Ayojon
The venture, an event management firm will be known as Ayojon. Ayojon is a Bangla word which means making arrangements or organizing.
The company will be a sole proprietorship and be registered under the Bangladesh Company Act, 1994. If required the form of ownership will be changed in time.
Ayojon will be a service oriented company that is the firm will provide intangible goods or perform useful labor on behalf of another person.
The company will start its operation in early 2006, if everything goes as planned by the proprietor.
For the purpose of registration the entrepreneur must acquire the following licenses.
1. Trade License – From Dhaka City Corporation
2. Article of Incorporation – From Registrar of Joint Stock Company
3. Tax Certificate – From National Board of Revenue.
The location of the office for Ayojon will be decided when the firm will go into operation in 2006. The location for the office will be decided based on the convenience of the prospective customers of the company. The probable locations are Dhanmondi or Gulshan. Uttara is also in the list of probable location, if that is convenient for the customers.
Mission of Ayojon will be to provide its customer services to their utmost satisfaction.
Ayojon pledges its dedication to serve the community with quality services and set an example of professionalism and ethical business practices in the industry.
The vision of Ayojon is centered towards becoming the market leader in event management within 5 years of inception through hard work and commitment, maintaining the leadership and carrying the flag of uncompromising quality into the unforeseen future with constant value addition and a strong line of innovation.
Scope of Operation:
Ayojon will start its operation in a small scale, targeting a segment of the market that has not been
targeted by the existing firms before. It will focus its attention to the needs of the small and medium sized organization – both profit and not-for-profit.
Historically ours has been a culture that nourishes strong roots of occasions. We as a nation like to celebrate a lot of events, and our program calendar hardly sees a week when anything significant does not take place. In congruence with that ongoing heritage of celebration that is instilled in us, the concept of event management is as old in our culture as the concept of celebrating that event. What has been lacking until recently is the ability to see the big picture – which is the ability to see the opportunities and the problems associated with such big scale events. And this is precisely where event management fits in.
The event management industry in Bangladesh is not yet fully developed. There are few established event management firms in the country. The three established solely event management firms are Jetset PR, Antar Showbiz and Wizard. These firms are dedicated exclusively to the show business events.
But, the corporate market for event management has largely been unexplored. Although there is a demand for professional event management organizations, there is few such firms that cater exclusively to this demand. The advertising firms made the most of this situation, as they took up event management as a very lucrative side business. The initiative of managing their client’s events was started by Asiatic ad agency and soon followed by most of the advertising agencies. In fact Asiatic was so much interested to see the profit in this sector, that they have opened a separate subsidiary called Asiatic EML, for the sole purpose of managing their clients’ events. But other than that, no significant movements were taken to create a service firm for the purpose of managing the client’s events professionally.
A market survey conducted by a group of MBA students of IBA made an effort to find out the customer satisfaction level with the existing firms that provide event management services. The surveyors asked the clients of these companies to assign different numbers to the following seven dimensions of a company’s event management capability. The average is presented below.
Here 5 = Highest satisfaction with the service
1 = Lowest satisfaction with the service
| CEMS | Asiatic EML | Uni-trend | Media
comm |
Bitopy | Grey | Andes | Ad
comm |
|
| Consistency of
Services & Professionalism |
3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| Fulfilling Commitments | 1 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| Timely service | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| Creativity | 2 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| Proactive | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| Low Charges | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Quick reaction
to complaints |
1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| Total | 15 | 22 | 25 | 17 | 16 | 19 | 24 | 16 |
From the survey, Unitrend, Andes, and Asiatic EML can be identified as major players in the industry of event management. They have a high profile client base like –
· Lever Brothers
· British American Tobacco Bangladesh
· ACI
· Social Marketing Company (SMC)
· GQ Ball Pen
· BRAC
· Pran
· Saudia Airlines
· GMG Airlines
· Siemens
Unitrend and Andes are basically advertisement agencies, which provide event management as additional service. As mentioned before, Asiatic EML is a subsidiary of advertising agency Asiatic.
Other than Asiatic EML, CEMS (Conference and Exhibition Management System) is currently the only firm delivering event management services.
