Chapter 72: Marketing Plan [20 GT Bonus - ]

Chapter 72: Marketing Plan [20 GT Bonus Chapter]

Once they finished eating breakfast, Ethan drove Evelyn and Nora to the shop, lingering a little to help them out.

Once the shop was set and Cassandra was around, he got onto his bike and zoomed off.

Reaching Stark Industries took some time. After all, he was in another city entirely.

By the time he got there, it was almost 9 AM. Parking his bike outside, he was quickly approached by a familiar man—Lucas’s driver.

"Welcome, Mr. Hale," The young man said politely. "Mr. Stark asked me to bring you to him."

Ethan glanced around, then nodded. "Alright, let’s go."

.........

Meanwhile, in the conference room, the members of the marketing team were already getting annoyed.

Trying to mask his displeasure, one of them asked, "Mr. Stark, are you sure this man you’re waiting for will come today? It’s almost an hour already."

Seated at the head of the table, Lucas calmly opened his eyes and looked at the man.

"He said he will come. So he will."

The man fell silent, but someone else took his place.

"Who is this man, Mr. Stark? Is it someone from the government or an outside help?"

Lucas glanced at the woman but didn’t answer that. As another person opened their mouth to speak, the door opened and Ethan entered.

Everyone turned to him, their eyes measuring.

A neat blue shirt with the first button opened and a pair of black trousers. He looked cool and handsome, but nothing special.

Crushing the lollipop in his mouth, he pocketed the stick and walked over to Lucas.

"As I promised, I’m here. Let’s make this quick."

The older man nodded with a smile. "Of course. I understand."

He turned back to his team, his expression serious. "This is Mr. Hale here, and I want you to treat him with the same respect as you would treat me. Understood?"

They all exchanged glances, then nodded reluctantly.

Sitting beside Lucas, Ethan tapped the table. "So what’s it about? Fill me in."

Lucas nodded. "We’re preparing to launch a new line of smart-home devices under one unified ecosystem. Smart security cameras, smart door locks, motion sensors, smart lighting, home energy monitors, a central control hub, and a mobile app that connects everything."

Ethan blinked, as he remembered this particular thing from his past life. It wasn’t that popular back then, but it had been a good one.

"Not bad, continue."

Lucas nodded and laid out the problem. "We’re having problems figuring out how to launch it. And that’s where I need your help."

He turned to the young man who had spoken earlier. "Repeat your expansion plan."

The man sighed and started. "We plan to launch it in the five major cities in the country. We already prepared the cost for advertisement, establishing distribution centers, and hiring sales representatives. That way, we can dominate the market immediately and start generating revenue."

Ethan listened to him calmly, then asked, "How much would the entire system cost?"

The man blinked in surprise, then answered. "Approximately $1200."

Ethan slowly nodded. "Do you think any regular customer would want to buy that?"

"Huh?"

Several members of the team echoed the sound, baffled by the question. Who wouldn’t prefer an all-in-one system?

Sighing, he explained to them. "A person who’s used to buying only one product will hesitate when you shove too many products right in their faces. Sure, you would sell, but the chart you prepared on that board is unrealistic for your early sales. It will probably take you a few years to reach that level."

Lucas frowned. "I really didn’t think of it that way. Then what should we do?"

"It’s simple." Ethan shrugged. "Push out only one product. Then once they’ve become your customers, you can lure them into buying the rest."

Someone hesitated. "Only one product? Wouldn’t that be the opposite of what we want?"

"Yes, a total opposite," Ethan admitted. "However, that is what you need for now. First, get regular customers for your company, then have them introduced to the system. In fact, there’s something you should do if you want to make this bigger."

Lucas immediately leaned forward. "What’s that?"

"If you want to lure more customers in, have your gateway product sold with a relatively low profit margin—or even near break-even," Ethan said, stunning them.

A young woman on the team immediately rejected the idea. "We won’t be making any real profit from that. And it’s not going to benefit us in any way."

Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Not making real profit? I agree. However, the benefit is what you should be looking at. Not the immediate revenue generated."

Her eyes narrowed. "What benefit?"

"Don’t think of the security hub as a product. Think of it as a doorway."

The team members looked at him.

"Once a customer walks through that doorway, every other product you sell becomes easier to sell."

He shrugged and leaned back into the chair.

Still uncomfortable with the idea, the young man from earlier spoke. "But our first revenue... It’s going to be very low."

Ethan’s eyes shifted to him. "You’re looking at the first revenue. I’m looking at the next ten. Which is more important?"

Instantly, the man fell silent, unable to argue.

Lucas finally spoke up, having remained silent.

"We’ll do it as Mr. Hale has said. Let’s go simple from the start. It’s better to retain more customers and create larger opportunities for future sales than to chase huge revenue from a smaller customer base."

No one disagreed with him, as they had now gotten the crux of the plan.

Lucas turned to Ethan and smiled. "I knew it was the right decision calling you for this. Thank you."

The young man nodded casually.

Lucas dismissed the others, leaving only himself and Ethan in the conference room.

"That was a brilliant strategy, Brother Ethan. I was just like them, too focused on—"

Ethan interrupted him. "Yeah, yeah. I know. Your phone is ringing, by the way."

Lucas froze, then checked the caller. Seeing the name, his expression changed.

Meanwhile, back in Arcane City, a few bikes parked near Evelyn’s shop, and four hefty men with tattoos and cigarettes on their lips approached the shop.