Business ServicesOperations Research Event

Riverton High School DECA ChapterRiverton High School

12476 S. Silverwolf WayRiverton, UT 84065

Utah PC Guys Monica Schow Callie CarterFebruary 17, 2014

Table of Contents

I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY……………………………………………………………….

II. INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………...

A. Description of the business or organization…………………………………………………….

B. Description of the community…………………………………………………………………

C. Description of the business or organization’s mission, target market and existing branding

efforts………………………………………………………………………………………

III. RESEARCH METHODS USED IN THE STUDY………………………………

A. Description and rationale of research methodologies selected to conduct the research study……

B. Process used to conduct the selected research methods……………………………………….

IV. FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS OF THE STUDY………………………………

A. Findings of the research study…………………………………………………………………

B. Conclusions based on the findings……………………………………………………………..

V. PROPOSED REBRANDING PLAN …………………………………………………

A. Objectives and rationale of the proposed rebranding plan………………………………………

B. Proposed activities and timelines………………………………………………………………

VI. PROPOSED BUDGET……………………………………………………………………

A. Costs associated with proposed rebranding strategies…………………………………………

B. Proposed metrics to measure return on investment (ROI)……………………………………..

VII. BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………………………………………………………

VIII. APPENDIX…………………………………………………………………………………

I. Executive Summary

What makes a company well known? Things like reputation, advertising, and customer

service do,. Utah PC Guys is an excellent example of customer service. It is a local business which

provides an environment where it can get to know its customer’s on a more intimate level than

national businesses who have a wider population of consumers. This is one cause of their great

customer service and satisfaction.

Utah PC Guys is a new business, therefore it lacks in a secure reputation and effective

advertising methods. Once a business has effectively advertised and satisfied guests, it can build a

secure reputation. One of the most effective ways to advertise is through social networking. Social

networking is a growing trend in our time, and several businesses worldwide use it as a branding

tool. In viewing Utah PC Guys’ branding efforts through social media, we have found the following:

One Facebook page rarely updated

One Twitter site not recently updated

Social networking is not the only online tool that is effective in advertising. Creating things such

as websites and KSL accounts can also be very effective advertising tools. With local businesses, the

use of flyers can also increase advertising abilities. When viewing Utah PC Guys’ branding efforts in

areas such as these, we found the following:

One unfinished website

Flyers handed out when the business was created

Another major part of branding is the creation of a logo. Because Utah PC Guys is a new

business, it does not have a logo.

For our project, we wanted to know how effective such advertising and branding tools can be for

new companies such as Utah PC Guys as well as how rebranding in these specific areas could benefit

Utah PC Guys.

Research Method Used: Surveys to various adults and young adults in the Riverton, Utah area

handed out at a local grocery store.

Findings and Conclusions: Social networking and the other advertising methods mentioned are very

popular branding tools used for small businesses such as Utah PC Guys. Most businesses use a

variety of these branding tools in advertising efforts, but the most common is Facebook. It was also

found that very few people are following them on their current social networking sites, and aside

from a Twitter account, Facebook account, and unfinished website Utah PC Guys is currently

showing no branding efforts, which is troubling. This company also has no logo to help clients

identify it. The problem seems to be that most potential clients do not know of the business or its

social networking, not an extreme lack in effort.

Problem: Utah PC Guys show little branding effort. The advertising tools they do use are rarely

updated and many potential and existing clients do not know of them. They also have no logo to use

to help clients identify advertising efforts to be from Utah PC Guys. There is a large need for

branding and higher use of the aforementioned advertising tools.

Proposed Plan: Brand Utah PC Guys in the following ways; create a recognizable logo, update and

increase usage on existing social networking sites, finish their website and create flyers to hang in

prominent areas throughout the Salt Lake Valley, and list Utah PC Guys on KSL.com. To keep

viewers of social networking sites interested, we propose that they not only update them weekly, but

also hold online surveys, and encourage viewers on Facebook and Twitter to comment or give

opinions on services they have

received from Utah PC Guys

as well as ask any questions

they may have about the

business. We also propose that The PC Guys finish their website and create links connecting their

website to their social networking pages. KSL.com is a popular wensite used by many Utah

businesses for advertising. We propose that Utah PC Guys list their business on KSL.com so clients

can request their services online. The use of flyers throughout the local community could also help

Utah PC Guys advertise to potential clients who may not use social networking, and we propose they

post flyers in prominent areas around the Riverton, Utah area such as the City Council building,

parks, and local stores. We also propose that once a logo has been created, they put the logo on all

advertising sites and tools they use to create recognition to the target market.

