Name Ryan Dion Eastham NetID reas927 Group Number: 457 Website Link: http://infosys1102014s1group457.blogspot.co.nz/ Tutorial Details Tutor: Day: Time: Kirsten Tutor Thursday 12pm Time Spent on Assignment: 18 hours Word Count: 1649
2
2 REMINDING SMOKERS WHY INTRODUCTION Using Information Systems were trying to prevent those who quit smoking from relapsing. This will be achieved by the creation of a smartphone application named, Remind Me Why. Using personal and emotional incentives such as pictures of loved ones, our application will attempt to remind the smoker why they decided to quit in the first place and thus focus their inner motivation to help ensure they remain smoke free. 3. BUSINESS SECTION 3.1 Vision To drastically reduce the number of smokers who relapse into bad habits; and thus ultimately better society by making smoking less prevalent. 3.2 Industry Analysis: Smartphone Application Industry Industry: Smartphone Application Industry. Force: High/Low: Justification: Buyer power: High Buyer power is high because of the sheer number of apps available. Apple reports [the] App Store has more than 1 million apps and counting. This results in consumers having lots of choice when it comes to which app they choose to buy/download. (Apple, 2014). Supplier power: High Supplier power is high because there is a shortage of talented app developers in the 21 st century. Though anybody with basic programming knowledge is able to create an application, this does not mean it will be well- designed or innovative. (Yin, 2010) Threat of new entrants: High Threat of New Entrants is high because the market is growing at such a phenomenal rate. Furthermore the costs associated with creating an app are minimal because of the introduction of DIY-app-building tools such as: http://www.ibuildapp.com. (Hearse, 2013)
3
3 Threat of substitutes: High Threat of substitutes is high because of the increasing popularity of alternative Smartphone markets. E.G: Apples App Store versus Androids Play Store. Appbrain calculated the number of total apps on Androids Play Store to around 1.2 million. (Appbrain, 2014) Rivalry among existing competitors: High Rivalry among existing competitors is high because of the sheer number of available apps. This means that competition for consumer attention is fierce; each app trying to obtain a competitive advantage through price differentiation/unique features. Overall attractiveness of the industry: The overall attractiveness of entering this industry is not very high. There are little entry barriers to enter the market as the costs required to create applications are minimal because of DIY-app-building tools. The sheer multitude of apps on the market considerably decreases the attractiveness because the applications would have to be priced competitively and would be at the mercy of buyers. Additionally, rivalry among existing competitors is high. The number of apps available means that competition for consumer attention is fierce as each app vies to distinguish itself from similar products. One of the few things that makes this industry attractive is that it is growing at such a phenomenal rate. Conclusively, the smartphone application industry is not an attractive market to enter.
4
4 3.3 Customers and Thei r Needs Our target audience is people who have decided to quit smoking. A need of our customers includes being educated about the effects of smoking. Many smokers are unaware of the true extent of the effect smoking has, and if theyre made aware of these repercussions, theyll be more inclined to quit and stay quit. Professor Slovic (Duke, 1988) states teens who know the probability of smoking causing cancer are not aware of the severity of the experience of cancer. Long-term smokers have become addicted to nicotine, as such, a need required by our customers is support with Nicotine Withdrawals and information on how to lessen their severity. Our customers also require the effective reinforcement of their initial motivation to quit smoking. 3.4 The Product and Service This application utilizes a smartphones limitless capabilities: e.g: accessing users photos, using Wi-Fi, displaying data/visual graphs on the number of smoking-related deaths, or calculating functions to estimate how much money the user has saved since quitting. Using the Photos on the users smartphone will offer relevant, highly personal incentives for the user to stay quit. E.g: when the user feels like smoking, they open the app and a picture of their daughter pops onscreen, with the text Dont you want to live long enough to see me grow up?. The application will house troves of information relating to the effects of smoking, thus educating the user. This information will be gathered from up-to-date and trusted sources, e.g WebMD. Furthermore, the application will have a function to list counter-measures that will help remediate Nicotine withdrawals that the user is sure to experience. 3.5 Suppliers and Partners Our suppliers could include Apple and Google. We would create Remind Me Why and release it through their respective App Stores. Alternatively, a supplier could be the New Zealand organisation Born Digital. Theyre a renowned NZ company that specialize in digital design and development. They would be able to supply us with the skills to create an aesthetically designed application which would give us a competitive advantage.
5
5 We could partner with Quitline. This would allow us to acess already-registered smokers while giving them access to our app in a joint effort to reduce the number of smokers/relapsers. Alternatively we could partner with the Ministry of Health. Theyre a huge advocate against smoking and would be able to give us credible statistics regarding smoking-related deaths. On their website, they state There are over 4000 identified chemicals in cigarette smoke. Hexamine is used in paint and lacquers, arsenic is used for rat poison, and acetone is used in nail polish remover. (Ministry of Health, 2014) This is an example of how we could use them to provide quality information.
3.6 Strategy: Focused Low Cost The Focused Low Cost strategy encompasses a narrow competitive scope at a low cost. Though the Smartphone application market is large, our target audience is smokers who have quit; this narrows the large market to a small niche because the needs of our customers are very specific. The prices of applications are generally low cost. Proof being in 2013, 90% of applications in Apples App store were free, just 6% costed .99c with the remaining 4% costing higher (Gordon, 2013). Thus to remain competitive, we must also price our application at a relatively low cost. This would result in our competitive advantage being low cost.
