BUSINESS

PLAN
Founder: Ilse Trip
Date of proposal: 4th of March 2016
Company name: The Dutch Language Center

 Table of contents

Executive summary

Products and services

Market analysis

Strategy and implementation

10

Company and management

12

Financial plan

14

Appendices

21

Works Cited

23

Executive sumary

The Dutch Language Center is an organization which hosts Dutch language courses. The
main aim of our lessons is to support the language development and maintenance of the
Dutch language of speakers who are currently living in Singapore. In this foreign-tongue
environment the Dutch community is known to have problems in sustaining their language,
which is of great importance if a return to the Netherlands is evident. As a company, this is
the costumer need which we are counteracting.

In comparison our few competitors we offer more freedom of choice when looking
at the different types of courses offered and we have additional options available such as an
exchange program and external exams which will provide the client with a recognized
diploma. On top of this, we fill in the current gap in the market; we have widened our target
market by including clients who are above 18 years of age. Other companies, such as
LanguageOne are known to be willing to expand their customer base in the same way.
However, no final plans have been made.
The market niche, created by our unmet costumers needs, exists of an independent
language center which is able to host lesson independently from any government or school,
a suitable course for those above 18 years of age and choice in types of language courses.
Our business is building on this market niche by aiming at those profitable segments of the
market including a target market of the ages: pre-school, secondary, university and
business.
Our current competitors include schools, independent organizations operating with
several schools and online language course providers which operate in an oligopolistic
market with relatively low boundaries. They all deliver similar products, but their target
market is slightly different as they are mostly providing courses within school (except the
online courses). For this reason, The Dutch Language Center will take 17,5 % of the market
in children, and 100 % of the market in adults.
The business has existed for two years in which we have made a 7% net profit. We
have secured already a part of our costumer base, which is expected to be growing as we
have now moved into a rented building. We are currently experiencing a growth rate of
15%, which we counteract by hiring more knowledgeable and experienced teachers. The
prospects of both the market and our business are positive, as the market growth is
expected to continue stable and our business to experience growth and profit:


2016

2017

2018

Total revenue
$1.353.090 100% $1.488.399 100% $1.711.659 100%
Total cost of Goods Sold
$1.150.725 85% $1.265.798 85% $1.455.667 85%
Gross Margin
$202.365 15% $222.602 15% $255.992 15%
Payroll
$93.323

$95.503

$98.692

Total operating expenses $25.950
2%
$25.950
2%
$25.950
2%
Income (before other
$83.092
6%
$101.149 7%
$131.350 8%
expanses)
Total other expanses
$31.336
2%
$51.368
3%
$73.887
4%
Net income before
$51.775

$49.780

$57.462

Income tax
Net income/loss
$41.715
3%
$40.036
3%
$44.648
3%

Products and Services

A. The need

In Singapore, many individuals of the Dutch community are struggling to keep the required
level of their mother tongue or second language to be able to speak and write fluently. This
is caused by the fact that most children and adolescents go to International
Schools/Universities and many adults work in an English environment. Also, in personal
situation it is common to speak foreign languages, because of intercultural marriages. This
phenomenon results in the deterioration of the language skills. When working for a Dutch
company or having the prospects of returning to the Netherlands it is of great importance to
maintain the language. Therefore, this company: The Dutch Language Center, aims to act on
this need by creating a learning environment to support their language.

B. The product

The Dutch Language Center will be a centralized statewide easy accessible language center
which operates in Singapore. The facility has one main goal: to support and maintain the
Dutch language of our clients. In order to achieve this goal, The Dutch Language Center will
implement:

I.
Organize Language Trainings (LT) to improve language skills, which will be rewarded
by a certificate of participation.
II.
Implement and develop a Language Certification Program (LCP) for which clients will
be recognized with a diploma (external exams included).

Both options will be available for all age groups and be split towards age (Figure 1)


Age

Pre-school (3-5)

Secondary I (12-15)

Secondary II (15-18)

Young adults/university (18-25) Figure 1: grouping of clients based in age
Business (25+)


Language Certification Program will be specialized in client with none or limited knowledge
of the Dutch language, so will aim at the CEFR levels A1, A2 (basic user) and B1
(independent user). The Language Trainings will be aimed at the levels B2 (independent
user), C1 and C2 (proficient user) see Figure 2.

