INNOVATION & LEADERSHIP

Semester-VI
{Domestic Business Management}

Submitted by:
Mohammed Zameen
Lecture: Mr. Erik Prins

Introduction

Marketing Strategy is a progression that can permit an association to focus its restricted assets on
the best chances to expand deals and attain to a feasible point of interest. An advertising system
ought to be fixated on the key idea that CUSTOMER loyalty is the principle objective. Advertising
procedure is a system for centering an association's energies and assets on a game plan which can
prompt expanded deals and predominance of a focused on business corner. A showcasing technique
consolidates item improvement, advancement, circulation, evaluating, relationship administration
and different components; distinguishes the company's advertising objectives, and clarifies how
they will be accomplished, in a perfect world inside an expressed time span. The expression
"advertising blend" was initially utilized as a part of 1953 when Neil Borden (1953), in his
American Marketing Association presidential location, made the formula thought one stride further
and authored the expression-showcasing showcasing blend". A noticeable advertiser, (MCCARTHY
1978), proposed a 4 P characterization in 1960, which has seen wide utilize. The four Ps ideas are
clarified in most promoting cmyse books and classes.

BACKGROUND

A small brief about MY (TEAM) family business:-

IMPRINTS and Qatar's Market

Qatars ADVERTISING industry has turned into one of the quickest developing in everywhere
throughout the bay collaboration gathering (GCC) nations. The span of Qatars ADVERTISING
market has come to QR32bn ($8.9bn) mark (ZAWYA 2014). In Qatar, grocery store and
hypermarket portion was moderately little contrasted with the majority of the GCC nations,
however the recognition now have changed as a great deal number of Advertisers have been
pleasing in the nation's business (CAPITAL 2012). IMPRINTS ADVERTISING gathering is one of
those Advertiser bunches which are celebrated all through Qatar. They have been serving in the
ADVERTISING business for over 25 years. The primary ADVERTISING advertise which was a
little basic supply was made in 1988, which later extended to a greater business. They have been
extremely no doubt understood for their great client administration, best value gave best quality and
worth given to the clients (IMPRINTS ADVERTISINGGROUP 2014). Despite the fact that they
have been surely understood for those qualities, the general clients have been diminishing and
footfalls of new clients are likewise moderate.

Further to this research an idea on relationship marketing and IMPRINTS ADVERTISING

Would be highlighted and to give an insight to present situation it can be said that IMPRINTS
ADVERTISING has segmented its customer in the following ways: Considerate needs and preferences of CUSTOMERs -- Having CUSTOMER goods, and
electronic items of all price ranges clothing as well as day to day household commodities
Categorizing customers based on their needs and preferences -- Customers with similar
needs and preferences are included in this segment.
Targeting the fragment that the company can best meet the needs and preferences of The Company targets the customers, of which it can meet the needs and preferences. I.e.
customer needs higher- strength or low price.
Classifying the commodity -- Though being a commodity product, branding is important
for a company. The company positions its brand among Architects and Builders rather than
household individuals

EMPATHY MAP

Winning aspiration

Any organization should have a focus on what they need to achieve in order for their company to
reach greater heights, as for Imprint their aspiration should be higher sales compared to previous
records and the estimation the new innovative approach of e-marketing would bring in , the steps
are to see where they stand in the market compared to he competitors , how much sales they
achieved and how much is required to get ahead of them while keeping the customer satisfaction
intact , the new idea how far would it be successful and the target to be achieved should not only be
a means of earning more profit but sustaining in the market while benchmarking their standards to
other future entities

Web: http://www.mannaz.com/en/insights/make-the-right-choices-to-create-a-winningstrategy/

TRENDS IN THE CONTEXT

INNOVATIVE STRATEGY

USE THE BEST, INVENT THE REST

The outcome of Imprint Advertisers prove that Speed and agility come from realizing we dont have
to invent everything ourselveseither the approach or the innovation itself. When going after
breakthroughs, its essential to dismiss the "not invented here" stigma, Theres no shortage of tools
and templates out there. The strategy is to use the bestlike the one-page Business Model
Generation tool and then adapt it or combine it with other approaches that work within the specific
company context. Same goes for Imprint in adapting E-commerce or E-marketing in the means of
the innovation itself. The most innovative companies dont always wait to build a new technology
themselvesthey look outside, find what exists, and then go from there.
In the present stage Imprint is focused on pushing entrepreneurial thinking and practices into the
places theyre needed the most (the internet era) a "culture of innovation" (though it can be the
by-product of these efforts). Their plan or proposed strategies combine strategic thinking with the
practical tools required for driving forward new products, services, and strategies, all focused first
and foremost on leapfrogging to the next big thing

Business model for Internet based E-Marketing Introduced for Imprint Advertising
(Innovative Approach)

There are different definitions of business models with different focus. According to Afuah
(2004), a business model is a framework for making money. It is the set of activities, which
Imprint p e r f o r m s , how it performs them and when it performs them so as to offer its
customers benefits they want and to earn a profit. The definition of business model refined by
Osterwalder is applied in this paper: Business model is a conceptual tool containing a set of
objects, concepts and their relationships with the objective to express the business logic of a
specific Imprint. Therefore we must consider which concepts and relationships allow a
simplified description and representation of what value is provided to customers, how this is
done and with which financial consequences. (Osterwalder A. & Yves P., 2005)

Traditional business models are transforming or developing to better exploit the opportunities
enabled by technological innovations (Adamantia G.P. & George M.G. 2004). The emergency of
E-Commerce re-constructs the traditional value chain and brings companies various innovative
choices of business models. Admittedly, the topic of business model led to a lot of publications
by journalists, business people, consultants and academics. It is discussed in various different

domains, such as E-Commerce, information systems, strategy, and management.

