Name of the Venture

The venture, an event management firm will be known as Ayojon. Ayojon is a Bangla word
which means making arrangements or organizing.
Legal Form of the Venture
The company will be a sole proprietorship and be registered under the Bangladesh Company
Act, 1994. If required the form of ownership will be changed in time.
Ayojon will be a service oriented company that is the firm will provide intangible goods or
perform useful labor on behalf of another person.
The company will start its operation in early 2006, if everything goes as planned by the
proprietor.
For the purpose of registration the entrepreneur must acquire the following licenses.
1. Trade License From Dhaka City Corporation
2. Article of Incorporation From Registrar of Joint Stock Company
3. Tax Certificate From National Board of Revenue
Location of its Office
The location of the office for Ayojon will be decided when the firm will go into operation in
2006. The location for the office will be decided based on the convenience of the prospective
customers of the company. The probable locations are Dhanmondi or Gulshan. Uttara is also in
the list of probable location, if that is convenient for the customers.
Mission Statement
Mission of Ayojon will be to provide its customer services to their utmost satisfaction.
Vision
Ayojon pledges its dedication to serve the community with quality services and set an example of
professionalism and ethical business practices in the industry.
The vision of Ayojon is centered towards becoming the market leader in event management
within 5 years of inception through hard work and commitment, maintaining the leadership and
carrying the flag of uncompromising quality into the unforeseen future with constant value
addition and a strong line of innovation.
Scope of Operation

Ayojon will start its operation in a small scale, targeting a segment of the market that has not
been targeted by the existing firms before. It will focus its attention to the needs of the small and
medium sized organization both profit and not-for-profit.
Historically ours has been a culture that nourishes strong roots of occasions. We as a nation like
to celebrate a lot of events, and our program calendar hardly sees a week when anything
significant does not take place. In congruence with that ongoing heritage of celebration that is
instilled in us, the concept of event management is as old in our culture as the concept of
celebrating that event. What has been lacking until recently is the ability to see the big picture
which is the ability to see the opportunities and the problems associated with such big scale
events. And this is precisely where event management fits in.
Present Scenario
The event management industry in Bangladesh is not yet fully developed. There are few
established event management firms in the country. The three established solely event
management firms are Jetset PR, AntarShowbiz and Wizard. These firms are dedicated
exclusively to the show business events.
But, the corporate market for event management has largely been unexplored. Although there is
a demand for professional event management organizations, there is few such firms that cater
exclusively to this demand. The advertising firms made the most of this situation, as they took up
event management as a very lucrative side business. The initiative of managing their clients
events was started by Asiatic ad agency and soon followed by most of the advertising agencies.
In fact Asiatic was so much interested to see the profit in this sector, that they have opened a
separate subsidiary called Asiatic EML, for the sole purpose of managing their clients events.
But other than that, no significant movements were taken to create a service firm for the purpose
of managing the clients events professionally.
A market survey conducted by a group of MBA students of IBA made an effort to find out the
customer satisfaction level with the existing firms that provide event management services. The
surveyors asked the clients of these companies to assign different numbers to the following seven
dimensions of a companys event management capability. The average is presented below.
Here 5 = Highest satisfaction with the service
1 = Lowest satisfaction with the service
CEMS Asiatic
EML
Consistency of
Services &
Professionalism

Unitrend
4

Media
comm
3

Bitopy Grey

Andes

Ad

comm
2

Fulfilling
Commitments
Timely service
Creativity
Proactive
Low Charges
Quick reaction
to complaints
Total

4
2
3
1
1

1
5
3
4
3

2
3
4
3
4

1
1
3
3
3

3
1
2
3
3

4
2
3
2
2

4
4
1
3
4

3
2
2
2
3

15

22

25

17

16

19

24

16

From the survey, Unitrend, Andes, and Asiatic EML can be identified as major players in the
industry of event management. They have a high profile client base like

Lever Brothers
British American Tobacco Bangladesh
ACI
Social Marketing Company (SMC)
GQBall Pen
BRAC
Pran
Saudia Airlines
GMG Airlines
Siemens

Unitrend and Andes are basically advertisement agencies, which provide event management as
additional service. As mentioned before, Asiatic EML is a subsidiary of advertising agency
Asiatic.
Other than Asiatic EML, CEMS (Conference and Exhibition Management System) is currently
the only firm delivering event management services.
Demand Analysis
Windmill is an advertising firm, which also manages their clients events as a side business.
According to ReazuddinMosharaf, the CEO of Windmill, the demand for professional event
management firms has been strong and the number of events as well as the number of customers
getting interested to look for professional help in arranging their events is increasing. The
demand is growing at the rate of 16% every year. (Page 21, A Performance Analysis of the
Advertising Companies in Bangladesh, Farshed Alam, Institute of Business Administration).
But, the supply is no where near to match the demand. This large gap between supply and
demand presents an opportunity for the entrepreneurs in this sector.
In most cases, managers from different departments are brought together to form a committee to
manage corporate events. This arrangement put extra pressure on the managers and sometimes

results in lack of professionalism as managing an event professionally and cost efficiently

require a good liaison with a number of suppliers. A manager responsible for other corporate
activities usually can not maintain this liaison. But, it is not financially feasible for organizations
to recruit a manager solely for the purpose of managing the corporate events, which is not more
than a few per year in numbers. Hence more and more organizations are looking for professional
help in managing their events.
Non-corporate sector also presents opportunities for the potential event management firms. Even
a decade ago family programs used to be organized by the family members. For example during
any wedding, family members from all around the country used to come together to arrange the
ceremony. But, with everyone spending more time in the workplaces, arrangements of family
events like weddings or akikahs by the family members are becoming increasingly difficult.
Again people are looking for professional help in arranging family programs.
The survey mentioned in the earlier section revealed that there is a high demand for professional
event managers. The result of the survey is shown below:
Target
Customers
Corporate
Customers

Non corporate
Customers

Questions Asked

YES

NO

Do you feel the necessity of a professional Event

Management company who can organize your
events?
Do you feel that a professional Event Management
company will add significant value to the way your
events are organized?
If any firm offers exclusively event management
services, would you be willing to use them?
Do you feel the necessity of a professional Event
Management company who can organize your
events?
Do you feel that a professional Event Management
company will add significant value to the way your
events are organized?
If any firm offers exclusively event management
services, would you be willing to use them?

