Abstract
Sliders Mobile Food Truck aims to be a leading business venture in offering an unmatched experience in mobile food services in Dubai and its environs. The business will offer mobile food services to individuals who cannot access restaurant services either due to services’ cost or due to geographical barriers. The article below is a business plan of the business. The plan illustrates how the business will operate. Similarly, the plan offers insight into how the business will reach out to its targeted clients and address the risk associated with the business.
Main Body
Sliders Mobile Food Truck business will concentrate on gaining the allegiance of customers by providing them with an unparalleled experience of mobile food services. Our business will offer food services such as banquet, main meals, and dinners for customers who do not have time to visit restaurants within the city of Dubai. We plan to deliver food services through wagons to individual and corporate customers within the city of Dubai and beyond. We are predominantly interested in delivering food services to the client’s doorstep because currently there are a few businesses that offer these services.
The concept of mobile food trucks is articulated with a central objective of gaining 15% market share in the coming 3 years. There are thousands of workers working in the fields around Dubai and its environs. The number of these workers is expected to increase in the future. As such, these employees have to carry packed meals to their work sites as hotels and restaurants are only concentrated near the city. Therefore, our business aims to fill this market gap by delivering food services to these workers.
The startup cost of the business is estimated at 500,000 AED, which will take care of purchasing three second-hand trucks and other expenses. The expected return will be 50,000 AED in the first year and subsequent increment of 20% annually from the beginning of the second year of operation.
We expect to face competition from small and medium mobile food kiosks spread across the city of Dubai. The other competitors are restaurants and food kiosks that offer outside catering services upon request. To gain a competitive advantage over our competitors, we will differentiate our products and services.
One major way of fulfilling the above is through value addition (Pride & Ferrell, 2008). As such, we plan to locate our business in Downtown Dubai. Here, the cost of renting a space is significantly low. The cost saved in renting the premises will enable us to sell our services and products at lower prices compared to the prices charged by our competitors. By offering cheaper and quality services, we will eventually gain a competitive advantage in the market segment (Champniss, 2011). Similarly, we will focus on improving the foods’ package to enhance their aesthetic appeal. All foods will be packed in impressive food packages designed to surpass our customers’ expectations. Through the above initiatives, they will be able to add value to its products and services and gain competitive advantage over its rivals.
Similarly, to differentiate our services from our competitors we plan to offer unbeatable logistics (Wood, 2013). We plan to deliver our orders within the shortest time possible. Our time will be shorter than that offered by our competitors. To achieve this, we plan to recruit and work with the best distributors in the region. By doing so, we will establish efficient, quick, and safe delivery channels. Our approach will foster consumer confidence and loyalty.
Our business will also differentiate its products and services by being innovative. Through continuous innovation, we aim to outperform its direct and indirect competitors (Cone, 2011). Social media such as Twitter and Facebook are currently the most utilized platforms and we will exploit them positively to reach more customers in the city of Dubai and its environs.
The above will not only control losses, but also give an accurate record of sales and projections. The advent of computer scanners at retail checkout counters means that the supply of our business will be accompanied with the proper technology. The above will ensure strategic product positioning in the dynamic Dubai market. With technological advancements, we will always be ready to adopt innovations in our services to ensure that they remain relevant in the business field (Blythe, 2006). Through social media, we will encourage more potential clients to access our services.
The social media will also enable us to interact with potential clients to understand their expectations. Every year, the company must adopt new entertainment technologies to be ahead of its rivals. Similarly, we plan to form alliances with restaurant chains and kiosks, as well as with event organizers and corporate offices to capture market share. By doing so, we will be able to increase our source of income.
We will target clients who work or study in regions around the city with limited affordable restaurant services. According to the market insight, thousands of workers work in the fields around Dubai and its environs. The number of these workers is expected to increase in the future. As such, these employees have to carry packed meals to their work sites as hotels and restaurants are only concentrated near the city.
The main reason for positioning itself in this segment is that the business has the opportunity of incorporating new features to the existing service charter such as online ordering of food services to cater for the changing demands and needs of the targeted customers. With increased government expenditure, vibrant tourism, transport, and trade, our business will be favorable and convenient to a number of individuals. An increase in government expenditure implies that there is more money in circulation and more people can afford to enjoy the food services at our business centers.
To reach our customers, we will utilize a number of approaches. Advertising will be our major marketing strategy (Cheverton, 2004). We will create a series of television, internet, and technology advertisement platforms. Through this, we will employ a number of personnel. The personnel will comprise of sales representatives knowledgeable in product information as well as customer service. Through social media, we will encourage more potential clients to access our services. The social media will also enable us to interact with potential clients to understand their expectations
In the first months of our operation, we plan to focus on understanding the thoughts, desires, and behaviors of our clients. Through this, we will be able to come up with the appropriate targeting and positioning techniques in future. Equally, the chance will enable the business to identify efficient and reliable marketing channels to be utilized in the future (Farris, 2010). After identifying the appropriate targeting and positioning techniques, the company should implement its marketing plan in the second month (Pride & Ferrell, 2008). During this time, all the measures put in place by the company to outweigh its competitors should be implemented.
Sliders Mobile Food Truck business will fund all the necessary research required to collect the relevant information required in the marketing plan. It is assumed the major expenses will be towards, truck, personnel, equipment, and supplies. In general, the total marketing budget would cost $ 200, 000.
A major risk that will be faced by our business is competition from our rivals. Our projections indicate that during our earlier years of operation, we will experience a few competitors. However, competition is expected to increase in the future. Over time, several players will enter into the market eating into our company’s customers. Because of this, our company will experience enormous pressure from its rivals. Such risks put pressure on our business’ future success. The above imply that we must always differentiate our products and services from those offered by our competitors. If we fail to do so, its rivals will fill the gap and gain an advantage over the company.
Another threat that may affect the business is tax increases. Increase in tax will increase the operating cost of our business. If huge taxes are levied on mobile food trucks, the products and services offered by such facilities will increase making the business unviable. An additional threat that will be faced by the business is inability of changing the service features according to changing external environments and the needs of the customers might negatively affect the business in future.
References
Blythe, J. (2006). Essentials of marketing communications. New York, NY: FT/Prentice Hall.
Champniss, G. (2011). Brand valued: how socially valued brands hold the key to a sustainable future and business success. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley.
Cheverton, P. (2004). Key marketing skills: strategies, tools, and techniques for marketing success, Sterling. London, UK: Kogan Page.
Cone, S. (2011). Steal these ideas: Marketing secrets that will make you a star. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.
Farris, P. (2010). Marketing metrics: The definitive guide to measuring marketing performance (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: FT Press.
Pride, W., & Ferrell, O. (2008). Marketing (14th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Wood, M. (2013). The marketing plan: A handbook. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.