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Service Description
There are four characteristics that are in demand within a modern-day enterprise, namely: high market responsiveness, fast developments, low cost, and finally, high levels of creativity, innovation, and efficiency (Levy, 2012). Technology-intensive enterprises, in particular, are constantly pushed towards performance initiatives that place emphasis on doing things faster, better, and with fewer resources (McAdam & Marlow, 2011). In fact, this push towards better competitive performance through effective and more efficient resource utilization and allocation is one of the current driving forces of many high-tech organizations. Failure to sufficiently innovate along with new technologies and business trends can be thought of as a failure on the part of the managerial practices at a company since being able to anticipate trends and use them to either reach greater market penetration or keep the company relevant to consumers is a necessity in today’s technology-intensive market economy. Taking this into consideration, Granite State Consultants, Inc., located in Boston, provides consulting services to small-midsized companies in order to address issues related to lean organizational practices, asset management, and innovative goal attainment. This is done through the deployment of the following solution related services related to improving organizational performance:
- Operational Efficiencies
- Employee Performance
- Employee Motivation
- Asset Allocation
- Marketing Efforts
- Sales Targets and Benchmarks
- Accounting Controls and Budgetary Suggestion
- Breakeven Analysis
- SWOT Analysis
- Product Development
One of the current general assumptions by small to medium-sized enterprises is that consulting services that help to improve company performance are primarily isolated to large scale enterprises due to the nature of the service and the high costs related to hiring a consultant (Moulder, 2010). It is this general assumption that prevents such enterprises from improving their internal processes, which results in performance stagnation. John & Martin (1984) explains that one of the inherent problems with small to midsized enterprises is that due to the aforementioned assumptions regarding the isolation of consultation services to large scale enterprises, this prevents them from developing better products, creating more efficient services, retaining good employees and reaching higher sales targets (John & Martin, 1984). Granite State Consultants, Inc. addresses this issue by providing consultation services to small-medium scale enterprises at an affordable cost/consultation ratio.
By providing affordable consulting services, enables the company to fill a real need within the local business community enabling managers and owners to improve their business models and internal processes to the point that they become more competitive. This is all the more important, given the current low economic performance within the U.S. and the necessity of developing lean operational processes that increase efficiency and reduce cost. In terms of creating a competitive advantage, it must be noted that organizations that utilize consultancy services in order to improve their internal processes have been shown to create better employees, reduce costs related to wasteful spending, have been able to more accurately target their desired market niche and have developed products and services that are more in tune with the wants and needs of modern-day consumers. When combining such factors, it becomes evident that this creates a considerable degree of competitive advantage and is something many corporations should take into consideration given its beneficial effects. While it may be true that the current hesitance towards the use of consultancy service by small to midsized enterprises as described by ( ) does pose a problem, it is expected that eventually, the positive effects our services would have for our clients would result in significant demand growth for our services.
Target Market
The target markets of Granite State Consultants, Inc. are small to midsized companies that are primarily within the Boston area. These companies should optimally be enterprises that are either just starting out or have reached a plateau in their business model, where employee performance and sales have stagnated for a prolonged period of time. The reason this particular market segment was chosen is due to the fact these types of businesses often desire to improve their current operational performance or business models yet do not have the knowledge or the capability to actually know what needs to be done in order to accomplish this (Sandhusen, 2000). Such a situation presents itself as a viable opportunity for consultancy services such as Granite State Consultants, Inc. since the company has the knowledge and expertise to be able to effectively guide such clients towards the processes that they need to implement in order to reach their desired goals.
What must be understood is that the current economic recession that the U.S. is experiencing has created a market environment where small to midsized businesses are finding it increasingly difficult to operate given low consumer demand and the high levels of competition from larger corporations (Frith, 2010). In this type of economy, only two possible outcomes can come about: either a company closes down or it implements methods of efficient and lean business procedures that enable it to operate despite the current problems it faces (Corstjens, Umbljis, & Wang, 2011). Since most companies desire to remain in business, this creates a viable market situation for Granite State Consultants, Inc. since it would be able to provide a service that much needed within the local economy, and given the current state of the U.S. economy as a whole, it is anticipated that demand for the company’s consultancy services for implementing better business processes in order to be more competitive will not wane anytime soon.
