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1 - Executive summary
Small businesses are great. They can offer excellent products, possibly at a better quality or price
than the next big companies. However, small businesses can suffer from a fundamental flaw: the
lack of manpower or cash flow makes it hard for these businesses to work in marketing their
services. If a business cannot target its customers effectively, it will not enjoy the growth it can
expect.
Bknown Marketing is a start-up sole trading business created to provide marketing services
specifically to these small businesses. The business will be offering a selection of marketing
packages, ranging from creation of social media pages (such as Facebook and Youtube), website
design, creation of a brand, and the creation of a simple marketing plan for the business to follow.
With these services, Bknown marketing aims to help small businesses to be known in their own
competitive market!
There are around 30,000 micro-businesses locally, which employ less than ten employees and this
market has not yet effectively been targeted by competing marketing agencies. Competitors
regularly charge more than what the small businesses can invest, or else, they fail to provide a
complete solution towards up-to-date digital marketing. Small businesses require a low-cost, high
return solution, which will not only increase sales, but also raise brand awareness and attract new
and existing customers. Primary market research proved that businesses will be spending more
money on digital marketing in the coming years and a large proportion of micro-businesses will be
willing to outsource work to a talented marketing agency.
Four potential clients are ready to do business with Bknown. Initially, the founder will be able to
handle the initial workload, but will eventually need to be accompanied by a creative team
consisting of a web designer, a graphic designer and a social media & PR specialist. For the first three
years, Bknown Marketing will act as a sole-trading business, and will be based in a small office space
in Valletta. Registration of trademarks and web domain names are currently underway.
The business is looking to raise €20,000 of finance for its start-up funding, €10,000 of which will be
invested by the founder, and another €10,000 from a business loan. It is estimated that the business
can immediately start paying back the loan in monthly instalments, and the loan will be repaid
within three years. An overdraft facility of €5,000 is also required for daily working capital
requirements.
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Key Facts
- Bknown Marketing will
specialise in carrying up-to-
date Digital Marketing on
behalf of small businesses.
- The main marketing trends
the business will be
following are explained in
section 2.1.
- Main technology platforms
to be used by Bknown
Marketing are explained in
section 2.2.
Intellectual Property
- Registration of company
name and logo.
- Registration of web
domain names
- Intellectual 'know-how'
Licensing
- Will require licensing for
use of Adobe creative
software, and cloud-
based storage.
2 - Introduction
This section will give a brief overview of the technological trends that
Bknown Marketing will be utilising in the course of its operations.
2.1 - Introduction to the business
Bknown Marketing will be set up as a marketing agency, providing creative
and consultation services to small businesses in order to help them grow
according to their potential.
Marketing is all about the actions a business does in order to reach out to
prospects that are willing to part their hard earned cash with the offering of
their business. If a business is able to accurately target these prospects, it
stands a better chance of generating the sale, and this fact can be applied
even to the smallest niche market. Target enough prospects, and profit
follows.
The ways and means of arriving to that sale has varied throughout the ages.
In fact, the world has recently got over the shift from no-internet to internet
based advertising, and is now in the process of making the relationship
between brands and consumers a bit more human. Gone are the days where
people were merely experimenting with the boundaries of the internet;
where in order to rank first in a search engine, one simply had to tick off a
cheat-list. Similarly, advertising is now not simply a case of registering with
Yellow Pages and waiting for the calls to come in.
What we are experiencing in the marketing world right now is a very diverse
offering, with consumers and prospects becoming more tech-savvy, while at
the same time, becoming very proficient in blocking out unnecessary
advertising content on their devices. In spite of having an array of marketing
tools available to them, a lot of small businesses find themselves struggling
to produce any effective marketing campaign. At best, this might mean that
the business will not generate the profit it has the potential to gather. At
worst, it might make the small business fail.
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Fresh trends are always emerging in the marketing world. The company will be specialised in dealing
with these, and incorporating them into easy-to-apply packages for the businesses to follow. What
follows are some current trends that the Bknown Marketing will rely on when working for clients:
Traditional vs. Digital Marketing
Traditional marketing media employs a variety of marketing methods which are not directly linked to
digital or internet means. These might include television, radio, print, yellow pages, billboards,
leaflets and in-store promotions.
Digital methods take these a step further, and employ digital design into the equation, and quite
possibly, internet based advertising, such as websites, Pay per Click advertising, Social Media and E-
mail marketing. If carried out effectively, these methods can generate a higher return on investment
than traditional marketing methods.
Nowadays, the most effective marketing campaigns use a mix of both (with a bias towards any one
of them depending on the type of business). Marketing campaigns with low return usually use up
their entire marketing budget on simply one campaign in either traditional, or digital.
Bknown Marketing will be guiding small businesses at
choosing the best mix of traditional and digital marketing
methods. The focus will be on digital marketing, since this
allows the business to maximise profit gains from their
marketing efforts.
Outbound vs. Inbound Marketing
Traditional marketing methods were predominantly outbound - they reach out to the consumer,
dragging them into making business with their company. In a way, it almost feels like 'forced'
advertising; you are sitting down watching television, and you just have to look at the adverts.
