The
challenge, then, is convincing your clients that it is generally worthwhile to
hire you, the professional, for the downsizing process so no hasty decisions
are made while feeling inundated and later regretted. Steady Pivot
Consulting is here to provide ideas on how to accomplish that task.

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WHERE ARE WE NOW?

Social changes have made it increasingly difficult for family members or

friends to provide all of the physical and emotional assistance needed for
a later-life move of a loved one. Many older adults have not moved in
many years and often have grown children living far away who have
children themselves on top of demanding careers. Whatever the situation,
they need assistance when it comes time to transition from one living
situation to another. With older people making up the fastest growing
segment of the U.S. population, senior move management companies
such as Grandma‘ Helpers, LLC have emerged to fill the gaps and make
moving easier for everyone involved. Senior move managers at
Grandma‘s Helpers, LCC fill a much-needed niche in the ever-burgeoning
world of seniors in transition, helping with the coordination of a move from
beginning to end. You deal with everything and ensure that customers
feel less frustrated and stressed when moving to a new house or
disabusing an estate.

With the boom of the dot-com bubble, an increasing number of

businesses are relocating part of their offline operations to the World Wide
Web. The senior move management industry has also relocated a portion
of their business to the Internet since a rising number of seniors are
entering the online world. For instance, 50% of the 50+ population have
the Internet. Nowadays, Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC are also adopting the
World Wide Web as a medium where the potential clientele can access
information on the services offered by the seniors moving managers.

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Industry
The senior care industry is booming and it‘s just getting started as the Baby
Boom generation cares for their aging parents and require care
themselves (Senior Care Marketer, 2007). People 65 years and older
represent the fastest growing age group in the United States, with
projected increases of 80% by 2030 (Buysse, 2008). By 2030, approximately
one out of every five Americans will be over the age of 65.

While many companies focus on the marketing of products and services

to the aging ―Boomer‖ generation, a larger market is developing with
regard to the care-giving of older Americans. As America ages, the
demand for products and services that relate to the care of these
individuals will grow significantly, from home care services and medical
products to housing options and financial or finance-related products
(Senior Care Marketer, 2007). Some of these products and services
include:

 Home Safety
 Pharmaceuticals
 Medical Equipment
 Personal Healthcare
 Finance and Insurance
 Legal Services
 Physical Therapy
 Mobility
 Home Care
 Housing

As businesses throughout the country find ways to serve and profit from
aging America, it will become increasingly important to establish and
promote your brand. Many senior vendors are already spending their
marketing dollars to reach Baby Boomers directly. It will become equally

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important for companies selling products and services relating to aging
America to reach purchase influencers of senior care products and
services (Senior Care Marketer). Some of these include:

 Family Caregivers
 Medical Doctors, Nurses and Pharmacists
 Physical Therapists and Rehabilitation Centers
 Home Health Care
 Housing and Residential Facilities
 Retirement Communities
 Social Service Agencies
 Hospitals
 Geriatric Care Managers
 Investment and Retirement Advisors

The senior move management industry is untapped nationally, let alone

internationally (Heath, 2009). Most companies in this line of work grow their
business locally, though some partake in a network of nationwide senior
transitional assistance businesses. To franchise a business at a national
level is perceived as very difficult, threatening the perceived quality of
service.

About 500 move management businesses are operating nationwide,

according to the National Association of Move Managers (Heckman,
2007). An increasing number of entrepreneurs, including many with elderly
care backgrounds, are marketing their services to seniors on the move as
the demand for these types of services grow. The growth in retirement
communities and the scattering of adult children have created this niche
service (Buysse, 2008).

Businesses like Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC might be new, but the challenges
of moving an elder are not.
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Current Goals
 To provide assistance with all aspects of a living transition, from
planning to moving arrangements, to the new home set-up.
 To provide complimentary services such as liquidation services to
seniors and their families as they navigate life's transitions.
 To provide knowledge and advice as to cost, quality, and availability
of resources that older adults need to ensure a successful move.
 To offer a customizable variety of services depending on individual
client needs and wants.

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Target Market
Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC strives to provide services designed to meet the
needs of older adults, their adult children, baby boomers and their families
throughout the Western New York region. Senior move managers deal
with the sandwich generation where the kids are still raising their own kids,
but their parents are getting older (Luttger, 2008). They don‘t quite have
the time and will gladly pay someone to be the go-between for their
parents. Some statistics of this audience from the U.S. Census Bureau
(2009) include:

 A substantial increase in the number of older people is expected to

occur during the 2010 to 2030 period, after the first Baby Boomers turn
65 in 2011.
 The older population in 2030 is projected to be twice as large as in
2000, growing from 35 million to 72 million and representing nearly 20%
of the total U.S. population.
 The overall growth of the older population has outpaced that of the
total population and the population under age 65.
 The median age rose from 22.9 in 1900 to 35.3 in 2000, and is projected
to increase to 39 by 2030.

The primary target segments of Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC are seniors, baby
boomers and their families within the Western New York area.

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Competition
Achieving company goals depends on the accurate determination of the
needs and wants of your target market based on price, place, product,
and promotion, and delivering their desired satisfaction more effectively
and efficiently than your competitors (Hair, 2008).

As defined by the American Marketing Association (AMA), competition

refers to the result of vying for customers by the pursuit of differential
advantage—i.e., changing to better meet consumer wants and needs.
The senior moving management industry is not, as yet, a widely known
sector. However, the number of business within this industry is continually
rising. Many organizations offering moving management services are small
mom-and-pop operations, but some of them have, in fact, as many as 25
employees.

