Strategic Planning for a Credit Card Business in Canada

The proposed business venture of offering credit card services to credit union members in Canada is expected to be profitable within three years, and effective controls and contingency strategies are essential for managing the newly launched marketing efforts. Key performance indicators (KPIs) will be used to measure the success or failure of each strategy. The management has also designed risk assessment and mitigation strategies to address various types of risks that may impact the business, including natural calamities, environmental factors, accidents, robbery, sudden death of personnel, bankruptcy, etc.

Running Head: E-Commerce & Marketing
Collabria Financial Credit Cards - A Market Entry Strategy-Assignment 2: Marketing Plan

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Executive Summary
This report entails the marketing plan of Collabria Financials with respect to its proposed
launch of credit card services to the members of the credit unions in Canada. The marketing
department has undertaken several strategies and programs in developing the marketing mix,
along with the action programs and undertaken an evaluation of the financial impacts of the
business to determine the feasibility of the new marketing strategy in the target segment of
the consumers. Finally, the report concludes with the controls and contingency strategies that
the management has formulated, keeping in mind any risks or uncertainties that might emerge
at any time during the course of the business.

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Table of Contents
Executive Summary...................................................................................................................2
5. Marketing Strategy and Programs......................................................................................4
Marketing Strategy.................................................................................................................4
Marketing Programs...............................................................................................................4
Product/Service..................................................................................................................4
Pricing................................................................................................................................5
Distribution System............................................................................................................5
Marketing Communications...............................................................................................5
People.................................................................................................................................6
Process................................................................................................................................6
Physical Evidence..............................................................................................................7
Market Research.....................................................................................................................7
6. Action Program..................................................................................................................7
7. Financial Impact.................................................................................................................8
8. Controls and Contingency................................................................................................10
Bibliography.............................................................................................................................12

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5. Marketing Strategy and Programs
Marketing Strategy
The marketing strategy for the company will be designed in an effective way. The
differentiated services will be offered to the credit union members in Canada through offering
credit card facilities to the target segments which is not yet offered by any other competitors
of the company. The main aim will be increasing the revenues by nearly 10-15% and the
profitability by 5-7% in the coming first year. The differentiation strategy will be able to
attract more customers by offering unique features in the services to the target customer base.
The marketing strategies will be formulated keeping the aspects of corporate social
responsibilities and ethical aspects. Long-Term sustainability will be the main focus of
marketing strategies. The main objective of the marketing strategies will be to assess the
needs of the target segment and to provide the services to meet those needs. The goals and
objectives will be achieved with the help of effective marketing strategies.
Marketing Programs
The marketing program of the company will consist of the major elements of the marketing
mix. The seven ‘Ps’ of seven important factors such as product/service, pricing, promotion,
place, people, process and physical evidence are discussed intricately in this section. These
are the major areas of the marketing mix strategy which will enable the company to achieve
its desired goals and objectives. These marketing programs will highlight the different
marketing tools which the company will be using to make the marketing program successful.
The marketing objectives can be achieved with the help of these important elements. The
marketing mix will also guide the marketing decisions in the right path (Sisk, 2018).
Product/Service
The company provides customized payment solutions to the credit unions in Canada. The
company will offer credit card services to the same target segments. It will provide the
services of credit cards to the target customers with more facilities than that of its
competitors. The credit cards will have different credit limits depending on the credibility of
the customers. There will be flexibilities in paying the bills of the credit card transactions.
The minimum pay can also be customized as per the convenience of the customers. There
will be mobile application compatible for both Android and Apple iOS. The mobile
application will provide different information to the customers. The credit cards will be
offered to any customer on the basis of proper documentation.

