Edible Arrangements Product Development Strategy

Edible Arrangements Product Development Strategy 

Product Development Strategy

Edible Arrangements’ marketing department has the sole responsibility of developing services that will not only see the company retain its current customers and attract new ones, but also ensure that customers always consider Edible Arrangements’ products an first priority when buying (Krum, 1969).   That role is achieved through development of a marketing strategy, and putting in place all the necessary needs to have it implemented to enable the company to achieve its primary objectives, that is increase sales and subsequently profits (Krum, 1969).

In addition to the presentation that is due to be presented to the company CEO, the introduction, and issuance of coupons will help promote the marketing activities enabling the business to achieve its objectives. 

Introducing In-store Promotional Coupons

Other than the integral marketing strategy, the introduction of coupons in the market is likely to stimulate demand, as well as provide a platform to fast sale products that risk expiration while in our possession. Coupons are tickets that can be redeemed at specific outlets for company products, with a discount or commission attached to it (Kaufman, 1991).

The introduction of coupons at Edible Arrangements looks beyond having customers make purchases at their primary places of residences, with the coupon they can just buy from any outlet even while in overseas markets with the full benefits. Edible Arrangements has for several years of its operations noted that outside what the company specializes in the offering, there have been other products that go hand in hand. It is therefore in the best interest of the company to facilitate its clients in easily getting these products. Thus, the coupons will also be applicable in selected businesses to purchase specific services and goods that compliment or supplement Edible Arrangement’s products (Kaufman, 1991). This is majorly aimed at creating value addition to the customers, and installing the sense that as a company we care about customers which in the long run will increase customer loyalty (Dhar & Winer, 2013)..

The service will have some experience attributes that will enable customers to use it with ease. First, is to give it easy accessibility such that anyone who qualifies for it gets it without undue hindrances. It can be available online, and the conditions of qualifying for one is to register and be a regular customer for some time (Kaufman, 1991). For the service to be appealing to the customers, it must have great features that include being usable at the most convenient period to the customer (Dhar & Winer, 2013). The marketing team, through its customer relations section, will ensure it offers the best assistance whenever needed to ensure the customers have the best experience with the service.

Use of Technology to Promote the Service.

Technology is today’s nerve center for any business offering, particularly services ("Technology-Driven Online Marketing Performance Measurement", 2014). Unlike tangible products, services can be offered by the use of technology, improving efficiency, quickness, and convenience. Coupons can come in many forms, as tickets or even as numbers that can be fed into computers to enable a customer to redeem his or her product.

It is, therefore, worth noting that technology is central to all these. First, it specifies that numbers can use the coupon online by redeeming the unique coupon code at check-out. Other than that, technology particularly the internet will be central in obtaining these coupons ("Technology-Driven Online Marketing Performance Measurement", 2014). Customers do not need to appear in person in any store to get them, they can apply online and after being reviewed, the customers can be given unique numbers to redeem the coupon or special online.  Customers will not have to go into the stores, but can make use of virtual shopping through apps and promotional coupons available on their smart phones (Dhar & Winer, 2013).

Quality of Service. One of the Marketing Team’s roles is to conduct market research in its broadest manner. The main essence of market research is to find out what customers expect what they get (Freeman & Dart, 1993). Measuring the quality of coupons will be necessary to ascertain its effectiveness and the value it brings to the company considering it is something that comes with costs.

Customers will be provided with a platform to give their feedback, and other avenues will be created from time to time to survey the actual perception among customers about the new service (Dhar & Winer, 2013). Among the service qualities that will give the product a thumbs up is how reliable will it be. Efficiency in reliability means that the product can be used conveniently as per the needs of the customers (Freeman & Dart, 1993). Generally, a positive feedback from customers will mean good service quality.

Challenges in Globalizing the Coupons. Developments in technology have made it easy for coupons to be globalized by companies operating outside their native countries. But is not to mean there have been no challenges. Being based on discounts, commissions, and offers, offering it in a global market presents such a challenge since it is a very expensive service to run (Dee Zive, 1981). Other than that, lack of standardization in global prices due to different environments in different countries will also compromise on the offers. There exist price discriminations based on respective’ countries business environment, and offering coupons on a global scale will mean different clients may have different offers.

With information readily available in the distribution channels about the different offerings, customers’ loyalty is likely to be compromised in the long run.  It will be important for coupons to limit the scope or geographic location of redemption.

