unit 1 p5 m2 RESUB

UNIT 1 M2

Compare the challenges to selected business activities within a selected organisation, in two different economic environments.

unit 36 p4 m3 RESUB

UNIT 36 P4 M3

Describe the legal and financial aspects that will affect the start-up of the business
Assess the implications of the legal and financial aspects that will affect the start-up of the business

In this assignment I will be describing the legal and financial aspects that will affect the start up of my make-up business. I will also be assessing and evaluating the implications and benefits of the legal and financial aspects that will affect the start-up of my business.

There are multiple laws that would affect the start up and running of my business therefore, I will make sure I am aware of all the appropriate laws and regulations to avoid facing the consequences if I do not abide by them. There are loads of benefits in running my business as a sole trader, along with many disadvantages as well. Like I mentioned previously, there are multiple options for pricing, such as premium pricing, skim pricing, competition-based pricing, penetration pricing etc. In order to manage all my documents I will recreating three documents; profit and loss statement, cash flow forecast and a balance sheet.

As I will be running my business as a sole trader there are many advantages, as well as disadvantages. Being a sole trader means I am the only owner and will run the business alone. The reason for this is because it allows for the distinctive concept of the brand to be kept however, all responsibilities are in my hands and all the profits made by the business will be kept by me individually due to the fact that their are no other shareholders within my business. This also means I have unlimited liability because I will be the only owner. I will not have a partnership with anyone, because I want to run my business solo because I feel I have enough knowledge and experience which enables me to run this business alone. I don't need the capital right now because I have the equity I need. The main cost that my business will face will be the running of the business cost and the start up cost. Running costs are things that the business will have to maintain and keep paying such as rent, stock, electricity. Start up cost is a cost that the business will pay once, when they first set up the business. My products that I will be selling need to be priced correctly so that I make profit as well as repeat customers.

There are various different pricing methods I could use in order to improve my pricing such as, skim pricing, competition-based pricing, value pricing, cost-based pricing, premium pricing, penetration pricing and many more. I will choose one of these methods to use within my business to use as a marketing strategy. The method I have decided to use for my business is competition-based pricing because I think this is the most appropriate pricing method to use for my specific business because I want to work on being better than all my competitors. The problem with using competition-based pricing is that I will have to find alternative unique ways in order to rise above the competitors and stand out from all the other competitors within the make-up industry. Although, competition-based pricing would be extremely useful because it avoids price competition that can damage the company therefore there is no risk that the business will go bankrupt and have to shut down because of this.

I have a clear trading terms and conditions which is clearly set out explaining all the terms and conditions for my business including all the legal aspects e.g. pricing, payments, terms, credit facilities, delivery options etc. It is in a written copy because my customers must be made aware of it legally and they have to agree with it. Trading standards protect customers from businesses traders who disobey the law, I am fully aware of my legal obligations about trading and I will not be selling any counterfeit goods or anything that disobeys the Trading standards regulations. The Trading standards are a group of people who work for the local council to protect customer from misconduct and they deal with complaints from customers about counterfeit goods. The TSI, which stands for the Trading Standards Institute, safeguards customers by offering them advice and guidance on their rights as a consumer, legalisation relating to food and safety issues. I will produce three different accounting documents which are; cash flow forecast, profit and loss statement and a balance sheet. I may think about hiring an accountant to construct and manage those documents for me if I am having problems handling them, however this can be costly to employ a new staff so I will have to think about it logically. It is essential that these documents are well prepared and all the staff are aware of this, which will be done by holding regular meetings with all the staff to make sure they are fully aware of the procedures that have to be taken to ensure documents are well manage and constructed appropriately.

As I am selling make-up, I am not required to obtain a license, I have done plenty of research about whether or not I need a licence and I have discovered that I do not need one as I am not selling pets, food, alcohol etc. There are some places that require make-up artist licences including Louisiana. Therefore I do not need to get into contact with the government or national services. I must keep a record of all the financial transactions that happen because this is required by law. The benefits of doing so are that, it will save me time and money because the records will be more accurate and it ensures my bills are paid only once, and there is no mistakes. It also enables my business to be able to keep up to date on what I owe and what I am owed. Legally, I must keep documents for at least 6 years after the transaction therefore I need to keep my documents safe and secure. The type of documents that should be kept, include; cash book/spread sales and purchase ledger, wages and petty cash books, accident records. However, licences are needed for equipment like computers, tills, software's etc. I will be using computers, tills and software's in my store therefore I will need to get a license on those pieces of equipment. My employees will also require licences to check they have business innovation skills and to check they do not have any criminal records to ensure they are safe to work in a work environment.

Most problems that occur within the business can be avoided through correct communication and procedures which can be put in place in order for problems to be avoided. Three examples of procedures that can be used to avoid problems are; staff association and trade unions. I will have good relationships with my employees because this will allow communication to get across better. Also, another procedure that could be put in place to resolve any problems is ensuring there is clear and effective disciplinary procedures to clarify acceptable behaviour and not acceptable behaviour within my business. Along with this I need to provide contracts for all my employees legally which have to be written 2 months after employment. Things included in a contract are; pension arrangements, sick pay arrangement, job title and description, name of employer/employee, notice periods, date employment ends etc.

There are national and local laws that I must comply with which include, paying employees, hours of work, rest breaks, working weeks, holidays, discrimination, VAT as well as various other laws such as the Trade Description Act, The Data Protection Act 1998, Sunday Trading Act, Supply Of Goods & Services Act and Weights and Measures Act. I must ensure I pay staff the right amount of money, according to the national minimum wage, on a wage slip as this is considered legal. If this isn't the case, and I do not pay the employees the correct legal amount of money they are supposed to be paid then this could result in my business getting shut down. Also, employees are entitled to have 5-6 weeks of holiday off of work a year, which means I have to carefully plan out the routine for my employees to ensure I have at least two members of staff working in the store at one time. If I do not follow this law, it could result in my business getting shut down as well.

I have spoken to the local council to see what laws my make-up business specifically has to abide by. This is extremely important and most business owners do not know that you have to find these laws out yourself because some are specific to your business. I have to put my companies registration number on display within any emails I write and send and within every bit of paperwork I fill out because this is compulsory. Common laws that apply to my business are the Data Protection Act 1998, Smoking (this means indoor smoking is banned), The Consumer Protection, E-commerce Regulations 2002, The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003. All my employees will have to have written contracts of employment after 2 months which includes; name of employer, job title and description, date, place and address of employment, amount of pay and how often employer is being paid, hours of work, holiday entitlement, sick pay arrangements, pension arrangement, notice periods, date employment ends (for temporary staff only), grievance and appeal procedures, disciplinary rules. I will need to get insurance for various things such as; employers liability insurance, owners liability, motor insurance, building insurance, contents insurance, product liability insurance, public liability insurance.

The Data Protection Act 1998 is a law which I have to consider when starting up my business, because it gives me the protection of all my documents and data within the business. It protects information from customers and employees being able to access it. I will ensure all the documents and secure infuriation that I don't want anyone seeing will be locked away securely in my office where everything will be put into easily accessible folders or drawers. Also, the legislation focuses on having all the correct, up to date and relevant information, as well as only collecting information that is needed for a specific purpose. Legally I must keep all documents from 6 years after the transaction is made which means I have to ensure I have enough storage space to keep all the documents in an organised and systematic order.

I have to take full responsibility for all the employees and customers that are in my business, this includes their health and safety. I need to ensure risk assessments are carried out frequently to ensure their all up to date and the appropriate policies are put into place and are carried out correctly. Their are laws that have to be followed to do with fire and they are implemented to prevent fires within the store and to prevent accidents happening to people. In my store there will be a minimum of 3 fire exits which are easily accessible. Along with this, there will be 3 fire extinguishers across the store in case of an incident. Training for incidents like fires will happen frequently to ensure all employees are aware of the procedures that have to take place in case of a fire and how to prevent it spreading. If I wanted to extend my business in the future if its becoming more successful than planned, I will need permission from the local authority to extend or build a new building which is something that is very expensive and can take a long time.The government set up groups to monitor standards in different industries which include, The Gambling Commission, The Office of Communication. However, if I am in need of advice I have plenty of places to go, including, Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS), Local Enterprise Agencies, Shell Live Wire, Banks etc.

Sex Discrimination Act 1975 is an act which makes it illegal to judge someone on their gender, which impacts me as a recruiter, because this means I cannot discriminate anyone from the job just because of their gender. As a recruiter, I am obliged to treat men, women or transgender all the same and allow them to have equal opportunities. Another law which is important to know when starting up my business is the Race Relation Act 1970 which ensures nobody is discriminated because of their race, every race is considered and have the same opportunities, just like the Sex Discrimination Act 1975. The Disability Discrimination Acts 1955& 2005 focuses on ending discrimination towards whose who have a disability. This means I have to give people with disabilities the same opportunity as people who don't have a disability, because people with disabilities may be perfectly able and qualified for a certain job however, recruiters choose to not employ them just because they have a disability. This is now deemed illegal and I cannot decline someone just because of a disability. The European Working Time Directive is an act which allows employees to have a minimum amount of time off work for holidays, rest breaks and the right to not work for longer than 48 hours if they do not want to. This means that any employees I take on will be aware of their rights and so will I be in order to give them the appropriate rights they deserve. I will need to think about how many staff I can employ depending on the factors the European Working Time Directive act focuses on. The national minimum wage is the minimum amount of money that I have to pay my employees based on their age. The Data Protection Act 1998 was set up to protect data from employees or customers, this is important for my business because it means I will be able to keep my information secure and will have a right to not let customers or employees have access to any important documents unless necessary.

