1. Zanab Khan
Robert Crowe
Shivani Jani
Krystal Rolo
Michael Dimeglio
December 2 , 2013
Written Project
Executive Summary:
The Uni-Friend is app about online checking account for college student. The uni-friend
is a an app. The app is very easy to access from your smartphones and electronic
gadgets. The app is free. This app is targeted to only United States. The Uni-Friend is
a LLC and our partnership is with MasterCard is a joint venture. The app is targeted a
consumer market of college students and ages of 18-40. An analysis of internal and
external environments indicates the firm enjoys important strengths in its product,
employees, and its reputations, while weakness are apparent in its size, financial
resources, and product capabilities.
Situational Analysis:
The Uni-Friend was founded in 2011 and 2012. Around the time it was being noticed
how there is literally an app for anything and how college students use smart phones
more than anything. By the time we created a partnership with mastercard and
developed the app.It would be around now or 2014 we'd release the product.
Internal Environment
Mission Statement of Uni-Friend:
To help the students of America navigate and save money one day a time.
Mastercard Mission Statement:
Everyday everywhere we use our technology and expertise to make a payment safe
simple and smart.
Organizational Structure: Our organizational structure is split between 5 owners who
have an equal share in the idea and making of this product.
● Robert Crowe: Founder of Uni-Friend and President. In the charge of the app
design.
2. ● Michael Dimeglio: Co-President
● Zanab Khan: Marketing-domestic marketer, markets to target market
● Krystal Rolo: Finance-responsible for developing financial strategy and keeping
company books.
● Shivani Jani: App Developer: responsible for the technical design of Uni-Friend.
Keep the app updated and current
Corporate Culture:
Uni-Friend is mobile app. A key element of the internal environment is a culture that
encourages innovation, risk taking, and individual creativity. The company;s beginning
was based on a desire to provide, a unique, superior product, and company decisions
have consistently emphasized this mission.
Current Products:
What is our product? It is an app that is meant for the college student to help them save
money through their educational journey. It is designed to help them save money. For
example, going to a school in an area where they may not be familiar with, this app will
help them locate restaurants, clothing stores, gas stations. Anything a college student
will need this app will tell the name of the store, how to get there, and how cheap their
prices are.
Market:
The consumer market for the Uni Friend product is college students. College students
spend enough in books and tuition and are looking for other ways they can save money
whether it be in gasoline, food, clothing etc.
Distribution will be around August 2014, a month before the fall semesters begins.via
smart device applications.
● All of Uni Friend's services and products will be dispensed from our main
website. We will also be available for telephone help line services.
● The Uni Friend is available online, on phones, tablets,iPads, and computers as
well. Its available for purchase at Best Buys, electronic stores, college
bookstores, and the online Apple Store.
3. External Environment
Competitive Environment:
The Uni Friend is an application that can be bought over any smart device. Apps are
easily recreatable being that all their functions are available when its bought. Another
company can recreate the app/ and or modify it. Other colleges may offer an app
similar for their students in terms of local areas of student discounts, etc.
Economic Environment:
The Uni Friend is offering its app/ product free to its users. In order to make profit,
companies and their advertisements need to be wanting to offer their advertisements on
the Uni Friend. Due to economic hardship, not all companies are willing to pay for
advertisement.
Technological Environment:
The Uni Friend runs solely on smart devices. Technology plays a big part of the product.
College Students can access the app at an ease of their home screens on their smart
devices.
Political and Legal Environment: For our app labeling will include the facts and statistics
information. In addition Uni friend app service are regulated by the U.S. Department of
education. There are number of regulations that are country-specific in current and
prospective global markets which our company must constantly remain aware. Any
future advertising campaigns developed by Uni friend will have to conform to regulatory
guidelines in the United states.
SWOT Analysis
Strength:
● We are a very in depth app and offer many features to a college student in an
unknown area.
● We are also good for finding new places around town if you already know the
area.
We are an app that is very easy and very straight forward to use.
Can get this app on our smart phones.
Weaknesses:
● There are many apps that are similar.
4. ● May be hard to get our name out there.
Opportunities
● We will have people always looking for something like our app to help throughout
their college career.
● College kids always want to save money, so we are perfect for them.
● If our product takes off we will never run out of people who want the app,
especially in an economy that is so in need of having an education to get a good
job.
Threats:
● There are many other people who will try to make an app like ours or better than
ours.
● If we don’t constantly update we may lose clients
Marketing Objectives:
● To introduce a new market of convenience to college students via smart phones.
● Maintain dominant market share by any chance competition enters the market.
