bell oldow Objective:To gain a clear understanding of the client’s business, what they ‘do’ (e.g. products, services), how they are viewed in their industr

bell oldow Objective:To gain a clear understanding of the client’s business, what they ‘do’ (e.g. products, services), how they are viewed in their industry, who their competitors are, etc. and analyze their position relative to their competition.

Format:business memo format.Spelling and grammar count. Write in prose with bullets and charts to organize the data easily (looks similar to this section).Don’t use sentences where bullets or charts could tell the story more clearly.Number of pages is less important than the content. Use your best judgment to determine page lengths.Provide sufficient data so that you clearly understand the client’s business but not too much data so that you and/or I are inundated with unnecessary information. Use numbers wherever numbers exist to explain (e.g. size of market).Avoid using superlatives like “great” or “large” or “growing.”Instead use specifics like numbers or expert opinions to support your point.

introductory paragraph outlining the purpose and flow of the document
a header for each of the sections outlined in client details
an analysis section outlining your thoughts on what your research suggests
a concluding paragraph summarizing your key findings and analysis
References.List all your sources. You should have more than just the client’s site referenced.

Client Details

What’s your understanding of the client question as of now?
Overview of client’s business:
what do they sell or do as their primary means of revenue generation?What are the benefits of what they sell?
What’s their mission? How do they achieve their mission?
Where are they located?
What’s their market (e.g. is it defined geographically?By industry?Etc.)
What’s their growth rate? Profitability and/or revenue (or if a nonprofit, how do they measure success)?
What do external analysts say about this company?
Give an historical sense of the firm with growth figures up to 5+ years (projecting in the future and historically).
If this company is private, there will be less information for this section.You will need to rely on the subsequent sections to understand the client.
Competitors:who are their competitors? (in a general sense) Do you see any advantages or disadvantages from your initial comparison? How does the client price their product/service in relation to their competitors? You may group smaller competitors together if done so based on your research (i.e. numbers). Use a chart to compare the competitors if this makes sense.
This analysis should be based both on the company and where it’s located as well as the industry analysis.
There should be a list of competitors sorted by size.
You may group together smaller competitors if this is done so based on your research.
Customers: who are their target customers and market(s)? How do they target them (if this is available)?What can you tell about how their customers feel about them based on the website, facebook and other social networking sites or articles? If the client’s product could speak, what would it say?What needs/wants does this product/service fill?

3)Industry:What industry are they in? What’s the growth opportunity of this industry? How large is this client in comparison to their competitors?. What segments of the industry is this client in? How big are these segments? What is the growth of these segments over the last 10 years? Why did these segments grow? What does this suggest for our client? Comprehensively list all competitors in these segments and their percentage of the market. Ensure that the percentages add up to 100%

a.If the industry is unclear, make a hypothesis and support it.

b.use numbers wherever possible.Regardless of the size of the company or whether it is public or private, industry numbers should be available.

Analysis

In this section, I want you to analyze the client information in relation to the question.Determine the implications of what you found for the client as a whole and your specific questions.Answer these questions (in addition to others you think are important).