Demand Analysis
Windmill is an advertising firm, which also manages their clients’ events as a side business. According to Reazuddin Mosharaf, the CEO of Windmill, the demand for professional event management firms has been strong and the number of events as well as the number of customers getting interested to look for professional help in arranging their events is increasing. The demand is growing at the rate of 16% every year. (Page 21, A Performance Analysis of the Advertising Companies in Bangladesh, Farshed Alam, Institute of Business Administration). But, the supply is nowhere near to match the demand. This large gap between supply and demand presents an opportunity for the entrepreneurs in this sector.
In most cases, managers from different departments are brought together to form a committee to manage corporate events. This arrangement put extra pressure on the managers and sometimes results in lack of professionalism as managing an event professionally and cost efficiently require a good liaison with a number of suppliers. A manager responsible for other corporate activities usually cannot maintain this liaison. But, it is not financially feasible for organizations to recruit a manager solely for the purpose of managing the corporate events, which is not more than a few per year in numbers. Hence more and more organizations are looking for professional help in managing their events.
Non-corporate sector also presents opportunities for the potential event management firms. Even a decade ago family programs used to be organized by the family members. For example during any wedding, family members from all around the country used to come together to arrange the ceremony. But, with everyone spending more time in the workplaces, arrangements of family events like weddings or akikahs by the family members are becoming increasingly difficult. Again people are looking for professional help in arranging family programs.
The survey mentioned in the earlier section revealed that there is a high demand for professional event managers. The result of the survey is shown below:
| Target Customers | Questions Asked | YES | NO |
| Corporate Customers | Do you feel the necessity of a professional Event Management company who can organize your events? | 66% | 34% |
| Do you feel that a professional Event Management company will add significant value to the way your events are organized? | 82% | 18% | |
| If any firm offers exclusively event management services, would you be willing to use them? | 80% | 20% | |
| Non corporate Customers | Do you feel the necessity of a professional Event Management company who can organize your events? | 59% | 41% |
| Do you feel that a professional Event Management company will add significant value to the way your events are organized? | 63% | 37% | |
| If any firm offers exclusively event management services, would you be willing to use them? | 72% | 28% |
To be successful, a firm must do a better job than its competitors in satisfying target customers. That is why marketing plan must be geared to the needs of customers and also to the strategies of the competitors. An organization should constantly compare the value and customer satisfaction delivered by its products or services, prices, channels and promotion with those of its close competitors. In this way they can discern areas of advantage and disadvantage.
Customers
Y Market Segmentation
In Bangladesh, the prospect for event management firms is very good. The vast market out there has not been explored yet. This market can be divided into three major segments.
· The corporate clients
· The non-corporate clients
· The Bangladesh Government
The Corporate Clients
This segment includes various multinational companies, local public and private limited companies, financial and non-financial institutions, joint ventures and franchises, small businesses, NGOs, research institutions, private and public educational institutions, showbiz companies, social marketing companies, theater groups, cultural forums etc.The corporate clients are located in Gulshan, Dhanmondi and Motijheel – which will be the main area of focus while conducting the marketing activities.
MNCs that are situated in Gulshan are the biggest market for event management companies.
| Customer Segment | Main Concentrated Marketing Zone | No. of
Events done in a Calendar Year |
Main Events Done
Frequently |
|
| 1 | Multinational companies are frequently engaged in big events. | i) Gulshan
ii)Dhanmondi |
15-20 | i) Promotional campaigns
ii) Launching of new products |
| 2. | Local service
companies are the least interested in conducting big events. |
i) Dhanmondi
ii)Uttara |
0-5 | Only interested in events regarding opening new branches. But even then they prefer to do it by themselves as the events are relatively done in a manner which can save cost. |
MNCs are willing to add professionalism in event management and looking for innovative and improved ways to manage their corporate events. The survey mentioned in section 02 found out, most of the companies would like to be associated with an event management company, rather than conducting their events in-house.
| Target Customers | Value professionalism in Managing Events | Willing to pay a premium value for good event management | Prefer to outsource the management of their events to an event management company | Looking for ideas of innovative events to be associated with |
| MNC | ü | ü | ü | ü |
| Local Manufacturing Companies | ü | ü | ü | |
| Local Service Companies | ü | |||
| Private and public educational institutions | ü | ü | ü | |
| financial and non-financial institutions | ü | ü | ü | ü |
| small businesses | ü | ü |
The Non-Corporate Clients
Due to changes in our socio-cultural and economic condition, people are spending more time at work. As a result, they have less time to spend on social affairs – get together or a may be a birthday party for the children. These people make up the non-corporate client segment of the event management market.
