O-Fold
1. As a part of the management team, how would you handle distribution and marketing of the O-Fold?
Within the text I really liked the 2nd and 3rd option of distribution, which was going an online route or advertising I travel magazines. Although the adverting in magazines option is appealing when it comes down to it I don’t think it would reach as many people as online distribution. I would chose to create a website and distribute the O-Fold product through there. Creating a website would be extremely cost effective. I believe there are even some sites you can use for free, such as weebly.com. However, this option is risky because marketing would have to be very effective in order to generate the business he is looking for. Since the cost of a website is low, he should consider advertising in travel magazines. He probably would not need large ad space, which would help with the cost. If he could get a small section in the Sky Mall magazine on aircrafts with the link to his website, that could be a rewarding starting point. Another option is advertising on other large online retail sites, such as Amazon.com who now gives consumers an option to purchase provides from other retailers by providing a link to that product on their site.
2. At what points should Alex consider bringing on additional management? What positions should he fill and in what order? Defend your answer.
I am a supporter of Alex’ crawl-walk-run strategy. I think initially he should partner with his brother and begin to make the product together and sell online through a website he creates. This way he can get an idea of how he can proceed with next steps and be able to create a business plan to present to Anger investors. Once he can seal the investment funds he should bring on a sales and marketing manager. This is one of the most important positions in a company. Alex needs to have someone with experience in sales and marketing, especially not having experience himself. He’s already
Within the text I really liked the 2nd and 3rd option of distribution, which was going an online route or advertising I travel magazines. Although the adverting in magazines option is appealing when it comes down to it I don’t think it would reach as many people as online distribution. I would chose to create a website and distribute the O-Fold product through there. Creating a website would be extremely cost effective. I believe there are even some sites you can use for free, such as weebly.com. However, this option is risky because marketing would have to be very effective in order to generate the business he is looking for. Since the cost of a website is low, he should consider advertising in travel magazines. He probably would not need large ad space, which would help with the cost. If he could get a small section in the Sky Mall magazine on aircrafts with the link to his website, that could be a rewarding starting point. Another option is advertising on other large online retail sites, such as Amazon.com who now gives consumers an option to purchase provides from other retailers by providing a link to that product on their site.
2. At what points should Alex consider bringing on additional management? What positions should he fill and in what order? Defend your answer.
I am a supporter of Alex’ crawl-walk-run strategy. I think initially he should partner with his brother and begin to make the product together and sell online through a website he creates. This way he can get an idea of how he can proceed with next steps and be able to create a business plan to present to Anger investors. Once he can seal the investment funds he should bring on a sales and marketing manager. This is one of the most important positions in a company. Alex needs to have someone with experience in sales and marketing, especially not having experience himself. He’s already