Set up a business coursework

Task 1

The idea of this coursework is to imagine that we are setting up a new business in the local area. I have decided that I am going to start a music shop that will sell a wide variety of instruments but will specialise in guitars. It will be located in an Woking because it is not in direct competition with a similar shop, but is a sensible location that is visited by lots of people. In Woking, I could place my shop near other facilities in the music genre e.g. Recording studio, Sheet music shops. The shop will sell a wide variety of musical instruments (specialising in guitars), sheet music, recording equipment and effects. The main competitors in the immediate area would be:

ABC Music - Esher

"We have been advising and supplying musicians with instruments, sheet music, accessories and repairs since 1967 and were one of the first music companies to have a presence on the web" - www.abcmusic.co.uk

This Is Not the Target Market

Digital Sheet Music

Sheet Music

Brittens Music - West Byfleet

"We sell a wide range of musical instruments, sheet music, CDs and DVDs, instrument accessories and music gifts." - www.newingtons.net

Earth Music - Kingston

"Earth Music specialise in good quality used hi-tec and recording equipment, guitars, PA and amplification effects and accessories as well as drums and percussion" - www.earthmusic.uk.com

www.playrecord.net

"The UK's Online Musical Instrument Shop"

This is an Internet based business that can deliver around the world.

Action Plan

Task 牋牋牋牋What I have to do 牋牋牋牋What info needed 牋牋牋牋Where will I get info 牋牋牋牋Alternative sources

1 牋牋牋牋Create an action plan and write an introduction to the work 牋牋牋牋Knowledge of local market and knowledge of product shop is selling 牋牋牋牋The sheet 牋牋牋牋Internet, yellow pages

2 牋牋牋牋Define "target market" and "marketing" 牋牋牋牋Definitions, author, title, web site address, person 牋牋牋牋Books 牋牋牋牋Own knowledge, internet

3 牋牋牋牋Draft, word process and carry out a questionnaire

牋牋牋牋Questions 牋牋牋牋The people I interview 牋牋牋牋

4 牋牋牋牋Research, define Primary Research

牋牋牋牋Why this information is needed and what Primary Research means. 牋牋牋牋Questionnaire

牋牋牋牋Internet, Books

5 牋牋牋牋Visit shops similar to mine and interview manager 牋牋牋牋Name, aims, services and target market of the shop. 牋牋牋牋From the questions asked 牋牋牋牋General knowledge

Target Market - The term target market is used because that market- that group of people-is the "bull's eye" at which you aim all your marketing efforts.

www.onlinewbc.com

Marketing - Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, services, organisations, and events to create and maintain relationships that will satisfy individual and organisational objectives.

Contemporary Marketing Wired by Boone and Kurtz

http://iws.ohiolink.edu/moti/homedefinition.html

Task 4

Primary Research - When information is gathered for a specific person through direct investigation

GCSE Business Studies, Alain Anderton

Three examples of Primary Research are observations, questionnaires and experiment

Benefits 牋牋牋牋Drawbacks

* 牋牋牋牋Firm has complete control

* 牋牋牋牋Can include open and closed questions

* 牋牋牋牋Can gather sensitive information

* 牋牋牋牋Confidential

* 牋牋牋牋Up to date 牋牋牋牋

* 牋牋牋牋Answers maybe incomplete

* 牋牋牋牋Response rate can be poor

* 牋牋牋牋Answers to open questions can take a long time to analyse

* 牋牋牋牋Expensive

I produced my questionnaire to help me decide how my shop should be run. It found out what price range my products should be placed in., what types of product I should sell and what services I should offer my customers. I hope to learn a lot about what my customers would expect from my shop. This information is necessary because without I would not know anything about my target market.

Other methods I could have used include:

Postal survey

Telephone survey

In depth interview

Focus group

Case Study

If I had used an In depth interview or a case study, I could of got more information from my answers and more complete data in general

I also could have used other forms of secondary research.

Secondary research - is information and/or data that someone else has collected.

You can find this type of information in printed sources (books, magazines, and newspapers) and in electronic sources (CD-ROM encyclopaedias, software packages) or online services, (such as the Internet).

Source: http://school.discovery.com

Task 5

ABC Music in Easher is one of my main competitors in the area. It offers as wide range of instruments and sheet music. It will also be opening a new store in Wimbledon in the near future.

Some people have made the following statements about the store:

"Very happy with service, staff knew the products well and the rental then buy after three months was an excellent way of ensuring the instrument was going to be used. Thanks."

by N.M., Esher

Employee helped me carry stuff to car, nice touch."

by T.W., Cobham

"I'd like to thank your staff for advice, service and coffee."

