Bicycle Courier Business Plan

The Oracle will primarily be serving Portland-based law firms. This is a particularly attractive segment because law firms have a constant need for delivery services. Most firms are sending things consistently during the day. The Oracle will be able to set up contracts with firms to provide multiple scheduled pick-ups each day. 

The Oracle will also serve non law firm customers who are in need of a courier service. In addition to documents, the company can transport small parcels.

As a former practicing attorney, Alwy will be able to leverage his vast industry knowledge as well as his network of colleagues to gain market share.

4.1 Market Segmentation

Two Wheeled Oracle will service two distinct groups. The first group is the main group of customers: law firms. This will be the group that is targeted primarily. Law firms are constantly in need of document delivery, whether it is to clients, other law firms, or to the court. This regularity of needed delivery is the reason that law firms are targeted. Once a law firm has become a satisfied customer, it is likely that they will begin to increase their delivery needs. This then becomes a steady, high frequency, long-term customer. Law firms have constant delivery activity, many firms require pick-ups throughout the day and require dependability, which is one of The Oracle’s competitive advantages. 

The second customer group is assorted deliveries needed in the city. This could come from a wide variety of businesses that require delivery within the city.

4.2 Target Market Segment Strategy

The Oracle will target it’s market through channels that all law firms typically see. The first is the Oregon Bar Journal. This is the newsletter that all practicing or bar accredited attorneys get. Advertisements will be placed in the journal to increase visibility of The Oracle. Additionally, there will be a yellow pages advertisement and brochures passed out.

This market will also be targeted through a networking scheme based on Alwy’s contacts that he made as a practicing attorney. Although Alwy no longer practices, he is still a member of the bar and maintains membership on several bar committees. Through his activity on the bar, as well as contact made during his practice, Alwy will leverage his network to create initial clients. This will not be difficult because a trust bond has already been formed with many different attorneys, and these attorneys will recognize that Alwy is keenly aware of the needs of attorneys in regards to delivery services. Because Alwy is aware of the attorney’s perspective, it will be easy for him to gain the trust of his former colleagues and sign them up as clients.

4.3 Service Business Analysis

There are approximately 20 different delivery services in the Portland area, a quarter of these are taxi services that also makes deliveries. The rest are courier or messenger services. Some use cars and a few use bicycles as the means of transportation. In general, the bicycle messengers are less expensive because they have lower overhead. In the heart of downtown, the bicycle messengers can be as fast or faster than the car-based courier services because of all the automobile traffic.

There are five different companies that target law firms by catering to their special needs. All of these are car-based services.  

The buying habits of law firms are based on price, convenience, and reliability.