Strategies to Implement the Service. The specific product, in this case, is the coupon. It is a product that is majorly being built for the already existing customers and potential ones. Due to its features that include enabling the customer to claim offers, buy at discounts and commissions, it is set to be a success (Dee Zive, 1981). The other major issue is the price, which in this case is the cost it will cost the company to offer the product. The said cost to the company is the price enjoyed by the customers. Due to the fact that it cuts down the price by allowing discounts and commissions, it is likely to stimulate demand. Edible Arrangements will bank on more sales to cover up the huge discounts and commissions. Coupons will have several different impacts when launched.  People that regularly purchase Edible Arrangements’ products will be enticed to purchase sooner with the discount, people will be persuaded to make a purchase they may otherwise waited to make, regular customers will use the coupons as a bonus, and competitors’ customers may switch to Edible Arrangements because of the coupon (Dhar & Winer, 2013).

Edible Arrangements operates on a global scale, and therefore its place of the offer is in all its global markets. One of the strategies to offer is to avail them online, where customers can claim the coupons and use them later in their respective stores (“Technology-Driven Online Marketing Performance Measurement”, 2014). Lastly, it is the promotional method that will be used to popularize the product. There is nothing that can come out of a good product if customers do not know about it. It is under such notion that Edible Arrangements has to undertake deliberate promotional activities that will enable customers to take maximum advantage of the coupons. Exploiting media channels like social media and online advertisement can go a long way it popularizing the coupons. Other promotional activities like instore and strategically placed banners and billboards can also play an important role.

Conclusion. Developing a marketing strategy, that involves coming up with specific services to achieve the primary objective of the company is central to the market team’s roles. The roles encompass all activities including but not limited to the creation of services, identifying the likely challenges, devising ways to measure quality and effectiveness to implementing them (Dhar & Winer, 2013).

References

Dhar, Russ Winer and R. Marketing Management, VitalSource for Kaplan University, 4th Edition. Pearson Learning Solutions, 2013. VitalBook file.

 Dee Zive, J. (1981). Solving Marketing Problems through: Creative Promotions. Cornell Hotel And Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 22(3), 57-61. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/001088048102200314

Freeman, K. & Dart, J. (1993). Measuring the perceived quality of professional business services. Services Marketing Quart., 9(1), 27-47. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15332969.1993.9985072

Kaufman, C. (1991). Coupon use in ethnic markets: implications from a retail perspective. Journal Of Consumer Marketing, 8(1), 41-51. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/07363769110034956

Krum, J. (1969). Perceptions and Evaluation of the Role of the Corporate Marketing Research Department. Journal Of Marketing Research, 6(4), 459. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3150083

Technology-Driven Online Marketing Performance Measurement:. (2014). International Journal Of Online Marketing, 4(4), 0-0. http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/ijom.2014100101

Success of Disney Company under Bob Iger as the CEO in 2006-2012

MEMO

Date: December 9, 2014

To:  Tom Welling, Marketing Manager of Movie Insights

From: Amber Pearson, Marketing Associate Movie Insights

Subject: Success of Disney Company under Bob Iger as the CEO in 2006-2012.

Dear Sir,

It is with great pleasure to report to you that after conducting a wide range of research on the Disney Company under the CEO Bob Iger in 2006-2011, I found out that the marketing strategies used by Pixar, which is one of Disney’s franchises, included the following (McGrath, 2013). To start with, Iger being the CEO at that time broadened the viewership of Disney through moving the channels of Disney from premium to cables that were basic and launched in key global markets local versions of it. In addition to that, in order to capture the tween market, which was growing rapidly, Disney started pushing franchises. Under Iger, Disney through the franchise of Pixar continued to remain on a fair that is family friendly hence broadening Disney’s market.

Iger focused on the strategy of family and as Steve Jobs said, family is a source that is renewable. Disney achieved this strategy under Iger as the CEO by garnering support behind family shows like Hannah Montana which helped expand Disney’s appeal to children who were older as well as adults. Through the franchise of Pixar, Disney was able to crack both the tween- girl and tween-boy market, which proved to be Medias of difficulty traditionally. Revitalizing the animation business of Disney business was a top priority for Iger and it was also a good market strategy since at that time many merchandises and television shows were based on characters of Pixar (Hitt & Hoskisson, 2007).

