Your next steps, as an IT manager developing a business plan for the new HWE Accessories website, are to create a project plan and a risk matrix.Use Microsoft® Project® to create your project plan. In

BUSINESS PLAN 1 Business plan Anthony J Wolf BSA 515 Tony Buenger June 8 th, 2020 BUSINESS PLAN 2 Introduction Websites are essential marketing tools in businesses today (Eugenia, 2017). A well -designed website captures the attention of readers, drawing their interest to the company's products and services. This paper is a draft of a business plan, guiding the company on how to improve marketing by having a modern website that has all useful information available to the customer. Problem statement The current website of HW E does not allow customers to access all relevant information, such as the inventory and prices of commodities. Customers are forced to make inquiries directly from the customer service, something that should be availed to the on the website. The current w ebsite does not allow customers to make orders for products, and they are forced to walk into the store to make purchases physically. The current situation has led to losing some customers who opt to purchase accessories from competing firms where they can purchase goods from their homes, and the company delivers promptly. It also makes sales agents spend a lot of time explaining to customers about varieties of products available and their prices. Analysis of the situation The goal of the website is to incr ease sales by 25% within the first two years after the implementation of the new site. The target market of the company is majorly youths, who are the primary consumers of the products. 90% of youths access the internet and can easily browse through the co mpany website. The current products and services that HWE offers are tailored to meet the needs of the target audience. However, our website, which is part of the marketing plan, does not have modern features that websites owned by competing firms have. Th e company has BUSINESS PLAN 3 well -skilled personnel that an upgrade the website, but lacks enough motivation. The company should invest in motivating employees so that they upgrade the website and update all useful information that customers want. Cost -Benefit Analysis The initiative to create a new website implies financial and time costs. However, when implemented successfully, the business will enjoy huge financial and branding benefits. To create a new website, the company will have to set aside an estimate of $ 5000 . This amount will be used to pay the website designers, train employees on how to update information on the website and motivate sales agents who record -high sales. The company may also be requ ired to hire an extra person in charge of website management. Once this has been done, the company will have a high internet and social media presence and a pleasant outlook. It will be easy to attract new customers and retain old ones. Consequently, the sales will increase, meaning that HWE will record -high profits. For maintenance, the company will incur $ 2,000 per year. Preliminary Feasibility Study The company has maintained a high customer retention rate for the past five years but has a notable decline in the number of new customers. The new project requires mo re attention in areas that capture the attention of the customers and be designed in a manner that capture the attention of the customers. The new initiative is promising, and when implemented diligently, it can transform the company to a higher level. BUSINESS PLAN 4 Total Cost of Ownership TCO=Initial cost +maintenance costs Initial cost is $5000, the maintenance costs for five years is $ 2000 dollars per year, amounting to $ 10,000 Therefore, TCO = $5000 +$ 10,000= $ 15,000 TCO =$ 15,000 Return on Investment This inve stment is promising and can be achieved with the lowest cost possible (El -Halwagi, 2017) . The TCO is $15,000 . After five years, the sales will increase, and the company will realize an approximate of $ 30, 000 per from sales accrued from the website. When the outcome ($30, 000) is divided by the cost, the ROI amounts to a 50% increase. Therefore, ROI is 1: 2 Solution Options The first option would be to create a new website and design it to meet all the needs of the customers. A highly skilled technician wil l be required to do this. It is also the most expensive option. The second option is to upgrade the current website and add information related to the prices of products and the inventory. This is cheaper compared to designing a new website but may not acc ommodate or relevant information. It may also be irrelevant within a short time as new website designs enter the market. The last option would be to remain with the current website and find alternative methods of availing information to potential customers . BUSINESS PLAN 5 Recommendations The decision to create a new website is the best and has the highest ROI compared to the two other alternatives. The company should hire a skilled website designer who will come up with the latest make of a website, which should serve as a competitive advantage to the company. The company should set aside the required money and commit to set up the website. The employees should be well trained to handle the website and attend to employees who place their orders on the website. BUSINESS PLAN 6 References El -Halwagi, M. M. (2017). A return on investment metric for incorporating sustainability in process integration and improvement projects. Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy, 19(2), 611 -617. Eugenia, I. (2017). Website -Tool of Marketing Strategy. Ovidius University Annals, Economic Sciences Series, Ovidius University of Constantza, Faculty of Economic Sciences, 0 (1), 302 -306.