Opportunity to Start a Business Based on UEA Campus - Essay Example

BUSINESS IDEA IN UEA     By         Location   Executive summary Given an opportunity to start a business at the University of East Anglia I would start a fruits outlet in the campus. In the surrounding environment, in and outside the campus, there are no fruits outlets to retail fruits to the staff and the students. A market survey will enable me to identify the fruits preference by UEA to be able to provide what is needed in the market. Intensive marketing within the institution will aid in pushing my products to the market while a good and reliable supplier will ensure I get the best quality at the best possible price. A research in the campus will help determine the market demand for fruits in the campus. Background information of the institution University of East Anglia is an English public university in the city of Nowish. Since its establishment in 1968, the university has grown to accommodate both local and international students with the enrollment for 2013 being 14602 students. Students have a variety of courses to choose from in the four faculties and twenty eight schools of study (UEA 2014, p.1). The school caters for diverse culture and is able to attract both local and international enrollments. Through the culture of transparency, the university is able to communicate constantly with students from its various campuses. Business idea UEA To generate a viable business idea in the campus, a study of the available market niche was necessary. A business started from a gap in the market is good as it mostly provides what is not provided in the market (Chantery 2014, p.1). After a study of the campus and its environs, I settled on starting a fruit business in the campus. So far there is no fruit vendor within the campus and immediately outside the campus, thus providing a market niche that needs to be filled. Reasons for picking fruit business Fruits are well known country wide for their nutritional and health benefits. Actually, most world ailments can be controlled or avoided through healthy eating. The focus on health in the recent years has increased due to an increase in non- communicable diseases which are mostly associated with the eating unhealthy food. Dietary recommendations, including those of UK emphasize on consumption of fruits, vegetables and lean meat (Jones, Conklin, Suhrcke& Monsivais 2014, p. 1) Junk are always tasty in the mouth, but nasty to the health of consumers due to the high chemical content in them as well as excess fat, sugar and salt. A look at the campus catering service provides barista coffee, patisserie and local and international cuisine (UEA 2014, P.1)). There is no provision for fruits in the catering service, thus creating a gap in the market. Moreover, the startup capital for a fruit business is considerably low and can be easily accessed by a student. Health benefit is a major catch in this business and with the educated customers in the campus; a fruit business is a viable idea that can be implemented to generate profit for the owner. Increased awareness on healthy eating is also a major factor that will contribute to the success of the business as well as availability of fruits from local suppliers thus making supplies easily available for the business. PESTLE analysis of the business PESTLE stands for political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental factors (Constantinides 2014, p.1). Political environment is favorable for the business due to the prevailing peace in the country. This is reflected in the business as usual mood even in the campus and outside. Economic conditions are also going to affect the operations of the business. With the target market being majorly students, the disposable income is limited. As such, the fairly low cost of fruits make the business viable in the campus. This may be made possible through minimizing operational costs to ensure fairly low prices for the fruits with a good profit margin. Operating only within the campus, no transport cost will be required for deliveries as the fruits can be delivered by foot to the students rooms. With increased consumer awareness on the benefits of fruits is an added advantage to the business as this will increase the stock turnover. Application of technology in this business will be through marketing where most of the marketing will be done online. The effect of fruits on the environment is mostly positive, but to ensure good environmental practices, I will provide bins to dispose peelings thus keeping a clean environment. SWOT analysis of the business SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (Constantinides 2014, p.1). The strengths of the business include providing fresh farm products to the consumers as the healthier option. The business has lower operating cost, therefore requires little capital to start and operate; with the lowest operating cost it will be able to charge fairly low prices for the fruits thus pricing advantage. Provision of healthy edibles is an advantage that will serve to attract customers’ thus high stock turnover leading to high profits (Bohm, 2009). Customer relation in strength in that being owned by a student within the campus, I will be able to relate to the students personally and attend to their needs. Availability of a variety of fruits will ensure a variety for the customers to choose from. The small size of the business ensures the business is manageable and any move in the wrong direction can easily be corrected. Large numbers of students in the campus provide a ready market for the fruits with there being no competitor in the campus at the time of starting thus providing a chance to create customer loyalty thus becoming a brand of its own. The business