This segment can be subdivided on the basis of age, income and religion.
Age based sub-segment
Aged below 26
Ayojon hopes to tap the early college graduates who have begun their professional careers but have not yet started their families. These events will focus mainly on themes with moderate to high energy appeal, such as, dance parties, concerts, fund raisers etc. The majority of weddings will fall into this segment.
Ages 27-55
The persons that fall into this age group are employed, middle to upper-middle class families. The reason they choose event planners is they are too busy to do it themselves, such as picnics. The majority of special occasion planning will occur in this market segment.
Ages 56 and Above
Persons over the age of 55 have reached the turning point of life. Many are retiring; others are celebrating anniversaries of significant years, and still others are seeing that their children’s special events are taken care of. Most holiday parties, birthday parties and other special occasions, such as wedding receptions and reunions, will occur in this market segment.
Religion based sub-segment
The major religious group in our country is the Muslims. The minority religious groups include the Hindus, the Christians and the Buddhists. Although these religious groups live in harmony, they have some distinct rituals, weddings for example. So, these groups have to be offered with different packages based on their different religious practice.
Income based sub-segment
Ø Personal Income– Over 15,000
Ø Personal Income– Over 20,000
Ø Personal Income– Over 35,000
On the whole, this segment represents upper middle to high income families. This segment has strong family bonding and they are willing to pay professional event management firms to arrange their family programs.
The Bangladesh Government
Another major segment in this market is the Bangladesh Government. Each year the Bangladesh Government hosts a variety of programs. Which firm will be in charge of these programs are decided by tenders.
Target market determination
As has been mentioned before, the market for event management has been unexplored. But, at the same time, this market is too vast to be targeted by a small firm like Ayojon. To be successful Ayojon will have to focus its attention to segments or niches that the big players have overlooked or ignored. This way, Ayojon will be able to avoid confrontation with the major players in the market by specializing along market, customer, service and marketing mix lines. Through smart targeting, Ayojon will be able to earn as much profit as the market leaders.
A study reveals that the corporate customers are moderately satisfied with the way their events are managed.
| Target Customers | Very satisfied | Moderately satisfied | Neutral | Moderately dissatisfied | Very Dissatisfied |
| MNC | 12% | 42% | 22% | 16% | 8% |
| Local Manufacturing Companies | 11% | 34% | 12% | 26% | 17% |
| Local Service Companies | 3% | 24% | 56% | 9% | 8% |
| Private and public educational institutions | 15% | 23% | 19% | 10% | 33% |
| financial and non-financial institutions | 22% | 46% | 13% | 3% | 16% |
| small businesses | 2% | 28% | 22% | 36% | 12% |
The corporate clients, especially the MNCs are very much willing to engage in long-term contracts with professional event management firms. But most of them already have contracts with various advertisement firms for their event management. They are not willing to terminate their contract immediately and would like to engage both an event management firm as well as advertising firms on a short term basis to see just how much value professionalism adds to the process of event management. But, the number of events that these corporate clients are going to initiate is likely to increase by more than 10% in the coming year. Most significant increase will take place for the manufacturing companies and MNCs. This will present Ayojon with the opportunity to have contracts with established MNCs.
Ayojonwill also target the local manufacturing companies, local service companies, private and public educational institutions, financial and non-financial institutions, and small businesses. As it is very unlikely that the number of events the corporate customers initiate would decrease in coming future, the firm is looking at a very positive market indicator.
Ayojon will also target the Government programs and bid for them. This will give Ayojon a boost in image, which will help the firm to capture the attention of the whole market.
A study revealed that the personal customers are very much interested in event management services.
Ø 66% of the consumers said that they are willing to appoint an event management company to organize their events if the price is affordable.
Ø 59% of the customers claimed that they do not possess the necessary expertise to conduct a big personal event successfully without outside help.
Ø 68% of the customers claimed that they would appoint an event management company to save time. 22% will do it because it will make their life hassle free.
These customers will form Ayojon’s non-corporate target group. The firm will focus on the residential areas of Gulshan, Dhanmondi, Baridhara, Uttara, Banani – as these locations represent the affluent income groups among the general population who can afford Ayojon’s services.