The major competitor of Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC is other local business

named Everything has a Place, LLC. As Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC, this
company also offers moving management services to customers within
the Rochester and Finger Lakes areas of Upstate New York. Furthermore,
they also target the senior community and their children. The principal
services offered by the competition include:

 Organizing and downsizing

 Possession Allocation
 Packing and Unpacking
 Staging to Sell and to Live
 Restaging and Setup
 Appraisal Assignments
 Ebay Sales
 Real Estate Management/Referrals
 Long Distance Move Management

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  Household Sales
 Management of Estate Sales and Auctions
 Free Community Placement Referral

The e-business model used by your primary competition is a brochure

model similar to that of Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC. The web site of
Everything has a Place, LLC is very informative. It presents organizational
information as well as information on the services provided and also has a
photo gallery where it is shown how they helped customers with moving
and organizing. Everything has a Place, LLC is member of the National
Association of Senior Move Managers (NASMM) as well.

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SWOT Analysis
Within the initial stages of strategic and marketing planning, businesses
typically implement a SWOT analysis which includes an examination of
internal factors such as strengths and weaknesses as well as external
factors, such as opportunities and threats. In order to perform the SWOT
analysis, organizations study past and present data to identify trends,
forces, as well as conditions with the potential to influence the
performance of the organization and the selection of appropriate
strategies. We have completed a SWOT analysis for Grandma‘s Helpers,
LLC.

Strengths

 Legitimate, ethical, and insured business

 Association with NASMM
 Significant expertise in the field
 Experience working with the target market
 Customizable offerings
 Excellent service reviews
 High level of personal/professional commitment
 Aging population is growing rapidly
 Delivery of content is almost instantaneous with zero cost online

Weaknesses

 Fairly new/unfamiliar service

 Lack of brand awareness
 Poor website design
 Low perceived trustworthiness
 Few employees
 Low feedback
 Lack of research and statistical data collection
 Low personal and corporate ranking in search engines
 The industry requires you to be highly accommodating
 Lack of financial resources
 No formal headquarters (in-home office)
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Opportunities

 Capitalize on being the industry standard for the Rochester area

 Growing industry – only ‗little fish in the pond‘ at this point
 National and international markets not yet tapped into
 Extended membership with other credible senior business
organizations
 Further licensing opportunities
 Local and regional partnerships and networking
 Expansion of touch points
 Your services extend to everyone

Threats

 Local/regional competitors
 Expanding too much increases risk of service quality loss
 Few employees lead to disorganization and service quality loss
 Ineffective use of technology for marketing purposes

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Current E-Business Model
Currently, Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC uses the Internet—specifically your web
site—simply to promote an offline business. This strictly-information-only
practice is also known as a brochure e-business model. Nowadays the
brochure model is one of the most prevalent out there. Undoubtedly, the
brochure model is the simplest, but it can also be very effective, especially
for small businesses.

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Website Taxonomy
As an increasing portion of the target segment are using the World Wide
Web to search and access information, Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC employs
an online strategy that focuses on providing information about the
available services as well as information on the benefits of using their
moving management services. Furthermore, current and potential
customers can access information about upcoming sales and
organizational information that allow clients to know more about the
people they are doing business with. In addition, the website offers
information on the different methods of payments and public relations
information. The e-business model used by Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC
reassures potential customers that you are aware of the frustrations and
fears seniors and their families face when moving to a new house or state;
and more importantly how senior moving managers can help them solve
those problems, reduces stress, and calm those fears.

The brochure model is all about clarity and credibility (Capala, 2008). In
your website, Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC presents your team‘s biographies.
This shows that your organization has work experience, training, and
education, and this certainly can convince a potential customer to
acquire the offered services. This also is a significant tactic that increases
business credibility.

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Sustainable Value Proposition
Value is the ―consumer‘s overall assessment of the utility of a service
based on perceptions on what is received and what is given‖ (Zeithaml,
1988; Heinonen, 2004). When making a purchase, customers evaluate
both monetary costs of a purchase and non-monetary costs like the time
and effort invested in the selection of the service (Yen, Rhoades & Hsu,
2007), as well as other additional benefits offered by the service relative to
competition. In other words, value is the sum of all the benefits that a
vendor promises to customers in return for the associated payment.

Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC is one of over 450 companies that belong to the
National Association of Senior Move Managers (NASMM), a group that
requires members to follow a code of ethics and businesses to carry
insurance and provide references (Buysse, 2008).

Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC understands that relocating to a new home or

state can cause frustration and can be stressful and overwhelming as
well. Nevertheless, moving tends to be particularly challenging for older
adults and their families (Buysse, 2008). The value proposition of
Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC has as pivotal component—the notion of being
emphatic with all customers. Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC strives to provide
customers with the same caring attention that their own grandmothers
have enjoyed. Your company not only offers moving management
services, but also helps to reduce stress and gives comfort to seniors and
their families that are sorting through a lifetime‘s worth of memories and
possessions.

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Focal Benefits
The primary benefits that increase customer perceived value within
Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC include customized services, complementary
personal consultations, outstanding customer service, and personalization.

Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC offers a variety of services to clients to reduce the

stress of the relocation process. However, because different customers
have different needs, Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC also customizes their
services in order to fit each customer‘s needs. All services begin with a
personal, no obligation, consultation and estimate.

Most importantly, Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC is entirely dedicated to reduce

the physical as well as emotional stress that seniors, baby boomers and
their families experience when moving to a new house or state. The staff
at Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC provides outstanding customer service that
certainly enhances customer satisfaction. Senior moving managers at
Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC are not only hard workers but they also are
friendly with all customers, empathic, understanding and helpful.

Senior managers at Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC provide a unique and

personal approach to each customer. By providing a personalized
approach when doing business, customer relations certainly increase.
Your staff understands values and the importance of customer relations.
Grandmas‘s Helpers, LLC view and treat each individual customer as the
most important person ever to walk in the door of your office.

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Key Resources (7S Framework)
McKinsey developed an innovative framework for analyzing and
improving organizational effectiveness, called the 7S model. The model
encompasses the key resources of a company, including the current
strategy, structure, systems, style, staff, skills and shared values of
Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC, as described below.

 Strategy
As defined by businessdictionary.com, a strategy consists of the
marshalling of resources for their most efficient and effective
use. Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC has an empathic and sensitive
team that helps to increase customer value. The personal and
customizable treatment is the main component of increasing
clientele through word of mouth. Furthermore, Grandma‘s
Helpers, LLC also uses brochures and your online web site mainly
to inform past and potential customers about the services
provided, current sales and important organizational
information.

