New Start Up Business free essay sample

Due to all of the factors, the public has been quick to recognize and accept the value of high quality car wash services. The Business T. C. W will be providing customers with three services: exterior car washing, interior cleaning, and detailing. T. C. W has no true competitors that are trying to offer a high quality service for a reasonable rate. Most are trying to compete on price alone. T. C. W’s ability to provide a high quality service, both in regards to the actual washing as well as customer services are all based on their ability to find the best employees. Hiring the best employees is cost effective because it decreases HR costs associated with turnover and other employee costs. Hiring the best employees and making sure that they are well taken care of ensures that they in turn take care of the customers. Study after study proves that a happy employee is far more likely to provide the highest level of customer service compared to an employee who is not happy and feels that they are being taken advantage of. We will write a custom essay sample on New Start Up Business or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Vision T. C. W will be the cleanest and technologically advanced two-bay freestanding car wash, with remote (video) security monitoring, in the projected service area. In our first full year of operation, we intend to establish T. C. W as a premium self-service exterior, interior auto care facility. T. C. W must be able to create and maintain financial balance by charging a fair market value for services, which exceed customer expectations in quality and service. Mission T. C. W will offer technologically advanced, frictionless, touch free, exterior, and interior automotive care. Location The business location of T. C. W is 825 York Road, Towson, MD. Management The management team consists of our President Dylan Burtis, with over 15 years of marketing experience. Outside management support includes Nicole Guglielmo, David Beacken, Jackie Matera and Allie Reitman, who have 20 years of combined experience in the car wash industry. Product Strategy T. C. W will offer not only the cleanest and technologically advanced car wash, with remote (video) equipment security, and monitoring. It will also offer our customers peace of mind; by freeing them from worrying about scratching and damage associated with brush or cloth type car washes. This will fulfill the community’s need for a high quality premium; touch free in-bay automatic, car wash service. Marketing Plan T. C. W’s marketing strategy is to aggressively support and promote that we are the cleanest; the most technologically advanced touch free and frictionless car wash in the Baltimore area. The key element in attracting and keeping customers is offering a high level of service and a quality product. The perception and ability of the car wash to produce a wash that is damage-free to vehicles is extremely important to the success of an operation. Advertising and Promotions Our advertising and promotional strategy is to position T. C. W as the cleanest, technologically advanced, frictionless car wash in the community. The following methods will be utilized to drive our message to our customers. The grand opening of T. C. W will be executed upon completion of cleaning and landscaping the facility. A mass mailer will be sent to the targeted market population, within a five-mile radius of the T. C. W location, which is 825, York Road in Towson, MD. This mailer will be divided up into zip codes and launched in two-week increments. During the first thirty days, a representative from T. C. W’s management team will be on location during daylight hours to meet and greet customers and assist with any question and concerns. After the initial promotional period, a representative will still be at the facility daily for a four-hour minimum. Keeping the T. C. W facility clean and in excellent operating condition is essential to the success of this business venture. In addition to the grand opening mailer, all fleet operators within a five-mile radius will be identified and contacted to promote package discounts for fleet use above five vehicles. Situational Analysis Competition The competition includes two threats to our business and they are located within our 5-mile radius in regards to our target market. The first competitor is AutoSpa, which is located in Cockeysville, MD and specializes in providing the finest, most up-to-date car washing service, according to their website. They were voted Baltimore Magazine’s â€Å"Best of Baltimore Car Wash 2008† and again in 2011. They even offer a customer satisfaction survey and T. C. W is taking note and currently creating our own customer satisfaction survey to counter theirs. 2) The second competitor is Whiz Car Wash, which has four current locations and has been in business for 50 years. Their locations in Baltimore include car washes on Loch Raven Blvd, Erdman Avenue, Liberty Road, and E. Joppa Road. One particular advantage they have besides the obvious experience of 50 years is their self-service coin operated car washes, which are open for 24 hours. Customers According to the ESRI automotive aftermarket expenditures, T. C. W will target three main groups of customers: individual car owners and leasers, car dealerships, and local businesses. The surrounding area is quite affluent, 50% of the residents earn over $67,000 a year in three-mile radius and residents within a 5-mile radius earn a median salary of roughly $60,000. A huge percentage of the area within our five-mile radius is filled with affluent, well educated, married/couple homeowners, which will only benefit T. C. W because we offer technologically advanced, frictionless products, which the well educated will be looking for. Fortunately for T. C. W, there are also many prominent car dealerships within the Towson area and many residents purchase from them. This means that many residents own luxury cars and will want them to look nice. There are ten different car dealerships within a 5-mile radius from T. C. W, which will require car-washing services for the various fleets. Lastly, there are many different local businesses that have company cars and that require