Business Overview
The chosen name for this business is The Discounted Do It Yourself (DIY ) Center. This hardware store specializes in a wide range of construction materials. The business will be located in the city of Birmingham. The primary products that will be stocked at this store will include cement, construction iron rods, nails, paints, glass panes, and floor tiles among other construction consumable. The range of the products will vary depending on the demand of the market. The company plans to offer various services to customers purchasing various products from the store. The company will offer free delivery services to these materials within the city of Birmingham. Clients will also get free advice on how to cut their cost of construction without compromising on the quality by eliminating or reducing waste generation when undertaking their projects.
Using various business models is critical in ensuring that a firm understands itself, the market, and other external factors that may have varying impact on its success. As a firm that is just starting its operations, SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis is the most appropriate model that it can use to achieve its goals. The strength of this firm is its flexibility. As a small firm that is just making an entry into the market, it is easy for it to adjust its operations depending on the market forces. Another strength is the availability of financial resources that can enable it to conduct research and to expand its operations. However, its limited experience in this market is its major weakness. The market presents an impressive opportunity as the real estate and construction industries continue to expand. The attractiveness of local real estate market to international investors is a major growth opportunity (Bell, 2018). The main threat that the firm has to face is stiff competition. Numerous other stores are already offering similar products in the market.
Market Analysis
When developing a business plan, it is important to define in clear terms the target audience and specific customers who are expected to purchase these products. It makes it easy to develop effective marketing campaigns that would be convincing to them (Wessels and Madaus, 2020). For this start-up business, the primary target audience are contractors around the city of Birmingham. The firm will also be targeting real estate agents responsible for maintenance of various buildings across the country. Customers will benefit in various ways from the products and additional services that the company will offer. First, the company will offer competitive prices for all its construction products to help customers to achieve their construction goals at reduced prices. The free advice that customers will get will enable them to further lower the overall cost of construction. Clients of this company will also benefit from the free delivery of products purchased from this firm.
Defining the mission statement for this start-up company will define the path that it will take towards achieving specific goals in the market. The mission statement of this store is to become the leading supplier of quality construction materials at the most competitive rates possible in the city of Birmingham. This mission statement means that this firm will be ready to handle stiff competition from its rivals in the market. Bargain Hardware, Eclometer Limited, City Fiber, P&C Specialists and Chill Blast are the major competitors in this market. They offer the same products as what ABC Hardware intends to offer in the market. Some of them, such as Bargain Hardware, pride themselves in offering quality products at below market prices. It means that the management of this firm will need to do more to ensure that it attracts and retains a tool of loyal customers.
The level of competition in this industry is stiff. The construction industry is one of the oldest in the country, and the business of hardware has been in existence for just as long. Many firms have been keen on making an entry into this business to tap into the new opportunities in the country. As the United Kingdom becomes one of the preferred destination for real estate investors, the industry has become highly competitive as new firms continue to make an entry into the market with the goal of tapping into the emerging opportunities. Achieving superiority in such a highly competitive market is critical. One of the ways of realizing such as a goal is to offer customers after-sale services. Services such as free transport is meant to convince clients that this company cares. Another strategy that will enable the firm to achieve superiority is the quality of services that they get. The firm will ensure that it maintains effective communications with clients and attends to their needs in the most effective way possible.
Marketing and Sales Plan
The new firm will need an effective sales and marketing plan that will enable it to achieve the desired success in the market. The management will primarily use social medial platforms to promote its products in the market. Facebook will be a major platform for product and brand promotion. The company will target individuals and companies through their Facebook pages. YouTube will be another major platform that this firm will use to promote its products because of the popularity of this social media site. Others will be Twitter and Instagram. Customers will learn about this business through these platforms. The management will also consider using billboards to help promote its brand. Langenwalter (2020) explains that customer referrals is one of the most effective ways of getting new customers. The management intends to offer its customers high quality products to ensure that they are turned into evangelists. They will share their experience with their friends and encourage them to try services of this firm.
The estimated cost of starting this business will be £ 175,000. The money will be used to pay rent for the facility for a period of 6 months and purchase the initial inventory needed in this project. It will also be used to finance the promotional campaigns in the social media and other traditional platforms such as the billboards. The cost also included salaries and wages for the few employees for the first three months of operation. Defining both short and long-term promotional plans and offers is critical. The short-term plan is to use social media platforms discussed above to promote the brand for this company. The quality customer service and after-sale services are also intended to create a pool of loyal customers for the company. The long-term plan is to use mainstream traditional media such as television and radio commercials to promote the brand for the company.
The company offers products that do not need any complex manual for customers to understand how to use them. However, the customer service unit will advice customers on how to use various products. For instance, they will be informed about the appropriate iron bars for specific buildings they want to construct. The company will also advise its customers on appropriate ratios for sand, cement, water, and ballast when making concrete. The success of this firm will be defined by three goals. The first is to offer customers quality products that meet or exceed their expectation. The second goal is to maintain regular communications with all customers to ensure that their concerns are addressed as soon as possible. The third goal is to ensure that there is a timely delivery of products for customers. Time is of essence in the construction business. As such, customers cherish a timely delivery of their purchased products.
Reference List
Bell, E. (2018) Business research methods. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Langenwalter, G. (2020) Enterprise resources planning and beyond: integrating your entire organization. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Wessels, B. and Madaus, S. (eds.) (2020). Rescue of business in Europe: a European law institute instrument. Oxford: Oxford University Press.