Introduction
Business plan is usually a written document that lays down the future strategy of a new or existing business setting out its financial development and prospects over a given period of time. It usually covers several years in its span. For existing businesses, a business plan defines the identity of the business i.e. who they are, the activities it’s involved in, how it performs those activities and its objectives as well as goals. In a business plan, the business description, operations, market research as well as marketing strategies are outlined. The core competitors in the market in addition to financial forecasts are evaluated in the business plan. This document proves to be a vital tool for business owners when in need of financial borrowing or attracting investors. It is presented to potential lenders so that they can know more about the business and how will work before their decisions to back it financially.
Need for a business plan
A good business plan is a very vital document for businesses to embark on, if they need to be successful. This plan acts as the guiding star to keep businesses on the right track to success. It is the determining factor on whether a business will progress to be successful after its initial start off. There are several reasons behind the creation and need for a business plan for business organizations. A business plan is an essential tool for business to convince financial investors as well as lenders when the business needs funding. This plan is needed when ascertaining the chances of a business being profitable in future as well as its chances of survival in the market. Business plan is needed in the provision of a revenue estimates and the capable market share a business can command. This document is highly useful in business venture as it helps the businesses to analyze the competitors in the market and improvise tactics on how to get an edge over them. The good business plan is essential, as it helps business owners in foreseeing potential problems, hence keeping them alert to solve them before disaster strikes (Steingold, n.d online).
Form of the business
This is an existing private limited company dealing with telecommunication gadgets specifically mobile phones, with branches all over the globe.
The Industry
This research study will embark on a business plan to promote a new mobile phone brand in the telecommunication industry all over the world. The global mobile phone telecommunication industry is experiencing dynamism in terms of changing technology resulting to changes in customer preferences, fashions as well as buying trends and market penetration. Analysts predict that the current mobile phone users accounts for 50% of the global population with projected increase to 80% in 2013. With the introduction of the 3G technology in the industry, market penetration is on the increase from the projected mobile penetration of 61% towards the end of 2008. The main competitor in the industry is the Finnish Nokia who leads in terms of the market share (Victoria, 2008). According to Victoria (2008), Nokia shipped 437 million handsets in 2007.
The product and its significance
The new mobile phone brand will bring in to the market the latest technology in telecommunication. This technology will involve the display of the video of the caller when calling as well as the exact surrounding where the caller is calling from in addition to its 3G conformity. The importance of this feature will be that the receiver will be able to trace the location of the caller from the phone, hence minimize chances of cheating and false identity of a caller.
In planning for the new phone brand, the business will analyze the internal and external factors in the telecommunication environment through the SWOT tool. In marketing the new phone, the internal factors (strength and weaknesses) as well as the external factors (opportunities and threats) in the environment (telecommunication industry) will be analyzed (Marketing Teacher, 2009 online). The Mobile phone will capitalize on weaknesses of the leaders in the market such as the Nokia Corporation.
SWOT analysis
After undergoing a thorough scanning and analysis of the environment, the new phone brand will have a greater competitive advantage over other phone products in the market, especially if marketed to people in the youth age bracket and teenagers who fancy advanced technology in communication gadgets. These are the groups which are classy and trendy in their choice for communication gadgets, hence the new phone will be highly successful in the market by targeting these groups.
Goals and Objectives
Taking into consideration the importance of mobile communication globally, the mobile phone firm aims to provide the market the best technologically advanced mobile phone in the telecommunication market and obtain a substantial market share in the in the global industry.
Market Analysis
After scanning the environment and conducting a SWOT analysis for the new mobile phone, the business will have gathered enough confidence the product will perfectly fit in the targeted customer base and will beat similar products in the market to emerge the most successful in the market.
Market research and strategies
The mobile phone firm will then conduct a market research survey to determine and ascertain the market’s sufficiency and viability to support the new phone product. The marketing research will embark on analyzing the market needs and trends, participants and market characteristics of the telecommunication industry. Afterwards it will come up with relevant marketing strategies to adopt, in order to market the new mobile phone successfully. These will be presented in the market analysis of the business plan. The analysis will evaluate the characteristics of the mobile phone market as well as its segmentation. The business plan will give a brief description and current status of the global mobile phone market, i.e. how dynamic and competitive the market is and how the communication trends are fluctuating in styles, fashion and preferences. The targeted area coverage for the new mobile phone, the environment, surveys on market growth rate as well as target customers will be analyzed in the plan. For instance mobile phone market will cover all nations on the globe, with high expectations of fast growth rate as it will undergo various modifications to go hand in hand with changes in customer needs and trends.