E-Business model ontology a reference on how Imprint can Introduce E-business

The goal of this sections is to review the E-Business model ontology proposed by Osterwalder in
order to define an approach that brings E-Business model literature one step further, by providing
a more rigorous methodology that defines the essential concepts in E-Business models and shows
the relationships between them for Imprint.

E-Business model ontology highlights the relevant E-Business issues and elements Imprints have
to think of, in order to operate successfully in the Internet era. Ontology is a rigorously
defined framework that provides a shared and common understanding of a domain that
can be communicated between people and heterogeneous and widely spread application systems
(Fensel, 2001). This formal approach is necessary f o r I m p r i n t in order to achieve the
business model advantages.

Figure 2-2 E-Business model framework (Osterwalder, 2002)

The E-Business model ontology established by Osterwalder is founded on four main

pillars, which are product innovation, customer relationship, infrastructure management and
financial aspects, as shown in Figure 2-2.
(i)The products and services, which Imprint offers, representing a substantial value to the
customers, and for which they are willing to pay.
(ii) The infrastructure and the network of partners that is necessary in order to create value and
to maintain a good customer relationship.
(iii)

The relationship capital the Imprint creates and maintains with the customers, in order to

satisfy them and to generate sustainable revenues.

(iv)The financial aspects, which are transversal and can be found throughout the three former
components, such as cost and revenue structures.

THE Four P's OF IMPRINT ADVERTISERS

The insinuation of using this in this research relates to its importance of shaping and exploring the
opportunities within the idea of change in marketing strategy The four P's of marketing (4P's)
mentioned here are a set of tools that help companies gain advantage within the marketplace. The
4P's are put in place to help maximize a product's potential. the main strategy for change of
marketing strategy would be focused on these 4 ps , a change in this would bring the change and
success we are expecting to imply for Imprint Advertisers
Essentials of the marketing mix are often referred to as 'the four Ps':

Product - A tangible object or an intangible service that is mass produced or manufactured

on a large scale with a specific volume of units. The products offered in the mentioned
Imprint deals with the line of advertising printing and embroidery depending on the
requirement of the organization or private needs of a customer, the high end quality products
are a milestone for the Imprint as they are in the line of business for more than 2 decades

Price The price of each product depends on the market value and the quantity required, the
prices offered are competitive and best in the market compared to other competitors and the
value offered is incomparable

Place Place represents the location where a product can be purchased. It is often referred
to as the distribution channel. It can include any physical store as well as virtual stores on
the Internet. This is where imprint has an advantage they are located at a very convenient
point of location where customers are able to reach and contact and the new initiative is to
have a online medium started where the availability is increased to a number of a people
who can reach them at anytime for any requirement and place order as well .

Promotion- represents all of the communications that a marketer may use in the
marketplace. Promotion has four distinct elements: advertising, public relations, personal
selling and sales promotion. The best medium is the portfolio developed and ads and radio
shout outs and the word of mouth from one org to another. The offered price discounts and
values varies from organization as such they have attractive elements to promote their brand
of advertising form keeping in mind the sales as well as public demand
Source- (MCCARTHY 1978)
*ELABORATED AND MORE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN APPENDIX *

MUST HAVES AND SHOULD HAVES

MY (TEAM) thoughtful Insight on some facts regarding Relationship Marketing part of new
BUSINESS MODEL FOR IMPRINT

1.To be the first choice among customers (E-marketing and Social Media)
Clients are getting a wide cluster of decisions to pick their alternatives and make evaluative buys.
Direct buys are in fewer requests now a days and the web showcasing is taking their spots. In the
business showcases additionally, eye-to-eye exchanges are getting supplanted via messages and web
requesting.

2. Correlating and Understanding closely about Customer Necessities:

Shoppers need to be transformed into Customers. This reality needs to be seen by the organizations
as quick as could reasonably be expected in light of the fact that the clients truly don't need the
connections; they will go to those organizations that will issue them more esteem. All things
considered, its about the organizations that need to go close to the clients and look for associations
with them so as to procure their hobbies from heart and from their pockets. This method is adopted
by Imprint since the beginning

3. Speaking to the brand before the clients:

To control the data stream to and from the organization and to give the name before the clients in
such a path, to the point that, it generally will stay in their psyches.

4. Organizations don't control the offering methodology, however the client does:
Now days the clients don't make a fuss over the cost yet they need the best advantage for their cash,
be it useful or passionate.

6. Try not to make overcomplicated system, however attempt to fabricate them creatively:
This signifies "Don't do diverse things yet attempt to do things another way." Simply don't make
confused limited time and different projects which will ricochet over the leaders of the clients,
rather if conceivable make them with imaginativeness and publicize them all the time so that the
clients will perceive them and trust me, they may very well follow it!