Level of Dutch
Common European Framework
of Reference (CEFR)
A1
Language
Certification
A2
Program
B1
B2
Language
Trainings
C1
C2

Note: Children within the group Pre-school are
strongly advised to participate in the Language
Trainings and will be automatically placed in this
program unless parents identify the need for the
Certification Program


Figure 2: target audience of programs offered

Each course has different options and length.
I.
The Language Certification Program is a one-year program. The standard hours per
week is 4, divided in two sessions of 2 hours. At the end of the year there will be an
external exam of which the client receives a diploma. The clients will receive a
certificate of participation at the end of their term in which their level in Dutch will
be specified.
II.
The Language Trainings is a half-year program, which is less intensive then the
Language Certification Program with 2 hours a week, which is equal to one lesson a
week.
The standard hours for this course are 4 hours a week, divided in 2 sessions of 2
hours. The clients will receive a certificate of participation at the end of their term in
which their level in Dutch will be specified.

For both programs, there are a few extra options:
I.
To obtain, besides a diploma or certificate from the Language Center, an official
certificate by the means of an external exam. The certificate the Language Center
provides is the CNaVT (Certificaat Nederlands als Vreemde Taal), which is
recognized by Het Gemeenschappelijk Europees Referentiekader voor het leren
van Vreemde Talen (ERK). Foreign leaners can take exams on tourist / informal,
social, professional or academic level. In this way the certificate fits well in a
profession or (continued) study.
II.
Every client of 16 or 16+ years of age, will have the change to go an an exchange
program. For high school and university students this means there will be a
semester exchange program with Dutch high schools and Universities. For business
clients, there is a possibility for a working experience exchange with Dutch
companies in Singapore.

The general pricing is a following
Language Certification Program Language Trainings
Pre-school
$2.500
$1.000
Secondary I
$4.000
$2.000
Secondary II
$4.250
$2.125
University
$4.500
$2.250
Business
$4.950
$2.450

C. The company

B.I Weaknesses
Limited use of technology in the language courses
Only active in Singapore, not a worldwide known organization
Potentially lack of permanent employees

B.II Strengths
Extra options outside the language course, especially the exchange program
Provision of several language courses
Presence of employees with backgrounds in higher education and existing skill in
teaching a language
Wider target market by including University and Business classes

B.III Opportunities
A gap in the market concerning the University and Business classes
Other companies have yet to make decisions about any expansions to University and
Business classes
Little competition in non-integrated language courses

B.IV Threats
Potential growth of the online market in language courses
Potential decline of the expat-market in Singapore
Reduction of sales due to new government regulations executed by the Dutch
government

D. The scale of the business

The business will operate from its premise placed at Stevens Road in walking distance from
the Stevens MRT station which is close to the Botanic Gardens (Singapore). There it will be a
local business operating within Singapore. For every age group there will be two teachers
available. For the secondary and higher groups this means one teacher for each program.
For the other groups there will be at least one teacher available for the Trainings. This
makes the amount of employed teachers 8. The business is also in need for an
administrative team (e.g. librarians/exchange-coordinators) of two employees, a
management team (e.g. coordinators/principal) of two employees, an IT-department of two
employees and a cleaning staff of four employees. This will bring the amount of employees
to 18.

Market analyses

A. Target Market

The preferred target market of the Dutch Language Center is broad. We will offer courses
for different ages, targeting an audience of preschoolers, secondary, university and
business. We also offer courses for different levels, from non-speaker to fluent. Therefore,
we have a broad target market with different ages and different levels. Most important
characteristics of our preferred target market is engagement into learning the language.

B. Analysis of the Target Market

After a survey into our preferred
target market, we have concluded
the following. The Dutch Language
Center attracts a wide range of
ages, which attract all ages in
different quantity (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Distribution of customers based on age

Very interesting to see is the distinction
in levels. The participants in the young
adults/university and business group
seemed to have significantly higher
starting level, with the lowest being B1
(independent user/beginner). In the
other ages, pre-school and secondary,
the levels are lower, generally being
A1/A2 (basic user/beginner). The
general overview can be seen in
Figure 2 Figure 2: Distribution of costumers based on current level

The costumers have an even
interest in the different courses
programs, which means that the
clients with lower levels also have
an interest into the less demanding
Language Trainings (Figure 3).


Figure 3: The language courses preferred by the clients.

The clients also expressed a preference towards an external exam, certificate of

participation and an exchange program, as to be seen in figure 4.

