Value proposition for an entrepreneurial venture

Discuss about the Lead and Manage Team Effectiveness.

1. Value proposition in case of an entrepreneurial establishment is considered as the preliminary stage of preparing for the venture. The value proposition for an entrepreneurial venture can be described in terms of the products of the customers, quality of the products and the benefits which consumers can derive from the organization’s products and services. With reference to the selected case of Apparel Brands which is an organization determined to embark on an e-commerce outing which would provide customized t-shirts to customers (Bertolotti et al., 2013). The value proposition for the venture can be adequately represented in terms of the products offered by them and the pricing of the products. Value proposition for Apparel Brands can be illustrated as follows.

Apparel Brands presents its new ecommerce venture to customers with a plausible opportunity to gain access to the customized t-shirts. Customized t-shirts have been in vogue in recent times owing to the preference of customers for contemporary designs and innovation in fashion (Crawford & Lepine, 2013). The products of Apparel Brands primarily include t-shirts manufactured from diverse fabric material such as cotton, polyester and other comfortable fabrics. The pricing of each t-shirt is nominally placed at 4$ which would be included with the cost of customization as requested by the customer (Deneckere et al., 2012). The organization ensures appropriate quality of the t-shirt and the customization through use of resilient fabric and permanent colors for customization. Customers are allowed the privilege of selecting from a wide assortment of design templates which can be incorporated in the t-shirt designs. The major benefit of the customized t-shirts is that customers can select the design and furthermore the pricing of the t-shirts is comparatively superior to that of competitors.

2. The target market for the products i.e. customized t-shirts by Apparel Brands are vested in the teenage population. The target market is determined for a specific product due to the interest exhibited for the product by a particular group of customers. Customers for a business are vested in the general population and every organization has to identify specific classes of customers in order to acquire substantial potential in the market environment. The requirements of the target customers must be addressed through the products in order to establish sustainability in every operation of the firm (Fransen, Weinberger & Kirschner, 2013). The selected target market for Apparel Brands comprises of teenagers and is characterized by certain features and requirements. Teenagers are receptive towards popular culture and hence they want to defy traditional norms. Therefore they look for alternatives to conventional entities in every sector whether it is fashion or technology.

Target market for a product

The preferences of teenagers for fashion in the present market environment indicate the choice for abstract designs and innovative fashion such as customized t-shirts. The use of customized t-shirts is also observed in larger applications such as bulk requirement of t-shirts for functions in the college or any specific event (Leach & Mayo, 2013). Teenagers search for designs such as superhero designs, quotes from popular movies and popular personalities on their t-shirts. Some teenagers also search for quirky designs with a tinge of sophistication which can only be availed with the help of customized t-shirts from Apparel Brands (Maynard et al., 2012).

3. Information collection is an essential requirement in the establishment of an entrepreneurial venture. The organization needs to collect information pertaining to the target market, customer requirement, available resources and potential of the market prior to establishment in order to ward off superfluous consequences. Primary and secondary market research are considered as the key sources for collecting necessary information for beginning the ecommerce venture of Apparel Brands (Pangil & Moi Chan, 2014). Secondary research implemented for the ecommerce venture included the analysis of various established companies in the field alongside literary aspects pertaining to the settlement of new business and the essential requirements in terms of supply chain management and logistics of the enterprise (Maynard et al., 2012). The responsibility of Apparel brands is not limited only to the production process but also extends to the delivery which is heavily dependent on logistics (Valentine et al., 2015). Primary research helps the company to acquire ground data pertaining to the sector and its underlying operations. The primary research was also meant for acquiring the response of customers and apprehending their requirements in advance to attain a comprehensive impression of the target market.

4. Consultation or networking with other entities in the industry is an essential factor for the prosperity of an organization in a specific industrial environment. The data collection process is followed by review and analysis of the collected data. Apparel brands can utilize the expertise of management professionals to interpret the findings in context of the organization’s requirements (Pangil & Moi Chan, 2014). Networking is also a crucial aspect for Apparel brands as it will be an online based venture. Search engine optimization and website design firms alongside internet marketing personnel are major points which the organization must ally with in order to acquire a sustainable establishment in the market. The firm should also consult financial management firms in order to predict the feasibility of the venture and its sustained operations in terms of financial resources.

