Business Model
Discuss about the Recommendations For The Betterment Of The Services Of Accent Group Limited.
Accent Group Limited has captured the leading position in retail and distribution industry of the lifestyle footwear. The 420 stores across 10 different retail banners are involved with the exclusive distribution rights that are serving almost 10 international brands across New Zealand and Australia. Some of these major brands are Mererll, Podium Sports, The Athlete’s Foot, Platypus Shoes, Dr. Martens. Sperry Top-Sider, and many more (Accentgr.com.au. 2018). The company maintains the uniqueness to deliver the best value propositions to the customers. However, considering the current pace in the changing needs, the company has decided to use the internet sources to develop their online services (Accentgroup.org. 2018). The customers can get access to the online products and customer services through their mobile devices. The study will thus develop the complete understanding of the business model to analyze the product feasibility.
Accent Group Limited offers the high quality sports footwear from diverse brands. The current internet-driven world has the considerable influence on the customers’ purchasing decision making process. The official app of the company would provide the opportunity to get access through the mobile device for ordering any product, gathering information about the product specifications, and receiving the relevant customer service. The further study would present the idea about the business model of the company to measure service feasibility.
- Customer Segment
Customer segment defines the target customers who are interested to purchase the offered products and services (Joyce & Paquin, 2016). The customer segment for launching this online app includes the athletes, members of sports clubs, and customers from different age group. People who are fond of using the fast online shopping can receive the opportunity to order for their products through this app. The athletes and the other customers who would like to purchase the high quality and comfortable sports shoes will be able to find the best offers in this app. Those who have the tendency to search for specifications prior to make the purchase decision can also get the access to the necessary details through this app.
- Key Partners
Establishing the partnerships is necessary to provide the appropriate service or products to the customers (Zolnowski, Weiß & Bohmann, 2014). The key partners of the company for launching this app will be the local suppliers for the delivery purpose and the referral websites for promoting the app. The website partners would promote the app through the push up notifications to draw the attention of the customers. The extra notifications would be popped up and take the customer directly to the official sites. The local suppliers would be partnering up with the company to deliver the orders within the stipulated time.
- Value Propositions
Building Blocks
The motto of this app is to provide the convenient shopping experience and the resolve the queries of the customers. The app introduces the customized segments that will take the customers to the section related to their queries. This unique facility would help them to gather knowledge about the relevant specifications (Vargas, 2015). The customers would ensure the value proposition for the online services that can satisfy the needs of the customers and develop the strengthened competitive position.
- Key Activities
The app consists of diverse activities according to the needs and preferences of the customers. The app includes different sections for online shopping, order placements, online transactions, feedback, and customer service. The customers can select any of the option as per their queries and gather the necessary information prior to place any order. The product specifications would be included in this app for providing the best experience. The customers can place their orders by clicking on few easier steps. The secure online transaction gateway is used to protect the confidentially of the online payments (Caetano et al., 2017). The customers can also provide their feedbacks sharing their experiences. In case of gathering information or resolving any queries, the customers can opt for the online customer service option and gather the necessary information from the executives.
- Channels
The online shopping facilities through app can be accessed from different channels like mobile devices, websites, and the computer devices. The customers can get the easier access by checking the URL of the websites.
- Revenue Streams
Prior to take any further steps to formulate any online shopping app, it is essential for the company to identify the major revenue sources. It is noticeable that the app maintains the on-time delivery services of the footwear. Therefore, the online delivery of the products generates the revenues mostly from their online delivery services.
- Cost Structure
The cost is divided into several segments like website software, transportation cost, distribution services, salaries of the associated staffs, anti-virus software, and so on. The budget is presented below:
Expenses |
Cost |
Computers and entire set up |
$50,000 (Assumed) |
Salary of the executives |
$1,30,000 (Assumed) |
Paid antivirus and malware services |
$10,000 (Assumed) |
Transportation cost |
$80,000 (Assumed) |
Distribution Services |
$25,000 (Assumed) |
Other expenses (Including rent and other commodities) |
$30,000 (Assumed) |
Total |
$3,25,000 (Approx) |
Table 1: Cost Structure
(Source: Created by the author)
- Key Resources
The business requires the strengthened IT infrastructure, human resources, transportation facilities, and adequate capital resources. The complete support of these specific resources would help in developing the business in a success and sequential way.
