University of Westminster
Westminster Business School
5ENTP006W- New Venture Creation
Individual Opportunity Assessment Report
Name: Pruthvi Fernandes
Student ID: w156808731
Seminar Leader: Supin Hussain
Word count : 1041
1. The Pitch
Coins 4 Convenience is a company seeking to venture into the UK coins exchange market. The market is ever growing and offers unlimited opportunities to even small start-ups. Coins 4 Convenience targets families with accumulated coins and offers a competitive pricing strategy to attract customers. The unique selling position of the company is based on the convenience of the service that they offer. While there are other companies in the industry offering the same services, Coins 4 Convenience stands out as a result of the low cost of services and the loyalty program that rewards loyal customers. The company anticipates growing and establishing twelve branches across London in the first year of operation.
2. The Market and Its Needs
Most families throughout the UK have old jam jars filled with coins in their homes. In order to stop coins from making holes in their pockets or bursting their purses, most people consider putting them in jars or boxes where they accumulate in several kilos of coins. The lack of convenient ways of exchanging the coins for easily usable notes has even resulted in the coins being disposed of in most homes (Hultén, 2012). As a result, most families lose finances through the disposal of coins that may end up helping them if they are converted to notes conveniently.
The financial services market in the UK is experiencing tremendous growth (Clark & Monk, 2014). As such, new opportunities are popping up creating room for new market entrants. The demand for coins exchange services is also growing exponentially in the UK market. Almost all families in the UK have one time or the other needed a way of converting their accumulated coins into bank notes in the past one year (Hultén, 2012). Also, depending on the number of people in the household, coins can accumulate much quickly to the extent of seeking exchange services every month.
The target market for Coins 4 Convenience features all shoppers at supermarkets and convenient stores who include families, single men and women, and also students. However, considering the shopping patterns of most consumers in the UK, families are the prime targets within the market (Mortimer, 2012). This is due to the fact that it is easier for coins to accumulate in families that have several members than in households that have single occupants. Students are also a vital segment of the targeted market and especially the ones who reside in communal dormitories or hostels. The customers (people seeking coins exchange services) are the end users of the services that Coins 4 Convenience offers.
3. The Products or Services
Coin 4 Convenience Inc. will basically offer coins exchange services. The company will provide coins exchange machines where clients will pour their coins and the machines will count them and issue a receipt that details the transaction. The clients will then show the receipt to a cashier who will issue them with the notes. Coins 4 Convenience Inc. will also rent the cash exchange machines to other interested parties such as supermarkets and other major convenient stores in London. The service offered by Coins 4 Convenience enables clients to conveniently convert their change coins into easily usable cash. The unique selling point of Coins 4 Convenience is that we “offer coins exchange services, conveniently and cost-effectively.” The pricing plan adopted by Coins 4 Convenience will be the major attraction for our customers. The charges for the services are considerably lower than those offered by the competitors. In addition, the convenience offered by Coins 4 Convenience is unmatched considering that there will be a clerk at every exchange machine to determine that the machine works accurately and that no inconveniences or unnecessary delays are caused.
4. Competitors
In the UK market, Coins 4 Convenience has both direct and indirect competitors. The direct competitors include all the companies that offer similar services such as Cash 4 Coins, Coinstar, Cash-in-your-coins, and Coins International among others. The indirect competitors include all the businesses that sell commodities needing the use of coins such as cigarettes and candies. The existence of these commodities makes it hard for families to accumulate substantial amounts of coins. The reason why the direct competitors have been unable to offer more convenient coins exchange services is that their prices are so unpleasant forcing families to opt to utilize their change on commodities such as candies that are not even healthy. Coins 4 Convenience is offering attractive and convenient charges that would attract families to consider accumulating their coins to exchange them later. In addition, Coins 4 Convenience have a loyalty program that awards return customers to encourage them to pile up coins and choose Coins 4 Convenience over other players in the industry.
5. Market Entry Strategy
The market entry strategy for Coins 4 Convenience includes forming partnerships with other businesses such as supermarkets and other convenience stores. The company executives would schedule meetings with the management of these outlets so as to pitch the idea and strike a deal for the partnership. This would ensure a good access to the target customers who are mainly families doing shopping. The partners, such as the supermarkets would benefit by leasing the space for the exchange machine kiosks as well as benefit from the flow of customers who will be coming to exchange their coins.
A social media campaign aimed at informing clients of the services offered by Coins 4 Convenience as well as the location of the machines will be conducted as part of the entry strategy. The campaign would include information on the service charges considering that Coins 4 Convenience’ pricing strategy is the company’s most outstanding competitive strategy. It would also make potential customers aware of the loyalty program offered by Coins 4 Convenience.
The entry strategy would include the installation of the four coins machines at the entrance of the supermarkets or convenience stores. Later, of course, depending on the performance of the four machines, other machines would be installed in major shopping malls and other commercial and even residential centres in London to offer a convenient way of reaching customers. By the end of the first year, Coins 4 Convenience plans on having a total of twelve coins exchange machines serving customers throughout London.
References
1. Clark, G. L., & Monk, A. H. B. (2014). The geography of investment management contracts: The UK, Europe, and the global financial services industry. Environment and Planning A, 46(3), 531–549. http://doi.org/10.1068/a45658
2. Hultén, B. (2012). Sensory cues and shoppers’ touching behaviour: the case of IKEA. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 40(4), 273–289. http://doi.org/10.1108/09590551211211774
3. Mortimer, G. (2012). Toward a shopping typology of primary male grocery shoppers. International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management, 40(10), 790–810. http://doi.org/10.1108/09590551211263191