The initial engagement plan should attract customers to the company and make sure the base expands with time. Palmatier, Kumar, and Harmeling highlight first purchases, repeat purchases, referral behaviors, and spontaneous word-of-mouth as points of interest (89). According to Borlase, the company should begin engaging stakeholders 12-18 months before opening the business (758). From there, the company should advertise itself and ensure that the customers receive excellent service. Their feedback should then attract others who may be in search of an electric car.
A cross-functional team will be necessary to facilitate sales and provide the best experience to the consumer. According to Anderson, the purpose of such a team is to combine expertise from different professions (134). Parker suggests using a sales representative, engineer, lawyer, programmer, accountant, and financial expert for sales (52). For this campaign, a project manager, accountant, data analyst, consumer research analyst, and consumer engagement specialist will be required.
On a larger scale, there will be multiple critical actors both within EVMS and beyond it. Within the company, the Sales, Billing, and Inventory departments are essential, as they process all aspects of the operation. The shipping department will not be present in the company, as customers usually retrieve their cars personally. The customers are critical external actors in the ecosystem, and Gliedt and Larson highlight the role of the government in the electric car industry (215). There is currently not enough competition in Alabama to pose a significant threat to a new company, but the situation may change in the future.
The engagement plan should consist of three major steps: research, immersion, and measurement. Initially, the sales department should analyze the potential consumer base for electric cars and determine the factors that interest them. Next, it should develop a campaign based on these factors and put it into action, attracting customers as a result. Lastly, the analysts should observe the effects of the effort in terms of customer influx and satisfaction and make the necessary corrections based on their findings. Afterward, they can continue using the approach with periodic reviews and additional adjustments to account for changes in the customer base.
The “continue operating,” “has the consumer base changed,” and “accommodate the changes” elements are looped because consumer engagement is a continuous process. Ideally, the initial engagement should transition into the company’s permanent marketing strategy. As such, the tasks represent that process as well as the continuous improvement based on the evolution of the consumer base.
Engagement Plan Goa
The goal of the engagement plan is to create an initial consumer base and secure sales. The company wants to retain the customers it makes and to make sure that they recommend it to others who are interested in purchasing an electric car.
Works Cited
Anderson, Donald L. Organization Design: Creating Strategic & Agile Organizations. SAGE, 2019.
Borlase, Stuart, editor. Smart Grids: Advanced Technologies and Solutions. 2nd ed. CRC Press, 2017.
Gliedt, Travis, and Kelli Larson. Sustainability in transition: Principles for Developing Solutions. Routledge, 2018.
Palmatier, Robert W., V. Kumar, and Colleen M. Harmeling, editors. Customer Engagement Marketing. Palgrave Macmillan, 2018.
Parker, Glenn M. Cross-Functional Teams: Working with Allies, Enemies, and Other Strangers. John Wiley & Sons, 2015.