● To be recognized by all college students across the United States
MarketingStrategies
Consumer Markets:
The Uni-Friends consumer target market can be described as follows:
Demographics
● Age: 18-40
● Generation X
● Generation Y
● Those located near colleges or dorm in colleges
Psychographics
5. ● Spend money on outside food a lot
● Need for social acceptance through clothing and appearance
● Live their lives always on the move, whether it be by car or by public
transportation
● Enjoy spending time with friends
Media Habits
● Spend a good amount of time on social networks and e-mail accounts
● Prefer to watch reality shows or music channels
● Likely to listen to radio on their way to school or use of an mp3
● Get their news from television or internet rather than newspaper
Organizational Markets
To increase distribution and sales of its products, The Uni Friend will distribute in
places where college students mostly go or where electronics are sold.
1. College bookstores/ regular bookstores
2. Stationery stores
3. Electronic Stores
4. Online App Stores
Positioning the Product
Uni-Friend positions itself as the go-to for all college students, a must have on every
college students phone. It’s available all throughout the United States and any student
can enter any college/ university to get all information of its surroundings from locations
to prices to discounts etc.
6. Segmentation: We will segment our target market by geocoding.
Product Strategy:
● The Uni-Friend plans to modify its product to include partner with certain stores
to give exclusive discounts to the Uni-Friend users.
● The Uni-Friend plans to be recognizable among majority of college students that
stores will plan to offer these discounts for their benefit of sales too whether it be
clothing stores or restaurants . Only Uni-Friend users will have access to to
these discounts and coupons
● The Uni-Friend also plans to make its product free eventually. Once the product
is recognizable and gain users, companies will consider strongly advertisement
through the Uni-Friend to increase their sales. All revenues can come through
these advertisements and no longer through the customer. Once possible
customer see its free, they will have more incentive to buy the product.
● Our app shows has the main information that any college student will need to
help them save money since almost all college are on budgets.
● As of right now our app shows where restaurants are and how much they cost for
one to eat there. It shows clothing stores, gas prices, and a couple other small
features. In the next six month period we plan to start adding even more features
like local hangouts, and then restaurants of all different prices, all one has to do
is type in how much they are willing to spend and then the app will give the
options that will fit their budgets. The local hangouts option is more for the
student that is going to an out of state college and has no idea of the area that
they are in.
● Ratings are available for users.Incorporate a system where the can put in how
long they have been at the school because then if it is rated high by like a
student in their 4th year, that might make someone decide to go there instead of
somewhere else.
Pricing Strategies:
● The Uni-Friend is planned to be priced at .99 cents. The product won’t cost much
for production. It is not a concrete product that requires manufacturing,
packaging or shipment. Since our target market is college students who do not
have much money to freely spend .99 cents is an affordable app for the
customer.
7. ● The Uni-Friend is a new product. Before reaching a future goal to make the app
free, The Uni-Friend needs many customers to gain trust from companies who
wish to advertise through the Uni-Friend that their money for advertisement is
worth paying.
Pricing Objectives:
● Our pricing objective is to create sales. We are in a non competitive market
currently. Since we are just releasing this product our objective is to create sales.
The Uni-Friend also plans to make a profit with charging .99 cents for the product
rather than having just income from advertisements. Charging .99 cents also can
give customer satisfaction because it is not a pricey product that plans to save
them a lot of money with the use of app.
Pricing Tactics:
● One Time Payment of the low price of .99 cents
Promotion strategies:
Advertising:
● Publish brochures that will be left on the tables for customers to read in the
library or in the cafeteria.
● Publish flyers in college bookstores, student centers and all of the hallways.
● Social networking-We will be promoting our product online on Facebook and
Twitter. Many people use these social networks, an advertisement through these
networks can encourage downloading the app.
● Advertisement on college tvs and on the radios.
● Most college students need a laptop or some type of electronic before they go to
college so if after they buy that electronic they are told about it at the store then
they are more likely to at least check it out so they may get it and use it. This
may especially work with the out of town college students since they don’t know
the area and they would be more interested because they would want to learn
where they are and what different stores are around them
● Free trials: Giving users a week-free trial of the app. This gives customers an
ability to see how the app really works instead of relying on the apps description.
and to give the customer a chance to like the app and buy it.
8. Supply Chain:
● As noted earlier, for our app we are using channel of distribution we will make
our app available in places easily accessible for customers and where they more
commonly go. Apps available through the stores will be offered with an enter
code ,where through the App stores its downloadable through the electronic
device.
● Best Buy (electronic stores)
● Stationery stores (Staples)
● College bookstores.
● Online App Stores.
Implementation and Control
● This action plan details the activities necessary to implement the marketing
strategies and creating the product. Each individual has a responsibility and
budgeted time to complete their responsibility
Activity Who is Responsible Action Date Completed
Design/ App
Requirements
Michael Tech set up. Meet
with tech support
July 1st 2013
Develop the App Shivani Overseeing
development and
coding
June 10th 2013
Testing Robert Test out app on
different market and
for functionality
August 5th 2013
Promote Krystal Using strategies
with advertising
On going
Attract sponsors Zanab Go out and get
sponsors to help
with starting costs
On going