Imprint ought to focus on building up a brand methodology building and securing connections in
view of components of individual esteem that could prompt duty and this could be achieved closely
through the innovative approach of E-Marketing1.

EMPATHY MAP EVALUATION

THE VALUE CREATED BY CONDUCTING EVALUATION HELPS TO ANALYSE AND
ASSESS THAT THE BUSINESS NEEDS IMPROVEMENT INORDER TO DEVELOP AND
SERVE BETTER, EVALUATION OF THIS STUDY CAN BE FOUND BELOW COMING TO IMPRINTS ADVERTISERS, NEW MTHODS AND MEANS OF ADVERTISING
USES ARE AVAILABLE IN THE AMRKET WHICH HAS TO BE MADE AVAILABLE TO THE
CUSTOMERS
REQUIREMENTS CAN RANGE FROM HIGH TO LOW BUT GIVING THEM THE OPTION
OF CUSTOMIZTION IS WHAT IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE THAT GIVES THEM A SENSE OF
FREEDOM AND LIKEABILITY TOWARDS IMPRINT

THE VALUE PROPOSITION DESIGN BELOW WOULD REGARD THAT THIS METHOD OF
INTORDUCING AND RE EVALUATION PRODUCT MARKETING AND

INNOVATION

STRATEGIES WOULD HELP THEM IMPROVE MORE AND GAIN MORE BUSINESS AND
EMERGE

THE

BEST

IN

THE

MARKET

CUSTOMER INSIGHTS AND ASSUMPTIONS ON NEW CUSTOMERS

The four pillars of E-Business model are further decomposed and explained in details in the
following part of this chapter.

Product innovation
Product innovation, which is the first pillar of the framework, covers all product-related aspects.
The main elements are the value proposition Imprint wants to offer to specific target
customer segments and the capabilities I m p r i n t

has to be able to assure in order to

deliver this value, as shown in Figure 2-3 (Osterwalder 2002).

Figure 2-3 Value proposition (Osterwalder, 2002)

Value proposition refers to the value Imprint offers to a specific target customer segment. ICT
has created many new opportunities for value creation and made value creation more efficient.
This opens up three ways of differentiation from competitors. Firstly, innovation through new,
complementary or customized offerings. ICT allows Imprints to include strong and new
information components into their offerings or in some cases even completely digitize their
products. Through mass customization (Piller et al., 2000) for example, Imprints can propose
value tailored to the profile of every single customer. Secondly, a lower price than the
competition can be

provided. Cost savings achieved through optimized infrastructure

management or direct selling over the Internet (Benjamin et al., 1995), can be passed on to
customers in form of lower price tags. Thirdly, a premium customer service level and
customer relationship excellence can be achieved. ICT allows Imprints to propose a whole new
range of and often free services that enhance the value of the core offering (Osterwalder, 2002).

To combine the three ways of differentiation outlined above with the approach of
Kambil, Ginsberg and Bloch (Kambil et al., 1997), the concept of value proposition can
be further decomposed into its sub-elements as three main components: (i) the cost
element, which is decomposed into price, effort and risk; (ii) the role of the customer, which can
be buyer, user, co- creator or transferor of value; (iii) the performance of the value proposition
(Osterwalder 2002).

Figure 2-4 Target customer (Osterwalder, 2002)

Target customer. Imprint generally creates value for a specific customer segment. The
definition of the market scope (Hamel, 2000; Afuah et al., 2001) captures the essence of where
the Imprints competition on which customers, which geographical areas, and what product
segments. Imprint can market either to businesses and/or individuals, commonly referred to as
business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C). Comparing with classical
marketing, online marketing extends the access in the notions of distance and time. Through
ICT Imprints expand their reach because geographical notions become less relevant and
because Website or open 24/7. This is as much of an opportunity as also a threat because
barriers to market entry are lower and competition increases (Porter, 2001).

Figure 2-5 Capabilities & resmyces (Osterwalder, 2002)

Capabilities. To deliver the right value proposition to the right customer segments, Imprint
must ensure that it possesses the range of capabilities that underpin the proposed value. Several
authors describe how value and competencies or capabilities are interconnected (Bagchi et
al., 2000; Wallin, 2000). Capabilities can be understood as repeatable patterns of action in the
use of assets to create, produce, and/or offer products and services to a market (Wallin, 2000).

INNOVATIONS

INNOVATIVE STRATEGY (PART OF BUSINES SMODEL STRATEGY)

Investing in Employees
For Imprint Innovative strategic planning aligns personal professional goals with ones that focus on
achieving the company's strategic mission at the same time. For example, Imprint t identifies
performance gaps in employees' project management skills thus plan to provide training by the
Project Management Institute's authorized training personnel. Participants successfully take exams
to earn a certificate as a business professional, such as the Project Management Professional. And to
increase our efficiency in delivering the best to customers these trained employees manage projects
more effectively, which benefits the company. They also achieve recognition in the industry for
having achieved a personal credential.