 Structure
Currently, Bobbie Goodridge is the sole proprietor and senior
move manager of Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC. The team also
includes two other senior move managers: Margot Long and
Kathy Scott. The three senior move managers are dedicated to
reduce the emotional and physical aspects of home transitions
for seniors and their children.

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 Systems
Nowadays, Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC offers a website where
customers can access information on the services provided.

 Skills
Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC has the ability to be sensitive and
empathic with each customer while providing the physical
assistance of moving to a new house. Senior move managers
are entirely dedicated to eliminating the stress of emotional and
organizational aspects of transition of seniors and their children.
You assist customers with the packing and unpacking of items,
personal property appraisal, household liquidation services, as
well as a variety of moving services that eliminate frustration
and confusion.

 Staff
Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC comprises a team of three senior move
managers—one of them the sole proprietor. The team is fully
trained with necessary skills to assist seniors and their families
with the moving services. Furthermore, the three members of
the staff are active members of the Greater Rochester Area
Partnership for the Elderly, and all are trained with great
organizational, interpersonal and supervisory skills.

 Style
The company‘s leadership and overall operating approach are
mainly based on the concept of providing meaningful help to
seniors and their children. They are engaged in providing

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 valuable services that relieve the stress, frustration and
confusion seniors typically experience when leaving the homes
they have lived in for decades.

 Shared Values
The values and beliefs of the company are based on the ideal
of caring, dedication and sensitivity. Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC do
business to help seniors within the community. The company
strives to make each customer a member of their family and
give them the same caring attention that they have given to
their grandmothers.

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Current Marketing Strategies
Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC currently provides a variety of services to help
seniors when relocating to a new home or disbursing an estate. Due to a
lack of a formidable online presence, however, most of the clientele of
Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC learn of the business through word-of-mouth and
personal referrals and not through promotional activities. However, the
company also uses brochures and their informational website to inform
potential customers about the services provided and other significant
organizational information.

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WHERE DO WE WANT TO BE?

E-business transforms the exchange of goods, services, information, and

knowledge through the use of network-enabled technology to facilitate
the performance—electronically—of processes central to the functioning
of an organization, including commercial and non-commercial
transactions (Hair, 2008). No longer is Internet access to information
restricted and expensive, and no longer does it take several years and
deep pockets to build a business with an effective online presence.
Technology factors of the web, including its ease of use, two-way
communication methods, rapid technology development, standards, and
leveraging digital convergence are all spurring interest in online business
strategies.

Customer interaction is changing—one-to-one marketing is becoming the

norm, people are dealing with systems directly, highly personalized
systems are being formed, the traditional basis of competitive advantage
as well as business is changing, and the Internet has an increasingly
pervasive influence on all markets—consumer and industrial (Hair, 2008).
This change in technology provides Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC tremendous
opportunities for increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of many
marketing activities.

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SMART Objectives Defined
Having clear marketing goals is important to achieving good business
returns. A clear business target provides a clear aim for the Grandma‘s
Helpers, LLC's Internet presence. Understanding the differences between
a goal and an objective, however, can be confusing.

Goals are broad, brief statements of intent that provide focus or vision for
planning. They are usually non-specific and immeasurable. Objectives, on
the other hand, are meant to be realistic targets for an organization. They
are statements that we want to achieve, starting at the broadest level
and progressing in a logical flow through to the specific (Hair, 2008).

SMART is an acronym built around the five leading measures of strong

objectives. They will always answer the following questions: who is going to
do what, when, why and to what standard?

Specific – Measurable – Achievable – Realistic – Time

Following the five SMART leading measures, your objectives should state
specific and precise outcomes to be accomplished. Outcome should be
stated in numbers, percentages, frequencies, reach, scientific outcome,
etc. They should be assessable with identifiable quantifying sources.
Furthermore, expectations of what will be accomplished must be realistic
given current market conditions, time period, and resources allocated.

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SMART Objectives Proposed
Based on your current business goals and company vision and mission, we
propose the following SMART objectives to enhance Grandma‘s Helpers,
LLC‘s overall brand awareness/recognition, online activity and customer
feedback, and credibility and perceived trustworthiness:

1. Establish regular appearance in the first 20 listed results by

Google search to enhance brand awareness/recognition by
25% within 6 months after implementation of suggested online
marketing strategies.

We know that your services aren't easily sold directly from your
website. Your current business model relies on more personal
contact with prospects and word-of-mouth references to
generate sales leads. Regardless of whether your online
marketing goals include persuading a visitor on your site to
request service information, view a testimonial, browse online
listed resources, contact the reference nearest him, or ask to
speak with you directly, search engine marketing generates
powerful results.

For many Internet users, brand recognition starts with their use of
search engines (Enclick, 2005). In fact, over a third of surveyed
Internet users believe the companies topping search results lists
to be leading brands in the business category searched. If your
site repeatedly appeared in search results for Senior Move
Management, you'd create multiple brand impressions,
certainly enhancing your brand equity. Furthermore, research

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 shows that brand recall—the process of seeing a brand and
recalling related perceptions—is best performed in a search
engine environment in up to a 3-to-1 margin over other online
advertising methods such as banner ads or buttons.

Brand is particularly about relevance to the customer, and

appearing in the top search results for a particular topic or
problem is a powerful way to convey relevance to your
customers. After all, your site is listed in search engines in
response to a keyword phrase that was queried to answer a
question, solve a problem or find a product or service. If your
site is returned, it gives your brand added credibility that it is
relevant to the searcher's needs. As more and more people use
search engines to find products, services or information, they
assume the companies appearing in the search results are the
category leaders. By engaging in a comprehensive search
engine marketing campaign, you can move your brand toward
a top-of-the-mind presence.

2. Increase traffic to the website to enhance online activity and

customer feedback by 25% within 6 months after the
implementation of suggested online marketing strategies.

