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Product Class: We are a Business to Consumer Company, based around providing a service. At the inception of our company we will be a specialty product, because there is nothing like it currently in Boise. The goal will to become a convenience product which people will use regularly. Current Life Cycle Stage Our service is in the introduction stage of the product lifecycle, we are trying to stimulate market interest and create demand. We must get out as much information as we can in order to get people curious about what our product can do for them. New Product Development In order to develop this product we will need 5-10 employees to begin. We will look for investments from cycle organizations which are looking to promote an increased use in bicycles as transportation. We will also take advantage of government grants for small business and environmentally friendly companies. It will take time to create a wide demand for this product. We will strive to achieve 500 bike rentals a day when we reach year 5 as a company. Product Liability, Safety, Social Responsibility Our biggest issue of liability will be the inevitable occurrence of an injury or death because of the nature of bicycle use. We will require that every user sign a release of liability ensuring that they assume the risk that comes with riding a bike and that no fault will be placed on the company. The release will also state that at the time of rental the bikes are in proper working order. It will state that the bikes have an intended use of road travel and are not meant to jumped, raced or any other extreme activity. We will not require the use of helmets, because Idaho doesnt have a helmet law, but with each bicycle rental we will provide a helmet so that the user has the option to wear it or not. Specs of Core Physical Good Our bikes will be generic in features: 18 gears, disc brakes, hardtail, 26 wheel base, and a 17 frame. We will base what brands of these products we use based on what relationships we can develop with a bicycle manufacture to produce the required bikes for our company. The general features will be consistent no matter what brand we end up marketing.

Warranty We will always look to help our customers if there is an issue with the bicycle that they are renting from us. If, for any reason, a bike that is in use ceases to work properly, we will provide that consumer with a replacement bike. If we determine that the damage was cause from improper use, we will then proceed to discuss that issue with the customer. Branding We will aim to obtain a relationship with a bicycle manufacture which has recognizable brand equity with the greater population. Examples of this would be Specialized, Gary Fisher, Trek, Diamondback and Mongoose. We will create brand relevance for our company by demonstrating the benefits that our service can provide both health and financial benefits. Packaging Our promotion and labels will be placed directly on the bikes themselves. We will combine marketing both our company and the companies which we partner with on the bikes and the rental kiosks. Cultural Sensitivity We will take advantage of the cultural trend to move toward products that are eco-friendly. Fit with Product Line For the time being this will be our only product offered by our company. We will readdress this topic in the future, pending the successful launch of this service.

Place Objectives To generate a 12% profit over the first year; Add new stations within the next two years; Develop more bicycles within next two years; Create energy saving methods Eventually, we may want to expand our rental offerings to include skates and scooters.

Type of Channel (Direct, Indirect, Mixed) In our direct marketing, we do not have face-to-face communication to customers. We might use direct mail such as postcards, brochures, and catalogs or mobile messaging, emails, interactive consumer websites, online display ads, fliers, promotional letters, and outdoor advertising. Our direct marketing messages emphasize a focus on the customer, data, and accountability. It appears that indirect marketing methods will often be less expensive. We can set up a Facebook account at no cost, setting up a blog is also free or relatively inexpensive, so this would be taken into account. We can also ask grocery stores around the Greenbelt to promote our bicycles to their customers. For instance, we can give discounts to the customers referred by them and in return we could put their logos on our bikes. How Discrepancies will be Handled The best way would be to prevent discrepancies in the first place. This would require multiple fail safes and checks. If there was a discrepancy, communication would be key along with cooperation. Measures would have to be taken to prevent these from happening in the future.

How are functions shared? Shared services organizations are built on a foundation of reducing cost, promoting efficiencies, and ultimately, achieving high performance. It is part of our plan to share our business.

Coordination A lack of coordination between management, labor, production, marketing, and sales, will result in delays, in turn this would cause the organization to become highly inefficient. Unreliability will drive the customers away from the organization. There should not be any delay in our business, if we have a good coordinator within our staff. We will make sure we always have safe and reliable bikes available at all rental stations. A usual sign of the lack of coordination is spending double the efforts, materials, and time to produce the same item, since you would produce it twice while one is not functional. We need flexibility in keeping track of our data in order to realize how many bikes are rented during weekends or weekdays. Lack of information can create a cascading effect that will damage our business. We do not want unreliability driving our customers away. As previously mentioned, good coordination always ensures availability of enough safe and reliable bikes and satisfied customers.

