Defining your business Dr Neil Jennings, Programme Manager, Student Switch Off
Structure Background Defining your business Group task Finding your niche Analysing the market Finding a gap in the market Defining your USP and benefits Is my idea any good? Developing your products/services Developing your business model Group task
Background PhD in climate change in UEA 2005 - idea for campaign to encourage students in halls to save energy 2006 – First pilot of campaign, Ben & Jerry’s Climate Change Ambassador 2007-2012 – year-on-year expansion to new Universities 2012 – sale to NUS
Finding your niche What interests you? What gets you out of bed in the morning? What annoys you? What do you want to change?
Finding your niche - SSO
Analysing the market - what’s already out there? Who are the competitors? What do they offer? How much does it cost? What are their strengths and weaknesses? Lots of google searches Try products yourself
Analysing the market – SSO Only 1 charity doing student engagement work around energy-saving at the time at 1 University No competition between halls or objective measure of impact Cost £20K Strengths – charity with good reputation and track record Weaknesses – poor evidence of impact and expensive
Finding a gap in the market New ideas/inventions Bringing an existing product/service to a different sector Providing a product/service that is better (quality or cost) than those already available
Finding a gap in the market - SSO New idea – interhall competition, incentives for action and using social media Providing a product that is better – cheaper and more effective – than what was available
Defining your USP What makes you different from the rest? Who is your customer? What do you deliver? Short, snappy, tag-line Convey a positive feeling Vagueness not bad Elevator pitch
Defining your USP - SSO Switch Off – Save Energy – Win Prizes Fun interhall energy-saving competition, incentives for action, regular feedback, use of social media Prizes – cold-calling and pitching Elevator pitch with Ben & Jerry’s
Defining the benefits Who would be interested in your product/service and what specific aspects interest them? Demographics How do I reach them? What is it worth to them? What would they pay for it?
Defining the benefits - SSO Energy and Accommodation Managers, SUs Vice Chancellors – People & Planet Green League Saving money and carbon for Universities Increasing energy costs Carbon Reduction Commitment Marketing and CSR Reputational benefits Employability
Is my idea any good? Important to sound out your idea to people from a range of backgrounds Not just your mum! Find a mentor, get advice from those that have done it before Trial the service/product before taking it to market
Is my idea any good? - SSO Spoke to loads of people at UEA (inc. accommodation and energy managers, SU, academics) Mentored by Ben & Jerry’s UK Brand Manager Piloted it at UEA while doing PhD
Developing your products/services Need to constantly innovate and adapt Listen to your customers (questionnaires, focus groups) Trial new approaches/products
Developing products/services - SSO Recycling and water bolt-ons Facebook and Twitter Yearly surveys (85% of students signed-up say they have taken actions to save energy as a result of the campaign) Focus groups for more qualitative understanding
Developing your business model Change of the business and funding model from inception to maturity Importance of adaptability and flexibility in business models to react to new circumstances
Developing your business model - SSO Ran it as a pilot at UEA in 2006/07 for free 2007/08 at 7 Universities – 10% of their saving 2008-09 onwards – set fee per student (£1-£1.70) 2012-13 onwards – bolt-on costs for recycling competition
Any questions?
Group exercise 15mins Pair off Fill in the 4 boxes with information from the other person Swap papers at the end of the 15mins and have a look at what they’ve picked up Should give you an idea of areas for improvement and what you convey well already
Thanks and good luck! neil.jennings@nus.org.uk