There are various financial aspects also. I will need a personal survival budget so that I have enough money to live whilst I am running my business alongside that. My person budgets will be compared to the cash flow forecasts to see if my business will be successful or not. I have to choose the right location in order for my store to be, this is crucial for the businesses success. I have decided that I will rent the premises of the store I will locate my business in because this is a cheaper option and means I can set a certain period of time I want to be located there. If I want to carry on the rent time after its ended, I can rent it for longer. The insurance and rates for the premises will be expensive. The cost of the equipment and supplies that I will need are very expensive because they are make-up products which need to come from a highly successful factory. Before I put this information into a cash flow forecast, I need to decide on the different types of equipment I will need and how much it will cost a capital breakdown will be needed. One major cost will come from employing my staff, the law requires me to think about the national minimum wage and make national insurance contributions for each employee that I will employ. There are multiple pricing policies that I could use when pricing my products. These include; value pricing, cost-plus pricing, penetration pricing, premium pricing, price skimming, promotional pricing, economy pricing and psychological pricing.  Cash flow forecasting is something that I will be producing regularly so help me predict the future of the business. They will be based on market research and other information that is accurate which I have collected. After they have been constructed, profit and loss accounts and balance sheets can both be produced which both can show projected levels of profit. Additionally, there are numerous sources of finance you can get that do not require creditors, which comprise of, owners personal savings, grants from the government, The Prince Trust, EU convergence region funding. However, sources of finance from creditors involve, bank loans, trade credit, leasing, mortgages, sponsorship, borrowing from friends and family, credit cards and overdrafts. Some of these sources of finance have various advantages and disadvantages, some as loans being very good for me because it allows me to get help for the start-up for my business. On the other hand, mortgages may be a disadvantage for me because it may be hard to pay back off if I don't start earning a lot of money. I will make sure that I keep all documents recorded for financial purposes. Although, I could hire an accountant to help me with my record keeping and who specialises in HM Revenue and Customs to ensure that all my financial records are acceptable and accurate to make my business successful.

The National Minimum Wage system is something I have to abide by, because it will determine how many employees I can afford to have. The national minimum wage is the minimum amount of money per hour an employee is entitled to receive by law, no matter how small the business is. I am required to pay my employees a set amount of money depending on their age. If I employee anyone who is under 18 then I will be required to pay them £4.00 however, if they are 18 to 20 they will receive £5.55, if they are 21 to 24 then they will receive £6.95 and lastly if they are 25 and over then have to get £7.20. However, in April 2017 the National minimum wages are charging very slightly although this will have to be considered depending on when my business opens. By having set prices I have to charge my employees, this will help me to enable my budget for the business is smooth and controlled. I will be aware of the amount of money I will be using to pay for the employees per hour which I can put into a cash flow forecast and work out to predict how well my business is performing.

A problem that this legalisation has on my business is that because employees know exactly how much money they should be getting. This could mean that they will not perform exceedingly because they know they are obliged to getting a certain amount of money of the business. This may make employees not perform their job properly or be enthusiastic about it because they have to get paid, which is a problem for my business, especially because it needs to have a positive and enthusiastic vibe which means I need staff that are going to be engaged into the business. They will need to know exactly what their talking about and staff that will go the extra mile to make sure my business is successful, positive and allows me to make the most profit I possibly can.

I will have to abide by the Health and Safety law, because this is extremely essential when setting up a make-up business. There are many advantages to following this law, which include less injuries and accidents occurring because there are laws put in place to prevent them from happening. There is less risk of any legal threats if there is a decrease in incidents which is a positive thing for the business.If there are less incidents then the business will keep up a good reputation and people won't have any negative things to say about the Health and Safety in the business. Although, keeping up the law is costly, because it requires frequent training courses for the staff to ensure they are aware of the constant changes in the law and how to carry them out. Also, health and safety equipment are expensive e.g. fire extinguishers but they are essential because the Health and Safety law really impacts my business.

unit 12 p4 p5 p6 m2 RESUB a3

UNIT 12 P4 P5

Describe the benefits and opportunities to the business of using internet marketing within the marketing mix of a selected business

In this assignment I will be describing and explaining the benefits and opportunities of how Tesco use their internet marketing within the marketing mix. The internet is a place which offers many opportunities for businesses, however it also offers challenges due to it being an increasingly global marketplace.

Benefits and opportunities of Tesco's internet marketing within the marketing mix.
By Olivia Spalter

Price
Tesco's benefits
Tesco have complete control over how they price their products, this illustrates Tesco's value as they depend on the products they choose. For example, Tesco can decide to price their fruit at a higher price as this will make their value better compared to their competitors. On the other hand. Tesco could decide to reduce their prices for fruit, making them better value for money compared to their competitors. However, Tesco's have to set fixed prices for some products such as; electronics, make-up products etc. This is because these products are expensive therefore they need to make profit on them still.

Also, the benefit of price in Tesco customers is that it can simplify things for customers for example; when looking online, you can use price comparison websites where this compares Tesco's products and similar products, to find the best budgeted price for them. Using their website to stand out is another benefit for Tesco, seeing as the supermarket industry is huge and extremely competitive. They are able to use this to their ability and update their website accordingly to their competitors and customers and keep it modern and up to date. This is beneficial for Tesco because they will attract more customers than their rivalries and this will increase profit for Tesco.

Tesco's opportunities
Tesco offer the availability of food to buy immediately which is to maximise their shelf life. The longer the shelf life, the better quality the product is however, this depends on the type of products as some products run out quicker than others such as; fruit, meat.
If Tesco didn't use internet marketing strategies like updating their website frequently to keep it modern, then Tesco's competitors will be less interested in buying from Tesco because they will go to the supermarket which has the most up to date website because they feel they are more appealing. Additionally, it will be hard for customers to compare prices and find the best bargained price for a product because it is not easy to do, it is time consuming and expensive. Whereas, online is easier, quicker and not expensive.

How the marketing mix has changed for Tesco
The way the internet has changed price to do with the marketing mix is because having an online website allows Tesco to offer exclusive online deals and promotions that are only available if you purchase from Tesco's website. Also, Tesco have the ability to change the prices of their products constantly to entice customers at specific times for example, if a certain product isn't selling well they can decrease the price and then people will want to buy it if it is really cheap or if it is good value for money.

Product
Tesco's benefits
Using internet marketing allows extra and additional product information online so that customers can make an easier decision. Customers like this because, obviously when buying online you can't see the product, however if there is additional information on all of Tesco's products this will help customers to understand the products more which is more useful for customers and beneficial for Tesco because they will get more sales. If all the products are available online, then this will improve the number of products sold because e.g. when someone runs out of something they can just order it online which is easier and takes no time to go out and get it physically.

Tesco's opportunities
Being online allow Tesco to display their products easier and appealing, because in store there is always a risk of not having enough space, being too cluttered, not having enough stock to to fill the store etc. Whereas online, there is enough space to be able to display all of Tesco's products. Products such as clothes or jewellery can be modelled online to show people wearing them to entice customers which is a benefit for Tesco because people like to see the product on and what it actually looks like on before they buy a product.
Tesco could use a stock checking device in order to check for different sizes of an item if people needed. It scans the product and then checks the sizes that are available in store. This is positive for Tesco because it allows customers to be able to ask staff in store for another size and they will be able to buy it if its available. This allows more items to be sold because if they didn't ave this system then customers wouldn't be able to purchase another size.

How the marketing mix has changed for Tesco
Being online offers Tesco to be able to sell different brands within their website which are only exclusive to online. People can now buy other brands as well as the products they want to buy from Tesco which is a lot more convenient and useful for customers, especially because they are available to purchase online therefore they do not have to go into various different stores, they can get it all in one place. This makes it a lot easier for customers to shop, especially customers who find using the internet hard e.g. elderly people. As well as this, Tesco sell a wide variety of different products such as food, clothing, home, accessories, electronics etc. This is attractive to customers because it allows them to shop in Tesco for multiple products which is all in one place, which makes it easier and convenient for the customers.

Place
Tesco's benefits
Having internet marketing is essential now a days for businesses if they want to be successful because mostly everyone is using the internet now which is how things get spread almost instantly. Social medias sites e.g. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram are commonly used by businesses to get people to be aware of their business. This is a benefit because Tesco will be able to use social media to interact with their customers and other businesses to see what their competitors are like. By having social medias accounts, customers are more likely to want to purchase from that business because customers know they will be able to interact and contact Tesco if they have social media pages compared to businesses who don't use social media. Another benefit for Tesco by using social media sites is that customers can leave reviews, complaints and feedbacks on their page for the business to see and this can help them to improve their business. This is beneficial for Tesco because they will be able to know specific problems that their business face from a customers point of view.

