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You decided to create your own business, but so far you have only an idea in your head. Let's figure out how to turn this idea into an action program.
The company's strategy is a general master plan. She answers the questions:
1. Study the market
Before starting a business, you need to understand if it has potential. Study supply and demand.
If a product or service is in demand, the demand for them grows, it makes sense to enter this market.
On the other hand, if there are already a lot of offers in this market and it is getting more every day, it means that there is high competition. Everyone is working on the brink of profitability, it is difficult to make a profit.
Sales of chocolate and sweets in general practically do not change from year to year. At the same time, more and more people make purchases via the Internet, and online sales are growing at a tremendous pace. The potential is there.
There are only five specialized online sweets shops in your city. This means that you can win back your share, and profitability is most likely still acceptable.
But you have much more competitors: these are also pastry shops, gift shops, supermarkets, and also private craftsmen who make sweets to order. To take your place among them, you need to offer something new and different.
2. Choose your clients
Among the many potential buyers, you need to choose your target audience and focus on it. Don't try to reach everyone. Find those whose needs or wants are not met by current salespeople and focus on them.
Get a feel for your potential client. What need can you fulfill? How do these people think? Where do they shop? What features of character and behavior do they have?
There are a lot of sweet tooths who love chocolate - in fact, all people from 1 to 99 years old. Among them, 40% are young and middle-aged people, active Internet users: they value it for the speed and convenience of shopping. In addition, the Internet is also commonly used for entertainment.
A separate group can be distinguished among the entire Internet audience. These are people who want to stand out, like to give non-standard gifts, to the creation of which they have put their strength and creativity. Let's say they make up 20% of internet users. These people will become your target audience.
3. Formulate a proposal
To stand out from the competition and best meet the needs of your target audience, formulate a Unique Selling Proposition (USP).
Consider how you can implement it: on your own or with the help of suppliers or business partners.
For example, you will cook chocolate according to the unique recipes of your grandmother, who, using natural dyes, makes it color and adds unusual ingredients: cloves, sea buckthorn, carrots, red peppers.
At the same time, you will offer your young clients who love creativity and entertainment not only to buy ready-made chocolate, but to become its co-author: choose a pattern, color, taste and packaging. To do this, you will create a special constructor on your website.
At the first stage, suppose you can produce such chocolate yourself, and when the volume of orders increases, you attract a small private factory.
4. Assess the potential
Assess the prospects for your development in the market. You can use SWOT analysis for this.
This method helps to identify the strengths of the internal sides of the project (strengths), weaknesses of the internal sides of the project (weakness), potential external / market opportunities (opportunities) and potential external / market threats (threats) - risks that can affect the development of the company.
Sample SWOT Analysis
Strengths - Weak sides
Potential opportunities - Potential threats
Using the same method, you can study an individual competitor or the market as a whole.
After you have drawn up such a table, draw conclusions: how to respond to threats, work with weaknesses and make the most of all opportunities, relying on the strengths of your product.
Competitors can also go online and offer original chocolate. You must prepare a response to such actions: for example, create an even more user-friendly mobile application and expand the range. Your weaknesses, for example, working only through online, can be strengthened over time - go offline. First, you can work with partners, and then open your own point of sale - a chocolate shop.
5. Determine your promotion strategy
Evaluate how your competitors are promoting their products or services, what channels they use and how much money they spend on advertising.
A well-thought-out strategy for promoting the company will allow you to use your budget as efficiently as possible. For example, if there are a lot of competitors on the market, and your budget is small, it is better not to spend a lot on advertising, but to expand partnerships.
Since you are selling online, the main advertising support should be focused on the Internet. Participation of your company in workshops, promotions and barter partnerships can give more return with less investment.
6. Formulate a business goal
Be bolder, but stay realistic. Define specific figures for sales volume, number of customers, territory. Set yourself an upper bar to strive for.
For example, you can set yourself a goal in a year to sell 2500 tiles a month in your city, make half of the buyers your regular customers, offer 5 options for fillings and 3 options for forms.
In three years, you plan to expand the assortment to 10 fillings and 5 forms, extend delivery to the entire district and increase customer loyalty to 80%. So you expect to take a 35% share of the city's online chocolate sales.
And in five, you intend to open a chain of chocolateries in the region, sell a franchise, distribute your goods throughout the country and increase sales to 10,000 tiles a day.
After you have drawn up a business development strategy, move on to writing a detailed business plan.
The text was prepared with the support of experts from the public organization of small and medium-sized enterprises "Support".
The company's strategy is a general master plan. She answers the questions:
- What am I going to create? What will my business be?
- Who am I doing this for? How can I improve the lives of these people?
- How will I be able to stand out from the competition? What makes my offer unique?
- What is the potential for my business? What are the threats and opportunities? How will I proceed if business conditions change significantly?
- What results do I want to achieve in a few years?
1. Study the market
Before starting a business, you need to understand if it has potential. Study supply and demand.
If a product or service is in demand, the demand for them grows, it makes sense to enter this market.
