The Business Environment of PhotoBin Co - Case Study Example

PhotoBin environment report Introduction PhotoBin Inc. is among the fastest growing companies in the world. The rapid growth rateof the company is a portrayal of the potential in the unique environment in which it operates. Additionally, the rapid growth rate is a result of effective management and marketing strategies employed by the management of the company as it conforms its products and services to the demands of the market among other pertinent environmental factors that affect its operations. PhotoBin Inc. exists in a unique environment owing to the uniqueness of its services. The company offers various photo and video management services that help people handle, edit, manage and print their photos. Additionally, the website enables people to develop and manage their photos effectively before uploading them to their respective websites. The business environment is precarious and the management of the company continues to employ effective marketing techniques in order to enhance the company’s profitability as the report below portrays. Among the most salient aspects of the environment, that affects the operations of the company and its profitability is economic, socio-cultural and technological factors. The above three general factors continue to influence the nature of the company’s target market thereby compelling the company to employ effective marketing strategies key among which is adaptability in order to sustain both its profitability and longevity (Sheth , David & Dennis, 2011). Other factors of the task environment that affect the operations of the business are customers, regulators and competitors. The three are significant factors that the management and marketers at PhotoBin Inc. considers on a daily basis thereby changing both their products and services appropriately in order to retain the company’s market share. General aspects I. Socio-cultural factors PhotoBin Inc. succeeded in carving its target market from the prevailing socio-cultural factors. As stated earlier, the company operates in a unique company targeting an equally unique market. The business environment relies on the prevailing social and cultural features of the modern society. People value their photos and video. Furthermore, the use of modern devices such as smart phones and digital cameras make it possible for everyone to take photos, which they will want to use in various platforms. PhotoBin Inc. therefore sought to tap on this unique market by providing effective and reliable online photo editing services that operate on the do-it-yourself technology to make everyone in the society a professional photographer and video editor. The social and cultural factors of the modern society therefore continue to influence the success of the company as it develops appropriate products that meet the demands of modern day lovers of photography. PhotoBin Inc. carries out dedicated surveillance on the dynamic social and cultural factors in the society thereby developing appropriate products and services besides employing appropriate marketing strategies to tap on the changing tastes and preferences. Such social events as weddings, burials and family gathering are some of the basic events that create demands for the services of the company. Additionally, the modern society is not only cosmopolitan but also a global village. This implies that trends and features travel rapidly to different parts of the world. The use of social media for example makes trending cultural and social features viral thereby enhancing the demand for products. PhotoBin Inc. capitalizes on such social features by developing products that will attract people from different parts of the world. Additionally, the company offers appropriate photo handling techniques that fit such social functions as burials, weddings and family gatherings among many others. II. Economic factors The state of the economy is a fundamental factor that affects the profitability of businesses world over. Companies consider the prevailing economic factors thereby changing both their products and services accordingly. PhotoBin Inc. is not any different since it sells its products and services to the market. General demand is among the basic economic factors that affects the profitability of the company. The demand and supply patterns affect the company’s profitability. However, PhotoBin Inc. has effective structures that ensure that it sustains the demands. The demand on the other hand is always varied depending on the likes and preferences of the company. As such, the company strives to develop appropriate products and services before carrying an extensive marketing of the products with the view to attract more users. Other economic factors that affect the operations and profitability of the company are taxation, European and global economies, exchange rates and interest rates among others. The company targets the international market. This implies that such economic factors as financial crises and varying exchange rates affect its profitability. In order to mitigate on the effects of such factors, the company sets an appropriate price for its products, one that cushions it from the shocks arising from the variance of such factors. The company enjoys a large share of the American market. As such, it follows the prevailing economic factors in the country often changing the prices of its products and services appropriately to safeguard its profitability despite the prevalence of some undesirable economic factors at times. Additionally, the company monitors its international market thereby instituting prices that safeguards its profitability in such regions. III. Technological factors PhotoBin Inc. thrives on the use of technology. As such, the prevailing technological factors affects its operations as its always strives to retain the best technology without supplanting the previous technologies that most of its customers would still use in different parts of the world (Palmer, 2012). The company retails its products and services through the internet. This implies that the company must observe the dynamic internet technologies with the view to adopting the most appropriate and cost effective technologies. The company remains vigilant for such changes often making appropriate changes on its website and products to reflect such basic yet fundamental changes. The telecommunication technologies continue to change as they promise better services. PhotoBin Inc. often reflects such changes in its product base. The company for example uses various video and audio editing technologies to help diversify its product base. Through these, the company targets a wide market owing since everyone can find a user friendly from the numerous program on the company’s website. As stated earlier, telecommunication devices continue to change with the introduction of better and user friendlier products. The use of smart phones is one of such changes that revitalized the use of the internet. The introduction of smart phones for example increased the number of people accessing the internet by more than 20% throughout the world. Such was a significant increase in PhotoBin Inc.’s target market. As such, the company must change its user interfaces in order to fit the layout of the various smartphones. Additionally, the use of smart phones makes every file and folder easily accessible thereby enhancing convenience for the users of the website. The use of smart phones among other mobile devices is the future of both mobile telephony and the internet. Smartphones have high quality cameras a feature that makes their use essential for the profitability