So, for Ayojon, there are four distinct niches that the firm can serve effectively.
| Niche Identification and Characteristics | Events | |
| Niche 1 | Growth obsessive MNCs with plenty of brands. These companies are looking to either reposition or redeem the brand image of some of its brands. | Designing promotional campaigns and events associating various brands with various special days celebrated, like Family Day. |
| Niche 2 | MNCs, and other big and small local companies which want professionalism and “one-stop” service in managing their events. These companies are moderately satisfied with the current event management situation, and see room for improvement. | Product launching, Annual general meetings (AGM), Suppliers meeting, fashion shows etc. |
| Niche 3 | People who are well aware of the huge amount of time and hassle it takes to arrange an event personally and also well aware of the usefulness of the professional help in arranging their personal event. | Wedding ceremony, birthday and graduation ceremonies, high school reunions etc. |
| Niche 4 | The Bangladesh Government who sponsors a number of events every year. | National Tree Plantation Week, National Science Week, LDC Ministers’ Conference etc. |
Services to be provided
Ayojon is mainly service oriented, where we will be offering the following services initially. We have divided these services into four groups, where each group has its individual name, individual target market, individual positioning strategy and individual growth pattern. These four groups are –
Customized Corporate Events
These are the events that are generally conducted by various advertisement companies and event management companies with direct orders and specified guidelines from different corporate clients. Ayojon is also planning to do them, but its offer will be different in this sense that the firm is going to add professionalism to the service, by providing “one-stop” service for the customers. Ayojon is going to cut down the hassle required in arranging the events, and also through superior supplier relationship the firm will reduce the total time required to arrange these events.
Creative Corporate Events
These are the events that are currently not performed by any of the companies but present an opportunity through which they can enhance their corporate and brand image. Ayojon will come up with ideas of new events and the firm’s sales people will pay an occasional trip to the companies, present the idea before them and point out the benefits that they can have by conducting that event through the firm’s guidance. For example – there is a current trend in our country of associating different brands with different occasions, such as, Anchor with Mother’s Day and Ponds with Women’s day. Ayojon will come up with ideas that will associate different brands of different companies with different occasions like that, come up with ideas of events (such as, Talk Shows) that will strengthen the bond between that concept and the brand and present them in front of the companies.
Customized Personal Events
These are the events that are currently done by individuals through their own initiative – but often require too much time or effort for his or her liking. That is why Ayojon is presenting the concept of event planning for individual events like high school reunions, graduation ceremonies, wedding ceremonies etc for the first time.
Government Events
These are the events that Bangladesh Government sponsors for various purposes, like the national week for science and technology, national tree plantation week, etc. The Government also hosts programs like LDC Ministers’ Conferences. These programs present enormous opportunity for Ayojon.
Using Computer Technology Effectively
In order to provide better services to its customers than the competitors, Ayojon will maintain a number of databases –
Customer database
There will be separate databases for corporate clients, non-corporate clients, and the Government programs. This database will provide the firm with a tool to create loyal customers and provide them the best value. Ayojon maintains that creating new customers is much harder than retaining them.
Supplier database
This database will include name of the suppliers, their office location, name of their products and/or services and price tags.
Venue database
This database will include name, location, and rent of different venues in the country.
Using Internet Effectively
Keeping in mind the effectiveness of a net solution, Ayojon has decided to add online services for its customers. This website will allow the customers to log on 24 hours a day and order for their events, and also view what are the resources that are available to him or her for arranging desired event. The website will help a customer to express his or her opinions or launch a complaint, so that the firm can quickly get back to the particular customer in the least possible time. Ayojon plans to hire an IT specialist who will maintain the website. Data from the website will directly go to the customer relations department. The website will be updated daily for the convenience of the customers.
Ayojon will launch its website at the very beginning of its operation in early 2006.
Products or Services to be introduced in the Future
After Ayojon starts its operation, it will introduce new products or services to add value to its existing services.
Step-by-Step event Planning Guides
These booklets include a calendar to map out the event, a step-by-step guide on what is needed for and how to put together a successful, worry-free event, resource information, popular refreshments with recipes, games, and tips to put their event in the record books. The events available include meetings, retreats, parties, vacations, and special occasion celebrations such as graduations, holidays, showers, weddings, and receptions.
