Business of Photo Rental Equipment Company - Case Study Example

Business Proposal for Photo Rental Company Equipment Mission: To provide a global online platform from which travellers can access photography equipment from renting services enabled through the contraction of photography equipment owners. Vision: To increase the ease and efficiency of acquiring photography rental equipment for travellers on the global platform. Product Concept: The product aims at providing an online platform for photography renting equipment services. The product seeks to partner and contract with leading suppliers in the industry to provide the potential market with high quality equipment. The accessibility of the product is enabled through a web platform that focuses on the places a person is visiting. The user of the app and the website is provided with rental options that are aligned with their product desire at the required proximity. Value of Proposition: The creation of a reliable web platform from which users and renters in the field develop a business and social network. I. Executive Summary Photo Rental Co. is a photography equipment rental company that aims to provide a digital platform, both web and app, from which travellers across the globe would locate and rent their desired photography equipment. In addition, renters may use the same platform to increase the market visibility of their products. The renter places their products in the platform and the travellers then selects a product based on their specification and location. The main goal of the company is to increase the ease at which the photography rental equipment industry is keen to administer the needs of the regular traveller. The company recognizes that the regular traveler relies heavily on the abilities of their mobile phones to access basic travel amenities. For this reason, the creation of a website and an application provides the ease at which the traveller may access photography rental services. This is the mission shared by the organization as it strives to increase its online presence for the use of travellers across the globe. Revenue sources for the company are directly linked to the web platform created. Majorly, both the user and the renter that uses the digital platform pay a commission to the company. The users are required to pay a higher commission to the company than the renter. Other revenues sources from the venture include the provision of a marketing prospect for business in the field. For instances, tourism hotspots may use the digital platform to market their products and services. The success of the company is based on the creation of stages for the market introduction, penetration and dominance. After creation of the product the product would go through the first stage of the website creation. The website would then be marketed in New York City. The second stage sees the expansion of the product to the city of Chicago and Miami. The two stages rely massively in the use and maximization on the marketing opportunities provided by giant social networks of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. The other stage is the creation of the app and development of the website. This would then be preceded by the expansion of the product in the United States. The final stage is the expansion of Mexico, Canada and Colombia and using the marketing power of the social media. II. Business Overview Model The business model that RentTravel will use is that of Network orchestration. This model allows companies to create a network in which users interact and share in the value creation. This business approach shifts the traditional view of how organizations should interact and be managed. In the past, companies focused on building and protecting their core competencies and having them all under the same roof. In contrast, the network orchestration model allows companies to become “leading suppliers without owning competencies in manufacturing. Instead, it allows the company to draw together many manufacturers and other partners into a flexible and adaptable supply chain” (Kleindorfer et al, 2009. P. 299). Examples of companies that use this model include: eBay, Visa, Uber, Tripadvisor and Alibaba. Customer Segments There are two major consumer segments for Photo Travel Co. The customers are divided into personal and corporate travellers. The personal travellers provide the greatest potential in terms of accessibility and availability. Personal travellers are also easy to reach considering the wider reach potential of social media marketing. The customer segment is also large since they are the largest consumer in the tourism industry. The other segment is the corporate customer. These customers constitute of travellers under an organization. This customer segment if advantageous in that it provides the ability to increase profit margins considering the number of rental they would require. The customers are also easy to incorporate since the company has to deal directly to the leaders of the organization and not individuals. Channels Photo Travel Co. would be hugely dependent on two channels in its marketing. The most relevant significant channel is the online marketing strategy. The online platform is highly advantageous considering the reach and tools available. The company would first focus on product selling on Facebook and Twitter. This would be done by providing an overview of the company and the product. Other social sites like Instagram and YouTube would be used. The online platform also incorporates the use of marketing partnerships. For instance, the company seeks to purchase advertising slots in websites related to tourism. The other channel is the use of home marketing. Considering that most users of the website and app are travellers home marketing in public transport places is an exceptional idea. The home advertising would mainly focus on placing banners and ads on buses, bus shelters and subways. Customer Relationships The company is provided with two forms of customer relationships. They are photography equipment owner and customer who rent the equipment. For the rental equipment owners, the relationship is crucial since it would determine the quality of equipment of available for the renters. For this reason, this relationship is mandatory. In addition, the relationship is important since it would determine factors on financial sharing, marketing and partnership. The other relationship is with the renters. This relationship is based on how effective the company acquires market recognition. The relationship is also based on the product quality available for the customer. To foster this relationship, the company is requires to improve service delivery and product availability from the users. Revenue Streams Photo Renting Co. aims to increase revenue collection from two objectives. Firstly the organization seeks revenues from commission charges on both renters and users. The commission charged would be more on customers. This is based on than a low commission on the users would increase the number of available equipment for rental at the website. This would provide quality of products provided for