of PhotoBin Inc. The company must therefore develop and use appropriate technologies that enhance the use of such smart devices, which may always have small differences with a conventional computer. Task factors I. Regulators Businesses exist in societies, which have rules. Such rules affect the operations of a business thus their profitability. A business must always consider and comply with the rules regulating the existence and operation of commercial institutions in a particular country. Online businesses are new to the society and often present numerous challenges that require effective regulation. PhotoBin Inc. is one such online business that must therefore conform to the changing laws governing the operation of such businesses. The company must for example register its operation and numerous products and services. Such are basic legal requirements set by the federal government to regulate the operations of such companies thereby minimizing conflicts that may arise from their engagement with the public. Additionally, just as any other internet business PhotoBin Inc. exists globally. This implies that the company must conform to the prevailing commercial laws in the numerous countries throughout the world. This way, the company reduces the risk it may present its customers thus creating a conducive environment for commerce. Key among the factors that require stringent regulation is money laundering and privacy among other intricate features of the business. Money laundering coupled with the payment challenges arising from exchanging goods and services online continue to validate the stringent laws formed by countries with the view to protecting their citizens from loses that may arise from such commercial engagements. Privacy is yet another vital issue in online business. PhotoBin Inc. uses some of the most private information as people use the website to edit and create some private photo albums. The customers require the company to faceguard their privacy by ensuring that their details remain confidential. The regulations do not always seek to strain the operation of companies but instead they seek to create a safe and conducive environment for people to exchange their products and services. This implies that the company must comply with such rules some of which may always appear redundant. Its international presence complicates the issues since it has to comply with the laws in each of the numerous countries some of which are always contradictory. II. Customers Customers constitute one of the most important factor in a business environment. Customers are the target market that influences a company’s profitability. As such, a company must always consider the intricate features of the target customer before introducing either a product or a service in order to determine the appropriateness of such products and services in enhancing the lives of the customers. PhotoBin Inc. targets a unique kind of customers. The products and services are equally unique thereby enhancing the company’s appropriateness and profitability. Among the customer factors that affect the profitability of the company, include age and technological enlightenment. PhotoBin Inc. targets adults with basic knowledge in technology and can therefore handle any online product. Such is a basic actor the company considers when developing its products and services since it seeks to enhance user-friendliness of its products. As such, PhotoBin Inc. provides basic tutorials to provide its novice user with basic understanding of the website and it basic operations. The fact that the company dispenses its services and products on the internet implies that it overcomes the geographical factors that may often hamper a business attempt to reach its target customers. Other demographic factors that affect the profitability of a company include the financial ability of a target customer. The target market must always have the financial ability to purchase a product. PhotoBin Inc. just as any other commercial company targets people who can afford its services. The price of either a product or a service is vital in determining the affordability of a product. The management of PhotoBin Inc. understands this concept and therefore always fluctuates the price of its products appropriately with the view to attracting more customers. The rapid growth of the company is attributable to the ability of the management to formulate affordable pricing for its commodities thus cushioning the company from the various economic shocks within the past four years. III. Competitors Competitors refer to other companies that operate in the same industry targeting the same market. Competitors influence the operations of a company since they influence the profitability of the company. As such, a company must employ appropriate marketing strategies to ensure that it wins and retains a large market share capable of sustaining its profitability. PhotoBin Inc. has numerous competitors that compete for the same market. Key among the main competitors is Instagram. The company offers photo-sharing services and has an equally large market share. As such, PhotoBin Inc. employs various appropriate strategies that make it unique and different from other photo sharing websites. Other equally significant competitors are the various social media sites that permit their users to share and manipulate both photos and videos. PhotoBin Inc. employs unique marketing strategies that set it apart from the social networking sites and photo sharing websites. Among such strategies is diversity of services. Diversity is an effective way of enlarging the target market. PhotoBin Inc. offers video and photo editing, album creation and management and photo sharing among many others. Such is an effective strategy the company uses to beat its competition thus growing its market share. Snapfish.com and Facebook are two other major competitors that have their significant market shares. However, the best feature about online companies is their complementary nature thereby apportioning each company a profitable share of the market. Conclusion Environmental factors in the market continue to influence the operations of PhotoBin Inc. often validating the strategies that the management of the company employs in running the company. Such factors are always inevitable in any industry thus compelling a company to comply with the most basic of the factors while changing its internal structure to capitalize on some of the factors. SWOT analysis is among the most common management tools used in positioning a company by streamlining its operations to the changing trends in the market (Hunt, 2010). The strengths and weaknesses are internal factors that a company manipulates effective in order to enhance its profitability. Opportunities and threats on the other hand exist in the business environment thus compels the company to change its operations appropriately in order to capitalize on such environmental factors. Key among the opportunities is the global nature of the market it targets. This gives the company a large target market that can sustain its profitability and longevity. However, the company must continue to develop appropriate products and infrastructure to facilitate its operation as it targets such a large market. References Hunt, S. D. (2010). Marketing Theory: Foundations, Controversy, Strategy, Resource-Advantage Theory. Armonk, N.Y: M.E. Sharpe. Palmer, A. (2012). Introduction to Marketing: Theory and Practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Sheth, J. N., David, M. G. & Dennis, E. G. (2011). Marketing Theory: Evolution and Evaluation. New York ; Toronto: J. Wiley. Read More