Answers to today's questions

[Emily]

Hi Everyone,

I talked with my contact tonight and here are the responses to the
questions you had in class today. I think these answers will really
help in setting up our campaigns as I was able to get more specific
answers about who they would really like to target and where. I
apologize if my notes are a bit choppy, I was trying to type while on
the phone with them. Let me know if you have questions.

One to three words to describe your company?
Work-life balance, support for personal growth, burnout, stress, job-
related stress, relationship stress, enlighten, inspire, renewing/
refreshing your life, replenish one’s self

It’s like going to a really nice, classy camp, but being deeply
changed and leave w\ looking a life in a new way. Feeling like you
have more joy in your life.

They would really like us to focus on the retreat aspect. The training
for professionals is getting up and running at this point, but they
want to really do more with their retreats. For training, they give
Continuing Ed Credit for individuals (which they are certified to
give).

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Any feedback from customers from retreats?

A retreat is focused around 3 basic steps:

1- why are you here? what do you want to gain from this retreat? 2-
what roadblocks are stopping you? 3- what do you need to do to get
what you want? (they leave with a plan)

It is a very intense, up-close counseling service to initiate personal
growth for whatever reasons a person has.

this is done using therapy with sandtrays, nature activities.
Symbolism activities. To help have a deeper understanding of what
struggles you have so that you can start to move on.

One of the big things they heard from customers was “I loved that the
retreat was all about me”. “I got what I was told I would get, it was
renewing and transforming”. “I came back with a renewed energy to make
changes I’ve wanted to make in my life.”

Women come and identify what they want to get out of the weekend

examples include – one wanted to explore whether the career she was
in was where she wanted to stay, or if it was time to move on bc she
was feeling burned out and stressed. She identified roadblocks of her
comfort level, she wasn’t sure how she was going to create a new path,
personal insecurities. She then left with a plan, that was worked out
at the retreat, of how she could deal with those roadblocks to her
goal.

Another woman worked on a relationship that wasn’t going well. She was
dealing with abuse from her past that was affecting her relationship.
The retreat gave her time to focus on this issue. She left having some
clear thoughts and ideas on how to work that relationship and what
kinds of expectations to have. She was able to be more clear about
what would work for her to stay in the relationship and was less
fearful if she chose to leave the relationship; she gained a lot of
personal strength for her relationship.

Another woman had worked in a tsunami-hit area as a red cross worker.
She went in after the tsnumi to find lost people (this is called
tracing). She worked for 2 years to help another country set up their
own tracing company (this was a war-torn country). She had been caught
in the middle of battles while there. She was burned out from all of
this and wasn’t ready to take a new assignment in her work because of
this and didn’t know if she wanted to do it anymore. The retreat
helped her work on what had happened to her and to help her re-
entering ‘normal’ life (the country she was in, she saw a lot of
dying, violence, etc).

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Target audience – women’s weekend?
Professional women, middle aged, in the middle of their careers. Women
who are questioning the direction of their life at this point. Prefer
to target individuals on the east coast, due to convenience/closeness
of traveling to the retreat site. Michigan would be a target area as
well, they don’t think people further west from Michigan would be
interested due to travel. Most of their clients have been from
Michigan and Massachusetts – could focus on these areas to continue
building clientele.

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What advertisements have they done? How have they marketed this
business to this point? How do they market offline? How do you reach
people?
A lot of word of mouth, on facebook, through their trainings of
professional people (mostly therapists, some teachers, non-profits)
who then pass word of mouth along. Haven’t done any magazine or
newspaper ads. Only have done a brochure for print marketing, and
their web site.

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When did the business start?
2004 is when the idea developed, but have really just been very active
and serious the past 2 years. Time before that was really spent
setting up the business and retreat area. Have only done 1 women’s
retreat at this point, which was in October, this one in June will be
their 2nd.

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Where is it registered?
In East Lansing

Growing Edge Adventures
2410 Burcham Drive
East Lansing, 48823

*though they do not prefer to publicize this address*

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How do they do their online marketing?
Just have their website at this point, no one to handle online
marketing. We are their first experience in this realm.

[qia...@msu.edu]

Thanks Emily, I think the answers are really helpful! ! Now we can modify our report based on these information. 
I have a tough exam tonight, probably, i will discuss with you guys later tonight or tomorrow! 

Have a good day!

QI