Running Head COMPETITIVE ANALYSISCOMPETITIVE ANALYSIS 3CO.docx

Running Head: COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS 3
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
Strayer University
BUS521 Entrepreneurship & Innovation
Sunday, February 22, 2015
1. Competitive analysis
Competitive analysis can simply be referred to the examination
or investigation of factors that have an impact on the ability of
a business to compete in the industry (Babette, 2003). It is well
understood that various industries in the market have different
challenges, and it is the responsibility of each business
organization to find out how such challenges can be dealt with
to ensure that the business is competitive.
Below are the important issues that affect the competition
ability of the business:
a. Sources of competition
In any business filed, the greatest sources of competition are
other organizations that provide the same products as the
company in question. When two or more business organizations
operate in the same industry, offering the same products to the
same consumers, such organizations are competitors. As far as
this organization is concerned, the primary sources of
competition are other business organizations that provide
Internet services to consumers. Currently the Internet serves the
entire world, and this means that there are many businesses that

offer this service. In order to be competitive in the market, the
business must ensure its infrastructure enable it to provide the
best Internet services.
b. Competitors’ strengths
When companies target the same market by offering the same
services, it is a challenge because there is competition. The
fundamental strengths of competing companies in this
technology industry are the great quality of services they
provide. The companies have also expanded their networks
enabling them to cover wider geographical areas. Such strengths
have made competitors very commanding in the industry.
2. Attracting first-time customers
Businesses look forward to being successful in the market, and
one of the indicators of success for a business is the number of
customers served over a given period. At some point, each
customer of the business was a first-time customer; the
strategies applied determine whether or not the business will
attract first-time customers.
a. Strategies
i. Availing Internet services on offer
When services are availed on offer, it implies that they are
being sold at a relatively lower price. In relation to the
prevailing cost of Internet services, the company can decide to
offer the same at a lower cost to lure customers. The low prices
can be attractive to potential customers that they consider
demanding the services.

ii. Discounts on bulk purchases
Giving discounts on services is an effective strategy for
attracting new customers. The company might sell its Internet
services by doing fiber connectivity to buildings and
organizations. In such a case, the business can decide that for
every five building connected, the customer gets one free
connection.
iii. Awarding internet service users
Providing customers with awards for consuming products is
very effective in attracting first-timers. For instance, the
company can offer free maintenance services for clients who
have used the business' services for a given period. Awards in
kind can also be given, for example, Internet services
accessories such as hubs, bridges, and routers.
b. Marketing tactics
i. Open-house (inviting the public to business premises)
In this case, open house simply refers to the case where a
business allows the public to visit its premises, not necessarily
to purchase services but just to be familiar with what is offered.
This is a very effective marketing strategy because it saves
costs and enables a one-on-one interaction with potential
consumers. The business will invite the public to visit its
premises with the primary objective of providing information on
their services. It is cost effective and gives room for more
clarification.
ii. Door to door marketing
Apart from other marketing tactics such as using the media and
other platforms, a business can use the door-to-door tactic. This

is a marketing tactic through which sales people visit potential
customers in their homes or places of work. Having a personal
relationship with potential customers creates trust, and they will
also believe that the business is concerned about them. In order
to attract first-time customers, a business needs to get the trust
of customers. Sales people have the responsibility of providing
detailed information about the Internet services to the potential
customers at the personal level.
iii. Online conversations with potential customers
The business can develop a website in which the public can
create user accounts and be able to communicate with the
customer service of the business. Through this, the business can
do very detailed marketing by providing substantial information
about its Internet services as well as advice customers on
various ways through which they can get the services into their
homes and organizations.
3. Strategic position for the business plan
i. Innovation
Innovation is one of the key strategic positions in the business
plan. The business should be able to come up with new services
consistently in order to be relevant in the market (Daft, 2010).
The Internet services provided by the business must be
improved creatively so that they stand out in the market.
ii. Customer relations
The business has a long-term objective of creating and
maintaining healthy relationships with the customers. This will
ensure that the business is preferred to competitors due to the
quality of customer service provided. Customers are important
stakeholders and must be in the long-term plans of the business.