66%

34%

82%

18%

80%

20%

59%

41%

63%

37%

72%

28%

To be successful, a firm must do a better job than its competitors in satisfying target customers.
That is why marketing plan must be geared to the needs of customers and also to the strategies of
the competitors. An organization should constantly compare the value and customer satisfaction
delivered by its products or services, prices, channels and promotion with those of its close
competitors. In this way they can discern areas of advantage and disadvantage.
Market Segmentation

In Bangladesh, the prospect for event management firms is very good. The vast market out there
has not been explored yet. This market can be divided into three major segments.

The corporate clients

The non-corporate clients
The Bangladesh Government

The Corporate Clients

This segment includes various multinational companies, local public and private limited
companies, financial and non-financial institutions, joint ventures and franchises, small
businesses, NGOs, research institutions, private and public educational institutions, showbiz
companies, social marketing companies, theater groups, cultural forums etc.
The corporate clients are located in Gulshan, Dhanmondi and Motijheel which will be the main
area of focus while conducting the marketing activities.
MNCs that are situated in Gulshan are the biggest market for event management companies.
Customer Segment

Main
Concentrated
Marketing Zone

Multinational
i) Gulshan
companies are
frequently engaged in ii)Dhanmondi
big events.

2. Local service
companies are the
least interested in
conducting big

i) Dhanmondi
ii)Uttara

No. of

Main Events Done

Events
Frequently
done in a
Calendar
Year
15-20
i) Promotional campaigns
ii) Launching of new
products

0-5

Only interested in events

regarding opening new
branches. But even then they
prefer to do it by themselves
as the events are relatively
done in a manner which can
save cost.

events.
MNCs are willing to add professionalism in event management and looking for innovative and
improved ways to manage their corporate events. The survey mentioned in section 02 found out,
most of the companies would like to be associated with an event management company, rather
than conducting their events in-house.
Target Customers Value
Willing to pay a Prefer to
professionalism premium value outsource the
in Managing for good event
management of

Looking for ideas

of innovative
events to be

Events

management

Local Service
Companies
Private and
public
educational
institutions
financial and non-
financial
institutions
small businesses

MNC
Local
Manufacturing
Companies

their events to an associated with

event
management
company

The Non-Corporate Clients

Due to changes in our socio-cultural and economic condition, people are spending more time at
work. As a result, they have less time to spend on social affairs get together or a may be a
birthday party for the children. These people make up the non-corporate client segment of the
event management market.
Aged below 26
Ayojon hopes to tap the early college graduates who have begun their professional careers but
have not yet started their families. These events will focus mainly on themes with moderate to
high energy appeal, such as, dance parties, concerts, fund raisers etc. The majority of weddings
will fall into this segment.
Ages 27-55
The persons that fall into this age group are employed, middle to upper-middle class families.
The reason they choose event planners is they are too busy to do it themselves, such as picnics.
The majority of special occasion planning will occur in this market segment.
Ages 56 and Above
Persons over the age of 55 have reached the turning point of life. Many are retiring; others are
celebrating anniversaries of significant years, and still others are seeing that their childrens

special events are taken care of. Most holiday parties, birthday parties and other special
occasions, such as wedding receptions and reunions, will occur in this market segment.
Religion based sub-segment

The major religious group in our country is the Muslims. The minority religious groups include
the Hindus, the Christians and the Buddhists. Although these religious groups live in harmony,
they have some distinct rituals, weddings for example. So, these groups have to be offered with
different packages based on their different religious practice.
Income based sub-segment

Personal Income Over 15,000

Personal Income Over 20,000
Personal Income Over 35,000

On the whole, this segment represents upper middle to high income families. This segment has
strong family bonding and they are willing to pay professional event management firms to
arrange their family programs.
The Bangladesh Government
Another major segment in this market is the Bangladesh Government. Each year the Bangladesh
Government hosts a variety of programs. Which firm will be in charge of these programs are
decided by tenders.
Target market determination

As has been mentioned before, the market for event management has been unexplored. But, at
the same time, this market is too vast to be targeted by a small firm like Ayojon. To be successful
Ayojon will have to focus its attention to segments or niches that the big players have overlooked
or ignored. This way, Ayojon will be able to avoid confrontation with the major players in the
market by specializing along market, customer, service and marketing mix lines. Through smart
targeting, Ayojon will be able to earn as much profit as the market leaders.
A study reveals that the corporate customers are moderately satisfied with the way their events
are managed.
Target Customers

Very
satisfied
MNC
12%
Local Manufacturing 11%
Companies

Moderately Neutral Moderately

satisfied
dissatisfied
42%
22%
16%
34%
12%
26%

Very
Dissatisfied
8%
17%

Local Service

24%

8%

3%

56%

9%

Companies
Private and public
educational
institutions
financial and nonfinancial institutions
small businesses

15%

23%

19%

10%

33%

22%

46%

13%

3%

16%

2%

28%

22%

36%

12%

The corporate clients, especially the MNCs are very much willing to engage in long-term
contracts with professional event management firms. But most of them already have contracts
with various advertisement firms for their event management. They are not willing to terminate
their contract immediately and would like to engage both an event management firm as well as
advertising firms on a short term basis to see just how much value professionalism adds to the
process of event management. But, the number of events that these corporate clients are going to
initiate is likely to increase by more than 10% in the coming year. Most significant increase will
take place for the manufacturing companies and MNCs. This will present Ayojon with the
opportunity to have contracts with established MNCs.
Ayojon will also target the local manufacturing companies, local service companies, private and
public educational institutions, financial and non-financial institutions, and small businesses. As
it is very unlikely that the number of events the corporate customers initiate would decrease in
coming future, the firm is looking at a very positive market indicator.
Ayojon will also target the Government programs and bid for them. This will give Ayojon a
boost in image, which will help the firm to capture the attention of the whole market.
A study revealed that the personal customers are very much interested in event management
services.