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Pricing
The annual charges for the credit cards will be quite lower than that of the price charged by
the competitor firms. The customers can pay the annual charges at a time or in installments.
Low charges will attract and retain customers in the long term. The company will be
implementing penetrative pricing where it will lower prices to attract the target customers
(ZKjadoon, 2015).
Distribution System
The company will be using direct marketing and eMarkting or online. The credit cards can be
available directly from the company and the customers can also get the cards by applying
online through the official website of the company (Linton, 2019). The marketing executives
of the company will visit the target customers and will promote the products and services.
These two channels of distribution will help the company to reach its customers effectively
and to market effectively (Bhasin, 2017).
Marketing Communications
The marketing communications strategies will be composed of various methods that will be
undertaken by the company for promoting and selling its credit cards to the members of the
credit unions in Canada. The marketing communications mix that has been proposed by the
management is described as follows:
 Advertising
Advertising is the process of publicizing a product or service to the target consumer segment
(Akroush, 2011). It helps in making the product reach the target customers in the target
market segment, with the intention of attracting them towards the product or service, as well
as to turn them into loyal customers of the brand. For Collabria, the advertising policies will
consist of various media such as television commercials, newspaper advertisements, and
primarily the social media services such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for promoting
the credit card services to the target customers.
 Direct Marketing end ecommerce/marketing
Direct marketing refers to selling a product or service directly to the target customers without
any intermediaries. The company will adopt a direct marketing approach in order to sell the
credit cards to the members of the credit unions in the country. Ecommerce marketing will

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also be undertaken by the organization to sell the credit cards to the target segment. The
internet and digital communication technologies will be used for promoting credit cards
through the official website of the company. Therefore, a combination of direct marketing
and ecommerce marketing will be implemented in marketing credit cards to the desired
customer segment (Baruah, 2012).
 Sales Promotion
Sales promotion is the method to enhance the volume of sales to the target customers. This is
undertaken in several ways by an organization in order to increase the sales of some of its
existing products or newly launched products into the target segment. Sales promotion is
generally undertaken through various methods such as discounts, loyalty coupons, free gifts
and other types, in order to attract the target consumers and turn them into loyal customers of
the brand through effective retention strategies for the company. The sales promotion
strategies for Collabria Financials will consist of offering loyalty coupons and cashbacks on
every transaction undertaken using the credit card from the company (Lee, 2013).
People
The concept of people refers to the various entities or intermediaries in the marketing channel
integrated within the supply chain of an organization, through which a product or service is
marketed to the target segment of consumers (Mohammad, 2015). So, basically it consists of
the employees, the management personnel, the suppliers, the stakeholders and all the human
assets of the business through which the services are offered to the customers by the
company. In case of the Collabria Financials the people will be the key asset in making it
possible for the organization to succeed with its proposed launching of credit card facilities
for the members of the credit unions in Canada.
Process
The process in service marketing refers to the several methods and techniques that are used
by the organization in order to successfully advertise, promote and sell its products and
services to the target consumer segment (Yasanallah & Vahid, 2012). It is an aggregate of
several functions integrating various departments of the organization that is directly or
indirectly related to the marketing and selling of the product or service to the target
customers. For Collabria, the processes consist of the functions of various departments
including the Marketing and Sales, and Advertising and Public Relations department that is

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primarily responsible for selling the credit card and other financial services to the credit
unions in Canada.
Physical Evidence
The physical evidence refers to the tangibility of a product or service that the customers need
to have when they are buying a product mainly. Some physical evidence about the product or
service that the customers are about to receive from a brand is necessary. This increases the
interest of the customers and at the same time, enhances the trust in the brand and its products
or services. Hence, the service-based organizations such as the banking and financial services
sector which deal in intangible services that cannot be seen or touched have to offer some
physical evidence in the form of documents, bonds or papers to the target customers, so that
they can physically touch and see the details of the terms and conditions and the several
policies related to the service. Collabria undertakes a similar approach in offering such
financial services to the credit unions in Canada and it will be the same for the credit card
services also.
Market Research
Market research is to be undertaken by an organization from time to time in order to assess
the current and forecast the future tastes and preferences of the consumers in the target
segment. This can be undertaken in various forms such as through the collection of secondary
data or primary data, depending on the choice of the marketing department of the
organization. Secondary data can be gathered from various online resources available on the
internet such as previous research articles, reports and other publications containing
information about the nature of the market, the consumer tastes and preferences and the
changing behavior or trends of the consumers. Collabria has undertaken the primary data
collection process with the help of surveys on a target population which has been selected in
the form of a sample of around 50 members of the different credit unions in Canada. They
have been asked questions about the proposed launching of the credit card facilities along
with the feedbacks on the current services offered by the company, based on the responses of
the sample respondents the marketing activities will be finally chosen and implemented by
the organization.
6. Action Program
The action programmer undertaken by the management of the organization refers to the
several functions and strategies that have been proposed to be implemented by the marketing