We know you have a valuable service to offer, yet your website

is probably not getting the web traffic you desire because your
online presence is very limited. This traffic is highly important for
the survival and prosperity of your business, even though you

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don‘t currently operate an e-commerce website. Qualified
visitors are the lifeblood of any relevant business today—on or
offline. We want them to know about Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC
and spend time exploring the rich information and resources
provided through your website, ask questions and list
comments.

Businesses spend millions every year in promoting themselves in

the form of advertising dollars when there is an inexpensive tool
at their disposal that is being underutilized—customer
feedback. Regardless of the type of business you are in, getting
input from your customers is critical to your success. There can
be a lot of different ideas and suggestions that come in over
time, and it's one of the surest ways of knowing, beyond a
doubt, that your company is meeting customer needs and
doing what you strive to do every day. You can think you're
doing a good job and not realize that you're off target until
profits have dropped and you've lost market share to a
competitor who's more in tune with what your customers want.
The opinions of your current and past customers are going to
carry a lot of weight with a potential customer who is
undecided on whether or not to do business with you. By
hearing about a positive experience, an undecided customer
may very well become a paying customer.

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3. Extend local partnerships and national organizational
involvement to enhance credibility and perceived
trustworthiness by 25% within 6 months after the implementation
of suggested online marketing strategies.

50% of NASMM members report that older adults are the ones
making the initial contact with Seniors Move Managers for
services, while 39% of members report the older adult‘s child or
family is making the initial contact (National Association of
Senior Move Managers, 2008). 11% of NASMM members report
that a senior housing community is making the initial contact.
We need to make your brand credible and trustworthy in the
eyes of potentials so you don‘t miss the opportunities for these
contacts.

Your company brand is an important asset for your company,

and the Internet offers great opportunities to promote that
brand. Ensuring that elements of your brand are remembered in
the minds of customers and prospects is a key component of
any good branding campaign, and one that should certainly
be a part of your online marketing strategy. We want you to be
contacted regularly by various sources including older adults,
family members, bank and trust officers, realtors, senior living
communities, attorneys, geriatric care managers and others.

Professional organizations in your industry provide a mark of

distinction in your field by requiring rigorous reviews and
verification processes. These organizations, in turn, can provide

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you and your company connections with networks of other
qualified, reputable businesses, referrals to seniors themselves,
third party authentication and background checks, codes of
ethics and professional standards, further licensing
opportunities, discounts on print and broadcast media,
enhanced web listings with special features, and online search
directory listings. Most importantly, extended involvement with
local partnerships and national organizations will provide
peace-of-mind assurance to your customers.

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HOW MIGHT WE GET THERE?

Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC seeks to provide its clients an objective viewpoint

and an effective transitional plan. You want to let them know that you
fully understand that life transitions, whether relocating to a new home or
disbursing an estate, can be frustrating, confusing and even
overwhelming. We know you have a strong commitment to connecting
with mid-life and older adults and a strong desire to perform meaningful
work above all else. Website publicity is critical for any growing business,
and the time and effort involved will lead to more potential clients to your
services. If you want to increase awareness/recognition, online activity
and customer feedback, and credibility and perceived trustworthiness on
your site, you will need a set of strategies for each objective to get you
there.

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Strategies/Recommendations
In broad terms, potential strategies outline all the ways you could achieve
your corporate objectives (Hair, 2008). For any set of objectives, responses
to the question ‗how?‘ will generate a set of strategies aimed at
achieving them. Here is a complete list of potential strategies we‘ve come
up with for your Internet marketing needs:

 Search engine optimization for the website via keywords or meta tabs
such as Google Adwords
 Implementation of website monitoring software such as Google
Analytics or SiteMeter
 Website improvements to page layout/design and listed
information/links and resources such as moving tips and customer
testimonials, personal profiles, and/or evaluations, Ebay, a ―make my
homepage‖ or bookmark option, The Guide to Retirement Living,
AARP, the Senior Transition Society, and/or the Grass Roots
Organization for the Wellbeing of Seniors (GRWOS)
 Implementation of a website forum with user registration for Q&A and
customer comments
 Publicity/online advertising activities such as press releases and a
YouTube video of a customer‘s personal experience
 List of public relations/community activities to enhance image of
goodwill
 Rewards/special offers or incentives
 Additional promotional contact points
 Temporary 3-6 month employment of an RIT co-op student for
marketing and/or design work

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 Primary research/data collection on the target markets via
SurveyMonkey, PollDaddy, etc. for reference use
 Sponsorships with community senior centers, local recreation centers,
the Center for Disability Rights, moving/shipping companies such as
UPS and/or FedEx, and /or other foundations
 Membership with select online communities and professional
organizations such as the National Association of Professional
Organizers (NAPO), SeniorChecked, myTimeHero, LinkedIn,
MoveSeniors and Certified Relocation and Transition Specialists (CRTS),
and/or IONA Senior Services
 Occasional snail mail follow-up greeting cards
 Monthly e-newsletters including current events and successful local
transitions

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WHICH WAY IS BEST?

Each move is a mission. You must invade a client‘s home, shoot digital
photos of the entire place, create a map of the floor plan and recreate it
on a small scale. Every detail must be considered, from towels to window
treatments, custom paintings to china hutches. Every plan is customized—
some just need unpacking, while some may need decorating help and
full service in-between. Along with it all, there is a lot of handholding,
empathy and gentle persuasion that goes with the job. Beyond
organizational skills, you may have to morph into a hybrid of counselor,
mediation specialist and good friend as you assist older adults in their
transition (Buysse, 2008).