66% of the consumers said that they are willing to appoint an event management
company to organize their events if the price is affordable.
59% of the customers claimed that they do not possess the necessary expertise to conduct
a big personal event successfully without outside help.
68% of the customers claimed that they would appoint an event management company to
save time. 22% will do it because it will make their life hassle free.

These customers will form Ayojons non-corporate target group. The firm will focus on the
residential areas of Gulshan, Dhanmondi, Baridhara, Uttara, Banani as these locations
represent the affluent income groups among the general population who can afford Ayojons
services.
So, for Ayojon, there are four distinct niches that the firm can serve effectively.
Niche Identification and Characteristics
Niche 1 Growth obsessive MNCs with plenty of

Events
Designing promotional

brands. These companies are looking to either campaigns and events

reposition or redeem the brand image of some associating various brands
of its brands.
with various special days
celebrated, like Family Day.
Niche 2 MNCs, and other big and small local
Product launching, Annual
companies which want professionalism and
general meetings (AGM),
one-stop service in managing their events. Suppliers meeting, fashion
These companies are moderately satisfied with shows etc.
the current event management situation, and
see room for improvement.
Niche 3 People who are well aware of the huge amount Wedding ceremony, birthday
of time and hassle it takes to arrange an event and graduation ceremonies,
personally and also well aware of the
high school reunions etc.
usefulness of the professional help in
arranging their personal event.
Niche 4 The Bangladesh Government who sponsors a National Tree Plantation
number of events every year.
Week, National Science
Week, LDC Ministers
Conference etc.
Services to be Provided
Ayojon is mainly service oriented, where we will be offering the following services initially. We
have divided these services into four groups, where each group has its individual name,
individual target market, individual positioning strategy and individual growth pattern. These
four groups are
Customized Corporate Events

These are the events that are generally conducted by various advertisement companies and event
management companies with direct orders and specified guidelines from different corporate
clients. Ayojon is also planning to do them, but its offer will be different in this sense that the
firm is going to add professionalism to the service, by providing one-stop service for the
customers. Ayojon is going to cut down the hassle required in arranging the events, and also
through superior supplier relationship the firm will reduce the total time required to arrange these
events.
Creative Corporate Events

These are the events that are currently not performed by any of the companies but present an
opportunity through which they can enhance their corporate and brand image. Ayojon will come
up with ideas of new events and the firms sales people will pay an occasional trip to the
companies, present the idea before them and point out the benefits that they can have by
conducting that event through the firms guidance. For example there is a current trend in our
country of associating different brands with different occasions, such as, Anchor with Mothers
Day and Ponds with Womens day. Ayojon will come up with ideas that will associate different

brands of different companies with different occasions like that, come up with ideas of events
(such as, Talk Shows) that will strengthen the bond between that concept and the brand and
present them in front of the companies.
Customized Personal Events

These are the events that are currently done by individuals through their own initiative but
often require too much time or effort for his or her liking. That is why Ayojon is presenting the
concept of event planning for individual events like high school reunions, graduation
ceremonies, wedding ceremonies etc for the first time.
Government Events

These are the events that Bangladesh Government sponsors for various purposes, like the
national week for science and technology, national tree plantation week, etc. The Government
also hosts programs like LDC Ministers Conferences. These programs present enormous
opportunity for Ayojon.
Using Computer Technology Effectively

In order to provide better services to its customers than the competitors, Ayojon will maintain a
number of databases
Customer database
There will be separate databases for corporate clients, non-corporate clients, and the Government
programs. This database will provide the firm with a tool to create loyal customers and provide
them the best value. Ayojon maintains that creating new customers is much harder than retaining
them.
Supplier database
This database will include name of the suppliers, their office location, name of their products
and/or services and price tags.
Venue database
This database will include name, location, and rent of different venues in the country.
Using Internet Effectively

Keeping in mind the effectiveness of a net solution, Ayojon has decided to add online services
for its customers. This website will allow the customers to log on 24 hours a day and order for
their events, and also view what are the resources that are available to him or her for arranging
desired event. The website will help a customer to express his or her opinions or launch a
complaint, so that the firm can quickly get back to the particular customer in the least possible
time. Ayojon plans to hire an IT specialist who will maintain the website. Data from the website

will directly go to the customer relations department. The website will be updated daily for the
convenience of the customers.
Ayojon will launch its website at the very beginning of its operation in early 2006.
Products or Services to be Introduced in the Future

After Ayojon starts its operation, it will introduce new products or services to add value to its
existing services.
Step-by-Step event Planning Guides
These booklets include a calendar to map out the event, a step-by-step guide on what is needed
for and how to put together a successful, worry-free event, resource information, popular
refreshments with recipes, games, and tips to put their event in the record books. The events
available include meetings, retreats, parties, vacations, and special occasion celebrations such as
graduations, holidays, showers, weddings, and receptions.
Resources Manual
This valuable guide acts as a review for all the resources located in the surrounding area. A
ranking is given to the various services, such as caterers, decorators, disc jockeys, bands, and
facilities. This manual gives the client the freedom of making a choice based on experience.
Core Competencies and Uniqueness of the Services

