Customer Development Strategies and Performance of Start Up Carbon Projects; A Case of Study of Sustainable Agriculture Tanzania (SAT)
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Date
2021
Authors
Cheruiyot, Betty Jeruto
Ragui, Mary
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
IJCAB Publishing Group
Abstract
Present challenges experienced by a globalized and changing world with new forms of doing
business has forced entrepreneurs to change their approach to customers especially given the
prior traditional marketing theory. Current markets have a customer base with increased
demand for more marginal products or services; henceforth, they have created individual
preferences. The general objective of this study was to establish the effect of customer
development strategies on performance of start-up carbon projects; a case of study of
sustainable agriculture Tanzania (SAT). Specifically, it aimed at examining the effect of
business model on Performance of forest carbon projects, examining the effect of customer
service systems on Performance of forest carbon projects, the effect of communication process
on Performance of forest carbon projects, including effect of competitive pricing on
Performance of forest carbon projects. It is anchored on theory of product market fit, start-up
marketing pyramid and cue utilization theory. The study is further supported by the following
models; business model canvas, value proposition canvas and customer development model.
The study used a survey design. The survey collected data and information aimed at identifying
customer development strategies for performance of carbon projects in the start-up carbon
market. The selected population were customers of Sustainable Agriculture Tanzania. They
consisted of companies, partners and individuals who were involved with the carbon offsetting
project or potential clients. Ten companies and fifty individual customers were selected for the
survey. Individual customers were drawn from the current connections developed by
Sustainable Agriculture Tanzania. Primary and secondary data was utilized from various
secondary sources linked to the topic of study and gathered facts and figures from the
questionnaires. The questionnaire comprised of questions relating to the carbon markets for
organizations in the start-up carbon projects. The quantitative data retrieved from the study
was analysed by use of descriptive statistics that included variability, frequency and central
tendency measures. These help provide information regarding the distribution. Measures of
frequency distribution on the other hand document the frequency of scores or records. The
Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) program was used to analyse the data and output
presented in form of tables, pie charts and bar graphs. The study found out that customer
development strategies in start-up forest carbon projects are central to performance of forest
carbon projects. Playing a part to this performance are particularly the company’s prices,
enhanced innovation and creativity, business management systems, reduction of the time
required for decision-making and improved planning of activities. At the same time, use of IT
data management systems has to a large extent made decision-making process faster. These
aspects generally lead to better management of budgets, efficiency in service provision,
consistent increase in revenue and increased number of customers. Moreover, customer
development strategies lead to customer satisfaction improvement. In conclusion to the
presented findings, communication process and customer service systems have shown to
influence the performance of forest carbon projects. Setting up a tailored business model that
works well with the cost structure of the business and suits project goals has also been visibly
altering the functioning of projects. The strategy implemented on pricing is also seen to promote
customer growth. It is recommended that start-up projects develop relevant pricing strategies for their products; especially during their early stages of development in order to differentiate
and grow a viable customer base. Managers should also encourage proper training and
practices when it comes to inter-organizational communication and strategy implementation.
This will ensure every employee works in cohesion towards achieving the projected goals thus
improving performance
Description
An Article Published in International Journal of Business Management, Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Keywords
Customer Development Strategies, Business model, Customer service systems, Communication process, Competitive pricing strategies, Start Up Carbon Projects, Sustainable Agriculture Tanzania (SAT)
Citation
Cheruiyot, B., & Ragui, M. (2021). Customer Development Strategies and Performance of Start Up Carbon Projects; A Case of Study of Sustainable Agriculture Tanzania (SAT). International Journal of Business Management, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation, 3(1), 49-64. https://doi.org/10.35942/jbmed.v3i1.164