Executive Summary
High Flying Drone Enterprise is a new innovative company that provides high-quality and expedient delivery service to our valued customers by means of utilizing flying drones. As a start-up company located within the southern region of California, High Flying Drone Enterprise’s primary market plan focuses on creating and delivering an assortment of new products and services. This task will be accomplished by reaching out to the needs, wants, and desires of our every day busy and hardworking customers. In today’s demanding and technological economy, consumers spend countless hours searching and shopping on the Internet for better quality and cost-effective deals. By implementing modern and current technology in the fast and growing market, High Flying Drone Enterprise will better assist their customers by making their online purchases a much more pleasant and experience.
In addition to providing our valued customers with a better and faster delivery service, High Flying Drone Enterprise will also offer substantial savings by cutting out the middleman within the supply chain. Instead of receiving products and services through traditional channels, such as land transportation, our customers will also benefit by receiving a positive and enjoyable experience with their purchases from our unconventional delivery method. In addition to our customers receiving direct shipments and significant savings, High Flying Drone Enterprise will present an unlimited potential of providing a new age with quality products and expedient service. Welcome to High Flying Drone Enterprise!
Market Situation / Objective
High Flying Drone Enterprise is a small family and friendly company located in the southern region of California. Our market objective is to have fun while flying drones and, of course, to provide a top-quality air delivery service (ranging from packaged deliveries of sorted foods, pharmaceuticals, and retail items) to the doorsteps of our hard-working local community. Product and service orders can be accomplished by customers using our interactive Internet site. Upon making a successful online order, our customers will then become part of the mission by being able to track their orders while in progress.
This can be accomplished by them being able to view the flight video of their drone en-route. Furthermore, our customers can converse with our drone pilots through chat, voice, or video technology. With this said, our customers can have a positive and interactive shopping experience with the joy of flight like no other. We also highly encourage our employees to work, learn, and grow together. We can provide training across the board for every employee and encourage new ideas. Our sales and marketing team will strive to increase our profit margin but also engage in community outreach and customer loyalty.
Market Trends / Strategy
According to Meola (July 2017), “Drone adoption is growing rapidly among consumers and companies, and the retail industry is leading the way in that adoption. Drones could serve different purposes for retailers, but drone delivery (which is exactly what it sounds like: products delivered by drone) is the most well-known and readily apparent.” With this said, drone delivery services are changing the future on how consumers will quickly obtain products and services such as groceries, pharmaceuticals, and retail items. For example, many companies, such as Domino Pizza and Amazon, have experimented by using GPS and camera navigations to find businesses and residents. Based on future predictions, a wide range of markets will eventually benefit from drone delivery services. For this reason, High Flying Drone Enterprise has ventured out on a quest to capture the upcoming growing demand for becoming a top-quality drone delivery service.
SWOT Analysis
- Strengths – High Flying Drone Enterprise is a drone delivery service that has many timely, accurate, and efficient advantages. A few examples include but are not limited to providing a faster delivery time compared to conventional methods like ground travel which usually has numerous obstacles such as congested traffic. Our drones also have the capability to deliver to inaccessible and remote areas compared to conventional methods. Additional strengths include providing reduced costs compared to the cost of employing human labor.
- Weaknesses – Our commercial drone operations are required to strictly abide by the rules and regulations established by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA, 2019). These regulations include, but not limited to drones being properly registered, drone pilots being required to be certified, flight operations being conducted during specific daylight hours, cargo weight being less than 55 pounds, drones not exceeding an altitude above 400 feet, preflight inspections being conducted, drones not exceeding a maximum ground speed of 100 mph, and drones being required to remain clear of restricted flight zones such as airports and military installations (FAA, 2019). Other weaknesses include environmental conditions such as inclement weather, which could restrict and prevent drones from conducting their operations. Finally, people could possibly steal cargo or be injured by operational drones.
- Opportunities – High Flying Drone Enterprise has many opportunities, which include but are not limited to providing close-range package deliveries for foods, pharmaceuticals, and retail items. Due to being a new innovative market, our drone delivery service has a great potential of expanding to various markets and locations, which is our future objective.
- Threats –Due to being a new innovation, many new companies may emerge, providing a competitive market against us. People could potentially steal cargo from our operational drones. Additionally, people have the potential to injure or kill our drones. Finally, wildlife issues possibly may become a factor, such as birds colliding with flying drones.
Valued Proposition
Drone delivery services offer significant value to both businesses and consumers through a variety of means. The technology is robust, adaptable, and much more affordable than traditional methods of delivery, particularly on a local level. Unencumbered by many barriers to traditional transportation, drones offer more efficient workflows and patterns of delivery. Drones that are electric offer a sustainable advantage to delivery trucks both through pollution emittance and time wasted. Eventually, drones will become autonomous, removing the human element as well. Drones directly deliver lightweight packaging from the distribution center to the consumer’s doorstep in under an hour. This direct route and process ensure speed, efficiency, and reliability. The drone delivery service ensures a level of control for the customer as to the time their product is delivered and the method. Furthermore, drone delivery services can be employed by organizations such as hospitals, banks, and governments to rapidly deliver vital packages in between locations. Finally, this approach to delivery ensures a level of safety as, despite the challenges posed by airspace management, drones remain safe (even in the relatively infantile stages of the industry), which ensures the well-being of the drone devices, consumers, and their valued packages (Adams, 2019).