What does the information tell you or not tell you about the client (for example)?
How does it change your understanding of the questions?
Are there larger, wider issues at play here that are important to consider?
What is your overall view about the health and viability of this company?
What do you think is their comparative advantage?
What do you need to know about the client that you can’t find?How can you find this information?
What questions can you ask of the client during their presentation to help you better understand the client as well as your question.
Do a preliminary SWOT, Porter’s 5 forces, or product life cycle analysis on this company based on your research.Explain clearly what you can surmise about this client’s position within the industry.Essentially, based on your research, what would say about this client’s strength in the market? This is your initial analysis. Please do not simply list the SWOT but analyze it as well. Client Evaluation Rubric
Evaluation Area
1. Overview of
client’s
business
10 points
2. Industry
10 points
3. Competitors
10 points
4. Customers
10 points
Exceeds Expectations
•
Column 2 with more in depth and
precise numbers
•
More in depth understanding of client
•
Used Hoover’s and additional sources
to provide complete picture of the
company (if public)
Meets Expectations
•
Clear and concise overview of client’s business, how it
makes money, and essential business information such as
numbers of employees, relevant financials, growth
projections (if applicable).
Below Expectations
•
Cursory research that
shows one or two
internet sources which
required only
preliminary research
•
Uses few to no
numbers in describing
the client
•
Cursory research that
shows one or two
internet sources which
did not required only
preliminary research
•
All statements fully supported.
•
More in depth understanding of client
and/or industry
•
Informative overview of industry related directly to the client,
including growth, revenue, etc.
•
Used Hoover’s and additional sources
to provide complete picture of the
company (if public)
•
Numbers and statistics of the industry clearly identified
•
Useful used hypotheses where data unclear or missing
•
Used at minimum Hoover’s basic company information (if a
publically traded company)
•
Uses few to no
numbers in describing
the client industry
•
Cursory research that
shows one or two
internet sources which
did not required only
preliminary research
•
Uses few to no
numbers in describing
the competitors
•
Less than 4 listed
•
Cursory research that
shows one or two
internet sources which
did not required only
preliminary research
•
Uses few to no
numbers in describing
the competitors
•
Limited description of
customer market
segments
•
Less than 3 listed
•
All statements fully supported.
•
More in depth understanding of
competitors
•
Informative overview of competitors
•
•
Numbers and statistics of the competitors clearly identified
At least 6 competitors listed
•
•
Useful used hypotheses where data unclear or missing
Uses a chart to compare key financials
across competitors and client
•
A minimum of 4 competitors listed
•
Used Hoover’s and additional sources
to provide complete picture of the
company (if public)
•
All statements fully supported.
•
More in depth understanding of
Customers
•
Identifies potential new customer
segments
•
At least 5 customer segments
identified
•
Uses a chart to compare key financials
across competitors and client
•
Used Hoover’s and additional sources
to provide complete picture of the
company (if public)
•
All statements fully supported.
•
Informative overview of customers including their
demographic profile, approximate potential market size, any
other buying profile information
•
Numbers and statistics of the customers clearly identified
•
Useful used hypotheses where data unclear or missing
•
A minimum of 3 customer segments identified
5. Analysis
20 points
•
Column 2 in more depth and detail
•
•
More elaborate and detailed SWOT
with extensive analysis about the client
included
•
•
•
Shows an ability to look beyond the
preliminary research to see the impact
on the research question
•
•
Client questions are thoughtful,
concise and specific to the research
questions
6. Citation
7. Format &
Grammar
15 points
•
2nd column plus
•
•
•
Effective and clear conclusion
Highly effective choice of words
Concise presentation
In depth SWOT analysis that shows depth of thinking
beyond cursory listing of points.
Able to explain how the information relates to the question
Able to explain underlying assumptions about the client
based on the information including thoughts on comparative
advantage
Explain gaps in research (areas which were unclear or
unknown from your research)
Questions for client are relevant to the research question
and are useful in filling gaps
•
Generally weak
analysis that does not
take the research
beyond face value
•
All numbers and statements fully cited.
•
•
•
•
•
Business memo format
Proper use of grammar. Minor errors only.
Proper spelling and word usage
•
•
Well written: easy to follow and understand, professional.
Citations incomplete