Tesco's opportunities
The opportunities arise for Tesco's fan base to get wider and reach a greater field of more people. This will mean Tesco will gain more customers and a wider target audience. They will do this is by using social media to target different target audiences from different types of people who use different social medias for various purposes. Additionally, Tesco could seek to create a 24 hour availability of their services and products, which makes them more easily avaliable. This is a great opportunity to benefit Tesco because their store is not open 24 hours which means people cannot access certain things they may need to purchase which means they are losing out on sales. However, if they have a 24 hour website open, then customers can purchase them online at any time they need.

How the marketing mix has changed for Tesco
Tesco have an online store as well as multiple physical stores in a variety of different countries. Being worldwide increases their sales and popularity because people all around the world would have heard of Tesco. Online have the ability to devilry to a variety of different countries which makes purchasing online easier and more fitting for the majority of customers. Tesco, compared to some other businesses, offer a wider choice of places to buy their products from which makes customers purchase from Tesco more, because there is more choice.

Promotion
Tesco's benefits
Operating Tesco's website is much cheaper than maintaining the physical store because you have to pay for the up keeping of the physical store as well as various things such as electricity, rent etc. Also, with a store you would have to pay for individual advertising although, Tesco's advertise within their website which saves them a lot of money. If their are any promotions they want to offer, it is easier to spot out on their website because its all in one place because people may miss the offers in store because Tesco's have a big store.

Tesco's opportunities
To get more promotion and advertising across their website, they could use banners across the website to catch peoples attention. Seeing as the supermarket industry is extremely competitive, keeping up with trends and the current market is important which is why Tesco could introduce an app which is available on IPhones, IPads, Samsung etc. This is beneficial for Tesco because they will gain more sales as this is an easier and more accessible option to shop from peoples mobile phones or tablets. It makes it a lot easier for people and they can purchase any time and anywhere therefore it won't be a hassle to buy from Tesco. Other ways Tesco could advertise their products is by using online websites like YouTube, where they can pay to have their advert play at the beginning of specific videos which are compulsory to watch, which makes people watch the adverts. By using banners, or adverts people will recognise that it is Tesco because people will familiarise with Tesco's logo and brand which will help them associate with the business.

How the marketing mix has changed for Tesco
Having an online website enables Tesco to have online deals that are exclusive to online, which means customers can only get that specific deal if they purchase using their website. This increases the number of people who purchase online because people want deals so they will buy it online. Tesco also give out special codes, maybe via email, in-store etc. For example, if a customer reaches over £100 they get £10 off their next order which is redeemed using a special code that is personalised to the specific customer and can only be used once. Tesco also have a thing called club card points, which customers collects every time they shop. Every 3 months Tesco send customers vouchers based on the amount of points they have collected and they can choose to spend their vouchers either in-store, online or for petrol. Additionally, they can also keep their points and carry the club card boost on.

People
Tesco's benefits
Being online means that they need less staff to run it which is saving Tesco money, which results in fewer employees being needed in the physical stores due to the increase in online shopping because of Tesco's website. Tesco can use their money on other things within the business such as improving the website, creating better customer service, more training for staff etc.

Tesco's opportunities
Setting up online chat rooms that are connected to Tesco's website would be super beneficial for Tesco along with their customers because this allows customers to give their feedback, opinion and general information about Tesco as well as Tesco being able to access this information and can improve their business based on the information received.

How the marketing mix has changed for Tesco
Tesco don't have to employ as many staff to run there online websites as they would have to employ in their physical stores because it is much busier and more complex to run. They do not need security guards because it is an online website. Also, they do not need cashiers because it is all done through one website and gets sent to one place which saves Tesco's money. Although, Tesco have online chat rooms where people who work at Tesco run them to ensure questions get answered and the chat is appropriate and helpful.

Physical evidence
Tesco's benefits
Tesco have their website set out really clearly and everything is on display which is beneficial because customers can make an informed decision and whilst doing this, they can scan through every product and could possibly purchase another item they weren't expecting to buy just because they came across it on the website. On Tesco's website, they have directions to each physical store they have which helps people locate which store is nearest to them and makes it easier for people. If they live too far away from a store, then they can just purchase online which is beneficial for having an online store. This is beneficial and good because customers can plan their journey to get to Tesco's physical store.

Tesco's opportunities
Something that would be beneficial and worth while for such a large store like Tesco, is having a store plan, showing where the different departments and where products you want are. There could be a search button where you type in the product you want and it shades the area in which the product is located on the store plan. This is beneficial because it will save customers time as they can just go directly to the location in the store where the product they want is. Also, this is useful for repeat customers because they will be able to know for future where everything is in the store, this is especially good for customers who do big food shops at Tesco as it saves them a lot of time.

How the marketing mix has changed for Tesco
Their website is laid out specifically and was thought out throughly to entice customers. One thing they have when you go onto their website is big pictures and titles of different aspects of the business e.g. NEW SPRING RANGE along with pictures of the clothes or HOME AND AWAY along with photos of their new range of furniture. They strive to make their website look appealing to entice as any customers as possible because customers judge whether they want to purchase from the website by just looking at the front page, therefore they need to ensure it gives off the right vibe to the appropriate target audience.

Processes
Tesco's benefits
Tesco have a ordering system online for product stock which allows the stock level to never go below a certain level. This means the stock level will never run out which means customers can't purchase products. It will automatically top up the stock from the factory which means customers will consistently be able to buy products. Tesco are saving a lot of money by using technology rather than hiring multiple different employees to run the physical stores.

Tesco's opportunities
New and quicker ways for delivery options and delivering should be thought off. Delivery is usually the main time consuming part of shopping online which is why Tesco should find a new method to stand out from their competitors which will make customers that shop from their competitors shift to Tesco. One way they could improve the delivery option is by having customers to enter their card payment details once and it automatically stores the details and saves it securely into a database where it registers back in every time the same customer go to purchase something. This saves a lot of time and is very efficient and safe. It is beneficial because it encourages customers to purchase from Tesco because they know the buying process is easy.

How the marketing mix has changed for Tesco
Tesco have a new process in which they have recently introduced where you can get products home delivered instead of picking it up from a store, which is more convenient for customers which will entice more customers to want to purchase from Tesco because its easier for them. It appeals to a new target audience and reaches people who are not available to access the physical store for whatever reason meaning they can get stuff delivered to their home. Also Tesco have a bakery in which they produce their own fresh products on a daily basis to sell in the store. This appeals to customers because its a new process that has been introduced to supermarkets, because previously they only brought in stuff from other producers. Now they make their own fresh produce which they also sell from their bakery along with on the shelves which is more appetising to customers and customers prefer fresh food.

Efficiency and efficacy

Internet marketing has helped to improve the efficiency and efficacy of Tesco majorly. Tesco's has drastically changed because of internet marketing in many ways. I will be explaining the various changes that have been made to Tesco and whether they were successful or not. When businesses use internet marketing, they need to think about if the internet is going to add value to their business through; acquiring materials, storing materials and working with materials to product something.

Efficiency is the comparison of what is actually produced with what can be achieved with the same consumption of resources such as; time, money etc. Tesco use their website to promote their business as well as using our promotional methods like YouTube, banners, websites, advertisements etc. This allows Tesco to reach out to a wide audience in a short amount of time. Efficiency has increased by using internet marketing because, Tesco can email or post updates, information, deals etc to their customers which are filtered to pick the appropriate customers. This is to increase opportunities for sales from their existing customers as they are keeping customers up to date with latest news and updates. This has increased efficiency because for example, a customer got an email about Tesco's ovens being on sale, customers will think 'maybe we should get a new oven whilst there on sale because there really expensive' so then they will go purchase a discounted oven. They would only have know about this offer because of Tesco's email or post. The sale is instant as well as it being easy and convienant to purchase online.

Tesco's efficiency is shown by ordering loads of the same product at the same time which means they get a better price for this, compared to if they were buying a lower quantity. This allows them to make themost profit they can as well as ordering a large amount of stock so that the online store never runs out of stock. This improves the customer service last end delivery will be quicker and the customers will have positive feedback and hopefully repeat purchase. This is mass production, it is effective because Tesco get all the stock at one time rather than getting different products in dribs and drabs.

Using internet marketing is effective because it allows Tesco to not have to have anymore stores which saves them a massive amount of money which can be put into the customer service, quality of products, delivery etc. Being online reaches a wider and new audience because they will be able to offer delivery for people who may not have been bale to access or travel to one of the physical stores. Additionally, using internet marketing reduces the cost for staff because they do not that many staff as the business will be half run online. This means that Tesco are saving money because it takes a few seconds to communicate through electronic devices which saves time and money for Tesco.

Success

As well as Tesco using internet marketing to be efficient, its also made Tesco become the successful well-known business we know. This is due to multiple factors which I will be explaining.

Tesco are an extremely successful and well know business, which is due to multiple reasons. One of the reasons is due to their efficient pricing, as they are consistently offering new deals and offers on products to constantly entice customers on products that aren't selling so well as they would like. Tesco does this by using web analytics to look at what products most customers purchase and what products are the most popular and which aren't selling at all. They then do a appealing deal/offer on this product that they feel will entice customers. This is successful because Tesco's profits will increase as well as getting products more known about. Tesco offer cultures attitudes towards payment methods, where they offer different way to pay e.g. credit card, debit card, cash etc. It differs for different countries which is something that customers will like.

