Further examination of the proposed Marketing Plan to market Girl Relief to the US market focus on areas such as potential

market size, target market, marketing strategy, entry mode, marketing mix, manpower/administration, marketing expenses, forecast sales as well as financial implications. Using the pricing and forecast sales volume agreed with our potential distributor, Wellsprings Product Inc, it is obvious that the original proposal of marketing Girl Relief to the US market is a very viable project. According to this study, the project will be profitable within the first year of operation generating an estimated trading profit of about half million US Dollars rising to about 10 million US Dollars in the 5th year. 1.0 Introduction This is a continuation of the Marketing Plan For Abundant Health Ltd. During the first assignment, we have covered topics such as PEST Analysis, Market Analysis, SWOT Analysis and Key Issues & Opportunities. Based on the findings of our first report, the Board has agreed to our proposal to market Girl Relief in the US. This paper will look into further detail on how the actual Marketing Plan is being carried out. 2.0 Potential Market As explained in the first part of the Marketing Plan, USA has a population of about 318 million with about 4.5% as Asians. Among the Asians, Chinese forms the majority and most of them are highly urbanised and concentrated particularly in cities of over 100, 000 population, mostly on the West Coast and in New York City. In other words, total Asian Population in USA amounts to about 14.5 million excluding those holding work permits and student visas. 3.0 Target Market As Girl Relief (Dong Quai) is a very established herb used over a century as health supplement by Asian ladies, it is natural that we should initially target our marketing on the Asian population. This will save a lot of cost in promotional work as most American Asians who are originally immigrants have already had a good knowledge on the benefits of consuming Girl Relief (Dong Quai). However, we shall be too willing and cater to the needs of other Americans as well, taking into consideration women in USA, particularly in the middle-age bracket, form the major consumer group of herbal supplements owing to rising health consciousness, increased concern for diet, and enhanced attention towards preventive healthcare. 4.0 Marketing Strategy The basic marketing strategy employed by us will be Michael Porters Generic Strategies which are Cost Leadership Strategy, Differentiation Strategy and Focus Strategy. Cost Leadership Strategy is used because Girl Relief (Dong Quai) is processed from celery like plants Angelica Sinensis which are found abundantly in China. This means that Abundant Health Ltd. with its headquarters and factory located in Quangzhou is able to minimize the cost of product due to factors such as proximity of the raw material Angelica Sinensis plants, low labour cost in China, own manufacturing facility and economy of scale.

Differentiation strategy will be applicable due to the emphasis that Girl Relief is a natural extract of a herbal plant called Angelica Sinensis which has been scientifically processed and which has been used by Asian women over a century without any side effects.The strict process and quality control in Abundant Health factory in Quangzhou is such that each capsule of of Girl Relief contains a fixed content of the active ingredient which is 565 mg of Dong Quai. Abundant Health Ltd. can guarantee the quality consistency of Girl Relief as it is an ISO9001 registered company which also practices GMP and subject to regular external audit. This in itself is a difference to other forms of Dong Quai in liquid or root forms from other suppliers which have a lot of impurities. As part of the differentiation strategy, we will make use of leading research centre in the US to conduct collaboration study on the efficacy of Dong Quai vis-a-vis synthetic equivalents such as Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) which has one of its origins from pregnant horse urine. Focus strategy will be relevant as only one product, Girl Relief, will be marketed to USA although Abundant Health Ltd. has a range of ten herbal supplements. Girl Relief is chosen because it is the most marketable and profitable health supplement with a gross margin of 90% of sales value largely from a home market which has a much lower purchasing power than USA in so far as per capital income is concerned. Focus strategy will also be relevant as our plan is to promote Girl Relief to the Asian Community in USA who will have no problem in accepting the benefits by Girl Relief. This focus strategy of segmentation will not only prevent the company from diluting its attention but it will also help to cut down its marketing costs since most Asian ladies already have a good knowledge of Dong Quai. 4.1 Entry Mode Cost consideration is always an important factor in any business decision. In order to have a low cost entry and to cut down investment cost, it is highly recommended that Abundant Health Ltd employs an exporting approach by exporting Girl Relief to USA market through an appointed distributor in USA. Indirect export is necessary and preferred because Abundant Health does not know the customers and market conditions well in USA and need the know-how and services of a local distributor to establish the market, thus reducing the chances of making silly mistakes. Indeed, the current human resource capacity of Abundant Health Ltd is simply not capable of direct marketing to the US market. Besides, the use of distributor will also cut down a lot of sales administration work like delivery, invoicing, credit control, handling customer complaints etc. 4.2 Collaborators As mentioned in section 4.1, the entry mode to the US market for Abundant Health Ltd is via a distributor. A search from internet and subsequent correspondence has revealed that a suitable distributor would be Wellsprings Products, Inc. located at 1465 Slater Road, Ferndale, WA 98248, USA. Wellsprings Products Inc is recommended as our distributor because it has 25 years experience in detailing Chinese herbal products in USA. It is in fact a registered ISO 13485 medical company specializing in the distribution of heath product. They serve the entire North American market

from their West Coast location. They are an active wholesale and retail company, registered with the Better Business Bureau. They are dedicated to providing their customers with the best value , real-time service and top notch quality products and services. They also have an office located in Vancouver, Canada. This is useful and relevant for us in a slightly longer term because it will be a natural progression to expand into the market in Canada as Canada, USA and Mexico are actually a single market under the NAFTA arrangement. 4.3 Product Although Abundant Health has 10 products available, only Girl Relief or Dong Quai is selected to market in the US. This is because Girl Relief is a very established product and has been used over a thousand years in Asia as a health supplement for Asian ladies. It is in fact also known as female ginseng. Girl Relief is scientifically processed from the roots of Dong Quai ( Angelica sinensis ) from our modern factory located in Quangzhou. It is a patented product with registered trade mark. It exists in capsule form containing 565 mg per capsule of the herb. It is packed in a bottle of 100 capsules. The benefits of Girl Relief amongst others are : Girl Relief can alleviate or reduce symptoms of menopause . Girl Relief can alleviate or reduce symptoms of PMS. Girl Relief has been known to aid new mothers in rebuilding strength after childbirth. Girl Relief can relieve nasal congestion and pain from rheumatoid arthritis. Girl Relief can help regulate the menstrual cycle. Although all supplements sold in USA have to conform to the FDA Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 whereby manufacturers are responsible for ensuring that a dietary supplement is safe before it is marketed, this should not be a concern to Abundant Health Ltd as it is an ISO approved company and practice GMP which is a requirement for any herbal company intending to sell to USA. However, there is a need to re-label our product so that the English Language description will appear more prominently to suit the American market. With all the benefits of Girl Relief and its established brand name it is expected that Girl Relief will be welcomed by the Asian women in USA.

4.4 Price Girl Relief is already getting a high margin of 90% on sales value in China market where the purchasing power is well below that in US. This is mainly due to customers perceived value and benefits which could be obtained by using Girl Relief. In view of this scenario, it is highly recommended that we should aim for the same return of gross margin in the US market. Indeed, by pricing at the same margin is actually equivalent to a discount in the light of the higher purchasing power in USA. However, to ease our cash flow it is recommended a discount of 5% be given if the purchase is on cash term instead of the normal 30 days from date of invoice.