EscapeBox Task 1a1 PDF

Chosen Enterprise- EscapeBox Task 1a1 EscapeBox is an online retailer based in Tamworth, Staffordshire. They sell entertainment packages online such as a "Two Night Indulgent Escape For Two" for £299.00. EscapeBox is a family run business founded by Zane in March 2000. EscapeBox is an online retai...

Chosen Enterprise- EscapeBox Task 1a1 EscapeBox is an online retailer based in Tamworth, Staffordshire. They sell entertainment packages online such as a "Two Night Indulgent Escape For Two" for £299.00. EscapeBox is a family run business founded by Zane in March 2000. EscapeBox is an online retailer for new and exciting entertainment packages. It is physically located (for staff-only offices) in a converted barn in Staffordshire. EscapeBox is a family owned partnered business operated by the Edwards family. The Edwards family involved in running the enterprise consists of; Zane (former CEO and founder before passing away), his mother (Sharon), father (James) and brother (Billy), all of whom are managing directors within the company and all play active roles in EscapeBox. Zane stated that the reason he started this enterprise was because he saw a gap in the market and he wanted to make moments of happiness for people through escapes. EscapeBox's 9 employees consist of roles including tasks such as stock management, sourcing new innovative products, photographing new goods to be uploaded onto their website and social media, and customer service.2 The aims of EscapeBox The aims of this enterprise is to "create moments of happiness by delivering the extraordinary". On their website they also say they "Aim to seek the kind of presents that trigger that moment of excitement and elation when you find them"3 -  **To be the best online escape retailer in the UK** -  **To continue to deliver the extraordinary to people all over the UK** -  **To explore more advertising methods and participate in other brands promotions** -  **To ensure the brand high standards are maintained as they grow throughout the UK so** Sourcing new innovative products is done by continual research of their competitors and suppliers done through secondary research. This means making links and developing relationships with all different types of suppliers and getting the specific details of the escape packages they can offer. Zane negotiates with suppliers to ensure that he gets the best package at the best price for customers. He also guarantees the suppliers a number of escapes per year so that he gains favourable prices and this keeps the suppliers happy. Zane also talks to the suppliers about additional things they can offer customers on the escapes such as breakfast in bed in hotels, anniversary meals etc. 7It is important to EscapeBox to continually innovate as they want to ensure that customers continue to use them for gifts and escapes. This means they are meeting their aims of ensuring high brand standards and its excellent reputation. 8 The impact of this is that by having new and different offers compared to their competitors that customers are intrigued and keep coming back to their website. They have recently had new escapes added such as creating your own fragrance which means they are targeting different customers and ensure they offer them a variety of choice. They continue to aim to increase their product range, usually two per month are added to keep customers interested and loyal. This helps them to be the best online escape retailer.9 Photographing new goods to be uploaded onto their website and social media is done so that their brandpromotioniskeptuptodateandattheforefrontoftheirtargetcustomersminds.10 Itisreally important to EscapeBox to have high quality photos and images of the escapes on offer as this helps to communicate the high quality and standards of the escapes themselves, which means they meet theiraimofhavinghighbrandstandards.11 Youcanseeexamplesoftheimagesfromthe screenshots. These are taken from their website and social media pages. The impact of the photography is huge as this is one of the ways that potential customers make judgements about the escape they want to buy. By having this photography which is high quality and meaningful means that customers are attracted to purchase the escape. It also communicates how high quality the escapes are. If they were to use rubbish and low quality photography, customers wouldn't want to purchase as this communicates that they are not professional or high quality. This is an example of the high quality photography used. You can get a feeling for what the escape will involve which gives confidence to customers. For this reason, the photography is one of the most important activity as it helps the customers see the quality of the escape.12 Customer service is really important to EscapeBox and underpins everything they do. As they have no physical store, customer service means they continue to keep their customers happy. 13There customer service is delivered through very responsive messages to customers on their social media platforms and via their phone line. Along with the innovative products means their customers keep coming back to try new and exciting escapes. 