ABC Marketing - E-Commerce - Coursework Example

E-Commerce Business Plan: www.abcmarketing.com 1. Executive Summary ABC Marketing is a sole proprietorship owned by XXXXX XXXXX. This plan outlines the guidelines for starting and managing the business. Based on conditions in the marketplace, it will be modified from time to time so that it can remain relevant over the long haul. The company’s objectives include the following: To make profit and to grow at a rate that will be manageable The mission of the company is to provide information for entrepreneurs, consultants, and other ambitious people who want to jumpstart their careers or improve some aspects of their lives. Among the keys to success for this company are proper targeting of potential customers and providing information that is relevant, timely, and truly useful. The products will comprise manuals on goal setting, negotiation, interview preparation, business start up, and communication, among other topics. One of the advantages is that the business requires little start up capital though it requires a great deal of research to put the manuals together. 1.1 Objectives The objectives of this business plan are: 1. To have in place a guide that will aid the proprietor in starting and managing an e-commerce marketing business. 2. The intended audience, besides the proprietor, is an investor, who has agreed to put 30,000 pounds into the business. 3. The plan includes a breakdown of activity for the current year and projections for the two subsequent years. The objectives of ABC Marketing are: 1. Profit - To make enough profit that will support any future growth and to be able to pay back the investor within 18 months. 2. Growth – The business will take an aggressive approach and aim to grow at a rate that will be both challenging and manageable. 3. Contribution: To provide an invaluable means for ambitious people to acquire the skills they need to enhance their career or improve their social, financial, emotional, or spiritual lives. 4. Contribution: To be an intellectual and social asset to the community and environment. 1.2 Mission ABC Marketing aims to accomplish the following: Purpose – ABC Marketing aims to provide information that has been proven, tried, and tested, so that those who rely on this information can be reasonably assured of being able to achieve the results they seek. Vision – The provision of reliable information is sure to help cement the company’s reputation and to help bring other potential customers on board. The company will actively solicit feedback from customers and make the positive feedback expected available to potential new customers. Mission – The company aims to start at lower cost but without having to sacrifice quality in presentation of the materials or in terms of resources for communication between the customer and the company. Marketing Slogan – “For Higher, Deeper, Broader” go with ABC Marketing! 1.3 Keys to success The keys to success for ABC Marketing are: Marketing/Networking (ensuring that high-flyers know that this is the company that can give them just the information they need). Responsiveness (ensuring that products ordered are fulfilled within 24-hours). Quality (ensuring that all products are free from errors). Relationships (providing free consultation to those who have purchased the manuals). 2.0 Company Summary As a start-up operation ABC Marketing will have the following features: The company will be a sole proprietorship The company will be started with as little money as possible The company will be started from home since the major interface with customers will be the website. The design of the website will be top-notch as this will be the primary means by which customers will judge the company 2.1 Ownership The company will be operated initially as a sole proprietorship but will consider turning it into a limited liability corporation in the future. 2.2 Start-up summary Though the founder has expertise and relationships with the kind of consultants/writers who will be packaging the information for sale, up-front costs will be low. This is because the first few products have already been created by the proprietor and will form the basis for the initial list of products. The company does not anticipate using all of the 30,000 pounds but appreciate having access to these funds should the need arise for it. Among the start-up costs are the following: Item Cost Start-up expenses Legal £400 Stationery £100 Brochures £500 Accountant £400 Insurance £100 Rent £500 Research and development £3000 Domain name registration/hosting £100 Computer £1,500 Website design £1000 Total £7,600 3.0 Products/Services ABC Marketing will offer a combination of product and service and do so in a manner that is not only quick but also garners a reputation for reliability. The service will be an opportunity for those who purchase the company’s products to consult with experts, including the proprietor on the particular subject at hand. ABC Marketing will offer manuals in various categories, all of which are highly researched and provide step-by-step guidelines for the readers. When the customers need clarification on a matter they have the chance to consult with ABC Marketing without having to pay an additional fee. ABC Marketing will promote itself among professionals such as Accountants, CEOs, Chief Information Officers, and other individuals who are achievement-oriented. Initially, fulfillment will be done by the proprietors. When the business grows to the point where additional assistance is needed, such help will be hired. 3.1 Product descriptions Manuals that will be sold by ABC Marketing include those in the following area: - Import/Export - Negotiation - Interview Preparation - Business Leadership - Personal Development - Goal Setting 3.2 Competitive Comparison It is possible for professionals to get any number of books on the above topics from book retailers but no book retailer offers a consulting service so that if the customer is unclear about something in the book, it can be clarified. In fact, for the most part, authors do not want to have anything to do with customers other than have customers support them by buying their books. At ABC Marketing, the message is sent to the customer that the company really does want the client to benefit from the information and that the company stands ready to offer any support necessary such as giving suggestions on implementation, or helping to clarify matters. Also, the company recognizes that sometimes clients, including professionals, need a good sounding board as they struggle to make up their own minds. ABC Marketing aims to be such a sounding board for potential purchasers and users of the service. There is another class of consultant who charges thousands of pounds to provide information to clients. In some cases, this is too expensive for the person who needs the information. Far better for the client to get the information in a digestible format and to make use of the consulting services as an extra rather than as the main element. Most people are interested in saving money so ABC Marketing positions itself between the cheap book that offers no opportunity for consulting and the consulting practice that in some cases cost more than a pretty penny. The company aims to fill a niche that seems void at the moment by creating a scenario that offers the best of worlds to those in the company’s target market. 