The Role of Application Management Technology

Introduction

AMT is developed on an assumption that management of information related technology or IT for activities related to accounting to graphic arts and even legal matters is not a do it yourself prospect. Smart business owners who are not technologically friendly need to find reliable and quality vendors to manage both the hardware and software related issues. AMT can be termed as such a vendor. It works on serving the clients as a trusted friend while providing them with the loyalty of a business partner, coupled with the economics of a vendor. The business makes sure that the clients have what they need to run a business at their peak levels of performance with high levels of reliability and efficiency. Many of the business related information aplications, including those who need business dissertation help, are critical and it is for the same reason, the business assures the clients that we will be there when they need us.

By concentrating on the strength and customers, the company’s core values, the business can work on gaining the expected value. Acme Management Technology (AMT) aims to increase the sales more than $12 million in a span of three years while improving their gross margins on cash management and sales. The business plan leads to renewal of vision and existing strategic focus by adding value to target market segments while providing a systematic plan for enhancing the level of profitability. AMT is a decade old company as a computer reseller with a remarkable reputation. However, it has been subjected to difficulty in maintaining a good financial health and thus needs a strategic business plan

Overview of proposed business idea

Vision

To emerge out as a major customer centric business To renew the strategic focus by adding value to existing target markets To make use of trusted information technology ally to the clients Differentiate from box pushing and price oriented ideas, by providing services and support and charge per the work done Increase the existing gross margin Increase the percent of non-hardware sales by 20% of the total sales by the next three years

Objectives

Increase in sales by $12 million by the third year Bring the gross margin back to 30% and maintain it Sell $2.5 million of support and services by the end of second year Improve the existing inventory turnover every year

Goals

Increase the revenue and get more resources to be spent on customer services and training Improve the existing financial margin to ensure healthy financial growth Make a proper cash flow planning to make sure that the expenses are met

Evaluation of external environment through PEST

On the basis of the above analysis it can be easily stated that there exists a stringent competition. The tough competition can give rise to better marketing strategies. However, it should be taken into consideration; the business needs to work on creating value for the services among the customers.

Industry participants:

The local national channels are expanding their presence. Companies such as Best Buy, CompUSA and others emerge out as prime competition. They are seen to gain benefit from events of national advertising, bulk buying and ubiquitous bulk buying is a general trend for enhancing the level of brand loyalty

The local computer stores may feel threatened, as they are small businesses run by people who love computers. Such people are often under managed and under capitalised. As influenced by Buccieri et al. (2020), small businesses which are driven through passion often face squeezed margins as they work on competition against chains in a competition based on price, rather than support or services

Competition and Buying Patterns

The business plan works on giving equal attention to the small business as it is easy to target and effective to be monitored. As stated by Hänninen and Karjaluoto (2017), small business buyers easily understand the concept related to support and service and are likely to make payment for the same when the offering of service is clearly mentioned. There remains no doubt that the AMT may be subjected to stiffer competition from other service providers. The business in the mentioned scenario needs to ensure effective competition from the existing box pushers than from the service providers. Thus, the current business plan needs to effectively compete against the pre-planned idea that the business should purchase computers as plug-in appliances that do not need continuous training, service and support. The focus group session indicates that the target office buyers think about the aspect of price but that would be based on service quality provided that the offerings were rightly provided. Nevertheless, availability of the services is of prime importance (Mathews et al. 2016). The home office buyers tend to look for immediate local solutions to the issues

Main competitors

Chain stores: The AMT already has 2 stores and one more store is expected by the end of next year. If the chosen expected strategy works then the business can successfully differentiate itself for avoiding competition against the stores

Strengths: aggressive pricing strategy, scale of economy, better brand image and high volume of sales

Weakness: lack of wide range of products, skilled support knowledge, limited personal attention.

Opportunities: Ability to scale the business, research and development to enhance the existing line of products and services

Threats: stiff competition from other business organizations offering better services, local businesses providing services at cheaper prices

Other local stores: The stores are competing against one another to match the prices. As influenced by Mathews et al. (2016), owners in local stores are often seen to complain about the squeezed margins due to customers buying based on the price. Business owners at local levels are often seen to complain that they are tired of offering the services that the buyers did not care about (Homburg et al. 2017). It is for the same reason, the businessmen worked on lowering the prices of the products and services

Suggestion of proposed target market

The home offices can be termed as the important growing market segment. National statistics say that there are roughly 20 million home offices and fortunately, the number is rising every year (Startups.co.uk, 2020). The estimate of the chosen business plan for the number of home offices in the chosen service area is based on the analysis provided by a local news media, a few months ago. There remains no doubt that there exist several types of home offices which act as a primary source of income for many people. These are likely to be individuals working in professional services such as dentists, doctors, lawyers, while they may be the occasional customers, they do have a lot of software management services. However, the wider range of customers includes such as accounts, writers and graphic artists (Startups.co.uk, 2020). The business plan in the mentioned scenario will not concentrate on the market segment that includes part time workers, with individuals employed during the day and working at home during the night.

