MNO2706 Communication for Business Leaders

Introduction

Entrepreneurship is the art of starting a new business venture. The person starting this new business is known as an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship is largely responsible for the success and growth of any economy in the world (Kirzner, 2015). Entrepreneurship breeds on innovation and in the process of starting a new business, it is imperative that the people responsible, devise unique strategies for building, sustaining, promoting and growing this new business. In order to promote the growth of new businesses, governments of various countries are reducing entry barriers in leading industries and offering tax rebates to budding entrepreneurs (Drucker, 2014).

This report throws light on a new idea of a food catering business targeted for foreign students living in hostels. It has been observed through research that hostel students often go out for their meals. In order to solve this problem of a lack of availability of good food in the hostels, this food catering business will be established that will deliver the food at the doorstep of foreign students.

This report lays emphasis on the exact target market of the business along with the services that would be offered. It is highly important to understand the needs of the target market which is why immense research has been conducted on the same (Armstrong, Kotler, Harker & Brennan, 2015) The data contained in the report has been collected from peer reviewed journals, student questionnaire answers and various online sources. The report, however, does not focus on the long term plans or the financials of the business as this is just the first draft and further research would be conducted in the second phase of the project.

Findings and Analysis

While communicating with college students via a survey, there were various findings that were established. Foreign students do not always get the best quality food in their hostels. Adding on to the inconvenience, they also find it difficult to adjust to the eating habits of Singapore. This makes them more prone to being ill. Our aim is to create a one stop shop for all their food delivery needs. Through research, it has been established that over 80% of the people preferred to eat outside at least twice a week. Of which, 36% ate outside almost 3-4 times a week. This depicts a clear evidence that there is a need gap that can be fulfilled. Even despite the high frequency with which people go out and eat, they still prefer eating at home. This is due to a lack of available food delivery options.

People are however resistant to pay over $5 for delivery charges. It has been noticed that out of all the students, over 65% of the people prefer to eat Japanese food and western cuisines. Therefore, offering these can to attract customers and fulfill their needs in an effective manner. It has also been observed that over 66% of the people are not entirely sure of going out for great food. Therefore, creating a business which delivers food at their doorstep will be highly beneficial and largely accepted. We have also researched about the preferred beverages that people require along with their meals. This is why it is imperative that we keep adequate stocks of coffee, cold drinks and juices.

During the survey, students were asked if they would prefer an online catering service which would help in the delivery of meals to the customer’s doorstep. Over 60% of the respondents agreed that such a service would be of help. The business idea would also include delivery of food at odd hours as well. These hours include late nights and early mornings. A lot of restaurants are shut between 4pm to 7pm. The idea behind delivering food at these hours is to ensure that students have a consistent supply of food at their hostels. Many students prefer to study late in the night or early in the morning. Therefore, such an advantage will help the business cater to their needs more effectively.

Business structure

Mission and Vision of the business

Mission: To increase revenue and establish a loyal customer base across Singapore by providing quality food to customers at a reasonable price.

Vision: To become a one stop shop to solve all the food needs of students across the country by offering high quality of service and sundry variety to fulfill the needs of all customers.

Service offerings

The aim of the business is to provide for a food delivery system which will help foreign students order food and get it delivered at their doorstep. The business would have the following service offerings for customers:

• Fast delivery of food
• Sundry cuisine availability (Japanese, Western and local food)
• Delivery at odd hours
• Food customization available
• Taste similar to home cooked meals.
• Fixed meals and À la Carte menu.
• Special focus on hygiene and cleanliness of the cooking area, packaging boxes and delivery channels.

Team structure

The business would require employees to begin operations. For the success of the business, it is important that efficient employees form a part of the business who can remain loyal and dedicated to the new business in the longer run as well (Ashkenas, Ulrich, Jick & Kerr, 2015). These employees would be hired through advertisements on social media, online job portals and job market brokers. Essentially the business would require a team of 25 people in the kitchen and delivery staff, a 5 member sales team, 1 accountant and 2 chief managers looking over employees.

Promotions

Once the business idea has been developed, it is imperative to promote the same and reach out to the target market (Chaston, 2014). In order to do the same, various promotion strategies would be adopted by the business to ensure a higher reach. These strategies would include the following:

Social media marketing

Social media marketing refers to art of promoting any organization over social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest or Twitter (Tuten & Solomon, 2017). The food catering business would be promoted through social media channels. A dedicated Facebook page would be created and the students would be invited to those pages. The Facebook page would post various deals and offers for students. An Instagram handle would also be managed by the organization which would post pictures of the food offered to customers. The right usage of hashtags would enable in easy search and higher reach.