3.7 Value Chain Activity: Marketing and Sales. The most important value chain activity for this business is Marketing and Sales. Using Market Research we will be able to differentiate our product and ensure it is used over other other applications. This is because Market Research will provide us with insights into what features, colour schemes and functions consumers want in their applications. Because our market is aimed at a small niche, we must strive to provide a product that customers will place a greater emphasis on. Furthermore, we have to ensure our target audience is made aware of the existence of our product. This can be achieved through an Advertising Campaign.
6
6 3.8 Business Processes 3.8.1. MARKET RESEARCH PROCESS The Market research process is important because it supports the creation of a product that consumers will actually want. This is done by analysing the results of surveys to identify their preferences. It starts with the identification of what the aim of the market research is; e.g. what colour scheme is most appealing? It then progresses onto determining whether the company should embark on Primary or Secondary research. The questionnaire layout is then designed. Our survey is then administered to the target audience. The results are then collected/collated using Database Management Systems. They are then analysed to identify major trends in customer preferences. Finally, a report is constructed based on the analysed data which contains insights and recommended courses of action alongside visual interpretations of the data.
7
7 3.8.2. ADVERTISING CAMPAI GN DEVELOPMENT PROCESS- The sheer number of apps available to consumers can potentially overshadow or cause consumers to overlook our product. To combat this our organization undertakes an advertising campaign process to ensure that our target audience is made aware of our products existence. To ensure effective return on investment, Market Research is done initially. A budget is established by the Finance department to fund the process. Goals and KPIs are then set which will be referred to post-advertising campaign. The advertising medium is then selected: e.g Web/Newspaper/Radio. The manager utilizes Decision Support Systems to aid him in choosing the right advertising medium . Then its time to design the ad. The advertising campaign is then launched. Finally, evaluating the success of the advertising campaign; i.e has the number of downloads of our application increased since advertising?
8
8 3.9 Functionalities 3.9.1. MARKET RESEARCH PROCESS: Store survey/questionnaire results in databases. Create reports/graphs 3.9.2. ADVERTISING CAMPAI GN DEVELOPMENT PROCESS: Record number of downloads (KPIs) Compare number of downloads with pre-post advertising campaign. 3.10 Systems
3.10. 1. DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM Supports the storing of information collected from Market Research. It collates the data through its Sort/Filter functions. This allows for faster analysis to determine major trends in customer preferences to create a better app for customers. 3.10. 2. MANAGEMENT INFORMATI ON SYSTEM- Supports the Market Research Process with the creation of reports from analysed data. These reports contain highly relevant insights into customer preferences. 3.10. 3. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM- Helps with the Advertising Campaign Development Process because it records the number of downloads Pre and Post Advertising Campaign and is able to compare them.
9
9 3.11. Summary Table: Value Chain to Systems
Value Chain Activity Processes Functionalities Specific Information System(s) Broad Information System(s)
Market and Sales. Market Research Process Store survey/questionnaire results in databases.
Produce reports/graphs Database-Management System
Management Information System CRM
DSS Advertising Campaign Development Process Record number of downloads
Comparing previous number of downloads with post. Performance Management System Performance Management System ERP
ERP
10
10 CONCLUSION Using the wide reaching trend of smartphones, we hope to make smoking less prevalent in our societies. Through the creation of an application that takes advantage of a smartphones limitless capabilities, we hope to strengthen the resolve of any ex-smoker and remind them Why they decided to quit in the first place.
REFERENCES
1. Apple. (2014). Not just a million apps. A million great apps. Retrieved from http://www.apple.com/iphone-5s/app-store/ 2. S, Yin. (2010). Tech Industry Facing Shortage of Mobile App Developers. Retrieved from http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2371308,00.asp 3. M, Hearse. (2013). How To Create Your Own Smartphone App. Retrieved from http://smarter.telstrabusiness.com/advice/how-to-create-your-own-smartphone-app-iphone- android-apple-app-store-google-play-build-app-development.htm 4. Appbrain. (2014). Android Apps on Google Play. Retrieved from http://www.appbrain.com/stats/number-of-android-apps 5. iBuildApp. (2014). Create Your Own Mobile App. Retrieved from http://ibuildapp.com/ 6. L.J Duke. (1998). Do adolescent smokers know the risk? Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10557547 7. WebMD. (2014). Nicotine Withdrawals. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/smoking- cessation/understanding-nicotine-withdrawal-symptoms 8. Born Digital. (2014). Digital Design and Development. Retrieved from http://www.borndigital.co.nz/ 9. Quitline. (2014). Quitline. Retrieved from http://www.quit.org.nz/ 10. Ministry Of Health. (2014). Smoking. Retrieved from http://www.health.govt.nz/your-health/healthy- living/addictions/smoking 11. M.E, Gordon. (2013) The History of App Pricing, And Why Most Apps Are Free. Retrieved from http://www.flurry.com/bid/99013/The-History-of-App-Pricing-And-Why-Most-Apps-Are- Free#.U3fx2_mSx1B