Ayojons core competency is based on two value additions that the firm will be providing. These
value additions will position the firm totally apart and always ahead of any existing and potential
competitors. These two value adding dimensions are stated below.
Professionalism
Various event management and advertising companies are already arranging most of the
corporate events but they are done very informally, with most of the things being done at the
last moment. As a result the only available supplier is being contracted, the only available venue
is booked and temporary employees and volunteers are hired in a very informal way from their
known people to work during the event. But Ayojon is planning to do it in a thorough and
professional way where the firms main emphasis would be saving time of the clients, making
an assortment of supplier available for the client through strong networking with suppliers,
getting the booking list of the venue available to the customers and frequently updating them,
allowing the customers to know what is available 24 hours a day through logging on to the
website and hiring temporary workers in a very professional way from credible sources.
Innovation
Ayojons distinct and most fundamental capability is that the firm will always be adding
innovative ways to serve the customers. At the beginning, the firm will be allowing the

customers to get updated information of what is available regarding their events, from the firms
website. Other than this, Ayojon is also planning to introduce step by step guides and resource
manual in future each of these products being the first of its kind in the country.
Pricing of the Service
Price is the most sensitive element of marketing mix. Once set at a level, it is hard for any firm to
change it. As a new comer in the market, Ayojon has to be careful in pricing its services. After
considering a number of factors, Ayojon has decided to offer its customers a number of packages
all based on mark up pricing.
10% Mark Up Package

This package is for the corporate clients and to be used in bids for Government programs.
Currently, all other companies are charging 15% mark-up on existing cost as agency charge.
Ayojon is charging only 10% to send a message that the firm is not only providing superior
services, but actually providing them with much lower cost. This is a strategy that Ayojon will
use to lure clients from the competitors.
It will also attract small corporations, who at present are unwilling to hire event management
services due to high costs associated with it.
8% Mark Up Package

This package is also for the corporate clients those who are interested in sponsoring charity
programs. For example, a company wants to sponsor a concert to raise funds for children
suffering from cancer. If they hire Ayojon to organize the concert, the firm will charge them 8%
mark up on cost instead of usual 10% mark up on cost.
15% Mark Up Package

This package is for non-corporate clients. In this case the firm is charging higher with 15% mark
up over prices. The purpose is sending a message that Ayojon is not interested in small events
and also to communicate to the market that the firm is providing quality services at a premium
price. Ayojon is claiming that the firm is looking for prestige and professionalism and someone
looking to cut cost in a birthday party is not the person the firm is looking for.
Sometimes customers may want to reduce the price. However in most of the cases Ayojon will
try to ignore these requests as they will hamper the firms business in long run and it will be able
to assure the customers that the cost is a result of quality the firm is providing.
Distribution of Services
Ayojon is looking to distribute its services in two ways.

Traditional distribution network.

Non-conventional Distribution network

Traditional Distribution Network

In this process the customers will call Ayojon or come to its office in search of help to organize
events.
Non-conventional Distribution Network

To find new market, we will try to use our sales force and other channels to get
customers. Our sales people will go to corporate offices to find potential clients, to induce
them to use our service.

The clients can get access to the website at any time of the day and make queries about
the events that he/she has in mind. This is a process that is not yet followed in our
country. This online service will include ordering for the event, reviewing and approving
the budget and monitoring the progress. This will save both time and money of both
parties.

Positioning of the Firm

Most of the services of Ayojon are positioned to take advantage of future market opportunities
and openings. For that the firm has tracked the current market trends, forecasted the future
market openings and positioned the services and service upgrades accordingly.
Trend 1
In a not so distant future, people will be so hard pressed for time that they will try to save time
as much as possible from possible sources.
To keep in pace with this trend, Ayojon has prepared a website where people can get access 24
hour a day to make advance bookings for events, to see which venue is open for booking at
which date without making several phone calls, to get access to the firms assortment of services
without coming to the office etc. all of which will help people to save a substantial amount of
time.
Trend 2
An inevitable impact of western culture which is currently prevalent in our society would mean
that people would look for new ways to express their identification with the west which will
enforce a more party going, free-spirited behavior.
For that, Ayojon is planning to introduce a few events initially which is very much prevalent in
the west but not yet introduced in our culture. Some of these events are Drive-In movies; Mask
party, etc. If maximum security and professionalism is adopted, people will be very much willing
to adopt this new time-passes.
Trend 3

With the advent of technology, people will look for more and more customized product and
service.
Ayojons focus will be to customize the services as much as possible to cater to the customers
need better.
Promotion

Ayojon is a new organization and certainly needs exposure to the market before it moves into
business. So the firm has divided its promotional campaign in a number of dimensions

Pre-Launching Promotion
Advertisements
Relationship management
After sale service

The firm must also consider the following aspects for promoting

Public awareness building

Service attributes promoting
Success promoting

Pre-startup promotion

The pre-startup promotion period will determine our initial market share and reputation in the
industry. As we are forming a new organization and moving into the industry for the first time,
we need to create organization image and familiarity among our customer base. To do this we
plan to perform the following promotional activities:
Press Conference
After forming the organization, Ayojon will arrange a press conference to announce the date of
starting operation of its business and other related information about other service. This will be
the firms first formal approach to the target market. In event management business, media plays
a very important role as they can enhance the image of the firms services if properly used. The
following is a summary of the pre-launching press conference:

The conference will be held 15 days before inaugurating.

It will be held at a reputed venue, preferably a reputed hotel.
About 100 selected media people including journalists, and selected business people will be invited.
Full-time employees of Ayojon will be introduced to the invitees so that future relationship becomes
easier.

Cost of the press conference will depend on the venue of the press conference. If the press
conference is held at a hotel in Dhaka, it cost will be near tk.50,000.

