10 pages bus

Discussion Week 1

Introduce yourself with your classmates and provide your experiences with creating a business plan. How familiar are you? What kind of business are you thinking of?  Is it a service/product line? 

Hi class,

My name is Kawtar, I’m from one of the smallest countries in Europe… Belgium! I speak 4 different languages (French, Dutch, Moroccan, and English). I moved to the USA 5 years ago and I fell in love with it! I have always been interested in everything that is related to business that’s why I decided to go back to school for my BBA. I have 1 more quarter to go before I finish school, I’m very excited but also anxious about the next chapter of my life.

On another note, when it comes to deciding about my business plan, I could be a little indecisive. I always wanted to open a French Bakery but I’m hesitating about having it on a food truck. I will be selling all kinds of French Pastries (croissants, Baguette, macaron,…).

Discussion Week 2

In this week, we move further along with your discussion board topic of market research. From your reading, on Phase 2, when researching your niche market for your final project, do you know who your customers are? Who are your top competitors? 

Focus your post on providing your customers, top 3 competitors, and what plan do you have to research your niche market? 

Hi class,

Opening the French bakery was driven by various factors such as the cultural love for French products in the United States. The business depends mostly on the love of French products to drive sales for its products. Secondly the decision was based on the large scale demand for bakery products by various users. This means the business will be facing competition from other French bakeries located in the area. It will also face other bakeries with ancient and culture-oriented bakeries in the areas. There will also be a stiff competition from other traditional baking businesses. Finally, the competition will also come from brick and mortar stores that also deal in baking products.

The target customers for my bakery include mothers and families. Mothers are responsible for most home bakery shopping needs hence they are the main target for the bakery. The bakery will also target various French food enthusiasts including the local French population. One of the main factors for the creation of French bakery is the focus on sustainability hence we target those office workers and other people interested in French foods and products.

Targeting these consumers and overcoming the competition from these stiff competitors require investments in advertising strategies and proper market research. To ensure the company targets the right group and understand the market, there is a need for online marketing research. This include searching for area data about performance of bakeries by focusing on issues such as revenue, daily sales, potential for growth and the number of customers (Sarstedt & Mooi, 2018). The market research will also target consumers to determine their preferences for French products such as bakery products. The research should also focus on regulatory standards such as the licensing and procedures for setting up the business.

References

Sarstedt, M., & Mooi, E. (2018). A concise guide to market research. The Process, Data, and, 12.