Figure 4: Extra options to be implemented following the clients wishes

The costumers preferred to have one or two lessons per week in classes with a maximum of
15 students but preferable under 10 clients per class. The times the language courses should
be run are indicated in the morning (9 am till 11am) and the late afternoon (3 pm till 5 pm).
The amount of money my target market is prepared to spend on 1 lesson varied from 10 till
100 SGD, mostly around 40 SGD. An overview of these questionnaires can be seen in
Appendix I.

My target market expressed they are based mostly in the central part of Singapore, spread
out of the Bukit Timah, Upper Bukit Timah, Clementi and Serangoon. The clients will have to
be transported to the center since we will host the lessons from our center. In reaction, the
target audience expressed they prefer to organized their transport themselves. Therefore,
they emphasize the importance of the center being placed near public transport, preferably
an MRT-station. The area they would like to see the center based in district 12, central
Singapore.

The demand for our product can change over time. The mean threat there exists is the
expat market our business is depended on. If this market were to collapse, and less
companies will send employees and their families to Singapore, our target market will
decrease significantly. However, Singapore as a country is really attractive for businesses
and seeing that most of Singapores economy is build around its expat culture, it is unlikely
that this market will ever collapse.

C. Competitive Analysis

The market of our product, the language courses, can be most easily described as an
oligopoly. There are few sellers, who provide identical products and have similar target
markets. The companies providing Dutch Language courses are listed in figure 5.

Company/school No. of clients in No. of clients in No. of clients in No. of clients in
primary
secondary
university/young business
education
education
adults
LanguageOne
75
82
0
0
HSL
430
0
0
0
UWCSEA
0
65
0
0
OFS
25
0
0
0
Figure 5: overview of competitors in the market (Krita Sijbers, director of LanguageOne
Singapore.

Besides this there are also other competitors needed to be addressed. One teacher is
known to give private lessons to a significant number of secondary students. Also, another
part of the market can be identified as online companies who organize online lessons.
Examples of such companies who are active in Singapore are: Edufax, IBID and
WordWideJuf. All of our competitors have the same target audience: either primary or
secondary students. Therefore, they all deliver similar products. Most of the companies,
such as LanguageOne, and all the schools have integrated programs. Whereas the Online
Companies and the Teacher provide Language Courses similar to the Dutch Language
Center: outside of school/work. Therefore, the market consists of few large and few smaller
companies who bring similar product on the market, an oligopoly. However, unlike the
standard oligopoly it does not seem like the market is hard to enter. It is the other way
around, there is still a gap in the market; none of the companies provide lessons for both
students and adults. When entering the market, The Dutch Language Center is expected to
have a 17,5% market share for the under 18 clients, and a 100% market share for the 18+
clients. It will not be beneficial for The Dutch Language Center to partner up with either of
these companies, since most companies who also organize language courses outside of
school provide only online-lessons, which is not in our interest. The only possible candidate
for a collaboration is LanguageOne, with which we could expand our target markets to
schools. A further analysis between LanguageOne and The Dutch Language Center can be
found in Appendix 3.

Strategy and Implementation

A. Operational Plan

Milestones/tasks:
1. Tutorial courses hosted in the National Library Singapore (NLB)
2. Hire of building
3. 250 clients are enrolled
4. 25 year hiring contract
5. Involvement with more partners to offer more options for the exchange projects
6. New English-support department founded
7. 350 clients are enrolled
8. Second self-owned location opened

3-year planning of The Dutch Language Center

01-Aug

14-Dec

27-Apr

09-Sep

task 1
task 2
task 3
task 4
task 5
task 6
task 7
task 8

Start date
Days to complete

task 8
01-Dec

task 7
12-Oct

task 6
15-Jan

task 5
30-Aug

task 4
15-Mar

task 3
01-Mar

task 2
01-Mar

task 1
01-Aug

175

9125

730

9125

365

550

As for the last two years, The Dutch Language Center has been hosting its lessons and
courses in several locations of the National Library Singapore (NLB). This has restricted our
growth in these years, but has laid the foundation for hiring a building. Through this starting
period we have ensured ourselves of a loyal costumer base of 85 clients under a growth rate
of 15%, which is very likely to rise as we have established out center. In our recently set-up
center, we are aiming to increase to a total of 250 clients before signing a contract of 25
years of hiring the building. We expect to have a total of 250 clients in the beginning of the
4th operating year of the business (2017). In our then 25-year hired building we will start
focusing on expanding our business from there. We first improve the already hosted courses
and additional offers by for example involve more partners to offer more and better options

10

for the exchange projects. In the beginning of the 6th operational year (2018), a new Englishsupport department will be formed in the existing building. In the end of our 2018, our
business is expected to reach the milestone of 350 clients, which will spark the opening of a
second, self-owned, center in Singapore.