The business plan targets businesses irrespective of the size. The small business within the chosen market includes almost any business composed of a retail office or a specific industrial location outside the home with less than thirty employees. A rough estimation gives an idea that there are roughly 49,000 such businesses within the chosen market (Startups.co.uk, 2020). However, the thirty employees’s related cut-off is arbitrary. However, the plan finds that the larger companies are seen to switch their vendors, but the proposed plan can sell to the specific departments within the larger business organizations and AMT should not give up on such leads when they come across them. After analysing the target market, it becomes important to implement the mentioned strategy within the chosen market.

Strategy implementation

Emphasizing the support and service is important and the business must themselves from the existing box pushers. The business needs to establish a viable and clear alternative for the market which runs on price only prospects

Build a relationship based business by building long term relationships with the client and not just a single transactional relationship with the clients. Thus, AMT needs to become their indispensible computer department and not a mere vendor by making the clients understand the value of relationships

Focus on the target markets, especially the small businesses as the key market segment that AMT should own. The values of training needed for providing services are highly differentiated within the mentioned segment. As corollary, the high end of the home office market is deemed suitable. The business does not plan on competing for buyers who purchase from mail orders

Marketing strategy

Emphasizing the support and services Building relationship in business Focusing on small businesses and high end home offices as the target market

As influenced by Olson et al. (2018), the pricing needs to be based on the basis of support and services being offered. The revenue structure needs to match the cost structure so the salaries paid is to make sure that the services need to be balanced by the revenue being charged. As influenced by Brennan et al. (2017), the business cannot build the support the revenue related to the product price. Thus, it can be easily stated that the market being targeted cannot support a higher price range and despite the higher prices, buyers are reluctant to make the purchase when they see a similar product at low price.

Thus, it is for the same reason, the business should work on charging for the support

Newspaper outlets can be termed as one of the most affordable ways of advertising the products and services of the chosen business. As the strategies are being changed it is important to change the ways of promotion

The business should work on creating personas of each customer. The creation of persona could work on enhancing the connecting with the customers as creating of the personas can work on providing an idea about the products demanded by the customers (Hopp and Greene, 2018)

The place should be targeted as both online and offline retail stores. The online presence is to support the nature of the business and the offline presence is for the business that maintains a strong offline base. The business in the chosen sector plans to make use of home based markets for enhancing and streamlining the marketing prospects (Teasdale et al. 2019)

Expected investments:

More than 90% of startup cost goes to the assets

The building for setting up future organizations will be purchase on 20 years mortgage and a down payment of $8,000

The startup costs will be financed through a combination of investments from the owner and use of loans

The marketing fees and assistance related to brochure design and company logo would cost $1,000

Legal fees in regards to corporate organization filling costing $300

Reference list

Brennan, R., Canning, L. and McDowell, R., 2017. Business-to-business marketing. Sage.

Buccieri, D., Javalgi, R.G. and Cavusgil, E., 2020. International new venture performance: Role of international entrepreneurial culture, ambidextrous innovation, and dynamic marketing capabilities. International Business Review, 29(2), p.101639.

Hänninen, N. and Karjaluoto, H., 2017. The effect of marketing communication on business relationship loyalty. Marketing Intelligence & Planning.

Homburg, C., Alavi, S., Rajab, T. and Wieseke, J., 2017. The contingent roles of R&D–sales versus R&D–marketing cooperation in new-product development of business-to-business firms. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 34(1), pp.212-230.

Hopp, C. and Greene, F.J., 2018. In pursuit of time: Business plan sequencing, duration and intraentrainment effects on new venture viability. Journal of Management Studies, 55(2), pp.320-351.

Mathews, S., Bianchi, C., Perks, K.J., Healy, M. and Wickramasekera, R., 2016. Internet marketing capabilities and international market growth. International Business Review, 25(4), pp.820-830.

Nouri, P., Imanipour, N., Talebi, K. and Zali, M., 2017. Heuristics and biases in entrepreneurial marketing: Some new insights. International Journal of Entrepreneurship.

Olson, E.M., Slater, S.F., Hult, G.T.M. and Olson, K.M., 2018. The application of human resource management policies within the marketing organization: The impact on business and marketing strategy implementation. Industrial Marketing Management, 69, pp.62-73.

Teasdale, S., Steiner, A. and Roy, M., 2019. Wrestling with wicked problems? The value of business plan competitions to social entrepreneurship education. Journal of Nonprofit Education and Leadership, 10(2).

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