Being online makes the whole process a lot cheaper because they do not have a physical store to maintain and pay for. Also they need less staff for the overall business as more online transactions have come about. It also means Tesco can use disintermediation, which is when a business can cut out the 'middle man' in the process. The products that people order will go straight to the customer and no retailer is involved in the process now as it is unnecessary. Disintermediation makes Tesco's successful because it saves money for Tesco's due to them not having to deliver the products to retailers first, then onto the customer. This allows Tesco's to make more profit and allows a faster delivery process for the customer which will result in better customer service. Although, this could be a problem as some retailers may refuse to sell products to Tesco and then they will become redundant. On the other hand, if Tesco's introduces a new online distributional channel, this could cause problems such as channel conflict.


Challenges of internet marketing
Globalisation
This is the process of the world becoming interconnected as a result of massively increased trade which the world is becoming increased the production of goods and services.

Managing overload of market feedback
One challenge that Tesco face from being global, is that their website can have information fatigue. It may not be 100% accurate and trustful all the time which is misleading to the customers and Tesco can get sued for providing inaccurate information and data. Tesco will need to decide which information is useful which is done through data systems and market segmentation. As well as this, the information and data is analysed to make sure it makes sense. Being online means Tesco receive a lot more customer feedback than other businesses who don't use internet marketing. Feedback includes things such as opinions, concerns, praises, reviews, questions etc. Tesco can manage their feedback by having a FAQ page on their website, which is frequently asked questions by customers to give the most asked and most popular questions on one page to save customers from constantly asking the same questions.

Meeting higher customer expectations
By Tesco having a website and using internet marketing, it has increased the customer service Tesco's offers and the expectations of the businesses. There are various factors that Tesco have to think about though such as; secure payment, communication, quick delivery, competitive pricing etc. Tesco need to keep up with their competitors and keep on top of the other successful supermarkets otherwise they will lose their customers to their competitors because it is a constantly changing market. Customers are able to compare prices online which means Tesco have to ensure they beat their competitors prices otherwise customers will go elsewhere and get a bad reputation. Also, Tesco should make sure they have quick delivery to entice repeat customers because customers love quick delivery service. Tesco offer customers the chance to email them or give feedback about any problems or concerns they have which means Tesco have the chance to reply instantly which will improve customer service. Personalisation is something Tesco's customer are getting more demanding over because a lot of people want personalised products. Tesco's customers are now expecting more personal attention and for other products to be able to personalise, the causes a lot of pressure on the business.

Security and payment methods
This is a huge problem for some customers, as they are unaware of whether it is safe to give their bank details out online. They are concerned about payment security due to the amount of hackers, fraud and scams that are occurring now a days. They feel hackers can access their information through viruses which can put some customers off from purchasing products online as they would rather go into store than give their security details out online which can stop Tesco's from receiving online purchases. Tesco's should include clearly on their website policies to reassure customers and to ensure that their details are safe and secure when entered onto Tesco's website and no one else can access this information. This could be expensive to imply however, if Tesco wants to keep up with their competitors this is a good way because this will draw in a lot more customers who are holding back to purchase online because of payment security. Over this, they could plan security by using authorisation which is when Tesco determines who has access to application and information establishing a policy which is maintained. Encryption is when data is changed into a hidden format which makes data unrecognisable unless the person accessing it has a data key. This is done by using SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) and SET (Secure Electronic Transactions). Passwords and logins should be applied in order to identify a customer accusing the website from a hacker.

UNIT 12 M2

In this assignment I will be analysing the marketing opportunities and challenges faced by Tesco when using Internet marketing.

Tesco use direct marketing, letters, leaflets and emails to create and build good relationships with their customers as well as to update their customers on new products or services that Tesco are offering. Building relationships with their customers is extremely important for them because it leads to repeat customers and repeat purchases. Tesco's email specific customers with offers, deals and promotions to increase repeat purchases. The use of their official website is to access peoples data such as their names, address, preferences and phone numbers. This is all put into a database which is used to filter them and send appropriate emails, letters, leaflets to the appropriate and specific people. Customers are given a chance to c rate an account on Tesco in order to store all their information for the future which entices customers because it makes it easier for the next time. After customers create an account, Tesco's webpage alters accordingly to their previous purchases or searches. This opportunity is important for Tesco because it can increase the amount of customers who will lead to an increase in profit and sales for Tesco.

This could be seen as a problem and challenge for Tesco, which is because some customers don't look at their emails because they receive a heap of the same ones from different businesses. They may get frustrated and unsubscribe which means they do not receive the emails anymore. On the other hand, customers would continuously send the emails straight to junk mail without even looking at them. This is a problem for Tesco because this is a waste of their time and a waste of money as they aren't being effective. To overcome this problem, Tesco could send less frequent emails and maybe have a routine or set days they get sent e.g. every 2 weeks a subscribed email gets sent instead of every week. This could be a challenge for Tesco because reducing the amount of emails they send, could decrease their sales because less customers would be aware of the sales, promotions and updates of products. Also, it can be hard for Tesco's to understand if customers are still reading the emails or just deleting them straight away.

Tesco have a technique which they use to entice customers to buy similar products they have searched for or looked at on the website. Whenever a customer buys a certain product or looks at something, Tesco tries to recommend similar products for them to buy that they think are suitable for them to buy. Additionally, Tesco allows the customers to pay in different currencies which is a huge opportunity for Tesco because this means customers from all over the world can pay using their own currency which will increase the amount of sales Tesco's receive. Although, this could be a challenge for Tesco because the delivery cost to have products sent over to specific countries can be very expensive and not worth their while for such minimal orders. Also, it may take longer to deliver to specific countries which means the customers abroad will complain and give negative customer service and this may make other customers not want to purchase from Tesco.

In conclusion, Internet marketing offers Tesco many different opportunities including; deals and promotions through emails. Tesco also send promotions and catalogs to people through the post in order to reach a different market for example; if someone doesn't use the internet. However, Tesco also face many challenges due to internet marketing such as; delivery time being too long to deliver to certain countries which can make Tesco's customer service negative and this could affect their reputation as people talk.

unit 36 p1 p2 m1 RESUB

UNIT 36 P1

Present the initial business idea using relevant criteria

In this assignment I will be presenting my initial business idea using the relevant criteria.

I want to set up my own new business within the make-up market to sell my own branded make-up as I feel I have the right passion, determination and knowledge to do this successfully. My business will take a sole trader form of ownership meaning I will be the full owner. I choose this form of ownership because I feel being a sole trader has many benefits such as; having full control of the business meaning I can run it how I wish to, I will be able to keep all the profit made from the business to myself and lastly all data and information within the business such as trade secrets and recipes will be kept private and secure. All those factors are extremely important to me because they ensures I make decisions effectively and efficiently without any one else input which will allow me to meet the needs of my customers which will lead to an increase in profit. Being a sole trader can be challenging however, I know it will boost my self-esteem as I will have a sense of independence and it will be able to help me control my live more.

As a sole trader I will be able to react to any competitors or any changes efficiently to ensure I am keeping up with the trends, competitors and the market. The products my business will provide are new and exclusive products to only my business. The products I sell will range from bronzers to makeup brushes, to makeup sponges and a whole lot more. I will be liable for every employee I hire as well as all the accounts within my business. Liabilities are my businesses obligations such as money that will need to be paid or services that must be performed. I will have unlimited liability over my business because I'm a sole trader, which has many benefits like having full control over the business and being able to keep all of the profit. Although, there are disadvantages because I will be personally responsible for anything that goes wrong.

My aims for the business is that it survives which will be achieved by making a profit/income and by gaining brand awareness as it is a new business and people won't be familiar with the brand. I aim to make a profit as my business needs to run, also I need to increase the market share which can be challenging however I am determined to do it. To be a successful business, my business needs to grow and expand which is why I need to make a profit to start off with in order for these future aims to happen. My products will be aimed at any females aged between 10-50, this is because there is a wide range of products that are suitable for different people which is why the target audience has a large age range. The products will be priced at an affordable high street price to attract customers however, not too cheap as customers won't want to purchase products that are priced too low as they fear the products represent the price.

A suggested name for my business was 'KANDY', pronounced CAN-DY, as this was thoroughly thought about after a million different names were proposed to me. However, I was really drawn to 'KANDY' because it has a vibrant sound to it and you instantly think of sweets and candy, which is colourful and happy which represents my products. The name has a good vibe to it and is happy which is why I feel this name is perfect to represent my business.

I have a real passion in beauty and make-up as I am a freelance makeup artist with a BA (Hons) Hair and Make-up qualification. I currently work freelance however, I recently opened up a salon at the side of my house where I have various repeat customers. I have previous work experience at MAC Makeup along with Charlotte Tilbury which have both helped to intensify my passion for make-up as I learnt a huge deal of knowledge and skills from working with both of them. My work and personal balance is really good as I know how to manage my personal life separately to my work life, I do not over load on work however, I am extremely professional and do not discuss any personal information with my clients. Managing my own business will be a lot of hard work although I am determined to manage it alone and deal with various things such as; creating profit and loss accounts, managing my accounts, operating day to day business activities, calculating break even points, fixed assets and fixed costs.

