Westernsplace Website Feasibility Report

Executive Summary

WesternsPlace.ca is a website designed for students at The University of Western Ontario (UWO) to effortlessly sell, purchase and search for textbooks, housing, employment opportunities and other miscellaneous items. The website is free to use, but as a safety feature, only UWO students are able to purchase, sell and post on the website, via their UWO e-mail address. WesternsPlace.ca will earn income from advertising posts and real-estate and job listings.

Our research and analysis indicates that WesternsPlace.ca offers a potential for success. We have the experience and financial capability to organize and fund this venture internally. Moreover, we have the advantage of being a unique service in London, Ontario because although there are similar websites available in Ontario, not one is dedicated solely to UWO students.

WesternsPlace.ca targets two types of consumers: students and advertisers. The students represent an indirect consumer, but it is imperative for the success of the business that many students constantly use the site. The advertisers which include general service advertising and real-estate and jobs listing represent our direct consumers as they are our continuous revenue stream.

A thorough customer analysis revealed that our target market is in fact eager for a web site where they can sell and purchase their course textbooks without being effected by consignment or paying for overpriced books. WesternsPlace.ca grants freedom in purchasing and selling course materials at negotiable prices to better serve the UWO population.

Advertisers, real-estate agencies and employment services have showed interest in advertising on our site. The two main reasons of interest are: competitive pricing and a popular target market. When determining our advertising prices, we chose a pricing strategy lower than our competitors in order to entice advertisers to purchase space on WesternsPlace.ca. Moreover, the densely concentrated UWO population is a popularly targeted group in London, Ontario. Students represent a large portion of local business’s customers during the school year from September to April. In order to promote awareness of their store or product, business owners need to advertise. Due to our competitive price and specifically targeted market, advertising on WesternsPlace.ca is a very attractive alternative to most companies, especially smaller companies who have a limited advertising budget.

In conjunction with our competitive pricing, WesternsPlace.ca also has a few more advantages. The site is organized in such a way as to make browsing more efficient for students to find the textbooks they are seeking. Furthermore, as the site grows in popularity, the number of posts placed on the site will increase enabling a wide selection of course material. Likewise, this will affect the number of ‘hits’ the site received which will in turn increase the advertising demand and our overall revenue. The increased in amount of advertisement also affects a sales growth increase – a very positive relationship for our company. Lastly, WesternsPlace.ca offers a solid and promising financial return. Though we will experience a net loss in the first 2 years of operations, by the third year, we will experience a substantial net income. We strongly believe that with our effective marketing techniques we will develop a significant amount of traffic amongst students using our website. Due to a positive analysis of our customers, competition and financial statements, WesternsPlace.ca will be feasible and successful.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 5

MISSION STATEMENT 6

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

Personal 6

Corporate 6

CORPORATE CAPABILITIES

Finance 7

Human Resources 7

Marketing 8

Operations 8

EXTERNAL ANALYSIS

Political 8

Economic 9

Social 9

Technological 10

CONSUMER ANALYSIS

Students 10

Advertisers 11

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS – WEBSITE

Direct 13

Indirect 14

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS – ADVERTISERS

Direct 15

Indirect 16

RECOMMENDATIONS AND PLAN

Product 17

Pricing 19

Placement 21

Promotion 21

FINANCIAL 24

OPERATIONS

Seasonality 25

Preparations 26

Website Operations 26

Legal Issues 27

CONCLUSION

Contingency 28

Future Expansion Opportunities 28

Decision 29

Exhibits and Appendix

EXHIBIT 1 – Financial Statements 30

EXHIBIT 2 – Internet Usage 35

EXHIBIT 3 – University Enrollment 35

EXHIBIT 4 – Survey and Results 36

EXHIBIT 5 – Website Screenshot 42

EXHIBIT 6 – Advertising Spending Distribution 42

EXHIBIT 7 – Advertising Clients 43

EXHIBIT 8 – Competition’s Pricing 44

EXHIBIT 9 – Dialogues and Emails 44

EXHIBIT 10 – Advertising costs and