Information collection

5. The notion of forming an ecommerce venture has to be fulfilled aptly through illustration of individual steps of the formation. Apparel Brands needs to outline the key processes which it has to execute in order to run it ecommerce venture. The requirements for the ecommerce initiative require a website. The website is the virtual marketplace where customers can view the products and select one according to preference and price. Website design is the primitive step in the business of ecommerce and specific considerations have to be emphasized by the management in advance so that the design does not provide any scope for complaints from users (Valentine et al., 2015). The website design must be integrated with features such as payment gateways which would serve as the conduit for financial transactions on the ecommerce website of Apparel Brands. The payment system must be secured with appropriate technical aids in order to facilitate assurance to customer regarding safety of their finances. Social media and search engines have formed the key drivers in online marketing of businesses and ecommerce websites like Apparel Brands have to apprehend the importance of internet marketing. Therefore the final phase of the business setup is observed in increasing the prominence of the brand name on the internet through internet marketing techniques such as search engine optimization.

6. A business benefit can be defined as an outcome of an action or decision that contributes towards meeting one or more business objectives. The business benefit concept is central in strategic planning and most forms of business case analysis, where business people evaluate investments and actions in terms of likely cost and benefit outcomes. Some kinds of benefits are easier to verify measure and value than others. For most business people, positive financial outcomes are readily accepted as business benefits and easily measured. Such outcomes include cost savings, cash inflows, and increased profits.

7. There are two methods for working out cost of customer acquisition: a simple (but less accurate) way and a more complex way that involves many other variables. Ultimately, there is only one way that is correct, which is the complex way. However, doing things the simple way is more useful than not doing them at all in order to get an idea of how different channels are performing in relation to each other. Be wary of using it when going over your LTV: CAC, as it misses out a lot of key costs.

The simple method for working out CAC

Where:

CAC = Cost of customer acquisition

MCC = Total marketing campaign costs related to acquisition (Not retention)

CA = Total customers acquired

In the above when I refer to marketing campaign costs, I’m talking about the direct costs associated with running a banner ad based on the quantity of impressions or the total cost per click of AdWords campaigns.

References  

Bertolotti, F., Mattarelli, E., Mortensen, M., O’Leary, M. and Incerti, V., (2013). How Many Teams Should We Manage at Once? The Effect of Multiple Team Membership, Collaborative Technologies, and Polychronicity on Team Performance.

Crawford, E.R. and Lepine, J.A., (2013). A configural theory of team processes: Accounting for the structure of taskwork and teamwork. Academy of Management Review, 38(1), pp.32-48.

Deneckere, S., Euwema, M., Van Herck, P., Lodewijckx, C., Panella, M., Sermeus, W. and Vanhaecht, K., (2012). Care pathways lead to better teamwork: results of a systematic review. Social science & medicine, 75(2), pp.264-268.

Elmuti, D., (2013). The perceived impact of teamâ€Âbased management systems on organizational effectiveness. Team Performance Management: An International Journal.

Fransen, J., Weinberger, A. and Kirschner, P.A., (2013). Team effectiveness and team development in CSCL. Educational psychologist, 48(1), pp.9-24.

Leach, L.S. and Mayo, A.M., (2013). Rapid response teams: qualitative analysis of their effectiveness. American Journal of Critical Care, 22(3), pp.198-210.

Maynard, M.T., Mathieu, J.E., Rapp, T.L. and Gilson, L.L., (2012). Something (s) old and something (s) new: Modeling drivers of global virtual team effectiveness. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 33(3), pp.342-365.

Maynard, M.T., Mathieu, J.E., Rapp, T.L. and Gilson, L.L., (2012). Something (s) old and something (s) new: Modeling drivers of global virtual team effectiveness. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 33(3), pp.342-365.

Pangil, F. and Moi Chan, J., (2014). The mediating effect of knowledge sharing on the relationship between trust and virtual team effectiveness. Journal of Knowledge Management, 18(1), pp.92-106.

Valentine, M.A., Nembhard, I.M. and Edmondson, A.C., (2015). Measuring teamwork in health care settings: a review of survey instruments. Medical Care, 53(4), pp.e16-e30.