In the previous section ―How might we get there?‖ we discussed the vast
list of potential strategies that Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC could use to
accomplish the objectives laid out in section 2, ―Where do we want to
be?‖ In this section, we will discuss select strategies and explain our
choice criteria for the selected strategies laid out in question 3, ―How
might we get there?‖ We provide insight and reason for the chosen
criteria, and examine specific tactics for the strategies recommended.
The strategies we will discuss in this section include:

 Website Redesign
 Website Forum with Registration
 Google Adwords and Analytics
 Organizational Memberships

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Tactics
While each of the following tactics have their own strengths and some
can be used alone, it is advised that each of them be implemented
together. Our proposed tactics work in sync and can further the success
of each one when used as a campaign rather than as individual ideas.

Website Redesign
As we discussed in section 1, ―Where are now?‖ Grandma‘s
Helpers, LLC has a target market that can be divided into two main
target markets, and a smaller and secondary market. They include
the individual elderly themselves, family and friends of the elderly,
and finally, other businesses. Currently the website has one
message for all three target markets. That can be problematic
because the messages for the three target markets should be very
different. By utilizing a welcome screen with three descriptions,
Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC can offer a customized message to each
market. Selling the service to the elderly and the family members of
the elderly is somewhat similar. However, the message for potential
partnerships needs to include information about sales numbers,
turnover, and numbers of clients – something the average
consumer does not need to know. The following is an example
welcome screen.

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This welcome screen helps tailor the experience so it‘s more
personal, further building a sense of quality service and dedication.

Website Forum with Registration

In addition to the three-tier design, we also recommend a forum. A
forum can enhance and build a sense of community for seniors
with Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC as the hub. The forum will be a
community for seniors, family and friends of seniors, and businesses
interested in senior living. The forum may include topics that relate
to senior living, and not confined to move management.
Individuals will be required to register to add comments on the
forum. More information on the data collection can be found in
section 4.5. An example registration page is below.

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Contributors will be broken down into five sections. The first three
will be the same as the three-tier design seen in section 4.3. The
other two contributor categories will be Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC
and businesses or professionals that can answer questions in their
particular field. Users will be able to:

 Receive professional advice on moving

 Find information about the moving process
 Post questions or comments

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  Upload photos and graphics
 Receive special offers via email
 Receive monthly newsletters

Questions about moving will be answered by Grandma‘s Helpers,

LLC staff and, when necessary, referred to real-estate agents or
other professionals. The users themselves could provide content
and businesses providing information on relevant products or
services. Because this forum will provide a sense of community and
exclusivity, registered users will be able to upload pictures of
themselves and one-page biographies. Additionally, registered
users will be able to receive special offers from Grandma‘s Helpers,
LLC (such as a free consultation) and receive monthly e-newsletters
describing current events and other successful relocations.

One idea to increase and/or maintain web traffic to the forum is a

fictional character. This character (written by staff) could talk about
daily issues and solutions that arise for seniors. This character is also
a good way to announce the forum via a press release. An
example press release can be seen below:

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 Release Date: After March 15 2009.

Contact: Grandma‘s Helpers

(585) 334-3544
grandmab@grandmashelpers.biz

Evelyn Smith Blogs About Life as a Senior

Seniors take their discussions online with a little help from local businesses
Evelyn Smith, a 75 year-old resident of Brighton has a few issues. She is attempting
to downsize and move out of her house because she can‘t afford the upkeep and
payments. Her worsening arthritis has reduced her mobility and she has seen her
friends fall ill and pass on.
Evelyn Smith isn‘t real. She‘s a character made up by Bobbi Goodrich, owner of
Grandma‘s Helpers LLC. Bobbi (a move-management specialist) has started an online
forum for seniors. On the forum she discusses common issues of seniors today, and tells
them from through the eyes of Evelyn Smith. The forum is located at
http://forum.grandmashelpers.biz
Grandma‘s Helpers LLC provides move management services and builds lasting
relationships with seniors who could do without the stress, but would like a new place
to call home. Bobbi can be reached at grandmab@grandmashelpers.biz.
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Google Adwords and Analytics
Selecting and finding keywords and phrases most likely to drive
targeted web traffic is an important exercise that you can
undertake when planning your web site deployment. You want to
increase search engine ranking for a variety of specific terms and
phrases such as ―Rochester Senior Move Management,‖
―Rochester Moving Help,‖ ―Western NY Transition Assistance,‖ etc.
Getting more hits or an increase in website traffic and having
massive amounts of visitors to your website is not the only objective
of good search engine marketing, however. You need to optimize
your website according to your target market, you need to know
what people are searching for, and you need to be able to
measure the visitors to your web site. Once this has been achieved
you will enjoy the benefits of a profitable high search engine
ranked website.

With Google Analytics, you can learn more about where your
visitors come from and how they interact with your site. It will help
you find out what keywords attract your target markets and what
web pages and content get the most hits, as well as advanced
segmentation information, motion charts, custom reports, keyword
and campaign comparison, internal site search, benchmarking,
trend and date sliders, a variety of visualizations, GeoTargeting,
etc. Furthermore, Google Analytics provides tightly integrated
AdWords support, so you can view AdWords ROI metrics without
having to import cost data or add keyword tracking codes. You'll
get the information you need to strengthen your marketing
initiatives and create higher-converting websites without

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professional analytics experience. Best of all, Google Analytics is
completely free to use and 100% safe, so you can spend money on
marketing, not on web analytics. All you need to do is register the
Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC website with Google Analytics.

Organizational Memberships
Moving coordinators are NASMM‘s trusted colleagues in the rapidly
growing area of senior relocation, transition and downsizing. These
companies are valued collaborators in helping NASMM shape the
bright future and integrity of senior move management as a whole
(Buysse, 2008). According to the NASMM website, the majority of
client moves by NASMM members are to the following types of
residences:

1. Assisted Living Communities (84.86%)

2. Independent Living Communities (84.32%)
3. Active Adult Communities (84.32%)
4. Continuing Care Retirement Communities (65.41%)
5. Townhouse or Condo (53.51%)
6. Skilled Nursing Facility (26.49%)
7. Family Member‘s Home (24.86%)
8. Adult Family Group Home (11.35%)

Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC needs to build strong relationships with

senior communities in the Rochester region for reputation
enhancement and overall brand awareness. These senior
communities, for example, could offer new residents a set number
of hours of access to move management assistance at no charge
to the resident.

