Business Proposal

Problem/Proposal

Marketing and new product executives have recently introduced a plan to enter a market that has been thus far monopolized by Starbucks Coffee for the past 10 years. Starbucks is in the same business as CoffeeTime but with some small differences in products and services.

Starbucks is the only significant coffee bar chain in the market and would be CoffeeTime's only competitor. Secondary and primary research will need to be conducted to figure out if enough revenue and profits can be generated in order to be a successful challenger to Starbucks. Recently executives brought this idea to CoffeeTime's Board but without any adequate research thus not providing the Board with the level of certainty needed to determine what degree, CoffeeTime would face challenges and potential opportunities. The plan was shot down mercilessly by the Board. However, the Board has given the executives another opportunity to remedy the problems and submit their proposal again later.

There are several issues facing CoffeeTime by contemplating entering a market that has been dominated by another brand, and questions must be answered before the board will approve any move into this new market. First, can CoffeeTime bring new customers to the market while gaining a significant amount (or adequate amount) of Starbucks' existing customers? How many new customers to the market can be projected and over what time period? How will the population in the market perceive CoffeeTime? Does CoffeeTime want to integrate the market or just a few stores? These just a few questions will need to be answered with thorough research in order to bring a sound proposal to the Board of Directors.

CoffeeTime's marketing and new product executives need to discuss the following with any outside research organizations or in-house statisticians:

Ð'* Relevant Secondary Data (i.e., population demographics and