On the other hand, inbound marketing attempts to attract customers by being more human. This
can be done in various ways. Content marketing for example, attracts users by providing them with
interesting and relevant content (such as articles, product reviews,
webinars and blogs) and thus establishing a relationship with the
brand. Social media interaction is also another way where a brand
will be more successful if it employs inbound techniques rather
than outbound.
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For example, a running shoe store using a social media page might either simply show the product
along with a (boring) long description and the price (outbound), whereas a more intelligent store
might provide interesting content relating to athletes who use the brand going on a journey and
providing hints on how best to train for an event (inbound). The latter provides a story, and will be in
a better position to attract a loyal customer base (alternatively known in the business world as
'returning customers').
A lot of small businesses definitely require help in carrying out effective marketing. The agency will
preferentially encourage its clients to be involved in inbound marketing techniques, guiding them to
provide focused content related to their niche market.
Advertising vs. PR
The internet is becoming more and more social. Intelligent brands are focusing on letting users
generate content on their behalf, and thus helping the brand establish a more intimate relationship
with their followers, as opposed to simply using advertising to lure clients in.
Advertising mostly includes all the paid actions that are used to showcase the business to the
people; examples include radio, television and print advertisements. Some people think that
marketing can cost a lot, yet, advertising can actually be the biggest cost of marketing, and that
businesses can actually market themselves in other ways other than advertising!
Advertising should be considered as part of the whole marketing strategy, not the only one. In other
words, a marketing strategy should not only be based on advertising. In fact, there is a distinction to
be made between expensive and inexpensive marketing. If a business spends €200 on a marketing
activity which does not generate a good deal of return, then the company has just invested in
expensive marketing. If the same business spent €20,000 on marketing but realised a profit of
€40,000, then that business surely realised its investment, and it can be said that it carried out
inexpensive marketing.
The company will be guiding new and established
brands with choosing the best ratio of advertising to PR,
and will also help provide fresh approaches to building
lasting relationships with clients. Ultimately, Bknown will
encourage businesses to provide a smaller marketing
budget to provide a bigger return, which in the end
results in a greater profit margin for the business.
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Stronger shift towards mobile
Mobile internet usage is gradually increasing, to a point where it has even surpassed desk based
browsing in certain areas. More and more devices are becoming internet ready, and so is the
interconnectivity between devices. Marketing will soon follow this trend, and the brands that are
ready to respond to this, will quite probably enjoy a better future!
2.2 - Technology review
This section will highlight some of the technologies available to the agency.
Devices: Nowadays, almost everyone in the developed world has access to a computer and to the
internet, and the wide majority of people own a smart phone. This increase in the use of technology
has shifted marketing trends completely, causing the user to be in control of what he wants to see,
and neglecting anything else which might not be important to him. This represents an unparalleled
opportunity for brands to market themselves, only if they choose to market according to what their
audience is requesting!
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the process by which marketers help a website rank higher
when searched through a search engine such as Google. The goal is for a website to appear first
when searched for on a search engine, since this has obvious benefits for the amount of people who
visit the website of the business.
Digital Advertising entails several methods of running effective advertising campaigns on the
internet, and takes into account the planning, execution and analysis of the campaign. The most
popular type is the so-called Pay per Click (PPC) advertising exemplified by those adverts that appear
on the side of the screen when visiting certain websites. The advertiser pays the publisher of these
adverts a fee for each click that is served on these adverts.
Digital Design involves the use of creative packages such as Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop,
along with a creative approach to designing websites, such that the brand image is emphasised in a
coherent way across all marketing streams. This type of design is very flexible, yet demands a
professional approach, such that the end result looks equally professional.
Email Marketing is a very effective marketing tool. It involves sending e-mails to a customer list, who
would have already had given permission to send them promotional material. Once again, creativity
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is called for, and the more creative the campaigns are, the better the results one can expect. After
suitable templates are created, creative e-mails can easily be drafted in a matter of minutes by the
user. Another plus point of using e-mail marketing is the fact that results can easily be analysed,
using already existing packages, such as MailChimp.
Social Media Marketing involves the creative use of several social media channels, such as
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube and others. A lot of people nowadays are always connected
to such social media platforms, and hence this results in an indispensable marketing opportunity, if
executed well. There is virtually no limit to how creative one might be when approaching social
media. However, it is important that results should always be analysed, such that subsequent
campaigns can be fine-tuned for better reception.
Web Analytics using Google Analytics allows smart businesses to fully measure and monitor their
marketing efforts across their platforms. In advanced stages, it is very possible to align the KPI's (Key
Performance Indicator's) of the business with that of the analytics software, such that the goals of
the business are in line with the digital marketing strategy.
Ultimately, these tools are all available to businesses nowadays, most of them for free. However, to
unleash the potential that these tools possess, all these streams have to be combined in a thought
out marketing strategy, possibly alongside a solid advertising campaign on traditional media. Results
have to be constantly analysed.
Micro and small businesses will definitely not be able to afford employing a full-time employee
responsible for marketing, and hence will definitely require guidance in how to use these tools
effectively, and how to amalgamate all the marketing streams into one coherent plan.