The market analysis will further survey on the strength of other core participants and competitors in the market. Tactics will be adopted to oust or compete effectively with the current principal market share leader (Nokia Corporation) through various promotional strategies which will be unique and new in the mobile phone communication industry.
Promotional strategy
The mobile firm will market the product through massive sales promotion through the mass media and particularly through Radio and Television programs. A promotional strategy of starting a unique promotional technique which will involve competitions over the mass media to win the new mobile phone will be adopted. The marketing strategy will also involve socially responsive programs showcasing how the phone will instill social values such as honesty, by combating cheating as the caller will be identified as well as the location at which the call is being made from. Buying trends will be surveyed in pilot project; hence sales forecasts will be ascertained from the piloting exercise.
Pricing
The pricing of the mobile phone will also be evaluated if it will be relevant to the targeted market segment, from the buying trends of the consumers. The mobile phone will cost U$150. The firm is projecting massive purchases as the price of the phone will be acceptable to the targeted market segment, through extensive and relevant marketing strategies and promotional activities have been successful. Through accurate sales forecasts, the mobile phone firm will be able to ascertain when its phone sales will reach break-even point, whether the market is huge enough to accommodate the prospected sales and whether the products are competitive enough to enter into the market as well as surviving competition (Business Plan, n.d online).
Sales forecasting
Sales forecasts for the new mobile phone will be based on figure estimates to be obtained through the following quantitative technique after implementing the pilot project. The customer profiles and industry trends will be developed. The customer profiles will be sampled to in terms of age, gender, profession and income level. Form a sample group, the estimates and buying trend of the group will be quantified statistically and a general sales figure estimated for the entire group in a specific region. The total figure estimates for the entire market will be deduced from a region’s statistics (statistical forecasting, n.d).
The firm’s sales forecasts for the first six months are as follows:
Distribution Channel
The most appropriate distribution channel the mobile phone firm will embark on in distributing the new mobile phone will be through its global retail outlets of the mobile phone firm.
Budget Analysis
Having conducted a thorough market analysis, the mobile phone firm will now undergo a budget analysis. The financial resources projected for the entire cost of the planned business and cash flows will be analyzed at this stage. The total sum of costs incurred in introducing the new mobile phone in the market will be compared with the income projected, so as to ascertain whether the business project will be viable and attractive or not. This financial section should convey the firm’s significant financial worksheets such as the projected cash in-flow and out-flow statements, breakeven point (when costs will equalize to revenues), balance sheets and projections for annual income of the business (Stewart, 2005, online).
Financial sources
- Sources of funds (U$ million):
- Loan – 11,000
- Self – Cash: 1,000
- Self – Assets: 2,000
- Fixed Assets:
- Machinery and Equipment: 15,150
Financial expenditures for starting the project.
Break even analysis
According to the projections of the mobile firm, the projected income revenue from the businesses projected phone sales for the first six months will have equalized with the initial expenditure the firm underwent in penetrating the new mobile phone in to the market (the break even point). The projected sales for the first six months period will have surpassed the initial cost of the establishing the project i.e. (18,450- 16,250 = 2,200), hence the firm will be on the track of making profits after the first six months.
Returns on Investments the project
Returns on investments are very vital in a firm’s investment review. According to eHow (n.d), it’s a percentage expression of how a certain investment performs relatively to other investments in the market, over a given period of time. Using the bi-Annual Percentage Yield (bi-APY), the mobile phone firm’s ROI will be as per the following computations.
The total investments of the firm (initial costs or expenses) for six months = 16250
Estimated profits for the period of six months = 2200
Therefore its initial returns on investments will be 2200/16250 = 0.135. This is equivalent to 14 percent of the firm’s bi-ROI. However the succeeding ROI projections will rise significantly as the project will be post break even point. This figure compared to other firm’s investments ROI Is significantly high meaning that the project will be highly profitable hence feasible (Fat Pitch Financial, 2009, online).
Project Feasibility
After conducting a pilot project, the mobile phone firm has established that their new mobile phone highly demanded in the market due to its uniqueness over other phone brands in the market. The market is highly receptive to the new mobile phone, since it’s cheap in comparison to its value and features and similar mobile phones in the market. The pilot project has established that the price of the phone is considerably cheaper compared to similar phone brands. This will certainly give the mobile phone a higher competitive edge over similar products from market followers and imitators. The project’s SWOT analysis has identified that its strengths and opportunities are greater than the possible threats and weaknesses; hence the chances of success of the project are extremely high.
Thorough market research has ascertained the market trends and changing customer needs. With this prior knowledge, the firm will certainly have greater market awareness and the proper tactics to tackle challenges brought about by varying market trends in the global telecommunications industry. The sales forecasts ascertain the feasibility of the project, as it can reach its break even point shortly after six months of its conception. The fact that the firm is able to achieve the breakeven point at its early stages, benefits (profitability) of the firm are projected to increase substantially as the costs will tremendously reduce.
