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Online Print Shop - Start up
Business Plan
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| 5.0 Strategy | [back to top] |
The objective of PrintingSolutions.com is to become the leading online provider of printing and private-brand print services. As part of the ongoing strategy, the company plans to:
- Create New Services. Capitalize on being one of the first online print shops to target the business market by aggressively introducing new printing services and promotions.
- Build brand recognition. Build brand recognition by promoting the PrintingSolutions.com brand through diverse marketing channels, such as online advertising, public relations, and trade-show participation.
- Expand relationships. Expand the company's marketing relationships by aggressively developing new relationships with leading destination websites and media companies. This will accelerate customer acquisition and increase usage of our online print shop.
- Build customer base. Build a customer base and stimulate repeat usage by exposing customers to products and services that most closely meet their needs.
- Expand services. Expand Printing Solution's specialized print services by creating a range of new online printing services and aggressively marketing these services to current and future customer bases.
- Expand private-brand initiatives. Expand Printing Solution's private-brand initiatives by entering into new relationships with a variety of companies to increase distribution and sales channels, and increase the usage of print services.
- Leverage and extend technology. Leverage and extend the company's technology platform by enhancing the functionality of the PrintingSolutions.com and PrintingSolutionsB2B.com websites and the technology that supports them. This will be done to improve order flow and reporting, expand service offerings, facilitate more complete integration with print vendors, expedite payment processing, and improve the efficiency of the system.
| 5.1 Marketing and Sales | [back to top] |
PrintingSolutions.com will strive to develop the most recognized and trusted brand for printing services on the Internet. To expand our customer base and to extend the image of the company, we plan to aggressively promote the PrintingSolutions.com brand through a combination of online and traditional media advertising, public relations and participation in trade shows. The company also plans to expand our affiliate and co-branded online website strategies through agreements with a range of destination websites.
The company will be promoting PrintingSolutions.com and PrintingSolutionsB2B.com over the Internet through:
- Banner adds
- Providing a small percentage of the sales made through websites that list PrintingSolutions.com from which a customer makes a purchase.
Internet ads are an obvious choice because that is the nature of our business. Marketing will also be done through printed media such as national newspapers and magazines. Newspaper and magazine ads will be used since our customers include business people who read various publications. Television ads will be used in certain markets, as PrintingSolutions.com will be targeting large cities with a great number of businesses.
| 5.1.1 Pricing | [back to top] |
The company sets its pricing based on what competitors are offering, and cuts that number in half. Website development will be provided at a flat rate, with additional changes being billed at an hourly rate. PrintingSolutions.com will provide technical support as needed to ensure that a customer's website gets up and running. We will provide free technical support for websites for their first six months. Beyond that, an hourly rate will be applied. Logo designs will also be charged at a flat rate and, as with the development of the websites, with additional changes being charged by the hour.
| 5.2 Sales Strategy | [back to top] |
The company's sales strategy will be relatively minimal since PrintingSolutions.com is offering distant, self-customizing services. It is expected that the company's marketing efforts will bring customers to the website, and the benefits of convienence, customization and low price as advertised on the website will be the incentives to close a sale. Promotions and add-on products coupled with continuing low prices will create repeat business.
Sales Monthly
Click to Enlarge
| Sales Forecast | |||
| Sales | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 |
| Internet Printing Products | $250,000 | $2,910,000 | $5,820,000 |
| Other | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total Sales | $250,000 | $2,910,000 | $5,820,000 |
| Direct Cost of Sales | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 |
| Internet Printing Products | $80,000 | $125,000 | $200,000 |
| Other | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Subtotal Direct Cost of Sales | $80,000 | $125,000 | $200,000 |
| 5.3 Strategic Relationships | [back to top] |
The company has strategic alliances with Network Systems, Software Developers, and Custom Designs and Printers. These alliances are valuable to us because they will allow the company to utilize the knowledge and resources of these firms with no additional cost to the business. PrintingSolutions.com plans to also form strategic alliances with search engines such as Yahoo! and Lycos to promote the website, as well as exploring the possibility of forming strategic partnerships with content providers such as America Online.
The e-marketplaces will become an enduring reality in the business landscape. While the growth of these venues will spur continuous change, the company will be participating in these e-marketplaces as buyers. PrintingSolutions.com will begin to experiment with these online marketplaces with a minimum of 1% of its procurement dollars. This level of effort will enable the company to optimize purchasing in a dynamic pricing world. There will be the added bonus of also understanding the different vertical markets so that, when the time comes, we will know where to look to form strategic alliances
The company also plans to pursue strategic relationships with leading destination websites and media companies in order to increase traffic to its website. By aggressively pursuing new relationships, we believe we can accelerate the acquisition of new customers and increase usage of our online print store.
| 5.4 Risks | [back to top] |
PrintingSolutions.com currently has no operating history, which makes it difficult to forecast future operating results. The company will encounter risks and difficulties that start-ups frequently encounter in rapidly evolving and competitive markets. These risks include expanding the number of certified commercial print vendors and improving technological and logistical connections to these vendors. If these risks are not addressed successfully, the business will be seriously harmed.
Due to the nature of Internet business, the performance and fluctuations in quarterly sales and operating expenses will depend on the current marketplace and competition. The performance of PrintingSolutions.com will depend on market and industry risk factors that the company recognizes it will be subject to. The company's view of its risks is as follows:
- Employee turnover. One of the biggest risks that all dot-com companies face today is the loss of key personnel. PrintingSolutions.com will minimize this risk by ensuring that our employees have a world-class working environment, which includes being paid competitive wages, excellent benefits, and stock options.
- Competitors. To mitigate this risk, we will closely monitor our competitors' pricing structures, business strategies, and overall customer satisfaction to make sure we are one step ahead at all times.
- Economic Factors. To minimize this risk, we will diversify our position in the products and services that we offer, as well as planning to ensure there is always available cash flow and resources if the economy begins to show negative trends.
- Customer retention. The company will aggressively advertise its products and services and establish strategic alliances with industry leaders in order to generate a solid customer base and retain customers.
- Volume of transactions. The volume of transactions generated through the website and products for which we receive transaction fees.
- Downtime. Technical difficulties, system failures, or Internet downtime.
- Timing. The timing of large customer orders, or the failure to enter into strategic alliances.
- Costs. The amount and timing of operating costs and capital expenditures relating to expansion of the business, operations, and infrastructure.
- Pricing. Changes in our pricing policies or competitors' pricing policies.
The success of PrintingSolutions.com will depend on a significant number of print-buying customers knowing about, and regularly using, our services. The market for Internet-enabled printing services is at an early stage of development. Many customers will be addressing issues such as quality, reliability, billing, delivery, and customer service for the first time in a self-service, Internet-based, print creation and ordering environment. Educating potential customers is a complex, time consuming and expensive process. In many cases, organizations must change established business practices and conduct business in new ways to use the services.
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