Executive Summary
One of the areas that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected is education since most students have been forced to be out of school for fear of spreading the infection. Therefore, Learning Solutions is a start-up that will take advantage of the changes in the education sector to provide information through an online platform. The company is being launched to take advantage of the many students who cannot attend school due to the pandemic. The motivation behind the idea is the increase in closed-down schools and many parents who prefer that their children learn from home to avoid contracting the disease. Thus, Learning Solutions is what the country needs to prevent a breakdown in education and ensure that students continue learning during and after the pandemic. The platform will take advantage of technological development to deliver education to children while they are at home. The trend in online learning platforms and the continued acceptance by consumers will support Learning Solutions’ achievement of its objectives.
Learning Solutions provides an innovative and practical business model to improve how people learn, adding value to the education sector. Considering that the business model has taken root in the modern economy, the start-up will not have a hard time growing within the next three years. The platform will grow its market share to 10% within the next three years through innovation and speedy uptake. Since the market is already gaining in competition, Learning Solutions will differentiate itself from rivals by using a unique marketing mix. The company will provide a new learning model, a classroom setting with qualified tutors interacting directly with students. The model will also allow students to engage in the learning process through online discussions. Besides, the platform will include educational content and materials that students can access and read at their time. They can also leave education-related comments for tutors and peers.
The company will market its services online through social media and develop a mobile app to be marketed as a pop-up on the internet. As a result, parents with children who can use the platform will sign up for their children to begin using it. The platform will be affordable for parents but will generate income through a monthly subscription. Learning Solutions will generate income steadily over the years as more parents learn about it and subscribe. Given that the cost of beginning the platform is low since the company will only need resources to create the platform and pay the tutors, it will break even within the first year. With the innovative model and demand for online education, Learning Solutions anticipates being a market leader.
Company Description
Learning Solutions is an online learning platform that will meet the current demand for remote learning programs as parents and other policymakers understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education. The company operating in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, will serve the needs of millions of children worldwide. The platform will engage students and connect them with qualified tutors to continue learning instead of struggling with the process independently at home. A model is a form of home-based learning for the many students whose parents are unwilling to return to school due to the impact of the pandemic. The company will also provide an environment for students to engage with their peers as they engage in student-centered learning. The company will connect students to tutors in a knowledge-based community.
Strategic Focus and Plan
Mission Statement. Learning Solutions is committed to supporting online education, contributing to educational excellence, and improving learners’ success through an innovative and engaging environment; excellent instructional model, operational application and incorporation of instructional technologies, effective administration, and interactive digital media technologies, connecting learners to tutors and peers.
Mission Statement. Learning Solutions will be nationally and globally recognized as a leading online platform to meet the increasing needs of students for online education and innovative instructional technologies, facilitating the next generation of educational solutions.
Goals
Financial Goals
- To grow the market share to 10% in three years and 25% by the end of seven years.
- To break-even by the end of the first years of operation
- To grow revenue by 30% in three years and 50% in seven years
Non-Financial Goals
- To provide online learning to children during and after the COVID-19 crisis.
- To be the market leader in online education for primary and secondary education by the end of 2025.
- To engage in corporate social responsibility and develop the culture in children early in life.
- Providing students with an opportunity to gain knowledge from tutors and communicate with peers as they learn
- To engage in student-centered learning environment for early learning.
- Meeting the needs of tutors by paying well for their services.
- To incorporate equality and equity in learning institution.
- Making tutors and students more innovative.
- To provide opportunity for tutors who would otherwise be out of work due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Quality:
- To provide quality customer service to parents, students, and any other individuals involved in the learning process.
- To provide quality education to students at the primary and secondary levels.
- To gain customer loyalty.