Resources Manual
This valuable guide acts as a review for all the resources located in the surrounding area. A ranking is given to the various services, such as caterers, decorators, disc jockeys, bands, and facilities. This manual gives the client the freedom of making a choice based on experience.
Core Competencies and Uniqueness of the Services
Ayojon’s core competency is based on two value additions that the firm will be providing. These value additions will position the firm totally apart and always ahead of any existing and potential competitors. These two value adding dimensions are stated below.
Professionalism
Various event management and advertising companies are already arranging most of the corporate events – but they are done very informally, with most of the things being done at the last moment. As a result the only available supplier is being contracted, the only available venue is booked and temporary employees and volunteers are hired in a very informal way from their known people to work during the event. But Ayojon is planning to do it in a thorough and professional way – where the firm’s main emphasis would be saving time of the clients, making an assortment of supplier available for the client through strong networking with suppliers, getting the booking list of the venue available to the customers and frequently updating them, allowing the customers to know what is available 24 hours a day through logging on to the website and hiring temporary workers in a very professional way from credible sources.
Innovation
Ayojon’s distinct and most fundamental capability is that the firm will always be adding innovative ways to serve the customers. At the beginning, the firm will be allowing the customers to get updated information of what is available regarding their events, from the firm’s website. Other than this, Ayojon is also planning to introduce step by step guides and resource manual in future – each of these products being the first of its kind in the country.
Pricing of the Service
Price is the most sensitive element of marketing mix. Once set at a level, it is hard for any firm to change it. As a new comer in the market, Ayojon has to be careful in pricing its services. After considering a number of factors, Ayojon has decided to offer its customers a number of packages – all based on mark up pricing.
10% Mark Up Package
This package is for the corporate clients and to be used in bids for Government programs. Currently, all other companies are charging 15% mark-up on existing cost as agency charge. Ayojon is charging only 10% – to send a message that the firm is not only providing superior services, but actually providing them with much lower cost. This is a strategy that Ayojon will use to lure clients from the competitors.
It will also attract small corporations, who at present are unwilling to hire event management services due to high costs associated with it.
Mark Up Package
This package is also for the corporate clients – those who are interested in sponsoring charity programs. For example, a company wants to sponsor a concert to raise funds for children suffering from cancer. If they hire Ayojon to organize the concert, the firm will charge them 8% mark up on cost instead of usual 10% mark up on cost.
15% Mark Up Package
This package is for non-corporate clients. In this case the firm is charging higher with 15% mark up over prices. The purpose is sending a message that Ayojon is not interested in small events and also to communicate to the market that the firm is providing quality services at a premium price. Ayojon is claiming that the firm is looking for prestige and professionalism – and someone looking to cut cost in a birthday party is not the person the firm is looking for.
Sometimes customers may want to reduce the price. However in most of the cases Ayojon will try to ignore these requests as they will hamper the firm’s business in long run and it will be able to assure the customers that the cost is a result of quality the firm is providing.
Distribution of Services
Ayojon is looking to distribute its services in two ways.
· Traditional distribution network.
· Non-conventional Distribution network
Traditional Distribution Network
In this process the customers will call Ayojon or come to its office in search of help to organize events.
Non-conventional Distribution Network
- To find new market, we will try to use our sales force and other channels to get customers. Our sales people will go to corporate offices to find potential clients, to induce them to use our service.
- The clients can get access to the website at any time of the day and make queries about the events that he/she has in mind. This is a process that is not yet followed in our country. This online service will include ordering for the event, reviewing and approving the budget and monitoring the progress. This will save both time and money of both parties.
Positioning of the Firm
Most of the services of Ayojon are positioned to take advantage of future market opportunities and openings. For that the firm has tracked the current market trends, forecasted the future market openings and positioned the services and service upgrades accordingly.
Trend 1
In a not so distant future, people will be so hard pressed for time that they will try to save time as much as possible from possible sources.
To keep in pace with this trend, Ayojon has prepared a website where people can get access 24 hour a day to make advance bookings for events, to see which venue is open for booking at which date without making several phone calls, to get access to the firm’s assortment of services without coming to the office etc. – all of which will help people to save a substantial amount of time.
Trend 2
An inevitable impact of western culture which is currently prevalent in our society would mean that people would look for new ways to express their identification with the west – which will enforce a more party going, free-spirited behavior.