BUSINESS PATTERNS
Fostering Creativity
Management at Imprint Believes that Innovative strategic planning involves allowing employees to
take some risks. If it strives to streamline operations, reduce product errors and eliminate waste,
employees need the time to thoroughly analyze policies, procedures and processes. Business
personnel trained in using quality management techniques such as the Six Sigma methodology
assess work flow using tools such business process mapping and root cause analysis.
Maintaining a Diverse Workforce
In a place like Ad agency and particularly Imprint which plans to move innovatively to the Emarket they need to ensure they have the personnel to support the business functions. To ensure
long-term success develop robust plans to recruit, interview, hire and retain the best employees for
the job. By developing comprehensive programs using innovative methods, such as social media
technology, employers reach out to potential employees and attract new talent to solve complex
business problems. Companies use wikis, blogs and forums to communicate with candidates to
learn about their potential.

AN ESSENTIAL COMPONENT OF FRESH WATCHING Time management (Essential Component of Imprint)

If the company subordinates have self-motivation skills, it will always lead to development.
Example when we are in school, if we dont get good grades at first then we need to have self
motivation skills to study more seriously so that we can get good results next time. And if we are
able to acquire this skill then we can later transfer this skill in different place in workplace so that
we would be able to do bring positive change and receive benefit from it. In other hand, time
management is very important skill that everybody should possess because if we cant be able to
manage time then we cant do anything. The best way to serve clients is to provide them their order
in time and perfections without delay this develops a sense of belief and trust among the customer
and clients in form of reliability. This is equally important for my knowledge and Innovative
development. As well as, if we can be able to manage time then it will help us in future. As
everyone knows time doesnt wait for anybody and once the opportunity is gone then the same
opportunity never comes back again. And to be successful in life we need to be able to know the
importance of time. Example when we have to attain some meeting and we if we dont be able to be
in time we wont be able to discuss about the subject and conclusion. So it is very important to have
transferable skills and which would benefit us and to other people as well.

CUSTOMER DISCOVERY
THE FOLLOWING IDEA HAS TO BE ADOPTED BY IMPRINT FROM THE PREVIOUS AND
EXISTING CUSTOMER BASE

FOR THE NEW SET OF CUSTOMERS THE EXISITING CUSTOMERS SHOULD HAVE A
SENSE OF SATISFACTION WHICH IS ALREADY ACHIVED, WHEN A NEW VENTURE
ESPECIALLY A SOCIAL PLATFORM LIKE THE ONE TO BE INTRODUCED IS LAUNCHED
IT WILL SPREAD RAPIDLY AND THROUGH WORD OF MOUTH IMPRINT WOULD BRING
IN MORE CUSTOMERS WHO WOULD WANT THEM TO SERVE THEM BETTER TIME TO
TIME AS MARKETING AND ADVERTISING IS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF ANY
ORGANIZATION AND AT IMPRINT THEY WOULD BE JUST ONE CLICK AWAY

THE FOLLOWING DISCOVERY METHODS ARE THE CURRENT IMPLEMENTATION AT

IMPRINT TO ATTRACH NEW CUSTOMERS AND SATISFY EXISITING ONES

PAIN AND GAINS

IN THIS FIELD OF BUSINESS PAIN AND GAINS BASED ON VALUE PROPOSITION HAS
TWO VARIANT CONCEPTS, THE PAINS AND GAINS ARE POINTED OUT AS FOLLOWS
PAINS:

WHEN IMPRINT HAS A DELAY IN RECIVING THEIR RAW MATERIALS,

SHIPMENT, OR A SECONDED ORDER FROM THEIR SISTER CONCERNS OR SO A
DELAY WOULD RESULT IN THE CLIENT BEING DISTRESSED

THIS WOULD INTURN EFFECT CUSTOMER SATISFACTION, WHEN A SET OF

CUSTOMERS ARE SATISFIED THEY BRING IN MORE BUSINESS AND IF THIS
TURS THE OTHER WAY AROUND IT CAN AFFECT THE BUSINESS FUTURE

GROWTH DRAMATICALLY
CUSTOMER TRUST IN TERMS OF QUALITY AS WELL DEPENDS ON ANY DELAY
AS THEY SSUME THE PRODUCT WOULD HAVE BEEN PREPARED IN A HURRY
AND WOULD NOT MEET STANDARDS SO THE ESSENTIAL COMPONENT OF
DELIVERING ON TIME IS VERY IMPORTANT

GAINS:

EXPANDING IN THE MARKET:

THIS IS IN TERMS OF QUALITY AND TIME , FOR AN EXISITING COMPANY TO EXPAND

THE NEED FOR BETTER QUALITY AND FASTER DELIVERY IS VERY IMPORTANT

REVENUE:

A BETTER BUSINESS MANAGES TO MAKE BETTER PROFITS AND THESE REVENUES

FORM AN INTEGRAL PART OF SHAPING AND TAKING THE BUSINESS FURTHER AND
GIVING IT A HIGH RETURN ON INVESTMENT AND A HIGH RETURN ON INVESTMENT
SHOULD NOT BE USED IN A FLEXIBLE MANNER AS COST CAN BE UNEXPECTED IN
FUTURE

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION:

THIS IS CONNECT TO PROVIDED BETTER QUALITY AND FASTER DELIVERY,

PROVIDING THIS WOULD BUILD TRUST AND THIS FORMS AN INTEGRAL PART OF
ANY BUSINESS FOUNDATION, A SATISFIED CUSTOMER IS A BETER PROFIT FOR ANY
BUSINESS AND HERE IMPRINT

REDESIGNING VALUE PROPOSITION FOR IMPRINT

Figure 2-6 Value configuration (Osterwalder, 2002)

Activity configuration. The main purpose of a company is to create value that customers
are willing to pay for. This value is the outcome of a configuration of inside and outside
activities and processes. To define the value creation process in a business model, the value
chain framework (Porter et al., 1985) and its extension, such as defined by Stabell and
Fjeldstad (Stabell et al., 1998), are used. They extend the idea of the value chain with the value
shop and the value network. Former describes the value creation process of service
providers, whereas

latter describes brokering and intermediary activities. It is in this

component of the E-Business framework that such activities are realized as Supply Chain
Management (SCM), Efficient Customer Response (ECR), or e-procurement.

