Entrepreneurship: E-book Reader Product

This report discusses the market analysis, industry analysis, competition, primary target market, marketing mix, and financial plan for an E-book reader product. The product offers a comfortable reading experience and a user-friendly platform for avid readers. The report also highlights the risks and challenges faced by the product.

Entrepreneurship
E-book reader product

Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Background......................................................................................................................................2
Mission............................................................................................................................................2
Product offering...............................................................................................................................2
Market analysis................................................................................................................................3
Industry analysis..........................................................................................................................3
Competition..................................................................................................................................3
Primary target market......................................................................................................................3
Marketing.........................................................................................................................................4
Product.........................................................................................................................................4
Place.............................................................................................................................................5
Pricing..........................................................................................................................................5
Promotion.....................................................................................................................................6
Financial plan...................................................................................................................................8
Forecasted revenue.......................................................................................................................8
Critical risks.....................................................................................................................................8
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................9
References......................................................................................................................................10

Introduction
Entrepreneurship is the process of starting a new business venture. The individual or group of
individuals who start this new business are better known as entrepreneurs (Drucket, 2014). There
are various advantages of starting new businesses. It is the sign of growth for an economy. This
is why various governments promote these startups by offering them subsidies and tax rebates
(Kirzner, 2015). This particular reports highlights the business of a product which is an E-book
reader. The product assists people to download millions of books in the form of electronic
copies. The report throws light on the marketing mix, industry analysis and a brief background
about the new idea.
Background
I have always been an avid reader which has adversely impacted my eyesight. Very often, it has
been noticed that people who prefer to read books at night face a lot of problems. First of all it is
an added pressure on their eyes. Secondly, while holding a thick book, it is difficult to lay down
in a comfortable position. The advent of various E-book readers has changed the shape of the
book industry. This is why a new product ‘E-book’ reader has been introduced which has a
longer battery life and a better reading platform.
Mission
The mission is to offer a comfortable reading experience to customers and provide a user
friendly platform which instils and enhances the habit of reading as a form of enhancing
knowledge.
Product offering
The product offers an electronic 8 inch device which can be connected to the internet. Electronic
books can be downloaded and accessed. The brightness of the device can be adjusted as per the
requirements of the reader. This also makes it possible for the readers to carry a large number of
books during their travel and in their bags.

The product offers a convenient style of reading books. The platform is user friendly and can be
accessed by adults as well as children. The users can select 10 electronic books which would be
made available free at the time of purchase. This device comes with a cover. The users can make
notes of what they are reading. Moreover, users can also share the books with others via social
media platforms.
Market analysis
Industry analysis
The Ebook reader industry is unique and the biggest player of the industry is Amazon’s Kindle
which includes 73.7% of the market share (Statista, 2018). Besides that other players are Kobo
and Nook. The industry is at a growing stage and there is still space for new entrants before the
industry turns Red Ocean. E-books have existed since a long time but it was only the advent of
Kindle that led to the growth of the industry. This makes it a perfect time to introduce a
competent product in this industry. The lesser number of competitors make it easier for the
product to enter the industry. The bargaining power of customers and suppliers is relatively low
as of now but is sure to increase in the near future.
Competition
The biggest competition that will be faced by the product is Amazon’s Kindle. Kindle was
launched in 2007 and has sold millions of devices since then. In order to respond to market
competition, it is essential that organizations differentiate their products. This differentiation can
be in the form of price, promotion or product offering. The new E-book reader will have a
battery life of over 12 days as opposed to Kindle’s 7 days. This reflects that the users of the
device would not have to charge the product as frequently. The price of the basic product would
also be lower than Kindle’s basic model’s price. This will lead to a price differentiation and help
the product in gaining a competitive advantage over the pricing strategy adopted by the product.
Primary target market
Target market includes the set of customers whose needs the organization aims to fulfill
(Armstrong et. al., 2015). Defining an appropriate target market is extremely crucial for the