also has weak points to be addressed. Due to its small size, it may not be possible to supply the whole campus demand for fruits. The perishable nature of fruits is also a factor to consider since it can lead to great losses. Despite the weaknesses of the businesses, it has the potential that can be exploited in future. The business has the potential to expand and increase its products. Technology application in marketing is another opportunity to be exploited. Due to the size and the location of the business, the business may be exempted from paying taxes. The challenges are also inherent in the business. Competition is inevitable and the business expects competitors to set up a similar business in the campus, thus strategies have to be developed in advance to curb competition. Change in weather conditions may affect the supply of fruits. When the students are home for their holiday the operations of the business are paralyzed. Research before the onset of the business A thorough research on the market demand and supply is the first step before setting up the business. Market research gives entrepreneurs the basic information in business to help them start off well and avoid mistakes (Pyle 2014, p.1). I will conduct a research on the market demand through the use of questionnaires and personal interviews to be able to establish the types of fruits to stock. The questions to be included in the questionnaire include: do you prefer fruits over junk food? If yes, how often do you take fruits? This will have options such as once a day, twice a day, more than twice a day, rarely, any other answer. This will enable me to establish the demand for fruits by the UEA community. What are your favorite fruits? The choice of fruits preferred by the respondents will form a basis for the variety of stock to start with. Open areas for the respondent to write any other comment on the proposed fruit business will enable me to determine the taste and preference of the consumer. The respondents will represent the views of the potential market. The research is fairly cheap and if well managed it can cost a maximum of £50 which is on the higher side (Anderson K. M. 2014, p.1). Marketing techniques Among the marketing strategies I will use is the use of slogans such as ‘fruits for health’. Creating a website for the business will help me market the fruits before and after operation. The use of the slogan on my business website will continually inform clients of the health benefit of fruits. Online marketing will also be applicable to the campus website where students frequent. This ensures to reach the maximum possible consumers (Mooi & Sarstedt, 2011). The use of a The campus social media platform is also my target platform to market my products through informative advertisements that inform the customers of what I have to offer and the health benefits of the fruits. Clips of well displayed fruit arrangement will form part of my marketing over the internet. Printing posters to place on the campus notice board will also increase consumer awareness of the business. Posters will serve two purposes; informing the consumers of the exact location of the stall within the campus as well as market the fruits sold at the stalls. Graphical aids will help in creating attractive posters that will appeal to consumers and attract their attention to the stall. The use of good quality paper in printing the posters will add a professional touch to the posters making them more appealing thus giving a positive picture of the business. Involvement in community projects that focus on fruits production will be an added advantage to the business. Joining the farm share food hub in Norwich will see me contribute to the identification of indigenous sources of fruits from trees that are naturally available in the area. (Newish transitional blog 2014, p.1)Though this will be a contribution to the society, it will serve to market my business in the long run. Participation of business in corporate social responsibility increase acceptance by the community thus a higher customer turn up leading to higher profit margin. The consumers’ choice of where to shop is affected by the business participation in corporate social responsibility (Fallon 2014, p.1). Forums for consumer feedback will also be available on my social media platform to enable me receive feedback from them thus improving on the service provision. Providing forum for feedback gives the impression of inclusivity in the business in that customers will feel like they are appreciated and are an important part of the business. Whenever a customer is happy with the services and attention offered by the business, they will come back again and again. Building a relationship with customers is also an important marketing strategy (Burke 2014, p.3). Bonding with customers will increase customer loyalty in the business leading to repeat purchases. Requesting for customer email addresses will enable me to keep contact with the clients for follow up and updating them on the availability of new supplies. New business email applications are enabling businesses to send one message to different customers. Business associations are also part of my marketing plans. Mc Cathy is my choice supplier for fruits. This is a company located in East Anglia that supplies fresh fruits, vegetables and baked products (Mc Cathy 2014, p.1). The company has been in the business for more than 100 years, thus it is my preferred supplier due to its vast knowledge and experience in the industry. The expert advice offered by the company will be of help to me as I start the business. Due to the association with a well established firm, I can use the relation to attract more customers through informing the customers of the trusted