Customers Relationship
Through the use of ICT IMPRINT can redefine the notion of customer relationship. First, they can
get a feel for and understand the customer by outlining an information strategy. Second,
Imprint can exploit new ways to deliver value and expand reach by covering new and multiple
channels. Third, they must understand that trust and loyalty has become one of the most
important elements in the business world (Osterwalder, 2002).

Figure 2-8 Customer Relationship (Osterwalder, 2002)

Feel & Serve (distribution channels). This element refers to the way Imprint goes to market and
how it actually reaches its customers (Hamel, 2000). This means a company must define its
channel strategy and outline through which channels - either indirect or direct channels, operated
by the Imprint or provided by a third party (e.g. agent, intermediary) - it wants to deliver the
companies value proposition. The purpose of a channel strategy is to make the right quantities of
the right product or service available at the right place, at the right time to the right people. (Pitt,
1999). ICT, and particularly the Internet, has a great potential to complement a business channels
(Porter, 2001). Direct selling over the Web could improve margins, whereas selling through new
Internet mediation services (Sarkar et al., 1995) could mean new market opportunities. Of cmyse
the expansion of the range of channels also increases the potential of conflicts between channels
(Anderson et al., 1998) and demands strong management. Because ICT can fundamentally
change the way Imprints interact with customers, it is important to closely analyze and understand
channel interaction (Osterwalder, 2002).

Trust and loyalty. It is essential to establish trust between business partners when the business
environment becomes increasingly virtual and the implicated parties do not necessarily know
each other anymore before conducting business. With the emergence of the Internet in business
and commerce important research has been conducted on what trust actually is in cyberspace.
There are a certain number of mechanisms to build trust in E-Business environments, for example,
virtual communities (Hagel et al., 1997), performance history, mediation services or insurance in
case of harm, third party verification and authorization, and a clear and explicit privacy policy
(Friedman, 2000; Dimitrakos, 2001). Customer loyalty can be understood as the outcome of the
customers trust and satisfaction. To establish loyalty and relationship capital (Tapscott et al.,
2000) the Imprint has to create positive relationship dynamics (Hamel, 2000), where emotional
(such as e-branding) as well as transactional elements in the interaction between Imprint and client
play an important role. Even though well known, it is often forgotten that in most cases it is
much cheaper to incite existing customers to do repeat business than to acquire new customers.
In the early days of the Internet many E-Businesses have concentrated on acquisition for
growth and have neglected customer loyalty (Osterwalder, 2002).

NEW BUSINESS MODEL TESTING FOR IMPRINT THROUGH Adapted research

framework

To summarize, Osterwalders business model framework can be broken down into four simple
pillars outlined above, which are the What (product innovation), the who (customer
management), the how (infrastructure management) and the how much (financial Aspects).
Because the specific features of online social shopping business and limited access to information,
the research framework is adapted to the empirical study based on Osterwalders business logic
triangle and business model research framework, as shown in Figure 2-12.
Planning
Level
Strategy

Business Model
Architectural
Level

Product Innovation
Infrastructure management
Customer Relationship
Financial Aspects
(based on Osterwalder, 2002)

Operational
Level

E-Business model framework

as shown in Figure 2

Business/Market Performance
-Product features
-Partnership networks
Visitors analysis
Ad. Revenues & net worth
(Wallin, J.2000)

The empirical research framework adapted Osterwalders business logic triangle according to my
study objectives. Osterwalders business logic triangle focuses on how to design a business
model according to business strategies and implement a business model through business process.
The objective of my study is to analyze the business model of the case company and compare its
business model with its main competitorsin order to find out the success factors for an online
social company in the fiercer competition. Thus, the focus of my study is to compare business
models and evaluate the performance of business models rather than to design and implement a

business model. Therefore, the adapted research framework (Figure 2-12) is created.

It starts with business strategies in planning level in order to explain why the business model is
designed as it is. Then, in the architectural level, the business models are analyzed and compared
in four aspects based on Osterwalders business model research framework (as shown in Figure
2-2) that are product innovation, infrastructure management, customer relationships and financial
aspects. Finally, in the operational level, the market/business performance of the companies is
compared in order to evaluate the success of the business models. Four indicators in the
operational level are chosen to compare in order to reflect the structure of business model:
product features, partner network, visitor analysis and advertisement revenue as well net
worth in the market (Wallin, J., 2000).

The adapted research framework provides a logic and clear structure to analyze, compare and
evaluate the business models among companies. Following this adapted research framework, the
investigation is conducted through answering the questions about on what basis the business
model is designed (business strategies), how the business models are built and implemented, and
how well the business models have performed in the market and what lessons can be learnt from
the success or failure of the selected competitors. Firstly, the business strategies of the case
companies and its selected competitors are compared in planning level. Next, the business
models of the case company and its three selected competitors are analyzed and compared in
architectural level. Based on Osterwalders business model research framework, the business
models of the four companies are decomposed into four pillars so that it is easy to conduct and
visualize the comparison.

