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Marketing business plan

Market

The market for Virtual Reality is constantly growing. There are a number of statistics which state a massive increase of the market for Virtual Reality all around the world. In terms of the use of VR technologies in UK architectural practice, the survey in 2018 revealed that 52% of the Aj100 architectural practices have been already using virtual reality in their offices. Sixty percent of the practices focused only on 360-degree panoramic images, while the remaining 40% offered VR walkthrough models. The market since then has already increased to 85%. Each year as technology evolves, the number is expected to grow. The RIBA discussed the report on the current and future use of Virtual Reality in the UK. In 2018, they accumulated opinions of over 300 construction industry professionals.They discovered that 35% of UK architects are already using VR in their design process. Seventy-nine percent have said that their work is more efficient due to the adaptation of digital technologies in their design. More than 50% of the individuals are convinced that the use of VR is needed in order to a business’ survival. 

PrODUCT

Virtual reality for architects has the potential to transform the industry, as it has the capability to sell ideas better than any other medium. As an immersive technology, it will transport users into a fully interactive 3D environment.

 

Our company specialise in client involvement through the use of virtual reality in architectural design. Visual Rise Architects guarantees the best possible software to illustrate our design decisions. 

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Click the button below to learn more about our product and services:

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People

Meet our team 

 

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Each member of our company specialises in different areas in hope to deliver the best possible service for our clients. 

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Our business will be focused on residential and commercial architecture. This means, we will be getting in touch with residents who are interested in experiencing our Virtual Reality Service, allowing individuals to visualise their dream home in 3D before it becomes actual reality.

 

At the moment, Virtual Reality has high expenses, therefore our business will be attracting individuals who are willing to pay for high-quality service. This is why our chosen location relates to our specific clientele. We will be contacting a number of developers who might be interested in our service to expand our commercial clientele. 

STRATEGY

TACTIC

Attract accurate clientele specific to our service: 

Residential clients and Commercial clients

  • Cambridge has a high number of residents who show a high GDP, which are  suitable for our firm as we target lucrative new clients. 

  • Social Media’s risen popularity can lead us to both residential and commercial clients. Similar to the website and online advertisement. 

  • Public speaking events can lead to all types of clientele. 

  • Digital publication in architectural magazines will attract residential clients.

  • Teaching at Cambridge University can lead to both residential and commercial clients.

  • Handing out leaflets and business cards at all opportunities 

  • Contacting developers for commercial projects.

  • Collaboration with Cambridge University will help to identify commercial clients. 

  • Networking events will provide collaboration with other architectural companies. 

Create trust within our brand 

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  • One of our important component is our website. The website clearly displays our company’s ethos and selling point.

  • Our website offers an opportunity to showcase our wares. We have posted our portfolio to show what we have to offer.

  • Chosen location

  • Everything we offer and show becomes part of the marketing of the brand. These includes the social media activities, our employees’ appearance as well as how the office is presented. Therefore, the location of our office very important.  

  • We ensure that we maintain a good communication system with the client in order to create the trust and credibility within the architecture company.

Develop excellent communication with our future clients

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  • Social media is one of the most effective ways of communication. It is attracting all kinds of individuals who could be our potential clients. 

  • Our company is up to date will all recent social media platforms to broaden our audience. 

  • Google cardboard VR headset will be a way of communicating with the client and show updates on the design.

  • Communication through our business email and telephone. 

Establish company’s value preposition. Make our company stand out from competitors. 

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  • Our effective elevator pitch will gain the listener’s attention and become memorable to the client. 

  • The VR technology accessible to our clients is the key tactic to leave the potential client wanting more and make the company stand out from competitors. 

Adopt the best technology available - to attract more clients

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  • Visual Rise will adopt new technologies that no one has been offering yet to attract new clients. Selling of architectural design changes constantly, our company will move along with the times. 

  • Virtual Reality is a good way of attracting clients, as it is still a new technology on the market. 

  • Virtual reality gives the ability to show them and get involved physically, creating a new experience.  

PLACE

Our architectural firm will be based in Cambridge. We have decided to choose this specific location due to it being the fastest growing city in the UK. Cambridge, showed GVA growth of 2.7% as result of high share of service and knowledge-based industries. Cambridge has a number of fast growing business development areas. It also provides many development lands for residential and commercial needs. This can offer many job opportunities in the future. 