The unique selling point of my business is that all my products will relate to a different type of candy.   For example, I will be selling a range of mascaras, one of which is called Curly Cane which is a curl intensifier mascara to make your lashes extra curled. The colour of the bottle will be red and white just like a candy cane and it will be in the shape of a candy cane. There is defiantly a gap in the beauty and make-up market for my products as they do not already offer any products like this. I feel like my idea will really stand out from my competitors as they do nothing unique like this and are all closely competing on who has the best makeup and which is the cheapest. I also feel my business is attractive and stands out because there are not a lot of distinctive, quirky and cool makeup brands like mine. All the existing makeup brands all follow the same style and are plain and boring which is why I feel my products will sell. All the products I will be selling are difficult to imitate which means no other brand will copy them because they are distinguishing and exclusive to my business.

There are plenty external influences that I need to consider which include PESTLE analysis. The P stands for political which includes international trade relations, government stability, recession, the  possibility of war, tax and employment policy which are all essential aspects to consider when managing my business. Economic factors include tax increases, consumer confidence, banking crisis, economic growth and retail sales trends which also majorly apply to my business. Social consider things such as education, crime levels, retirement issues, changes in population and lifestyle changes. Technological involves technological changes in the industry, ICT application impacting the business and improvements in new equipment and machinery. Legal includes health and safety regulations, employment laws and competition policies. Lastly, the environmental factor considers things such as waste disposal, pressure groups, pollution legislation, the local community analysis of the business's activities. All these factors are extremely important and

UNIT 26 P2

Explain how to identify the target market

In this assignment I will be explaining thoroughly how to identify my target market for my business.

A target audience is a particular group at which a particular product/service is aimed. My target audience for my business are females aged between 10-50 therefore I need to really understand their needs, their spending habits, what makes them want to buy a product etc. Given that my business is new, I will need to carry out various different methods of research in order to receive information and data necessary to help me understand my target market and to understand if my business will be a success or not.

I will carry out market research to first gather research by using primary research as this will give me accurate and detailed information as I will be collecting the information first hand. By choosing primary research, this will allow me to make my research specific and choose questions to suit the needs of my research. Questionnaires and surveys are good formats that I may use in order to collect information as you can choose different question formats which will allow me to obtain short or detailed answers which are useful. Secondary research is also a good method to use to gather data as it is already existing which means It won't waste a lot of time as well as money which is a benefit. The information I need may have already been found out by researchers and published online however, I may need to do additional research in order to collect the most accurate and reliable research I can. Collecting research is a continuous process as you need to constantly meet customers needs and the information needs to maintain current and not out of date.

Published research, also know as desk research could actually benefit me as it is research which has already been carried out. Publish research will provide information about various relevant things such as; customer behaviour, consumer trends, market analysis, potential competitors etc. These are all vital factors to find out in order to help me when starting up my business because it will prevent my business from failing.

I need to be aware of the market place's potential and the best way to do this is by using primary research and sales forecasting in order to find out things such as; who will buy the products, how much are they willing to pay etc. As my business is new, it will take longer at the beginning however, the better my reputation gets and the more my business gets know, the better the forecast will be. Also, the forecast depends on the strength of the competition and seeing as the make-up industry is quite competitive I'm not sure how that will go. Secondary research can also be useful when forecasting sales as I could look at the past trends within the make-up market.

Customer needs and wants are an extremely important factor to consider because I need to be aware of their actions and choices. Sometimes customers do not always know what they want and don't have a preference however, the majority of consumers do. There is so much competition now a days a there is new technology and businesses are trying to compete with one another to be more successful. Direct competition is where businesses offer the same product however, indirect competition is where businesses offer different products that satisfy the same needs from the consumer.

SWOT have strengths such as internal ones like; having expertise in a specific area as this will mean you have had experience working in a business which is similar to working in a make-up business. The location is extremely important because finding the right place to place my store depends on various different aspects such as; if the area is busy, the population etc. The USP which stands for the unique selling point, is also really important to consider as you need to find a space in the market in which their is no business which sell the same products as I will be selling because if there is then my products wont do well because there wont be a reason for customers to buy my products if there are the same products somewhere else which is an existing business which is known. Although, the weaknesses are that you could have lack of expertise meaning you would struggle to get a grip of the business and you would not be able to entice customers if you didn't know what you were talking about within the business. Besides, their is a high competition within the make-up industry along with  the products and services because their is a high demand for them as females want the best products for a lower price than high end brands which is what I am providing allotting i have found a USP in the market.

Market trends are the movement of the financial market over a short, mid or long term period. Being aware of these trends ensure I can plan stuff to be as successful I can be and ensure I stay up to date with the latest trends in the make-up industry. Regular basis movement is know as a cyclical trend and this is when something occurs frequently in a cycle.

Environmental issues are the issues that involve the environment which include stuff like; making sure that equipment used it replaced. For example, the first fighting equipment do not harm the environment therefore there is no issues there, this is the same with cleaning products. The Department for Business Innovation Skills (BIS) publishes and communicates leaflets out to the public with relevant information inside of them which covers legislation on it. These would be essential and useful to keep in my store as it will remind employees of the legislations they have to abide by as well as customers who enter my store.

UNIT 36 M1

Explain methods used to identify the target market for the proposed business

Within this assignment, I will be explaining the different methods I will apply in order to identify the target market for my proposed business.

To find out my target market I will use primary research as well as secondary research, as I feel both will provide me with accurate, detailed and reliable information as they both have their own individual benefits along with their own drawbacks. However, by using both I will be able to eliminate the drawbacks from them both and be able to have access to useful information and data that will be able to help me identify my target market appropriately. I have decided to use 1 primary research method, which is a questionnaire, along with 1 secondary research method which is internet research.

I first thing I am going to do is create a questionnaire and hand it to people as this is an easy and efficient method as well as it being specific to my business needs. The advantages of using a questionnaire is that people are familiar with the format therefore, it is easy to understand and clearly laid out. The information I collect will be modern and up to date as I will be obtaining it myself therefore I know where its come from. It allows a large amount of information to be collected from a large number of people in a short amount of time. The results of the questionnaire can easily be converted into graphs and charts to compare and analyse. None of my competitors will be able to steal this information or copy it as I am doing it myself and it will be specific to my business needs which will ensure exclusivity.

Nevertheless, questionnaires have disadvantages too. They lack validity as anyone could answer the questions with random answers just to complete the questionnaire meaning there is no way of telling how truthful their answers are. Some say it is inadequate due to there being different answer styles such as long answers, multiple choice etc. To produce the questionnaires it could become costly and waste a lot of money into producing the resources and equipment and material as I want it to be accurate which means I will have to start from scratch. Questionnaires are a good research method for my proposed business as I can relate the questions appropriately to my business needs as well as being able to choose who are going to answer my questionnaire.

The second type of research I will be doing is internet research which is useful for me to identify my target market. This is because it allows me to obtain a large sample of information at once which increases the amount of statistics I have. Data is automatically inputted into the internet therefore there is no data entry errors. This is a more diverse sample based research rather than a traditional old based research which is good for my proposed business because all the competitors within the make-up industry will have already done research and this would've been published onto the internet therefore this wont be hard to find and there should be not a lack of information on the internet. Internet research is a cheap way of collecting research as you do not need to provide any materials or equipment as the research has already been obtained.

On the other hand, sometimes you could rush through this research which could mean that you don't read something properly and this may result in collecting inaccurate research which is wrong and invalid to my research which won't be useful. Also, a huge percentage of information from the internet is unreliable and can be really uncertain because people with even no expertise can publish information onto the internet which have no source of reliability, which is why I will be extremely careful when searching through the internet and carefully look for websites and sources who have a valid link.

There are some types of research such as interviews in which I would not use. This is because the cost of interviews can be quite costly, as they require staff of people to conduct the interviews. Now a days interviews in a paper form is old fashioned and none is willing to answer them because they are usually done on iPads or tablets which cost an excessive amount of money. Also, the quality of the data that I will receive will often depend on the ability of the person interviewing as some people have natural ability to conduct an interview however, some people may be shy and not other data well. It is common with most people that they are not naturally good at conducting interviews which is why I will not use interviews to identify my target market for my proposed business. The size of the sample in an interview is limited because, some people may not be willing to answer questions for a long period of time. Additionally, if the interview is produced on paper then the data collected will need to be entered manually or scanned into a computer however, data entry can cost a significant amount of money as iPad or tablets etc may need to be required.

Additionally, a focus group is a good research method however, it is not suitable for me to identify the target market for my proposed business. This is because they can be moderately bias because people may intentionally put their personal opinions into the other participants exchange of ideas. This may make the results inaccurate because the group participants may reach certain assumptions  or conclusions about a certain idea or product. Also focus groups are not in such depth compared to an individual interview because they are not as efficient in covering a lot of detailed information.

Postal surveys are a commonly used method of research, because they allow you to collect a large sample of work using a very cheap method with a limited amount of resources. Although, there is no way of finding out who has actually answered the questionnaire and who hasn't. They are straightforward and easy to fill out because they have a basic format which allows respondents to choose answers from a predetermined range of responses. I don't think postal surveys are the most suitable method of research because I cannot get immediate responses which isn't helpful when I need a lot of information in a short amount of time. Therefore, I will not use postal surveys as a method of research because it isn't appropriate for the research I need to find out.

