It is critical for Rise at Seven to undertake environmental scanning. This is because it will enable it to pre-empt changes in the environment, such as a pandemic, that provide opportunities to develop appropriate responses for uncertainties. This has been carried out using internal, micro and macroenvironment analysis.
Internal and Microenvironment Rise at Seven’s internal environment is explored using Osterwalder & Pigneur's (2010) 9 Key Elements.
Customer Segments The agency ensures that organisations fit the business before signing them as clients. By applying macrosegmentation, it focuses on large, market leaders from a range of industries and locations, such as PrettyLittleThing and Parkdean Resorts. The press is interested in big brands, therefore, these being its clients provides coverage for Rise at Seven. For microsegmentation, it focuses on organisations with fast decision-making unit (DMU) structures because it is extremely fast paced and puts clients at the heart of trending topics. If a client’s decision-making process is slow and complex, the trend will have passed by the time the concept is signed off. It also focuses on innovative organisations, such as GAME, as these align with Rise at Seven’s disruptiveness and forward-thinking making them suitable customers. This shows that Rise at Seven are selective in choosing their clients, however, they could be more selective, such as become specialists in a particular industry to further add value for clients.
Value Propositions Value is what the customer perceives to be valuable, therefore, Rise at Seven must align its offering to this in order to satisfy customers thus gaining a competitive advantage. Rise at Seven offers functional value as it is the only agency that produces creative SEO campaigns by working with clients that are disruptive and relevant which increases clients’ links and sales. This is the key value offered as it is initially what attracts clients and allows it to stand out from competitors in the most obvious way, however, it could be argued as the easiest to replicate thus threatening the business’ competitive advantage. In contrast, Rise at Seven’s relational value is difficult to copy due to its intangible assets, such as customer care, thus providing competitive advantage when executed correctly. This compliments Rise at Seven’s functional value offered by further adding value for customers and differentiating itself from competitors. This could also be argued as economic value because Rise at Seven differentiates through these values. Customers, therefore, are willing to pay for the differentiating factors that it offers. Rise at Seven’s value proposition is unique, providing it with a strong marketing position for a new business.
Channels Inbound marketing attracts customers to the organisation and ties in with relational value, going beyond the transaction. Rise at Seven exemplifies this as its potential customers are primarily reached through its extensive press coverage thus attracted to the business. Although doing this, may not attract the right clients so it may be necessary to implement outbound marketing. Rise at Seven has channels, such as a website, LinkedIn and other social platforms to communicate with potential clients about working with them.
Customer Relationships Once Rise at Seven attracts a client, forming and maintaining a relationship with them is important. Rise at Seven performs onboarding sessions to get to know its clients, shows consistency by providing weekly updates and checks in to ensure that the client is satisfied with the service. Its client meetings, such as the one with PrettyLittleThing in a restaurant, add value for the client because they are engaging, pro-active and efficient. This shows that Rise at Seven builds close relationships with clients, however, it could be questioned whether this is the right type of relationship they want with clients as there could be a risk of the relationship becoming unprofessional. Furthermore, face-to-face meetings may become outdated in the future, driven by meetings in the metaverse. These may be more engaging, pro-active and efficient than face-to-face and remain professional.
Revenue Streams, Key Resources and Activities Rise at Seven’s Early Risers tool is the key resource for the elements, discussed above, to work. Built by the agency, it discloses daily information on trending topics, such as an increase in a particular products’ demand. This enables Rise at Seven to effectively provide its key activity, putting clients in the centre of these topics, providing first mover advantage which businesses pay significant money for, thus further linking with economic value. This, in turn, brings in revenue. This tool sets the business apart from competitors, however, if another agency was to develop a similar or better tool, Rise at Seven would lose its advantage and revenue stream to them. It is, therefore, important for the organisation to patent Early Risers to prevent this from happening. Despite this, Rise at Seven has a clear tool strategy where it continuously develops new tools in Rise Labs. This means that it is able to stay ahead of competitors and keep its competitive advantage.
Key Partnerships Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) is Rise at Seven’s key partnership by employing graduates and interns. The business is young and growing, therefore, requires staff that can grow with it and graduates have no fear, love change and like new things making them perfect for Rise at Seven. Despite this partnership, it is important to not exclude graduates from other universities, especially if they offer better talent.
Key Competitors Rise at Seven has a vast number of competitors, however, the ones that the business should watch are innovative and future-thinking. This is because, as explained in the PESTLE analysis, the environment is rapidly changing, and the business needs to be watching the competitors that are adapting to this. For instance, Journey Further who created the UK’s first crypto treasure hunt of 5 QR codes around Leeds to win a non-fungible token (NFT) and an Ethereum. NFTs are new assets to engage consumers, however, in the future they will be common so in order to be competitive, organisations must be innovative with how they use them, like Journey Further has. Additionally, Mediaworks is a future driving digital agency that embraces innovation. The future is at the centre of what Mediaworks does, meaning it will be prepared for environmental changes and potentially being able to be better than Rise at Seven.