For that, Ayojon is planning to introduce a few events initially which is very much prevalent in the west but not yet introduced in our culture. Some of these events are Drive-In movies; Mask party, etc. If maximum security and professionalism is adopted, people will be very much willing to adopt this new time-passes.
Trend 3
With the advent of technology, people will look for more and more customized product and service.
Ayojon’s focus will be to customize the services as much as possible to cater to the customers’ need better.
Promotion
Ayojon is a new organization and certainly needs exposure to the market before it moves into business. So the firm has divided its promotional campaign in a number of dimensions
v Pre-Launching Promotion
v Advertisements
v Relationship management
v After sale service
The firm must also consider the following aspects for promoting
v Public awareness building
v Service attributes promoting
v Success promoting
Y Pre-startup promotion
The pre-startup promotion period will determine our initial market share and reputation in the industry. As we are forming a new organization and moving into the industry for the first time, we need to create organization image and familiarity among our customer base. To do this we plan to perform the following promotional activities:
Press Conference
After forming the organization, Ayojon will arrange a press conference to announce the date of starting operation of its business and other related information about other service. This will be the firm’s first formal approach to the target market. In event management business, media plays a very important role as they can enhance the image of the firm’s services if properly used. The following is a summary of the pre-launching press conference:
The conference will be held 15 days before inaugurating.
It will be held at a reputed venue, preferably a reputed hotel.
About 100 selected media people including journalists, and selected business people will be invited.
Full-time employees of Ayojon will be introduced to the invitees so that future relationship becomes easier.
Cost of the press conference will depend on the venue of the press conference. If the press conference is held at a hotel in Dhaka, it cost will be near tk.50,000.
News Coverage
In the press conference, Ayojon will have to make sure that the firm is covered well by the media. The right exposure to the market through media should be achieved. The firm should also make sure that the event and the organization – Ayojon – make story in Naksha (weekly supplement of Daily Prothom-alo) and Lifestyle (weekly supplement of Daily Star) and other supplements like those.
Advertisements
After the successful completion of the press conference, Ayojon will emphasize on the 14 days that the firm will have before inaugurating. At this point the promotional campaign will be intense and very critical for the success of the organization. To do this the firm will take the following steps:
Newspaper Advertisement
Ayojon will start advertising on newspapers seven days before the inauguration. The firm may select two Bangla and one English daily (preferably Daily Prothom Alo, Daily Jugantor and Daily Star). The Ad on first four days will try to create public awareness about the event management organization. On the 7th day which would be the inauguration day, the firm will give a full-page prospectus on those papers about Ayojon’s organizational activities, services and other related topics.
| Number of Advertisement | 11 Advertisements |
| Number of Full-page Advertisement | 1 |
| Number of Half-page Advertisement | 10 |
| Cost of Full-page Advertisements (in taka) | 80,000 |
| Cost of Half-page Advertisements (in taka) | 200,000 |
| Total Cost | 280,000 |
Moving into the first month of the business, the firm must consider new promotional tools to reach the target market. For that purpose, Ayojon will continue with newspaper advertisement in the first month of business. However the firm will move the advertisements in the third page of the newspaper instead of the first page. Ayojon will select one Bangla and one
English newspaper (preferably Daily Prothom Alo and The Daily Star). The ads will come to each paper once every week (in different days for the selected papers).
| Number of Banners | 20 |
| Location | Firmgate, Mahakhali, Mirpur, Dhanmondi, Gulshan, Motijhil etc |
| Size | 10 ft X 4ft |
| Cost (Taka 2000 X 20) | Taka 40,000 |
| Number of exposure | 8 |
| Size | 3 column 4 inch |
| Color | Two color |
| Total Cost (in taka) | 48,000 |
After first month the frequency of newspaper advertisements will be reduced and will be shown once in two weeks and in the process only 4 times per month.
Banners
Banners will be put on prime points on Dhaka city for the launching and long-term promotional campaign. The locations chosen for the banners are Firmgate, Mahakhali, Mirpur, Dhanmondi, Gulshan, Motijhil etc.