B. Marketing Plan

The key element in our marketing strategy will be that of differentiation from our
competitors, both in price and service. We will emphasize that our business offers more
specialized and individual language courses than our competitors, against a reasonable price
which will be competitive towards the other companies in the market if we look at the
price/quality ratio. The Dutch Language Center will utilize both passive and active marketing
techniques to reach out as many potential clients as possible.

Passive marketing strategies:
Company brochures will be distributed to potential clients through schools which
offer Dutch Languages
Internet presence will include a website of The Dutch Language Center which will
outline services, features and contact information

Active marketing strategies:
Participation in conferences, public forums and fairs
Public trials

In this way, The Dutch Language Center, is planning to raise awareness in its target market
of its presences and its programs and services.

C. Strategy to success

The Dutch Language Center is likely to survive; this is mainly because of our main factor of
success, which is the way in which the Center differs from the other companies which make
up the market. We are likely to attract people who are dissatisfied with the standard course
which the competitors provide, or people who look for an education which more than just
an education but a development. In this way, The Dutch Language Center, seems to attract
enough clients of its target market to become a healthy and sustainable business. Our main
strategy towards success thereby is to emphasize to more individual and precise language
courses we offer in comparison to our competitors.

D. Challenges

There are several challenges the business might deal with in the coming future. The most
important might be the fact that other businesses also work overseas and therefore might
attract more customers since it is better known by the target market. Another negative
factor could be the dependence on the expat-culture, which can be a challenge for the
business since The Dutch Language Center depends on the expat-market in Singapore for
both clients and employees.

11

Company and Management

A. Organizational structure

To be able to deliver high quality language courses, our business shall be functioning
following the functional business structure. Each part of the business will be grouped
according to its purpose. For our business this means there is a cleaning department, ITdepartment, teacher-department, administrative-department and organizational
department. Each department will support itself through the knowledge and skills of its
workers. To make sure all departments will work together, meetings will be organized
frequently. However, with our relatively small size it should be easy to support and
communicate each other. Taking into account our dependence on the expat-culture it is
it is necessary that the flow of employees is well manages. Therefore, we will assign new
employees either a supervisor or subordinate.

B. Key members of the organization

The key members of the organization include our development director: Micheal Soeldner
and the head of the teachers department: Marianne Trip.
Micheal Soeldner a main protagonist in our way to success. Through his experiences
both as an entrepreneur and as a teacher, he will not only fit in our business community
but also help the business grow into a healthy organization. Mr. Soeldner has run his own
business for four years, which means he will be able to assist and lead the business towards
success, both in financial and marketing terms. Although, not a Dutch speaker, Mr. Soeldner
will fit in our community through his experiences as a teacher and can help other employees
or clients if language barriers occur.
Marianne Trip has been active in the Dutch curriculum for years and has now 3 years
of experience working for LanguageOne Singapore. She has the skills to both teach and lead
a department, and has necessary knowledge about our market as well as our competitors.
Mrs. Trips knowledge of the Dutch curriculum will benefit us in terms of language support
and information exchange for those planning on returning to the Netherlands.

C. Business registration

Required documents:
- Company Name
- Brief Description of Business Activities
- Shareholders Particulars
- Directors Particulars
- Registered Address
- Company Secretary Particulars
- Constitution
- For non-residents: Copy of passport, overseas residential address proof, and other
Know-Your-Client (KYC) information such as a bank reference letter, personal and
business profile, etc.
- For Singapore residents: Copy of Singapore identity card

12

Steps of registration
1. Name reservation.
A company name is obtained by filling the application with the Company Registrar.
2. Register Company
Companies are to be registered at the Singapore Registrar of Companies. Signatures
of the directors and stakeholders of the company are needed.

Post-registration
1. Certificate of corporation
An official mail of the Singapore Registrar of Companies is sent. It confirms the
incorporation of the company, includes the registration numbers of the business and
is treated as the official certificate of corporation.
2. Company business profile
A business profile including the particulars of the company can be obtained from the
Company Registrar.
3. Corporate bank account
Only after a successful registration a bank account for the business may be opened.
4. Business licenses
5. GST registration
Only applicable for company with a revenue over 1 million, these companies must
register and charge the tax of 7%)

13

Financial plan

A. Costs of starting the business/initial costs

The initial costs of starting our business consist of both fixed costs and operating capital.
The fixed costs which will most likely apply to the opening of our center after the summer
holidays each week consist of mainly equipment and fixture costs. The operating capital will
consist mainly of the rent deposits for our new building and supplies for the students
including lesson methods and books for the library. To be able to make a new start in the
newly rent building, the owner and other investors have helped to build up this new future.
However, in order to make a healthy start, the business will require a loan of 40,000. In
addition to this, the business would like to expand its expertise to other fields such as
English-support courses. For this reason, an investment of 75,000 SGD is required. An
overview of the initial costs can be seen in the diagram.