Transportation Requirements Providing transportation needs is our greatest care. Customers should be able to trust us with providing them transportation rentals at any time and situation. In case there is any problem with their bike, we will them a new one as soon as possible.

Inventory Product-Handling Requirements Facilities required (private/public warehousing, distribution centers): Our rental fleet is regularly updated with new equipment and maintained according to manufacturers specifications. We have to have extra bikes in our inventory. To successfully accomplish this, we will work closely with our trusted partners. These trusted partners are warehouse systems that achieve our customers goals to get their bike as soon as possible. We cannot shield ourselves from product recalls. We should be prepared if one were to happen. This would require having a close relationship with the bike suppliers, so they could get the bikes fixed as soon as possible.Our customers safety is our first concern. Safety comes first. And with any product recall, we will very quickly remove the defected bikes from our fleet so no liability is place on us.

Promotion: Objective Our objective will be to create awareness and interest in our product. We will do this by using several types forms of marketing including social media, 3rd party affiliation, radio promos and any other effective means at our discretion. Major Message Our major promotional message will be that we offer an alternative to transportation by automobile which is cost effective, environmentally friendly, and healthy. Promo Blend Ads We will use ads in any way we can whether they be posters at bike shops, radio ads aimed at the morning and evening rush hours, social media and any other ad type we feel is cost effective. Selling We will use direct selling because we are a small organization and establishing a relationship with our consumers and suppliers is extremely important to the longevity of our service. Promo We will use promotions such as rent five times get one free, discounted first time rental, discounts for greater length rentals, and any other incentive we deem effective ad generating high rates of usage. Publicity We will stimulate publicity through social media, getting involved in the local bicycle organizations and shops. Interactive Media We will create a website for our company listing our products and prices. We will create Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and any other free social medial tool we can use to reach the public. We will also combine with the manufactures, local shops and organizations to create links on their pages to our pages and vice versa. Push Pull We will emphasize pull strategies since our product goes directly to the consumer and we dont use distribution centers.

Who will do it A team of two to three individuals will come together to be our promotional managers and create our ads. Price Nature of Demand The substitutes are driving a car, paying for fuel, and increasing emission. Public transportation is also a usable substitute. Demand and Cost Analysis Boise is a bicycle friendly city and demand continues to increase thanks to projects like the green belt. Bicyclists have doubled in the last 5 years. 65%-70% of operating costs will come from grants and sponsorships. 30%-35% of operating costs will come from bike rental memberships Markup in Chain There is no markup Price Flexibility The rate is expected to stay the same for the next few years, if after that maintenance and upkeep costs go up then the prices could be raised. Price Level and Impact on Customer Value The price is very affordable. It's cheaper than gas and more convenient than having to find a parking spot. Parking alone makes this a great value, as general parking passes are over $100 alone, and meters can be up to $2 an hour. Adjustments to Price Companies would be able to purchase bulk amounts of passes for a 10% discount. Depending on the licensing, bikes used or rented on campus could have a higher price if it costs more to have kiosks there.

Control All causes of performance gaps have been identified, no actions are being hampered by other functional areas.

Total Expense

Timing

1. Secure funding for the system infrastructure 2. Secure operational costs for the first two years 3. Hire and train program managers and other staff members 4. Work with city staff, Boise State University, and private property owners to identify exact location of bike stations 5. Acquire proper permitting from the city to install bike stations 6. Identify infrastructure needs for each bike station location 7. Acquire sponsorships 8. Install bike stations 9. Assemble bikes 10. Begin marketing and advertising programs to the public as well as companies at bulk for discounts 11. Sell memberships 12. Test the system 13. Deploy bikes

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References Bikes Belong. Retrieved from http://www.bikesbelong.org/resources/statsandresearch/statistics/ City-Data.com Boise, ID.. Retrieved from City-data.com: http://www.city-data.com/city/BoiseCity-Idaho.html Minneapolis Nice Ride. Retrieved from https://www.niceridemn.org/ Parks and Rec. Retrieved from City of Boise: http://parks.cityofboise.org/ Tresure Valley Cycling Alliance. Retrieved from http://www.biketreasurevalley.org/