Critical Analysis Of DWNLD Business Model - Recommendations Essay.

Question:

Discuss About The Criticisms Variations Experiences Business?

The given report aims to make a critical analysis of the various aspects of the business named DWNLD which had developed in 2014. The given report will be analyzing the nine building blocks of the business canvas model of DWNLD and has derived the connection among them (BusinessInsider.com., 2018). The critical success factors along with the recommendations will be provided.

DWNLD is a startup which helps the user to create mobile applications easily and makes them available on the App store. It was found by Fritz Lanman and Alexandea Keatig. The angel investors had invested a huge amount of money for the development of the business.

The functioning of the application is very simple whereby the users of the application are charged a service cost of $15 a month. By using the given services, the user can customize the applications with easy tools (Linkedin.com., 2018). When the user has completed the designing of the application, then the company submits the given application to the App store thereby getting it approved. The company creates the user requested applications through an outsourced Information Technology team.

The application was launched in September, 2014. The company has already made 5000 applications for its customers and made $14 million in the first year (BusinessInsider.com., 2018).

The business had raised its funding from WME, The Chernin Group, Gordon Crawford, Michael Arrington’s Crunch Fund and other media groups (Dwnld.me, 2018).

The chairman of the given company is Fritz Lanman who identified the gap between the number of mobile users and the number of applications on the play store. Therefore, they assist the content creator to convert their social stream into a personalized app which gets published on the play store (Dillet et al., 2018). The business model follows a subscription based model.

Key Partners Fritz Lanman and Alexandea Keatig are the co-founders of the mobile application based start up.  The key suppliers are the application team who has designed the given software for the company. The key activities that are performed by the given competitors are management of the business and looking after the fund allocation BusinessInsider.com. ,2018).	Key Activities The value proposition of the given business offers convenience and ease to customers in order to make unique applications of their choice. The key activities of the value proposition require managing of customer data, paperwork for the applications, editing tool service and others. Customer Relationship The company maintains the customer relationship by a system of feedback whereby the company devises its services based on the advice given by the different consumers. The simple services of the firm are starting at $15 for a month and if the customer takes a higher package then he is charged higher. The firm also earns through various advertisements on the app however, the company does not sell apps directly (Barquet et al., 2013).	Value Proposition ·         The company offers convenience and ease of making an application to the customers. ·         As there exists a huge gap between the number of mobile phones and the number of applications on the app stores, the company wants to help the customers by giving them an easy method. ·         Different users can opt for different plans with the basic plan starting at $15 (Dillet et al., 2018). ·         Various editing tool are available for the customers. ·         Other packages cost higher. ·         The need to make a unique application is being fulfilled in the given case.		Customer Relationships The different customers expect the application to solve their app requirements by helping them to make unique applications of their choice. The customers are provided with assistance whereby they can easily, using the various editing tools make an app of their choice. The app company has been successful in maintaining a healthy relationship with the customers and fulfilling all their given needs.	Customer Segments The market is not divided into specific segments as such. All the customers who are interested in getting their unique applications made can download DWNLD and avail the services.
	Key Resources ·         The main resources required by the firm are an outsourcing IT team which helps in development of the given application. ·         Other resources are the different business divisions. ·         The company also has an office which handles all essential requirements.			Channels The customers are reached through various social media channels and advertisements on the newspapers as well (Massa & Tucci,2013). Along with this the customers are contacted through personal contacts of the chairperson and the partners.
Cost Structure The important cost structures of the given in the given business model are : Technical costs Office expenses Legal expenses Human Resource Others			Revenue Streams ·         The primary revenue model of the business is the service fees that they charge from the customers. ·         The service fees starts at $15 a month for basic minimum services. ·         If the consumer would like to upgrade their model, then they can use other services to do so and the service fees shall change accordingly. ·         The company also earns from advertisements.

The nine building blocks of the business canvas model tend to represent the various components of a particular business enterprise. The business model canvas gives information about the given components which consist of the following;

• Customer segments
• Value Propositions
• Channels
• Customer Relationships
• Revenue Streams
• Key Activities
• Key Partnerships
• Key Resources
• Cost Structure.

To understand the different components of a business, the canvas is formed which comprises of the stated building blocks.  These blocks consist of detailed information about the given headings. It can be stated that the given block components are related to one another in the sense that a change in one of the building blocks is capable in bring out the change in another block (Barquet et al., 2013) . This means that without one the other cannot exist.

For instance, if the key activities in an organization change then the cost structure of the firm will also be changed. For example, if the firm like DWNLD decides to carry out all legal procedures for the given customer without charging they then the cost structure of DWNLD might undergo a massive change.

Hence, the key activities and key resources of the firm tend to have a huge impact on the cost structure. In the same manner, the customer segments which have been formed tend to decide the revenue model of the firm. The different kinds of segments the firm has, a different fee is charged from the consumer set (Muhtaroglu et al., 2013).  For example, if the segment is a company, then DWNLD will have a different scheme for them as they have more components in their application. If a student is making an application related to a particular hobby or an interest then he will be having a simple app which will have a different revenue scheme for the company.