After all, if a car is broken, the driver can either fix it himself, to the detriment of his own work time
and with the possibility that the end result is not as professional. Otherwise, the driver might take
the car to the mechanic for a more professional job and while the car is being fixed, the driver can
continue his work unhindered.
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2.3 - Intellectual property
The business will require the registration of the company name and logo as a registered trademark.
Similarly, registration of web domain names is currently underway. The business will not be
producing any tangible products. Hence, the business will not require registration of designs. It is not
foreseen that the business will be producing any patentable inventions.
The biggest IP resides in the know-how of the employees, who bring specific expertise to the
business.
Other IP Issues
The agency will be generating IP on behalf of its clients. This IP will have in turn been generated
either by employees of the agency, or else by third-parties. This represents some risk in IP
management, which at a later stage might prove to be expensive to manage. Such IP might include:
- Any creative work done by the agency with regards to logo creation, brand creation, artwork,
photography, video productions, content creation, etc.
- Any data gathered from analysis of marketing reports, data from Google Analytics and agreements
with third parties.
In order to reduce risk, each business arrangement with a client will have to be preceded by a
'Professional Services Agreement'. This will be drafted out by a legal professional and should include
the following points:
- The agency will generate IP in order to meet the expected outcome for the sales agreement. This IP
includes any logos, brand work, artwork, and any other creative work undertaken by the agency. The
ownership of this IP will be passed to the client, upon full and final payment of any outstanding
invoices. This will stand only for the final concept presented to the client.
- The client will be responsible for filing any registration of trademarks.
- Unless there is any other agreement, ownership of IP generated during the creation of rejected
concepts will remain strictly with the agency. In this way, the client will own his version of the brand
concept and the agency will be able to recycle elements of unclaimed concepts into other projects.
- Final projects should be allowed to be displayed on the portfolio of the agency, after all the
invoices are settle and transfer of IP to the client is done.
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- Ownership of any IP generated by the employees is strictly owned by the agency, pending transfer
to the client.
- Ownership of any IP generated by third parties is subject to a similar agreement. Ownership of final
work undertaken by third parties will be transferred to the agency and ownership of unclaimed work
will remain with the third-party, unless there is any other agreement.
2.4 - Licensing
The following licences will need to be paid for:
- Adobe Creative Cloud will allow access to creative
software such as Adobe Photoshop and Adobe
Illustrator. This package includes software for the
creation of websites and managing files across
devices and users. This allows the business team to
work seamlessly on each project.
The complete package for business users costs €69.99 per month, per licence.
- Cloud Based storage, such as Dropbox. This will prevent the use of
traditional servers to store files in and will cost around €500 per
year for 5 five licences, paid monthly.
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Key Facts
- Target market of Bknown
Marketing is the micro/small
business sector.
- Smaller businesses are
limited on both manpower
and cash turnover, and
outsourcing marketing work
will prove invaluable to these
businesses.
Target Products
- Social Media Package
- Digital Media Package
- Concept Design Package
- Ultimate Package
Competition
- Strong competition in
sector, but Bknown Marketing
will compete by targeting
smaller business, and using
less expensive prices.
Commercial Strategy
- Digital marketing +Blog
- Brochure distribution
- Seminars and Webinars
3 - Business opportunity
Bknown Marketing will be capable of offering several services related to
marketing and advertising, with a clear focus on digital marketing. Almost any
business needs a solid marketing strategy to survive. However, the core
markets which the business intends to capture will be outlined in the following
sections.
3.1 - Market description
The company will be providing marketing services to small businesses involved
in a wide range of fields. Small businesses are limited on both budget and
manpower. These small businesses will stand a lot to gain with the proper
marketing strategies.
This will be done through a range of services intended to help these small
businesses target their products to the right clients. The leading products will
focus on digital marketing, since this type of marketing will result in huge gains
in spite of being cheaper than traditional marketing streams.
Marketing a business used to be simple. What had to be done was to list the
business in the local Yellow Pages, run some adverts on a popular TV and radio
programme, design some adverts for newspapers, and print some leaflets to
distribute around.
Nowadays though, it is a lot more complex than that.
To start off with, a business with no website online is almost like a man without
a mouth; the ability to reach out to potential clients is severely reduced. The
website has to be kept up to date with the latest design trends and it has to
work well on mobile devices. It then has to be optimised so that it can appear
before other websites when people search for it on a search engine such as
Google. Next, the business has to have its social media presence in check, as
well as look into the possibility of e-mail marketing. Then, the business also has
to consider using the traditional modes of marketing, all while amalgamating
all these streams into one coherent plan.
Without doubt, small businesses usually find marketing tasks to be a struggle.
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Most of the times they would have the right product on offer, but they would not have enough
resources to reach their intended clients. This is even more evident in micro-businesses which
employ less than 10 people (95.1% of all local businesses fall into this category), since manpower
and cash turnover can be a constant struggle. Companies with high turnover usually employ a full on
marketing agency to undertake their creative work, but smaller companies usually cannot find the
funds to pay these big marketing agencies.
According to market research carried out in the months before August 2015, it was observed that
marketing needs for small businesses include:
- Guidance into the most effective marketing streams for their type of business,
- Return on investment has to be very clear,
- An increase in sales,
- The ability to target both new and existing clients,
- Increased awareness about their brand.