the market. A 5% commission is charged to the renter and a 7-10% charged to the owner of the equipment. The other form of revenue is marketing options. The growth of the website and the application used in the product promotion would directly increase the marketing ability of the company. Other institutions in the field of marketing may realize the marketing potential of the website. The website may sell advertising slots on its website or promote other services on its app. Value Proposition The creation of the company is based on the market gap between travellers and how easily they can access travelling partners. The greatest sort out tools for traveling is photography equipment. With the global travelling increasing, the need to increase the efficiency of tourism tools accessibility increased. Photo Rental Co. offers a product that the global traveller would benefit from. A traveller is now able to access available equipment at any place at the globe. The mission of the company is to reach a global platform from which the traveller can access services offered by the owner of the equipment. The availability of the website and app makes the acquisition and business relationship easier and efficient. The company also provides an insurance option which covers the risks in the business. Renters may acquire insurance against the destruction or theft of the equipment they have acquired. Key Activities Key activities in the company are acquiring users and renters, marketing, website and application development and product development through incorporation of trends. The activity of acquiring and management of users and renters is the most significant. The existence of the company is based on the availability of renters and users. The main objective of the company is to acquire 5o users from which they could launch a marketing strategy to acquire renters. The marketing process determines the number of renters and users acquired for the company. Specifically, marketing increases the marketing reach of the product thus a large marketing attraction. Website and app development is mandatory. With trend in the technology industry, the online platform should be made easy to explore and inclusive of details that would increase the quality of a customer visit. For instance, the website should be made mobile responsive considering that most users are travellers and rely on their mobile phones to access online services and products. Key Resources The company is highly benefits from the fact they do not handle the product being transacted. For this reason, the only cost incurred by the organization is that of marketing and developing the online platform. The availability of the product on an online platform is highly advantageous since the traveller is provided with an easy way to access equipment. This beats the challenge of most competitors who require the physical presence of the renter. This property also attracts organizations which seek to display their equipment at different locations. The product provides the users with a retail option that cannot be attained through physical selling. Key Partners The company seeks major partnerships with organization in the tourism and photography industry. Tourism industry partners may use the website as a way to increase the comfort of their customers in regards to providing an easier alternative in regards to photography equipment. The greatest partnership is with the photography equipment corporations. For instance, Canon may use the website to increase the market accessibility of their products. In addition, partnerships with insurance companies are important. Renters may require insurance to cover the risks associated with the rental process. Cost Structures The Photo Travel Co. is set to incur most costs in marketing and technology. Marketing is a key success factor. Home marketing would require paying for spaces on subways, bus shelters and buses. This would be costly considering that competition for these amenities may be high and lucrative. On the other hand, online marketing is also expensive. For instance, the company seeks to purchase spaces from Google hits that may be on tourism. This is an expensive venture. The use of technology is costly considering that technology is ever advancing. In addition, the company should strive to improve the market position of its application and website. Occasional advancements and trend incorporation would be required. III. Market Analysis Target market The target market is likely to encompass college/university-educated individual who have the potential of being professional photographers. They not only have the highest probability of clients ordering photos that are professional but also professional photographs that are quality on regular basis. These individuals need photography equipment to further their career and purchasing these equipment may be costly hence they have to hire them from companies. The other targets will be the companies that offer rental equipment. The app will connect these companies to their prospective clients thus widening their market scope. In addition, the PhotoRent App will target families on holidays that have the desire for adventure. These families may require photography equipment alongside professional photographers. A click on the app in their devices will allow them to not only locate the available photography rental equipment store but also identify these stores in the destination of their adventure. Competitors There are companies that rent photography equipment such as Adorama Rental Company that are likely to rival Photo-Rent-Travel app. This company has huge selection of professional photos, videos that are HD quality, and lighting as well grid equipment. Their prices are relatively low and they inspect their equipment before they are hired. They avail their equipment for pick up and also ship them throughout the US. Moreover, they have an iPhone app that assists in locating the location for an ordered snap (Adorama Para 4). The other likely competitor is BorrowLenses. It offers variety of lenses thus giving the customers the leverage to choose the type of rent they want and the duration or renting the instruments. It also offers other accessories related to photography such as flashes, lights, memory cards, and tripods. The third competitor is LensProToGo Company. It offers selection of both the Nikon lenses and cannon lenses maily in the US inclusive of Hawaii and Alaska. The rental period for their equipment is between 1 to 4 full weeks and has an option for rental insurance. Moreover, the FedEx has the night shipping option. The other rental photography companies are the LenseRental.com, LensLenders.com, PhotoLensRental.com, Rent Camera Gear, ZipLens.com, and RentGlass.com. However, the Yammy Company seeks to capitalize on its ability to provide an app that links users and the rental companies (John Para 7). The major weakness that these competitor apps have is that none of them has a provision that links photography and travelling. This is a component that the PhotoRent App seeks to leverage on since it will enable users to distinct it from the other existing