News Coverage

In the press conference, Ayojon will have to make sure that the firm is covered well by the
media. The right exposure to the market through media should be achieved. The firm should also
make sure that the event and the organization Ayojon make story in Naksha (weekly
supplement of Daily Prothom-alo) and Lifestyle (weekly supplement of Daily Star) and other
supplements like those.
Advertisements
After the successful completion of the press conference, Ayojon will emphasize on the 14 days
that the firm will have before inaugurating. At this point the promotional campaign will be
intense and very critical for the success of the organization. To do this the firm will take the
following steps:
Newspaper Advertisement

Ayojon will start advertising on newspapers seven days before the inauguration. The firm may
select two Bangla and one English daily (preferably Daily Prothom Alo, Daily Jugantor and
Daily Star). The Ad on first four days will try to create public awareness about the event
management organization. On the 7th day which would be the inauguration day, the firm will
give a full-page prospectus on those papers about Ayojons organizational activities, services and
other related topics.
Number of Advertisement
11 Advertisements
Number of Full-page Advertisement
1
Number of Half-page Advertisement
10
Cost of Full-page Advertisements (in taka) 80,000
Cost of Half-page Advertisements (in taka) 200,000
Total Cost
280,000
Moving into the first month of the business, the firm must consider new promotional tools to
reach the target market. For that purpose, Ayojon will continue with newspaper advertisement in
the first month of business. However the firm will move the advertisements in the third page of
the newspaper instead of the first page. Ayojon will select one Bangla and one English
newspaper (preferably Daily Prothom Alo and The Daily Star). The ads will come to each paper
once every week (in different days for the selected papers).
Number of exposure
Size
Color
Total Cost (in taka)

8
3 column 4 inch
Two color
48,000

After first month the frequency of newspaper advertisements will be reduced and will be shown
once in two weeks and in the process only 4 times per month.
Banners

Banners will be put on prime points on Dhaka city for the launching and long-term promotional
campaign. The locations chosen for the banners are Firmgate, Mahakhali, Mirpur, Dhanmondi,
Gulshan, Motijhil etc.
Number of Banners
Location
Size
Cost (Taka 2000 X 20)

20
Firmgate, Mahakhali, Mirpur,
Dhanmondi, Gulshan, Motijhil etc
10 ft X 4ft
Taka 40,000

For
mal
Inau
gura
tion
and

Cultural Show
Ayojon will arrange an inauguration ceremony in reputed venue. The program will include the
following parts:

Official Inauguration of the Organization

Cultural Program
Dinner

In this ceremony, the firm will invite representatives of its potential corporate customers, media
people, media stars and some of the top business person. Approximately 200 guests will be
invited in this ceremony. The program will be covered by print media. Special gift items will be
given to the guests. The cultural program will be performed by local artists.
Number of Guest
Number of additional person
Total Guest
Cost of gift items( 200150)
Cost of the Dinner (250400)
Cultural Program
Other costs
Total Cost

200
50
250
Taka 30,000
Taka 100,000
Taka 50,000
Taka 20,000
Taka 200,000

Personal contact
The most effective way to negotiate with corporate buyers is using personal contact. By using
personal contacts, the firm can influence the decision making process of the corporate buyers and
also can attract them. For private users word-of-mouth can be an effective way. Successful
arranging of private ceremonies like wedding ceremonies, picnics will enhance the company
image as well as developing loyal customer base.
To get in touch with potential corporate customers, membership in different clubs of the city like
Dhaka Club, International Club may be helpful.
Open Air Concert

To get attention of the non-corporate customers, Ayojon will arrange an open-air concert. The
firm will bring both the traditional and modern singers as well as the top bands of the city to
perform on stage. The concert will be held in Army stadium. For that, sponsorship of Transcom
Beverage (Pepsi) will be sought.
The cost of the concert will be recovered by selling tickets. The target will be to achieve breakeven in this concert so that the firm will not have to incur any extra cost arranging the concert.
On the other hand this will also work as a promotional tool for the firm.
Relationship Management
In the modern era, one of the most critical factors of success is to maintain relationship with
different interest groups. To decrease the time required to arrange an event, cut cost and preserve
quality Ayojon will maintain relationship with the following groups:
E Designer
During different corporate events, different souvenirs will be published. The task of designing
these souvenirs will be sub-contracted to Chitrolekha Graphics Design.
E Printer
The task of publishing different souvenirs will be sub-contracted to a definite printing press. This
press will print all the required papers and souvenirs required by Ayojon.
E Chef
During wedding ceremonies or picnics, a chef will be needed to cook foods. Ayojon will have a
contract with preferably FakruddinBaburchee to cook in the events organized by the firm, if
necessary.
E Flower shops
Flowers will be required for decoration purpose. Ayojon will sub-contract the supply of flowers
to a reputed flower shop of the city
E Decorators
Ayojon will also maintain relationship with a decorator, in case their service is required for any
event organized by the firm.
After Sale Service
The customer relations department will call the customers after the completion of every event, to
know whether the customer is satisfied with the service they have got. They may also
congratulate the customer on the successful completion of an event. All these will boost the good

image that the company will promote regarding their service since the customer will think that
Ayojon really care about the customers.
The customer will get the chance to express his/her complaints at any time in the website. The IT
department will pass that complaint to the customer relationship department, who will reach the
customers to solve his/her dissatisfaction at the least possible time which will give the firm a
superior service image in the eye of the customers.
The main element of Ayojons service mix, created for the sole purpose of making a
commercially viable service offer, will have to be the firms skilled human resource. Ayojon is
not a primarily technology based company and with such reliance on the human element of the
enterprise, the firm has the unique opportunity to introduce high-class professionalism with a
hint of personal touch. The dedicated and versatile employees recruited by the firm must be keen
to serve the industries best and their diverse natures and skills should allow the firm to cope
with any pressing situations in the near future.
Organizational Structure
Ayojon will have four departments. These departments as well as their functions are stated belo
Departments
Marketing

Sections
This
department
will have
three
sections.

