Business Proposal

Business Writing Spring 2020 1. 2018 Retail Market Report Findings, as reported in Lawrence Journal World 2. Lawrence Chamber of Commerce, Priorities for Growing Froward BUSINESS PROPOSAL POINTS POSSIBLE:140 DUE: FRIDAY, APRIL 24 AT 11:59PM Your Task You are working for the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce to identify new businesses to recruit to Lawrence, KS. The 2018 Retail Market Report found an overall commercial vacancy rate for Lawrence of 8.1% and a 13.5% vacancy rate in downtown1. This number represents a trend of increasing vacancies; the citywide vacancy rate is the highest since 2006, up from 7.4% in 2015. The Chamber and other city leaders want to reverse this trend; the Chamber is tasked with identifying new businesses to fill the vacant commercial properties. The Lawrence Chamber of Commerce identified 5 core initiatives to define economic growth for Lawrence & Douglas county2. You are working on the Business Recruitment & Marketing committee. Identify a new business for the Chamber to recruit to Lawrence. This can be an existing chain store (who could open a Lawrence location) or a small business (you need to explain the type of business). Write a proposal to the Chamber explaining the business to recruit to Lawrence. Your proposal should persuade the reader that this new business can be successful in the Lawrence community. Audience The Chamber President is your primary audience. Make sure your report can be understood by a general audience; the Chamber frequently posts information on their website for the public to access. Topics to Cover in the Proposal Your report should cover all 5 topics listed below. Use evidence in each section to persuade your reader. Write a heading for each of the 5 sections; do not use the topics listed here as the heading. See the Business Proposal video for examples. You should have at least 2 paragraphs of information under each topic. 1) Industry Information & Consumer Trends: Research the industry and consumer trends relevant to your selected business. 2) Lawrence Information: Include information about the city of Lawrence and the Lawrence population that is relevant to your selected business. For example: population in your target market, population growth, average income, education level. 3) Competition in Lawrence: Explain the competition in Lawrence (and/or neighboring communities) that currently exists for your business. 4) Comparison Cities: Provide information about 3 comparison cities. Compare the cities on 4 criteria (refer to the example criteria below, you are welcome to use other criteria as needed persuade your reader). Create a table so the reader can quickly determine how Lawrence compares on your selected criteria. Cite the source of each piece of evidence in the table following the example provided in the Business Proposal video. Write at least 2 paragraphs before the table to highlight key information and persuade the reader that Lawrence is an ideal city for your proposed business. Business Writing Spring 2020 Example Comparison Criteria: Real estate costs, average income, sales tax rates, population growth, current competition in the area, available workforce, cost of living, average salary, education level) 5) Marketing Strategy: Provide an explanation of the marketing strategy (for both customers/clients and employees) the new business should use to be successful. Your recommendations must be based on evidence. You do not need a conclusion for your proposal; end your proposal with the marketing strategies. Research Requirements Your proposal must be supported by high-quality evidence. Consider the type of evidence that your reader will value. In the text of your proposal, cite your 8 sources following the Citation Guidelines on Blackboard. Your report will include: • A total of 8 sources. Use the Library Research Guide (in Module 13) to start. You are welcome to use credible sources not listed on the research guide as needed. • You are welcome to use more than 8 sources as needed to create a persuasive proposal. • Include a reference list with all sources cited in the proposal. Follow the Citation Guidelines and the reference list example provided on Blackboard. Proposal Requirements Your proposal should demonstrate the principles of effective business writing covered this semester. • You must use at least 2 visual elements (1 table of comparison cities; 1 other visual) • Start your proposal with a 1-paragraph executive summary (citing evidence) • Follow the format guidelines on the Business Proposal Format document on Blackboard Length: Your proposal should be approximately 2.5 to 3pages. You will not earn points just for reaching this page length; please refer to the rubric for grading criteria. However, most students require at least 2.5 pages to fulfill the goals of the assignment. Grading: Please review the rubric on Blackboard. Research Summary & Proposal Draft Your Research Summary (10 points) and draft (10 points) are both due to Blackboard before the Business Proposal deadline. Please see the course schedule for due dates.