By W.Stanwell

"Fine professional service: most importantly, not pushy!"

by N.S., London

All quotes from www.abcmusic.co.uk

ABC Music's main business objectives are:

* 牋牋牋牋To offer good service

* 牋牋牋牋To give customers good advice when purchasing a product

* 牋牋牋牋To offer a wide range of products and services

* 牋牋牋牋Make a profit

The store is in a good location because they are in no direct competition with any other companies. It is also in a busy area near the high street. It sells a wide range of products and you an also hire the instruments from the shop for a small fee. I consider the target market to be 14+. This is because not many children play instruments when they are below the age of 14. I think the target market has affected the store as there are no bright colours or pictures to keep younger children interested. The hire scheme also shows that they are considering younger buyers who may not be able to buy the instrument for the full price.

Playrecord.net are an Internet based music company. They offer an extensive range of equipment including all types of instruments, DJ equipment, amplifiers and recording equipment. They offer a "contact us" service on their site so they can still give customers advice. They can also deliver their products all around the world.

Their objectives may include:

* 牋牋牋牋Keep their site updated

* 牋牋牋牋Offer a good service

* 牋牋牋牋Keep their site secure

* 牋牋牋牋Make a profit

* 牋牋牋牋Reach a wider market

Because this is an Internet based business, the company can reach a very large market, can advertise over the Internet and be found easily. The site offers a lot of instruments along with other equipment. Products can be paid for by a number of different methods and can be delivered world-wide. This obviously gives them a big advantage over other businesses. Because products have to be paid for over the Internet I would consider the target market to be 18-50 years old. This is because not many people under 18 have a means to pay for the products (credit\debit cards) and people of the older generation may not use a computer regularly. This has affected the website the have set up, It is modern and quite complex and is designed to entice the younger generation onto the site and save them the hassle of going out to their local store.

My shop would have a positive affect on the area. Since there are no other shops in Woking it would provide musicians with the equipment they need. The "Water Rat Music Studios" are located in Woking. If I set up shop near the studio not only would it immediately put me in contact with my target market, it would also give me the chance to work with the studio and provide my customers with special prices to use the studio. If my customers did use the studio I could also maybe sell their material.

Analysis of Primary research

I have collected my data and studied it carefully. Questions 1 to 5 were asked so get a rough idea of the person's musical tastes, where as questions 6, 7 and 8 were more to do with products. The results from question 1 show that the majority (80%) of the people I interviewed were 30 or under. I will therefore consider designing my products and services to meet the needs of my young target audience. The most popular style of music was Pop, followed by Punk. The most played instrument was guitar. This is a good sign because my shop will specialise in guitar retailing and this shows there is a high demand for guitars and equipment in the local area. The results from question 6 show that 80% of my potential customers would consider hiring out an instrument. In my opinion this may be due to the lack of music shops in the area, not many people have learnt the instrument they want to and therefore do not want to commit to buying an instrument for the full price. I will therefore consider a hiring scheme for my shop for all sorts of equipment. My results also showed that 60% of my interviewees would spend between �1 and �0 when buying a new instrument. The results from question 8 show that 70% of my customers would buy their equipment off the internet. All these positive responses came from people under 30 years of age. In my opinion this may be because my older customers do not have access or know how to use the internet where as computers are an every day part of life for most of my younger customers. I will therefore consider running a website for my shop which will appeal to my obviously young target market. Question 9 shows that Fender is the most well known guitar manufacturer on the list. This means I should consider selling a lot of the brands products as they are well known throughout all the generations. Finally, question 5 shows that half of the people I interviewed don't have a music teacher. This is also maybe a service I could provide to my customers, especially if I can provide a link to The Water Rat Studios (mentioned in task 5)

Conclusion

The results from my questionnaire undoubtedly proved that my perspective market will be a young one. I will have to consider this when making decisions about my shop, as I must appeal to the younger generation. The idea of a hire out scheme also proved very popular and this idea will also be taken into consideration.

Evaluation of questionnaire and recommendations for improvements

I think my questionnaire was very accurate and achieved the desired results. I think I asked the right amount of questions and varied them so that I could get as much information as possible. I think my questionnaire does represent my target market because most of the people I interviewed fit into my criteria. My questions were clear and easy to understand and only required a short written answer or a ticked box. If I did my questionnaire again then I would maybe ask a few older people to get their views on my shop. I would also go into more depth about what the buyers would like to see in my shop other than instruments e.g. other audio equipment or services.