What they do not require are:
- High cost, low return offerings,
- Temporary offerings (such as running a random advert on traditional media, which will be
expensive and will not render a good return).
Some small businesses may also require guidance with running their business. In the future, the
company might plan to offer such business consultation aimed specifically at small businesses, in
order to expand the company's service offerings to small businesses.
3.2 - Target products
Bknown Marketing will at the outset offer a number of packages designed to suit the needs of
various client-businesses. These packages can be further tailored to meet various particular needs.
Examples of these packages include:
- 1. Social Media Package:
This would be the least expensive of the packages. It requires that the business
already has the basic design functionality required to be able to market online
(an approved concept and up-to-date artwork). This package is best suited for
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clients who want to explore the possibility of new marketing methods in order to increase their
customer base. It will entail the creation of a digital marketing strategy for a period of around one
year, as well as the creation of appropriate template content for the main social media platforms
relevant to the particular business (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter...). This package will also include
the setting up of an e-mail marketing strategy. Furthermore, the client will also benefit from
updated analysis of the campaigns while they are ongoing.
- 2. Digital Media Package:
This package includes all of the features offered in the Social Media
Package, with the added feature of providing updated Search Engine
Optimisation (SEO) for their websit and analysis of Google Analytics for
their particular website. A PPC (Pay per Click) marketing campaign will also
be explored. This package requires the business to have an up-to-date
website. For a slightly higher price, The Digital Media Package will offer far
better return than the Social Media Package. The client will benefit from
increased web traffic to their website, since efforts from social media will
all be pushed into the website, which obviously offers a more comprehensive look into the particular
business.
- 3. Concept Design Package:
This package will be directed towards those businesses which do not have an
up-to-date concept around their business. These businesses require the
setting up of relevant marketing artwork (such as a theme, a fresh logo,
etc...) before any digital marketing is set to take place. The first step would
be for the agency to understand the business and the client's wants and
needs. This will be followed by a design exercise tailored to the needs of the
particular client. This package will be highly customisable, since it is expected that clients will fall into
varying degrees of readiness for digital marketing. This package will be bundled along with any one
of the previous packages, as part of a one year, or possibly longer, strategy.
- 4. Ultimate Package:
This package will include the amalgamation of all the previous package
offerings, along with analysing the need for pushing into further streams of
marketing, such as traditional marketing on radio, TV and print media, along
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with other possibilities such as organisation of events or expos. This package is considered to be a
complete solution towards digital marketing and will be priced as such. It can be tailored to meet
particular client needs, so as to include a longer term strategy, as well as the possibility for charging
for individual campaigns as part of an overall strategy.
3.3 - Competition
There are several marketing agencies already on the market. There are two separating factors
between them all: their intended target market and what their marketing services focus on.
Some very successful marketing agencies include Think Design, Marketing in Malta, Emma Diacono
Design and Marketing Advisory Services. Looking at the websites of these companies from a small
business point of view, these agencies seem a little, out of reach, something that looks like it will
cost a lot of money to do business with such huge agencies. And that is normally the case! In fact,
their portfolio shows the work they have done to large companies such as Vodafone, Unilever,
Kinnie and BOV amongst others!
In spite of the fact that these businesses do mention that they will cater for different budgets, upon
enquiring, few were willing to serve small businesses. The ones that did quoted thousands of Euros
for the drafting of a simple marketing plan.
Bknown Marketing though will focus more on small businesses. There is some competition in this
area as well. Some examples follow:
Springbox Media do a lot of work with small businesses, but they do tend to
focus a lot on website marketing as a priority, rather than taking a complete
approach towards digital and possibly, non-digital marketing. Their price is relatively mid-range,
though their work is of high quality.
Stevencamilleri.com on the other hand, focuses a lot on brand creation
and digital design (designing of logos, artwork, etc...), before actually
carrying out digital marketing and website creation. They do charge very modest rates though and
they do cater for brand creation, website design and execution of a marketing plan.
Pure Concepts, focus a lot on concept design for new (or possibly existing)
businesses and can also cater for marketing plans, though once again, their focus is
not on digital marketing, but on marketing as a whole (equal balance between
digital and non-digital). They have also recently partnered up with a company
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involved in traditional media such as billboard advertising and printing services. Their strength lies in
creating a Brand Proposal (designing of a brand concept from scratch, with relevant artwork),
however, Pure Concepts do not cater for Web Design at this point in time (they outsource should
there be need to do web design). They charge relatively modest rates for creating a solid brand
image, but they do fall short of providing a complete package at a good cost.
Switch Digital and Defined Branding do a very good job in
providing a complete package for marketing. In fact they started
out primarily targetting small businesses. Currently though, they are
focusing their efforts on clients which can afford to pay a premium
for their services, and their portfolio is constantly being updated with ever bigger companies using
their services.
Bknown Marketing will fall in between these extremes. What the business will be offering is a
complete marketing solution, with a clear focus on digital marketing. Our services will include brand
creation, website design, social media marketing and more importantly, the amalgamation of all
these into one coherent plan. The price point will be accessible to a wide range of small businesses,
where we will cater our offering according to the budget of the client.