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We also recommend you become a member of one or more of
the following organizations to build your credibility and perceived
trustworthiness:

MoveSeniors and CRTS (http://www.moveseniors.com)

The only third-party credential in the industry and is much more
than a paid membership or certificate. It is a Professional
Designation that is earned. Through accreditation, all CRTS
graduates comprise the body of professionals known as the
CRTS Registry. This group represents standards of excellence in
the field of senior home transition and is maintained by the
Senior Transition Society Council.

IONA Senior Services (http://iona.org)

A nonprofit community organization dedicated to enabling
older people to live with dignity and independence. IONA
provides services and access to programs designed to meet the
needs of seniors and their families.

NAPO National Association of Professional Organizers

(http://napo.net)
The premier national association dedicated to the field of
organizing, serving customers through education, networking,
industry resources, and promoting the profession to the public.
NAPO‘s mission is to develop, lead, and promote professional
organizers and the organizing industry. The association is also
affiliated with the National Association of Senior Move
Managers (NASMM).

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SeniorChecked (http://public.seniorchecked.com)
A legitimate business charter filed with state governments to
mark distinction in the senior industry by completing rigorous
review and verification processes. The service provides potential
customers peace of mind that your business is thoroughly
background checked, consumer endorsed, legitimate,
licensed, insured, and committed to seniors.

myTimeHero (http://www.mytimehero.com)
A social networking site similar to Facebook but targeted
toward an older audience, designed to connect with others of
similar interests through chat, photos, workshops, games, and
more.

LinkedIn
A professional networking site designed to reconnect with past
and present colleagues, classmates, and industry experts and
discover insider connections for new business opportunities.

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Choice Criteria
 Research
All of our objectives, recommendations and tactics were chosen
based on secondary research support. Google Analytics will
enhance this support.

 Time Constraints
We chose strategies that can reasonable be completed within a 6-
month time span.

 Costs
We know you are trying to operate on a zero dollar budget, or as
close to this as possible.

 Technical Complexity
We understand that all potential Internet marketing suggestions are
dependent on your technologic literacy and ease of
implementation.

 Feasibility
We know Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC consists of a mere 3-person staff,
with Bobbi Goodridge primarily in charge of the website and
promotions.

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HOW DO WE ENSURE SAFE ARRIVAL?

Striving for more website visitors without the knowledge of winning web
traffic analysis is a blind fight. You need to know where your visitors are
coming from, what terms they use to find you on the search engines, and
which pages they visit most often. The section of ―How do we ensure safe
arrival?‖ will put in place the timeframes and implementations that will be
required for your success. By following the 7S model, Grandmas Helpers,
LLC will be able to stay organized and implement the strategies that will
benefit you in the future.

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Key Resources Revisited (7S Framework)
Strategy
The new and improved strategy will look to attract new
potential clients through the website and forum while still
informing past and potential customers about the services
provided, instead of relying mainly on referrals from past clients
and friends. However, Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC will maintain an
empathic and sensitive team that helps to increase customer
value, still using personal and customizable treatment as the
main component of increasing clientele through word of
mouth.

Structure
Bobbie Goodridge will remain the sole proprietor and senior
move manager of Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC. The team will also
still include two other senior move managers: Margot Long and
Kathy Scott, with the potential for additional staff in the future.

Systems
Besides just being a website where customers can access
information on the services provided, your website will be a
means of collecting customer information and implementing a
database. The process of keeping your data will be a new
system that will be put in place. This can be easily implemented
with an Excel document to store potential and current client‘s
information attained via the registration process for the forum.
The database can be used to keep in contact with previous
clients and may lead to more referrals.

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Skills
You will have an increased ability to be sensitive and empathic
with each customer while providing the physical assistance of
moving to a new house by enhancing your understanding of
your customer‘s needs through increased customer feedback
with the implementation of different tools offered from Google
such as Adwords and Analytics as well as other free website
statistical tools. You will need to become familiar with these
offerings and become comfortable with using them.

Staff
With the new strategies in place, the company Grandmas
Helpers, LLC should see a growth in revenue allowing the hiring
of additional staff to increase the efficiency of the company.

Style
By revamping the website and starting an online forum,
Grandmas Helpers, LLC will look more professional and appear
as a more trustworthy company.

Shared Values
The shared values of the company should remain the same with
the caring theme. In order to move forward, the company must
maintain cohesiveness with all future employees.

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Suggested Steps

Step 1
Create an account with Google to create a campaign on
Adwords as well as begin using Google Analytics. Start by
03/02/2009.

Step 2
Begin collecting client data such as name, address, location, new
address (if moving) and keep stored in a database such as an
Excel file. Use the database of client information to send greeting
cards, and use potential client information from the website forum
to e-mail offerings and other contact information.

Step 3
Find a student intern who will revamp your company website and
start a forum for topics on elderly moving.

Step 4
Begin actively posting on forums at least once per day to answer
questions as well as adding new content for the first month.

Step 5
Create a video of company offerings to be placed on
Youtube.com and embed the video into your website as well as
links to the video from the forums.

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Step 6
Continue to be active on the forums by increasing the amounts of
posts per day to 2-3, and keep the information on the website as
up to date.

Step 7
Continue to be more active on forums and create a campaign on
Youtube.com of more videos that can be used towards a viral
marketing campaign.

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Metrics & Standards for Success

Customer Feedback
This section will be related to the overarching section of the website
redesign in terms of its increased trustworthiness and
professionalism. To evaluate a new website, the only accurate way
to seek feedback from former and potential customers. We also
suggest measuring brand recognition increases through forum
presence. The simplest way to do this would be to conduct a
survey. Interviews and focus groups may award you more specific
details about the issues that may exist. There are claims that it is
possible to measure website attractiveness without talking to
customers, but in the end, all that matters is what the customers
think of the website. You can also subjectively browse popular
senior living forums for information about Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC
posted by others, as well as the general acceptance and
acknowledgement of Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC professional postings
on the boards. Viewing an increased number of references to your
website and improved responses to these postings will be the best
way to measure increased brand awareness.