Buying Processes
The primary consumers of the drone delivery service are expected to be businesses and companies which deliver products directly to consumers. These may range from local companies to large conglomerates such as Amazon that utilize their own drone fleets but may require external providers to keep up with the traffic. Therefore, the buying process begins with consumer dissatisfaction with traditional delivery methods and a desire for an innovative and efficient approach. The customer contacts the company, and details are negotiated regarding the logistics, price, and implementation of the drone delivery system. Initial information can be found on the company website, and a representative is available at all times to guide the buying decisions. The business will likely request specifications first and then submit a request for proposals which allows the company to present the core concepts and benefits of selectin drone delivery (Linton, n.d.). There is potential to bundle products with the drone delivery system such as a service to optimize logistics as well as appropriate tracking and data software to provide detailed information on delivery patterns which can significantly benefit a business. Finally, the order is negotiated, reviewed, and placed, confirming any contractual obligations.
Key Message
The key message which the High Flying Drone Enterprise should deliver is providing a viable and efficient “last-mile delivery” solution. It effectively provides fast and local delivery services for business and private consumers, eliminating numerous logistical barriers to provide an effective solution. Businesses should be targeted with the approach to resolve logistical issues and the ability to meet delivery demands through innovative and effective methods. Emphasis should be made towards the distinguishing factor of delivery drones in the current economy, and any business which utilizes them will gain consumer attention as highly technological (Roberson, 2019). Meanwhile, private consumers should be targeted with an emphasis on the speed and reliability of the delivery service within the local region. In both cases, the possibilities of the technology must be advertised early in the buying process and becoming more focused on price and sustainability towards the end.
Needed Promotional Tools
Marketing Tactics
- Product – the product offered is a high-speed and efficient high-flying drone delivery service. It partners with businesses or can be used for individual private orders to deliver a product from one location to another within a ten-mile radius. The service can be one-time or on a contractual obligation. It offers the solution and sustainability of rapid local deliveries to address barriers such as logistics, traffic, emissions, and safety of regular ground delivery. The service encompasses logistics and delivery tracking as well as insurance to ensure the fulfillment of the order.
- Price – pricing for drone delivery is traditionally lower than other methods because the drones are electrical. The average price is $0.05 per mile, with an additional premium for the company. Thus, for short-term deliveries, drones are more affordable to the consumer and to businesses alike. However, at first, pricing may be aggressive to account for development, and business creation costs as well as charging the premium for speed. However, in long-term partnerships, these costs can be driven down as more efficient and systematic approaches to deliveries are made.
- Promotions – the whole range of the marketing mix will be utilized for promotions. These include advertisements, search engine optimization, use of social media, and public campaigns, particularly to local businesses. It is possible to offer discount offers to long-term contractual obligations. The company will capitalize on its technological innovation and “wow-factor” of offering such a unique service that could attract consumers willing to enter and adopt this emerging market of drone utilization.
- Place – The company High Flying Drone Enterprises is based in Southern California. It will operate in the large cities of Los Angeles and San Diego at first, offering several drone hubs around the city for the service to cover the widespread square mileage of these metropolitan areas. It will operate within the parameters regulated by the city regarding drone flying. Therefore some areas around airports and high-rise buildings may be unavailable. However, the market in Southern California is accepting of innovative technologies and creates significant potential for the company (Kareh, 2018).
Financials
Drone delivery has one of the lowest cost ratios for delivery out of all traditional transportation methods of approximately $0.05 per mile (Kim, 2016). However, the enterprise requires high initial and capital costs in areas such as research and development, setting up a command and logistics center, communication costs, airspace fees, insurance, and maintenance of the drones. After planning and evaluating these aspects, it can be estimated that the initial investment into the business will exceed $2-3 million dollars. The initial stages of operations are unlikely to generate significant revenue, with the first quarter potentially earning approximately $50,000 -100,000 in gross revenue. However, as the company continues operations, acquiring bigger clients, the operating revenue can easily exceed $500,000 per quarter, allowing to recuperate initial costs.
Control
- Product Control – ensuring a high level of service, including the promised elements of speed, efficiency, and safety that are emphasized by the marketing campaign. Direct communication with consumers to improve quality.
- Competition Control – evaluating other companies that offer similar services or businesses such as Amazon utilizing their own drone fleets to examine how the enterprise can improve its offerings.
- Profitability Control – analyzing financials and evaluation of its expenses on research and development in comparison to the company’s overall profitability and revenue.
- Strategic Control – entails undertaking a comprehensive assessment of marketing strategy and effectiveness. This includes re-evaluating the environment, policies, and objectives that are shifting continuously, particularly in this technological and transportation industry.
References
Adams, E. (2019). Drone delivery services are actually, finally almost here.Wired. Web.
Federal Aviation Administration (2019). Certificated Remote Pilots including Commercial Operators. Part 107 Rules. Web.
Kareh, A. (2018). Evolution of the four Ps: Revisiting the marketing mix.Forbes. Web.
Kim, E. (2016). The most staggering part about Amazon’s upcoming drone delivery service.Business Insider. Web.
Linton, I. (n.d.). Five stages of the business buying decision process. Web.
Market Business News (n.d.). What are marketing tools? Definitions and examples. Web.
Meola, A. (2017). Shop online and get your items delivery by a drone delivery service: The future Amazon and Domino’s have envisioned for us. Business Insider. Web.
Roberson, C. M. (2019).Drones – A viable last mile delivery solution. Web.