The Executive Homework help – Summary is made up of several pieces. Each piece addresses a certain part of business and the business plan. The first part deals with an” industry “( a part of the economy)—-your assignment for this week is to choose an industry that you believe will be thriving and a winner over the next 5 years or so. Along with an industry, you need to come up with a “product” that could take advantage of your choice of industry. The 2nd topic to cover is the “product” you intend to produce and market. You don’t need to go into great detail, however, this is where you need to give enough information to the public, that they can “easily” see and understand why your company will succeed and be successful. Make it clear and concise. Show the value this product will bring to the customer base and ultimately this segment of your chosen industry. Once again, keep it to 2 or 3 paragraphs—-simple is good—-complicated is not good. Post it along with 2 or 3 paragraphs on each of the other segments listed in the title. For example, how you will “compete” with companies that offer a product or service similar to the one you have chosen.—
This section is about your product/service differentiation. This is an extremely important area. You need to have a differentiator—-otherwise you are just one more of the same type of company producing a similar product—you will get lost in the buzz and static of the market. A differentiator does not necessarily have to be about the product, but it certainly could be. for example, in the fast food market segment, you had McDonalds, Burger King, Jack-in-the -Box, Carls, Wendys, etc. all try to outdo each other selling hamburgers, fries & soda—–they tried bigger, smaller, added condiments, different recipes and promotions——then there was Subway—it was a sandwich, they made it to order, they got you in and out and the price point was comparable to the burger joints—-but their product was very different—it was “Healthy” —–at least that was the differentiator they chose and it separated them from the rest of the herd.
Finding a differentiator is not easy—–but if you can find one that is not easily duplicated—you will have taken a large step toward having a long term success in business. You need a differentiator. Something that sets you head-and-shoulders above and apart from your competition. Warren Buffett saw that in Coca Cola with the world wide distribution system Coke had in place—-nobody could beat them on that front. Finding a “strong” differentiator is not easy—–a strong differentiator is one that cannot be easily duplicated by the competition. Put together two paragraphs or so on how you might differentiate your product from the “herd”.
How to approach the customer base? Some companies try to shove their product down the customers throat—-massive amount of unsolicited phone calls—pop-up adds—not fully truthful giveaways—–complicated purchase agreements, etc. if you find yourself working for a company like the above—quit–and find another company. (better yet start your own company)
Promotion should be about explaining the value of your product to the customer— keep it simple, understandable and obvious. if the customer finds good value in your service or product, they will tell others about it—-word-of-mouth is the best free promotion you can get. Come up with two paragraphs on how you will promote your product/business.
How do small/new companies decide on what pricing to charge for their products? Small/new companies tend to price their products either in the middle range with the competition or at the low end (sometimes even the lowest end) based on their belief that if they are the lowest price provider, most customers will buy from them. that is a bad, bad idea! The lower you price your product, the smaller your profit margin—that means you have to sell more units of your product just to compete with the competition. Assuming you and your competitors have very similar products—your cost to make one unit of your product will be about the same. If a recession comes along and your competitors begin to drop their prices you will have nowhere to go because your already the low price in your market.
My personal belief, is that small companies should price at the high end—look and be exclusive—you will sell fewer numbers of product but make a higher profit margin off of each unit.
When you price at the lowest end, who are you competing with? WalMart!——-very BAD idea. Add two paragraphs on how you choose to price your products and the analysis behind it.
Lastly, add one or two paragraphs on how you would choose to distribute your products – retail, wholesalers, direct, online, combinations of distribution? post the project Friday or Saturday at the end of week # 6. . I will comment back to you on your submission.
Requirements: 1 day | .doc file
