Your Home is a Good Place Inc Case Solution

1. SWOT Analysis

i. Strengths

• The company is one of the very first such service providers operating in Michiana; therefore, has the first-mover advantage. The first-mover advantage has made Norwalk gain a lot of ground by making himself familiar in the market for complete home solutions.

• Innovation has been a key strength of Your Home is a Good Place (YHGP). The company’s management likes to think ahead of its consumers and keep coming up with updated designs and models to give a complete range of options.

• As opposed to its competitors, YHGP enjoys the full endorsement of the company’s owner Norwalk. It is the personal involvement and passion of Norwalk which keeps the company progressing and staying ahead of any rival firms.

• Operating in a niche segment and providing turn-key solutions makes YHGP acceptable.

• The showrooms of the company in Michiana are built to provide an experience of luxury and comfort to the visitors, many of whom are potential clients. Once a client entered the YHGP showroom, he/she liked to explore the store to find the solution that he/she was looking for.

ii. Weaknesses

• The company is still in its initial phases of fully capturing the niche segment. Hence, this makes Norwalk spend quite some time in operational issues, such as company costs, staff hiring and evaluation, and finding new subcontractors, etc.

• The company has not fully explored integration channels, that is, how best to bring supply and demand together and to be able to set prices based on a mechanism. A lot of affairs at YHGP are based on Norwalk’s ‘gut’ feeling.

• Workers at YHGP are not providing the best output to Norwalk; what he expects is an initiative from all workforces.

iii. Opportunities

• YHGP can look to target various other segments of the population. Although the company realizes that females are important decision-makers in rebuilding or redesigning a home, they have not been directly focused on negotiations and for increasing the client base. Since men in many cases are running the house in terms of providing finance for such rebuilding or reconstruction exercise, YHGP has so far not done enough to reach other segments. Hence, an opportunity lies to target influencers in home decision-making. They do not have to be those people only who will arrange for financing of the project.

• Since the popularity of the company is going up due to the complete solutions that it is providing, a good opportunity lies in expanding branches to other states. Such an approach can bring success if Norwalk is personally involved because he likes to be personally associated with clients and builds good relationships.

• The company can move towards complete customized solutions. When a potential client visits the company’s showroom, he should also have the facility, besides choosing from pre-set home design and construction options, to get a complete tailor-made solution. More staff needs to be involved in such an approach and to facilitate the requirements of a potential client.

iv. Threats

• Certain costs are rising for the company which could soon influence the profitability of the company. Some of these are fixed costs such as salaries and showroom operational costs, and hence, are majorly beyond the control of Norwalk. Rising costs could influence future expansion plans of Norwalk.

• Due to the success of YHGP and due to minimal initial investments to such an approach, more competitors can easily enter the market. All that it takes is a commitment, a good reputation, and contacts. Hence, more firms could enter while taking YHGP as their benchmark.

• As YHGP has a premium charge for its services, competitors could lower their service charges to the extent and tend to provide the same levels of service which will potentially give a tough time to YHGP. Since YHGP targets only the elite class, competitors could lower their prices with an acceptable level of service and reach a larger target audience.

• The company’s success is highly dependent on its relationship with subcontractors. If subcontractors find terms of conditions of Norwalk tougher than those of competitors, they would like to extend their services to various other companies or, for example, start their own ventures in customized house construction.

2. Marketing Plan with Implementation Details

i. Competitors

YHGP operates in a niche segment, and hence, does not have many competitors. The market in terms of a number of customers is small; however, it is this niche that provides large revenues for operating firms. So far, YHGP has been lucky enough that no competitor has been able to provide such brilliant services to the clientele. No competitor has had this personal involvement and passion towards clients which Norwalk has displayed. Targeting the higher income classes, many of the elites require building relationships and repute with them, organizing informal sessions, lunches and dinner gatherings, which have all been a part of YHGP’s and Norwalk’s portfolio.

In the near future, however, subcontractors could become potential competitors for YHGP. This is because they are one of the most important partners in the kind of service that Norwalk is providing. Had subcontractors decided to operate independently or work with competitors, Norwalk and his company would not be in the same position. It must also be noted that all partners, vendors, and subcontractors that Norwalk works closely with would fast be learning the tricks of the trade. Hence, they could soon become the competitors for YHGP by developing expansion plans and partnering with the right people.

There are many other important elements in the relationship that would not classify as competitors for Norwalk. For example, the Do-it-Yourself (DIY) segment would not be YHGP’s competitors because the DIY segment is for those who are looking for quicker and cheaper solutions. The segment is concerned about their well-being and can also invest time more than money to take care of their homes. A service provider cannot charge excessive amounts to this segment, and hence, they are not in Norwalk’s consideration.

ii. Business Expansion Plans

All expansion plans of Norwalk for his company are focused on channel integration; that is, to bring supply and demand together. The suggested business expansion plan as part of the marketing plan is as follows:

The company needs to expand out of Michiana in order to fully get into expansion mode. So far, it appears that a large chunk of the higher income class has been reached by YHGP. Due to the nature of the company’s business, Norwalk estimates that even five new clients every month with an initial fee of $10,000 would give him sufficient revenues to streamline his operations. Such a level of earning can classify and justify expansion to nearby states. The first stage of expansion would be to identify the important demographics in the states to see whether the population has such dynamics, which would encourage YHGP to invest in the state.

For example, the queries that would assist in YHGP’s business expansion into other states would be: percentage of the female population, annual median income of the population, number of people living on rented versus owned space, what percentage of the population is in the working-age bracket, what are the tax laws, and lastly, are there any tax rebates available?

The business expansion would also require building more public relations (PR) in relevant states. Word-of-mouth and positive endorsements about the company and its owner would facilitate the company’s awareness levels in the house-building and construction market in other states. Norwalk’s company, as opposed to its competitors, already enjoys a strong presence in the circle of elites, social gatherings, as well as awareness in the media. What this simply means is that the charisma of the owner is important for any expansion plans. With the kind of personality that Norwalk depicts and how he carries forward the company, it should not be too difficult in expanding to nearby states based on their demographics profile.