Fixed Assets

Amount

Real Estate-Land
Real EstateBuildings
Leasehold
Improvements
Equipment
Furniture and
Fixtures
Vehicles
Other
Total Fixed
Assets

Operating
Capital
Pre-Opening
Salaries and
Wages
Prepaid
Insurance
Premiums
Inventory
Legal and
Accounting Fees
Rent Deposits
Utility Deposits

Depreciation

(years)


Not
-
Depreciated

20

-
15.000

7
7

10.000
-
-

5
5
5

$25.000

Amount

5.000

1.500
-

550
12.500
1.250

14

Supplies
15.000


Advertising and
Promotions
7.000


Licenses
2.750


Other Initial
Start-Up Costs
-


Working Capital
(Cash On Hand)
14.500


Total Operating
Capital
$60.050


Total Required
Funds
$85.050








Sources of
Funding
Percentage
Totals
Loan Rate
Term in Months Monthly Payments
Owner's Equity
23,52%
20.000

Outside
Investors
32,98%
15.050


Additional Loans
or Debt





Commercial
Loan
58,79%
50.000
9,00%
84 804
Commercial
Mortgage
0,00%
-
9,00%
240 -
Credit Card
Debt
0,00%
-
7,00%
60 -
Vehicle Loans
0,00%
-
6,00%
48 -
Other Bank
Debt
0,00%
-
5,00%
36 -
Total Sources of
Funding
115,29%
$85.050

$804
Total Funding
Needed

$-



B. Forecasts of sales and expenses (how much are you selling? How much does it cost
to produce? Fixed costs?)

As can be seen in the diagram below. The costs the company makes to produce are always
lower than the money we make. The pricing of the products is based on both competitors
and the production costs. The margins we create with this pricing are reasonable and
enough to end the year with a profit.

Product Lines

Units

COGS Per Unit

Sales Price Per Unit

Margin Per Unit

15

Language Trainings
Training
$1.965,00
$1.500,00
Language Certification
Program
$4.040,00
Program
$3.550,00
Exchange Program
Program
$4.750,00
$4.150,00
External exams
Exam
$150,00
$110,00
Certificate of
Certificate
$30,00
participation
$17,50

Our business will regulate its sales according to the two main stops in the general school
and work life. This will be surrounding the summer and Christmas holidays. Therefore, new
clients can only enroll in July-August and December-January. The same trend applies for all
additional options such as the exchange programs. This is to be seen in our sales plan, in
which you can see that the invoice money is to be paid in these specific months. The
influence this has is that in these months the net profit will be large, whereas in the other
months the Language Center will experience a loss.

If we then take a look at our expected expenses on top of the COGS, we can see that the
overall expenses shall be lower than our sales. Thus, our business shall be profitable. The
expenses are to be seen down below.

16

$465,00
$490,00
$600,00
$40,00
$12,50

C. Cash flow

As said earlier the invoices will be paid in the months July-August and December-January as
all clients will have to pay their invoice a month prior to the enrolling date. If this is not the

case and the invoice is late, the student must also enroll later. The cash flow is therefore
heavily influenced by this trend. In these months our income will be much higher than the
expanses, whereas in the other months our expanses will be similar but our income will be
missing. This is to be seen in the diagram below

This cashflow of money results into a positive income statement for the business (Appendix
4). Over the next three years, the business is projected to make a 3% profit which is equal
to:

Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
41.715
40.036
44.648

17

However, in these projections some assumptions have been made. The biggest assumption
of all is the growth rate. Right now this had been estimated at 10% for the transition
between year 1 and year 2, and 15% between year 2 and year 3. In reality, this can turn out
more beneficial in the form of a higher growth rate or can come as a disappointment as the
expected results have not been achieved.

D. Forecast of balance sheet

If we look over the next three years, we can see that the assets and the liabilities & equity
are balanced for every year. This can be interpreted as an positive sign for the business. The
details are added below.

