Free Essay: Analysis of Current Business and Marketing Operations

This year alone, 800,999 businesses were opened in the United States the highest record ever. A majority of this business were started by young entrepreneurs who have visions of developing new products and services (Walsh & Cunningham, 2016). Although these entrepreneurs have solid ideas to form a foundation of being great business people, most of them lack the skill to that are essential in transforming these ideas into reality.

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Comb Strategy Group Background

Comb Strategy Group is based in California that responds to the needs of entrepreneurs while they involve in practical business and marketing their product and services order to transform their innovative ideas into reality. Through interacting with some of the hopeful entrepreneurs, the founder of the Comb strategy group realized that a ready market of customers who were willing to exploit to the skills of the founder in order to venture into the business world. The company is solely focussed on a small medium enterprise.

Company Business Goals

The goal of the company is to own the idea of small medium enterprises and converting it into reality through the provision of guidances that propels small business in the dynamic marketing environment.

Marketing Mix:

Price

Comb strategy group works on a fixed pricing in order to simplify billing to its clients. The pricing structure is presented to the customer as per- deliverable fixed price in a quote. The customers then decide which deliverables they want to buy. In order to maintain the reliability of tight budget that small business operate on, the quoted price will be charged even if there is underestimation of hours. Comb strategy group bases its pricing structure on $80/h multiplied by the hour taken by our qualified consultant to complete the project. However, more time may be taken especially if less experienced staffs are part of the project but the price of the deliverable to our customers remains the same. The company has considered cash- and- equity plans for some of the services it is offering.

Product

The Companys portfolio is designed to give small business with management services in the marketing environment. The company helps entrepreneurs to define their business plans in order to help them to get the start-up capital for their business so that they can create concrete marketing deliverables to facilitate their creative idea. The company aims at helping small businesses at every stage of their development.

Promotion

In order to promote our services and Comp Strategy Group at large uses a number of relations. Through the involvement in the local council for entrepreneurial development in the North Carolina, we interact with founders of various small businesses, local entrepreneurs, and capitalists. We have explored our relationship with the local newspapers where we post most of our advertisement on the services we are offering. We also take part in the local chambers of commerce which has helped the company to get an increased exposure.

Place

Our company is located in North Carolina as this is the main region the company has focussed on. According to the recent survey, entrepreneur magazine has listed North Carolina as potential areas for small business meaning that CSG is well positioned. We have established various offices within the region in order to reach more customers who are not able to come to the companies headquarter. Currently, our services are distributed in various locations in North Carolina and we are currently strategizing on expanding to other regions that we have established consulting presence such as AZ and Chicago (Cui, & Choudhury,2015).

The company's current target market

CSG is committed to providing marketing and consulting management services to upcoming and small businesses that are trying to have a competitive edge in the business arena. There are no other firms that have the idea of small business consulting since most of other management and consulting firms have focused more on larger companies and they charge high fees that small firms cannot afford. Our company specifically work with small business clients to come up with short-term action plans that will enable them to remain competitive. The Comb Strategy Group takes advantage of that large companies have focused more on larger cities in the United States and in North Carolina; there is no smaller competitor that will pose a threat to the firm. Additionally, more than 500,000 businesses are starting in North Carolina every year and the demand for consulting services is increasing every year and in the coming year, this is going to be our large customer base.

New Marketing Opportunities

New market

The company focuses on the expansion of its services by expanding the consulting team. Comb Strategy Group will add new consultants in other states within the united state in order to expand our skill base and increase our local contact with the clients. Currently, the company has focussed more on North Carolina but since other competitors are large corporate consulting firms that target big companies, this gap is likely to exist in other states and Comp Strategy Group aims at bridging this Gap

New services

The company is looking forward to bringing new team members to which will bring more experience who will come with new skills that we offer our customers. For instance, the company is looking forward to offering assistance to those entrepreneurs who intends to venture into overseas business.

Formation of alliances

The company will form strategic alliances with other firms such as Venture Capital Firms. The companys main aim is to work with customers and venture capital businesses in order to assist them to exploit their potential fully through turning of ideas into reality.