The target market strategy used by Iger included cracking the tween market, which was growing rapidly. For instance through supporting channels like High School Musical, the Jonas Brothers among others, Disney was able to crack down the tween-girl market (McGrath, 2013). In addition to that, it also used the franchises of Pirates and Cars as a target market strategy to crack the tween-boy market. Iger has long used the family based television programs as a target strategy of marketing and from the research conducted; he is even willing to look into new and broad markets as long as they fit the brand of Disney.

The components of marketing mix can also be referred to as the 4Ps of marketing which are the different choices available to the organizations in order for them to bring to market products and services. They include the following;

• Product; this is concerned with the best product or service for the target market. Disney for instance focuses on family series that target a wider market.
• Place; it involves getting the right kind of products and services to the target market for instance Disney’s ability to come up with shows that target the place of both boys and girls.
• Promotion; this involves educating the target market of the right kind of products. Disney achieves this through it advertisements

• Price; marketing managers need to come up with the best kind of market price. Here, they must consider the target market competition before settling for the price as well as the marketing mix cost as a whole. In addition to that, customer reaction estimate must be done against possible costs. Disney considers all this before setting prices for its shows (Hitt & Hoskisson, 2007).

References

Hitt, M. A., Ireland, R. D., & Hoskisson, R. E. (2007). Strategic management: Competitiveness and globalization; [concepts and classes]. Mason, Ohio [u.a.: Thomson South-Western.

McGrath, R. G. (2013). The end of competitive advantage: How to keep your strategy moving as fast as your business. Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business Review Press.

Goods and Services Marketing

Goods and Services Marketing

According to Lamb (2014), “the success of any business or consumer product depends in part on the target market’s ability to distinguish one product from another.  Branding is the main tool marketers use to distinguish their products from those of the competition” (p. 170).  Even with a strong product, marketing is always the key.  It takes a keen eye for business and a firm understanding of brand strategy in order to make even the most marketable product a hit.   The Walking Dead recent television episode future an old-time favorite; crush (orange) soda a consumer product that is manufactured by the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group.

            As mention by Lamb (2014), “products can be classified as either business (industrial) or consumer products, depending on the buyer’s intentions.  A consumer product is bought to satisfy an individual’s personal wants” (p. 165).  The soda, with its many names such as; soda pop, cold drink, pop, is another popular beverage that some people choose to drink.  The Crush Orange soda is a consumer product that needs no thought to purchase and can be easily found.  Consumer products can be further broken down into specific categories, such as convenience, shopping, specialty and unsought.  Lamb stated (2014), “convenience product is a relatively inexpensive item that merits little shopping effort, that is; a consumer is unwilling to shop extensively for such an item” (p. 166).  Therefore, the product can be seen as a convenience product, which is a consumer product that takes brief thought, is routine, purchased often, appeals to a large target market and the consumer purchases with little planning. 

In general, attitudes toward product placement are favorable across media types.  To create brand placements that are positively evaluated, they should be placed within programs, movies, games, radio program, newspaper or magazines that are involving for the audience (Lamb, 2014, p. 281).  The placement of the product in the television program had a clear connection to the plot of the story, which increased the brand equity of the product.  As stated by Russell (2002), “plot connection is the degree to which the brand is woven into the plot of the story; whereas, lower plot placements do not contribute much to the story, and higher plot placements comprise a major thematic element (Russell, 2002, p. 305).  Essentially, verbally mentioned brand names that contribute to the narrative structure of the plot need to be highly connected to the plot.  Besides, prominent brand placements in television have a more significant advantage than subtle brand placements (Russell, 2002, p. 305.)

References

Lamb, C.W. (2014). MKTG 7 Ed. Mason, OH: South-Western, Cengage Learning.

Russell, C.A. (2002). Investigating the Effectiveness of Product Placements in Television

Shows: The Role of Modality and Plot connection Congruence on Board Memory and Attitude: Journal of Consumer Research, 29, 306-318.

New Balance Hubway: The Healthy Way

Distribution Strategy 

Visit http://www.thehubway.com and browse the site. You'll find that the New

Balance® Hubway brand uses the online environment to encourage

participation! 

The New Balance Hubway encourages participation by being a completely online or tech savvy business. In order to rent a bike, you use a kiosk to purchase the bike by using a credit card and you never meet face to face with a customer service representative. Questions regarding how to handle a flat tire and overflow at a bike station is all answered online on their website. After watching the video, searching around their website, and watching their short video available on their site, I would definitely try out Hubway without visiting a kiosk first. If I were traveling to an area, such as Boston, I would go ahead and pay for my time I knew I would be there so that I could explore as much as I wanted.