Budget: The budget for our proposed plan is very minimal and does not require a large amount of

investment. For the minimal amount being invested, we believe that the return will rise above the

break-even point. Creating a logo costs virtually nothing as we used Paint to create our logo for Utah

PC Guys to assign this logo to their business would cost approximately $150 . The cost associated

with printing color copies of promotional flyers will be about .06 cents per flyer. We plan on printing

around 40 flyers to post around public bulletins. If .06 cents is multiplied by 40 the total cost would

therefore equal $2.40. The cost in editing and finishing the website is very cost efficient as well as

the owner can use his own computer knowledge in creating his own designs.

We have presented our Proposal Plan to Spencer Bauman who is the owner of Utah PC Guys and

the one responsible for all their advertising efforts. He plans on using our advice to create a logo,

list his business on KSL.com, and update his Facebook and Twitter pages using the logo he creates.

He is finishing his website as well. He is also planning on creating promotional flyers in local

businesses in order to create awareness in accordance with our plan.

II. Introduction

A. Description of Business

Utah PC Guys is a new and small growing business in the Riverton ,Utah area. The purpose

of this business is to provide services such as creating websites and fixing, refurbishing, and selling

used computers at a significantly lower price than leading brands such as PC Laptops.

This business was recently started and does not have many features that allow it to reach a

specific market segment as well as gain loyal customers.

The goals included in this rebranding project are to create a recognizable logo as well as

increase the reach of his business through a revision and addition to the use of social media sites to

advertise for this business. For those in his target market who may not be involved in social media,

there is an additional goal to find additional advertising ideas for Utah PC Guys.

Spencer Bauman is the owner of this business. He is a senior in high school who is very intelligent

when it comes to computers and technology. He created this business in order to be able to help the

public and surrounding local area with all computer problems and sell refurbished computers at an

affordable price. Spencer started this business on November 12, 2011 when he only fifteen years old.

He currently runs his business from his household in Riverton, Utah.

B. Description Of Community

Economic: Economically, the area of Riverton, UT contains a per capita income of $17,643.

This income is relatively similar to the income of the Salt Lake Valley; this per capita income is in

the range the economically most citizens live in the middle class region. Also considering that the

majority of Utah's gross state product is produced along the Wasatch Front, containing the state

capital Salt Lake City. The current unemployment rate in Utah is 4.3%, and is significantly lower

than other states. Considering these economic characteristics, Utah PC Guys is an added

diversification contributing to the economy.

Geographic: Geographically, Utah PC Guys is centered in the Salt Lake County where its

primary target market reside, however they are open to expanding their services to the surrounding

counties as well as companies located around Utah. Utah PC Guys has a relatively higher geographic

benefit than national companies because his locality makes it possible to get to know his customers

and be able to better serve them.

Demographic: Demographically, the most appealing places to Utah PC Guys are those with

considerably high amount of people with inexperience with computers/websites since that is mainly

to whom they are selling to. More rural places have a tendency to have more people who have access

to less technology than people do in major cities.

Socioeconomic: When looking at the socio economic community of the Wasatch Front, a

socioeconomic trend that is on the rise is known as a silicon slope (which means technology is on the

rise with developments in companies such as Adobe, Xactware, and IM Flash Technologies).This

affects the lifestyles of many of those within the target market. Since social lifestyles in the Salt Lake

Valley are based on religious influence and family based. Those living in the Salt Lake Valley tend

to have a higher standard of living, in which some extreme cases those live in the higher class of

wealth. Because of this mostly higher standard of living, more families have access to technology,

but are wise to be cost efficient in the purchasing of technological utilities. This socioeconomic status

creates an instant target market for Utah PC Guys in order to create a desire for reasonably priced

computer services and refurbished computers.