iii. Accountability
The business must insist that its employees are responsible.
This plays a very important role because it strengthens the trust
of customers in the business. It is a strategic position because it
has a direct effect on the success or failure of the business.
Looking at these strategic positions from an internal
perspective, they enable employees of the business to gain new
skills and knowledge. It contributes towards their career
development; they become more competitive. Externally,
customers are the greatest beneficiaries. Achieving the strategic
positions implies that the business will be providing better
products and services, and this is a direct benefit for customers.
4. Business risks
Internal
i. Strategic risks
These are internal risks that affect the ability of the business to
achieve its goals and objectives presented in the business plan
(Jolly, 2003). Such risks are caused by factors such as
technological evolutions or a shift in customer demands. To
handle this, the business must be proactive in the sense that
challenges should be planned for even before they occur.
ii. Financial risks
The business is at risk of failing to finance its operations such
as installing the best Internet provision infrastructure, providing
the services, marketing, and paying employees. This is an

internal risk that can be mitigated through sound financial
planning. The business must ensure that it has stable financial
supply.
External
i. Compliance risks
These are risks associated with adhering to the rules and
regulations set by the authorities and other relevant agencies.
Dealing with this involves meeting all requirements as defined
by various agencies.
ii. Economic risks
Risks such as recession and instability in the demands of
customers can occur, and they affect business negatively. The
business must be prepared to handle such risks through
consulting trusted business advisers.
5. Sources of funding
Businesses engage in different activities that require financial
resources (Zott, Amit, & Massa, 2011). Below are some of the
sources of funding for the business;
i. Bank loans
Banks provide financing for business organizations. Depending
on the needs, the finances provided can be short-term, mid-
term, or long-term. These are among the most common sources
of funding from where most businesses facilitate their
operations.
ii. Leasing

A business can own fixed assets such as buildings, land,
vehicles, and machinery among others. In an attempt to raise
funds, the business can lease out these assets and in return
income will be earned. This income can be used to run the
affairs of the business.
iii. Customers
The business can have an option that allows customers to do
advance payments. This implies that customers pay before they
are served. The money paid can be used to acquire different
products for the business, as well as finance its projects.
Funding strategy
The most reliable funding strategy for business is a bank loan.
A business can apply for loans of different amounts depending
on the needs. The primary advantage of this source of funding is
that it is possible for the business to acquire a substantially
large amount of credit that can be used to run different
operations.
6. Operating costs
Below is a summary of the business operating costs
Expense
Amount ($)
Acquiring infrastructure
150,000
Installation of infrastructure
45,000
Advertising/Marketing
10,000

Travel
1,000
Repair and maintenance of equipment
2,000
Total
208,000
7. Break-even analysis
According to Craig, (2007), this analysis enables the business to
establish the much that should be sold in order to cover the
business costs. Looking at the various operations, the total sum
comes to $208,000 because it is a start-up business. However,
the total revenue must surpass the expenditure so that the firm
breaks even. At this point, all the expenses incurred in the
business process would be back into the business accounts.
Depending on the amount earned in terms of profit, the business
can decide to invest more or even cut down on the investments.
The break-even analysis is very useful especially when the
business knows the exact amount spent on different operations.
Having the cash back enables it to break even.
References
Babette, B. (2003). Strategic and competitive analysis. Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall
Craig, F. (2007). Business and competitive analysis. Upper
Saddle River, NJ: FT Press
Daft, R. L. (2010). Understanding management. Mason, OH:
South-Western Cengage Learning.
Jolly, A. (2003). Managing business risks. Upper Saddle River,
NJ: Kogan Page Limited.
Zott, C., Amit, R., & Massa, L. (2011). The business model:
recent developments and future
research. Journal of Management, 37(4), 1019-1042.

Module 3: Assignment 2—You will create a report in Word
format based on an information provided. I am more interested
in seeing your calculations and how you arrived at the answer.
So set this up as a report with an introduction and a conclusion.
In the middle please just show me your calculation. Highlight
only the specific answer. Example 20 + 20 = 40. Identify each
as Issue A, Issue B, Issue C, and Issue D as a sub header. Please
do not attempt to write out what you are doing but SHOW me.
This way I can give you partial credit for incorrect answers.
You can develop a brief narrative telling my why you did what
you did for each of these issues.
Format for Module 3
Introduction
Issue A narrative
Issue A calculation with answer highlighted
Issue B narrative
Issue B calculation with answer highlighted
Continue with each question narrative
Continue with each calculation with answer highlighted
Conclusion
Running head: BUSINESS VISION
1
BUSINESS VISION
9
Business Plan Part 1: Business Vision
Name
Professor
Course