While it is unlikely that you will be able to invest the money

necessary to create a perfect website, there is easily room for
improvement. We recommend that a minimum of 70% of
respondents rank the website as moderate or above average. If
money is an issue, we would suggest slightly lower standards of at
least 60% ranking it moderate or above average.

In order to ensure continued success and compensate if standards

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are not reached, we have a few particular suggestions. The first
recommendation is to increase the number of posts, while it is not
possible to set a specific number of posts since it is going to require
judgment calls to avoid spam. If it seems that Grandma‘s Helpers,
LLC has been posting a lot and not meeting the standards, we
suggest you look at the responses to their threads for feedback. We
also recommend continually evaluating the quality of posts and
responses referencing quality of information. Whenever there
seems to be a lapse, we recommend working to increase posting
quality to maximize perceived trustworthiness. In general,
Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC will have to spend a lot of effort evaluating
their posting quality and quantity to find the right level to maximize
return. This will take trial and error in building a successful forum
presence.

Google Analytics Software

When Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC does alter their search engine
optimization, it is very important to measure the effectiveness of
individual search terms, as well as determine how much of an
overall increase in traffic you see from Internet searches. To
measure the effectiveness of improved search engine optimization
we recommend watching the increase in the number of hits to your
website that are directed from search engines. We suggest
Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC to monitor the specific search terms that
were used to bring in customers the most often, as well as monitor
the overall increase in traffic to the website from search engines.

We believe it is entirely reasonable to see a 25% increase in traffic

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through search engines within 6 months of adding new search
terms. We also believe that with continued work on finding new
search terms, and altering search terms to match new services, it is
possible to see as high as a 50% increase in traffic through search
engines within one year of implementation and easily maintain a
position in the top 20 listed results from Google search.

Our primary suggestion for maintaining success and adapting to

any lack of success in meeting the proposed standards is in
continually updating search terms based on services offered. We
also recommend continually monitoring your competitors‘ search
terms for new ideas. As adding to metatags does not cost money,
we recommenmnjjjjjd that Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC update these
whenever they have new ideas. If it is still difficult to increase traffic
through search engine optimization, we recommend that
Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC be ready to invest in search engine
optimization by putting key search terms at the top of the results list
on Google. The terms that are worth paying for can be determined
by choosing the keywords that bring in the highest number of
visitors as tracked by Google Analytics.

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Budget
Since our client is working out of pocket, our thinking for suggestions to
improve the business of Grandmas Helpers, LLC was based on a zero-
dollar budget. For the aspects of revamping the company‘s website as
well as creating a forum, we feel the use of a student internship or student
project would allow our client to get these created at a minimal to no
cost. As for our suggestions with Google Adwords and Google Analytics,
our client can choose depending on monthly income how much she is
willing to pay at a day-by-day budget. The only other cost that would be
associated with this marketing plan would be the client‘s actual time put
into implementing these ideas, which would be associated with creating
a video that could be placed on Youtube.com for free advertising about
the company‘s offerings.

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Risks
In every company decision there is risks that could lead to negative
consequences. A few of the risk we could see from this marketing plan
are listed below.

1. The forums do not become as popular as expected

2. The student intern does not do a professional job with the site.
3. The keywords chosen do not reach top 20 status with Google
search.

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LIMITATIONS

As with any research and consulting work, there are some limitations that
are simply unavoidable. This section details some of the most notable
limitations we ran into as students during the research and writing of this
report.

Due to time constraints and scheduling issues between us and Bobbi

Goodridge of Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC, we were unable to schedule any
personal interviews or surveys over the phone, online, or in person with
current or potential customers. As such our research is primarily based on
and limited to data gathered on industry trends, market competition, and
personal insight. This secondary research could lead to several general
problems, including a mismatch between data and needs, quality issues,
the lack of control over collection procedures, and out-of-date
information (Hair, 2008). For these reasons, we strongly encourage you to
conduct your own primary research of observation, experimentation, or
surveys both to improve the quality of your business decision-making by
means of accurate, relevant information about the marketplace and to
monitor and control the business and performance of your marketing
activities.

It is also necessary to note a lack of information by nature of the inability

to arrange full, consistent meeting times between us and Grandma‘s
Helpers, LLC and potential information gathered from Google Analytics
on the site‘s current trends. We were unable to gather information on
profits or time lapse between transactions, along with personal customer
experiences. Please keep in mind, it can be difficult to determine whether
failure to reach objectives are caused by poor information, poor
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planning, or poor execution (Hair, 2008). There can also be timing delays
in the control process. With this understanding, we recommend future E-
marketing projects for Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC take these limitations into
consideration when performing research or developing means of primary
research. This would ensure more accurate results and stronger feedback
for future E-marketing plans.

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CONCLUSION

Senior move managers are members of a fledgling industry that‘s gaining

a foothold across the nation by offering elders practical help and
emotional support when they enter nursing homes or downsize into
retirement communities (Heckman, 2007).

Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC is company that strives to provide peace of mind

for adult children and their parents. The company is ran by legitimate
business owners with incredible passion and experience in customer
service, who treat their clients with respect and professionalism. The local
business is not only a smart and innovative concept based on market and
industry trends, but one that greatly helps those most in need of
assistance—seniors.

The Internet today provides many web-specific marketing control

challenges, including a higher visibility of errors, a more dynamic
competitive environment, more fluid organizational boundaries, a more
dynamic market environment, and more complex linkages (Hair, 2008).
Change is happening at a rapid rate in the virtual world, requires SMART
objectives with a strong tactical battle plan and consistent follow-up. We
sincerely hope that this Internet marketing plan provides Grandma‘s
Helpers, LLC with a clearer understanding of strategic and tactically
enabled business opportunities for an online competitive advantage in
order to extend market reach, explore new markets, channels and
methods, and innovate old marketing strategies.