On the other hand, if there are already a lot of offers in this market and it is getting more every day, it means that there is high competition. Everyone is working on the brink of profitability, it is difficult to make a profit.
Sales of chocolate and sweets in general practically do not change from year to year. At the same time, more and more people make purchases via the Internet, and online sales are growing at a tremendous pace. The potential is there.
There are only five specialized online sweets shops in your city. This means that you can win back your share, and profitability is most likely still acceptable.
But you have much more competitors: these are also pastry shops, gift shops, supermarkets, and also private craftsmen who make sweets to order. To take your place among them, you need to offer something new and different.
2. Choose your clients
Among the many potential buyers, you need to choose your target audience and focus on it. Don't try to reach everyone. Find those whose needs or wants are not met by current salespeople and focus on them.
Get a feel for your potential client. What need can you fulfill? How do these people think? Where do they shop? What features of character and behavior do they have?
There are a lot of sweet tooths who love chocolate - in fact, all people from 1 to 99 years old. Among them, 40% are young and middle-aged people, active Internet users: they value it for the speed and convenience of shopping. In addition, the Internet is also commonly used for entertainment.
A separate group can be distinguished among the entire Internet audience. These are people who want to stand out, like to give non-standard gifts, to the creation of which they have put their strength and creativity. Let's say they make up 20% of internet users. These people will become your target audience.
3. Formulate a proposal
To stand out from the competition and best meet the needs of your target audience, formulate a Unique Selling Proposition (USP).
Consider how you can implement it: on your own or with the help of suppliers or business partners.
For example, you will cook chocolate according to the unique recipes of your grandmother, who, using natural dyes, makes it color and adds unusual ingredients: cloves, sea buckthorn, carrots, red peppers.
At the same time, you will offer your young clients who love creativity and entertainment not only to buy ready-made chocolate, but to become its co-author: choose a pattern, color, taste and packaging. To do this, you will create a special constructor on your website.
At the first stage, suppose you can produce such chocolate yourself, and when the volume of orders increases, you attract a small private factory.
4. Assess the potential
Assess the prospects for your development in the market. You can use SWOT analysis for this.
This method helps to identify the strengths of the internal sides of the project (strengths), weaknesses of the internal sides of the project (weakness), potential external / market opportunities (opportunities) and potential external / market threats (threats) - risks that can affect the development of the company.
Sample SWOT Analysis
Strengths - Weak sides
- One-click online purchase
- The ability to design the order yourself
- Original production
- High quality goods
- A wide range of
- 24/7 same day express delivery
- Development of a mobile application to attract an audience
- Lack of experience in organizing our own production
- The project does not have funds to develop a mobile application at the first stage
Potential opportunities - Potential threats
- Opening of a physical point of sale - chocolateria
- Expansion of the assortment due to other original sweets, except for chocolate
- Formation of a permanent clientele, which can be offered new options and bonus programs
- Consumers are ready to use mobile apps for shopping, so the project will be able to attract an additional sales channel
- Competitive market
- Consumers at the first stage are only those who buy on the Internet
- Strengthening the position of competitors
- Additional state control of product quality
- Unreliable manufacturer and the threat of disclosing the recipe to competitors
- Unfavorable economic situation in the city, bureaucracy
Using the same method, you can study an individual competitor or the market as a whole.
After you have drawn up such a table, draw conclusions: how to respond to threats, work with weaknesses and make the most of all opportunities, relying on the strengths of your product.
Competitors can also go online and offer original chocolate. You must prepare a response to such actions: for example, create an even more user-friendly mobile application and expand the range. Your weaknesses, for example, working only through online, can be strengthened over time - go offline. First, you can work with partners, and then open your own point of sale - a chocolate shop.
5. Determine your promotion strategy
Evaluate how your competitors are promoting their products or services, what channels they use and how much money they spend on advertising.
A well-thought-out strategy for promoting the company will allow you to use your budget as efficiently as possible. For example, if there are a lot of competitors on the market, and your budget is small, it is better not to spend a lot on advertising, but to expand partnerships.
Since you are selling online, the main advertising support should be focused on the Internet. Participation of your company in workshops, promotions and barter partnerships can give more return with less investment.
6. Formulate a business goal
Be bolder, but stay realistic. Define specific figures for sales volume, number of customers, territory. Set yourself an upper bar to strive for.
For example, you can set yourself a goal in a year to sell 2500 tiles a month in your city, make half of the buyers your regular customers, offer 5 options for fillings and 3 options for forms.
In three years, you plan to expand the assortment to 10 fillings and 5 forms, extend delivery to the entire district and increase customer loyalty to 80%. So you expect to take a 35% share of the city's online chocolate sales.
And in five, you intend to open a chain of chocolateries in the region, sell a franchise, distribute your goods throughout the country and increase sales to 10,000 tiles a day.
After you have drawn up a business development strategy, move on to writing a detailed business plan.
The text was prepared with the support of experts from the public organization of small and medium-sized enterprises "Support".