Core Competency and Sustainable Competitive Advantage
Learning Solutions’ management recognizes the nature of the competition in the market. Thus, it is important to differentiate itself from other competing products and brands in the market. The most important competency to achieve the objective is creativity and innovation to create products and services different from those rivals offer. The company will exercise innovation from creating the app and online learning platform to the way they deliver content to the intended audience. In addition, the system should be user-friendly and support ease of use for learners and other stakeholders with access, such as parents. Thus, hiring a creative team of employees will help the company achieve its objectives (Dorantes-Gonzalez 204). Besides, the company will have a competent team of researchers to collect information about the market and educational needs to achieve them innovatively.
Research and Development. A strong research and development team is necessary to achieve the level of creativity that will achieve the company’s strategic goals. The management recognizes the need for a team with excellent research skills to understand the market and the target customer segment’s wants in the products and services Learning Solutions will offer. Researchers will engage in ongoing data collection and analysis to provide intelligence for decision-making. Besides, the team will have strong analytical skills to analyze the data and provide accurate information to the management. The competence research team is at the core of business success for Learning Solutions as it will inform the feasibility of its products and services.
Customer Service. Excellent customer service is at the core of business success for the company. Considering the high level of competition in the online learning market, a competent customer service team will inform success at Learning Solutions. They will help the company to attract and retain loyal customers who will use the platform in the long term (Dorantes-Gonzale 201). Since customers are the most important stakeholders in the company’s success, they will hire a team of qualified customer service employees to connect with customers (parents and students) to answer their questions and provide relevant information. They will promptly solve customer issues to avoid any emerging problems that might reduce their confidence level with the platform or its products.
Corporate Social Responsibility. In the modern world, many customers seek to relate with companies that commit to corporate social responsibility. They are looking for providers who are mindful of the environment and society. Thus, the company will have a CSR policy and hire individuals to understand the need to protect the environment and society. Such individuals will pass the knowledge to learners who need to learn about sustainability and recycling principles (Dorantes-Gonzalez 204). With such as commitment, Learning Solutions will differentiate itself from competitors and attract more clients. In addition, people with knowledge about sustainable learning will add value to the company and society.
Competent Tutors. The success of Learning Solutions will depend on the tutors’ qualifications that the management will higher to deliver the learning content. Therefore, one of its means to achieve its strategic plan is to ensure that all tutors hired are qualified in the subject areas they are hired to teach. In addition, competent tutors will help Learning Solutions to achieve its short- and long-term financial and non-financial goals. After all, competent human resources are at the core of implementing any business model (Dorantes-Gonzalez 205). Thus, the company will engage in a careful recruitment process.
The SWOT Analysis
Strengths
1. A solution to ongoing crisis 2. Unique features 3. Competence tutors 4. A strong strategic plan 5. Research and development |
Weaknesses
1. Poor brand awareness at the beginning 2. A small start-up competing against leaders 3. Income stability |
Opportunities
1. Potential for growth during and after pandemic 2. Technological advancement 3. Potential for a global market |
Threats
1. High competition from established companies 2. Digital divide |
Strengths:
Learning Solutions will provide a solution to the current crisis that has prevented many students from attending the traditional classrooms. Many schools have been closed during the pandemic, and some parents are still reluctant to take their children back to school yet. The company offers a lasting solution similar to homeschooling to keep children safe. The platform provides unique features, including information sharing and discussions for peers and engagement with tutors. The features will beat the competition. The company will have competent tutors to meet the educational needs. The company has a strong strategic plan to succeed even after the pandemic. The management plans to invest in research and development to have the adequate correct information for decision-making purposes.
Weaknesses:
The company’s management will deal with some weaknesses to mitigate to achieve the goals and objectives. One of the weaknesses is the poor brand awareness at the beginning. For startups, brand awareness develops over time through marketing (Miah 1). Also, the company has to compete with market leaders, some of which are string companies in online learning. Finally, income stability is another challenge that the company will face as it grows and gains investor confidence to attract more funding.