To conclude, I feel that my chosen research methods are the most suitable methods, because questionnaires are in a format that people are familiar with, which makes people more likely to answer because they know what the are doing and the idea of them. They are easy to understand because they are clearly formatted which allows for various different question styles to gain a wide range of answers which is really useful for me to collect a huge amount of data which questionnaires fit well. Along with questionnaires, internet research is the most appropriate research method for me to use because I will be able to obtain a large amount of information in one go because its all in one place, it is a convenient research method which makes it useful because in the modern day and age no one really reads books or uses the traditional research methods. Both these research methods are the most suited methods for the research I want to find out which is my target audience. Overall, out of all the research methods I feel questionnaires and internet research are the two most suited methods for my research.

unit 12 p1 p2 RESUB

UNIT 12 P1

Describe the role internet marketing has within a modern marketing context

Dear whom it may concern,

In this letter I will be addressing the impact the internet has on modern marketing within two businesses and how effective it is in getting the products or services the businesses are advertising across. The two businesses I will be using in this letter is Asda and Office, because these are two successful businesses. Asda's is a British supermarket retailers with stores all over the UK. The company became a subsidiary of the American store Walmart after an £6.7billion takeover. Furthermore, Office is a south african show company which sell a variety of different shoes such as trainers, boots, heels, sandals etc. They sell different brand within their store which are located over the country. They are very successful, however there is a lot of competition in the shoe market. By using Asda and Offices website, it will allow us to get accurate and reliable information.

The role of internet marketing is to make profit for the business and to increase the market coverage. By using the internet it introduces and aids the products and services to the internet. It also helps in marketing a product and helps to reshape or alter what businesses can do. Businesses that aim to make a profit intend to market their products through the internet, such as Asda as its a very successful and effective way of increasing a businesses income, awareness and the number of customers they receive. When using internet marketing it is important to consider the marketing mix as this will really help to make the marketing strategies effective. The marketing mix is made out of 4 P's: Product, Price, Promotion and Place and it helps to achieve the businesses marketing objectives and aims.

The first P in the marketing mix is product which takes into consideration what the product/service is, who its aimed at, what does the product/service do and what should it do. The next P is price which looks at what price customers will pay for a specific product/service, what price will attract specific customers, what price will create the best image for the product/service and what will attract the change in price. There are different pricing strategies that can be used to appropriately price a product or service;
Penetration pricing is when a product or service gets set a price to gain market foothold.
Destruction pricing is when a product or service gets a price set to drive other competitors out of the market, usually by pricing is cheaper.
Competitor pricing is when a product or service is priced based on their competition,
Skimming is when a product or service is set at a high price because it is a unique product or service.
Discrimination pricing is when a product or service gets set at different prices depending on the customer they are.

The third P is place which focuses on the location to buy the product or service. It includes looking at distribution and merchandising as this is important when locating a product or service. Businesses that work in between manufacture and retailers are called intermediaries. Lastly, the final P is promotion which is where businesses try to bring products or services to the attention of the customers by doing promotional things such as offers, deals etc.

In the modern marketing world and the modern economy, they sell more services. Therefore, the extended marketing mix was introduced which includes 3 more P's: People, Processes and Physical evidence. The people side of this mix is at the centre of the service delivery. Processes look at the activities and processes that customers take part in during a service. For example, banks have attractive waiting rooms, they would look at how long do customers have to wait and do they have forms in the waiting rooms. The physical evidence is where the service will be delivered and having evidence for the customers to judge for themselves. An example of this is Uber, they allow you to give reviews about your Uber journey which is useful for Uber as they can see how customers feel about the drivers and there journeys and what to improve from it etc.

As the internet is changing and expanding over time, Asda and Mr Bakery need to ensure that they keep up with the changes in order to be different from their competitors and not fall behind. By doing this it will reach their audience in the most effective way. This can happen in a few different ways:
Market penetration is when a business increases the market share by offering better services.
Market development is when a business enters a new market or increases the market share.
Product development is when new products can be digitally delivered through the web.
Some businesses have online objectives, some examples of them are to increase their profit by 20%, achieve the top 10 in market in a particular country, increase customer response times. When making a web objective they have to be SMART in order to be achievable.

ASDA

Asda's have their own official website in which allows customers to purchase products or services from, as well as having a tool where you can find your nearest store in order to attract customers. Previously, customers had to go into a physical store and purchase their products and services which could have been difficult or inconvenient for some people.  By having their own website this means Asda can now use different promotional tools within their website like banners to engage customers instead of being advertised in one place only e.g. newspaper. On their website they also offer tips on beauty, healthy living and fashion such as 'How To Streamline Your Wardrobe In 30 Minutes Flat'. In 2013 Asda decided to try and lower their prices in order to outshine the "Big Four" competitors however, they are suffering 'unprecedented distress' within the grocery market that they decided to scrap that idea and just focus on. Asda's motto 'Save Money. Live Better' is really emphasises through their website as they offer deals and promotions on food, home, beauty etc. This draws customers in as especially now a days customers just want to buy the cheapest stuff therefore if Asda's is linked with being cheap then customers will gravitate towards Asda's more.

Social media is another way Asda advertise's their business. Previously Asda had to promote their products through a newspaper or magazines which didn't really reach a large audience therefore by using social media it is more efficient. One of the main sites they use is Twitter, because it is extremely popular site and people can tweet Asda to praise them or tell them any problems they have had. A benefit of using Twitter is that if a customer praises them, they can retweet the tweet and everyone that follows Asda will be able to see that praise on their page however, if it is a negative tweet it will still be on the responders page however it will not show on Twitters official page. Asda use social media to keep up with their customers and competitors in order to try to be the most up to date and up to trend supermarket. By using social media it allows Asda to do this because they can reply to customers tweets which increase customer service meaning customers will feel special and like Asda care about their customers. It is also easy for Asda customers to communicate with Asda because it is direct and public so everyone can see the tweets and posts. Another benefit of using Twitter is that Asda have the ability to improve their customer service by responding to direct tweets e.g. offering a voucher for £10 off their next shop because there was an issue with one of the products they brought due to manufacturing.

Asda's IPhone app allows customers to quickly purchase products and services through their phone which is an effective and efficient way of shopping. Instead of everyone having to use Asda's website, there is now a IPhone app in which people can also purchase products from. Not all supermarkets have this therefore Asda's stand out from some of their competitors. However, other supermarkets such as M&S and Sainsbury's have connecting apps which are called 'Sainsbury's SmartShop' 'Cook With M&S' or 'Sainsbury's Magazine' which are all apps that offer slightly different things to make them unique and distinctive as the supermarket market is extremely competitive. They also offer an IPad edition which offers a wider variety for people if they do not have an IPhone as more of the older generation may have an IPad or a family IPad to do the shopping on which means Asda's will reach a wider audience as they are offering a wider range of choice in which to purchase their products and services.

Asda's use social media to advertise their business, one of the main sites they use to do this is Twitter. This is because it is an extremely popular site and people can directly tweet Asda to praise them or tell them any problems they have had to dow with Asda. A benefit of using Twitter is that if a customer praises them, they can retweet the tweet and everyone that follows Asda will be able to see that praise on their page however, if it is a negative tweet it will still be on the responders page however it will not show on Twitters official page. Another benefit of using Twitter is that Asda have the ability to improve their customer service by responding to direct tweets e.g. offering a voucher for £10 off their next shop because there was an issue with one of the products they brought due to manufacturing.

OFFICE

Office also use social media to promote their products. They have sites on Twitter like Asda, as well as Facebook and Instagram. Instead o having to advertise in newspaper or on billboards, they can now reach a wider audience by using the internet. They can keep up with the latest trends and ensure their social medias sites are up to date to keep customers informed about the latest products and news etc. This attracts more customers because they feel Office is more engaged with their customers and they have more time for them so, therefore they want to give their money to a business who care about their customers.

Office's website is open 24/7 which means it doesn't have any opening or closing times. This is beneficial for customers because they are able to shop at any time they want whenever is easier for them. Before, customers would of had specific opening and closing times to determine when they were able to access the physical stores and purchase from them. It now makes it a lot more convenient for people and appeals to more people increasing Office's sales. It means customers can shop for items in the comfort of their own home, in the car etc. Customers can compare prices and use online exclusive codes on Office's website if they have access to any.

Like Asda, Office also includes FAQ pages within their website, in order for customers to post their questions and receive answers for them in one place for everyone to see. Customers no longer have to go into one of Office's physical stores or call up about a complaint or a praise. It is easy to just write a direct question or response to something on the FAQ page. This creates a good relationship between the customers and Office because Office can directly respond to the questions which makes the customers feel special and it makes them think Office care about their customers. Any complaints anyone has, Office can respond to using a incentive such as; giving that customer £10 off their next order for having a problem with their shoe. This will create repeat purchases from customers because they know Office care about their customers and give incentives if anything is wrong. Instant chats are another thing Office have introduced into their website, which allows anyone to talk directly to Office which means that they can build good customer relationships.

Businesses like Asda and Office work hard to build customer relationships to gain customer repetition. They do this by having products or services that are appropriate for their target audience. By using web technology, you can use images and make the customer interaction creative and stand out. One way Asda and Office could improve their marketing online is by having products or services where customers can customise their product or service and use web pages or specific colours to manipulate the original product. Adidas are one business who use this and have a customising tool in which you can customise specific shoes at bit of an extra cost. By using web technology it will allow Asda and Office to record and assess their customer feedback and then respond appropriately targeting specific groups of customers.

