In this blog post, you will take on the role of the recently-promoted chief innovation officer (CIO) of an established U.S.-based company of your choosing. It is within your responsibilities to discover new ways to improve an existing product or service in North America, or to introduce a new product or service to the market that will give the company a market edge over competition and fit within the company’s core competencies. For the purposes of this blog post, and for this entire course, you will do the latter.
The new product or service must be something that cannot be easily duplicated and takes into account consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP). If a consumer doesn’t have a problem or need for the product or service offered, they will not be willing to exchange money for the solution.
The first step of such an undertaking requires research and an examination of the selected company’s financials and current resources. Moreover, this new product or service offering must leverage the strengths of the company.
Using MarketLine, Yahoo Finance, and the investor relations page on the company’s website, research Meta Platforms. Specifically, look at the company’s 10K Report with a focus on the company’s business in North America.
In your blog post, identify the company you researched and describe its potential new and unique product or service. Include an image of the company’s current SWOT from the Shapiro Library and address the following questions:
Value proposition: What is the company’s main business?
What value does the company deliver to the customer?
Profitability: Is the company currently profitable?
SWOT analysis strengths: What are the company’s main strengths to be leveraged to create a new product or service?
Product or service singularity: What is unique about the new product or service?
New product or service projections: How can the new product or service improve profitability? Note: this is an estimation based on research of the company’s current market position.
PART 2
Scenario
Now that you have written a blog post identifying critical elements needed to support the rationale of your project, outlining specifics is key! These specifics will be used in an upcoming elevator pitch you will submit to senior management in Milestone One. Before management will approve exploring the idea for new opportunities and funding, they have key performance indicators (KPIs) you will need to address. Your goal for this assignment is to provide an outline that strongly, yet carefully, presents an argument to move your concept forward.
Prompt
Using MarketLine, Yahoo Finance, and the company’s investor relations webpage, continue your investigation of the company you selected in your Module One blog post. Specifically, look at the company’s profile, financials, and SWOT analysis.
Using speculative strategies, articulate your thoughts. Remember, success may mean revenue to a for-profit business; however, to a non-profit, it may mean a specific outcome, such as donor retention rate, social media engagement, or email open rate.
Draft a project outline that presents a prospective timeline and targeted customer segment of your project. This project outline is a precursor to Milestone One: Elevator Pitch. The KPIs you need to consider and address in your outline are:
The intended customer: Describe the intended customer or customer profile for the new product or service.
Opportunities in the market: Explain the opportunities in the market based on your research.
The financial opportunity: Assess the financial opportunity that the project presents for increasing cash flow and topline revenue.
Can it be cash flow positive and profitable? For example, Zappos donates a pair of shoes for every pair of shoes sold. This leads to profit in the long run due to good CSR and company image, but is not immediately profitable.
What to Submit
Use the Word Document to submit your project outline as a Word file. Sources should be cited according to APA style.