The Hubway goes the extra mile by providing customer service 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. It also has a customer service email. I believe I would use the email version of customer service so long as it wasn’t an emergency. I find email to be convenient if you have an important appointment that you can’t miss but you are able to check your email during the duration of the meeting.

The website uses Intensive Distribution as a strategy, which is “aimed at maximum market coverage.” (Lamb, Hair, McDaniel. 2014). I think that whatever area Hubway is in, they make their product very accessible. For example, if someone needs to get blocks away in a decent amount of time, they need to have kiosks with bike that are available. Potential customers for Hubway may not have a lot of time to search for a kiosk to get a bike so having several for convenience for the customer is nice because they can pick up or drop off the bike at the nearest stations.
New Balance Hubway is an automatic vending type of nonstore retailer. I chose this answer because they use a kiosk or machine to conduct most of their business. They do not conduct business by going door to door or having home parties like Direct Retailing or Direct Sales. Hubway also does not conduct their business via the telephone but conducting cold calls or generate new business. This company is also not on the television shopping network asking for customers to call in to rent a bicycle. Hubway does allow customers to approach the kiosk or machine and rent a bike by purchasing the product through the machine via credit card.

I believe New Balance Hubway has a low level of service with a narrow product line. The company offers one style of product. There’s no upgrade or different style bicycles. The product line is very basic which in turn, allows the service to be a low level as well. They offer the best with the product they have which helps them stand out. They have

New Balance Hubway uses a retailer channel in their company. Their main goal is to sell mainly to the consumer. They do not want to go through another channel in order to conduct business with their customers. They want to get their product on the forefront and allow the customers to rent their products quickly.

     

 I think the most influential factor on the method and level of distribution is the Market Factor. New Balance Hubway has based most of its business near larger cities where tourists visit, college students attend school and work, and bigger businesses are so more people are walking instead of driving. This factor allows the company to look at “Who are potential customers? What do they buy? Wheredo they buy? When do they buy? How do they buy?” (Lamb, et al 2014.) These questions can determine where Hubway needs to place a new station or if they need to place a new station. This determines a lot for this type of business.

     

Specialty store best describes Hubway. This type of store is a store “specializing in a given type of merchandise.” (Lamb, et al 2014). It is also described as having a more attentive customer service. Hubway specializes in bike renting and bike renting only. There is no store to walk into and it sells no other products.

     

I believe Hubway is trying to manage service capacity. The company is trying to figure out which stations are being utilized the most so they have room for drop off and pick up docks for the bikes. They need to make sure that customers have the product when they want and where they want but they also need to drop the bike off where they want and when they want. This type of business is based around the convenience of the customer. If it doesn’t benefit them or work for them they way they need it to, they may not continue to use the product.

I feel this answer is true but it is not the main reason. I feel the Spotcycle app was developed to help aid in managing service capacity and show the customer where to dock their bike. It comes back to what I stated earlier, if they can’t drop it off at their convenience then the customer may not return. Secondly, I feel it is to minimize wait times.

     

Absolutely! They are essentially an online and kiosk based company. Their business pushes people to step into the technology side of the century if they haven’t already. It is where our generation is heading and they are allowing their business to thrive before others are even there. I think the fact that they prove new technology can offer great customer service is a bonus.

     

Marketing Research Perspectives

         Marketing Research Perspectives

Have you ever had to conduct marketing research? It can be a real bummer! Here are some perspectives on conducting marketing research to consider moving a company into the Western European marketplace. 

I-Drive Transport Marketing Research

         Established in Chicago, I-Drive Transport, is a nationwide car sharing business that was started in densely populated urban areas and has grown to over 20 major cities in the United States. IDT has shown so much potential in such a small amount of time. In just five years, they have grown their business to now employ 500 people and are now looking to go global. Electric car sharing or renting is their specialty and they want to continue that trend into the global market.

            IDT’s marketing team plans to conduct secondary research to gain insight into London’s resident’s and commuters to find out if the need is there for a product, such as, UDT. Based on the research collected, the marketing team with then analyze the data and use it to determine if there is a need for IDT to move into the global marketplace. Marketing research and the proposal plan assists IDT when it comes time for them to make a decision on whether to move forward with the company. “Marketing research is the process of planning, collecting, and analyzing data relevant to a marketing decision.” (Lamb et al., 2014).