Competitive Analysis
At present, the current environment in which Granite State Consultants, Inc. finds itself is actually one which is rife with a plethora of consultancy firms. Firms such as Bain & Company and The Boston Consulting Group, Inc. have achieved a great deal of market penetration is not only in the local Boston market but in other cities across the U.S. as well. Fortunately, most of these companies focus on attaining clients composed of large corporations, which leaves the current market for small to medium-sized enterprises open for companies such as Granite State Consultants, Inc.
SWOT
The Boston Consulting Group, Inc.
Strength
- Estimated $1.5 billion in yearly revenue
- Has a client list composed entirely of Fortune 500 companies
- Currently has 6000 employees across a wide range of services
Weakness
- Vulnerable to sudden shifts in the global economy
- Lost a large percentage of its client list immediately after the 2008 financial crisis
Bain & Company
Strength
- Estimated $2.5 billion in yearly revenue
- Currently has 10,000 employees distributed across a wide range of international offices
- Considered to be one of the most prestigious consulting firms in the world
Weakness
- Lacks sufficient market penetration outside of its established client list, which leaves it vulnerable to sudden declines in demand for its services.
Service Comparison
The main difference between the service offerings of Granite State Consultants, Inc. and the other consultancy firms indicated within this report is the fact that both Bain & Company and The Boston Consulting Group, Inc. focus on large corporations and have prohibitively high prices, which prevent SMEs from hiring them. In this regard Granite State Consultants, Inc. has a distinct advantage when entering into this market due to its lower fee structure and the fact that the company focuses on SMEs entirely rather than large corporations.
The response of Competitors as a Result of Market Entry
As soon as Granite State Consultants, Inc. obtains a large percentage of the SME (small to medium enterprises) market, it can be expected that Bain & Company and The Boston Consulting Group, Inc. may change various aspects of their current business model and shift resources towards the creation of new consultancy departments that focus on SMEs. Due to their far larger resources, it is anticipated that advertising campaigns in the form of TV, magazine, and newspaper ads will appear which emphasize the ability of these firms to assist SMEs in adopting to the chaotic business environment they find themselves in and would, as a result, improve their performance. Should this occur, the most obvious response that the company should implement is to continue giving the same service offerings at the same price regardless of the various types of services offered by new competitors in the company’s market niche.
The reason behind this is quite simple: the service industry thrives on the quality and consistency of the service given rather than the provision of low cost yet low quality and mostly unsustainable services. By ensuring the quality of our services remain the same while at the same continuing along the same line of business, it can be expected that in the long run Granite State Consultants, Inc. will be able to maintain its market position (Asperger, 2007). It must also be noted that various marketing studies have shown that pioneers into particular industries tend to develop firmly entrenched positions, which actually prevent newer competitors from sufficiently establishing themselves within the same market niche (Bayadi, 2008). By ensuring that early successes and the quality of services continue to be carried on through various business quarters then this can help to firmly entrench Granite State Consultants, Inc. into the consciousness of local clients, which should ensure that its market position will continue to be maintained into the conceivable future.
Financial Analysis
Product Pricing Structure
The last approach that should be considered by companies when approaching consumer relationships is to take into account business cycles and market slumps and adjust prices accordingly. As explained by Professor Leonard Lodish of the Wharton School of Business, “pricing is a critical element of successful marketing, in good times and in bad and many companies do not focus enough on getting their pricing right” (Homburg, Artz, & Wieseke, 2012). It is based on this and the cyclical cycle of business that companies should consider proper pricing strategies when selling particular services. This takes the form of taking into account the physical value of the product/service being sold as well as various non-tangible elements that consumers take into consideration before they are willing to pay for a product/service (Homburg, Artz, & Wieseke, 2012).
