Business Plan Bunbury

ANGLO-WELSH - BUNBURY

Prepared by Stephen Harrison

BUSINESS PLAN

Anglo-Welsh Bunbury

The Wharf

Bunbury CW6 9QB

Tel: 01829 260957

E-mail: [email protected]

THE INNOVATIVE BUSINESS IDEA

mailto:[email protected]



Table of Contents Table of Contents ............................................................................................................. 2

Executive Summary ......................................................................................................... 3

Situation Analysis............................................................................................................. 4

SWOT Analysis................................................................................................................ 5

Where do we want to be?............................................................................................... 6

How Do We Get There (Race)................................................................................... 7

The Market...................................................................................................................... 8

Marketing Strategy............... ........................................................................................ ..9

Management Summary................................................................................................. .10

Appendices ..................................................................................................................... 11

Appendices ii ...................................................................................................................14



Executive Summary Introduction

This plan intends to show the reader a brief overview of what we hope to achieve during the next 12 months and into the future. Objectives It is by no means an exhaustive document and is purely designed as a brainstorming and combination of ideas and suggestions for improving the base and the fleet at Bunbury to facilitate a more productive and customer oriented platform. The majority of the items outlined in this document are time critical and will need to be implemented before the base open day on the 17th April 2016 although many can be seen as ongoing projects which can continue year round but before next season. Items like the overall base first impression and the everyday flow of the base are of highest priority where as the introduction of a Base Operations Handbook or company-wide intranet or sharing platform are things that can be developed overtime. Summary With minimal financial input and with the use of IT we can streamline the procedures within the base and improve the customers first impressions and their likelihood to return improving their spend per head and customer loyalty.



Situation Analysis – Audit

Internally

The business currently makes narrow boats available to tourists of the canal for charter over periods ranging from single day hire via the Day Boat ‘Bella’ or two days to several weeks with the rest of the fleet. The wharf offers maintenance services to boats passing through Bunbury, as well as covering the requirements of those moored on the site. The yard will, as in its previous incarnation, also offer toilet pump out facilities, rubbish disposal, recycling and breakdown services. The lock wharf gives access from the canal to the boat painting poly tunnel, which provides a weatherproof space for in the water maintenance thus making it possible for such work to continue even in bad weather. This is a crucial asset for the Bunbury base that is currently unavailable.

Externally

Anglo Welsh Bunbury currently has 13 similar marinas and hire fleets within 30 mile radius to compete against. In addition the site hasn’t moved forward and with the loss of the Stable block/boat building workshop, the Wharf lease falling to the way side, and the shop being closed all winter and only open sporadically during the day in the season, generating new sales leads has become difficult.

Customers

Market Segmentation

The key market segments for narrow boat rentals are described more fully below:

Young Couples: Aged 21 to 39, young couples without children look for romantic getaways as well as a relaxing activity.

Older Couples: Aged 40 and up, although some within this age bracket will still be very active and self-identify with young couples, older couples without children look for relaxation.

Families: Couples or individuals with children. They require a mix of relaxation for parents and activities for children. Sometimes a few large families band together to rent a large narrow boat. Other families are less inclined to do this and more interested in being alone with their famlily.

Other groups who visit the site are walkers, ramblers, schools, and collage groups, parties of cyclists and motorbike enthusiasts have also been known to visit the site. A large number tourists to the locks also use the site but are not currently being tapped into as an additional revenue stream.

Competitors

Locally there are 6 hire bases ranging from 2 to 15 narrow boats within their fleets. This coupled with a highly selective group of narrow boat specific chandleries currently makes the base a small fish in a big pond.



SWOT Analysis

Strengths

Bunbury is a well established and well known base, which is marked in all the cruising guides, currently offering narrow boat charters and the facility to offer a small shop/chandlery and basic marina facilities with ample safe off road parking.