apps. Photo Rental Equipment Market The market over the years has been dominated by physical rental companies which seek the physical presence of the renter. In addition, the rental business has been carried out by the manufacturers of the equipment. For instance, companies like Kodak and Canon have been offering direct rental services. The product in offering is also determined by the quality of product available in the market. The selection of a rental company by renters is based on the availability of the top quality product. The Photo Travel Co. has entered in a market with fewer competitors. The company offers online rental services a product that is less common in the market. Its product description is also unique. The company offers packages that could be accessed on a global platform at different locations. This provides the company with an advantage. Consumers of this product are highly trendy. Consequently, the online rental platform should be made more advanced and captivating for the internet user. E-Commerce Apps Market The modern century has been dominated by this market based on the increased venture and trends in business technology. Regardless of the opportunities, the market has numerous challenges based on the market fast changing preferences. Firstly marketing is a challenge. Danova provides the data that most app lose their market preference after three months (3). This constitutes of 52% drop of its market retention (Danova 3). The art of retaining market relevance in the market is expensive. E-commerce apps face the challenge of incorporating new technology than are invented occasionally. However, this is mandatory to the success in the market since the consumer target the trendiest app in the market. The tools used in the market are also success determinants. For instance, the consumption of mobile phones and tablet has increased the consumption of e-commerce services. For this reason, users of e-commerce apps have to ensure responsiveness in mostly used tools such as the mobile phone. However, the market is enlarging and the opportunities still available are massive and lucrative. IV. Strategy Implementation Product Creation The stage seeks an investment from an investor. The funds acquired would be used to develop the website. The strategy is also inclusive of partners in form of users and owners of equipment. In the creation process, the website would offer an image on how beneficial the website would be for the one time and regular traveller. Using the social media and physical alters, users would be notified on the existence of the website. Launching the Website The strategy is the first step of launching the product to the market. After the product is launched, New York would be first targeted to benefit from the website. At this point, the use of social media for marketing purposes is important. Ads and SEO would be placed on Facebook and Twitter timelines of the company. In addition, marketing would also target rental potential organization in New York. However, other regions are also potential targets and marketing is not restricted in New York. In addition, online marketing would also be used. Specifically, a tourist who may search for a tourism related activity in New York would see an ad display of the product. This strategy seeks to attract users at the minimum of 50. Expansion to Chicago and Miami The expansion to these regions would also be done by similar marketing strategies with the inclusion of YouTube and Instagram. At this point, the company recognizes that the company would have numerous customers. From this opportunity, a creation of an online community in the social media networks would be a massive marketing strategy (Thomas 82). The website will then be developed to be inclusive of travelling hotspots. Launching the App At this point the product has been expanded to five other regions. The app would provide an efficient platform for accessing the product. In addition, the same strategies used in marketing the website are employed in marketing the app. The company then selects the most beneficial app partner (Thomas 78). For instance, the selection of either android or IOS should be determined based on reach and price on maintaining and developing the app. Availability of the Services in the United States The growth of the product would increase the need to realize more effective marketing strategies. The use of social media and home marketing would increase the brand awareness and market reach of the product. Partnerships with tourism corporations would also be used as marketing tools. In addition, partnerships with digital leaders such as Canon would also be considered. Most importantly, website and app development is required on an occasional basis. Expansion to Canada, Columbia and Mexico The increase in the ventures in this region is based on the market reach and brand awareness of the product. The continued use of social media and home advertising would be ensured. The development of the app and website should be in way that they are responsive in these regions. The expansion of the online community is also an important strategy. V. Revenue and Finance As stated in the structure of the organization, the main source of revenue is commission charged on the renters and users, a 5% commission is charged on the users and the renter would be a commission between 7-10%. The commission would only be applied if the equipment from the user has been rented (Rich 229). Considering that the traveller may be a world traveller, easy options of payments would be used. The use of Paypal and submission of credit cards details for charging would be used. This would be easy and less time consuming for the user. In regards to the liability involved in rental, Photo Travel creates an insurance opportunity for the renters. The renter may take full insurance on property recovery or compensation on theft or complete damage. There is also the option of insurance that may cover for breakages and basic things like scratches. After the development of the website and app, a marketing opportunity as a source of revenue is presented. Players in the tourism industry may realize the increasing market preference of Photo Travel, and they may seek the online platform of the organization for marketing purposes. Works Cited Adorama. Why Choose Adorama? 2015. Web on 2nd April 2015< http://www.adorama.com/aboutus/whyAdorama> Allen, Craig. The 33 best photo apps. 2014. Web on 1st April 2015< http://www.creativebloq.com/design-tools/best-photo-apps-513764#null Brandon, Workman. Mobile Is Beginning To Define The Multitrillion Dollar Global Travel Industry. 2014 .Bi Intelligence John, Heggestuen. The New Mobile Commerce: Apps Like Uber Blur The Line Between Online And Brick-And-Mortar Payments.2014.Bi Intelligence John, Koetseir. New App Annie product offers detailed demographics of over a billion app users. 2014. Web on 1st April 2015 Tony, Danova. The App Store Marketing Report: User Behavior Trends, And Getting Apps To Stand Out. 2015. Bi Intelligence. Thomas, Chloe. E-Commerce Marketing: How to drive traffic that buys to your website. New York: SRA Books. 2013. Print. Read More