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The online competitors have competitive pricing, but are mainly sales. Many of our customers prefer to rent due to the limited time the product is needed. Our main competitor for the customers that we serve is the clients, or medical clinics, themselves. Many of the doctors and clinics that we approach have their own inventory or preferred brand or style of mobility device to suggest to the customer. Our advantage over client competition is our pricing. Our products and rentals are almost 50% less expensive than the client competitors in our area. While most of the client competitors have access to the heavy duty scooters, or ones that support up to 300 lbs., we’ve found that only one of our client competitors provides pediatric models, therefore, with the addition of the pediatric models, we are in a very good position to provide these for our clients and customers. We have four clinics in our area that have bariatric models that support up to 500 lbs. available for their patients, but the sales fee for the scooter is exorbitant and prohibitive for most customers. Our new heavy duty model will support up to 400 lbs. and the price is comparable with our regular model
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Initially, for at least the first few months, there will be a lag between what we have available and what the customers or clients know we stock. This could cause decreased inquiries or sales of the specific new models until updated marketing materials are distributed and the website is updated. Another potential risk is the longevity, or “shelf-life” of both the pediatric and bariatric models. We expect there to be increased “wear and tear” for both models, which could reduce the rentable time by 5-10 weeks, decreasing the profit for the rental models. Lastly, increased inventory requires more space. We will need to make several minor adjustments to the inventory area to accommodate the new products.
There are also risks in not adding the two products to our inventory. As a home-based business, we see start-ups and “copycats” at times. If a new business opens and has one or both of these products in stock, we would likely lose potential customers. If they follow a similar marketing plan, we could lose our client referrals to a business with more diverse products. We’ve seen tremendous growth this year, going from taking a $4000 loss in the first year, to a $30,000 profit this year. These risks are most likely not detrimental to our business, but could prevent a profit decrease due to
Initially, for at least the first few months, there will be a lag between what we have available and what the customers or clients know we stock. This could cause decreased inquiries or sales of the specific new models until updated marketing materials are distributed and the website is updated. Another potential risk is the longevity, or “shelf-life” of both the pediatric and bariatric models. We expect there to be increased “wear and tear” for both models, which could reduce the rentable time by 5-10 weeks, decreasing the profit for the rental models. Lastly, increased inventory requires more space. We will need to make several minor adjustments to the inventory area to accommodate the new products.
There are also risks in not adding the two products to our inventory. As a home-based business, we see start-ups and “copycats” at times. If a new business opens and has one or both of these products in stock, we would likely lose potential customers. If they follow a similar marketing plan, we could lose our client referrals to a business with more diverse products. We’ve seen tremendous growth this year, going from taking a $4000 loss in the first year, to a $30,000 profit this year. These risks are most likely not detrimental to our business, but could prevent a profit decrease due to