At the outset, the average hourly rate for services will be very competitive when compared with the
previous competitors. Competitors usually charge an average of €45 to €60 per hour, for carrying
out most of their tasks. Bknown Marketing will be charging €40 per hour to carry out its main
offerings. Since Bknown Marketing will specialise in digital tools, it is not anticipated that this
reduction in price will result in a decrease in quality.
3.4 - Commercial strategy
The company will be engaged in direct sales with its clients and at the outset will be based in a small
office environment in Valletta.
The first step to reaching clients will be via digital marketing methods. The website will be online
first; an up-to-date, mobile-ready website showcasing what the business is all about. In line with
this, a blog about marketing will be set up. Released periodically, this will showcase some interesting
news in the marketing world, the latest trends as well as some easy to follow guides, while all
providing relevant content to the local market. The point of the blog will be to attract interest and
attention from businesses, albeit in an indirect way! Furthermore, this blog is intended to establish
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the company as a lead voice in the local marketing arena.
The website and blog will be complimented by a solid social media strategy spanning Facebook,
LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube. The main focus will be on Facebook, since this platform allows better
intelligent targeting of adverts and promotional material to specific audiences.
Furthermore, leaflets will be distributed to retail outlets and businesses in specific areas. These
creative brochures will give a quick glimpse of what the business is all about, along with inviting
interested persons to free seminars and webinars, held exclusively to persons who opt into a
database through our website.
These seminars will provide two main benefits:
- Sessions will be very interactive and will provide clients with information on what marketing work
they can do themselves, and what work would be wiser to leave to a company like ours to do on
their behalf.
- Even if the person opts into the database but does not attend the seminars, by building a database
of business owners (or persons responsible for marketing), the company will be in a better position
to offer specific e-mail marketing to these, in the hope of doing business with them at a later stage.
It is planned that 5% of the annual turnover will go towards marketing the business.
3.5 - Market potential
The business is aimed to provide marketing services to small businesses that may be limited on cash
flow. Hence would want to see fast results from any investment done on marketing.
The potential market includes a wide majority of small business (which do account for 99.9% of all
local businesses), with a greater focus on micro businesses (those businesses which employ less than
ten persons). There are around 30,000 of these micro businesses in Malta which account for 95.1%
share of total local businesses.
Primary market research conducted before August 2015 proved that small businesses are really
looking into ways of effectively marketing their offerings. Digital marketing use is increasing globally
and so is the associated amount of outsourced work to marketing agencies.
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Businesses also were keen to use
an external marketing agency if
they were to retain some control in
what gets marketed. In fact, out of
53 small business owners, 61
percent said that they would use a
marketing agency, especially if
return would be guaranteed, 10
percent already make use of a
marketing agency, and 29% were
not willing to outsource work (which might be related to the fact that a number of respondents
mentioned that digital marketing was not relevant to their area).
A number of respondents of the primary market research also came from the social organisations
and event organisers, however, for the purposes of this plan, these were still treated as small
businesses, since the product that they request would be identical to those which normal small
businesses (retail or otherwise) would request.
A summary of the feasibility study carried out earlier this year is included in the appendices.
On the other hand, most of these businesses might not need marketing services, either because they
already do undertake sufficient marketing, or else they do not feel the need to do so. It is estimated
that the small business will be able to reach and provide services to around 10 - 30 small businesses,
which translates to roughly 0.01% of the number of small businesses in Malta. This number is based
on a rough estimate of the work needed to maintain good work ethic, by employing 4 employees
into the business by the end of the third year.
The number of businesses Bknown will be working with depends on the number and type of
employees engaged in the agency. This will be further outlined in Section 5.
Through extensive market research conducted in a feasibility study, it was estimated that other
marketing companies charge an average of €45 to €60 per hour, for a wide variety of marketing
services.
Since our intended market will be smaller businesses, our pricing strategy will be an effective hourly
charge of €40 per hour of work. The details of arriving to this figure will be given in the financial
analysis. This provides us with a rough figure of how much the packages will cost to the end client.
29%
10%
61%
Not interested in
outsourcing
Already Outsource
Interested in
outsourcing
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1) Social media Package: this package will entail around 4-6 hours of work per week at the outset,
going down to one hour of work per week for each business. Hence, this package will cost around
€2,320 for one year (around 58 hours work) (average of €190 per month).
2) Digital Media package: this package will entail around 6-8 hours of work per week at the outset,
going down to two hours of work for each business, and hence, this package will cost around €4400
for one year (average of €366 per month) (total of around 112 hours work).
3) Concept Design package: this package will be an add-on to the previous two packages, and hence
will entail around 20 hours of work for each business, and hence, this package will cost around €800
- €1000 in addition to the cost of the previous packages. If the client then requires additional work,
these will be charged at the standard rate of €40/hour.
4) Ultimate package: this package will entail around 30 hours of work per week for the first month,
going down to 4 hours per week for each business. This package will cost around €12,480 for one
year (€1,040/month) (around 312 hours work).
The values quoted above only give us a rough idea of how much each package will cost, even though
these are highly negotiable depending on the workload required by the client. They do give us an
idea of the total workload the business aims to capture in order to be feasible with the amount of
hours available to work.