clean appearances. Climate Political Factors: Include government regulations and legal issues and define both formal and informal rules under which T. C. W must operate. Some examples include:  · Tax Policy  · Employment Laws  · Environmental Regulations  · Trade Restrictions and Tariffs  · Political Stability Economic Factors: Affect the purchasing power of potential customer’s and T. C. W cost of capital. Some examples include:  · Economic Growth  · Interest Rates  · Exchange Rates Inflation Rate Social Factors: Including the demographic and cultural aspects of the external macro environment. These factors affect customer needs and the size of potential markets. Some examples include:  · Health Consciousness  · Population Growth Rate  · Age Distribution  · Career Attitudes  · Emphasis on Safety Technological Factors: Can lower barriers to entry; reduce minimum efficient production levels and influence outsourcing decisions. Some examples include:  · RD Activity  · Automation  · Technology Incentives  · Rate of Technological Change Target Market The most effective Target Market for T. C. W are families; usually with the parent’s being in their early thirties to late fifties. The population demographics within a 3-mile radius of our facility are 102,771 people, as indicated in the ESRI database we used for class. Our market research has determined that the car wash consumer resides in multi family housing units. Based upon the geographic information on the ESRI map, there are currently 23,592 families within the three-mile radius of our location at 825 York Road and there are 40,493 households. In regards to the population within the three-mile radius, the data reflects that 58. 2% of the households are family units. The data also indicates that in the three zip codes within the five-mile radius of our location are 67,164 occupied family units out of 114,809 households. This reflects that 58. 5% of all households are family units and that T. C. W has huge potential for growth and new clientele within both three and five mile radiuses. Strategic Focus Plan Mission Statement At Towson Car Wash our mission is to provide a fast, friendly, clean, and shiny experience to each and every customer. We want our guests to leave feeling satisfied as we offer exceptional customer service. We demonstrate corporate social responsibility by being environmentally friendly and give back to the community as often as our business model will allow us. We understand that automobiles are of great value to our customers and we will treat them like the entity that they are. At Towson Car Wash we offer the best services at the best prices, it is our duty to keep our customers happy. With excellent staff and experienced management we make an ambitious team with a strong drive to succeed. Goals Build and maintain trusting relationships with our customers to grow our customer base and gain customer loyalty Develop the perception that our company is easy to do business with Spread awareness about our services through promotional efforts and social medias Provide an excellent quality car wash experience for every customer Build the company name to be recognized in the Towson community Offer value and benefits to our customers that they cannot find anywhere else Keep employees happy by building rapport through one-on-one meetings Increase revenue while limiting expenses Be able to open a second location after 5 years Core Competitive Advantage At Towson Car Wash our core competencies are unique, believable, and overt. We offer a service that the community does not have, which fulfills a strong need for Towson residents. Our business is located at 825 York Road on the corner of a major intersection. Not only does the area have high traffic, but also being on the corner allows us to have two entrances and exits on two of the busiest streets in the intersection. With no other carwash within a 4-mile radius of our location, we can provide our customers with a service convenient to them. Our location sets us apart by giving us a first mover advantage. We have considerable reason to expect large profit margins and a monopoly-like status throughout the community. Towson is a highly populated area occupied by a diversified demographic with a large student population. Having hardly any competitors in such a congested area will certainly drive traffic to the business. Towson Car Wash’s prominent location will attract customers and spread awareness to an uncountable amount of passerby’s during its construction alone. With location as our largest core competitive advantage we fit all of the criteria to make it successful. Consumers benefit from our location because it is easily accessible and offers high levels of customer service and a variety of both tangible and intangible elements. Of course potential competitors that may pursue the Towson area can imitate a car wash. However, our location on York Road cannot be imitated, which would make it difficult for us to have a direct competitor nearby. Once we have established our position in the market and made a name for ourselves within the community we can and hope to leverage Towson Car Wash to a second location, where we know that we would already have a firm position in the market and a potential customer base from the success of our first location. Our business would not thrive as much as it potentially will if it weren’t for our location; because of this creating awareness and driving traffic will be easier and allow us to allocate our time and money where we see it best fit for the company. SWOT Analysis Strengths Weaknesses  · Limited Competition  · Limited Substitutes Customers are not going to drive the distance to one of these other locations when they can get a quality wash less than a mile away. There are limited substitutes for a car wash. Consumers only option other than a car wash would be to hand wash their car themselves. We will need to get potential customers to see the value in using our services. Our location is one of the best aspects of the company. It will be conveniently located at 825 York Road, which is the corner of York Road and Bosley Avenue. With Towson Town Center and a I-695 exit right down the street, this is a heavy traffic area. There