Question

With a project constraint of cardboard, I came up with a venture/business idea for my final project that involves developing a Cardboard Window Blind but i need help in developing this idea.

-- Please, help me come up with an analysis for the Product Team, Offering, Customers, Value proposition and Distinctive competency. In summary i need help with developing the pre-ideation fundamentals/business idea model for this project. Thanks

Answer 1

Business strategy for Cardboard Window Blind:

Your business plan ideally has to include the below-mentioned steps:

1. Market research: the first step of research is to find out the total market size for cardboard window blind (specific to geography of offering), identifying competitors and their prices, available modes of distribution channels (online, retailers, wholesalers, direct channel, etc)

2. Product: Based on the investment and capital, you can decide and determine if the product has to be manufactured or acquire finished product, rebrand and sell it (reseller model).

3. Offering: Once you have a clarity on the product, it's important to decide, the channels of distribution. As mentioned earlier, you can make your product available through online stores, or through retailers. Initially, you can offer the product by making it available in online stores. Later basis the response you can start making it available at the offline stores. This can be done in a reverse way, by making it available at the offline store and then online. You can adopt any of the mentioned models basis the target segment.

4. Price: Determine the price, basis the operating cost and other fixed costs. Set a per-unit price, have different grades of products with differential prices. This will help create product differentiation. There are a number of pricing models that can be followed by eg., competitor-based pricing, dynamic pricing, value-based pricing, etc. Based on the research findings the pricing can also be set by determining the perceived value of the product.

5. Logistics: Setting a solid logistics and supply chain team or process is extremely important. Once you have decided on the mode of offering, Starting from the order sign-up till the installation has to be streamlined.

6. Marketing: Online marketing is the best-sorted strategy in today's era. As most of the buyers are millennials and it is easy to target them on social media. Thus, promoting through social media and other online channels is cost-effective than picking offline channels of marketing. The best part of online marketing is you get to choose the target segment basis their profession or interests etc.. This will be focused marketing.

7. Targeting: Defining the target is crucial. The target segment could be individuals or construction companies. For individuals, the plan of action could be: make the product available in online or offline stores and sell it and your marketing plan will be specific to the target segment. On the other hand, if you would want to tag along with the construction companies and they will, in turn, install your product, then there has to be a plan to tap that segment and certainly, the marketing plan will change accordingly.

8. Selling: Once all the above points are worked on, selling the product is the most important task, as this will create or generate revenue for the business. All the above pointers are the support function, for sales to effectively go out and sell. Earlier in marketing, we spoke about individuals and corporates as 2 kinds of target segments. Selling will also vary for these two segments. Determining sales model is necessary for effective revenue generation.