Introduction
BizComm, Inc. (Bizcomm) creates specialized customer communication products, its strength being specialized generic cards. These cards are for business-to-business communication, as well as business-to-client communication. The core product is a card a business might send to its customers to, for example, thank them for their patronage, or to remind a patient of a checkup.
The focus of this business plan is to put forth objectives to solve the present cash-flow squeeze, and to increase profits from the present break-even level to net profits of £54,650 by the end of the first year. We intend to accomplish this by focusing on modifying our website, repackaging our more popular products for the large retail chains, and to concentrate on our designated target markets.
The Company
Bizcomm's mission is to provide specialized customer communication products through the mail. These products are either not available at the retail level, or are too expensive if obtained from normal commercial printers.
Bizcomm, through a series of ownership changes, has lost touch with the know-how that is needed to consistently achieve profitable response rates through mail order. Inadequate initial working capital has hamstrung the company's acquisition of these skills by forcing the owner to resort to commercial printing activity. These setbacks will be remedied according to Bizcomm's reconfigured market and sales approach.
Bizcomm is a limited liability corporation that is fully owned by one person, Mr. Pullman. Mr. Pullman comes from an office supply background. The knowledge, experience, and contacts accumulated during that period have led to changes in the traditional modus operandi of Bizcomm. Commercial printing work and ad specialties have taken an increasing percentage of Bizcomm's sales.
At the present time, Bizcomm's facilities are all located in Bronxville, New York. The space is much larger than present operations would dictate, especially the office space portion, and plans are in place to move the entire operation to Jefferson in September, 2000, at the end of the present lease. There are currently less than ten employees of Bizcomm. The growth of the company will be determined by how accurately and efficiently the company is able to implement the facets of this business plan.
The Products
A general description of Bizcomm's core products would be client communication cards. Cards which, for example, an auto dealer might send to someone who had recently come into the showroom and expressed an interest in his make of car. Bizcomm could personalize the cards with the auto dealer's logo and could print any special message the dealer wanted. A normal commercial printer cannot compete in this type of work.
Some of the products Bizcomm offers are: Slida-Cards, Cirlo-Cards, Presentation and custom pocket folders, and promotional products such as keychains, pens, etc.
The Market
There is a huge market in the United States for customer communication products, with plenty of profitable business to be had. Nearly 700,000 businesses have been identified as attractive in addition to those market sectors to which Bizcomm has directed its attention. Capturing market share at a profit is definitely achievable.
The company will refocus on a number of key industries that have a high level of consumption of our products. These include banks, insurance companies, funeral homes, doctors/dentists, travel agents and auto dealers. The use of specialty catalogues oriented strictly for these industries will be the tool to create greater market share.
Financial path to Success
With Bizcomm's refocus on its key industries and the creation of an effective website, the company expects its profits to steadily increase.
Revenues are projected to increase by almost 19% over the next three years, from ~£800,000 to ~£950,000. We expect net profits will increase substantially by year three. Such a large increase in profits is projected because we will be decreasing our marketing and advertising costs by a significant amount and increasing the efficiency of these activities. To implement our marketing changes and maintain sufficient cash, the company will be borrowing £47,000 this year in a short-term loan. Our projected cash flow will increase our cash balance and allow us to leverage this asset to creating new opportunities. During this time, we do not expect any difficulties in maintaining sufficient sales to meet our costs.
1.1 Mission
Bizcomm's mission is to provide specialized customer communication products through the mail. These products are either not available at the retail level, or are too expensive if obtained from normal commercial printers.
1.2 Keys to Success
There are five generally accepted keys to success in the mail order industry:
- Identify the market.
- Prepare the mail order package.
- Choose the list.
- Test mail.
- Roll out if successful.
There is a huge market in the United States for customer communication products, with plenty of profitable business to be had. Nearly 700,000 businesses have been identified as attractive in addition to those market sectors to which Bizcomm has directed its attention. Capturing market share at a profit is definitely achievable if the above five steps are skillfully executed.
1.3 Objectives
There are four major objectives to this business plan, of which three are immediate and the fourth is of a longer-term nature:
- Solve the present working capital shortage. This will allow some flex space to pursue the more permanent marketing solution expressed in the fourth objective mentioned below. Bizcomm should immediately arrange to factor its accounts receivable. A major lending company has agreed to provide the necessary funding to Bizcomm, on the basis of an 80% advance. The first weekly transaction will take place in the second week of February.
- Modify the Bizcomm website. This will result in more sales; and, with adjustments, the Internet site will increase exposure and will result in even greater sales. Two meetings have already been held with a Web designer. He is convinced that he can completely overhaul Bizcomm's registration with the major search engines, as well as the Yahoo! Store, which will result in visitors to Bizcomm's website in large numbers.
- To prepare and package some of Bizcomm's more popular generic Slida-Cardâ„¢ products so that they will be accepted by large discount retail chains. By inserting a small brochure inside these retail packets, mail order leads for Bizcomm's traditional customized offering will result without the high cost of sending out mailers.
- To replace Bizcomm's shotgun approach to mail order selling of cards to more of a rifle method aimed at one or two targeted industries. Key words: Market Segmentation. This objective must be executed carefully after adequate market research, careful design of the mailer, using the traditional skills of direct mail while considering new technology and trends. Results are not expected to appear until the second and third years of this plan.
Highlights