are also about seven apartment complexes less than a half mile from the location. Car washes serve the niche market of individuals who value keeping their car clean. Being that the demographic in the area is wealthy, there is a large niche market for this service in the Towson. Towson Car Wash would have a first mover advantage because there are no other car washes in the immediate Towson area. This will give the company an edge in capitalizing on this neglected area. According to ESRI, there are about 39,000 cars within a five-mile radius of our location. This is the biggest strength for the company. If 50% of these cars visited T.C. W. every other week, the company would still make a substantial profit. All of these factors will make Towson Car Wash a great success. Weaknesses A weakness for any new company is the cost associated with starting the business, Towson Car Wash is no different. We will need a large initial investment to make the process run smoothly. The company will need to buy the land and mechanical equipment to run the wash, as well as, pay the construction costs. It has been estimated that it costs $135,000 to build an in-bay automatic car wash. When adding land and construction costs the total would end up somewhere around $500,000. This is a substantial investment, however, it has a fairly quick payoff. The second weakness is the seasonality aspect. A car wash only operates about nine months out of the year. Out of those nine months, days of operation are weather permitting. Since the weather can only be forecasted so far in advanced, this presents an issue with calculating steady revenues. This aspect can also be a threat with the fact that after a rainy day, people will most likely not pay to have their car washed. The final weakness that Towson Car Wash possesses is an unestablished client base. We are new comers to this market segment and do not have clientele to follow us and spread the word. This is where our competition has the upper hand; they have been around longer and most likely have steady customer loyalty. To held build a strong base quickly, we will need to offer great promotions to get people in the door and provide outstanding service to keep them coming back. Another advantage that our competition has is the knowledge of the business and supplier relationships. Since we are new to this business, it is going to take time for us to establish ourselves, however, we are confident that we can efficiently do so. Opportunities The opportunity in the Towson area is huge; there is a large market, including Towson University’s over 20,000 students just down the street from our location. When these students need a car wash, they will look to Towson Car Wash, rather than making the ten-minute drive to one of our competitors. Another opportunity is the cycle of Towson students. Every semester, Towson students graduate and new students take their place, this gives T. C. W. the chance to quickly build a strong consumer base, as well as, continually spread word of mouth about the business. Once the business is firmly established at this location, there will be great room for expansion opportunities. We will be able to find other untapped markets and successfully establish a branch of T. C. W. Expanding will be much easier at this point because of the knowledge and expertise learned from opening the original Towson Car Wash location. We will then have a client base that can vouch for the quality of our work and promote our business. Lastly, we will have knowledge of the car wash industry and therefore will be able to develop our own T. C. W. products. Starting a line car wash items can prove to be extremely lucrative if we have the backing of our clientele. There will then be an opportunity to sell the product like to big chain stores, such as Pep Boys or AutoZone. This could take some time, however, it is a definite possibility for the brand. Threats Any start-up business faces the issue with being a new entrant. We are unfamiliar to potential clientele, which could make them weary of trusting us with their automobile. The only way to combat this issue is to have excellent customer service and promise the best quality car wash. Another external hazard is the unpredictable economy. The economy is slowing coming back from the 2008 recession, however, if the economy takes a turn for the worst again, T. C. W. company could be hit hard. When people are struggling to pay for essential items, like food and water, they will refuse to pay money to wash their car. Another potential issue T. C. W. faces is the possibility of a drought. Since peak months for a car wash is the summer, this is a very realistic problem. In this scenario, government sets limits on how much water can be used, which could have an enormous negative impact on the business. Finally, the erratic thought process of consumers should always be of concern. It is probable that many consumers will not see the value, or difference, in spending money to have their car washed when they can do it themselves. For this reason, it is for the utmost importance that we always hold our employees to a high standard and make sure that they are giving our clients quality work each and every time. Marketing Tactics Place Towson Car Wash will be built at 825 York Road, Towson, Maryland. This address was chosen because of its convenient location, as well as, the lot size. An average car wash takes up about 1,000 square feet (Moore). This lot is just over a half acre of land so there is more than enough room to accommodate such a structure. It is also located on a corner, which means that there is two ways of entering and exiting the premises. The most important factor associated with this location is the amount of passing traffic. Towson Town Center is Maryland’s second largest shopping mall with almost 200 stores and is located just one-mile from the future T. C. W. location. There are also seven apartment complexes and numerous houses less than a mile away from the location. Just a few feet down the street, there are fast food restaurants, as well as, a gas station, and grocery store. Lastly, there is an exit for I-695 just a half mile down the street. All of these elements bring a great deal of traffic