If there are missing
citations an
immediate 20 points
will be taken off.
More than 5 grammar
errors
Casual writing style
Wordy presentation
Sloppy presentation
No headers
Missing sections
Citations missing in
text
•
•
Total points / 75
Section for introduction, conclusion and sub-sections for
research areas
•
Section for key findings/analysis
•
List of references
•
Headers for each section
•
Mostly concisely written
•
Data provided is sufficient to make case
*** please note that I edited p. 1 on Bbd with comments
•
•
•
•
•
•
Deliverable (1) Evaluation of Client:
Objective: To gain a clear understanding of the client’s business, what they ‘do’ (e.g. products,
services), how they are viewed in their industry, who their competitors are, etc. and analyze
their position relative to their competition.
Format: business memo format. Spelling and grammar count. Write in prose with bullets and
charts to organize the data easily (looks similar to this section). Don’t use sentences where
bullets or charts could tell the story more clearly. Number of pages is less important than the
content. Use your best judgment to determine page lengths. Provide sufficient data so that you
clearly understand the client’s business but not too much data so that you and/or I are
inundated with unnecessary information. Use numbers wherever numbers exist to explain (e.g.
size of market). Avoid using superlatives like “great” or “large” or “growing.” Instead use
specifics like numbers or expert opinions to support your point.
• introductory paragraph outlining the purpose and flow of the document
• a header for each of the sections outlined in client details
• an analysis section outlining your thoughts on what your research suggests
• a concluding paragraph summarizing your key findings and analysis
• References. List all your sources. You should have more than just the client’s site
referenced.
Client Details
1) What’s your understanding of the client question as of now?
2) Overview of client’s business:
a. what do they sell or do as their primary means of revenue generation? What are
the benefits of what they sell?
b. What’s their mission? How do they achieve their mission?
c.
Where are they located?
d. What’s their market (e.g. is it defined geographically? By industry? Etc.)
e. What’s their growth rate? Profitability and/or revenue (or if a nonprofit, how do
they measure success)?
f. What do external analysts say about this company?
g. Give an historical sense of the firm with growth figures up to 5+ years (projecting
in the future and historically).
h. If this company is private, there will be less information for this section. You will
need to rely on the subsequent sections to understand the client.
3) Industry: What industry are they in? What’s the growth opportunity of this industry?
How large is this client in comparison to their competitors? . What segments of the
industry is this client in? How big are these segments? What is the growth of these
segments over the last 10 years? Why did these segments grow? What does this suggest
for our client? Comprehensively list all competitors in these segments and their
percentage of the market. Ensure that the percentages add up to 100%
a. If the industry is unclear, make a hypothesis and support it.
b. use numbers wherever possible. Regardless of the size of the company or
whether it is public or private, industry numbers should be available.
4) Competitors: who are their competitors? (in a general sense) Do you see any
advantages or disadvantages from your initial comparison? How does the client price
their product/service in relation to their competitors? You may group smaller
competitors together if done so based on your research (i.e. numbers). Use a chart to
compare the competitors if this makes sense.
a. This analysis should be based both on the company and where it’s located as
well as the industry analysis.
b. There should be a list of competitors sorted by size.
c. You may group together smaller competitors if this is done so based on your
research.
5) Customers: who are their target customers and market(s)? How do they target them (if
this is available)? What can you tell about how their customers feel about them based
on the website, facebook and other social networking sites or articles? If the client’s
product could speak, what would it say? What needs/wants does this product/service
fill?
Analysis
In this section, I want you to analyze the client information in relation to the question.
Determine the implications of what you found for the client as a whole and your specific
questions. Answer these questions (in addition to others you think are important).
•
What does the information tell you or not tell you about the client (for
example)?
•
How does it change your understanding of the questions?
•
Are there larger, wider issues at play here that are important to consider?
•
What is your overall view about the health and viability of this company?
•
What do you think is their comparative advantage?
•
What do you need to know about the client that you can’t find? How can you
find this information?
•