            The following marketing research problem and opportunity questions will inform the research design team for this particular project:

1.    Will consumers be receptive to renting a vehicle on a regular basis?

2.    Is there a sufficient consumer base for UDT in the geographic location?

3.    Are enough recharge stations feasible within the geographic location?

The marketing research team will use several types of data in order to reach their proposal. The types of data to be used are:

Secondary Data. “Innumerable outside sources of secondary information also exist, principally in the forms of government departments and agencies (federal, state, and local) that compile and publish summaries of business data.” (Lamb et al., 2014). The marketing research team can gather data from local journals, news media, and reliable internet resources.

Primary Data. Two methods of primary data that will be used to develop this research plan proposal will include:

Mall Intercept Interviews. This research is typically conducted in the “common area of a shopping mall or in a market research office within the mall.” (Lamb et al., 2014). This type of survey can be conducted in one of the malls in any of the cities such as, London, Glasgow, or Edinburgh. These are all major cities around London, where IDT is wanting to expand, globally, and this would allow the research team to get answers from potential customers as well as commuters. 

Questionnaire. This form of research is usually a mix of different style questions. “Questionnaires ensure that all respondents will be asked the same series of questions. Questionnaires include three basic types of questions: open-ended, closed-ended, and scaled-response.” (Lamb et al., 2014). This survey could be held on college campus because Jenna and Karl believe that, after market segmenting their customers, they know that some are working graduate students.

            The collection of this data will occur within London and major cities surrounding it, including, Glasgow and Edinburgh. This grueling and intense process of data collecting will cause IDT to hire a firm, subcontracted, or send a team of their own, over to London to conduct the research. A field service firm will interview respondents for a company on a subcontracted basis. (Lamb et al., 2014).

            After the surveys have been conducted and the data has been retrieved, the research team will work to analyze the data given to them. “The marketing researcher tries to organize and analyze those data by using one or more techniques common to marketing research: one-way frequency counts, cross-tabulations, and more sophisticated statistical analysis.” (Lamb et al., 2014).

            After the data is collected and organized it will be given to IDT by the research marketing team. The team will have formed a research plan proposal for the company and it will be IDT decision from there on whether to take the next step to move into the global marketplace.

References

Lamb, C. W., Hair, J. F., & McDaniel, C. (2014). MKTG7. Mason, OH: South-Western, Cengag

Environmenal Analysis for Global Expansion

 Writing up a Memo on Global Expansion

Writing a business memo doesn't have to be as difficult as some make it seem to be... here is an example business memo on a transportation company making a move into the Pakistan market:

Memo

To:	I Drive Transport Executives
From:	Joseph Smith
Date:	July 10, 2016
Re:	External Environment Marketing Report: Lahore, Pakistan

Lahore is the second largest city in Pakistan with a population of over 12 million people. Lahore has over 63 colleges and universities that are sprinkled all over the city. Students from all over the country come to Lahore to get the best education that the country can offer. Being a third world country, a lot of these students cannot afford cars and have to rely on public transport to come from the suburbs to the city centers daily. So an affordable car-sharing business would be a welcomed solution to the problem faced by people in the city every day.

Since Lahore is an educational hub for the country’s young minds, the best marketing solution would be to target this young adults market who are of driving age, but cannot afford personal cars. 95% of the student population doesn’t work and rely on their parents for allowance. So the most important thing would be to price the service right so it’s accessible to the people who need it most.

Lahore is overly congested and heavily polluted city, but the youth is aware of the growing problem and is committed in finding a solution, so marketing should be focused in introducing a service which is not only convenient but is good for the community and will help with traffic congestion as well as cut back in pollution as the electric cars will not produce any harmful fumes. An issue to note here now would be that the concept of electric cars is a novel idea in Pakistan. There are still some areas of the country which doesn’t have any electricity. So convenient charging stations for electric cars would be an issue. Which is easily solvable by the company providing extra charged batteries which they can charge at their own facility center.

Pakistan has been in the news on and off regarding political issues where there have been rallies to fight against the dependency on the Western world. Lahore is considered a very progressive city and the people are well educated and liberal in their thinking in general. However branding the company as a typical “American” business wouldn’t be a wise idea. The best way would be to partner with a local business who can promote it under their banner. That way the company wouldn’t be branded as another foreign company trying to take over the East.