Formal Inauguration and Cultural Show
Ayojon will arrange an inauguration ceremony in reputed venue. The program will include the following parts:
- Official Inauguration of the Organization
- Cultural Program
- Dinner
In this ceremony, the firm will invite representatives of its potential corporate customers, media people, media stars and some of the top business person. Approximately 200 guests will be invited in this ceremony. The program will be covered by print media. Special gift items will be given to the guests. The cultural program will be performed by local artists.
| Number of Guest | 200 |
| Number of additional person | 50 |
| Total Guest | 250 |
| Cost of gift items( 200×150) | Taka 30,000 |
| Cost of the Dinner (250×400) | Taka 100,000 |
| Cultural Program | Taka 50,000 |
| Other costs | Taka 20,000 |
| Total Cost | Taka 200,000 |
Personal contact
The most effective way to negotiate with corporate buyers is using personal contact. By using personal contacts, the firm can influence the decision making process of the corporate buyers and also can attract them. For private users word-of-mouth can be an effective way. Successful arranging of private ceremonies like wedding ceremonies, picnics will enhance the company image as well as developing loyal customer base.
To get in touch with potential corporate customers, membership in different clubs of the city like Dhaka Club, International Club may be helpful.
Open Air Concert
To get attention of the non-corporate customers, Ayojon will arrange an open-air concert. The firm will bring both the traditional and modern singers as well as the top bands of the city to perform on stage. The concert will be held in Army stadium. For that, sponsorship of Transcom Beverage (Pepsi) will be sought.
The cost of the concert will be recovered by selling tickets. The target will be to achieve break-even in this concert so that the firm will not have to incur any extra cost arranging the concert. On the other hand this will also work as a promotional tool for the firm.
Relationship Management
In the modern era, one of the most critical factors of success is to maintain relationship with different interest groups. To decrease the time required to arrange an event, cut cost and preserve quality Ayojon will maintain relationship with the following groups:
Designer
During different corporate events, different souvenirs will be published. The task of designing these souvenirs will be sub-contracted to Chitrolekha Graphics Design.
Printer
The task of publishing different souvenirs will be sub-contracted to a definite printing press. This press will print all the required papers and souvenirs required by Ayojon.
Chef
During wedding ceremonies or picnics, a chef will be needed to cook foods. Ayojon will have a contract with preferably Fakruddin Baburchee to cook in the events organized by the firm, if necessary.
Flower shops
Flowers will be required for decoration purpose. Ayojon will sub-contract the supply of flowers to a reputed flower shop of the city.
Decorators
Ayojon will also maintain relationship with a decorator, in case their service is required for any event organized by the firm.
After Sale Service
The customer relations department will call the customers after the completion of every event, to know whether the customer is satisfied with the service they have got. They may also congratulate the customer on the successful completion of an event. All these will boost the good image that the company will promote regarding their service – since the customer will think that Ayojon really care about the customers.
The customer will get the chance to express his/her complaints at any time in the website. The IT department will pass that complaint to the customer relationship department, who will reach the customers to solve his/her dissatisfaction at the least possible time which will give the firm a superior service image in the eye of the customers.
The main element of Ayojon’s service mix, created for the sole purpose of making a commercially viable service offer, will have to be the firm’s skilled human resource. Ayojon is not a primarily technology based company – and with such reliance on the human element of the enterprise, the firm has the unique opportunity to introduce high-class professionalism with a hint of personal touch. The dedicated and versatile employees recruited by the firm must be keen to serve the industries’ best and their diverse natures and skills should allow the firm to cope with any pressing situations in the near future.
Organizational Structure
Ayojon will have four departments. These departments as well as their functions are stated below
| Departments | Sections | Functions | |
| Marketing | This department will have
three sections. |
Sales Section | The sales department will perform the duties of selling the events that the firm is going to create and find sponsors for them. They will keep liaisons with the specific corporations. |
| Customer Relations Section | The duties of this section would be to keep good relationship the clients. | ||
| Media Relations Section | The duties of this section would be to keep good relationship with the media. | ||
| Event Management | The basic duty of this department is to conduct the events in an organized fashion. The employees of this department will co-ordinate the various activities such as renting the facility, arranging decorations, providing refreshments, and the other specific activities. | ||
| IT | This department will be responsible for maintaining databases, and the firm’s website. The employees of this department will also inform the customer relations department of any grievances sent by the customers through the website. | ||
| Finance | The finance department will carry out the functions regarding financial decision-making, cash flow management and financing options. | ||
Number and Designation of the Key Personnel
There will be five key positions in the firm. Their designations are given below:
· Chief Executive Officer
· Head of Marketing
· Event in Charge
· Head of IT
· Chief Financial Officer
For each key position, one person will be employed. It total, there will be five key personnel.