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Key Facts
Founder
- Ryan Saliba
- Founder has experience in
handling a business start-
up, marketing work related
to small businesses, digital
marketing and digital
design.
Operating Team
Will consist of:
- Web Designer
- Graphic Designer
- Social Media & PR
Specialist
Main Consultants
- A.A. Financial Services
- Gonzi & Associates
4 - Management & Operating Team
4.1 - Founder-Director
The director, Ryan Saliba, who is also the founder, is currently undertaking a
Master's Degree in Knowledge Based Entrepreneurship and a Professional
Diploma in Digital Marketing. The founder already undertook a Diploma in Design
Studies and worked for almost two years as a Marketing Executive in a successful
start-up sports retail company. Acquiring the role by chance and not by
educational background, it was possible for him to learn all the tools of the trade
the hard way. This experience allowed him to notice gaps in how a small company
markets itself and what means are available to make a brand become known,
with the lowest budget possible. Similarly, he noticed that it is very hard for a new
or a small company to grow without employing a good marketing strategy, with
up-to-date techniques in digital marketing. During the course of work, the
founder also observed that the best marketing strategies for a small business or a
start-up need not costs thousands and a small business might enjoy a good return
by focusing on the essentials.
In fact, the director noticed that small companies tend to put all their eggs in one
basket and commit the majority of their budget to one type of marketing (e.g.
using up the entire budget for a commercial to air on only one station) without
actually spreading the budget into more productive forms of marketing.
The inspiration for the director to open up his own marketing agency was a small
local bike shop, which had no knowledge in marketing and as such, killed its own
growth since people did get to know the outlet other than word of mouth. In such
a case, it would have been very simple to employ a very simple digital marketing
strategy with a limited budget, in order to attract a wave of new customers.
The director is also a keen outdoor enthusiast, involving himself in several sports
and outdoor activities.
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4.2 - Key Employees
Web Designer
A web designer will be needed within the first six months of operating,
specifically to meet the needs of businesses requesting the Ultimate Package.
This web designer will be responsible for creating websites and should have a
proficiency in graphic design and programming. At the outset, this web designer
will be required to provide assistance to the founder in other areas of the
business, such as helping out in the other package offerings.
Graphic Designer
This person will be responsible for communicating visually the design ideas
recommended by the clients and should be fairly proficient in design and technical
skills. This person will mainly be responsible for the Concept Design Package, as
well as providing valuable feedback into the other packages.
Social Media + PR Specialist
This person will be responsible for building the client's online presence and brand
awareness by employing social media tactics. Furthermore, this person will need
to provide feedback when clients request additional marketing feedback, such as
in creating successful events. The ideal candidate will have strong sense of online
communication and business analysis skills.
4.3 - Consultants
Accounting
General accounting and auditing work will be carried by A.A. Financial Services. This
business will provide Bknown Marketing with:
- General accounting tasks, such as tax returns
- Feedback on running the business
- General auditing
- Monthly payroll service for employees
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Legal Advice
Legal consultation work will be handled by Gonzi & Associates. This firm will provide the
business with:
- Legal advice, such as best type of business structure
- Registration of any IP and domain names
- Any employment law and operating licence requirements
- Any contractual work
- General feedback on running the business
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Key Facts
- Bknown Marketing will
operate as a sole trading
business.
- Can start operating from
January 2016
Main talents requested:
- Web designer
- Graphic Designer
- Social Media + PR
specialist
Finance Needed
- €10,000 brought in by
founder as Proprietors
Investment.
- €10,000 business loan
re-payable over three years.
- €5,000 overdraft facility
required for daily working
requirements.
5 - Operating Plan
5.1 - Main Business Milestones
When is the business expected to start operating?
Bknown Marketing intends to start operating in January 2016. This allows the
founder to complete his qualifications in Entrepreneurship and Digital
Marketing, so as to allow the business to enjoy some goodwill on behalf of the
founder.
The business intends to start trading as a sole trading business, since it is
anticipated that the business will carry relatively little risk, at least initially.
Who will do the work?
It is estimated that the founder will take care of the day to day running of the
business for the first five months of 2016. This will include looking for initial
sales, along with providing initial marketing services for the first clients.
Throughout the first three years, the founder will then need to take on the
talents of a dedicated Web Designer, Graphic Designer and PR and Social
Media Specialist
This team of creatives will allow the business to provide the best possible final
products to its clients.
When will employees be taken aboard?
Employee Proposed Employment month
Web Designer June 2016
Graphic Designer March 2017
PR & Social Media Specialist March 2018
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What clients are we expecting?
The following table suggests what number of clients we will be expecting per quarter.
It is to be noted that the numbers actually represent the number of clients doing business with the
company at any point in time and not the number of new clients. This means that there will be a
mixture of carryover customers (say customers who agree to do business with us for one year) and
new customers.
These values are roughly reflected on a monthly basis in the cash flow forecast attached in the
appendices. The cash flow forecast allows for thirty day payment terms.
