3. Introduction
Current Market – family and friends
Competitors – “Technophobe” and “PC Nerd”
Targeting the customers and sales strategy
Designing and producing the product
Raising finance
Employees and legalities
4. Target Market
Expanding the Customer Base – Potential Customers
Family
Friends
The elderly
Schools and small businesses
Students
Local residents
Disabled people
People who work from home
5. Competitors
Technophobe
Builds computers from restored components
Established for at least 3 years
4 employees on a part-time basis
PC Nerd
Specialise in at home repairs
Good location
15 employees on a full-time basis
6. SWOT Analysis
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
•Currently have a small customer base
•Interested & passionate in computers •Needs a consistent stream of business
•Has built a good reputation amongst friends & •Little experience of big projects
family •Is working from the spare bedroom substantial
enough
•
OPPORTUNITIES THREATS
•If one customer receives bad service, the reputation
could be affected
•Open a shop
•Competitors could expand quickly and take
•Employ staff
potential customers
•Offer other services to competitors
•Other competitors already established with loyal
customer base
•Rising cost of parts and labour
8. Promotions & Advertisements
Types of Promotions Types of advertisements
Discounts for groups of people Newspaper or magazine advert
Discounts for recommendations Radio advert
Discounts for next purchase Pamphlets
Discount with a flyer Online adverts eg. Facebook &
Discounted software with purchase Twitter
of PC Town notice boards
12 month guarantee
Computer lessons
9. Customer Service
Ways of contact:
-E-mail -Website -Facebook
-Telephone -Q&A -Twitter
If the customer is not satisfied
-Letter of apology
-Money back if necessary
-Discount on next purchase
-Money off vouchers
-No fix, no fee
10. Product Design
Budget of £1000
Customers needs
A reliable computer produced in a short space of time
Use mainly second hand components to produce a more cost effective computer
Have a good relationship with the supplier and so computer parts are generally
available
As the supplier offers credit of 60 days, accounts can be paid if the computers sell
11. Purchasing Strategy
As the supplier offers credit of 60 days, the computer can be sold
before the need to pay the supplier
Aim to pay the supplier within the 60 days so that they remain
lenient and a good relationship is kept
If the current supplier cannot deliver, are there other suppliers
available
12. Production
Try not to keep too much stock so that it is not ‘dead money’ in a stock
room, although be prepared for a sudden increase in demand
If we were to make all of the computers, can we keep up with demand
and keep our customers satisfied
Do we have the space and time to produce all of the computers ourselves
Possibility of using a contractor to build the computers, although this may
not be as cost effective
Is it an option to buy in computers and sell them at a profit
If we were to use a courier service, can we guarantee that
deliveries will be made on time
13. Quality Control
Are all of our computers made to a consistently good standard
Aim to check every computer is of quality and so that we don’t get dissatisfied
customers
It is better to make fewer computers of better quality than to bulk build computers
which may not be of the same standard
Although time consuming, every computer should be individually checked to make
sure it meets a high standard
If every computer is made to a high standard, less time
will be spent fixing problems
For computers sold, a quality check could be offered 6 months
after purchase to ensure that there are no problems
14. Finance
Raising Finance
Savings could be used
Borrow money from a bank
Re-mortgage the house
Take a loan
Offer shares in the business
Borrow money from family or friends
Increase the current overdraft
15. Staffing and Employment Laws
How to keep wages to a minimum
Could employ an apprentice, although this would mean offering training,
the wage paid would be much less
Employing an undergraduate would also mean paying a lower wage, but
training and advice would have to be given
If staff are on a part-time basis, then it is more flexible as they can work
as and when you need them
Try and avoid using agency staff as they will be paid a
premium rage with a percentage going directly to the agent
16. Employment
Could employ the friend who has experience but is pregnant,
meaning that the position would have to be filled after 6 months
Another employee could be taken on after the 6 months, with the
hope that when the lady is able to come back to work, there will be
the demand for a greater number of staff
Although the lady on maternity leave will be off work for 12
months, wages would still have to be paid, unless she was employed
on a temporary basis
17. Staff Happiness
Bonuses could be awarded to staff members to keep morale and
interest in the job high
A discount could be offered when willing to purchase items
Correct holidays and understanding of time needed off work
Staff training will be offered so that employees are working to their
best level and are efficient at their jobs
18. Other Services
Computer Problems & Solutions e.g. Data recovery
Internet Problems e.g. Hardware failures, virus protection
Computer Training
iPod, iPad & Kindles
Equipment Set-up
Fix broken computers, either in the customer’s home or at the
workshop
19. Conclusion
Start in the spare room of the house with hope to expand into a
workshop or shop
Employ staff to enable work to be carried out faster and more
efficiently
Maintain good relationships with suppliers and customers
Room to expand with repairs and computer set-ups