Date
Business Plan Part 1: Business Vision
A business plan provides a detailed outline of the course of
action the company should take to generate and grow its
revenues. The planning process acts as an essential tool for the
success of the organization by providing the direction of the
tasks and the requirements needed when the organization seeks
for finance. The feasibility study conducted prior to starting the
business operations helps in creating an effective business plan
with reliable contents. The formulation of the business plan
provides an overview of the business vision (Zott, 2011). A
business seeking to succeed must develop an effective plan with
a clearly stated vision.
A vision statement refers the future aspirations of the
organization including the anticipated mid-term and long-term
accomplishments. The vision developed acts as a deep voyage
into the center and the soul of the organization. Visioning
involves viewing the big picture of the organization and trying
to foresee the future (Zott, 2011). A good vision appeals to the
mind and the spirit of the employees and involves them in them
in creating a successful future of the organization. The
organization should develop a comprehensive vision, which the
stakeholders can understand. A vision formed in a carefully
helps the management communicate the company’s goals to the
employees using a single sentence or a few concise paragraphs
(Carton, 2014). However, developing a sound vision can take
few days or weeks because it has to act as a tool for inspiring
the process of making strategic decisions and the development

of the future business products or services.
The vision of our business is “To be the world’s dynamic
fast internet provider, creating sustainable solutions for
excellent connectivity”. Our business operates in the
technology industry. The company’s vision statement inspires
the stakeholders by laying out the critical goals of the
organization (Srinivasan, 2013). By outlining the key objectives
of our company, the management involves the employees in
developing essential business strategies to achieve the stated
objectives. The vision aims at unifying the employees to create
synergy and make them achieve maximum production. In the
center of our vision, there exists excitement and motivation in
the form of future prediction. The best way, of creating the
future, includes creating it. The excitement and motivating
factor in our vision statement exist because it starts with the
future instead of the present and focuses on the results and state
of our company. The creation of the ideal company acts as the
catalyst that makes the management and the employees
committed to their activities.
The compiled business vision has to get strong a backup
through creating effective business values and corporate values.
The core values of the company supports the vision by shaping
the culture and outlining the priorities of the company in the
creation of healthy customer relations. Many companies focus
on the technical competencies and fail to realize that the smooth
running of the company occurs with the help of the distinct core
values. The establishment of effective core values provides the
company with internal and external advantages (Daft, 2010).
The core values of our company include using operational
excellence, continued innovations, and providing complete
customer relationship.
Creating value through excellent operations
The creation of value through excellent operations
involves focusing on the wide spectrum of the consumers
through cost-leadership. The company seeks to create
efficiency, which it can achieve through providing the services

at a lower cost compared to the competitor’s cost. While the
company seeks to implement the efficiency strategy, it should
provide superior value to the customer by offering them the
lowest total cost. However, the company should master the
operational processes by creating efficient supply chain and
ensure proper management of the inventory.
Creating value through consistent innovations
The innovativeness value includes creating a unique
product or service line by offering superior value to the
customers through a continuous stream of innovative products
and services. The company has to identify new opportunities
and deliver the products and services. When the company
produces quality products and services that exceed the
performance of the competitor’s, it increases the chances of
reaching new customers. The company has to master and
maintain the innovation culture to attain its goals.
Creating value through healthy customer relations
The creation of value through good customer relations
requires the company to identify its markets and segment it
through understanding the perception of the customers
regarding the value of the products and services offered. The
company should provide the products and services that match
the needs of the targeted customers (Daft, 2010). A company
cannot create this value without the detailed knowledge of its
customers. The company should engage in a continuous market
research and respond to the changing customer needs.
Customers show their loyalty to the company that pays attention
to their needs.
Creating Value through accountability
The company shall acknowledge and assume the
responsibility for the actions taken, the products offered to the
customers, and the decision it makes. The accountability value
goes hand-in-hand with the value of commitment. Both values
require the company to take the initiatives that create a
difference to the people within and outside the organization.
The corporate social responsibility demonstrated by the