Event Management

Functions
Sales Section The sales department will
perform the duties of selling
the events that the firm is
going to create and find
sponsors for them. They will
keep liaisons with the
specific corporations.

Customer
Relations
Section

The duties of this section

would be to keep good
relationship the clients.

Media
Relations
Section

The duties of this section

would be to keep good
relationship with the media.

The basic duty of this

department is to conduct
the events in an organized
fashion. The employees of
this department will coordinate the various

activities such as renting the

facility, arranging
decorations, providing
refreshments, and the other
specific activities.

IT

Finance

This department will be

responsible for maintaining
databases, and the firms
website. The employees of
this department will also
inform the customer
relations department of any
grievances sent by the
customers through the
website.
The finance department will
carry out the functions
regarding financial
decision-making, cash flow
management and financing
options.

Number and Designation of the Key Personnel

There will be five key positions in the firm. Their designations are given below:

Chief Executive Officer

Head of Marketing
Event in Charge
Head of IT
Chief Financial Officer

For each key position, one person will be employed. It total, there will be five key personnel
Number and Designation of Other Employees
Other than the five key personnel, there will be eight other employees. Their designations are
given below:
Department
Designation
Marketing
Sales Section Sales representative
Customer
Customer relations executive
Relations
Section

No. of Employees
02
01

Media
Relations
Section
Event Management
IT
Finance

Media relations executive

01

Executive, Event
Executive, IT
Executive, Finance

02
01
01

A cleaner will also be employed for cleaning services and. People who can cook will be given
preferences in this position.
Job Description
Each employee of Ayojon will have a specific responsibility. The following table provides job
description of the Ayojon employees.
Name of the Position
Chief Executive
Officer

Head of Marketing

Event in Charge

Head of IT

Chief Financial
Officer

Job Description
Should oversee the whole decision making process, and make
the final decision
Should chair the meetings and be the center of all activities.

Keeping good relations with the clients

Monitoring sales
Ability to rectify customers complaints
Persuading customers to try out the innovative services of the
company
Maintain good relationship with the media and stakeholders

Designing the event schedule

Coordinating the different functions to perform an event
Controlling the events
Taking corrective actions if anything goes wrong
Maintaining good supplier relationship
Recruit temporary help if required
Coordinating all the activities related to an event

Design the website

Design the database
Maintain the website and the database
Inform the customer relations department of any customer
complaints.

Financial decision making

Signing authority
Budget forecasting
Allocating financial resources

Payroll and accounting activities

Sales representative

Sell Ayojons services to different corporate clients.

Find out whether potential customers have demands different
than that perceived by the firm

Customer relations
executive

Handle customer grievances

Keep in touch with the customers and inform them of our
different services

Media relations
executive

Keep in touch with different media people

Make sure that the firms news are well covered by the media

Executive, Event

Designing the event schedule

Coordinating the different functions to perform an event
Controlling the events
Taking corrective actions if anything goes wrong
Maintaining good supplier relationship

Executive, IT

Assist the Head of IT in his work

Design the website
Design the database
Maintain the website and the database
Inform the customer relations department of any customer
complaints.

Executive, Finance

Assist the CFO in his/her work

Book keeping

Employment Requirements
The employees of Ayojon must have certain for the firm to ensure professionalism in its services.
Name of the Position
Chief Executive Officer

Employees in Marketing Department

Job Requirements
Should be a good strategic decisionmaker
Should have exceptional leadership
skills

Experience in related field

Proper academic background with
a major in Marketing

Employees in the Event Management

Department

Good communication skills

Experience in related field (not

mandatory, but will be preferred)
Innovative
Ability to create and design
effective events to the satisfaction of
the customer
Ability to generate good ideas for
growth opportunities
Ability to work under pressure

Employees in the IT Department

Experience in related field

Proper academic background
Innovation (required for the design
of the website)

Employees in Finance Department

Experience in related field

Good analytical skills
Proper academic background with
a major in Finance
Ability to analyze investment
opportunity

Organizational Diagram
For an organization to perform effectively, it must have a chain of command. For Ayojon, it will
be as follows:
Compensation Structure
To get the best service from its employees, Ayojon must plan for an attractive compensation
structure for them. The following table shows monthly expenditure on employee salaries.
Designation of the
No of
Employees
Employees
Chief Executive
01
Officer
Head of Marketing 01
Sales Representatives 02
Customer Relations 01
Executive
Media Relations
01
Executive

Monthly Salary Total Salaries

(in Tk)
Paid
40,000
40,000
18,000
6,000
12,000

18,000
12,000
12,000

12,000

12,000

Event in Charge
Executive, Event
Head of IT
Executive, IT
Chief Financial
Officer
Executive, Finance
Cook / Cleaner
Total

01
02
01
01
01

18,000
12,000
18,000
12,000
18,000

18,000
24,000
18,000
12,000
18,000

01
01

12,000
1,000

12,000
1,000
197,000

These are the beginning salaries of the employees. The sales representatives will receive the cost
of transportation to the corporate offices. They will also receive a 2% commission based on the
cost of each client they acquire for the firm.
From the third year of the operation, the employees will get 5% annual increment. This
increment will be for the employees who will have worked for Ayojon for two years.
Temporary Help
During conducting different seminars, product launching events Ayojon may be in need of a
number of volunteers. However, as the firm is striving to create professionalism, it will choose
and pay these people following a more formal and appropriate procedure. The firm shall
maintain a database on the girls and boys who want to work in this service. When the occasion
arises, the firm will ask them to come to its office after reviewing the database. The CEO and the
Head of the four departments will interview the candidates, and choose the appropriate person.
This is how Ayojon wants to go at great lengths in promoting professionalism even at these trifle
matters which will definitely make the firm stand out among the crowd, in the eyes of the
customers.
Performance Review
Every year there will be a formal performance analysis of the employees of Ayojon. Informal
review will take place every now and then. Steps will be taken according to the findings of the
analysis. Employees with good performance will be rewarded. If required employment of the
people with unsatisfactory record will be terminated.
Type of Office
The proposed event management firm Ayojon will set up its office in either Dhanmondi, or
Gulshan. A house with five rooms (at least) will be rented. The executives will be stationed in
one room which will be divided into cubicles. Another room will be kept for the head of the
departments. This room will also be divided into cubicles. The CEO will have a separate room.
The office will have a reception desk at the entrance. A small lobby will be adjacent to the
reception desk. The entire office will be set up with new furnituredesks, tables, revolving