Weaknesses

Currently Bunbury has extremely limited opening times, no permanent reception or shop staff, no chandlery and a very limited stock within the shop, it also has lost a number of honey pot facilities that drew in passing business as well as the captive holiday makers, examples of these are the small cafe facilities and seating areas outside the reception. The base as a whole has fallen into disrepair and vital aspects of the infrastructure now require substantial repair or refurbishment, this is also true for the fleet as a whole. In addition the skill set within the base has been limited due to a number of recent staffing changes that have left knowledge and man power gaps.

Opportunity

At present the base isn’t running any on site promotions, social media oriented special offers on its products or services or a base specific website. These could easily be introduced and made profitable along with running an effective social media\web platform with which to sell its services. The base with very minor financial expenditure could easily rejuvenate the shop and chandlery stocking both products for hirers and private customers alike. The reintroduction and correct advertising of the Polytunnel painting facilities, day boat hire, shop, and chandlery with a strong media push would also bring in new revenue streams. The possible future introduction of the C&RT craft units within the old stable block should be a joint venture and an opportunity to promote Bunbury locks and the base as a tourist attraction.

The website should provide the following information:

Services offered by Bunbury for the Hirers (descriptions and photos)

Basic Rates of hire

Activities on the Shropshire Union and Llangollen canals (links, photos and more information)

Contact information (email only as phone is withheld to reduce time spent on phone)

About Us – AngloWelsh at Bunbury background, business values, vision

Services for narrow boat owners (moorage, maintenance, etc.)

Policies and procedures for hirers

FAQs - How to pack, details on other rules, etc.

Availability Calendar link to booking site

Threats

As previously mentioned Bunbury currently has 13 similar marinas within 30 miles radius. In addition the current state of the base and its infrastructure the site will continue to degrade and our customers or potential customer’s first impressions of the base are poor and the resulting feedback has shown this.



Where do we want to be?

5’s Objectives

Sell – Grow sales and attract business using word of mouth, concise flyers/leaflets, social media, improved signage/shop/cafe/chandlery etc.

We should aim for minimum £500 sales per day during the high season. Serve – Add value through the benefits of product knowledge, face to face transactions,

and physical location. We should aim to have a 75% foot fall to buy ratio. Speak – Get closer to customers by making our business available to them at home,

work or on the go with mobile technologies. We will aim to respond to 90% of emails and telephone calls within 15 hours or 1

working day. Save – Reduce costs (both financial and man hours lost) by using information

technologies to make our business more efficient, streamline our procedures and remove duplication.

With the use of effective record keeping, standardisation and streamline our current work model we can be more efficient.

Sizzle – Offer services beyond the customer’s expectation. We will aim to be one of the North West’s premium Narrow boat holiday and

canal services provider.

A more detailed breakdown of ideas to facilitate these five points can be seen in appendix 1.



How do we get there?

RACE

Reach – Publish and promote.

By having a unique, readily available media platform that creates an active engagement arena for selling, product information, base updates, and FAQ’s. We can also link our page into other marina networks as well as our own intranet or sharing platform, enthusiast groups and clubs. We can also use the Drifters open day to promote the future of the base and our plans for the upcoming season.

Act

With a minimal financial spend but with the use of man power that is currently on site, we could rejuvenate the current base set up and create a more welcoming and customer orientated experience with which to start their holiday or as a window into their potential holiday with us. This will be expanded upon later but a few days spent painting, creating flower beds, adding new signage, cleaning, and general maintenance would lift the base greatly and improve the customers’ first impressions.

Convert

By pushing the base and promoting the fact that we are local, offer price matching on our products and services. Utilising local produce to promote the surrounding area and link in with the community, we could draw in more local business that would buffer the slow revenue stream when all the boats are out on hire or through the winter months.

Engage

By offering that extra service to our customer base, promote the base to local business and mobile marine engineers; promote offers and savings through dealing with us directly. We should build a longterm relationship with first time buyers and users and convert them into regular customers boosting their customer lifetime, repeat business will improve our sales through the slow months and boost our returns during the high season. It will also have the added benefit of word of mouth promotion.