Special promotion

The company will embark on massive media advertisement for its product and services in every region that it intends to venture into. Through the liaising with the local newspaper in the different state, the company will have one page twice per week where it will list most of its services its offering and its future plans to the clients. Through local television and radio channel, the company will air some of its adverts in order to reach those clients that rarely purchase newspapers. In order to cement our dominance in North Carolina, the company intends to organize a road show in order to reach the untapped clients in the region (Cui, & Choudhury, 2015).

Creative idea that will help CSG in marketing

In order have more point of contact with the customers; the company will enter into strategic alliances with companies that pose thread of providing substitute services. This includes Venture Capitalist; this will enable CSG to exploit more market and take control of clients who were previously loyal to venture capitalist.

Section B Investigate the marketing opportunities

Marketing Opportunity 1: New Market

Strengths

Weaknesses

The strength of this new market is that there exist large corporations that are offering consulting services to larger companies at high prices that emerging small businesses cannot afford. Since CSG focuses on these small businesses, the company will be able to get the attention of these businesses as our prices fits with the tight budget of this small business. The current business operation will change as the company will have to employee more staffs to provide our services in this regions. Furthermore, since CSG will build physical offices in these regions, more cash will be needed for expansion purposes. The company will also incur more costs such as work permits, legal operational fees among others.

Opportunities Threats

The number of small businesses that are coming up in the united states, the opportunities for our services is high especially in the regions the company is intending to venture into. Our company will be access to this emerging market as many of these businesses are started by an entrepreneurs who have bright ideas but lack ideas in coming up with the formal business strategy that are essential in turning those ideas into successful businesses.

Building of reputation will require a lot of money. Additionally, big companies with high profile will be willing to enter into the market and will be willing to change less in order to accommodate small businesses.

Impact on customers

The existing customer will have more alternatives in accessing our services as they will be available in more regions. The entrepreneurs who will be also willing to expand their services will be able to get our services especially if they are moving in the same market that we are moving into.

Financial assessment

Cost Details Cost in first (year)

Renting of offices $10000

Legal fees $2000

Salaries for new hired staffs $15000

Operational cost $10,000

Advertisement $5000

Total Cost: $42,000

Benefits Benefit within12 Months

Increased number of new customers $58,000

Total Revenue (or benefits): $50,000

Total cost / total revenue (or benefits) = Payback period

Payback Period = $ 50,000

Marketing Opportunity 2 New Services

Strengths Weaknesses

Provision of new service will enable the company to keep pace with changing customer need and demand as the new service provided will base on customers feedback. The company will be able to attract more clients as some of them will want to know what this service is all about

The company will incur more money while coming up with the new service as more expertise will be hired.

Opportunities Threats

The company will explore more new market with its new services and the existing market will be eager to be offered with the new service Some customer may not be comfortable with the service as the need of customer are very complicated to be understood

Impact on customers

The existing customers will now have new services being offered to them especially those willing to venture overseas. The company will provide them with enough support in terms of advice on how to venture globally, challenges they may face and how to mitigate some of this challenges in order to remain more competitive.

Financial assessment

Cost Details Cost in first (year)

Hiring of experienced personnel $8000

Training of staffs $12,00

Total Cost: $20,000

Benefits Benefit within12 Months

Increased sales $39,000

Total Revenue (or benefits): $39,000

Total cost / total revenue (or benefits) = Payback period

Payback Period = 39,000

Marketing Opportunity 3 Sales Promotion

Strengths Weaknesses

The company will reach more customer through advertisement

More money will be spent on advertisement services

Strength Weaknesses

Increase market share and customer retention rates as advertisement will reach more customers Big companies may start targeting small business with sophisticated and expensive sale promotion technique

Impact on customers

The existing customer will know more of the services the company is offering. Furthermore, the new customer will be informed on the different new promotions that the company is offering.

Financial assessment

Cost Details Cost in first (year)

Advertisement cost $20,000

Total Cost: $20,000

Benefits Benefit within12 Months

Increased sales $50,000

Total Revenue (or benefits): $50,000

Total cost / total revenue (or benefits) = Payback period

Payback Period = 50,000

Competitors

The major competitors are Venture Capitalist who will be intending to add more consulting services to their portfolio. Furthermore, non-profit groups especially those initiated by the government also pose a threat to our opportunities. These competitors will affect effort of venturing into the new market as they will lure more customers before we reach them. Furthermore,...