Thirdly, the market performances of the three selected competitors are compared in the operating
level in order to evaluate the success of their business models. Finally the result of using this
research framework is to compare the business models in planning, architectural and
operational levels in order to propose some managerial suggestions to Imprints for future
business development according to the lessons learnt from its selected competitors.

Financial aspect

Imprints s revenue model is a combination of the Business-to-Business (B2B), Business-toConsumers (B2C) and Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C). B2B service is the main revenue stream
for Imprints. The main income comes from selling advertising placement on the website and
t he commission from the business partners is paid as a pre-defined percentage of the
transactions which take places between the consumers and business partners. For B2C, the
services for consumers are free currently but consumers may pay a certain amount of premium
in order to get better customers services in the future. In addition, Imprints also covers C2C
business where consumers earn money by offering recommendation services to other
consumers. Influencers may get awards to their excellent recommendations. Although the
awards for the influencers are costs for the company, it adds value to the end-consumers and
motivated people to actively participate and loyal to the virtual community.

After the website launches, the revenues mainly come from the sales commissions from the
business partners. When the customers base grows bigger, some companies may be attracted to
do advertising on the website. In the future, Imprints will set up premium account for their
business partners who can get more information from the market and the possibility to interact
more with the consumers. In the initial stage of the business, the current revenue stream is still
too small to cover the heavy investment of product development. However, Imprints h a s
successfully raised some funds from investors to support its technology and business
development.

To summarize, the business model of Imprint is illustrated in Figure 4-4.

Figure 4-4 Imprints business model analysis

IMPLEMENTATION AND ROAD MAP

Product innovation (COMPARISON AMONG FIELD COMPETITIORS)

Although the logic of the products are similar which is to build an internet marketing
intermediary between consumers with their social network and business partners, the value
proposition, target customer groups focuses and strengths in capabilities are different for the four
companies.
Services are designed with focus on different customer segments: QVISIONs offers location
based services for community; QMEDIAs service designed based on the consumers n e e d s
to facilitate shopping; DECAUX enables influencers make money via internet by offering
other consumers recommendation services. Imprint allows influencers to share their favorite
with their social network and enables consumers to check what the other people love.

They proposed different values in the value chain: QVISION aims at offering localized
reviews to consumers and connect business partners with online communities; QMEDIA
facilitate online shopping for consumers with its patented search engine and online services;
DECAUX aims at building up the largest online sales forces in the world with high
commissions fees. Imprint would like to help people get right recommendations from trusted
people through their social network.

Different strengths in capabilities enable the four companies to deliver the value propositions to
the target customers. QVISION has strong capability to manage its online community;
QMEDIA patented technology to search and collect information make the online shopping
easier for consumers; DECAUX has developed its capabilities to help influencers make money;
Imprint tries to develop a product to bring personality and trust into online shopping.

Infrastructure management

All the four companies have built its own online communities and business partners
network, w h i c h are the two most important resources for online social shopping companies.
Besides, QVISION hires community managers in different cities in order to keep local
community lively which has generate a huge consumer base for the business partners to
interact with. QMEDIAs patented technology and good relationship with their business
partners are two valuable assets for its business development. DECAUXs webpage and
service are offered in multi-languages which are vital for Domestic expansion. Imprints
experience management team in Internet business is a crucial asset for the company.

Each competitor organizes different activities to builds up and manages its infrastructures.
QVISION hires local community mangers and organizes activities frequently to QVISION
members in order to keep the local community vigorous. Meanwhile, QVISION also provides
premium services to business partners to help them advertise and collect feedbacks from
consumers. QMEDIAs organizes many contests and gives free gifts in order to motivate
consumers to write more useful reviews and to participate more in the community. Moreover,
QMEDIAs tailored brand program also encourages its business partners to promote its brand
to consumers via QMEDIA. DECAUX provides various promotion methods to help the
shopkeepers to promote their online shops in order to earn high commissions. In addition,
DECAUX also organizes contests among its members and offer prizes for winners. Imprint
organizes social activities to encourage active participation in virtual communities.
Comparing with the selected competitors business partners network management,
QMEDIA has developed the best relationship with its business partners by its brand program
while DECAUX has the worst business partners relationship because of its aggressive money
making business model. Although QVISION got many complaints from individual business
owners, QVISIONs increasing influence among the consumers make it better bargaining
power than the individual business owners. At the initial stage, Imprint has joined affiliate
program and developed some direct partners with some

small and

media sized online

retailers. Imprint aims to build deep partnership with big companies as strategic alliance in the
future.

Customer relationship
The four companies use different information strategy to keep close customer relationship.
QVISION focuses on location information in order to provide location based services and serve
local communities better. QMEDIA emphasize on wish list and shopping styles. With the wish
list consumers can collect all the things they would like to have into one list and share with
their social network. DECAUX enable shopkeepers to use Googles statistic analyzing tools to
analyze the visitors of their shop in DECAUX and make better promotion to reach the
potential consumers. Imprint highlights information about personalities and fames of
influencers, w h i c h may enhance the reliability of the recommendations.