To summarize, expanding I Drive Transport to Pakistan is a very lucrative idea as there is virtually no competition in this field there and there is a huge market ready to take advantage. Some extended research would be required in regards to the location of the main facility and the charging stations. Marketing would have to be through social media primarily as most of the university students are heavy social media users. Some print ads as well as tv spots would be a good idea for expansion as well in the future.

U Drive Transport External Environmental Analysis

World Region:  Country: Pakistan

Major City Center: Lahore

Social External Environmental Factors (Textbook Pages:  45-46    )

Opportunities: Lahore is comparable to Chicago with a busy city center with lots of Schools and Universities centered in the middle of the city. Most of the young students don’t own cars and rely on their parents or public transport for conveyance. So a car sharing service would be extremely helpful for young people to share cars while going to school.

Threats: Pakistani culture stresses on the ability to be self-sufficient and asking for help is considered a weakness. Some people may not like the idea of “borrowing” the car.Some creative branding would be needed to promote it as a way of networking while cutting pollution and traffic congestion in the city.

Resources: http://www.state.gov/e/eb/eppd/csr/index.htm

Demographic External Environmental Factors (Textbook Pages:  47-48    )

Opportunities: Lahore is the second largest city of Pakistan with the population of over 12 million people. Its is one of the largest 30 cities of the world. There are over 63 universities located in a 50 mile radius in the center of Lahore so students from all over Pakistan come to Lahore to study. Traveling from the suburbs to the city center can be a hassle for a lot of young people when they have to rely on public transport specially when its not reliable. So it will be a great opportunity to target this car-sharing service towards students going to the same universities

Threats: There are significantly more male students than female students enrolled in the universities, so the marketing strategies would have to be streamlined for mostly male users.

The U.S. Census International Data Base is located at: http://www.census.gov/population/international/data/idb/informationGateway.php

Economic External Environmental Factors (Textbook Pages: 51-52     )

Opportunities: A lot of university students coming from different cities to Lahore don’t own cars as family incomes are limited and car-purchasing power is low. So car-sharing service would be an excellent idea for these university students to have an option to use the cars on days when they really can’t use public transport.

Threats: The charge for this car-sharing service would have to be comparatively low for the students to be able to afford it as 85% of the university going students don’t work and are supported by their families.

Technological External Environmental Factors (Textbook Pages: 52-54   )

Opportunities: Cellphone usage in Lahore has grown exponentially in the last decade as phone prices have dropped and the companies providing the cellular services have tripled in number and are very affordable. 95% of the university going students own a smart-phone and have access to internet on their phones. So an app for car-sharing would be the best route.

Threats: Although internet connection through wi-fi is common in Lahore, sometimes the signals are slow. So along with smart-phone app, there has to be some marketing with paper pamphlets and easy phone access. U Drive Transport have prided themselves with electric cars to cut back on pollution and dependence on oil, but it’s a novel idea in Pakistan to have electric cars, so charging stations are not going to be readily available.

Political and Legal External Environmental Factors (Textbook Pages: 54-57     )

Opportunities: Pakistan’s political scene goes up and down all the time, so being a politically neutral company is the best way to go. Since car-sharing is a new idea in Lahore, so the rules are very moldable.

Threats: What can be seen an opportunity can also turn out to be a threat ; as even though Lahore is a very progressive city, there can be political drama concerning the West, so keeping a politically neutral stance is of utmost importance.

Resources: The World Factbook

Competitive External Environmental Factors (Textbook Pages:      )

Opportunities: There is virtually zero competition in the car-sharing industry in Lahore right now. The only thing that I found was an app that just launched that connects people through facebook who want to share a ride. They have to use their own cars though. So for people who downt own cars and want to rent cars, there is no option available in Lahore.

Threats: Since there is currently nothing like that, even a hint at a car-sharing service can bring about people who would want to start similar services and create competition. Until the big launch of the company, its better to keep the details hidden.

 

References

Central Intelligence Agency. (2014). The world factbook. Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/ library/publications/the-world-factbook

U.S. Census Bureau. (2013, December). International programs: International data base. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/population/international/ data/idb/informationGateway.php

U.S. Department of State. (2014). Corporate Social Responsibility. Retrieved from http://www.state.gov/e/eb/eppd/csr

U.S. Department of State. (2014). Regions. Retrieved from http://www.state.gov/countries