chairs, etc. Air conditioners will have to be installed, preferably split air conditioners. Venetian
blinds will be used instead of curtains. Simple and cheap partitions will serve to separate one
cubicle from another.
Utility
Two telephone lines from T&T will be acquired, with parallel lines reaching the CEO, head of
the departments as well as the executives. Utilitieselectricity, gas, and waterwill be in
supply. A stove and a kettle will be kept in the kitchen so that the employees and others can use
them. A small refrigerator would also come in handy, especially during the summers.
Interior Design of the Office
The office interior should be elegant, with a hint of personal touch. Ayojon wants to convey a
message of professionalism and confidence in the minds of its clients, as well as making them
feel at ease, so that the clients do not hesitate in saying what exactly they want from the firm.
The firm could have done the duty of renovating the flat that it will be renting. However, interior
designing firms would have more competence in this regard; since they will be able to
understand the effect of each element on the minds of the clients. So, professional help can be
brought in for the purpose of office decoration.
Equipment
Since Ayojon is focusing more on the human skills, rather than on the capabilities of machine,
having state-of-the-art technology is not that important for the firm. However a certain level of
technology is required.
There will be three computers, two for IT department and the other one for the rest of the office
work. The two computers in the IT department will be used to maintain the firms website and
the databases.
There will also be a color printer and a scanner in the office.
The firm wishes to maintain quick information flow among the employees. Therefore, the
executives will be provided with mobiles. The people actually related with providing the core
service will always have communications with the other departments so that any problems can be
resolved immediately.
Start Up Cost
The following table shows the startup cost of Ayojon:
Particulars
Registration

Cost (in Taka)

25,000.00

60,000.00
House Rent @ 20,000 (Advance for 3 months)
150,000.00
Furniture
50,000.00
Dcor
200,000.00
Air Conditioner
50,000.00
Telephone (T&T)
100,000.00
Computers
20,000.00
Scanner
5,000.00
Printer
150,000.00
Photocopier
2,000.00
Stationary
618,000.00
Advertisement & Publicity
50,000.00
Miscellaneous
500,000.00
Additional Cash
1,980,000.00

Total
Sales Forecast
1st Six Months

Customized
Corporate
Events
Creative
Corporate
Events
Customized
Personal
Events

Provided Total Number of events

in 1 Month provided during the time
period
2
12

12

2nd Six Months

Customized
Corporate
Events
Creative
Corporate
Events

Provided Total Number of events

in 1 Month provided during the time
period
3
18

12

Customized
Personal
Events

12

So, in the first year of operation, Ayojon will organize a total of 84 events. Among them there
will be 30 customized corporate events, 18 creative corporate events, and 24 customized
personal events.
Projected Income Statement
Ayojon plans go into operation in 2006. Projected income statement for three years are given
below:
Particulars

Period
2007

2006
Revenue
Cost

2008

34,500,000.00 37,950,000.00 41,745,000.00

31,200,000.00 34,320,000.00 37,752,000.00

Gross Margin

3,300,000.00

3,630,000.00

3,993,000.00

Salaries
Utilities
Rent
Other

2,364,000.00
60,000.00
240,000.00
50,000.00

2,600,400.00
66,000.00
264,000.00
55,000.00

2,860,440.00
72,600.00
290,400.00
60,500.00

586,000.00

644,600.00

709,060.00

87,900.00

96,690.00

106,359.00

498,100.00

547,910.00

602,701.00

EBIT
Tax @ 35%
EAT

This income statement is based on certain assumption.

Sales will be as forecasted.

Average cost of customized corporate events and creative corporate events will be
tk.500,000. The Charges will be 10% and 8% mark up on cost respectively.
For customized personal events, average cost will be tk.300,000. The charge will be 15%
mark up on cost.
Growth in sales will be 10% per annum.
Increase in all expenses will be proportionate to growth in sales.
There are no loans, hence no interest.
Depreciation will be calculated using straight line method.
There is no transaction on credit.

Break Even Analysis

Contribution margin for Ayojon is 9.56%.Fixed costs elements are showed below:
Particulars
Registration
Furniture
Dcor
Air Conditioner
Telephone (T&T)
Computers
Scanner
Printer
Photocopier
Total

Cost (in Taka)

25,000.00
150,000.00
50,000.00
200,000.00
50,000.00
100,000.00
20,000.00
5,000.00
150,000.00
750,000.00

So break even sales will amount to tk.7,845,200. Fortunately, Ayojon will be able to achieve this
target in the first year of operation.
SWOT Analysis
SWOT analysis for Ayojon has been done to delineate the progressive hurdles to be faced by the
entrepreneurs as well as outlining the possible solutions for solving the problems.
Strengths

To find out the competitive edge of Ayojon over the existing competition, the firm must identify
its strengths to emphasize on them. Ayojon has a number of advantages over its competitors.
First, Ayojon will provide one-stop service which will enable the customers to just visit the
firm only and not any one else for the purpose of arranging the events.
The firm charges a lot less than the existing companies who enjoy a 15% agency charge,
whereas, it will be charging only 10% mark up for corporate clients.
Ayojon will maintain superior supplier contracts and personal connections with officials of
different venues which will enable the customers to choose from the highest possible variety of
option
Through superior supplier contract and because of the policy of not handling too many events at
the same time, the firm will be capable of arranging events faster than any other event
management company that currently exists.