 

The location of Cambridge has many transport links, with easy access to London, Norwich, Peterborough etc. There is a 45min train available, which will direct you to the centre of London as well as a 30 minute train to Stansted Airport, allowing easy access for business trips in the UK and abroad.

 

In the future, we hope to expand our company to multiple locations around the UK and possibly abroad. 

PRICE

The price will be individual to each project depending wether it is a residential or commercial cooperation. Our company offers a charge out fee that is calculated based on the amount of hours of work we put in, therefore the price will differ from project to project. Due to high expenses of Virtual Reality and the high quality strive that we offer, the prices will be slightly higher than a regular architecture firm. 

STRATEGY

Gain multiple advantages of choosing the correct location 

TACTIC

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  • Starting our company in this area would attract the correct clientele suited to our company.

  • Cambridge is known for many business incubators, which provide good support services and resources such as office and meeting space as well as coaching and networking connections to entrepreneurial companies.

  • We will be using the Eagle Lab’s Cambridge Incubator who offer co-working private offices and mentoring. Their primary purpose increases the growth and success of startup companies.

  • The business will be surrounded by passionate and ambitious individuals who will be able to share ideas and many support services which are available for our innovative new startup.

  • Allows collaboration with Cambridge University Engineering and Architectural Department who are known to participate with many businesses.

  • The exceptional knowledge that Cambridge University offers could prove invaluable to our business.

Gain multiple advantages of choosing the correct location 

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  • Cambridge has a good reputation. By locating our business in a well-regarded and respected area, the positive perception may be transferred into our business. It has been proven that perception drives purchasing decision, therefore this can be seen as a free form of marketing.

  • Branding strategies and ethos tactics are crucial in maintaining a good reputation. 

  • Professionalism :

        -Paying special attention to our company ’s appearance (dress code-             navy smart wear, lanyard)

        -Show confidence, yet being polite and well-spoken 

        -Attention to body language and facial expressions to

         communicate volumes

        -Following through on promises in a timely manner

        -Being an expert in our field 

        -Following strict code of ethics 

        -Maintaining poise

        -Phone Etiquette 

        -Formal Tone

        -Showing structure and organisation 

        -Owning up to our mistakes, allowing space for improvements

         in the future

PROMOTION

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Social Media gives our company an opportunity to expose our ideas and attract the right clientele who are interested in the service we provide. We have made multiple social media platforms, such as: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter as well as Pinterest. These free accounts are a good way of informing clients without spamming them with information they do not want. In order to promote our business, we decided to pay for adverts on some of the social media forums. It is the most efficient way of promoting in the early stages, when our following is very limited. In time, once the number of followers have increased we will be able to pay for adverts on all social media forms. 

 

Our company will take part in a number of networking events as well as virtual reality events in order to promote our service. We will be part of one of the biggest event for Virtual Reality (VR World Event) which that takes place in London in November every year. This will give us an opportunity to share our research on virtual reality and promote our company to attract new clients. 

PROCESS

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  1. Marketing of our company will begin by attracting clients through advertisement on social media and digital publishing that leads the client to our website. 

  2. We will be attending public speaking events to promote and present our service.

  3. Our team has attended many networking events and will continue to do so in order to connect with other individuals in the industry and gain potential clients. 

  4. Collaborations with Cambridge University and architectural companies will allow for contact with developers. 

  5. Clients will be able to contact us through our website or by simply calling our company’s telephone.

  6. Once we begin our work with the client, we use our professionalism, while creating a fascinating experience to ensure the client is satisfied and spreads the word about our business. 

  7. Our service is split into three main stages to create an engaging experience. Search our services on our website for more details. 

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    8. We will always ask for feedback in order to improve our                 company for future clients. Clients will be able to review our         company on Google and our social media platforms. 

STRATEGY

Maintain company’s visibility and gain social media recognition through increasing the number of followers

TACTIC

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  • Frequent social media posts on instagram, active stories and lives to keep our clients up to date. 

  • Facebook page and live chats

  • Hash-tagging on our posts 

  • Youtube videos to share our knowledge of VR

  • Pinterest shows our work and links to our website

  • LinkedIn will help to connect to other businesses locally and internationally. 

  • Twitter page builds an instant relationship with out clients, way of communicating through tweets. 

  • All social media platform can reflect our achievements, clients will be able to share feedback once the project is complete. 