success of the organization. For the new product, the primary target market would include avid
readers. Demographically, they can fall into any caste, religion or age. In terms of psychographic
segmentation, it is essential that the business targets customers who are well read. Students could
be targeted so that they can study their books using the product. Young children could be
targeted in order to instil the habit of reading in them at an early age.
Marketing
Identifying the marketing mix of the new product at an early age is crucial to the success of the
business (Gordon, 2014). It helps businesses in identifying various different facets about the
organizational offering.
Product
The basic product offered here is an Electronic books readers that offers users a comfortable
reading experience. The device is 8 inches long and can be connected to the internet. The device
offers 4GB of space which means thousands of books can be downloaded in the device. The
device’s brightness can be adjusted depending upon the requirement of the reader. People can
also create a social community where they can discuss about the books they read and share books
with their friends and acquaintances. The product’s essential aim is to offer a competent reading
experience. The users can change the font styles and sizes of the books as per their preferences.
The product offers a long battery life of over 12 days. Overall the product is a suitable alternative
to hard copies of books that are currently widely prevalent in the market.
Four different models of the product would be introduced. The first would be a basic model that
would allow users to read the books. This would be followed by premium models which offer
better battery life, internal storage, screen quality, flashlight and book scanners.
Product
attribute
Basic Model 2nd model 3rd model 4th model

Book
downloader
Yes Yes Yes Yes
Brightness
adjustment
No Yes Yes Yes
Audio books No No Yes Yes
Internal
memory
1GB 1.5GB 3GB 4GB
Flash light No No Yes Yes
Book scanner No No No Yes
Battery life 8 days 10 days 11 days 15 days
Place
Place throws light on the places where the book reading device would be made available and
sold. The book reader would largely appeal to technologically savvy audience and hence it is
imperative that the device is sold on Ecommerce platforms like Flipkart and Alibaba. This will
help the book reach out to a large number of customer across the globe. The primary stores for
the device would be opened in Australia in order to target the local consumers. However, the
product can be exported to different parts of the world and be ordered online for international
customers.
Besides that the book reading device can be made available in various book stores like
Crossword. The outlets must be located at convenient commercial locations that are easily

accessible to people in the city. The place where the product is sold has a large impact on how
many products would be sold. This is why it is important that businesses decide the place where
the product would be sold after thorough analysis.
Pricing
Price penetration strategy would be adopted by the device. Penetration pricing refers the act of
pricing a product lower than other players in the market in order to reduce competition
(Schindler & Schindler, 2011). The E-book reading device would be priced much lower than
other players in the market specifically with an aim to compete effectively with Amazon’s
Kindle.
The products four different models would be priced differently based on their offerings. The
basic model would be charged much lower than the Kindle. On the other hand the premium or
the 4th model would adopt a premium pricing strategy. The price of the last model would be very
high. This would be the only Ebook reader device that would have the ability to scan hard copies
of books and download them as electronic books. Premium pricing refers to the strategy of
pricing the products relatively higher than the competitors in order to set a premium positioning
in the minds of consumers (Prasad et. al., 2015).
The reason behind using two different pricing strategies is for the business to be able to target a
large set of customers. The basic model with a lesser price can be used to target teenagers,
students and lower income groups of the society. On the other hand, the premium model can be
used to target businessmen, working women and higher income members of the society. Pricing
strategy plays an important role in the success of the business and this is why it is important that
the products are priced strategically (Zhang et. al., 2014).
Promotion
Promotion strategies are adopted by firms to reach out to their target consumers. Businesses must
adopt strategic promotion strategies in order to ensure that their customers are effectively
targeted (Singh, 2012). Given below are a few strategies that will be adopted by the Ebook
reader business model:

Digital marketing: Digital marketing refers to the process of marketing a product or a service
via digital platforms. Digital marketing strategies help organizations in optimizing their search
and marketing on search engines like Yahoo, Google and Bing (Ryan, 2016). This makes it
essentially easier for customers of the business to search for the product and get the right
information online. Digital marketing is important to establish digital presence (Stokes, 2011).
This is especially true for technologically savvy products like E-book readers.
Social media marketing: The process of promoting any product or service on social media
platforms like Facebook, Instagram or Twitter is better known as social media marketing (Tuten
& Solomon, 2017). It is widely prevalent and has helped leading brands in reaching out to a large
number of customers with the help of a single platform. Social media marketing of the Ebook
reading device would include establishing and maintaining a Facebook page and a twitter
account. The brand can advertise its offerings through this page and reach out to customers. It is
important to note that unlike other promotional tools, Social media marketing creates a platform
for customers and organizations to interact. Customers can provide feedback about the reading
device and based on the feedback, the device can be constructed further.
Print ads: Print ads are a traditional form of marketing but will be highly effective to promote
the E-book reader. It is important the organization hires an effective advertising agency and
continues to curate creative ads that are appealing to the audience and garners attention and trust
from across the globe. Print ads include advertisements done via newspapers and magazines.
Despite the advent of technology, there are a large number of people who read the newspaper
first thing in the morning. This is why they must be targeted via creative and attention grabbing
advertisements in the newspaper. Magazine ads could be designed to target businessmen and
working women.
Television ads: Television ads have been used since a long time to attract customers and set the
right positioning in the minds of consumers. E-book reading device can adopt to advertising the
product on television especially to target families in order to make them understand the
importance and the benefits of children studying with the help of the device. These
advertisements would also present a visual of how the device would look and work. This may be
helpful in garnering more attention for the product.

Influencer marketing: Influencer marketing refers to the process of asking an influencing
personality to promote the product (Weiss, 2014). These influencers include actors, singers,
standup comedians, YouTube artists and many more. They can be approached through their
managers or free samples could be sent to them. If they like the device then they would promote
it across their social media pages wherein they have a huge number of followers. Hence it would
make it easier for the brand to reach out to a large audience through a single channel.
Billboards and hoardings: Billboards and hoardings can be placed across different parts of the
city in order to grab attention of daily passersby. The ads placed on the boards must be
effectively designed and creatively curated. The ads must change every few weeks and should be
interesting enough to hold attention of someone who is driving a vehicle. This promotional
strategy is local in nature and can only target people from a particular geographic area.
Nevertheless the strategy should be used in Australia.
Financial plan
There are various resources that would be required by an electronic book reader device business.
The initial investment required by the business would be as below:
Particulars Approximate expenses
Recruitment costs and salaries of employees AUD 4000
IT expenses AUD 11000
Rent and office infrastructure AUD 7000
Sales, marketing and PR costs AUD 4500
Office overheads AUD 1500

Total AUD 28000
Forecasted revenue
Year Expected Costs Expected Revenue
Year 1 AUD 28000 >= AUD 24000
Year 2 AUD 34000 >= AUD 38000
Therefore, the business will achieve break-even in the second year of running.
Critical risks
Reluctance to buy the product: Because the product will be new to the market, the product will
face the risk of not being entirely accepted by consumers. This is the risk posed for every new
product that aims to be launched in the market. However, this is the risk that every new business
has to take. A contingent plan must also be ready to counter this risk. This plan might include
targeting a different customer segments, adopting newer promotional strategies and offering
competitive prices.
Competition from Amazon: Another major threat posed to the product would be a severe
competition from Amazon Kindle which has been widely accepted in the market and continues
to grow in terms of market share (Gilbert, 2015). The brand name of Amazon is a solid factor
that enables people to trust Kindle. Any new product would have to work much harder to reach
that level of trust or appreciation.
The look and feel of a book: Lastly, all the avid book readers understand the importance of
being able to touch a book, admire through its cover page and read it. Therefore an important
aspect of book reading is missing in this particular product and this is a major threat posed by the
product.

Conclusion
The new product in the report is an Electronic books reader. It is an 8 inch device that allows
users to download a large number of books to read. Customers can connect the device to internet
and download books that are available online. The product is aimed at offering a comfortable
reading experience to its users. There are two different pricing strategies that would be adopted.
The basic product would be using a penetration pricing strategy and the higher end model would
be using a premium pricing strategy. Social media, digital tools, television ads, print ads and
influencer marketing strategies would be adopted by the business to promote the product.
It is a tough competition with Amazon’s Kindle but differentiated strategies, unique offerings
and effective promotions can help the product in establishing a solid market share in the industry.

References
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