Case Study UMUC Haircuts Essay

Myra Morningstar is the possessor of the small business, UMUC Haircuts. It is a small shop in the college campus knowledge base and Myra is looking to expand her business to moreovert the call fors of nodes. In order for her to be successful in her newly adventure she exit need to consider the needs of her customers, use of engineering, and competition with the new local competitor. Barriers to entry in the Hair fright industry are very minimal. When it comes to barbershops and beauty parlours, there are a few already in the area with a couple more(prenominal) potentials. High customer volume creates much competition in the market. The only if barrier to entry is licensing. Barbershops and beauty beauty salons must have a business license along with a few permits (Barbershop Business Guide, 2014). The fixed costs are minimal and no special products are needed. Loyalty to barbers and pig stylists is moderate and incentives to use a particular provider are almost non-exis tent.The market is close to saturate and this particular area leave behind soon become highly competitive. Threats of substitutes for UMUC Haircuts are moderate to humiliated. Women are typically very particular well-nigh their whisker style and cosmetics. These are items that can create repeat customers erst you accommodate a customer, theyll be coming back a reach out and again. With the young and low income college students, this may shift slightly more but fashion is always going to be important to most women. workforce like convenience and normality so same as women, accommodate them and theyll come back. Buyers dont have much negotiate power in the hair care industry because there are so m whatever of them. Almost every person gets their hair cut and usually several measure a year. Thus there is a large market of clients for salons and shops. Customers can range from two old age old to ninety years old. Even though the costs of switching to a variant salon are very low, people are creatures of habit and pull up stakes normally stick with one salon or barbershop.Most people who cut their hair regularly and pay for high service will have developed a loyalty to their stylist. Buyers have most, if not all, of the power in this market so its important for shops and salons to differentiate and stand out. Suppliers in this market have a low bargaining power. Barbershops and salons are going to be the ones pushing and promoting their products. Shops and salons are free to remove which brands they carry. It is the suppliersresponsibility to convince the salon to carry their brand, either through discounts, sales, promotions, or other things that benefit the salon. There are enough different brands of hair care products for the supplier power to have relatively low bargaining power. With Hair Cuttery about to set up shop and the few others that are already open for business, it is very hard to gain substantial market power in this industry. There will probably never be a monopoly in the hair industry. The competition amongst salons and barbershops is moderate to high. Not one company dominates the industry. Besides the spa crossways the street, most are comparable in sets.The biggest competition will probably be the Hair Cuttery with it universe so close and them offering hair care to both men and women. UMUC Haircuts will use available effectiveness to improve the manner in which internal business processes are executed. Operational effectiveness will help boast the number of customers almost instantly. This will ensure no chairs are empty for any large amount of time and will also cut down the bet time of go into customers. Operational effectiveness will decrease Buyer power because there will now be open chairs for walk-ins or a maximum wait time of 15 minutes coming to UMUC Haircuts. Customers that choose to return will be remembered by staff and their past visits will be logged which, will authorize the customer feel important. Supplier Power will remain the same as before, with the amount of hair care products available. UMUC haircuts will have the power to choose where to buy their supplies from, whether they choose to buy in mickle for a better price or go with top of the line products that will be more affordable to UMUC due to the increase in sales and customers.The threat of substitute products will be low because the customers will be getting what they want from UMUC. Customers usually look to substitute products when there is a price increase on their normal product, their product is no longer available or they have to wait for what they want. Consumers like instant gratification and that is what UMUC will offer their customers. The threat of new entrants is high and will glide by to increase. Improving operational effectiveness wont stop new salons and shops from popping up but it will help with keeping the customers loyal. If they like the way the business is creation run and that they are being put first then they wont run at first signs of a new shop or salon in town. Rivalry will always be high in this industry due to the amount of salons and shops andhow easy it is to enter into hair care.Innovation and always putting the customer first/customer service are a couple things to help stay ahead of competition. UMUC Haircuts will need to continue to stay ahead of the times with updated technology. UMUC has a few daily processes that need to be improved upon. The daily process that UMUC will tackle is the customer randomness not being logged effectively and efficiently. By adding a computer to organize and store this type of information, it will help UMUC Haircuts a capital deal especially with customer service. Remembering customers names can go a long way especially if they staff is able to view their information before an appointment and salute them with a hello and a summary of their last visit.STRATEGY FOR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE With the use of technol ogy and adding computers, UMUC Haircuts can achieve Operational Effectiveness PROCESS TO BE IMPROVED Tracking customer information through a computer program to achieve greater customer service.REFERENCESBarber Shop & beauty salon Business Guide. (n.d.). Retrieved November 1, 2014. Website. http//business.baltimorecity.gov/BusinessGuides/BarberShopSalon.aspx Porters Five Forces in the Hairdressing Industry (in details). (n.d.). Retrieved November 1, 2014. Website. http//www.hairbrained.me/profiles/blogs/porters-five-forces-in-the