Number and Designation of Other Employees
Other than the five key personnel, there will be eight other employees. Their designations are given below:
| Department | Designation | No. of Employees | |
| Marketing | Sales Section | Sales representative | 02 |
| Customer Relations Section | Customer relations executive | 01 | |
| Media Relations Section | Media relations executive | 01 | |
| Event Management | Executive, Event | 02 | |
| IT | Executive, IT | 01 | |
| Finance | Executive, Finance | 01 | |
A cleaner will also be employed for cleaning services and. People who can cook will be given preferences in this position.
Job Description
Each employee of Ayojon will have a specific responsibility. The following table provides job description of the Ayojon employees.
| Name of the Position | Job Description |
| Chief Executive Officer | Should oversee the whole decision making process, and make the final decision
Should chair the meetings and be the center of all activities. |
| Head of Marketing | Keeping good relations with the clients
Monitoring sales Ability to rectify customers complaints Persuading customers to try out the innovative services of the company Maintain good relationship with the media and stakeholders |
| Event in Charge | Designing the event schedule
Coordinating the different functions to perform an event Controlling the events Taking corrective actions if anything goes wrong Maintaining good supplier relationship Recruit temporary help if required Coordinating all the activities related to an event |
| Head of IT | Design the website
Design the database Maintain the website and the database Inform the customer relations department of any customer complaints. |
| Chief Financial Officer | Financial decision making
Signing authority Budget forecasting Allocating financial resources Payroll and accounting activities |
| Sales representative | Sell Ayojon’s services to different corporate clients.
Find out whether potential customers have demands different than that perceived by the firm |
| Customer relations executive | Handle customer grievances
Keep in touch with the customers and inform them of our different services |
| Media relations executive | Keep in touch with different media people
Make sure that the firm’s news are well covered by the media |
| Executive, Event | Designing the event schedule
Coordinating the different functions to perform an event Controlling the events Taking corrective actions if anything goes wrong Maintaining good supplier relationship |
| Executive, IT | Assist the Head of IT in his work
Design the website Design the database Maintain the website and the database Inform the customer relations department of any customer complaints. |
| Executive, Finance | Assist the CFO in his/her work
Book keeping |
Employment Requirements
The employees of Ayojon must have certain for the firm to ensure professionalism in its services.
| Name of the Position | Job Requirements |
| Chief Executive Officer | Should be a good strategic decision-maker
Should have exceptional leadership skills |
| Employees in Marketing Department | Experience in related field
Proper academic background with a major in Marketing Good communication skills |
| Employees in the Event Management Department | Experience in related field (not mandatory, but will be preferred)
Innovative Ability to create and design effective events to the satisfaction of the customer Ability to generate good ideas for growth opportunities Ability to work under pressure |
| Employees in the IT Department | Experience in related field
Proper academic background Innovation (required for the design of the website) |
| Employees in Finance Department | Experience in related field
Good analytical skills Proper academic background with a major in Finance Ability to analyze investment opportunity |
Organizational Diagram
For an organization to perform effectively, it must have a chain of command. For Ayojon, it will be as follows:
Compensation Structure
To get the best service from its employees, Ayojon must plan for an attractive compensation structure for them. The following table shows monthly expenditure on employee salaries.
| Designation of the Employees | No of Employees | Monthly Salary (in Tk) | Total Salaries Paid |
| Chief Executive Officer | 01 | 40,000 | 40,000 |
| Head of Marketing | 01 | 18,000 | 18,000 |
| Sales Representatives | 02 | 6,000 | 12,000 |
| Customer Relations Executive | 01 | 12,000 | 12,000 |
| Media Relations Executive | 01 | 12,000 | 12,000 |
| Event in Charge | 01 | 18,000 | 18,000 |
| Executive, Event | 02 | 12,000 | 24,000 |
| Head of IT | 01 | 18,000 | 18,000 |
| Executive, IT | 01 | 12,000 | 12,000 |
| Chief Financial Officer | 01 | 18,000 | 18,000 |
| Executive, Finance | 01 | 12,000 | 12,000 |
| Cook / Cleaner | 01 | 1,000 | 1,000 |
| Total | 197,000 | ||
These are the beginning salaries of the employees. The sales representatives will receive the cost of transportation to the