Period Social Media
Package
Digital Media
Package
Concept Design
Package
Ultimate Package
2016 Q1 2 2 1 0
Q2 2 2 1 0
Q3 4 6 2 1
Q4 4 6 2 1
2017 Q1 4 6 2 1
Q2 5 6 4 2
Q3 5 6 5 2
Q4 6 8 6 3
2018 Q1 8 8 6 3
Q2 8 8 6 4
Q3 10 10 8 4
Q4 10 10 8 4
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5.2 - Resource requirements
What skills are required?
The founder will handle the first few months of undertaking business. Tasks will include looking for
initial clients and undertaking basic digital marketing tasks for the first confirmed clients, specifically
the Social Media, Digital Design and Concept Design packages.
A web designer, ideally with some design background, will be needed after the first few months, to
provide the web designing functionality needed in the Ultimate Package. This web designer will also
be able to assist in the day to day maintenance of the other packages.
In the second year, a graphic designer with a creative background will be needed in order to provide
a more comprehensive approach to the Concept Design package, along with widening our solutions
in the other packages.
The third year will see the need for someone to specifically manage social media channels on behalf
of clients, along with having experience in carrying out successful PR campaigns, which might include
marketing events.
Where will the work be done?
Negotiations are underway to acquire a small office space in Valletta, to rent for €500 monthly for a
three year term.
This office is already furnished, but will require some additional furnishing to suit the needs of the
business. Main amenities, including internet and telephony, are already included. It is calculated
that at the outset, these additions will cost around €4,500.
Insurance
Insurance services will be provided by Citadel Insurance. An operational package consisting of
Property Insurance, Business Interruption Insurance, Employer's Liability, Public Liability and
Electronic Equipment Insurance, is estimated to cost around €800 per year, for the three year term.
Payments can be split for twice per year.
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Computer Resources at the outset
The company will require the purchase of a standard high performance laptop to carry out the initial
tasks. It is expected that some computer equipment will need to be bought throughout the starting
years of the business. These costs are estimated in the cash flow forecast under 'Capital Expenditure
& Investments.
Licensing of Software + Cloud-based Storage
The company will require the use of the Adobe Creative Cloud platform, which allows access to a
whole suite of tools essential for carrying out work. This platform will cost the business €70 for each
licence per month.
Furthermore, the company will have to pay annual storage options on a cloud-based storage website
to store all the files that the company will be working with. Such websites include Dropbox and
Google Drive, which will cost the company around €600/year.
5.3 - Corporate alliances
Talks are underway to establish a partnership with a local printing
agency, AF Sign Studios, which are based in Gudja. This company
provides for basic and large format printing needs and also fabrication,
signage and vehicle wrapping, amongst other projects which could be handled according to the
project type. This company also provides billboard rentals through a partner company, should the
need arise in specific projects.
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5.4 - Financial analysis
What are the expected sales figures? And costs?
The graph below provides a quick look into the expected sales income generated by quarter, along
with the costs, and the difference between sales and costs.
For a full analysis, please refer to the cash flow forecast present in the appendices.
What are the initial cash needs?
The business will require financing of €20,000 at the beginning of business, €10,000 of which will
come from the founder and another €10,000 which will be finance from a business loan.
The business will also require an overdraft facility of €5000.
For a full analysis, please refer to the cash flow forecast present in the appendices.
2016
Q1
Q2 Q3 Q4
2017
Q1
Q2 Q3 Q4
2018
Q1
Q2 Q3 Q4
Sales 600 5,200 13,500 18,000 17,000 25,200 27,700 36,000 36,900 39,500 46,500 46,500
Costs 15,585 12,101 15,681 15,042 20,589 21,370 21,267 20,791 28,661 28,663 29,063 28,663
Profit -9,849 -6,365 1107.3 1745.5 -3,801 3,908 6,411 15,173 8,444 11,562 19,298 19,698
-20000
-10000
0
10000
20000
30000
40000
50000
Amount€
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6 - Appendices
6.1 - Short-form CV's and Job Descriptions
Ryan Saliba - Short CV - Founder of Bknown Marketing
A: 11, Angerita, Gallu Street, Fgura, FGR1404, Malta
T: +356 99227689
E: salibaryan@bknown.com
Education
- Primary & Secondary Education at St. Albert the Great College, Valletta.
- Higher Secondary Education at G.F. Abela Junior College, with A-levels in Maths & Physics.
- University of Malta Education:
o Diploma in Design Foundation Studies
o B.Sc. in Built Environment Studies
o M. Sc. In Knowledge Based Entrepreneurship (Currently in progress)
- Other Education:
o Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing, held at the Institute of Computer
Education on behalf of the Digital Marketing Institute. (Currently in progress).
Employment History
- Marketing Manager for three years at a successful start-up retail outlet, Mochika - Outdoor
Life. Was part of a team of four people building the business from its beginning to a
successful business.
- This provided skills in business management relating to start ups, specific low-cost marketing
techniques and the ability to handle different roles at any one time (be it marketing, sales or
general management).
Other Skills
- Part of a team who won the Social Impact award at the 2015 Malta Start-up Weekend, an
activity where a business idea is created and tested over the course of an intensive
weekend. The resulting business idea was called Health Hero, a social platform where funds
are gathered for specific persons in need, by means of willing donators signing up for
innovative challenges.