It is based on this that each consultancy service for a specific aspect of improving a client’s current method of operations will incur a $4,000 charge with $200 being charged for each group presentation held by the consultant. The reason behind this particular pricing scheme is connected to the facts mentioned earlier regarding adjusting pricing rates with slumps in the economy. At present, the U.S. economy is in the middle of a considerable slump, with consumer spending still at an all-time low. It is based on this that many SMEs simply do not have the monetary resources to be able to spend on expensive consultancy services. By lowering the price of the service to $4,000 per operational capacity, ensures that services are cheap enough that various SMEs would be willing to spend their current assets in order to help improve their current operational capacity to create more value for their company in the long run. Granite State Consultants, Inc. can simply increase prices once local economic conditions pick up, resulting in better profits in the future as a result of having a well-established client base.
Channels of Distribution
In terms of delivering the company’s consultancy services to the client, the overall procedure is actually quite simple. Once the client has requested a particular service and has paid half of the required fee for the implementation, a consultant will be dispatched to the client company in order to evaluate the current level of operations, what processes will need to be implemented and what changes need to be adapted in order to increase levels of productivity and efficiency. Once this initial examination period has passed, the consultant will break down the processes needed into individual steps with specific goals for each step that must be reached before proceeding to the next part of the plan. In each step, the consultant will provide a basic outline of the goal that must be met, what processes need to be implemented in order to reach this goal and what methods of evaluation can be implemented in order to determine whether the goal has been reached or not.
This process is combined with a series of “mini-training sessions” to be held for either the manager or employees that need to be educated as to proper methods of examination, evaluation, and planning in order to get them up to speed regarding the processes that need to be implemented. Each individual step is expected to take up to a month in implementation with each succeeding month being another step in the overall plan. It is expected that it would take 4 to 6 months for an entire series of steps to be accomplished in order to achieve the main goal of the consultant, however, should the steps be followed properly it can be expected that the company’s overall level of performance, cost effectiveness and reduction in wasteful processes should be greatly improved. It is only at this point that the remainder of the consultancy fee is to be paid to the company in order to signify the completion of the consultancy period.
Integrated Marketing Communications Strategy
The primary objective of this marketing plan is to create awareness and interest among members of the local business community regarding the advantages that the company’s consultancy services can provide. As such, the best way of doing so would be to utilize an alternative marketing strategy which generates interest while at the same time brings potential clients to the company. This takes the form of Granite State Consultants, Inc. creating free seminars and lessons that are held in the company’s offices for local business managers and owners that are interested in learning more about processes that can be implemented in order to help improve the current performance of their business. By implementing a series of lessons that give clients “a taste” of the services that the company can provide, this generates a significant degree of interest due to the positive effects the lessons provided would have in helping them improve their business performance. This results in the potential for new clients for the company would like to utilize the more “advanced” services of the company in order to further improve on the foundations established through the free lessons provided.
In order to “get the word out” so to speak regarding the services that Granite State Consultants, Inc. can provide to its clients, it was determined that different distribution and promotional channels would be necessary in order to attract customers.
Fliers and promotional brochures could be distributed in the venues where managers and business owners congregate and could potentially act as the main “traditional” distribution channels for the company. Furthermore, word-of-mouth can also greatly benefit the venture as this communication channel will become particularly important at the initial stages when customers are not aware of the services the company offers.