source of the fruits. The sourcing of fruits from this supplier will attract brand loyalist to my business since their preferred fruits will be nearer to them. Branding of packages is also another marketing technique. With every time the customer sees the fruits package in their house, it reminds them of the source of the fruits. Impressive packaging may also attract clients who are more attracted to the beauty of the package on top of the fruits in the package. Branded delivery boxes are also part of the marketing. Moreover, display is an important part of marketing. A display that is appealing to the eyes attracts people to the business premise. A good display of fruits also awakens the appetite of the consumers and makes them desire to eat the fruits thus leading to impulse buying. The display will include fresh fruits neatly arranged on shelves at a position that will enable passersby to see them. This will ensure the fruit market themselves and the seller will only add to the effort of the fruits themselves to get a sale. After sale service to clients will work to attract more clients to the business. This is the service that the customers benefit from when they purchase goods from a business. Among the after sale services I plan to use is good packaging for the clients in branded packaging bags and helping them get the goods to their preferred means of transport within a short distance. Those placing orders online and require home deliveries will also benefit from the after sale service through discounts on deliveries. This will encourages repeat orders from the customers due to the lower cost of delivery. Thus, marketing is at the heart of my business and I will use it to ensure maximum customer satisfaction accompanied with good profits for the firm. Bibliography Anderson K. M. 2014, inbound marketing: how to conduct market research on a tight budget. Available from: http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/conduct-market-research-tight-budget [08 November 2014] Beall, A. E. (2010). Strategic market research: a guide to conducting research that drives businesses. New York, iUniverse. Bohm, A. (2009). The SWOT Analysis. München, GRIN Verlag. Burke A. 2014, how to become a fruit and vegetable trader. Available from: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/become-fruit-vegetable-trader-17796.html [08 November 2014]. Chanteray J.2014, the joy of business: how to spot a gap in the market. Available from: http://www.thejoyofbusiness.co.uk/blog/2010/09/17/how-to-spot-a-gap-in-the-market/ [08 November 2014] Constantinides D. 2014, analyses PESTLE for monitoring your business or organization available from: http://pestleanalysis.com/analyse-pestel/ [08 November 2014] Constantinides D. 2014, How to provide a SWOT analysis of a business. Available from: http://pestleanalysis.com/swot-analysis-of-a-business/ [08 November 2014] Fallon N.2014, what is corporate social responsibility. Available from: http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/4679-corporate-social-responsibility.html [08 November 2014] Jones N, Conklin A, Suhrcke M, Monsivais P, 2014, the Growing Price Gap between More and Less Healthy Foods: Analysis of a Novel Longitudinal UK Dataset. Available from: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0109343 [08 November 2014] Mc Carthys 2014, reselers. Available from : http://mccarthys.co.uk/resellers/ [08 November 2014] Mooi, E., & Sarstedt, M. (2011). A concise guide to market research the process, data, and methods using IBM SPSS statistics. Berlin, Springer. http://site.ebrary.com/id/10445165. Pahl, N., & Richter, A. (2007). SWOT analysis: idea, methodology and a practical approach. [Munchen], GRIN Verlag. Pyle L. S. 2014,Entrepreneur: how to do market research---the basics. Available from: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/217345 [08 November 2014] Transition Nowich 2014, harvest-enjoying the harvest of these low carbon life 2009-2013. Available from: http://transitionnorwich.blogspot.com/ [08 november 2014]. UEA 2014, annual report available from: https://www.uea.ac.uk/about/our-university/publications [08 November 2014] UEA 2014, the campus kitchen. Available from: https://portal.uea.ac.uk/campus-kitchen?_ga=1.27862844.1207846997.1415343403 [08 November 2014] APPENDIX A Research questions Do you prefer fruits over junk food? If yes, how often do you take fruits? This will have options such as once a day, twice a day, more than twice a day, rarely, any other answer. Which is your favorite fruit? If a fruits outlet is established within the institution, will you purchase fruits from there? Which is your major source of information on products? Any comment on the proposal to put up a fruit outlet in the campus? Tabular analysis of data collected from the research students participated in the research and the following table presents the outcome of the research. respondent question number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 A tabular representation of the respondents answers to the research questions. APENDIX B PESTLE analysis of an organisation. Source: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://writepass.com/journal/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/1126.png&imgrefurl=http://writepass.com/journal/2012/12/marketing-and-strategic-analysis-swot-pestel-porter-of-diggers-inc/&h=240&w=324&tbnid=3Zk_qJeoswXHnM:&zoom=1&docid=Fxk7bcRDullTbM&ei=FGdeVOz5CZGu7AalvIG4Bw&tbm=isch&client=firefox-a&ved=0CC8QMygFMAU APENDIX C SWOT analysis Source : http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fcanvanizer.com%2Fnew%2Fswot-canvas&h=0&w=0&tbnid=ROXQseHaDtx6UM&zoom=1&tbnh=225&tbnw=225&docid=Gg-IwsPcSqcatM&tbm=isch&client=firefox-a&ei=ZmdeVPueC5KO7AawvYDAAg&ved=0CBYQsCUoBg Read More