The Market and the Competition
Our Target Market
The geographical area of our clientele is only limited by the extent of our advertising and word of mouth recommendations. Our clients will mainly be private individuals who need to acquire additional capital to set up in business, as opposed to large firms seeking finance for expansion. However, that is not to say that we would be unable to meet their requirements should the situation ever arise.
Our target market also includes newly established businesses which should update their business plan periodically. This will enable those with capital invested in a business to see how well it is performing and enable the client to adapt to the changing needs of the business and its clients.
Market Positioning
We consider ourselves to be in the medium price, medium volume sector of the market place. By offering a fixed fee service we feel we will succeed against our competitors who charge an hourly rate and provide their clients with little indication as to how much their business plan will cost.
Quantity of Clients
To begin with we anticipate one or two clients a week which would increase to between three and five by the end of the first year. Each client will purchase at least one business plan and a number of copies. We will remain in contact with all our clients and will gently remind them when their business plan is due for renewal.
Client Response
Each time a client responds to an advertisement they will be sent an information pack which will contain full details about the service we offer, a very brief questionnaire, an application form and a return addressed envelope. The questionnaire will ask the client what they thought of the service that we offer and whether they will be using our services. The last section will ask them for any suggestions they may have about how we can improve upon the level of service we currently offer. We strongly believe the only way to survive in today's market place is to provide the client with the high level of client service and satisfaction they have come to expect and it is only by asking what they think of us that we are able to do this. It is important for us to listen to the needs of our clients; this will enable us to provide a level of service and client satisfaction that is second to none.
The Competition
A specialised business plan service is a niche market with huge growth potential, providing we are able to offer the right service to match the needs of our clients. The competition for this type of service is very minimal. Since researching the possibility of establishing such a service, I have only come across two direct competitors who offer a similar service. The first was in Bournemouth but their fee was just over 200 per cent more than ours. The second competitor was based in London and worked on an hourly rate; they were unable to estimate how much a plan would be. Both were contacted but neither contacted me again after I received their initial information.
Competition Price Comparison
Although our prices are approximately 200 per cent cheaper than that of our competitors, that does not mean the quality of our service is any less professional. As a company we promise to give our clients pure value for money and to do so have developed a service that will give us a medium profit margin with a high client turnover which we believe will be better than only a handful of clients with a high profit margin. We believe the more clients we have the sooner our name will become known in the
market place and our market share will increase. Word of mouth recommendations are one of the most effective methods of advertising with the added benefit of it not costing anything. It is only by providing a professional service that we can achieve this.