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  • Digital publication is not only better for the environment, but it is a way of reaching more clients than physical publication. It gives our company recognition from people in the industry, opening many business opportunities. 

  • We hope to be featured on ArchDaily, Detail and Architect Magazine.

  • Newsletter is a good way of keeping the people involved. We can offer a free booklet or information which will give us an opportunity to receive the client’s email. Once they have signed up, we will be able to provide regular information that will appear in the newsletter. This will keep our company at the top of the person’s mind.  

  • Lead Generation Services is something we we would use in the future for paid advertisement. 

Gain firm recognition online

Collaborate with Cambridge University in order to promote our service 

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  • Working amongst intelligent individuals who can share their knowledge of Virtual Reality. Being surrounded by the correct people behind our business will be crucial, particularly during the early stages in order for our firm to develop further. 

  • Collaboration with Cambridge University,  Engineering and Architecture Department by teaching students once week, to share our knowledge on Virtual Reality, while advertising our service. 

Private corporation with other companies to allow new business opportunities 

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  • Throughout the years will be attending: 

    -Conferences

    -After-hours events

    -Industry and trade associations 

    -Trade Shows (VR events) 

    -Job Club Meetings

    -Online Networking/ Forums

    -Speed networking for new business opportunities 

    -Career fairs 

Representing the brands ethos at all times through correct branding strategies 

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  • Our logo represents are brand, it is visible on our website, business cards, leaflets, posters. 

  • Effective elevator pitch gives our company a focus.

  • Dress code identifies our professionalism 

  • Lanyards worn at all times 

PHYSICAL EVIDENCE

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Website: 

The website contains our portfolio with previous work and what we can offer as part of our service. Click the button below to find more details. 

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Leaflets: 

We will be handing out physical leaflets during presentations, public speaking events and lectures at Cambridge University. These our designed by our Image director, who has used their graphic design skills in order to target our audience and reach our potential clients. The leaflets include relevant information and contact details in addition to the QR code that leads you to our website. 

 

Business Cards: 

In order to show our professionalism and make a good first impression, we have made business cards that we will be handing out at every opportunity. Business cards include the name of our company, contact details, social media platforms and the address to the website. 

 

Information Sheets: 

Six A2 information boards are going to be printed out as a form of background during presentations. The sheets will provide key information with limited text, yet many eye-catching illustrations to present our ethos and key ideas. 

 

Nametags:

Each member of our team will have lanyards with a badge showing our name, photo and QR found at the back of the badge to lead the audience to our website. 

 

Feedback Forms: 

At the end of the presentation, we will hand out physical feedback forms with multiple choice questions on how satisfied the attendees are and how we can improve our service in the future. 

 

Refreshments: 

During presentations, we will be providing refreshments for our audience in order to create a pleasant and enjoyable experience. We will provide miniature cupcakes with our company’s logo as a way of advertisement. 

 

VR headsets: 

Physical VR headsets will be available for clients during presentations, as the Oculus Rift headset and Google cardboard VR headset will be provided for each client during the design process. 

NETWORKING EVENTs

Due to our location, we are able to travel all around the UK for multiple Networking Events. We hope that in the future, once our company expands we can travel abroad to share our ideas and gain more knowledge. In the first few years, London will most likely be our main destination as there are a number of networking events suitable to our company. We have attended the following events and will continue to attend many more throughout the years.

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1. RIBA London Winter social (09/12/2019)

The Department Store, Brixton, 248 Ferndale Rd London 

 

The event created multiple opportunities to meet people in similar industry. London Architects groups gave us the opportunity to be involved with the RIBA at local level.

 

2. Getting Started With Enterprise Architecture (11/12/2019)

Regus Cambridge, Wellington House, East Rd, Cambridge 

 

The event showed the delegates of what is needed to establish a functioning and integrated Enterprise Architecture Practice using TOGAF.

 

3. NetLdn (12/12/2019)

25 Rathbone Pl, London 

 

It is an event which is repeated each month in order to socialise with fellow networking professionals. we have met many individuals in the industry in which they shared their knowledge to help with our company. 

 

4. Architecture Forum (18/12/2019)

Hippo Digital Ltd  24-26, Aireside House, Air St, Leeds

 

We joined the important conversation with IT Architects to hear about new development in the industry and possible collaboration. 

