Company Presentation
Derubis Yachts is a serial manufacturer of motor sea vehicles from Vitez, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It specializes in producing catamarans that are up to 14 meters in length; the total amount of companies across the world that work within the same category is 6 (Kraljević, 2021, p. 6). The relatively low competition, however, is not the only reason why Derubis has customers in a range of developed countries. The considerable advantage of the brand is its focus not solely on luxury, but on comfort and security, which is possible to decipher from its slogan, “I feel safe” (Kraljević, 2021, p. 5). This phrase actually represents Derubis’ main principle that underlies the loyalty and recognition the company has gained throughout its history.
Although the corporation was created in 2019, its founder, Denis Kraljević, had designed motor vessels since early 1990s. Those had been famous for their outstanding performance, energy efficiency, and eco-friendliness in a combination with elegant appearance. Kraljević was also the European pioneer in producing hybrid catamarans, for which he won the award in 2008. Another prize the manufacturer boasts is for the design of the model “37 Fly,” specifically, its “leisure” and “work” versions (“World class yacht performance,” n.d., para. 1). Currently, Derubis Yachts employs 24 people who form the following structure (see Figure 1).
Condition Analysis
External Analysis
Competitiveness Analysis
As said above, the business under the review has few rivals; in addition, its performance rests on its founder’s strong reputation. Therefore, Derubis is possible to characterize as quite powerful in terms of competitiveness as one of Porter’s five forces (Scott & Williams, 2020). Another essential parameter is the possibility of new successful entrances into the market, which is rather limited since vessel production requires considerable investments but has a relatively narrow target audience. Suppliers and customers, two other important forces, demonstrate loyalty to the brand; the demand for luxurious goods, meanwhile, has decreased due to the global economic depression, which may reduce the company’s potential (Kraljević, 2021). As there are hardly any substitutes of comparable quality but lower price, a certain share of people decide simply not to purchase yachts.
E-Business Technology in the Branch
Currently, future-oriented companies seek to enhance their online presence, and shipbuilders are not an exception. It is worth noting that one of the quality measurements in the field is innovativeness, which, in turn, involves improved performance capabilities, better ergonomics of the vessels’ inner space, and other (Kraljević, 2021). Adding to those, therefore, serves as the main strong point in all types of advertisement, including e-commerce.
Internal Analysis
Vision and Business Strategy
The brand’s vision is a synthesis of quality and creativity, which enables bringing the future into the industry by means of diligent work and dedication. Technology and sustainability are the driving forces of development, being able to make Derubis Yachts a world-renowned manufacturer (Kraljević, 2021). The business strategy that relies upon those values involves remaining up-to-date and constant quality improvement, which can enable the brand to be the first association with luxury. It may be relevant to specify that the production is predominantly export-focused and does not cover the domestic market.
Business with Customers
As mentioned, Derubis has loyal customers in several first-world countries. The most apparent reasons for this are quality, safety, and the fact that its products mark and symbolize the high social status of their owners. Another strength of the brand is its outstanding attention to the consumers’ needs and desires, thorough research on which always precedes and actually determines the production (Kraljević, 2021). The annual volumes of the latter, in addition, are small, which allows for individual approaches; hence even higher customer satisfaction.
ICT Infrastructure
Derubis Yachts communicates with its customers, both existing and potential, via several social networks in parallel for maximal coverage. Thus, it has a corporate LinkedIn profile as well as accounts on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram (Kraljević, 2021). The company’s representatives post textual, picture, and video content there on a regular basis, so that the population have a clear view of its performance and a stable access to the news. Another function of social media lies in collecting feedback from the consumers, frequently in a real-time mode; as said above, this is essential for adjusting the production to their needs.
SWOT
Possible E-Strategy
Description
Considering all of the above, the 4P model, which Derubis is using at the current stage, is quite an appropriate, although not ideal, strategy for it. It comprises 4 separate but equally important instruments, specifically, product, place, price, and promotion (Twin & Anderson, 2021). In the given case, the product is luxurious, technologically advanced, exceptionally safe in use, and limited in amount, which factors determine the stable demand (Kraljević, 2021). Regarding place, the intensive export requires the company to have distributors in each of the target countries, including the United States, Sweden, Qatar, and several other, for sufficiently productive interaction with the audience.
Price is a multicomponent parameter in the case under the review. In one respect, the production cost in Bosnia and Herzegovina is relatively low; to the contrary, transporting the final product to the purchaser may be expensive. The absence of an EU membership, which complicates market positioning, and the policies of the local distributors can factor into the price as well (Kraljević, 2021). In general, however, it remains competitive; its ratio to quality is among the main customer attractions. Promotion, in addition to social networks, is done through the official website and the local distributors, so that the customers in each target country have a maximum of information on what the company offers.
Resource System
Currently, Derubis has the units that are responsible for sales as well as PR and marketing (see Figure 1). The further development of the e-business may require a closer interaction between these two to enable checking the effectiveness of advertising campaigns regularly and immediate corrections if necessary. There also may be the need for a bigger amount of SMM managers or additional load on the existing ones, which, in turn, will add to the spending on wages. This may be a challenge, considering the above customers’ doubts about purchasing luxury goods under the economic circumstances of nowadays and the consequent threat of a profit loss for the company. Therefore, the resource system that Derubis has may need updating, but it would be more reasonable to do that after overcoming the crisis.
Alternative
It is worth noting that the 4P model has the characteristics of the final product as the key reference point and serves to promote those to the consumers. Meanwhile, Derubis Yachts, as said above, favors the policy of individualism, which presupposes the priority of consumer needs. Even the price of each particular catamaran can be unique because it depends on a variety of factors, including non-financial, such as the season when the purchase happens (Kraljević, 2021). This is another stumbling point; the 4P model actually regards price as no more than the difference between production costs and earnings. In addition, the permanent awareness of the customers’ desires presupposes two-side communication with the audience, while 4P focuses on promotion, but hardly on feedback.
The above drawbacks of the model make it too generalized, compromising its applicability to the case. It would be reasonable to use the so-called 4C model instead, which is the acronym of customer needs and desires, client costs, comfort, and communication (Kraljević, 2021). These aspects actually underlie Derubis’ strategy of interaction with the consumers. The main goal of that interaction is to provide everybody with a chance to have a cozy and sustainable vessel transported to his or her place without any hidden costs.
Plan for the Introduction of E-Business
The above allows assuming that the most important activity is hiring the necessary amount of SMM practitioners. Apparently, this should be the responsibility of the marketing and PR manager, who is in charge of advertising. 2 months may be sufficient to interview the candidates and choose the most appropriate among them. Prior to that, the company’s financial resources need re-allocating with the consideration of both more wages to pay and the potential benefits from attracting more customers. This actually is the point where the responsibilities of the marketing and PR manager and the sales officer overlap. Presumably, completing and checking all of the calculations will take not less than a week.
References
Kraljević, L. (2021). Temeljni tržišni koncepti i tržišno okruženje [Basic market concepts and market environment]. Vitez.
Scott, G., & Williams, P. (2020). Porter’s 5 forces. Investopedia. Web.
Twin, A., & Anderson, S. (2021). The 4 Ps. Investopedia. Web.
World class yacht performance. (n.d.). Web.