What questions can you ask of the client during their presentation to help you
better understand the client as well as your question.
•
Do a preliminary SWOT, Porter’s 5 forces, or product life cycle analysis on this
company based on your research. Explain clearly what you can surmise about
this client’s position within the industry. Essentially, based on your research,
what would say about this client’s strength in the market? This is your initial
analysis. Please do not simply list the SWOT but analyze it as well.
This memorandum is in regards to your request for information about the client at
hand; Biba. This document will also help to explain the relationship between Biba and
their consultant company, Revolve This. I will first introduce the company and then
follow up with information regarding the industry, competition, and customers. I will
then proceed with a SWOT diagram to outline the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities
and threats of Biba. Once all of these matters are discussed there will then be a company
analysis to wrap up this memo.
Client Details
-Interpreting Our Client’s QuestionMy understanding at this point in time is that our client, Biba, would like us to
answer how to progress as a profitable and successful venture in this market; specifically
asking myself and my group members to evaluate and make recommendations as to how
we would reduce supply chain costs. We plan to more fully understand the clients’
expectations and dilemmas when we meet with the representative.
-Overview of the Client’s BusinessBiba has introduced itself to the market as a unique and delicious form of
hydration. Biba’s purpose is to hydrate the consumer and even reduce the effects of a
hangover if that is how the consumer chooses to use the product. This is a natural drink
containing essential vitamins and minerals as well as a dose of electrolytes1.
This product is certainly unique in the market. It is not completely a sports drink
or an energy drink. We will more fully understand the intention of the product after
meeting with the company representative.
Biba’s mission is to market a natural, healthy hydration beverage and to promote
a healthy lifestyle. Biba caters to various groups of people and situations; both day and
night life. They have worked at achieving this mission by concocting a beverage that
satisfies the body and keeps it hydrated, tastes great, and mixes well with
beverages/alcohol (nightlife). The following if a quote from the founder of the company,
Dentist Paquette:
“It takes the best qualities from electrolyte drinks, sodas, waters, and energy
drinks,
and combines them into one drink… It is designed for our ‘hybrid
2
lifestyles.’”
This beverage is currently available in multiple stores throughout New
Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine and Nevada. The manufacturing facility for Biba is
located in Wisconsin while the drink itself was created in the Boston area. Their market
http://www.drinkbiba.com
http://www.wickedlocal.com/hudson/news/business/x726825592/Viva-Biba-Hudson-dentist-Paquettecreates-new-drink
1
2
ranges within various ages and hobbies. As stated above, it is appealing to those who are
active in a workout, those who are having a night out on the town, and those who want to
live a healthy, hydrated lifestyle. Unfortunately, it is unclear as to whether Biba wants to
be marketed as a sports drink or hangover drink. This is a question we will need to
address with the client in the upcoming meeting. The market for hangover drinks is not a
large market, unlike sports drinks and energy drinks which have a tremendous consumer
base (the industry will be discussed later). The market for Biba is, at this point in time,
very limited geographically; it is not available in more than 4 states.
I am currently unaware of the profitability and financial information for the
company, this is also something that will need to be addressed during the meeting with
their representative. Biba has not been on the market for much time and also, is not a
publically traded company. The information regarding growth and external analysis is
unavailable to us but will hopefully be covered in our information session.
-The IndustryThe industry that Biba is in is rather unclear to me and my group at this point in
time. They could either be considered a sports drink, energy drink or hangover drink
depending on which direction they would like to proceed in. As this company stands
now, I consider it to be most like a sports drink. I believe this is the case due to the way
the product is marketed; including labels and website.
The industry of sports and health drinks is one of the fastest growing segments of
the United States and global beverage industry. In terms of sales in 2005, the sports drink
market is estimated to be a $300 billion industry worldwide and the U.S. accounted for
49% of sports drink consumption. This market is a large one and continues to grow
rapidly, especially in the United States.
The following chart was taking from Euromonitor International (2007)
Global functional drink volume (millions of liters)
CATEGORY
2006