14This helps them meet their aim of becoming the UK's best online retailer. They regularly get excellent reviews on their website and other review sites which is important to them to keep existing customers and win new ones. The impact of this is huge on the business. Without excellent customer service, customers would not return or become new customers. This supports them being the best online retailer as customer service means that they are used again and again by customers. Reviews on their website confirm this: 15 **Entrepreneur** Zane was 27 when he founded EscapeBox. He worked in many companies after graduating from university however, Zane wished to have the freedom of when he worked as well as wishing for creative freedom. Zane founded EscapeBox in March 2000 after securing financial funding from his father and working tirelessly almost all day, every day. Zane shows many skills and characteristics that make a good entrepreneur: Zane (founder of EscapeBox) conveyed an array of characteristics needed to make a successful entrepreneur. Two main traits I believe Zane to have had are passion and drive. Passion means having strong feelings and beliefs. His passion is clearly and explicitly shown through his enterprise, of which he wants to remain known. Even the little things many other entrepreneurs would overlook, Zane fixed and implemented thus making his business better than his competitors. Due to the extra time taken to iron out little discrepancies, this created more work to be completed. However, this did not deter Zane from further bettering his enterprise and piling more onto his workload. All of this combined shows how passionate Zane was towards making his company even better than it was a minute earlier. Zane also elucidated his drive throughout his enterprise 'EscapeBox'. Drive means an innate, biologically determined urge to obtain a goal or satisfy a need. In particular, in the way he wished to achieve more success, and especially through the stability he injected into his enterprise. Zane's aim to 'create moments of happiness' continues to show how driven he is; this is because his priority was not to make money off people, but instead to bring happiness to those people. This showed Zane's drive because he continued 'creating moments of happiness' for years even when he was barely making his break even point. Both of these qualities support the purpose of the enterprise as without them, Zane would not be able to sell the items to the public through the online platform. Zane Edwards has shown 100% of his dedication and resilience throughout his years as CEO of his enterprise 'EscapeBox'. Dedication means the quality of being dedicated or committed to a task or purpose. Zane has worked tirelessly for years without making any profit but continued on because of his dedication to making people happy as well as proving to himself that he could achieve his dreams. Zane also put in many hours of extra work everyday to continue on the improvement of his company and make it stand out from its competitors. Zane has also shown how resilient he is throughout the years of founding and running his company. Resilient meaning able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions. He has proven to be resilient with his colleagues, his clients, and his customers. Zane really showed his resilience when -a couple of years ago- a shipment of products from his manufacturer randomly caught fire in the middle of the ocean. This angered customers as their orders were then delayed. After this incident many customers decided not to return to ordering from 'EscapeBox' and therefore created a decline in the sales being made. Zane was resilient however, and, where most would choose to give up, he continued on with his enterprise and carried it to the success it is today. He would not have done all he has achieved if he had given up at one of the first problems he faced, instead he chose to be resilient and show that he could reach his goals even if some incidents set him back. I know for a fact that Zane had excellent communication skills. Communication skills means the ability to convey or share ideas and feelings effectively. He was extremely friendly and professional with all customers as shown through many reviews and his customer service team. He also took pride in the team building exercises his staff continue to take part in. Pictures from one of these activities are shared on their website. These team building exercises increase trust, communication, and friendship between his employees therefore creating a more family- like environment in the workplace. Also aiding in the communication of 'EscapeBox' is their list of social media for example, they are on Instagram, twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Pinterest. This creates a feeling of reliability as they like to showcase their products and amazing customer service they offer for any problems a customer has. Zane was also extremely polite when dealing with manufacturers, customers, colleagues, and employees. Also, he was very confident in what he said. This is obvious as when he was asking his father for a loan, he would have had to be very confident in what he could achieve as well as very confident in his ability to persuade his dad for a loan. Zane, founder and former CEO of 'EscapeBox', presented his ability to compromise throughout many points of his successful online enterprise. The ability to compromise means the ability to make a deal between different parties where each party gives up a part of their demand. In particular when sourcing the products for his business. Finding products he was both happy selling, and could make him some money back showed to be extremely difficult. So, he opted for selling things he wanted to and worried less about making a profit. This was a huge compromise as it resulted in Zane and 'EscapeBox' losing a lot of money during the first years of business. He would also have had to compromise when choosing what to invest in to make his enterprise better than his competitors'. Zane would have had difficulty with deciding whether to spend money on things such as a website designer, product photographer, employees to help send and receive orders, or investing in extremely high quality products. Ultimately, Zane had little difficulty when faced with this because of his ability to compromise. He chose to have help from his family when sending and receiving orders, and also decided to employ his wife to design their website and take product photos to allow for money to be spent elsewhere. I know for sure that Zane had excellent time management skills. Time management means the process of planning and exercising conscious control of time spent on specific activities. Zane presented his time management skills when starting his enterprise 'EscapeBox'. At the