Pamphlet distribution in colleges

Small presentations would be delivered and pamphlets would be distributed in leading universities where the number of foreign students is high. The students would be engaged in one on one conversations and be informed about the service (Malone & Wright, 2018). This is exactly why 5 sales people would be hired. The pamphlet would have the website details, contact details as well as delivery menu of the catering service. This would help the students reach out to the restaurant and order food.

Business objective

The objective of this business is to fulfill the needs of foreign students by providing them with a platform through which they can order hygienic meals and get it delivered at their doorstep. The objective is to be able to generate revenue by offering meals and charging students for the food as well as delivery. The objectives would also be defined in terms of the number of unique consumers that will be served every month.

Business model canvas

Recommendations

Once the business plan has been defined, there are various specifics that need to be paid special attention. These recommendations will not only lead to the success of the business through increased sales but also ensure the business has a positive good will and the right positioning in the minds of its consumers (Kazmi, Liaogang, Zaman & Jalees, 2016).

Creative promotions

For the success of any business, it is imperative that the business is promoted in a unique manner to its target market to ensure that a larger number of consumers are attracted towards the service. The social media pages of the brand must be effectively managed (Stelzner, 2014). The sales team must possess excellent communication skills to ensure that customers are engaged and their queries or grievances can be addressed.

Customer relationship management

For the success of any business, it is essential that the organization builds a long term relationship with their customers. Customer feedback is highly important for such a purpose. This feedback could be attained by requesting the customers to fill a feedback form online. Moreover, the delivery executives should also maintain positive relationships with customers to ensure a long run service relationship (Choudhury & Harrigan, 2014). Loyal customers could also be provided for an occasional discount. Customers should also be allowed to customize their orders. These steps will result in longer term relations with customers, increased loyalty and repeat orders.

Unique selling proposition

In order to be able to differentiate any business from its competing firms and gaining a competitive advantage over them, businesses should be able to define certain aspects of their offerings which are unique to them (Kiel, 2014). This helps in ensuring a larger customer base and increased satisfaction of those customers. The USP of this food delivery business is as below.

Large variety of cuisines

The primary advantage of the business is the sundry variety of cuisines offered by the business specifically Japanese and western. The wide variety will provide students from different origins a large set of options to choose from leading to enhanced customer base and satisfaction among customers.

Delivery at odd hours

A unique selling proposition of the business would also include delivering food at odd hours like early mornings and late nights to cater to students who stay awake until late or wake up early morning. Most students will take advantage of this facility as it is only natural for students to feel hungry at such odd hours and their hostel rooms are not always equipped with food at such hours.

Conclusions

The idea is the report is that of a food catering. This particular idea has been selected to cater to the needs of foreign students who live in Singapore hostels and do not have a consistent access to delicious food. The idea is to deliver them hygienic meals which suits there taste buds. The market targeted by the business is that composed of foreign students. The service offerings would include delivery at odd hours and a large variety of cuisines available to students.

The business would be promoted through social media marketing, email marketing and distribution of pamphlets across various colleges and universities throughout Singapore. The sales team and the team of delivery personnel would be trained to be courteous, polite and work upon establishing longer term relationships with customers. The employees of the firm would also be given monthly targets in terms of introduction of new customers, average time of food delivery and customer feedbacks. The feedbacks would be provided by customers by filling online forms or on the phone. The objective of the business is to generate revenue and establish a loyal customer base by providing quality food at a reasonable price.  

References

Alam Kazmi, S.H., Liaogang, H., Zaman, S.I. and Jalees, T., 2016. Effects of Sales Promotion Strategies on Brand Equity: A Cross Culture Psychology.

Armstrong, G., Kotler, P., Harker, M. and Brennan, R., 2015. Marketing: an introduction. Pearson Education.

Ashkenas, R., Ulrich, D., Jick, T. and Kerr, S., 2015. The boundaryless organization: Breaking the chains of organizational structure. John Wiley & Sons.

Chaston, I., 2014. Small business marketing. Palgrave Macmillan.

Choudhury, M.M. and Harrigan, P., 2014. CRM to social CRM: the integration of new technologies into customer relationship management. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 22(2), pp.149-176.

Drucker, P., 2014. Innovation and entrepreneurship. Routledge.

Kiel, I.H., 2014. Entrepreneurial marketing. Sweden. International Entrepreneurial Seminar.

Kirzner, I.M., 2015. Competition and entrepreneurship. University of Chicago press.

Malone, E.A. and Wright, D., 2018. “To Promote That Demand” Toward a History of the Marketing White Paper as a Genre. Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 32(1), pp.113-147.

Stelzner, M., 2014. 2014 Social Media Marketing Industry Report. Social media examiner, pp.1-52.

Tuten, T.L. and Solomon, M.R., 2017. Social media marketing. Sage.

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