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Summary of Job Descriptions:
Job title Web Designer (Full-Time)
Requirements - Computing based Degree at University level or similar.
- Experience in web designing.
- Ability to understand and use Google Analytics.
- Strong understanding of programming languages.
- An understanding of marketing tactics and graphic design.
Job Objectives - Web Designing (both front-end and back-end) for potential business clients.
- Able to handle simple marketing tasks, such as an understanding of how best
to use social media to influence web traffic.
- Ability to work in a micro business (small team) environment.
Job title Graphic Designer (Full-Time)
Requirements - Previous education on graphic design at University level or similar.
- Previous experience in a graphic design role.
- Experience with handling type design, drawing, computer-assisted design,
digital media and photography.
- Creative yet technical (practical) reasoning.
- An understanding into basic marketing principles.
Job Objectives - Graphic Designing of any element requested by clients
- Able to handle simple marketing tasks, such as an understanding of how best
to use graphic design to influence brand uptake.
- Ability to work in a micro business (small team) environment.
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Job title Social Media & PR Specialist (Full-Time)
Requirements - Previous education on a marketing related degree at University level or
similar.
- Previous experience in a marketing role, handling social media channels or PR.
- Experience with handling social media channels to influence brand awareness.
- Ability to handle non-digital PR events in conjunction with digital marketing
tactics.
- Creative yet technical (practical) reasoning.
- An understanding into advanced marketing principles.
Job Objectives - Handling of social media channels to generate effective brand awareness.
- Analysing of social media marketing results, such that future marketing
campaigns can be optimised for better uptake.
- Ability to organise PR events as clients' request.
- Able to handle advanced marketing tasks, such as an understanding of how
best to use social media and traditional media to influence brand uptake.
- Ability to work in a micro business (small team) environment.
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0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
Temporary
Consultation
Frequent
Consultation
Handling of
design and
concept work
Handling of
social media
channels
Updating and
managing of
website
Handling all
marketing
efforts.
Chart 5: Level of involvement of external marketing agency?
6.2 - Feasibility of business idea
The business idea was tested in a feasibility study carried out by the owner in the months leading to
July 2015. Both Primary and Secondary research were carried out. The following is a summary of the
main points found out in this Feasibility Study.
Primary Research
Primary research was carried out in the form of a questionnaire. A total of 53 respondents were
gathered.
28%
19%30%
12%
11%
Chart 1: Respondents were coming from:
Retail
Business (not
retail)
Social
Organisation
Event Organiser
Other
10%
19%
22%
2%
50%
Chart 2: Expectations of return from paying for
marketing services: Increased Sales
Greater brand
awareness
Reach new
clients
Target existing
clients
All of the above
25%
25%
9%
9%
12%
18%
2%
Chart 3: Factors which limit digital marketing activity?
Not enough time
Too expensive
Doubtful about return
Digital marketing not
relevant
Satisfied with current level
of marketing
No experience in digital
marketing
Have a digital marketeer
on board
61%
29%
10%
Chart 4: Consider using services of external
marketing agency? Yes
No
Already use
external
marketing
agency.
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Secondary Research
In 2014, Switch Digital, which is a local digital marketing agency, carried out a survey to study
attitudes towards digital marketing, what the companies accomplished in 2014, and what they aim
to accomplish in 2015. The survey was carried out online, and managed to gather a broad sample
across a number of companies, ranging from sole-trading up to very large businesses. There were 61
full survey responses. The survey was only open to those companies who only do some (even if bare
minimum) digital online marketing. In fact, it was noticed that a large number of companies do not
market online (huge potential for doing business!) and these were not included in the survey.
The full report can easily be found on their website, www.switch.com.mt
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6.4 - Pricing Strategy + Cash Flow Forecast
Costs & Profit
According to cash-flow forecast: Total costs for three years: €258,898. Hence, average of €86,299
per year.
Assuming business is to generate a 20% profit margin. Annual costs + 20% profit = €103,559
Cost to client per hour
Now, assuming workers work 48 weeks/year, 20 days/month and 7.5 hours/day = 1,800
hours/year/employee.
Assuming there will be three employees working in the company (maximum of 4 allowed in cash
flow forecast, hence accounting for three employees for safety factor). Therefore, total working
hours = 5,400 hours/year
Therefore cost / hour = €103,559 / 5,400 = €19.18/hour
But, keeping in mind workers will not spend all the hours doing direct client work. Hence, by
applying a safety factor of the employees working only half the hours, 2,700 hours.
Hence, cost/hour = €103,559 / 2700 = €38.35 / hour rounded off to €40/hour.
Approximate Pricing of Product Packages
1) Social Media Package will take approximately 4.75 hours work per month, per client, hence,
€190/month/client
2) Digital Media Package will take approximately 9.15 hours work per month, per client, hence,
€366/month/client
3) Concept Design Package will take approximately 20 hours of work (add-on to previous packages)
and hence will cost around €800/package.
4) Ultimate Package will take approximately 30 hours at the outset, and 4 hours per month and
hence will cost around €1,040/month/client
In order to come up with sales predictions, these figures were multiplied by the likely number of
customers per quarter (table under Section 5.1).