Websites and online social network are the most common distributions channels for online
social shopping companies. In addition, QVISION uses phone sales to sell business services
to business customers and also deliver services via mobile phone. DECAUX help shop keepers
promote directly via instant messengers, e-mails, and phones. Imprint also distribute its business
card with web address in their partners shops when it launched to the market.

The degrees of consumers loyalty and trust are different for the four companies. Firstly,
QVISION hires community manager to develop local community in new cities. They
organized events frequently to keep the local community active and loyal. However, one of
biggest weaknesses of QVISION is lack of trust. QVISION used to pay people to write some
reviews about the cities where it was entering. The paid reviews are less credible than the
spontaneous reviews. However, QVISIONs sponsored listing which allow business owners to
get higher rank in the search result may distort the free competition between business owners. It
is also reported some business owners posted false reviews of both their business and their
competitors to mislead the consumers. Secondly, the users central designed features enable
QMEDIA retain relative high consumers loyalty and trust. QMEDIAs wish list is created
based on the consumers own needs which can be trusted and used when preparing gifts for
friends. Moreover, people tend to trust more on the recommendations from people who have
similar shopping tastes. Thirdly, DECAUXs high commissions on the one hand to encourage
the loyalty of the shopkeepers. On the other hand, the high commissions destroyed the trust
fromshoppers.

Managerial recommendations for Imprint

In general, Imprint should carefully setup its strategic focuses and readjust its business
model based on the lessons learnt from its selected competitors summarized above.
The logic of Imprints product is quite similar as Q media Advertising, which allow people to
open an online shop where the can write recommendations to others. However, Imprint does
not use high commissions rewards to motive people to do recommendations and
promotions. Instead, Imprint focuses on personality of the influences and evaluations of
his/her fames in the

virtual community in order to increase consumers trust on

recommendations. Nevertheless, good recommendations cann ot create consumers needs. It

is important to propose a unique value proposition according to the actual needs of
consumers. As a mall startup, Imprint should find out and focus a niche market where the
recommendations are really needed and appreciated by consumers in order to build up its
competitive advantages over the giant online shopping companies. Imprint should focus
on Finnish market at first and expand to Domestic market carefully after it achieves
success in the local market.
Business model framework

Managerial Recommendations for Imprint

Product innovation

Focus on the real need of consumers and niche market;

Focus on Finnish market before expanding Domestically

Infrastructure management

Develop more services for business customers and

develop its partners network; Do NOT depend too
much on one affiliate program; Cooperate with other

Customer Relationship

websites.on community
Focus

development

(cooperate

with

existing communities); Build up trust and loyalty.

Financial Aspects

Develop more revenue streams; Premium service for

consumers is arguable; Mobile business is promising;
Possible revenues share with other websites.

At the start of the business, Imprint should invest heavily on product innovation and
development. It takes time to develop products features in order to deliver value proposition
to the target customers efficiently and effectively. When the products are developed
maturely, companies should focus on building an active online community and a solid
customer base which is the fundamental resources for a successful online social shopping
website. One of biggest problems for Imprint is how to motive people to write
recommendations without high commissions rewards and how to keep the online
community active and loyal. One possible suggestion is to cooperate with the existing
communities in the real society, for example, some hobby clubs, such as fishing,
motorcycles, etc. In the hobby clubs, people have similar interests and they may need
recommendations from others when purchasing professional equipments. Imprint can
consider cooperating with some hobby clubs and providing their members an online
platform to share experiences and make recommendations in order to transfer their club
members to Imprints virtual community.

Meanwhile, Imprint should develop its business partner network continuously and cooperate
with other websites and communities in order to enlarge its consumer bases and broad its
revenue streams. It is quite risky to depend too much on one affiliate program. Imprint
should develop more business services to its business partners in order to extend its business
partnership network. Actually, Imprints plan to develop deep partnerships with big
companies in the future is a very smart strategy.

Imprint should design its revenue model in order to get as many revenue streams as possible in
order to make good profits. At the moment, Imprints revenue is mainly from the commissions
of actual sales and selling advertisement. In the future, Imprint are planning to charge
premium services for business partners. It will also provide premium services for some
consumers while some services are keep free for consumers. It is arguable whether it makes
sense to charge premium services for consumers while all competitors intend to keep services
all free for consumers forever.

Furthermore, mobile services are definitely one of the

promising revenue streams for Imprint. Imprint should consider developing its mobile

applications.

To summarize, Imprints business model should be adjusted according to the lessons learned
from its Domestic competitors. Besides the managerial recommendations mentioned above,
Imprint should prioritize to invest on its product and services development and enlarge its
consumer community efficiently, which are the most valuable assets of an online social
shopping company.

APPENDIX:

FURTHER ENHANCING THIS STUDY:

Marketing mix
1. Product
At Imprint we mainly deal in two categories of marketing solutions.

ATL (Above the line marketing)/Creative

BTL (Below the line marketing)/Outdoor

ATL/Creative
As ATL involves creativity and designing so we provide following kind of solutions for above the line
marketing.

POS (Point of sale)

For pos we design and create following;

Flyer
A single page leaflet with graphical designs to reach your brand audience.

 Buntings
Colorful buntings with brand names printed on them usually on sales points. Make your sale points more
attractive with buntings with exciting designs we offer.

