¶ … role a business advisor a local business 'start-' consultancy company, asked provide a portfolio a potential customer requires advice start a business venture: ____ The Repot Task (1) How start a business venture a Fast Food takeaway Wolverhampton City UK (2) Using 'Marketing mix', develop a Marketing Strategy Fast Food takeaway Wolverhampton. Fast Food Takeaway Venture

The modern day economic agents face incremental challenges from the industry and the market and they often require the assistance of business specialists in order to best respond to these emergent challenges (Boone and Kurtz, 2010). The fast food venture is to be opened in Wolverhampton City, UK and its success would be ensured by a full understanding of the industry and the market and the strategic adaptation based on company capabilities, industry features and market requirements (Brown, 2005).

The first step is represented by the thorough analysis of the market and the identification of the need for takeaway fast food products. The logistics issues must then be resolved and the resources need to be estimated and allocated. As these efforts are completed, the sale of the fast food products is projected to commence. In order for it to succeed however, it is essential for the firm to develop and implement a well-built marketing campaign which creates demand for the company and its products. The tool used in the construction of the campaign was represented by the marketing mix.

Finally, in order for the company and its operations to be sustainable within the long-term, it is recommended that the leaders of the firm continually assess the market and the industry in order to quickly adapt to the emergent challenges.

2. Introduction

Setting up new ventures is often a highly difficult task and it is generally useful to request the assistance of a group or an individual specialized in launching new ventures. Opening new business operations is a complex effort not only for the novice entrepreneur, but in fact for all entrepreneurs, especially if their concomitant expertise in the field of operation and the market they address is limited (Flick, 2008).

The business analyst comes to meet the needs of the new entrepreneur and supports his/her endeavors of setting up a new business. In the current instance, the client is looking to set up a new fast food takeaway venture. The current process offers input constructed with the aid of the specialized literature, but adapted to the needs of the entrepreneur and the selected market -- the customer base in Wolverhampton City, United Kingdom.

3. Launching the new venture

The specialized literature identifies a wide array of steps to be implemented in the launch of a startup organization. Rob Walling (2010) for instance militates for the need to launch a venture in a niche market and to control its sizes, whereas Rolf Sterberg (2009) militates for the need to adjust the venture to the specifics of the market to be addressed. Based on the analysis of the literature, as well as based on the specifics of the company and the market in which it would operate, the following four stages of development have been devised:

The research of the market (Iacobucci and Calder, 2002)

The addressing of the logistics issues (Chandra and Grabis, 2007; Dolgui and Proth, 2010)

The analysis and allocation of the resources (Cheverton, Foss, Hughes and Stone, 2005) and The eventual launch of operations (Kapoor and Kansal, 2004).

3.1. Market research

This stage consists of the identification of the need for fast food takeaway in the Wolverhampton City. The United Kingdom, unlike the United States, has historically been reticent to fast food products and it was only KFC that managed to successfully penetrate the British market in the 1960s decade. Gradually however, with the entry of Burger King and McDonald's, the population in the UK increased their consumption of fast food products. At a business level, fast food represents an attraction as it creates opportunities for franchising (Lashley and Morrison, 2000).

At the level of the population, this now consumes high amounts of fast food products, revealing as such a real need for the products to be sold by the new venture. Also, the modern day population is busier than ever and has less time to prepare meals in the households, and also less time to enjoy the meals in restaurants. This situation represents a context in which the need for the takeaway fast food products is increased. And this is true even more so in Wolverhampton, which is an educational center filled with busy students who enjoy fast food products.

3.2. Logistics considerations

Logistics is traditionally understood as the totality of functions of design, planning, handling and control of information, materials and...

At the level of the new fast food venture, the logistics decisions revolve around the following:
The location of the store -- will be addressed throughout the 4.3. Place section

The place of purchase for the ingredients. It is recommended that the ingredients be brought from local farmers, instead of imported. This would also enhance the role of the company within the local business community and would improve the company's public image.

The transportation of the commodities and materials as well as that of the employees. Employees who have to commute to work would be reimbursed for the price of the tickets. The transportation of the materials would be ensured by the business partners and the contracts would be signed in a manner in which transport is included in the retail of the commodities.

The handling of the ingredients and the final products would be completed within the utmost highest standards of quality, hygiene and sanitary conditions.

3.3. Resource allocation

At an incipient stage, it is estimated that the following resources are necessary:

$2,000 for space rental and preparation -- utilities, improvements and so on $3,000 for ingredients as well as appliances for the making and sale of the fast food products

$500 for marketing purposes one personal computer or laptop on which to process and store all company related information, for the purchase of which at least $500 should be allocated two staff members to retail the products, for the salary of which $5,000 should be allocated

$1,000 for unforeseen costs and provisions.

To sum up, the initial cost of the project is of $12,000. A return on investment is expected to occur starting with the third month of operations. In order to increase the financial stability of the company, it is necessary for at least half of the required sum to be possessed by the owner. The other half can be obtained through a bank loan, for which collateral would however be requested. Other solutions revolve around a personal loan from family or friends, or the taking of a partner in order to share the costs, but also the control and the profits.

3.4. Launch of operations

As all decisions are made and the preparations are completed, the company would have to integrate all of them and start operating (Johnson and Clark, 2008). This specifically implies that it would:

Find and rent / purchase the location (New and Ramsay, 1994)

Sign contracts with the business partners, including the purveyors

Attract the customers

Promote the company and its products

Create high quality products

Sell the fast food items.

In order to ensure the successful launch of the company, it is essential to develop and implement a complete and complex marketing campaign which creates awareness of the company and its products, and also draws customers to the items. The following section is dedicated to this campaign.

4. Marketing strategy

The marketing strategy is best created with the aid of the marketing mix (Peter and Donnelly, 2002). The marketing mix -- or the four Ps of marketing -- is one of the most common and popular marketing tools which allow the economic agents to assess situations and decide upon them based on the elements of the mix. "The marketing mix variables are usually considered as internal variables over which a manager has control and makes decisions (albeit influenced by customers, competition and other external uncontrollable factors)" (Smith and Taylor, 2004).

Specifically, the elements in the marketing mix refer to the following:

Product

Price

Place (distribution)

Promotions (Smith and Taylor, 2004).

4.1. Product

It has to be noted that the fast food industry is generally mature and saturated, and that in order for a company to succeed, it has to develop various points of difference. These points of difference would draw the customers and generate their loyalty, and as such the sustainability of the revenues (Lussier, 2008). At the level of the products, the point of difference would be constituted by the high quality of the fast food products, as well as by their increased variety. The variety would ensure that, regardless of taste, each customer is able to find something to their liking (Keat, Whitely and Abercrombie, 1994).

Another point of difference regarding the product selection would be constituted by the creation and sale of fast food products with emphasis on the health quality. At an international scale, and even more so within the developed regions such as the United Kingdom and the United States, people…