C. Description of the business's mission, target market and existing

branding efforts

Utah PC Guys includes in their mission statement that they will offer a reasonable price due

to circumstances of the buyer and the service provided. It is their goal to reach those who are looking

for help with a computer, need help creating a website, or want to buy a refurbished computer and be

able to serve them effectively in order to create customer loyalty. The target market for this business

includes anyone/any business who wants to buy a computer or who already owns a computer. The

existing branding efforts for this company include a Facebook and Twitter account which are rarely

updated and an unfinished website.

III. Research Methods Used In the Study

A. Description and rationale of research methodologies selected to

conduct the research study

Convenience Sampling is a form of sampling in which the sampler chooses individuals that

are easiest to reach. Due to our incapability to take a Simple Random Sample of every person in the

target market, we used this form of sampling. In our case, we went to a local grocery store attended

by several people residing in Riverton and surrounding areas and began surveying. We would survey

the first person we saw when the original surveying finish filling out the survey. To begin this

process, we surveyed to first person we saw, and so on. There was also a nonresponse bias in our

survey because not everyone we asked was willing to take the survey. Due to these biases, we will

proceed with caution as we interpret the results of our survey.

Surveys are a well-used and very effective tool used to find the opinions and views of

potential customers. Many businesses use these to discover how they can provide better services or

create a more customer-friendly business. In our research project, we are trying to find the

effectiveness of Utah PC Guys current branding efforts and ways we can improve them, especially

by using social networking.

Our surveys included several questions including the respondent's age, how many computers

they own, the type of computer services they need, and whether or not they had heard of Utah PC

Guys. We chose these questions specifically to help us determine how many people had heard of

Utah PC Guys as well as determine which marketing angle is the best to take and what kind of people

need to target when creating a logo.

B. Process used to conduct the selected research methods

Step one in conducting the research study is to come up with a specific question or objective

to be answered by the survey. The questions we wanted answered were ‘How many people currently

know of Utah PC Guys?’ and ‘what rebranding methods can we use based on the target market to

achieve the best results?’

The second step is to design a survey that will provide clear results to answer the questions.

To do this, we must make a survey that is well thought out and well made. We studied the best way

to make a survey that will give us the results we need. To ensure its effectiveness, we incorporated

several forms of questions in our survey. We then put together into a survey and had a marketing

teacher look over it and give us some feedback. After making some changes based on the feedback,

we printed our final survey.

Step three was distributing the surveys. Surveys were given to thirty people of various ages at

the local grocery store Petersons. To create as little bias as possible, we planned to hand out the

survey to the first person we to walk through the grocery store doors after our previous surveyor

completely the survey. The data was then collected and recorded.

Step four is to evaluate and analyze the data recorded from the surveys. We tallied the

responses of every answer, made percentages and connections, as well as analyzing every opinion.

Step five in is to find conclusions based on the study and present the results. We created graphs and

charts to help find how effective Utah PC Guys’ current branding efforts were, how many and what

type people were willing to try and needed his services, and what branding efforts needed to be

improved. These findings answered our questions clearly, as will be shown in the next section.

IV. Findings and Conclusions of The Study

A. Findings of The Research Study

According to our study, only seven out of thirty people claimed they had heard of Utah PC

Guys. Four of these seven claimed to have heard of the business by word-of-mouth, either through

their friends and family or through Spencer himself. The remaining three claimed to have heard of it

from an ad on the radio or television. Because we have the knowledge that Utah PC Guys does not

have any television or radio ads, we classified those three answers as containing human error and

ruled them out. Of those remaining four who claimed to have heard of the business, the ages had a

range of forty-five.

We also asked three questions about the services Utah PC Guys provides; ‘Would you

consider having your laptop/computer fixed by a new and growing company?’, ‘Would you consider

buying a refurbished laptop/computer from a growing company?’ and ‘Would you consider having a

professional website set up by a growing company?’ These questions were asked to help discover

more about the target market and their needs for the services provided by Utah PC Guys. To continue

our findings, we will report the results found by these three questions.