X. Stand
A stand like X shape showing the message you want to deliver.

Poster
Pages displayed on the walls of sales points making people see and think about the brand they are buying.

Hanging flag

Brochures
Creatively designed brochures and business cards for business meetings and personal sales offices

2. Giveaways

Key chains

Mugs

Glasses

Clocks

T- Shirts

Caps

BTL/Outdoor
Outdoor advertising has always been good medium to convey brand messages to the mass audience.
Through outdoor advertising you can reach your brand audience more than any of the medium of
advertising, in outdoor advertising we offer;

Billboards

No matter if TV channels are changed and radio turned off our outdoor billboards are here to deliver your
brand message and captivating the attention of your brand audience while carrying your campaign. We
ensure that your message reaches over three million people per month.
The billboards are further divided into two main categories
.
o

Permanent billboards

Rotary billboards

In permanent billboard, we offer permanent location of billboard with permanent structure, and in
rotary billboards we penetrate different market with same displays.

Billboards
Serial No.
1
2
3
4

Size
20*60
30*90
90*30
70*7
14*48

Site category
A, B+, A+, B
A, A+, B+, b
A, B+, B
A, B , B+
B+, B

view
Single/Dual
Single/Dual
Single
Single/Dual
Single/Dual

Mobile billboards

Why mobile billboards?

According to an independent survey conducted by GALLUP following results were found about mobile
billboard advertising.

o
o
o

91% of people notice ads shown on the sides of vans.

35% said that they would look closely at such ads
91% of respondents could recall the advertisement days later.

What we plan to offer?

The billboards have now transformed into roaming billboards. We offer mobile billboards with our van
carrying your message wherever you want from designated routes we offer. Our vans are well capable of
driving more than 800 miles a week ensuring that more and more customers get to watch the ads.
Mobile tri-vision

Mobile video billboards

By using mobile trivision and mobile video billboards the customers not only watch the ads but also get
the message delivered by you.
Services offered by Imprint also include:

o
o
o
o
o
o
o

Advertising campaign operations

Fuel
Tolls
Uniformed drivers (client supplied)
Product or literature distribution (additional charges apply)
Illuminated Billboards
Route scheduling (routes determined by client)

Ba

nners

Streamers
Usually used in campaigns and at the time of launching a new product. It also helps in outdoor marketing,
reaching more and more people.

2. Price

Prices have always been a point of discussion and negotiation among advertising Imprints and its clients.
As discussed in our mission and vision statements we will be providing cost effective services to our
clients that means that the prices of our services will be quite lower than the other advertising agencies
operating in Pakistan.

Creative
For our creative services we charge affordable prices that includes;

Imprint fee structure

Designation

% of time on account

Total cost to the client(QR)

Creative director
Art director
Copywriter 1
Copywriter 2
Visualizer 1
Visualizer 2
Visualizer 3
Visualizer 4

50
250,000
50
90,000
50
34,000
50
42,500
50
41,500
50
40,600
50
33,475
50
30,000
Total cost per month
562075
Note: all the prices are subject to change with the size and specifications of creative material used. And
all out of pocket expenses will be charged at actual with pre-approval of client in both.

Outdoor
Outdoor cost will be charged as per following;

-: Billboards:The costs for billboards depend on the following factors:

Size of billboard
Location
Billboard type (i.e. rotary , permanent)
Period of display
View type (single/dual)

All the prices are offered keeping these factors in mind and all these prices are negotiable and may change
according to the services provided.

-: Mobile Billboards:For a standard route we offer following prices

Length of contract
3 days
10 days
30 days
2 months
6 months

Rates
18,000/day
16,500/day
16,000/day
Negotiable
Negotiable

Discounted rates for repeat customers

17500/day
16,000/day
15,500/day
Negotiable
negotiable

Note:

Campaign rates may also vary in accordance with geographical locations

Fees or special permits may apply
Production costs vary according to your graphic requirements. We will receive your graphic
designs electronically and will have them produced to the specifications requirements at our
production facility
Multiple-vehicle campaign contracts may be qualified for a 10% discount rate.

3. Place/distribution
For distribution of our services we got office in these cities of Doha, Qatar;

Doha (Musheireb)
Warehouse(Industrial area )

4. Promotion
For promotion, we will be using only print media and outdoor advertising. We will publish our
advertisement in popular newspapers and magazines of Lahore and Karachi like;

Newspapers

Dawn
Daily times
Express
The News

Magazines

Aurora
Time Magazine
Synergyzer
visage

Outdoor

Contact us
0097477463030

Your dreamsour
ideas!

5.

People

People at Imprint comprise of:

o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o

creative director
creative manager
copywriters
Visualizers
Skilled labors
Graphic designers
Uniformed Drivers
Other staff

Recruitment and selection:

People at Imprint are recruited as per the requirements of the campaigns. Keeping in mind all the
campaign which run these days the staff is recruited and directed to the requirements of such campaigns.

6. Process
For creative
For creative our process flows as follows.

Introduction of our services to the client

Client briefing about product/service

Brief discussion with creative director

Media work begins

Creative work begins

Proposal presented to the client

Discussion with brand team

Clients approval

Printing and output presented to the client

Final display of ad campaign

7. Physical Evidence

Corporate office.

Printers at work