The Market

The current market trend shows a shift towards the online purchase of parts, accessories, consumables and service items, this coupled with the steady decline of the shop and its services has led to the decline in the previous client bases interest within the shop and chandlery side of the business. It has therefore reduced the shops profitability through cross selling and impulse purchases. This trend in the market elsewhere seems to be improving with a record new number of boats produced per annum since the recession, which in turn will lead to a requirement for parts, service, and after sales in the near future, a market that we should grasp with both hands. Fortunately our industry will always have the ability to capture passing trade due to the nature of the business. We expect this trend to continue into the foreseeable future:

the industry now has a modern image

it is a budget option (although it can also be a luxury one)

it is a low-impact ‘green’ activity ( a trait we don’t currently push )

it aids family togetherness

it offers an experience in its own right as well as a gateway to the countryside and adventure

The Mission Bunbury base exists to provide the finest holiday experience, local produce, selection of parts and accessories using our trade and local suppliers to increase the value to the customer whilst raising our profit margin, stock turnover, and raise parts availability both locally and further afield. We exist to attract new customers and maintain existing ones whilst improving spend per head. We aim to be the first choice for holiday makers, boaters, walkers and visitors locally. Our services will exceed the expectations of our customers by constantly striving to supply what the consumer is asking for. We will continually review what is available in the marketplace, and what isn’t, thus improving on what we have available and providing new products and services to the areas of need. This will help ensure our success in a market driven by consumer demand. When we adhere to this maxim, everything else will fall into place.

Success of course will ultimately be measured by customers choosing us because of their belief in our ability to meet or exceed their expectations of price, service, and selection.



Marketing Strategy

The retail marketing strategy for re-launching the base should centre on utilising our corporate identity so that it clearly defines our market niche in terms that will benefit our customer. Other specific strategies that can be used:

1. Print Ads - Keeping the AngloWelsh @ Bunbury name in front of the customers mind while getting re-established will be necessary. We could tag on to existing limited space ads in the Towpath telegraph newspapers to keep our name/phone number/website in front of the consumer. We may attempt to showcase a single product in an effort to return revenue from the advertisement.

2. Social Media Press Releases – Using Facebook, Twitter etc run releases and/or stories concerning the open day. We could also use the above media to run new product or service releases.

3. Decals - We should have additional decals and signage manufactured on the base 4. Apparel - We currently don’t have any apparel that denotes different departments. A line

of premium AngloWelsh apparel could be designed and produced in very short runs to reduce inventory costs whilst giving a professional and wow factor for customers entering the base. In particular senior staff in shirts when customer facing.

5. Grand Open Day - A Grand Open Day is the most successful of any promotions. Loss leader pricing on a few high volume consumable products will attract footfall traffic.

6. Trade Shows – Could we exhibit at local or national trade shows annually? Revenue that we could produce at the shows would outweigh our expenses for attending.

7. Word of Mouth - By giving first-time customers great service and a fair price, the word is sure to spread. Also, the many industry and public contacts that we already have in the area will prove to be most beneficial in spreading the word.

All marketing decisions with regard to specific media choices, frequency, size, and expenditures should be conducted on an on-going basis with careful considerations of returns generated.

Pricing Strategy

Our customers are especially sensitive to value. We must ensure that our price and service are perceived to be a good value. However one message rings true: someone can always beat you on price.

Across a number of sectors now, be it selling holidays, boat parts, baked beans or even banking - the important thing to touch on, is not to be the cheapest on the market - this will impact on our margin. The important thing is to differentiate ourselves from the competition via our Service and After Care. Having the ability to measure service satisfaction levels and promote the same, will help us stand out from the crowd. We can then create a start up baseline and build in KPIs and benchmarks as to how we improve gradually.

Therefore, our pricing strategy is to be competitive within the various product categories, but not to rely on the selling price to overshadow the other advantages of doing business with our company. We will sell ourselves on the basis having quality products and services that are readily available, reasonably priced, and backed up by our extraordinary customer service.



Management Summary

Base Manager and or the Base administrator will sell additional services to hirers who arrive and personally greet them all to find out how he can help them with recommendations.