company shows its contribution to making a better society
through employee empowerment, respecting the diversity,
establishing equity programs, and observing the safety of the
stakeholders.
The core values of the company helps the company in
making sound decision. For example, if the core values of the
company include production of quality products, the company
eliminates any product that does not reach the pre-determined
standard. The company values help the company in creating the
market position and win the customers’ trust. In the modern
business era, a company can use its values as a competitive
advantage. For example, a company that has good values
attracts the skilled and qualified workers who find pleasure in
identifying with it. The company’s executive team should
consider creating values that reflects the company’s vision and
communicate them every day. The reinforcement of the
corporate values makes the employees embrace them and avoid
situations that could destroy the image of the company.
The products and services provided by the company
operate in the wake of the advanced technology. The world has
experienced technological advancements particularly in the area
of information sharing and communications. Political
integrations and formation of unions between different nations
have initiated the integration of the world communities. As
such, communication and research becomes an integral part of
the current world because people need to learn and explore the
world. The internet provides a cheap and way of conducting
research and explore the culture of other nations. However,
some parts of the world have no access to fast internet. The
unexplored markets provide a good market for our products and
services.
The developing and the middle-income countries provide a
good market for the broadband internet services. Research
findings show that the majority of the people in the developing
countries have poor access to the broadband services (Maier,
2011). The broadband companies focus on the urban areas and

developed countries while the developing countries remain
underserved and unexploited. Thousands of NGOs in the
developing nations have gone online, increasing the demand for
the internet services for the purpose of exchange and
distribution of the information both at local, national, and
international levels. The learning institutions in the developing
and the middle-income countries have great demand for the
internet services, as the governments implements the e-learning
strategies. Investing in such countries at this particular time
may help the company realize high revenues and establish a
good market position.
A business model refers to the plan that a company should
implement to generate profit from its operations (Christiansen,
2014). Business models vary across different businesses
according to the nature of their operations. In our case, the
company uses distribution business model. Communication
industry requires large capital to start operations. In this case,
our company may exploit the new markets by distributing the
internet services of the well-established companies. Feasibility
analysis measures the probability of completing a project
successfully, considering the internal and the eternal factors
that may hinder the success.
The feasibility analysis of our company focuses on the
internal and external market environments. Our products and
services have projections of high market demand, which
provides promising business activities. The demographic
characteristics of the target market for our product and services
include the youths and the middle-aged, who forms the majority
of the population, which uses the internet (Kraut, 2006). Our
products and services have unlimited projected supply because
consumers cannot exhaust our services. The location of our
business does not affect it because it does not require technical
appearance to the customers. The feasibility analysis qualifies
our company to proceed with the operations. However, the
roadblocks that may occur include stiff competition in the
technology industry and high initial cost of operations.

Financial projections
The company’s projection assumes that all milestones follow
the schedule.
MEASURE
YEAR 1
YEAR2
YEAR3
YEAR4
YEAR5
TOTAL (5 years)
Projections of online sales
$ 3,500
$42,500
$5,000
$6,500
$80,000
$137,500
Extra staffing costs
$1,600
$1,700
$2,000
$23,500
$25,500
$54,300
Projected insurance costs
$4,200
$5,800
$7,000
$7,800
$8,400
$33,200
Projected maintenance costs
$2,200
$2500
$3000
$3500

$4000
$15,200
Employee training and development costs
$7,500
$0
$0
$0
$0
$75,000
Building of an online store
$100,000
$0
$0
$0
$0
$100,000
Additional costs
$39,900
$25,300
$3,000
$34,800
$37,900
$140,900
Cash flow
-$4,900
$17,200
$20,000
$30,200
$42,100
$104,600
The information gathered and presented in this feasibility study
recommends the approval of the internet services business by
the management. The findings of the feasibility qualify the
project as beneficial to the company and have a high probability
of success.

References
Carton, A. M., Murphy, C., & Clark, J. R. (2014). A (blurry)
vision of the future: How leader rhetoric about ultimate
goals influences performance. Academy of Management
Journal, 57(6), 1544-1570.
Christiansen, B. (2014). Handbook of Research on Global
Business Opportunities. IGI Global. 144
Daft, R. L. (2010). Understanding management. Mason, OH:
South-Western Cengage Learning. 062
Kraut, R. E., Brynin, M., & Kiesler, S. (2006). Computers,
phones, and the Internet: Domesticating information
technology. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 244
Maier, M. (2011). FiWi access networks. Cambridge, UK:
Cambridge University Press. 013
Srinivasan, M. S. (2013). Harnessing the Power of Vision and
Values: A Deeper Perspective. Vilakshan: The XIMB
Journal of Management, 10(2).
Zott, C., Amit, R., & Massa, L. (2011). The business model:
recent developments and future research. Journal of
management, 37(4), 1019-1042.

Running Head COMPETITIVE ANALYSISCOMPETITIVE ANALYSIS 3CO.docx

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