start of the journey to creating his now successful online enterprise, Zane would have had to determine where and when to spend his time and begin to prioritise certain tasks over others. An example of when he did this was when trying to figure out a new work-life balance. Since Zane used to work for somebody else, he had a physical barrier between his work life and his personal life. However, because he was now working for himself, this resulted in a blurry line between when to work and when to rest. Therefore, Zane faced the challenge of deciding whether to spend more time focusing on his newly created business or his family and personal life. Obviously, Zane found a way around this and eventually started working (with his employees) out of a converted barn. Thus creating a physical barrier between work and family time. This allows the purpose of the enterprise to be achieved. His time management skills allow him to prioritise what needs to be done to become more successful and continue to improve, this continues to help him to have a big impact on the aim of the enterprise to deliver the extraordinary to people as without having this skill all of the negotiating, organising and financial management would not be done to provide the customers with their escapes when they buy and book them. Zane said 'the ability to manage your own time when you run your own business is incredibly important. It is so easy to not have awork life balance as you want your business to be successful so badly and the risks of it failing are so high. So being able to manage all of the different jobs such as negotiating with suppliers, choosing the right images for the produce, talking to customers need to prioritised but also given a certain length of time which mean everything is done in the right way and in the right time so that everybody is happy.'17 His dedication and resilience allowed Zane to continue to run and improve his enterprise, even through many hardships he may face along the way. This has helped him to meet the aim of 'To ensure the brand high standards are maintained as they grow throughout the UK so EscapeBox keeps its excellent reputation'. This is because he always strives to do better and never wants to allow situations such as a supplier failing on him get him down. He said that once a supplier that he had 20 escapes booked with let him down once. This was devastating for the business as it meant there were at least 20 customers that would have been let down. This could have had really negative consequences on the business as it could have meant that those 20 customers told all of their friends and they could also have written a bad review on social media or on the review website they use. However, his resilience and dedication was shown as he started developing relationships with other suppliers of a similar high quality in similar locations so the customers wouldn't be disappointed. This type of contingency planning is important so that customers are never let down.18 Task 219 **The methods of primary research that my entrepreneur has undertaken are;** -  Focus groups - This proved to be useful to Zane as he could gather a lot of information about a wide array of people's beliefs, experiences, attitudes, and reactions in a short amount of time about the escapes on offer and get ideas for escapes that customers would like to see and buy and how current escapes could be adapted. Zane asks current customers to form part of the focus groups, usually from the ones that have already left reviews on social media and the website. This enabled Zane to have deeper understanding of his customers wants and he could then work on how to meet these requirements. However, a drawback -  Reviews and feedback - This was useful for Zane because he could strengthen his company's credibility and also create the power to influence consumer decisions. The reviews are evident on his website so customers can see these when they first go on the website, there is a review form on the website. This strengthens the confidence that customers have in the brand. However, there are a couple of negative reviews on the website and this is the drawback of having this system as potential customers see the good and the bad reviews. The negative reviews are things that are outside of Zane's control such as a longer than expected delivery. He uses a courier so delivery is down to them, however, it looks like it is Zane's fault. Interviews - This was also useful for Zane as he could ask open ended questions and see physical cues to gather more (less noticeable/subconscious) information. It also allows for the collection of more in-depth information. Zane used these to interview existing customers after their escapes over the telephone. This was very useful to him as he can get a good idea of what can be improved and what is working well. He then uses this information to work with the suppliers. A drawback of this is that often the customers may not be truthful either because they do not want to offend Zane as it is his company, or they are over-picky and tell him very minor things that again he has no control over, for example, no tissues in a hotel room! **The methods of secondary research that my entrepreneur has undertaken are;** -  Competitor websites - This helped Zane understand EscapeBox's competitors' strengths and weaknesses so he could implement or avoid those things in his enterprise. It also allows a business to find a gap in the market which their company can fill. The drawback of doing this is that the competitors will only advertise what is going well on their website so it is a bit one sided. It will tell Zane what escape packages they offer and the prices and special offers, delivery options etc, but it won't tell him what the profit is on the escapes, which are doing well and not so well etc. -  News articles - This helped Zane understand on trend items and therefore allowed him to stock and sell escapes that people are more likely to purchase. For example, Zane