The Base Manager will run operations. Specifically, he will run the marina, provide hirer orientations and support, schedule and supervise boat turnarounds along side the Senior Engineer with the service, repair, and maintenance of the fleet. He will maintain base operations procedures and hirer policies and procedures.

The Base Manager will work out of the base office\shop reception at the base which will be equipped with a phone, computer with Internet, cash register, and credit card reader.

Personnel Plan

The base will have a Manager to oversee and direct the staff, a senior Engineer who will supervise the fleet, the base, and direct the two full time Engineers on site who will turn around the hire fleet boats, welcome and train the hirers on their particular boat, maintain and paint private boats. One head cleaner will supervise three part time cleaners who will ensure the boats are cleaned and have the correct inventory of bedding and towels before the boats are made available to the hirers. One yardsman will be brought in for the busy turn around days during the summer season. The yardsman will not work year-round, but will work from March to August to handle the peak season. The base administrator should double in customer facing role to welcome guests and run the shop/chandlery. There should also be a part time customer facing role to meet and greet customers and to run the shop/chandlery when the administrator is off.



Appendices

Signage both ends of the base showing:

Services

Shop

Chandlery

Painting (poly tunnel private use)

Repairs

Gas Maintenance (Heating systems)

Eberspacher & Webasto Spares and Service

Diesel, Gas, Logs, Coal

Pump out

Day boat Hire

Shop Front

Repaint / repair as necessary

Hanging baskets

Flower bed troughs

Refurbish benches

Repaint and use A3 notice board advertise services/prices

Brokerage???

Shop

Repaint floor

Organise shop in 1m sections Chandlery, Provisions, Gifts

Make all ‘Boat Stock’ items available for sale

Fresh local produce (Milk, Cheese, Bacon, Sausage, Bread, Eggs)

Chocolate/ chewing gum/ mints display by the till

Raise the reception desk with an edge or screen to meet and greet Customers at eye level

Incorporate an EPOS till and barcode scanner with Reception PC

Block off Laundry ( stud wall ) and use new wall space as part of the shop floor

Advertise ‘welcome hampers’ including Milk, eggs, bacon, bread, pack of biscuits at a fixed price

Look at improving gift selection and encourage local artists to produce canalware for the shop.

Restart Cafe with Tea & Coffee, local cakes and cheeses.

New tables or more appropriate for use in the shop environment

Essentials section in the provisions including Toothbrushes, tooth paste, soap, shampoo, sanitary, plasters, tissues, condiments, Walkers Crisps (sale or return), sugar, Long life milk, Jams & Preserves, etc

Advertise deals with local pubs 10% off meals with handover sheet

Anglo Welsh travel mugs

2ltr bottles of coke, tango etc

http://www.centralwaterways.uk/ giftware

http://www.centralwaterways.uk/



Book and DVD exchange

Wharf

Full De-weed and repair all the damaged fences then repaint.

New signage along the wharf

Benches, flower pots, consider planting area around central heating fuel tank

Repair damaged brick work, steps and handrails or make good

Car Park

Move gas cage down to the hand standing incorporating a dry stores ( power washer, base maintenance equipment )

Regrade and level car park

Mark out parking bays

Box off Pump out and consider replacement of pump with peristaltic unit

Relocate bins to hard standing possibility incorporate recycling bins glass paper plastic

Repair and repaint fencing

Poly Tunnel and wharf

De-weed, reconnect power & water

Dredge and refloat pontoon

Move poly tunnel and floating pontoon to incorporate wharf

New signage along wharf advertising painting tunnel

Use the additional space as an advertising platform for the Day Boat

Boats general

Welcome aboard packs ( cleaning cloths, pack of matches, scouring sponge) http://www.eurocamp.co.uk/travel-and-extras/holiday-extras/welcome-pack

http://wecoviservice.com/en/webshop/cleaning-sets

Progressively upgrade aerials throughout the fleet as old units become unserviceable

Progressively upgrade radios to include AUX and USB inputs as old unit become unserviceable

New internal and external mats

Branded umbrella on the boat

Non Stick frying pan

Complimentary shampoo, shower gel, Soap (possibly toothbrush/toothpaste) http://wecoviservice.com/en/webshop/bathroom-sets/06030309/bathroom-pack-ws-in-slide-box