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department of the organization in order to successfully promote the credit card services to the
credit union members in Canada. It is evident from the service marketing concepts that there
are 7 elements in the service marketing mix and it is essential for the company to be able to
execute each phase of the marketing mix effectively, so that the comprehensive marketing
objectives are attained in time. It is essential for all the parties involved in the advertising,
sales promotion, marketing and selling of the credit cards to the credit union members to
undertake the responsibilities ethically and with commitment, so that the desired marketing
objectives are successfully achieved. Effective coordination and teamwork are solicited from
all the entities involved in the marketing and selling of the products and services to the target
consumers in order to make the proposed marketing venture of the organization successful.
7. Financial Impact
The financial impact of the proposed credit card services from Collabria Financial can be
estimated from the following projected financial statements. All the figures are in $.
PROJECTED CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT
2019 2020 2021
Revenue 220 280 360
Cost of Goods Sold
(125) (165) (195)
Net revenue 95 115 165
Operating costs
(16) (18) (22)
Depreciation and depletion
(25) (35) (42)
Gross profit 54 62 101
General and administration expenses
(15) (18) (29)
Other income 32 45 65
Investment and finance income 13 18 22

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Provision for surplus over entitlement
(20) (26) (32)
Provision for impairments
(13) (18) (21)
Other expenses
(5) (8) (12)
Change in fair value of investment property
(4) (6) (8)
Exploration expenses
(18) (21) (26)
Finance cost
(11) (12) (14)
PROFIT BEFORE INCOME TAX 13 16 46
Income tax expense 3.9 4.8 13.8
PROFIT FOR THE YEAR 9 11 32
PROJECTED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION
201
9
202
0
202
1
ASSETS
Non-current assets
Property, plant and equipment 122 125 128
Intangible assets INCLUDING PRELIMINARY EXPENSES 45 65 85
Investment property 65 75 85
Current assets
Inventories 80 90 120
Trade and other receivables 60 65 75

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Available-for-sale financial asset 25 30 35
Financial assets at fair value
through profit or loss 18 20 25
Cash and bank balance 26 57 65
TOTAL ASSETS 441 527 618
EQUITY AND LIABILITIES
Share capital 80 120 130
Statutory reserve 25 35 55
Legal reserve 15 20 30
Retained earnings 8 12 15
Non-current liabilities
Borrowings 110 120 146
Provisions 18 25 32
Current liabilities
Borrowings 120 120 130
Trade payables and accruals 65 75 80
Total liabilities 313 340 388
TOTAL EQUITY AND LIABILITIES 441 527 618
The financial projections for the 3 years reveal profitability for the business and hence, it can
be predicted that the proposed business will achieve success in its new venture of offering
credit card services to the members of the credit unions in Canada.

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8. Controls and Contingency
It is essential for the management to be able to successfully control, monitor and evaluate the
newly launched marketing strategies in order to determine the effectiveness of such
techniques and procedures that have been implemented by the organization to sell its newly
launched credit cards to the members of the credit unions in Canada. In achieving effective
control over the processes the management has decided to keep some key performance
indicators (KPIs) in place for determining the success or failure of each strategy in the
advertising, sales promotion, marketing and sells policies of the organization (Francis &
Armstrong, 2003). Contingencies refer to any risks or uncertain events that might arise in
future in course of the business that can impact the flow of the business activities and thereby
influence the market growth and profitability hence the management of the organization has
designed some effective risk assessment and risk mitigation strategies to counter the effects
of various types of risks that the business might face. Some of the most common risks that the
business might come across can be natural calamities such as earthquakes, cyclones, famines,
floods etc. (Husted, 2005). The other causes of risks can be several environmental factors
such as changes in the political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal
principles and regulations within the country that might impact the credit card business.
Finally, there can be other forms of risk factors such as accidents, robbery sudden death of
any of the directors or management personnel, bankruptcy, etc. That will certainly impact the
progress of the business. Hence, the management has formulated effective risk management
strategies to forecast and mitigate the various risks and uncertainties that the business might
face (Kot & Dragon, 2015).

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