found out that there has been a big increase in the number of people wanting escapes that support local businesses rather than big corporate hotels etc, so he has developed relationships with other small enterprises offering customers escapes including beer brewing by a small cask ale producer and wine tasting using a small vine owner who also has a B&B on-site. The drawbacks of this is that the news articles may be out of date or it may be very difficult to find the appropriate information needed for the specific enterprise. Trying to find useful news articles may take time that would be better spent by the entrepreneur doing marketing etc. -  Government databases and census - This helped Zane to gather information based on location, ethnicity, gender, sexuality etc and he could then figure out how this correlates to buying patterns. For example, he has reviewed the data he holds on his regular customers and has used this to work out, geographically where most of his customers are from. He then uses this information to target suppliers of escapes in their general area, looking at the statistical trends in this location so he can offer escapes that may be more appealing to them. The downside of this is that again government databases aren't specific to his enterprise or it may be very difficult to find the appropriate information needed for the specific enterprise. Trying to find useful data may take time that would be better spent by the entrepreneur doing marketing etc.20 A table of text on a white background Description automatically generated  A table of research papers Description automatically generated  A comparison of a page Description automatically generated with medium confidence I would recommend that Zane does a short text survey to his customers once\ an escape. This would be quick for customers to do and there could be an incentive for them to complete this, e.g. an entry into a draw to win an escape. This could be like three questions long and ask about what else they would like to see, rate their experience and ask if they have used any competitor websites. This would give Zane valuable information of their needs in terms of what other products they want, how the current products are performing and then also tell them whether the competitors are offering something that he is not. I would also recommend that Zane looks at market reports from Mintel or reports from hospitality trade associations. These will provide him with lots of information on people's lifestyles and their interests. This information is very detailed and specific to the particular industry which is a real benefit over other types of research such as newspaper articles. This would help him to try and predict what his competitors may be offering next and then what his customers may want or demand. For example, if the market reports said that veganism is increasing, he could look at offering an escape where people could make vegan cheese or do a vegan cooking experience. It would also tell him what customers might demand next and what his competitors may be thinking of offering next.22 Political- - Post Brexit, new trade agreements had to be made to ensure the British economy did not plummet drastically. The trades deal made (solely by the UK) after Brexit was with Australia, Japan, Iceland, Norway, Lichtenstein and the EU. This encourages cheap trade between the two places which will boost both economies. The UK has additionally made rollover agreements with 66 of the 70 countries the EU trade with. These trade deals are both a positive and a negative thing for UK businesses. They provide access to new resources and goods/services. However, they will eventually put many farmers out of jobs in the UK and could also increase the prices of home sourced products. It will have a negative effect on EscapeBox because many of the escapes on offer are from local and home grown entrepreneurs, such as fragrance makers, beer brewers, small hotels and spas which may go out of business as they can't get the workers to work on the fields or the staff in the kitchens etc. I recommend they take advantage of the trade deals and look to purchase goods or go into selling unique items from different countries e.g. Japanese origami etc. - I recommend that EscapeBox consider this slightly because they have to pay more money by hourly rates. This means they could plan for the annual increase in minimum wage and thus be at less of a financial strain than others who have not taken this into account if they take on more employees. - Having this GDPR in pace is a positive thing for customers, but a potentially negative thing for businesses. It is a bad thing for businesses because they are required to pay something called "The Data Protection Fee". It also makes it harder and a lot more controlled for an enterprise to handle their personal information they have gathered. It is a positive thing, however, for the consumers because it shows something is being done to protect their information, which then makes them more likely to give that information to businesses (a positive thing for them). Escape Box has to hold a lot of data about their customers in order for them to do certain activities such as driving experiences require their driving licence details to be held. This means that GDPR is very important to them and their customers as otherwise customers may not use them if their data wasn't safe. I recommend that EscapeBox ensure they are up to date with GDPR training so that they and their customers feel secure in the knowledge that steps have been taken to protect their data. - Energy suppliers have increased their prices for gas and electric in recent years. Higher prices for gas and electricity will result in enterprises needing to put more money into maintaining their physical store. The impact of higher gas and electricity charges will not have much of an impact on EscapeBox because they have a normal office space and their enterprise is completely online. However, they still