Renew all boat manuals update all information

Replace all planks with Plastic Anglowelsh items

Optional self inflating lifejackets for adults

http://www.eurocamp.co.uk/travel-and-extras/holiday-extras/welcome-pack

http://wecoviservice.com/en/webshop/cleaning-sets



Other

Make contact with local pubs reference 10% food discount with handover sheet

“ “ “ Butcher/ baker / Dairy for local produce ( Milkman? )

Improve the bases web presence on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and encourage customers to post images to the page, possible monthly best picture and caption.

Marina Operations Manual standardized across the fleet available to all managers. This should show all managers how to perform all aspects of the running of a hire base. These should be adaptable to each base.

Company intranet or sharing portal to encourage the sharing of information between bases and staff with copies of all the company master documents and procedures.

A Company newsletter could be produced and sent via PDF to all bases keeping all staff appraised of what is going on within the business and the company, this will build a team spirit within the whole company.

This is by no means an exhaustive list and is based on an initial walk through of the base as it currently stands; the aim is to achieve the points on this list over the current season with any health and safety or customer facing items to be made a priority.



Appendices ii Key To Pictures

1-3. As the reception currently stands customer looks down on the Administrator or whoever is serving them. The desk should be removed and the computer monitor moved onto the work top with a wrap around screen. This will allow improved face to face interaction with customers; it will also allow our staff to have a full panoramic view of the shop, locks, and walkways up to the reception.

4-5. These pictures show the area immediately in front of the doorway to the laundry. These shelves could be used to display canalware such as painted buckby cans etc with the middle shelf as a platform to show the boaters DVD or looped adverts of special offers with in the shop or company.

7. The floor in the shop is currently painted red in colour with an unknown paint which despite heavy cleaning always looks dirty and has many areas of damage or wear. It would benefit from a refreshing coat of garage floor paint in a neutral color i.e gray. This would make the whole area more presentable to customers and instil a good and professional first impression. This is a very cost effective way of making a dramatic change for very minimal expenditure.

8. Picture 8 currently shows the first view of the reception/shop as seen by customers. It could be drastically improved with a simple stud wall and doorway which would generate new sales and shelving space whilst making the laundry self contained.

9-10. Currently our giftware and chandlery stock is very limited to items that are currently in use on our own fleet (by keeping these in the shop it negates damage from storage in the workshop area and makes them available as potential purchase items) and the left over giftware stock from last season.

11. This is the provisions area which will when thoroughly cleaned and repainted will house dry goods such as Toothbrushes, tooth paste, soap, shampoo, sanitary, plasters, tissues, condiments, Walkers Crisps (sale or return), sugar, Long life milk, Jams & Preserves, etc

12. Currently the side of the building facing the canal has no signage to say who we are or what we sell that would catch the eye of boaters waiting for the locks or the general public from the locks or the bridge area. With a small amount of paint, some simple signage and hanging baskets this area could be a great advertising space.

13-15 The wharf as it currently stands really lets down the aesthetic of the base. It is very over grown, dangerously slippy when wet and is currently an eyesore. The floating pontoon has silted up underneath and now has a permanent list with slippy and damaged decking. The fixed pontoon is in a similar state. The whole site could be rejigged so as to accommodate extra workspace for smaller boats behind the painting tunnel if the tunnel were to be moved parallel to the wharf.

16,42-44 These images show the area around the central heating fuel tank and the customer fuel pump. This area is currently over grown, has damaged decorative brickwork, and appears unsightly to passing customers. Once the brick work is repaired the over grown area could easily be planted with decorative flowering plants. The pump unit itself could be branded with AngloWelsh livery and that the fuel is FAME free. The central heating tank painted or clad to blend in with the surrounding area complimenting it.



17. The fuel/waste oil store and the ‘paint store’ are both lean to type buildings and are both in need of repair. Currently the Fuel Store gates and fencing are hanging off their fixings. The paint store is not currently weather proof and tins quickly show signs of rust, these would be better kept in the shop for sale to the public and therefore kept at a steady temperature and humidity.