ASSETS
2016
2017
2018
Current Assets



Cash
29.383
18.502
26.470
Accounts Receivable
137.840
151.624
174.368
Inventory
-
-
-
Prepaid Expenses
30.367
15.183
-
Other Initial Costs
-
-
-
Total Current Assets
$197.590
$185.310
$200.837




Fixed Assets



Real Estate -- Land
-
-
-
Real Estate -- Buildings
-
-
-
Leasehold Improvements
-
-
-
Equipment
33.000
78.000
128.000
Furniture and Fixtures
26.000
61.000
101.000
Vehicles
-
-
-
Other
-
15.000
32.500
Total Fixed Assets
$59.000
$154.000
$261.500
(Less Accumulated Depreciation)
$6.926
$28.161
$69.749
Total Assets
$249.663
$311.149
$392.588




LIABILITIES & EQUITY



Liabilities



Accounts Payable
-
-
-
Commercial Loan Balance
44.629
38.753
32.327
Commercial Mortgage Balance
-
-
-
Credit Card Debt Balance
-
-
-
Vehicle Loans Balance
-
-
-
Other Bank Debt Balance
-
-
-
Line of Credit Balance
128.271
155.596
198.814
Total Liabilities
$172.899
$194.349
$231.140
Equity



Common Stock
35.050
35.050
35.050
Retained Earnings
41.715
81.750
126.398

18

Draw

Dividends Dispersed/Owners
Total Equity

-
$76.765
$249.663

-
$116.800
$311.149

-
$161.448
$392.588

Total Liabilities and Equity

E. Break-even point

Formula: Fixed costs/(price variable costs) = breakeven point

Break-even points per product:

1. Language trainings
42,103/(1965-1500)
= 91

2. Language Certification Program
42,103/(4040-3550)
= 86

3. Exchange Program
42,103/(4750-4150)
= 71

4. External Exam
42,103/(150-110)
= 843

5. Certificate of participation
42,103/(30-17,5)
= 3369

F. Business loan and projected financial plan

The business loan is ensured to be paid back. In our previous two years we have managed to
make a profit of 7%. With our increased expanses in our recently hired building, we manage
to make a 3% profit, which is equal to roughly $40,000 SGD. In this way, the business loan of
75,000 which the business requires, is ensured to be paid back in almost every given time.
This growth of 3% is expected to, slowly but steadily, grow over the next five years. An
overview of the sales, expanses and income for the coming next three year can be found
down below.


2016

2017

2018

Total revenue
$1.353.090 100% $1.488.399 100% $1.711.659 100%
Total cost of Goods Sold
$1.150.725 85% $1.265.798 85% $1.455.667 85%
Gross Margin
$202.365 15% $222.602 15% $255.992 15%
Payroll
$93.323

$95.503

$98.692

Total operating expenses $25.950
2%
$25.950
2%
$25.950
2%

19

Income (before other

expanses)
Total other expanses
Net income before
Income tax
Net income/loss

$83.092

6%

$101.149

7%

$131.350

8%

$31.336
$51.775

2%

$51.368
$49.780

3%

$73.887
$57.462

4%

$41.715

3%

$40.036

3%

$44.648

3%

20

Appendices

Appendix I. An overview of the questionnaire

21

Appendix II. A Comparison between the Dutch Language Center and LanguageOne

FACTOR

Me

Products

Multiple options for

every age, additional
products available

Price

In comparison around
$100-$150 SGD
cheaper than
competitors

Quality

High quality, through

small and specialized
classes

Expertise

Lack of experienced
employees, based on
the enthousiasm and
knowledge of high
educated employees.
Relatively new
business.

Company
Reputation

Fairly new in the

market. Known as a
high quality, small
business operating in
Singapore only.

Location

Close to an MRT, in
the area specified by
the target audience

Advertising

Effectively advertises
for the specific target
market.

Strength

Weakness

Competitor A

Importance
to Customer

One main product

which is applied to
all ages in the target
market

High
importance

More expensive
than The Dutch
Language Center in
its pricing

Substantial
importance

High quality through

small classes
integrated in a
school-programme

High
importance

Experienced
employees with
high education.
Business has been
prominent all over
the world since
1984

Substantial
importance

Worldwide known
base for overseas
Dutch language
programmes. Best
known for its
plezier in leren

Moderate
importance

Hosts lessons at
various location,
relatively easy to
access. However,
some locations have
no public transport
connection.

Substantial
importance

Advertises a wider
base through social
media and the
internet.

Moderate
importance

22

Works Cited

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