SME Business Proposal

Hassan Amir Khan Tauheed Shaffiq Omar Saeed Shahbano Qazi Mariyam Liaqat
19/3/2014

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Introduction Students at the Lahore School of Economics are always in need of books and course material for their classes. New course-packs, text books and other reading materials combine to become a hefty expense on top of the semester fee. Although some students may borrow or exchange books among one another, it is not often that they find these books conveniently and on time. Therefore, we want to provide the students of LSE with an online portal where people can buy and sell secondhand textbooks, course-packs and similar reading material, which we would call the Swap Club. People will be able to sign up or connect through Facebook or other social media. The website will list all the courses that are offered at LSE and connect all the people who want to sell or buy books related to that course. Swap Club 1. Research Objectives a. More info for opportunity as a viable enterprise, SWOT b. How much will the customer buy from me in the first three years if trading Competitors: On-call book suppliers on campus already. Book-stores. Photocopier. Instructor slides. Online reading materials. Friends/other students. Opportunities: First second-hand book trading portal; same books for a cheaper price. Everyone has access to Wi-Fi on campus for online website: accessibility. Customers have a constant demand. Secondhand course-packs (not available in market). Room for expansion to other universities (LUMS, BNU etc) and other products (order of name plates, financial calculator, books not available on our portal, sample projects, course guides). Threats: Other competitors. On-call book suppliers on campus already. Book-stores. Photocopier. Instructor slides. Online reading material. Friends/other students. Risk associated with cash-on-delivery. Risk associated with easypaisa account system. People might bypass our services and carry out transaction themselves. Curriculum may get revised, new edition of books. 2. Customer Analysis The size of the total market? Around 3000. How often do they buy? Start of semester, end of semester (near exams). How much do they buy at one time? 4-5 books. Do they buy randomly or at specific times? Mostly at specific time (start of semester), but some random patterns as well (before mid-terms, or finals, or when instructor asks) Do some customers account for a high percentage of purchases? No. (4-5 per person) What percentage of the market in year 1: 30%, year 2: 40%, year 3: 55%

Existing distribution channels and structure of market: students go to book stores, or contact the other delivery system. Mainly retail. What research methods can be used to find out answers: Secondary: not required. Primary: questionnaires, surveys, interviews with students and retailers. A survey was conducted through circulating online questionnaires amongst LSE students through social media. 100 responses were generated. 10 questions were asked. i. Where do you get your textbooks from? Bookstores (44%), On-call supplier (24%), Photocopier (32%) ii. What do you consider are the cheapest means for you to buy/borrow text books? Friend/other students (58%), Bookstores (6%), Old book stores (36%) iii. How often have you used friend/other students text books? Majority of the people responded with Most of the Time on a five-point Likert scale. iv. Would you buy/trade used books from students who recently took the same class? Yes(97%), no (3%) v. Would you prefer buying secondhand books at cheap rates from an online website that connects buyers and sellers? Yes (93%), No (7%). 3. Competitor Analysis Who are the competitors? On-call book suppliers on campus already. Book-stores. Photocopier. Instructor slides. Online reading materials. Friends/other students. What percentage of the market do they have? On-call suppliers (30%), Bookstores (20%) How long have they been in business? On-call (2 years), bookstores (long time) Is the market stable or changing with new competitors entering and/or leaving? The market is changing; people are relying more on online reading material. Competitive edge of principle competitor: On-call supplierscash on delivery so more convenient for people. Their credibility has increased. Accessible. How profitable and efficient are they? They are efficientbooks delivered within 48hours, the delivery person is always in contact. How do customers rate the principle competitors? People think it is accessible. The main competitors include two parameters. These are external and internal competitors. External competitors include the competitors outside our university and internal include inside campus. Internal competitors include photocopier, instructor slides, friends and other students. External competitors include book stores, online reading materials and on-call book suppliers.

The market can be then further divided into their respective percentages of market share. On-call suppliers have 30% whereas Bookstores have 20%. Book stores have been in business for a long time but the on-call book supply business has been in business for 2 years. The market is changing with time as technology advancement is taking place. People are now relying on online buying and selling and online websites are increasing in demand. Hence the market is constantly improving and the target market is increasing. Overall the online reading trend is also increasing and as people are spending more time on the internet so this particular segment is also improving. Competitive edge of principle competitor: On-call suppliers have the cash on delivery option so more convenient for people. Their credibility has also increased with time as the business has grown with time. Accessibility factor has also added to the advantage of this business. The competitors are efficientbooks delivered within 48hours, the delivery person is always in contact. 4. Environment Analysis What are the boundaries of the target market? Restricted to university students. Restricted to LSE only for now. What are the social trends: people are using technology to purchase books (on-call supplier) What are the economic factors: The more the inflation, the more people would prefer buying secondhand books. What are the political factors: There are none. What are the technological trends: People are using online reading/learning material which would affect our business. On-call. What are the demographics: Both male and female, ages 18-26. What will be the key external influences in the marketplace in the next three years? New curriculum, new editions/revised editions of existing books. Similar competitors with better offerings. How will these influences affect competition: This is where they would have the business and we wont. They are at the advantage. How will this affect us: This is where they would have the business and we wont. They are at the advantage. 5. Summarize as an initial evaluation of opportunity Students of LSE are interested in buying cheaper books. Therefore, providing them with a portal where they can buy books from each other at a cheaper price is a viable opportunity. However, those who want the latest editions or those wanting it quickly would prefer going to competitors. A lot of marketing would be required to keep people aware of our service and reliability.