to the area, which is why we believe it is the perfect place to open the first Towson Car Wash. Price There is a strong demand for our service and not much competition in our area. This allowed us some freedom when constructing our pricing layout. The first factor we took into consideration was our target market. Our target market is unique in the sense that it appeals to everyone with an automobile. Most target markets focus on a specific group; however we are opening a car wash which in theory could attract all automobile owners regardless of such factors as age, social class and so on. The second factor we considered was various packages to accommodate our wide customer base. We recognized that our customer base could range from students in high school or college to working adults. Lastly, we wanted our prices to reflect the quality of our services. When it came down to our prices it wasn’t a question of setting our prices to compete with our competition. The most important factor for our prices was that the price matched the quality of our service not only in our eyes but more importantly in the eyes of our customers. We are offering three different packages: bronze, silver and gold. The bronze is our basic package which cost 10 dollars. The bronze package includes a standard car wash, tire cleaning and air/towel drying. The silver package cost 12 dollars and includes a full service wash, tire cleaning, window cleaning inside and out, dash-side panel cleaning, interior vacuum cleaning and an air/towel dry. Finally the gold package cost 20 dollars and  includes full service wash, tire cleaning, window cleaning inside and out, dash-side cleaning, interior vacuum cleaning, shampoo carpet cleaning and an air/towel dry. Product Our business is mainly service oriented with providing car washes. To further expand our revenue we will be offering car products within our store front. The products will reflect our service and be car convenience products. The products will range from air fresheners to steering wheel covers. The idea here is to be able to meet customers potential needs. If customers are happy with our services they will be more likely to buy our products. When customers are getting their car washed they will be inside of our store. Inside the store we will have comfortable seating and television to keep them occupied while their car is being washed. It makes sense from a business perspective to have products in the store for customers to check out while they wait. If they are getting their car cleaned chances are they might be interested in an air freshener of other related car products. We don’t plan on making our own products; therefore we will be using other companies with reputable products. Again the goal for these small purchase products will not be to generate massive profits but to satisfy customer’s potential needs. We plan on making most of our profits from our services but if customers use our business we want to be capable of meeting all of their needs. The in-store products are as follows:  § Air fresheners  § Steering wheel covers  § Advanced windshield wipers  § Interior car whips  § Seat covers  § Windshield shade covers  § Car wax  § Car ornaments Promotion After conducting our research we realized there was a need for car washes in the Towson area that wasn’t being met. The main reason we began this business venture was due to the high demand for car washes that wasn’t being met in Towson. The demand is there all there is left to do is find ways to draw in the customers. We came up with a few promotions that we felt would appeal to our potential customers. The first was a rewards program that would ultimately lead to benefits such as discounts and even a free car wash. The way the rewards program works is every time a person gets their car washed we record it and after three washes the customer would get the fourth free. The second promotion we are planning to run is with local college students. All the college students would have to do is bring their student id and they will receive a discount. This deal applies to students that attend schools in the Towson area. For our last promotion we plan on running events for local clubs and Greek life organizations. We will keep our doors open to any fundraising groups that are willing to partner with us. The way it will work is the group or organization we partner with will be responsible for promoting a certain day that we both agree on to support their cause. They will drive more customers to us and in return we will give them a part of the profits from that day. When we first open we will plan on running some basic advertising campaigns. Most of our advertising will be free due to the fact that we are located on a major intersection were thousands of cars drive each day. Most customers will see our sign and be made aware of our new business. To further touch potential consumers we will be putting ads in local newspapers and college newspapers such as the Towerlight. In these ads we will add our current promotions. We have should also note that those getting their car washed on the weekends are more likely to spend more money. You can see in the chart, that the average person on the weekend spends more than one during a business day. We also coin that as a result that working people come in on the weekend and those with full-time jobs tend to spend more than those who do not and can come in during the week. One last thing we would like to note in our financial analysis, is that the above chart is an average. If we were to actually document each weeks income, it would vary by season. Our business is seasonal in that customers are more likely to spend and utilize our service during the Spring, Summer, and Fall rather than winter. Conclusion In conclusion, we believe T. C. W to have a model for success. Although it might take around two years to make profit, we know that we can be successful once we pay off our initial start-up costs. There is a significant demand for a car wash in the Towson area and we plan to go above and beyond meeting that demand by not only offering a car wash, but a great one that meets the needs of our consumers and builds relationships with them through superb customer service.