Auto Hicksville considers that being honest and accurate with customers in terms of estimates for quoting costs and repair completion time is very important in this business. Auto Hicksville employees are focused on delivering their promises. The company's strategy to build strong customer relationships based on integrity and trust is expected to be the catalyst in establishing a strong regular customer base.
Auto Hicksville will use a fairly good degree of technology to manage its diversified auto parts inventory. The goal is to maximize inventory turnover, while managing to always have a specific part in the shop when needed. For this purpose, the company has established strong vendor relationships with the most reputable vendors in terms of shipping time of auto parts.
4.4.2. Price
The company will position its service to target the low to medium income market segments as the economic recession is estimated to last longer. Moreover, this segment is likely to own cars of longer usage period, which usually require more repair services. The company will adopt a lower margin on its price quotations and will increase profit by increasing the quantity of customers served.
The same type of margin will be adopted for auto-parts acquired from its vendors. For emergency repairs and auto-parts orders, an extra 20% will be charged over the normal price and the company will guarantee the repair within 48 hours from the moment the car enters its auto shop.
For the local community and therefore our returning customers, the company will have a fidelity card, with 10% off for routine checks and operations, such as oil change or engine check.
4.4.3. Placement - location
The auto shop will be located in the center of Hicksville, with easy access from any place of the city. The operational office, where the financial and executive managers will seat, will be incorporated in the auto shop. That way, the management will be in touch with the customers at all times.
The storage will also be incorporated in the auto shop as the auto parts have to be available for change in any moment and timing is crucial. This part of the auto shop will be equipped with a software that will keep track of all the objects in the inventory at any moment and will return all parts that are missing/needed and will have to be ordered to avoid a stock rupture. The distribution of auto parts from vendors to the auto shop will be insured by the former and shipping costs will be paid by the vendors for normal orders and shared for urgent ones.
4.4.4. Promotion
As promotional activity, the following strategies will be used by Auto Hicksville to attract its customers:
Network recommendations - the company will use its own network to recommend the company's services. The network includes among others auto-parts vendors and towing companies. This will be done through the owner who acquired knowledge about the market and the services provided by his company throughout his entire work activity.
Direct marketing - contact potential customers in the local community by phone, fax, email or letter to present the company's services. Design, print and distribute flyers about its services to create customer awareness.
Participate to auto fairs and expositions either as guest or a formal participant to create visibility on the company's services.
Auto Hicksville will also sponsor the publishing of a number of articles in the local newspapers and magazines that are usually more read by its targeted customers. This will provide more information about the company to potential customers and create product/service awareness.
Create a company website to provide more visibility to customers searching for repair services in the area. The website will have a full list of auto-parts available on stock at each moment in time, an updated price list and the possibility to require quotes via email. In the future, the company will take under consideration the possibility of developing a forum in which customers will be able to ask questions about their car problems and get the expert's answer within hours.
5. The market
5.1. Market analysis summary
Hicksville, NY has a population of 41,269 inhabitants according to 2000 Census data. The population is divided in roughly equal gender segments (49% male, 51% female), it has an average age of 39 years and most of the people are in the 25-64 age segment (53%). The vast majority of the inhabitants are white (80%), followed by Hispanic or latino (7.3%), Asian (7%) and others (5.7%).
The per capita income had a steady growth rate from one year to another (see fig. 3):
FIG. 3 - PER CAPITA INCOME in HICKSVILLE, NY - 1998-2000 DATA
Source: Census, 2000, www.census.gov
According to more recent government data, the average salary for an individual was $43,202 and for a household $67,703, in Hicksville,...
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