Segmentation is when there are different groups within a market so businesses can target products and services to meet their needs. Consumers have all different preferences, budgets and reasons for buying products and services therefore businesses have to market specifically to target their target audiences. There are various internet-enabled segmentation and targeting systems that are used. Examples of these are; demographics, psychographic, economic, usage based. The demographics show where the population live and how many people are online. Psychographic show the lifestyle and personal characteristics based on research. Economic shows the conditions of countries that determines whether their e-commerce will be successful or not. Lastly, usage based is how the internet is being used in different parts of the world.

UNIT 12 P2

Describe how selected organisations use internet marketing

Within this assignment I will be describing the way in which three businesses use the internet in a range of ways to market their products and services. The businesses I will be mentioning are Tesco, Cancer Research and Daniel's Bakery.

Tesco is a british multinational supermarket, which stocks multiple different products and offers different services. It offers stores in 12 countries across Europe and Asia. Tesco leads the role of the grocery market leader in the UK. Furthermore, Cancer Research is a registered charity who work to help the lives of anyone who unfortunately has cancer. They come together to create different events such as charity runs, walks, life events, cake bakes, cultural events etc. They are all fund raisers to raise money to find ways to help people who are suffering with cancer or people who have lost a loved one to cancer. Lastly, Daniel's Bakery is a kosher bakery located in Temple Fortune, who offers catering for a variety of different events, big or small. They are under supervision by the London Beth Din Kashrut Division.

Tesco
Tesco offer information about their products on their website for every individual product or service to give the customer a bit of detail about the product or service. Tesco offer product reviews, warranties on appliances, expert advice, money back guarantees on certain products etc. This allows Tesco to reach a wider target audience by using social media and internet marketing to product the ways in which they can cater for customers. Tesco use online and offline services which promote their products and services and an example of one of these services is 'click and collect'. Click and collect is where customers are able to purchase through Tesco's website and get it delivered to one of their stores for them to pick it up from a physical store. Click and collect was only introduced recently due to the technology not being as advanced as now. Previously, Tesco didn't offer home delivery, or collection from store, customers had to buy products there and then from the store.

Customers are able to shop online at any time that is convenient. It is open 24/7 because it has no opening or closing times which means it is appealing for customers. Before this was introduced, customers were only able to purchase products from Tesco on a scheduled basis when they were open. This makes it easy for customers to be able to compare Tesco's prices with their competitors and decide what product is the most appropriate one for them. Tesco also have exclusive deals and offers online which encourages online purchase because people will want to receive the offers which means they have to use their website to receive them. This has a positive impact on Tesco because it means their reputation and sales have increased majorly due to a lot of new customers shopping online who before were not able to access the physical stores.

Tesco have an IPhone app in which customers can use to purchase products from, same as their website however it offers flexibility and allows customers to use different ways of shopping.

Cancer Research
Social media is a way Cancer Research uses internet marketing. Before, Cancer Research would use the TV, newspaper and magazine to advertise, whereas now they can use social medias sites to advertise and stay up to date with the modern market trends. Cancer Research is an old charity therefore, when it first started up none used social media which made it acceptable and it wasn't like they were not keeping up to date. By using social media, it has had a huge impact on Cancer Research because it has drawn people into their social media sites to follow to stay up to date with the latest news they post and latest information. They are still trying to keep up their competitive with the smaller charities and similar charities because the want to appeal to as many people as possible, still keeping their charity morals in mind.

They have FAQ pages on their website which are available for any questions or enquiries anyone has. All the frequently asked questions that people ask are put into one place for the public to see at any time without having to email and the business answering multiple times. People are able to look up any concerns they have and are able to access this effectively and efficiently. This saves people and the business time and effort which is a positive for both parties. Previously, customers would have to call Cancer Research about a complaint or an enquiry which is inconvenient for some people because Cancer Research have opening and closing times and sometimes they are too busy to answer the phones. This reduces customer queries which has a positive impact on Cancer Research because people will be happier to get quicker answers and will be happy with Cancer Research's customer service.

Daniel's Bakery
Daniel's website is very minimal and only has a few things on it. It includes a home page which explains what Daniel's bakery has to offer and what they cater for. It also has a menu page with all their prices next to the food to give customers a clear accurate idea of how much the food they produce costs. This is helpful for customers because they are able to get an idea of how much it will cost them before they order from Daniel's bakery. Previously, customers would have had to go into their physical store and find out the price of everything and if the prices were too high, then they would have gone into the store for no reason. Having the menu on their website it helpful and saves customers a lot of time and effort because they can have a look at it at any time at the comfort of their own home. On their website it also comprises of their contact details for customers to call about any enquiries they have or any complaints/praises. This is good because Daniel's customers would've used to have to go into store to talk to someone from the business which could be difficult and unsuitable for some people.

You cannot purchase any products from Daniel's website as this feature is not available yet. Daniel's internet marketing is different to Tesco because you can purchase products from their website and either pick it up from the store or get it delivered to your home where as you cannot use Daniel's website to shop for products. Daniel's use internet marketing to create brand awareness of their business especially because its a small business, by having a website it makes customer feel like they are up to date and one of the more modern bakeries compared to their competitors. They use their website to give customers brief information which is extremely useful for customers lifestyles. This has had a favourable impact on Daniel's bakery because its allowed more customers to call up and order food because they have looked through the website. This means Daniel's are increasing their sales which is a positive thing for them because its allowing repeat purchases from loyal customers.

Daniel's could use social media to increase the brand awareness more such as using Instagram to take photos of their food and publicise it for their followers to see. This would encourage people to go onto their website and maybe call Daniel's up about an enquiry or an order. By using social media, they would be up to date with the modern market trends and this is something that is so important now a days because their are so many competitors in the bakery industry. In the past, Daniel's advertised their business in the jewish newspapers, jewish magazines and local billboards which were not as effective as using internet marketing. Therefore, Daniel's should use social media accounts on e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram to generate more consciousness of the business.

Overall, it is obvious that the use of internet marketing has a positive impact on the three businesses that I have used within my assignment. For the businesses to carry on being successful, they should try keep up with the market trends and the latest technology in order to compete with their competitors. By doing this, they will be able to generate more sales and increase the brand recognition.

unit 2 d1 d3

UNIT 2 D1 

Evaluate how managing resources and controlling budget costs can improve the performance of a business

In this assignment I will be evaluating the managing resources and controlling budget costs which can improve the performance of The Small Local Printing Company.

It is extremely essential for a business to manage and control their costs, especially a small business like The Small Local Printing Company because if they do not keep on top of the finance side of the business, it will possibly start to fail and could possibly end up shutting down. Keeping on track and organised by having a formal structure will massively help and ensure they are running the business as successfully as they can.

Controlling their budget will all them to not have any financial difficulties or major problems because The Small Local Printing Company will be on top of all the budgets and costs and will solve any problems that occur instantly. Also, for The Small Local Printing Company to be successful, it must plan out the financial activities that are going to take place far in advance to be prepared. In the plan it will include the revenue, income and expenditures using previous data from activities that The Small Local Printing Company have done in the past to prepare future trends. The Small Local Printing Company have staff that specialise in controlling budgets and costs in a business who have experience in what they are doing and know the best, most efficient way to control them in order to allow The Small Local Printing Company to make the most profit they can as well as being as successful as they can. The Small Local Printing Company keep all their previous data an information about the budgets within the business which will be used to help make future plans and predictions although, if more research is needed then this could be quite costly which The Small Local Printing Company would have to think about doing and consider whether they can afford to do the research or not.

Additionally, by planning future things this will allow The Small Local Printing Company to be able to see if they have the money to expand and make chains depending on how they are doing which improves their performance. By controlling their costs it will mean that they will be able to reduce the amount of waste they produce. Although, The Small Local Printing Company doesn't make the phone cases, some may be broken or given back because they are faulty which is seen as waste. They can control the amount of waste they receive and if this is affecting their profit or income and consider appropriate measures in order to reduce the amount of waste if necessary. The Small Local Printing Company will spend a maximum budget whenever they order their stock which has been looked at from previous income, profit and financial sheet and make to ensure they do not order too much stock that they aren't selling. The Small Local Printing Company could decided using their budget costs if they can afford to spend some money on extra training for their staff to support them and help them to do their job more efficiently. Training costs money and it may be a sufficient amount, but it is so worth in in the long run as their staff will do their job as effective as can be and this will save The Small Local Printing Company money in order to

The Small Local Printing Company have physical resources which are mainly equipment and tools within the business that are used. For example, printer, printing ink, paper, stationary, film etc. Every member of staff, the Small Local Printing Company employee will manage the equipment and tools regularly which includes cleaning them and making sure they are fit for purpose. They will check if they are fully functional and if they aren't then this problem should be made aware off and solved immediately by calling maintenance. Any problems with the physical resources will cost money to be fixed which comes out of the businesses profits which makes them lose out on money. Therefore, by controlling physical resources ensures that they won't need to spend money on broken or faulty equipment which will mean the business will keep all there profit and this improves the businesses performance. The Small Local Printing Company have to make sure they provide induction sessions for new staff when they start because this will allow the employees to gain knowledge about the products that they are selling as well as getting used to the equipment and tools they are going to use e.g. till. If employees cant work a piece of equipment or use a tool properly this decreases the efficiency of the business which decreases the business performance and will slow down the profit they make.