3.3 Sales Literature The centerpiece of the company’s program is the website so an expert web designer will be hired to take care of the design. Such an individual will be hired not only on the basis of aesthetic skills but also because of the individuals’ knowledge of the specific demands of e-commerce. Logo and theme – A logo will be created and pins of the logo will be sent along with products to give customers a sense of relationship with the company. Stationery – Bookmarks bearing the logo will also be sent out with orders. . Brochure – Brochures will be made available at meetings of various professionals such as conferences or in libraries and in various other places where potential clients are likely to congregate. Web Presence – The website will include, among other things, detailed information about the company’s manuals, their prices, and various options for payment and ordering. . 3.4 Fulfilment The owner will take care of the fulfillment of orders and make sure that all orders are dispatched within 24 hours. The owner also stands ready to provide consulting services to those who purchase the manuals. A contact box will be made available on the website that allows purchasers to enter questions or comments. Products will be issued to customers with a password and username, which to keep things simple, will be that of the purchaser. By entering the username and password the customer can benefit from asking questions or seeking clarification from ABC Marketing regarding one issue or another. 3.5 Technology While one computer is enough for the owner to keep track of orders and to issue responses, having a backup in place helps. The company will therefore invest in a new computer and the owner will use the current old computer as a backup. 5.0 Strategy and Implementation Summary Among the strategies that ABC Marketing will use are the following: the use of web based promotion including Google and Yahoo traditional media will be used in particular trade and professional magazines Efforts will be made to maintain a relationship with customers as they might be interested in purchasing other books or referring their friends Networking and referrals will also be useful in getting the word out 5. 1 ABC Marketing Value Proposition ABC Marketing’s value proposition is to provide highly practicable information on a timely basis to purchasers along with a follow up and 100% guarantee 6.0 Pricing strategy: The manuals will sell at about 10 times the value of an ordinary book but it will be made clear in the promotional materials that the manuals are more like workshops and are practical in nature. Significantly, however, the price of the manuals will be about 1/20th what customers might have to pay to engage the services of a consultant. 5.2 Sales Forecast Manual unit price: £200 2007 2008 2009 2010 January 0 15,000 20,000 25,000 February 0 15,000 20,000 25,000 March 0 20,000 20,000 25,000 April 0 20,000 20,000 25,000 May 0 20,000 25,000 30,000 June £600 20,000 25,000 30,000 July £1000 20,000 30,000 30,000 August £2000 15,000 30,000 35,000 September £3000 15,000 30,000 35,000 October £10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 November £15,000 25,000 30,000 50,000 December £20,000 30,000 30,000 50,000 Total £51,600 £235,000 £300,000 Expenses £12,000 £24,000 £30,000 £36,000 Net £39600 £211,000 £270,000 £364,000 2007 -- Expenses based on projected £1,500/mth average 2008 – Expenses based on projected £2000/mth average 2009 – Expenses based on projected £2,500/mth average 2010 – Expenses based on projected £3,000/mth average Total generated over four years: £884,000 Using a discount rate of 7%, 10%, or even 15% it is clear that the business is more than profitable and can cover the cost of the invested amount of £13,000 in the first year. Power of Suppliers The company will be using print on demand technology so the issue of the power of suppliers does not really apply. If the company had to engage with traditional printers to print out its manuals the issue of bulk would have arisen. Print on demand technology makes it possible to print materials once an order has been received and at a price that is not significantly different when lower end printers are used. It is now possible to get very good quality print from some laser printers so at the beginning the company will consider making use of such technologies rather than engaging with big printers. Power of buyers Creating an Internet business can allow one to escape some of the constraints of the traditional business. Much of the groundwork will be done by the proprietor in term of research and initial consulting. This means that there is going to be very little reliance on others. The proprietor does not anticipate having to buy anything in bulk for which greater clout would be needed. In fact, the proprietor understands that in some cases it would not be possible to gain the benefits that huge enterprises gain by leveraging their buying power. The business will start out small and once it grows it will be able to gain similar advantages when there is a need for example to buy several computers or several printers. PEST The UK offers one of the most stable political environments for doing business today. It has a political system that supports the free enterprise system and encourages citizens to engage in business. In this regard, the government is continually updating and upgrading the legal system to make it as business friendly as possible. As such, businesses in the UK can expect fairness from the authorities and to do business in an environment of fairness and security. The economy of the country is booming right and in fact, the UK is one of the world’s biggest economies. While the marketing of the product will begin in the UK it will by no means end there. Rather, the world will be the marketplace with potential clients sought from as far away as Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and even South Africa as there are ambitious people in all of these areas who would want to obtain a roadmap that can guide their success. In terms of the social and demographic profile, the UK has a population of well over 60 million people and of course the language spoken in the British Isles is English, which will be the language in which the manuals are produced. It would be unfair, however, to pretend that the business will focus solely on the UK. As noted above, for an e-commerce business, the world is the marketplace and the company will be ready to ship products to any part of the world using Royal Mail or courier services. The UK also has a history of technological expertise. The proprietor is proficient in the use of computers, which will be a key driving force in this business. Worldwide, Internet usage is already in the hundreds of millions so leveraging one’s knowledge of technology it is possible to plug in easily with potential clients. SWOT Analysis Strengths The proprietor has a long history as a researcher and business consultant The proprietor maintains contact with experts in various fields around the country and around the world Opportunities the world is the marketplace, not just the UK ambitious people in professional jobs look to the UK as a centre of knowledge and expertise that they can benefit from using print on demand technology means that the company need not invest in thousands of printed material Weaknesses initially, a one-person operation outside sources of funds used Threats if big companies with deeper pockets begin to use this model, they could “bury” this proprietor being able to keep up with demand growing without being overwhelmed Read More