do need electricity for their computers, wifi etc. Also, the rise in energy process mean that their customers will have less disposable income due to higher bills to spend on luxuries such as escapes. I recommend they look at more energy efficient ways of doing their business and try and reduce their energy consumption to help save on costs. Closing windows, shutting their computers down rather than using standby will all help. Also, they should not increase their prices to pay for the increases in their energy bills as this may put customers off. - Interest rates have also risen in the past 5 years. This means when borrowing money you will have to pay a larger percentage of that sum on top of the money borrowed. This will impact an enterprise because it means they are paying - out more money to the people they are getting a loan from. This creates more financial difficulties in many cases because most businesses are unsuccessful in garnering enough traction/profit to pay back their loan. This may impact their customers though if they have mortgages as these will increase so they have less disposable income to spend on escapes. The impact of rising interest rates will not impact EscapeBox majorly (if at all). This is because EscapeBox has very little to no outstanding finance due to them operating in a barn on their home grounds. However, if they were to take a loan out to pay for the rising costs, for example, this would affect them, so I recommend they keep their costs to a minimum so they don't need to get a loan. Also, they should not increase their prices as this may put customers off who are dealing with higher mortgage payments. - Employment rates for the past 5 years were at just over 76.5%. However, with the pandemic, employment rates dropped to around 75% near the mid to end of 2020. This would affect EscapeBox because without a lot of people having a job which results in a steady income, they are unable to purchase things such as presents. This means when employment rates are low/unemployment rates are high, EscapeBox will see a dip in sales and therefore profits (although it won\'t be a massive difference). However they don't employ many people so this woldn't affect them too much. I recommend that EscapeBox continue to offer a wide product range but with low prices i.e. offer a budget range so people can still treat themselves even if they are unemployed as they have lots of time to do things. As the population increases and people live longer, more purchases are constantly being made globally. This opens more ideas for the newer generations and businesses can release new products with more target audiences. As time goes on, more and more people are using the internet, this is greatly beneficial for online enterprises as people can make orders with a few clicks of a button. EscapeBox sells gifts and presents, so as more people live longer, many more presents can be given to others. Similarly, as more people are being born, many new parents are celebrated and offered gifts. I recommend that EscapeBox continue to research trends and the demographics of the changes in society, and look into more innovative products that they can offer to older generations as these are becoming more tech savvy and have larger disposable incomes. Due to the pandemic many people enjoyed shopping online rather than in person at shopping centres/malls. This was great for many businesses that solely sell products online (like EscapeBox) This is because they already have effective marketing that attracts people into buying from their website. Therefore, EscapeBox could have an increase in both sales and profits whilst also gaining more loyal customers for their enterprise. However, due to the amount of people losing their jobs throughout the recent year or two, people are less likely to afford to buy unnecessary things like gifts. This would have a negative impact on EscapeBox because they would have less sales and therefore less profits. They could also have lost many previously loyal customers due to financial difficulties they are facing. I recommend that Escape Box look into providing different products that are perhaps cheaper that people can afford on lower disposable incomes. This would mean that their sales may not be affected as much by the economy. Also, offering products and not just escapes as if we had another lock down, people are not allowed to travel and socialise, so if they offered products e.g. personalised gifts, the impact of another lockdown would be minimised. Social media and the internet are continually growing and influencing everybody's actions. Almost everybody owns a smart device and this means millions of products are available within a few taps on the screens. This also means potential and past consumers are able to read/write reviews and influence others on purchasing the same product. EscapeBox is based online and is accessible to everybody. Technology is crucial to their success and people's increase of interest in technology is massively beneficial for the business as more people gain access to their goods. In recent years, more and more people have been using social media such as facebook (who have an estimated 2.27 billion monthly users), Instagram and YouTube. All of these social media outlets are free to use and more often than not have cheaper marketing rates than conventional promotion. techniques. With a simple social media marketing campaign, enterprises can attract a large amount of new potential customers. They can also spread their company name to more and more people. The large influence social media has on garnering customers for an enterprise is astonishing. I recommend that EscapeBox continues to use social media advertisements to their full advantage. They should ensure that have accounts on twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and YouTube. This will help EscapeBox to reach a large otherwise unacknowledged group of people.  A white grid with black text Description automatically generated