First Question, “Would you consider having your laptop/computer fixed by a new and

growing company?” 17 of the 28 surveyors who answered this question, or 61% said they would be

willing to have their computer fixed by a growing company. 56% of the men answered yes to this

question, and 80% of the women answered yes. Age and career seemed to have no prominent effect

on the answer to this particular question.

Question 1 Response

YesNo

Second Question, “Would you consider buying a refurbished laptop/computer from a

growing company?” 14 of the 29 surveyors who answered this question, or 48% stated that they

were willing to buy a refurbished computer from a growing company. 56% of the men answered yes

to this question as well, but only 42% of the women answered yes. Once again, age and career choice

did not seem to be a factor in the surveyors’ choices.

Question 2 Response

YesNo

Third Question, “Would you consider having a professional website set up by a growing

company?” 15 of the 29, or 52%, of the surveyors answered that they would have a professional

website set up by a growing company. 63% of the men answered yes to this question, and 38% of the

women answered yes. Age and career choice did not seem to have a strong effect on the answer to

this question as well.

Question 3 Response

YesNo

B. Conclusions Based On the Findings

Because of the convenience and nonresponse biases found in the survey, we had to proceed

with caution as we drew our conclusions.

From the small percentage of surveyors that claimed to have heard of Utah PC Guys, we

were able to come to the conclusion that The PC Guys’ current branding efforts did not yet have a

strong effect on the local community and its target market. This helped us to discover that rebranding

could have a major effect on this company’s publicity.

The conclusions drawn from the three aforementioned questions are as follows:

First Question, “Would you consider having your laptop/computer fixed by a new and

growing company?” Because the majority of the surveyors answered yes to this question, we were

able to conclude that the majority of Salt Lake Valley’s adult population would consider using this

service offered by Utah PC Guys. We also concluded that women are more likely to have a computer

fixed by a growing company than men do to their higher percentage of “yes” answers.

Second Question, “Would you consider buying a refurbished laptop/computer from a

growing company?” We were surprised to see that the majority of our surveyors were not willing to

buy a refurbished computer from a growing company, although the majority was small. We were

able to conclude that this service may have a smaller demand than having laptops/computers fixed

did. We also saw a large drop in the amount of women who answered yes to this question compared

to the first question.

Third Question, “Would you consider having a professional website set up by a growing

company?” We were able to conclude that because the majority of the surveyors would consider

using this service offered by Utah PC Guys; perhaps the majority of adults in the Salt Lake Valley

would also consider using this service. We also concluded that more men than women were likely to

need and use this service.

Because age and career choice did not seem to greatly influence each surveyor’s response to all of

these questions, we were able to conclude that we would not have to target one particular age or

career in our rebranding efforts.

V. Proposed Rebranding Plan

Three different ways were used to receive our idea in helping Utah PC Guys with improving

their branding strategies: brainstorming, community input, and company research. We started with

company research. We gathered critical information from the owner including things such as their

target market and goals to achieve a higher public awareness. We discovered that the target market is

adults residing in the Salt Lake Valley who own a computer, have a business that could benefit from

a well-organized website or who would potentially buy a laptop/computer. We also discovered that

up to that point in time Spencer had not put in much branding effort and wish to develop a higher

awareness of his company specifically through social media and the development of a new logo.

We then took a survey at a local grocery store asking adults with variety of age’s questions

about how many computers they owned and the type of computer services they need. We received

helpful data however we had to proceed with caution because our results could have been bias, by

convenience nonresponse, and human error. Our results showed that The PC Guys was fairly

unknown among adults in the Salt Lake Valley but that many people could benefit from its services.

Because of this we decided to focus on branding tactics that would create a better public awareness

of Utah PC Guys.

The last step is to brainstorm. We used our knowledge on marketing and got a few ideas

which will be described later on.

To introduce our proposed rebranding plan, we would like to use the Marketing Plan. The

Marketing Plan is a way assesses and depict on what you plan on doing regarding a specific business.