SPORTS DRINKS
9,870.6
ENERGY DRINKS
2,429.4
ELIXIRS
320.7
TOTAL
12,620.7
FORECAST 2011
13,301.7
3,534.1
366.1
17,201.9
I also consider the next chart to be of some assistance in understanding the beverage
market as a whole.
2
3
At this point in time, Biba is very small in comparison to competitors. These
competitors will be discussed in further detail in the following sections. I am unable to
give this comparison based on numbers due to the limited information available for Biba.
This is another area that will be discussed and clarified, hopefully, during our information
session.
-CompetitorsAs clearly shown above, the beverage industry is huge! The sports drink industry
is one of the larger segments and is comprised of many different competitors. A few that
stand out way above all the rest include: PepsiCo (Gatorade), Coca-Cola (Powerade) and
Cadbury Schweppes (Accelerade). This chart was taken from (source 4) and shows how
the three top competitors compete with each other:
3
http://www.flex-news-food.com/console/PageViewer.aspx?page=16565
3
These three competitors are the largest in the industry. However, Biba’s product does
differentiate itself in that no other sports drink is as light as Biba (in taste). For example,
Gatorade products are very strong in flavor, almost the same strength as a traditional fruit
juice. Biba is light and crisp with just a hint of lime. Biba also has carbonation, which no
other competitor that I could find in my research has in their drink. This idea of a
carbonated sports drink is new to the industry and has been avoided for many years; until
now.
In regards to price, Biba is a little pricey compared to most other sports drinks. Biba
is similarly priced to an energy drink (again, Biba is not marketed as an energy drink as
obviously as it is marketed as a sports drink). The purpose of a sports drink is to hydrate
(Biba’s favorite word); while the purpose of an energy drink is to boost energy (Biba
does not contain caffeine). The following is a chart I made to show the price of Biba
compared to other sports drink competitors.
4-pack
24-pack
Source
Biba
$10.00
$35.00
Drinkbiba.com
Gatorade
$4.67
$18.99
Nextag.com
Powerade
$3.22
$16.88
Samsclub.com
4
This is just an example of how pricey Biba is compared to other beverages in this
industry. PepsiCo and Coca-Cola have a great advantage over startup beverage
companies in that they are cheap/affordable separately or in bulk and they are also sold
everywhere. A drink has got to have something special about it to make people want to
spend double or triple the money and go out of their way for it.
-The CustomerThe target market in this industry consists of young consumers with buying
power, male and female, who are largely either athletes or health-conscious. 4 This
mainly includes the X and Y generations which makes up 110 million people within the
United States alone. The way in which Biba targets these consumers is by fulfilling
various tasks during various activities for this group, “We are all athletes, business
people, loving family members, and party animals at one point or another, and Biba is a
drink that is designed for those lifestyles,” states the founder of the business (source 2).
This product satisfies the need for hydration while working out or on the go, something
refreshing and flavorful, as well as something to mix into a cocktail or just to drink
throughout a night out to prevent/minimize hangovers.
As stated previously, there are not many external reviews/analyses on the product
at this time. I did however find one review I would like to share, “Your drink is so
amazing!! Every time i drink it at a soccer game, i feel so hydrated. I love the bubbly
lime taste and how its not a lot of calories! Keep up the good work!!!!” This review
was found on bevnet, and is currently the only one that exists for the product.
After researching I would have to say that if Biba could talk, it would say to us
that it is a unique and fulfilling product with potential for success. It would also tell us
that it is time to move forward and work on a marketing strategy and campaign that
works within this market; something that will differentiate the product amongst
competition.
-SWOT Analysis-
Strengths
Weaknesses
Different from other sports drinks
Expensive
(carbonation)
4
Not widely available
Natural (no caffeine or chemicals)
Comes in only 1 flavor (lime)
Multi-purpose beverage
Not clear which industry Biba is placed in
http://researchwikis.com/Sports_Drink_Market
5
Large target market/consumer base
New company
Dedicated/enthusiastic founder
Limited information available to the
public
Little marketing
Opportunities
Threats
Large market to appeal to
Very competitive market
Could take off w/ the right marketing
tools
Several large competitors
Duplication
Expand flavors and product line
Failure to appeal to Biba’s target market
Introduce products at televised events
(marathons, etc)
Failure to identify correct positioning
Promotion possibility at clubs/bars
Limited funding
-AnalysisThe information I found in my research i…
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