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5. Architect at the Work (29/01/2020) 

85 Brick Lane, London E1 6QR Brick Ln, London

 

Architect at the Work involved many professionals to maintain and update their industry knowledge and skills through formal education. It allowed us to to meet individuals who are also starting a business, allowing us to collaborate with them to expand our marketing by promoting our company. 

 

6. Interior Design & Architecture summit (08/06/2020)

Hilton London Tower Bridge

5 More London Riverside, Tooley St, London 

 

This event has broaden our knowledge and gave us the connection with senior executives who have been in the industry for a long time. It was a networking event which provided us with long-lasting and beneficial business connections. 

 

7. Business Process Management Conference Europe (26/10/2020) 

The Tower Hotel, St Katharine’s Way London

 

This event offered an opportunity to gain knowledge on the latest approaches and innovative ideas to both Enterprise Architecture and BPM. It also provided diverse and wide-ranging perspectives on there topics including Business Architecture. 

 

8. Enterprise Architecture Conference (29/10/2020)

The Tower Hotel, St Katharine’s Way London

 

As a company, we have benefitted from the synergies between Enterprise Architecture and BPM. 

 

 9. VR World - Virtual Reality Event (11/11/2020) 

Olympia Conference Centre, 

Hammersmith Road, London W14 8UX

 

One of the most important events we have attended. The event hosted over 150 visionary speakers and 1,000 enterprise leaders to discuss the impact of AR, MR and VR in industry. It allowed our company for great networking opportunities, and gave us possible connections with people that are already high up in the industry. 

PESTLE ANALYSIS

POLITICAL FACTORS

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  • The effects of Brexit may cause issues in regards to relationships with European countries. Architect’s qualifications may not longer be recognised, which disrupts collaboration with other firms abroad. 

  • Brexit may force new partnerships with non- European union traders, allowing for business growth globally. International relationships must remain the same if not expand. System of priority access for business travellers should be applied. 

  • Government funding may open up bigger opportunities, with more in-country support being available. This will enable a bigger budget for marketing. 

ECONOMICAL FACTORS

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  • Inflation will cause the prices of building materials to go up. Due to the rate of inflation, architect’s pay will decrease. The gradual increase in services and material cost, will cause increase in the price of our company's services. This may discourage our future clients from carrying on with our project due to higher costs. If recession appears, the market cycle will be heading back up for a recovery. 

  • A change of interest rate may have an effect on our bank loans, resulting in paying more back than we have originally borrowed. 

  • A change in exchange rate will affect the prices of international materials and services needed for our business. 

  • All of the above factors may cause a decrease of funds for marketing. 

SOCIAL FACTORS

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  • Population growth may increase the demands of our service. It will also increate the number of social media users as a beneficial factor or marketing.

  • Age distribution may cause difficulty with our clientele, as older generation may not be able to cope with our technical software or may not have access to a compatible mobile phone that will run the software sufficiently. To overcome this, we will arrange initial introduction to the software. 

  • Health consciousness must be considered. Our service will require physical interaction of our clients and therefore disability may cause problems. We will consider manual options, in which a user will not require movement to ensure the marketing reaches everyone. 

  • Cultural differences could affect our marketing strategies. 

TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS

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  • As technology is constantly evolving, we will make sure to stay on top in order to stand out from our competitors.

  • Adapting to new digital technologies will increase our market. The use of BIM (Building Information allows for more efficient design and better communication with the client. The investment of innovative computers and softwares will allow better marketing strategies to attract more clients. 

  • Designing in virtual reality is saving manufacturing millions of dollars in design and layout, as the client is able to visualise the product before it is built in reality. 

LEGAL FACTORS

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  • Visual Rise Architects will create non-disclosure agreements with all clients to ensure all of their personal data remains disclosed. We will only publish project information following agreement from the client. Although we would like to use previous projects as advertisement on our website and social media, If a client would like to remain private we must respect their privacy.

  • Social Media is our main marketing strategy, yet we must protect our work from other people or competitors who could steal our designs. Investing in trademarks and copyrights will protect our intellectual property. 

ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS

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  • Visual Rise Architects will create non-disclosure agreements with all clients to ensure all of their personal data remains disclosed. We will only publish project information following agreement from the client. Although we would like to use previous projects as advertisement on our website and social media, If a client would like to remain private we must respect their privacy.

  • Social Media is our main marketing strategy, yet we must protect our work from other people or competitors who could steal our designs. Investing in trademarks and copyrights will protect our intellectual property. 

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