The Planning Phase: Step 1, Business mission and objectives. Our mission and objective in

this plan is to cause the amount of awareness of Utah PC Guys to grow by proposing a catchy logo,

suggesting frequent updates on social networking sites, creating diversification by adding new social

networking sites that are to be used by this business, and printing flyers to post in local public places

in order to improve the advertising aspect of this business We realize that our branding efforts cover

a wide range and there is not one specific effort we make in order to rebrand. To introduce our logo

rebranding, we created a logo (pictured on the right) that we believe would be appropriate in order to

capture the attention of the target market. Advertising is key in marketing and we have noticed a lack

of advertising for Utah PC Guy’s social networking. We also believe that by creating a creative logo

for this business that the quality and perceived value of potential customers will be increased. Step 2,

We have analyzed the situation and find the Utah PC Guys is farther behind than all other computer

utility companies with their advertising and use of social networking, with the potential to become

better. This implies that through our proposed rebranding plan that Utah PC Guy’s exposure, clients

and profit will increase.

For our plan we used the S.W.O.T Analysis.

Strengths: Advertising through flyers, creating a logo, and diversifying and increasing usage

of social networking and website will bring in new customers who will see value at a low cost as well

as what they have to offer. With this increased effort in exposure and editing the customer loyalty,

word-of-mouth advertising and profit will increase.

Weaknesses: If paper flyers are not carefully and strategically placed to catch the attention of

the target market and the effort to create awareness and interest in this business will be wasted and

bring in less return on investment.

Opportunities: If activity on social network sites/website is done, flyers are posted and a

logo is created, Utah PC Guy’s has the opportunity to expand the amount of positive interest in this

business.

Threats: If the target market and potential customers to do not respond to usage of social

network, the new logo, and paper

advertisements, the effort are lost.

Implementation Phase: Step 4,

we evaluated the many opportunities and

ways Utah PC Guy’s has to increase

amount customers through flyers posted

on local bulletins. To segment their target, we needed to evaluate the number of stores/community

centers that contain a bulletin for public ads. We found that many do utilize some sort of a

community bulletin that is visible throughout the store. This creates a segment, the segment that

considers paper ads. To position this segment, advertising through newspaper, bulletin postings and

word-of mouth would be most efficient; the second segment Utah PC Guys has is the group that

would more likely be able to find out information through social networking. To target this group,

Utah PC Guys will need to position by offering free informational messages on Facebook and twitter,

following potential customers on Twitter and Facebook, and invite those who do follow their page to

share promotional offers and other news with friends. Step 4, we evaluated by using the Marketing

Mix, or the Four P’s (product, price, place, promotion)

Product: Flyers promoting Utah PC Guys that include newly branded logo

Place: Community areas and public shopping places.

Price: This is a free product for the potential customers, although it costs Utah PC Guys

minimal amounts of money for printing.

Promotion: Advertisements are promotions, therefore none are needed.

Control Phase: Step 5; evaluate the performance using marketing metrics. We cannot

evaluate the performance perfectly because it has not been tested. We will be able to describe the

proposed metrics later on in the project.

A. Goals/Objectives and Rationale

The goal for our proposed strategic plan is to cause the amount of Utah PC Guys customers

and profit to grow through creating interest through a logo, paper advertisements, and social network

usage and improvement. We believe there is an advantage in being a local and widely unknown

company, in part that there is room for improvement on a communicational level to create a

relationship with the customers. If there are more targeted people viewing Utah PC Guys sites and

tangible ads, Utah PC Guys will receive a lot more exposure to a larger amount of potential

customers. With more local people seeing advertisements and hearing about Utah PC Guys, sales

will rise and word of Utah PC Guys superior products and service will spread throughout the

community. We also hope to improve the communication with their customers greatly by inviting

them to be informed about all Utah PC Guys news, sales, and special offers through Facebook and

Twitter.

B. Proposed Activities and Timeliness

To begin this advertising/promotional plan, we would propose that Utah PC Guys frequently

updates on Facebook and Twitter because Facebook is a more common and popular social

networking web site among locals. Although we will not use Facebook to directly advertise, as we

believe that would not bring a desirable amount

of return on investment, but rather to use it for

spreading the word through already existing

followers and group invitation and better

strategies in spreading awareness. Currently

Utah PC Guys has 9 twitter followers and 28 likes on Facebook. In order to increase followers and

likers on these sites, actions can be taken such as; Direct Messaging potentially interested people,

inviting them to the Facebook group, liking their posts, re-tweeting others posts, use hash tags to find

potential customers and following them posting, online contests, encouraging followers to give

feedback or ask questions about the business and posting promotional offers.