Use of Social Media in Service Promotion
The sheer proliferation of social media platforms such as blogs, wikis and online forums has created an unprecedented opportunity for companies to take advantage of this new social trend in order to promote particular products and services via online social platforms. Nearly 22% of all online activity within the U.S. alone is spent on social networking websites and as such is indicative of the consumer market share that social media platforms could potentially provide to the company should it utilize such a marketing tool. Furthermore it has been proven using social media programs such as viral marketing initiatives that a certain degree of “hype” can be generated for a particular product or service yet only cost a fraction of a standard advertising campaign. Thus from a cost-benefit standpoint the utilization of social media platforms as marketing tools is not only advantageous for the company in terms of brand promotion and gaining a certain degree of market penetration into potentially untapped consumer segments but it can do so at a relatively low cost and as such presents numerous potential avenues of approach by which the company can generate consumer awareness of its products.
One way of utilizing social media in advertising the company’s services is to create a Facebook fan page for the company in order to help better connect itself with its current customer base. What must be understood is that by creating a fan page this allows subscribed Facebook fans to receive updates from the company in the form of service launch dates, overall service availability, performance and other factors that can contribute to its sale. In fact a fan page creates a “human” face for the company in that by posting daily news regarding the particular industry the company is in, this helps consumers to better understand the company and thus create a greater degree of service awareness which translates into a higher likelihood of service patronage. There is little risk in utilizing this particular marketing tool and the potential rewards are massive in terms of greater brand awareness, better consumer relations and the creation of a particular image for the company that goes beyond merely being a business entity but rather is one connected to an open attitude regarding current events, the needs of consumers and being a company that is modernizing instead of being stuck in the dark ages of consumer marketing.
Execution Strategy
- Month 1 – 6: Four free classes per week on performance strategies for improving business growth.
- Cost: $50 to 80 per class for utilities expenses and free coffee provided (instant coffee only).
- Month 1 – 6: Flier and brochure promotional distribution at various stores and convention centers.
- Cost: $500 per month
- Month 1: Creation of Facebook and Twitter page whose details are to be given to the various participants in the free classroom setup.
- Cost: Free
IMC Budget
The IMC budget for the first year of operation consists of a total of $15,000, this budget is based on the amount needed to hold th free classes within the facilities of Granite State Consultants, Inc. as well as the amount necessary for fliers and brocheures that will be distributed in various areas in order to promote the business.
Fliers and Brocehure Budget = $250 a month = $3,000 annually
Weekly introductory classes = $800 a month = $9,600 annualy
The remaining $2,400 will go into various miscellaneos fees that may occur during the company promotion stage such as instructor fees, coffee, refreshments and a variety of other expenses that may arise. Do note that the company’s online social presence on Facebook and Twitter can be easily maintained without any additional cost and as such represents a viable method of advertising the company’s services online.
Reference List
Asperger, J. J. (2007). How Does Your Garden Grow? To Increase Yields, Tend to Your Business Development Plan. Web.
Bayadi, J. (2008). Big Plans for the Midmarket. (cover story). Siliconindia, 11(8), 16-21.
Corstjens, M., Umbljis, A., & Wang, C. (2011). The Power of Inertia. Journal Of Advertising Research, 51(2), 356-372.
Frith, S. (2010). Updating Your Marketing Plan. Franchising World, 42(10), 43.
Homburg, C., Artz, M., & Wieseke, J. (2012). Marketing Performance Measurement Systems: Does Comprehensiveness Really Improve Performance?. Journal Of Marketing, 76(3), 56-77.
John, G., & Martin, J. (1984). Effects of Organizational Structure of Marketing Planning on Credibility and Utilization of Plan Output. Journal Of Marketing Research (JMR), 21(2), 170-183.
Levy, S. J. (2012). Marketing management and marketing research. Journal Of Marketing Management, 28(1/2), 8-13.
McAdam, M., & Marlow, S. (2011). Sense and sensibility: The role of business incubator client advisors in assisting high-technology entrepreneurs to make sense of investment readiness status. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 23(7/8), 449-468.
Moulder, E. (2010). Do Business Attraction Plans Make a Difference?. Public Management 92(11), 12.
Sandhusen, R.L. (2000). Marketing. New York: Barron’s Educational Series.
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