Opportunities:
Learning Solutions should take advantage of available opportunities to achieve its strategic goals. The company can grow during and after the COVID-19 pandemic because of the demand for online learning platforms. Many parents will have become used to homeschooling using the platform and would want to continue with the model past the pandemic period. Besides, the company has the advantage of advanced technology to provide its services to students. Since the use of the internet is global without time or space limitation, another opportunity is for global expansion. The company’s tutors can reach students anywhere in the world.
Threats:
However, the management contends with a number of threats that they should mitigate to achieve their goals and objectives. Competition is the most important threat because it operates in an environment with strong and established online learning platforms. Thus, the company will spend resources on developing powerful and unique features to compete successfully. Another challenge for the company is the digital divide, which keeps some people away from online lessons. The digital divide emerges because some regions are not adequately served by the internet (Miah 1). Thus, the company has a limitation in the part of the world it can reach.
Industry Analysis
Research reveals that the e-learning industry has been growing over the years. The global market is currently worth USD 144 Billion (Global Wire). The company will grow further in the future, especially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. By 2026, the industry is expected to be worth USD 374.3 Billion. Between 2019 and 2026, the industry is expected to grow at a compound yearly growth rate (CAGR) of 14.6% (Global Wire). The top players in the industry include “Aptara, Inc., Adobe Systems, Inc., Cornerstone, Citrix Education, Meridian Knowledge Solutions, Microsoft Corporation, SAP SE, NetDimensions., Oracle Corporation, and others” (Global Wire). The table below shows an analysis of the competitors.
Company | Revenue |
Saba | 300M |
Aptara | $75M |
Axonify | 30M |
Trivantis | 7.5M |
Neovation | 5.2M |
Efront | 1.4M |
The table shows the companies that Learning Solutions will compete with.
Competitor Analysis
The major companies in the market have an advantage because they have been in existence for years and have built a strong brand image. For some, such as Saba and Aptara, users are aware of what they are looking for when they relate with the platform. However, Learning Solutions has to establish itself as a strong brand to lead in the market. The startup has advantages over other platform that will be its source of competitive advantage. One of the advantages is the content and the interactive model. Students will have an opportunity to post information as they discuss and interact with tutors and other learners. Besides, the platform will include information resources relevant to the student’s level that they can access and use in studies and discussions.
Learning Solutions is a private company, with three owners who will generate the capital for the startup. While the capital from owners could be limited, it will be enough to begin the process and higher tutors before it begins making profits to support operations. The company’s anticipated financial growth in the wake of the pandemic is among its major strengths. Besides, the owners have proposed a model with a huge market potential during this time when many parents are looking for alternative learning channels for their children. Presently, the company will have a simply organizational structure, as below, before it grows to include other employees and members of the management team.
Innovation is one of the critical success factors for the company. The firm will have a team of innovative designers to create and update the platform regularly. Researchers will also add value to the company by providing critical decision-making information. The company will use the information to create a strong brand and market it online to gain a huge following.
Consumer Analysis
The target consumers for the company are parents and students in primary and secondary schools. Learning Solutions will develop product and services to meet the learning needs of the target audience during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The owners recognize that during this period and for years after, the demand for home-schooling will increase. Thus, it has created a platform to provide education through the digital platform.
Marketing and Product Objectives
Short-Term Objectives:
- To create brand awareness within the shortest time possible to attract customers.
- To earn a 5% market share within the first year of operation.
- Improve product and service reviews to take advantage of word-of-mouth marketing
Long-Term Objectives:
- Build customer loyalty and a strong customer base for continued revenue and profits
- Increase target customers to over 1 million by the end of 2023.
- Break even by the end of 2022.
- To grows sales by 15% in 2022 and 25% in 2023.
During the early years of operation, the target market for the company will be parents and students in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The owners will market the company’s products and services to the country’s target audience but hope to continue growing to enter the global online learning market. However, the focus does not mean that students from other areas outside the UAE will be locked out of the platform. Since it is an internet-based company, its products and services can be accessed from anywhere in the world.