The utilization of the firm’s existing distribution outlets will mean that its distribution costs will be substantially minimized. Additional outlets and employees will be a strengthening factor to the project’s feasibility as well as its overall success. Since this is an existing firm, its expenditures on assets will be reduced tremendously. This is because the firm will not incur the cost for buying all assets required for the project, but only supplementary assets and minimal maintenance and upgrading costs for the existing assets required in the production process of the gadgets.
The sales forecasts indicate that the project will be highly profitable as the market is highly receptive to the new mobile phone. This factor greatly reinforces the viability and future progression of the project.
The firm’s will embark on utilizing the Television and Radio in promotion of the new mobile which has proven effective financially and its ability to reach the market segment extensively, through the pilot project. The promotional strategy of involving competitions in the Radio and the Television will greatly create awareness of the mobile phone in the market, which will be a boost to the mobile phone’s viability in the market
The proposed mobile phone project has fulfilled all the conditions required internationally in the mobile phone telecommunication industry, and it has been approved to release the gadget into the market. The firm has obtained an international license for the new mobile phone to be retailed in the firm’s existing outlets globally and the new outlets to be opened. The mobile phone has been certified by international standardization bodies that it is safe for use by human beings and has no detrimental effect to the environment. The likelihood of the project’s viability and success will be high since cases of non-compliance to international laws and standards will be minimal.
From the feasibility study and the pilot project conducted, the project is ascertained to be highly viable and the likelihood of it to be successful is quite high. The actual implementation of the project will be started in the soonest time possible.
Executive Summary
The telecommunication industry has been experiencing a lot of changes globally, particularly in the mobile phone communication. Technology has been the key factor responsible for various changes and trends in the mobile phone sub sector. Advancements in technology in the industry have called for upgrading and or production of communication gadgets to complement the changes in needs, fashion trends and people’s tastes and preferences. Driven by people’s need to avert cheating over the mobile phone, through recognizing the visual identity and the geographical environment surrounding the caller, our firm came up with an idea. The idea was to manufacture a new mobile phone with features capable of identifying the identity and the environment of the caller or the person being called.
The mobile phone firm will be focused on integrating the mobile phone communication with the latest technology advancements in the telecommunication industry. The business concept was initiated after observing a niche in the telecommunication industry as a result of consumers’ needs and fashion trends for a more technologically advanced mobile phone. The new stylish mobile phone will have video feature which will be able to recognize the geographical area from which the caller is calling from as well as identifying the caller’s identity.
After a thorough analysis and scanning of the environment, the mobile phone firm observed that it had various strengths which coupled by the opportunities in the market will make it easier for the penetration of the new mobile phone into the market. The mobile phone business environment posed no major threats particularly from the possible competitors. The phone is in a class of its own and it will create an edge over similar products from competitors.
The marketing strategy for the new mobile phone will involve conduction of various promotional activities via the radio, newspaper and the
television to create awareness to the general public about the new mobile phone. Unique activities such as competitions in the above mentioned media will be utilized. The price of the mobile phone will be U$150, which is highly affordable to the target group i.e. youths, specifically teenagers. The price was achieved at after a thorough market research and cost-value analysis. The firm has forecasted its new mobile sales to be U$18,450 its first six months of selling the gadget, a figure which will be slightly higher than its initial cost of U$16,250.
The new mobile phone will be distributed through the firm’s existing outlets globally. These will be complimented with extra distribution outlets as well as extra assets such as manufacturing and assembling machinery. The processing and assembling units will be reinforced with extra machineries which will aid in the production process of the new mobile phone.
The financial expenditures and other related operational costs will be catered for by the owner’s equity and external borrowing. With monthly cash in-flow of 20% of the initial cost of the project, the break even point is projected to be realized after six months of operation. At this point the project’s revenue will have equalized and surpassed the initial cost of the project; hence the likelihood of the project’s success is substantially high. The feasibility study has indeed confirmed that the project is viable and will be highly successful if implemented.
References
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eHow Personal Finance Editor. (n.d). How to Calculate a Return on an Investment. Web.
Fat Pitch Financials. (2009). How to calculate your return on investment. Web.
Marketing Teacher. (2009). SWOT Analysis: Lesson Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT). Web.
Statistical Forecasting: Sales forecasting techniques. (n.d). Web.
Steingold, F, S. (n.d). Why You Need to Write a Business Plan. Web.
Stewart, C. (2005). Five Crucial Components of a Business Plan. Web.
Victoria, H. (2008). Mobile-phone industry to boom, despite downturn. Web.