The maintenance of the customer relationship is one of the most important segments to be considered in promoting this app. It is noticeable that the positive ‘word of mouth’ creates the significant business opportunities for the company by gathering the supports of maximum number of the customers (Plenter et al., 2017). Therefore, it is important to establish the better customer relationships by providing them the greater services and products as per their convenience. This app enables the greater customer relationship by maintaining a transparent communication. The customers can always opt for the online chat with the service executives. In case of resolving any service related queries, they can approach the customer service executives any point of time. Moreover, the app also provides the information about the specific segments of the products and delivery details. The discounts are also available for the premium customers.
Customer Relationship
The business model canvas represents the list of the segments that are interrelated to each other. The motto of the company is to offer the best quality products and services to the customers and maintain a commendable relationship to gain their loyalty. The customer segments help the company to reach to the right customers through different online sites (Jackson, Scott & Schwagler, 2015). Delivering the most convenient products and helping them though best customer service would be beneficial for maintaining the long term sustainability. The key partners help in reaching out to the customers and develop the most suitable services. This segment is important since the company draws the attention of the targeted customers and offers them the best experience (Jenkins & Fife, 2016). The value propositions of the products determine the development of the competitive advantage by offering the value added services. The customized segment would help the customers to select the preferred segments and fulfill their queries. The maintenance of the sequential activities will divide the customer preferences into different segments. The customers need to select the customized option to access the right location and resolve their queries. The company observes the main revenue streams in delivering the orders within the scheduled time. A complete budget preparation helps in understanding the expenses that are needed to be taken into account (Spieth, Schneckenberg & Ricart, 2014). This complete budget would also provide the knowledge regarding the profit level. The company requires gaining ideas about necessary resources that are to be utilized for developing the entire set up. The effective customer relationship is necessary for developing the long term sustainability of the company. Providing the required benefits and maintaining the communicational transparency with the customers would be beneficial enough to generate more profits and secure the competitive position.
The company requires concentrating on the most valuable segments to ensure the critical success factors (Terrenghi et al., 2017). It is noticeable that meeting the high quality parameter of the product would generate the customer satisfaction. However, along with such segment, the company can ensure the greater customer relationship through on-time delivery and greater communication scope with the service executives as the critical success factors. Once the customers would receive the solutions for their queries, it will generate the sense of reliability and enhance the customer loyalty. Eventually, these segments would ensure success for a longer time.
One of the major downside risks that the company can encounter is the security of the transaction gateway. The transactional gateways require the confidential details of the employees. The lack of adequate malware software and other software protection security can encounter the risks of data breaching. The continuous flow of the information is necessary in such cases for protecting the data of the online customers. The lack of proper antivirus can crete the issues with the malfunctioning of the websites.
Interrelationships
The alternative business model can be considered through changing the channels of promoting the app. For example, the channels that are using the promotional activities and push up notifications are needed to be customized to avoid the pages, which are not secured. On the other hand, the personalized chat box can also be added to let the customers get access to the executives as per their convenience. Accent Group Limited has the diverse brands and services existing in the online platforms. The company can create the direct links to this page for selling footwear. Making these specific changes could ensure more appropriateness in the business model.
Conclusion
The study develops the formulation of the business model to introduce an online app by Accent Group Limited to sell their high quality sport shoes and footwear. The official app of the company would provide the opportunity to get access through the mobile device for ordering any product, gathering information about the product specifications, and receiving the relevant customer service. The following recommendations would be much helpful for the company to prepare a better business model for the future benefits.
- Establishment of transparent communication with the business stakeholders
- Adding more secured gateways for the online payments
- Developing an online chat box to get hold of the customer care executives
- Providing the high quality product value and on time delivery services to the customers
- Addressing the feedbacks of the customers would also generate the sense of reliability.
References
Accentgr.com.au. (2018). About Us :: Accent Group Limited. [online] Available at: https://www.accentgr.com.au/about-us/ [Accessed 2 Aug. 2018].
Accentgroup.org. (2018). Accent Group Limited Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2017. [online] Available at: https://www.accentgroup.org/media/258546/report-and-accounts-2017.pdf
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