Points of Difference
Learning Solutions has features that will differentiate it from competitors. The platform will create unique features to engage students and tutors in the learning process. For example, the platform will have a section for students to comment after the lesson for teachers and tutors to respond. The feedback will enhance learning and understanding of the content. Students who fail to understand anything during the main lesson can ask questions and get feedback from the tutor or any other student who understood. Besides, the platform will be more student-centered, encouraging students to discuss and share knowledge. Finally, the platform will have a larger memory to include more content in the form of files that students can access and use as sources of information.
Positioning
An innovative educative program that will change how educators provide learning for students doing homeschooling. Learning Solutions will be strongly poisoned in the UAE market to meet the current education needs in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the competitive analysis, the company will have to create a brand awareness strategy that will rival the international competitors. Although the firm lacks a sufficient market share in the region and globally, it will grow with time upon marketing its unique features to target consumers. The company will also position itself strongly to compete by offering affordable prices. The low prices will attract more customers than rivals who offer high prices for their products.
Marketing Program
Product/Service. Learning Solutions will provide a learning platform for primary and secondary students taking homeschooling programs. The company will have unique features to support student-centered approaches to learning, including engagement and student discussions.
Price. The company will provide services at a lower price than competitors to create the necessary brand awareness. In addition, learning Solutions will use a monthly subscription model to sell its products and services.
Promotion. Learning Solutions will promote its products and services through other online platforms, including social media. In addition, they will use pop-ups to create awareness about the platform and create necessary brand awareness.
Place/distribution. Learning Solutions will market its products and services online. The platform will allow it to reach the audience in the region and globally.
Financial Data and Projections
The prices for the products will be as follows:
Product | Primary school content | Secondary school content |
Price | $13.55 | $15.35 |
The prices are low enough to attract more customers than competitors and achiece desired long- and short-term objectives.
The comprehensive budget for creating the platform are as follows:
Item | Cost |
Research | $10,000 |
Design | $15,000 |
Tutors | $15,000 |
Marketing | $5,000 |
Others | $5,000 |
Total | $50,000 |
Depending in the expenses, the company should implement an effective program to generate enough revenue to break even and continue making profits.
The anticipated revenue for the next three years is as follows:
Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
Sales revenue | $64,000 | $103,000 | $214,000 |
The analysis reveals that the plan to implement the learning platform is a profitable venture for Learning Solutions.
Organization
The marketing organization for Learning Solutions is not complicated because the company is small. Thus, the company will not require a complex organizational structure to conduct the marketing. Instead, the owners will hire a team of two employees to conduct marketing operations.
Implementation Plan
The implementation plan will begin with creating the online platform upon which the learning process will commence. The owners will hire a creative team to create the platform with the desirable features to give the company a competitive advantage. After creating the platform, the owners will engage tutors to train and become familiar with the platform. They will help in generating the content that students will use in the learning process. The company will post the platform and related informational materials online to create awareness about its existence. The owners will pay for paid adverts on social media, such as marketing on other websites to create brand awareness.
Evaluation
The evaluation plan will include collecting data from the company to check the progress towards achieving its objectives. One source of data is sales generated from the platform after every three months and then one year. The data will indicate that the company is increasing its revenue and the progress towards breaking even. If sales are increasing, the management will continue with the strategy but make changes in the marketing model to improve the sales.
Works Cited
Dorantes-Gonzalez, Dante Jorge. “A Business Model Frame for Innovative Startups.” Readings Book (2017): 204.
Global Wire. Global E-learning Market Size & Trends Will Reach USD 374.3 Billion by 2026: Facts & Factors, 2020. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/12/17/2146962/0/en/Global-E-learning-Market-Size-Trends-Will-Reach-USD-374-3-Billion-by-2026-Facts-Factors.html. Web June 9, 2021
Miah, Muhammed. “Blockchain Technology in Peer-to-Peer eLearning: Opportunities and Challenges.” Proceedings of the EDSIG Conference ISSN. Vol. 2473.