Key Partners

The Critical success factors can be described as a management term which represents the element of a business which is essential to enable the organization to achieve its success. The factors tend to have an influence on the various activities of the firm which then tend to determine the success of the organization. The organizations always aim to attain sustainable success which will last long and keep the standing of the firm even in the future (Hong & Fauvel, 2013).

The critical success factors which DWNLD has to get right in order to achieve sustainable success are given as follows:

Only when the organization is able to maintain successful relationships with the various clients, then it will be able to foresee a sustainable future. Clients are the main reason why the business functions and therefore, it is extremely important for the business to see to it that the clients are treated well.

Employees are often known as the backbone of the business and hence it is very important for the firm to hire people who work towards the welfare of the organization and are able to contribute well. Hence, giving them a customer oriented training is considered important.

After the application has been made and given to the customers, later on there may surface a case whereby they require help from the business and this changes their perception about the business (Joyce& Paquin, 2016). Hence the organization must take an effort and make the necessary changes to enable prosperous relations with the client.

It is very important for the business to gather sufficient finance for their expansion. This will help the business to have enough support so that they are able to expand their future operations for a long term future (Kiel, 2014).

• Adhering to the changing needs of the various customers and adapt unique ideas
• Updating the service application with technological updates

Downside risk can be described as the estimation of the company`s potential to suffer a huge loss due to changing market conditions. It can also be determined as the amount of loss that can be suffered by a company (Massa& Tucci, 2013). Briefly stated it tends to explain the worst case scenario for a business.

The following could lead to a downside risk for the business:

• Emergence of a competitor with the same offerings but at a lower price if a situation arises in the external environment of the business whereby a new company tends to offer the similar services for the customers like DWNLD but with cheaper options and packages for the customers. In such a case, the revenues of the business might get affected and the company might have the problem of reduced business.
• Lack of customer strategy- Customer strategy tends to act as a core component of the business firm whereby the customer needs need to be identified and the future offerings of the firm also need to be decided upon. If it is not the case, then the business tends to fail (Kiel, 2014). Hence, a lack of strategy could cause a downside risk.

The given changes would have been implemented:

1. Changing the service charge system and introducing a product based revenue model

Presently, the company charges the customers a service charge of $15 every month. This can be changed and the company can also add a product charge for the same. The applications ever remain static and keep changing regularly (Cochrane, 2014). Therefore, every month the customers can pay fees of $15 for maintenance, however they can pay nominal fees of $50 whenever the firm makes an application for them.

2. Charging separately for the legal environments to register on the Application store

The company, DWNLD also takes care of all the legal aspects on behalf of the customers and that particular cost is included in the service fee charge. However, it is suggested that the company can charge the customers separately for the legal services which are being offered. This shall help the firm in earning higher revenue.

3. Trying to make the application facility in-house.

Instead of outsourcing their app making facilities the company can hire a capable Information Technology Team within the organization which shall enable the firm to save costs and the required support can be given to the customer whenever necessary (Armstrong et al., 2015).

Conclusion

Therefore from the given analysis it can be stated that the given idea of the business is very unique and something which has been developed after a lot of research and identification of the market gap. The assignment has made an attempt to point out certain important aspects of the firm and make recommendations on the same.

References

Armstrong, G., Kotler, P., Harker, M., & Brennan, R. (2015). Marketing: an introduction. Pearson Education.

Barquet, A. P. B., de Oliveira, M. G., Amigo, C. R., Cunha, V. P., &Rozenfeld, H. (2013). Employing the business model concept to support the adoption of product–service systems (PSS). Industrial Marketing Management, 42(5), 693-704.

BusinessInsider.com. (2018). DWNLD - Business Insider. Retrieved 13 . March 2018, from https://www.businessinsider.com/dwnld-2014-9

Cochrane, T. D. (2014). Critical success factors for transforming pedagogy with mobile Web 2.0. British Journal of Educational Technology, 45(1), 65-82.

Dillet, R., Crook, J., Lawler, R., &Tsotsis, A. (2018). DWNLD | TechCrunch. TechCrunch. Retrieved 13 March 2018, from https://techcrunch.com/tag/dwnld/

Dwnld.me. (2018). Dwnld Publications- Retrieved 13 . March 2018, from https://www.dwnld.me

Hong, Y. C., &Fauvel, C. (2013). Criticisms, variations and experiences with business model canvas.

Joyce, A., & Paquin, R. L. (2016). The triple layered business model canvas: A tool to design more sustainable business models. Journal of Cleaner Production, 135, 1474-1486.

Kiel, I. H. (2014). Entrepreneurial marketing.

 Linkedin.com. (2018). Retrieved 13 March 2018, from https://in.linkedin.com/company/dwnld

Massa, L., & Tucci, C. L. (2013). Business model innovation. The Oxford Handbook of Innovation Management, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 420-441.

Muhtaroglu, F. C. P., Demir, S., Obali, M., &Girgin, C. (2013, October). Business model canvas perspective on big data applications. In Big Data, 2013 IEEE International Conference on (pp. 32-37). IEEE.