Samantha Green owns and operates Twigs Tree Trimming Service. Samantha graduated

Question

Samantha Green owns and operates Twigs Tree Trimming Service. Samantha graduated from the forestry program of a nearby university and worked for a large landscape design firm, performing tree trimming and removal. After several years of experience, she bought her own truck, stump grinder, and other equipment and opened her own business in St. Louis, Missouri. Although many of her jobs are one-time operations to remove a tree or stump, others are recurring, such as trimming a tree or groups of trees every year or every other year. When business is slow, she calls former clients to remind them of her services and of the need to trim their trees on a regular basis. Samantha has never heard of Michael Porter or any of his theories. She operates her business "by the seat of her pants." a. Explain how an analysis of the five competitive forces could help Samantha. b. Do you think Samantha has a competitive strategy? What competitive strategy would seem to make sense for her? c. How would knowledge of her competitive strategy help her sales and marketing efforts? d. Describe, in general terms, the kind of information system that she needs to support sales and marketing efforts.

Explanation / Answer

The five competitive forces could help Samantha become more successful from a financial stand point at her locally owned business, Twigs Tree Trimming Service. Most customers try to bargain certain services to see which one can deliver the best quality service based on theirprice and reaction time. In certain situations, such as, removing a tree versus trimming a tree, customers will be more critical to tree trimming and the expectations of the quality of work will be higher in regards to customers appreciation. Substitution isn't the strongest force because there are not as many alternatives for customers. During this process, Samantha would need to emphasize the fact that consistent tree trimming can lead to a healthier tree in the long run. In regards to equipment, there is a lot available for machinery, however it's also a weaker force. One of Samantha threats could be people who are trying to start their own business as a potential tree trimmer.

It seems Samantha has a strategy but not a very organized one. When times are slow she calls former clients.

The first step would be to talk about her competition. Make up some possible scenarios. Then the answer to the other questions will follow from that.

As far as information systems, for Samantha being a small business owner of a tree trimmer service, a list and and sheets of paper in folder would be enough for her. She might use a smart phone for keeping track of her appointment but it would not need to be fancy. Small businesses can be very efficient in many ways. And I think it is good to compare larger companies to how a small business is run. Often I would think of the basic unit of business as being like a sandwich shop. Sandwiches are made but the real money is made on selling soda. But if people don't buy the sandwiches at the sandwich shop, they won't buy the soda there either. That is a useful way to think of any section of a larger business.

You have to see where you are really making money. Insurance companies don't make much money from new clients. They are expensive to get. But they make money on residuals - customers that renew every year

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