Another way to improve advertising is to use their website in order to link to the social

networking site. For little or no cost at all, they could put a couple links to their Facebook and/or

Twitter sites. These links can stay on their site for much longer than paper advertisements.

(Although paper advertisements will lead potential customers to this website)

Advertising for the target segment that does not currently use Internet often is important as

well. That is why we believe the paper

advertisement will be fairly efficient in spreading

the word of this business. To also increase

communication from business to consumer is

extremely important as well, even though Utah PC

Guys currently has very few customers. We propose

that Utah PC Guys creates a flyer to distribute to

their current customers in order to maintain and

increase customer loyalty. In order to create an

interest in this business we need to create catchy and intriguing logo and advertisement. A strategy

we thought of was to have some sort of feature updated on the social networking pages weekly and to

keep them updated. People may be drawn in to view company news, other social networking sites or

take interest in a service or computer from Utah PC Guys. Our ultimate goal in promotional

advertising and the increased usage in social networking are to create a thought process in the

customer’s mind which motivates them to be able to think about it, feel it, and then take action. We

will create awareness through paper flyers and advertisements, an interest through promoting

services with a low cost than those nationally ranking companies, a desire through our proposed logo.

This will ultimately result in the customer taking action in purchasing a computer or accepting a

service on a computer.

VI. Proposed Budget

In proposing our budget we hope to maintain

the total to equal no more than $5oo dollars. We need

to keep this amount low if the goal to reach the

break-even point will be reached. Especially since

this is a widely unknown business with very few

loyal customers, it is hard to expect larger results

from our branding efforts and therefore the cost of each branding effort made must remain low until a

significant increase in profits is seen.

A. Costs Associated With Proposed Rebranding Strategies

As mentioned earlier, color printed promotional advertisements and flyers cost .06 cents per

page. If we post 40 flyers around public bulletins and assume that 50 people per week take the time

to read the flyer in one place at each place posted , Utah PC Guys would have received 2,000 views

total for only about $2.50-6.00 in printing and creating costs. If the success of these flyers is shown

through an increase in views on Utah PC Guys social marketing pages and website, than additional

efforts should be taken in the form of paper advertisements in order to inform, persuade and remind

interested people about offers, sales. With this additional idea that is based primarily on success of

the first round of flyers, there will be additional costs that do not need to be calculated at this time.

Adding links to Utah PC Guys website in order to advertise social media is also very minimal in cost.

With the intended reach of these advertisements the benefits definitely outweigh the sacrifices.

B. Proposed Metrics to Measure Return On Investment (ROI)

To measure how effective our paper advertisements, new logo suggestion, and edifying of social

media and website, there are many factors that must be considered. Before solid results can be collected,

the company must wait until the customer has been exposed to the advertisements more than once. We

must expect a dramatic increase in results very soon. If strong results are not seen at first, we will not quit

our efforts, but instead wait until there has been enough time for sufficient results.

We will measure the frequency of exposure- how often the audience is exposed to the

promotional advertisements, the logo, and the updates in social media and website visitation

Reach is a measurement of the size of the audience to whom you will communicate. Frequency is the

average number of times your ads will be shown to an individual or household.

Gross Rating Points (GRPs) equal reach times Frequency. Target equal Gross Rating Points

times the ratio of the specifically targeted audience to the total audience.

Impressions equal the number of exposures of an ad or commercial to people or households

in your audience. Cost per Thousand (CPM) is the cost to reach 1,000 people or households. Cost per

Point (CPP) is the cost to reach one percent of the audience.

Awareness Branding, Advertising, Contests

Impressions, Reach, Frequency

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<http://www.utahpcguys.com/>

"Utah PC Guys LLC - Riverton, UT - Small Business | Facebook." Facebook. N.p., n.d. Web. 17

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<http://twitter.com/UTPCGuys>

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