18 The Calor gas store. This area is no longer fit for purpose and doesn’t conform to HS&E code of guidance for the storage of LPG 104796 v3, the metal cage surrounding the compound is no longer attached to the floor and can easily be lifted allowing access to the bottles. The compound along with looking unsightly as one of the first things a customer sees should be relocated to the hard standing at the end of the carpark that is currently unoccupied and dead space as shown in pictures 36,37.

19. The roadway leading to the carpark requires regarding throughout its length, the potholes can temporally be in filled but only as a short term measure as they will return when traffic starts to use the site.

20-21The wharf surface as a whole isn’t in a poor state of repair although does require jet washing and cleaning to remove all the detritus and moss build up. There are areas that do require some levelling where they have become uneven due to subsidence or slippage towards the canal causing trip hazards. The white fence down the length of the wharf is another area that with minimal input and a coat of fresh paint could dramatically lift the appearance of the wharf.

22. The pump out machine currently is exposed to the elements as is the sess pit feeds. This area could be enclosed in a simple hut structure to eliminate the noise generated in operation and limit the smell produced by the effluent it pumps. In the long term the pump is beyond its capacity as it struggles to lift waste from the canal level and length of pipe. It should also be noted that currently boats have to be constantly moved round to access the pump out facility wasting time which could be reallocated with a pump system that could be used at any point along the docks length.

23 The fence surrounding the pump out machine is unstable and could be incorporated into a pump out hut to cover the machine and sess pit outlet.

24-25 The staff car park area and the picket fence that follow the boundary of the site require weeding and cleaning with possible allocated parking bays marked.

26-27 The hard standing area adjacent to the wharf is currently over grown, this would be the ideal site for the customer recycling/waste bins. Currently the customers have to carry their rubbish the the extreme end of the base to a pair of locked bins which often instead gets left in bin bags along the wharf for the staff to clear away. If the bins were relocated to this area it would negate the need to lock the bins as the general public do not have access. It would also promote recycling and the companies carbon foot print if the customers actively recycled. The carpark as a whole requires levelling due to many years worth of aggregate being piled up layer upon layer which has migrated to the lower end of the car park. The boundary of the carpark is currently overgrown and not clearly defined as are the car parking spaces.

28-33 much of the wharf area is showing signs of many years of neglect. Many of the brick courses have had the faces of the bricks blown off with frost and water damage, in some areas effort has been made to render the brick work. If this was continued throughout the wharf side it would dramatically improve the look of the structures. As stated previously the fencing along the wharf is all in need of minor repair and repainting as is the old pump out housing store and benches, this again is a low cost but high



impact fix. The old pump out housing when repaired with new doors, could be reused as a store for yarding materials as well as a booster pump to allow the boats at this end of the wharf to be pumped out without the need to move them.

34-35 These images show the current area of hard standing at the extreme end of the base that is currently unused and would make an ideal gas cage storage. The fencing behind this area was rotten and collapsed during the high winds.

36-40 At the Railway bridge end of the site there is a signage board and water filling points which are both currently inaccessible due to the overgrown foliage; there is also a bench that requires repainting and a fence that is currently falling into the river behind the site. This is the customer’s first impression of the base from the Chester direction to the base. There is no signage to say who we are what we sell or services we offer. It is also in a very poor state of repair and maintenance and does not welcome prospective customers.



1.

1.



2.

3.



4.



5.



6.

7.



8.

9.



10.

11.



12.

13.



14.

15.



16.



17.

18.



19.

20.



21.

22.



23.

24.



25.

26.



27.

28.



29.

30.



31.

32.



33.

34.



35.

36.



37.

38.



39.



40.



41.



42.



43.



44.



45.



46.



47.



48.



49.

50.



51.



52.

53.



54.

55.

Date post:	25-Jan-2017
Category:	Documents
Upload:	stephen-harrison
View:	12 times
Download:	1 times

Business Plan Bunbury

Documents