Managing physical resources can be a problem, because this could be expensive and be time consuming to use to correct cleaning procedures. It can take up a lot of time practising the appropriate cleaning procedures constantly as well as ensuring no equipment of tool is faulty or broken. Employees have to be especially careful when using the ink and the printer because ink can stain surfaces and clothes which is something they need to carefully think of whiney are using the ink. Also, employees should ensure the printer is used carefully because it is very delicate and expensive to fix or replace. Spending money on good equipment and tools is better than buying cheap equipment and tools because they will last for longer and they are safer, although it may be expensive it is better for the long run because The Small Local Printing Company won't have to keep replacing fault or broken equipment or tools.

Human resources are the employees within The Small Local Printing Company. They are a massive part in the business and are there mainly to keep the business making a profit. The Small Local Printing Company rely on their staff massively because they have multiple roles in which they have to do on a daily basis and they also have multiple responsibilities, some of which are extremely important for the business. Human resources need managing carefully because employees affect the business performance massively. Ways they can be managed is by providing regular training sessions for employees to improve their skills and maybe develop new skills which will improve The Small Local Printing Company performance. By doing this, it will ensure employees don't slack and don't do their job properly which makes the businesses performance bad. Employees could cut corners in their tasks they are required to do which means they are not fulfilling their tasks and responsibilities correctly which brings the businesses performance down. The Small Local Printing Company would lose out on money because they would be paying their employees to do their tasks and responsibilities although they won't be fulfilling their appropriately, for example an employee could be not taking out the trash cans every day which means the store could end up smelling and this could damages the stores reputation and prevent customers from coming in.

By providing regular training sessions for all the employees, this can end up costly a lot of money as well as employees taking time out of work hours which they may not want to do or may not be able to. Employees may not have the motivation to attend the sessions which means some employees will be more knowledgable than others and they will perform better which means they will stand out. This could make some employees feel worth less than other employees. This could decrease their productivity within the business and could lead to a loss of customer and a negative customer service. This could be solved by ensuring staff are always supportive of staff who cannot attend training sessions although they could ensure a set amount of sessions are compulsory to enable staff to get a minimum amount of extra training to improve the businesses performance.

Technological resources within The Small Local Printing Company are things like air conditioning, television, till, electricity etc. By having air conditioning this allows customers to feel more relaxed and cool in the store, if the store didn't have air conditioning in the hot weather then customers would probably not come into the store because they would feel too hot and not in the right mood to shop. Being a printing shop, the heat of the printer could spread across the store especially because its a small space which means the air conditioning will keep it cool. By having air con, this increases the amount of customers that will come into The Small Local Printing Company compared to other stores because customers will feel too hot. Having a television in the store could entice customers especially if they have children because this will enable them to shop whilst their children could watch the television. This improves The Small Local Printing Companies performance massively because it will allow loads more customers than if the business didn't have a television because there are multiple benefits to having one. Another benefit is that music could be playing in the background within the store which gives the store a nice lively vibe which makes customers want to shop in their. When customers are waiting in the queue they could watch the television to pass their time and stop them from leaving the store which is a huge advantage of having the television because time passes by when they watch the television. In order to use the till employees need to be trained appropriately to know how to use it efficiently because it is hard to use and there are many functions within the till which you would need to learn how to use. If any of the technological resources are faulty or broken, it is the employees responsibilities in order to call maintenance or fix the problem. However, tills are expensive and can cost the business a lot of money to replace or get fixed which means the employees need to be careful when using the till to ensure it doesn't break or gets damaged. A till is essential in The Small Local Printing Company which means it improves the businesses performance along with having air con and television etc.

There are problems ensuring the technological resources are managed and controlled because the employees may feel this is a big responsibility for them as the resources cost a lot of money which are expensive to replace or fix. Also, they may feel under pressure to learn all the new skills to ensure they know how to use the till, air con, television etc. They have to ensure all the health and safety procedures are placed out for example, not getting any water over the printer because this could damage it which are extremely expensive to replace.

UNIT 2 D3

Evaluate the problems they have identified from unmonitored costs and budgets

Within this assignment I will be identifying the problems that The Small Local Printing Company have come across from not managing their costs and budgets.

Budgeting and monitoring budgets and costs are an essential part of a business and if they are not done correctly, then this can result in a business losing profit, becoming unsuccessful and potentially having to shut down. Therefore, it is important to keep the business in order by controlling their costs and budgets.

One problem that I have noticed within The Small Local Printing Company from unmonitored costs and budgets is the extra money they have spent on wages for the employees. This is because The Small Local Printing Company aren't properly planning and budgeting their costs in order to work out how much they are giving their staff and then taking that money of their profit. The Small Local Printing Company have hired too many staff which is efficient for the business however, by not managing their costs and budgets they are spending way too much of their profit on giving their staff their wages and salaries. A minimum wage is required which is what the staff are paid although, this is still costing The Small Local Printing Company too much money. A way of sorting this out could be to have less staff in the business which would mean you are paying less staff and therefore will save some of the profit. The money that is saved could maybe go towards getting the remaining staff extra training sessions to improve their skills and make them more efficient now that there are less of them.

Another problem that I identified in The Small Local Printing Company was they weren't making enough profit. This is due to the prices of their products and services they offer being too high e.g. printing, ink. Having high prices for printing is silly because customers will go elsewhere to one of their competitors which means The Small Local Printing Company is losing out on money. They have priced their prices too high because they have a lack of knowledge when it comes to pricing due to them not managing their costs and budgets. Due to this they wouldn't have been able to notice that they weren't making a sustainable profit and selling enough products. The Small Local Printing Company could solve this issue by doing appropriate market research in order to find out how much their target audience would pay for their services and products. As a result of this they would lower their prices in order to sell more and appeal to customers, they could also consider their competitors prices and try to compete with their prices to entice customers into The Small Local Printing Company instead of their competitors. Special offers, deals and promotions could also be introduced in order to appeal to customers especially new ones because customers love deals.

The Small Local Printing Company didn't plan their budget out appropriately therefore this was inaccurate and not realistic. This affects the business because it means they don't have a realistic budget to work with and they are just spending money. By not having a proper budget to work this this means that the business don't have a plan or an average price for how much they should spend. This means the business do not have a stable balance of their money because they do not have a set budget which is from not monitoring their costs. By looking at their costs they would be able to work out how much they spend in a set period of time and set a realistic and appropriate budget for the business to work with in order to budget and save their money. This could be avoided by ensuring their have a set budget by looking through their costs and working out a suitable budget for a set period of time. The Small Local Printing Company could put aside an emergency fund, which is in case of an emergency where for example, one month the business use more than their budget they have an emergency fund to help them the next month to get even again.

Additionally, The Small Local Printing Company will not be able to determine its performance if costs and budgets are not monitored. The business will be unable to understand their performance if they do not control how much average profit and how much money they are spending, because they won't be able to see if they are making too much or too little. For example, the business could be making £4,000,00 a month, which means their business performance is positive and very good. Although, by hanging their costs, they may be able to see that they spent e.g. £4,400,00 meaning the business is actually making a loss and this results in them having a extremely bad performance.

A noticeable problem that occurred within The Small Local Printing Company because of unmonitored costs and budgets is the overspending on advertisements. As a small local business this is a real problem because they are not that successful that they can be spending a lot of money on advertisements. By controlling the costs and budgets, they will be able to see if they have the money spare to spend on advertisements and if they will be redundant after. By having a budget, this will help in order to see if they have enough money in their budget to fund their advertisements without the risk of damaging their profit. A suitable resolution for this is by monitoring their budgets around the period that they want to have a new campaign or advertisement so that they know how much they are spending on their advertisement and they will be ensuring they are stable enough.

Achieveing goals is a problem for The Small Local Printing Company due to them not managing their costs and budgets properly. Setting goals allows the business to grow and achieve goals that are set by the business owners. Goals will not be met if there is no organisation and no management within the financial side of the business because the costs and budgets need to be managed in order to see if goals are achievable otherwise there is no point of working towards them if they are unrealistic. A set budget should be laid out in order to show where and what money should be spent on and if its a good idea to set goals. If the costs are not managed then they may have issues with the budgets therefore the goals may not be suitable, which can cause over expenditure or not spending enough on having the right resources and equipment in order to meet the goals. The Small Local Printing Company should look at their costs and budgets and set a sensible budget based on how much they are making, and then set a few goals they would like to achieve in a set period of time, if practical.

The Small Local Printing Company find it hard to make decisions in the business because of uncontrolled budgets and costs. This means the business is unable to expand and make any changed because they cant decide or make suitable decisions on anything important in the business because they have nothing to base their decisions on. They have unmonitored costs which results in issues with their budget because they will not know if they have money to make the changes the want to make within the business. To solve this they could make sure they set a sensible budget for a set period of time and outline the decisions they want to make. By monitoring their costs and having an appropriate budget, this will enable The Small Local Printing Company to be able to see if they have enough money to fulfil the decisions they have agreed on.