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LETTERS OF THANKS

Thank you to Bobbie Goodridge & Associates of Grandma’s Helpers, LLC

Elizabeth Del Valle, Gregory Hanson, Karyn Lewis, and Zach Myrow of
Professor Neil Hair‘s 0105-440-01 Internet Marketing course at Rochester
Institute of Technology in the winter quarter 2008-2009, would like to take
this opportunity to thank Bobbie Goodridge, owner, personal property
appraiser, and senior move manager of Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC, for the
wonderful opportunity to work with you and your company throughout
these past 11 weeks. We are thankful for the experience and personal
insight we have gained, and are delighted with the chance to assist you
in your e-marketing needs. We also extend our thanks to Margot Long and
Kathy Scott, senior move managers of Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC.

We would specifically like to thank you all for your assistance in gathering
information and meeting with us on multiple occasions to discuss potential
options and opportunities in making this Internet marketing plan a reality.
We wish you and Grandma‘s Helpers, LLC the best of luck going forward
with this marketing plan and all future endeavors.

Signed,

February 24, 2009

Elizabeth Del Valle ___________________________

Gregory Hanson ___________________________
Karyn Lewis ___________________________
Zach Myrow ___________________________

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Thank you to Neil Hair of Rochester Institute of Technology

Elizabeth Del Valle, Gregory Hanson, Karyn Lewis, and Zach Myrow of the
0105-440-01 Internet Marketing course at Rochester Institute of Technology
in the winter quarter 2008-2009, would like to take this opportunity to thank
Professor Neil Hair, PhD, Chartered Marketer, and Professor, for all your
assistance in integrating this Internet marketing plan and your role in
facilitating our knowledge acquisition and the means to independently
identify and locate necessary resources.

Your passion and expertise for Internet marketing has provided us

wonderful experience and inspiration. We thank you for the thorough and
comprehensive information we have obtained by taking this course, and
we wish you the best in all future endeavors.

Signed,

February 24, 2009

Elizabeth Del Valle ___________________________

Gregory Hanson ___________________________
Karyn Lewis ___________________________
Zach Myrow ___________________________

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REFERENCES

American Marketing Association (AMA). (1995). Dictionary. Available at:

http://www.marketingpower.com/_layouts/Dictionary [Accessed
15 February 2009].

Buysse, M.K., 2008. Moving an Aging America. Direction, 65 (12), pp. 44-48.

Capala, M., 2008. Basics of E-Business - Building a Successful ‗Brochure‘

Website. CP Communications Blog, [Online] 29 May. Available at:
http://www.cpcom.com/blog. [Accessed 9 February 2009].

DeSimone, B., 2006. This is a Job for ‗Senior Move‘ Managers. The New York
Times, [Online] 24 Oct. Available at: www.nytimes.com [Accessed
13 February 2009].

Enlick, 2005. Marketing Objectives, [Online] Available at:

www.enclick.com [Accessed 19 February 2009].

Hair, N., 2008. Marketing and the Internet. [Presentation] Internet

Marketing course, Rochester Institute of Technology, NY, Winter
2009.

Heath, T., 2009. Value Added: The ―Move Management‖ Industry. The
Washington Post Washbiz Blog, [Online] 2 Feb. Available at:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/washbizblog [Accessed 13
February 2009].

Heckman, M., 2007. Senior move management companies offer practical

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 aid to elders in transition. Concord Monitor, [Online] 18 Nov.
Available at: www.concordmonitor.com [Accessed 13 February
2009].

Luettger, L., 2008. When it‘s just all too much, call in an expert; Profile:
Grandma‘s Helpers LLC. Rochester Business Journal, 24 (29), pp. 17.

National Association of Senior Move Managers, 2008. The Face of NASMM,

[Online] Available at: www.nasmm.org [Accessed 12 February
2009].

Novack, M., 2008. Helping Parents Move Upwind. Gilbert Guide, [Online]
Available at: http://www.gilbertguide.com/2008/05/15/helping-
parents-move-upwind [Accessed 10 February 2009].

Senior Care Marketer, 2007. Industry Overview, [Online] Available at:

www.seniorcaremarketer.com [Accessed 13 February 2009].

U.S. Census Bureau, 2009. [Online] Available at: www.census.gov

[Accessed 14 February 2009].

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INDEX

Examples of Good Web Design

The screenshots of the following websites are some examples of eye-
catching, well-designed websites for Senior Move Management:

Beautiful Spaces
www.beautifulspaces.net

While Beautiful Spaces does not use any interactive flash or have a
particularly attractive design, it is simple to use, and it has
certifications listed.

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Lifetime Transitions, a division of Lifetime Estate Liquidations, LLC
www.lifetimetransitions.com

Lifetime transitions incorporates a very user friendly design with a

visually attractive look. Most importantly it is very clean, and has a
great deal of HTML meaning that search engines will be able to
find search words.

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Transition Partners
www.transitionp.com

Transition Partners is not only a good website in relation to move

manage specialists, it is a good website when compared to many
corporations. The Adobe Flash software used brings a level of
interactivity while also providing a simple and clean design. It is a
good benchmark to aim for.

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Examples of Poor Web Designs
The screenshots of the following websites are some examples of poorly-
designed websites for Senior Move Management:

More Than Moving, Inc.

www.morethanmovinginc.com

More than Moving means well. However, their amateurish design

incorporates many design fo-paws including the font Comic Sans
and a great deal of clipart. They also use the menu bar that is often
used by goodle to display advertisements. Additionally, their
descriptive sections are not poignant enough and do not provide
particular confidence.

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Simplified Spaces
www.simplifiedspaces.net

Simplified Spaces is unclear, amateurish and does not look

credible.

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The Simplifiers
www.thesimplifiers.com

The Simplifiers has far too many design aspects on one page.
Information about their company is provided via banners that look
like advertisements. The website looks like a placeholder and does
not provide any confidence that this is aprofessional organization.

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