The firm will be there to take orders from the customers 24 hour a day. In a sense, for Ayojon
employees there will not be any fixed office hours as the website will be there to take orders
from them at any point of the day so the customers can place order or make adjustments even
at the eleventh hour. This is a service provided only by Ayojon.
Rather than only making events for the customers by taking their orders, the firm will also allow
them to make their own events using its resources, such as The Step by Step Event Planning
Guide which is a service that only Ayojon will provide.
Weaknesses

The weaknesses of this new venture have been identified so that Ayojon can find a way to get
over these obstacles. First in the line is that Ayojon depends a lot on successful enlistment of
qualified personnel. For example the web-based customization offerings depend a lot on the
firms hiring computer personnel who would be adept at both database manipulation and web
authoring. The firm may not be able to locate this personnel and this will affect the performance.
Then, at the beginning of the operation, Ayojon may find that it has underestimated the
marketing costs and this may leave the firm high and dry in terms of cash if it decides to
continue with the campaign or the firm may be forced to abandon the campaign midway.
Prospective clients may react differently to what the firm has envisioned. This may force the firm
to change the service mix.
The firm may find that it is consistently failing to meet the revenue targets. This would cast
doubt over the firms ability to manage the business as well as the future prospects of the
venture.
Operational costs like employee costs may turn out to be more than anticipated thus squeezing
the profits. This would have negative impact on the business.
After starting the operation Ayojon may find that the existing market strategy is not suitable for
the continued growth in the industry. This would force the firm to make a quick review and
change of the current market policy.
When it comes to financing, the first risk that the firm may run into is that the amount of loan
sanctioned by the bank may not be sufficient to satisfy our needs. Often banks put in too many
regulations upon the entrepreneur in exchange for the loan. The imposed regulations may curtail
the creativity and risk-taking propensity of the firm, which may have a negative impact over the
management of the company.
The banks would often require that the founders commit their own assets as collateral as well as
the assets of the company. If the entrepreneur accepts such requirements then he/she runs the risk
of committing double jeopardy whereby the borrower may lose all his/her assets as well as the
venture if the bank decides to recall the loan at any time.
Opportunities

The corporate event management industry is growing at the rate of 16% per annum. This
presents a huge opportunity for Ayojon. If the firm can make proper use of this opportunity, it
will be able to emerge as a major player in the industry.
Threats
For Ayojon, one of the major threats is that the firm may find out that the selected suppliers are
unable to fulfill the firms needs as well as it would have liked. This may have negative impact
upon the quality of the firms service and the mode of operations. If the firm is forced to get rid
of the existing suppliers then it will need to get new suppliers and this would force the quality of
service to fall as the firm get accustomed to new suppliers.
The competitors pose another threat for Ayojon. They have been in the market longer; and have
established a reputation and client base. Because of being there in the market longer, the supplier
relations of these firms will be much stronger.
Most of the MNCs and big companies are already under contract with the existing advertisement
companies and event management companies. This will make it hard for Ayojon to capture the
market.
Legal Environment

Currently there is no legislation regulating the event management industry. It will be some time
before any laws are passed to regulate the industry. Without any rules relating to this particular
industry, it may get harder to enforce some of the contracts which are unique to this industry.
Political Environment

The political environment poses threat only when it comes to capturing the Government market
for event management. If Ayojon wins the bids for organizing some big Government events
during the reign of one party, it may solely loose the market during the reign of another party.
The pace of managing any event is bound to suffer due to political unrest. Hartals, strikes will
cause a problem in meeting deadlines.
Economic Environment

Economic environment is a major factor when it comes to the non-corporate market for event
management. This service is targeted towards the upper middle class and the upper class of the
society. But the majority of our population belongs to the middle and low income group. Unless
these people gain economic prosperity, the growth of this industry will be stagnant at one time.
Socio-cultural Environment

We wish to capture the personal market as well as the corporate clients by giving them
innovative services with regard to arranging events. However, in Bangladesh the job of arranging
personal events like wedding or parties, have traditionally been performed by the family

members or friends themselves. So there is real risk that demand for our product in the personal
sector may not peak up as quickly as we would have liked.
Competitive Environment
For Ayojon, one of the major competitive environmental elements is the existing competitors of
the company. These are the various advertising agencies that are operating in our country as they
are providing most of the event management services at present to the corporate clients. Other
than that there are two event management companies, Asiatic EML and CEMS (Conference and
Exhibition management System), who are providing somewhat similar services can also pose a
potential threat.
The potential competitors are those companies that would enter the market after our introduction.
The firm will have to keep an eye on these new competitions to see what kind of value addition
they are capable of, in order to stay one step ahead of the competition.
The low or non-existent barriers to entry and exit compound the competition situation further.
The lack of effective barriers to entry and exit may present grave danger to the growth of our
business as the industry matures.
In future more and more organizations will look for professional event management services to
manage their events effectively. Ayojon intends to take full advantage of this opportunity. The
business plan provides pros and cons of establishing a profitable business venture. The report
went to great details in identifying the potential risks and threats, is simply because the
entrepreneur wants to stay a step ahead of the problems that can hinder the progress of this
venture. In identifying the potential risks, the author was as thorough as she could, simply
because using such foresight Ayojon will be able to stay away from all sorts of trouble.
Event management firms can help different organizations and individuals to save time and
money. The promotion of these firms is beneficial in terms of employment generation. Thus the
organizations should encourage the establishment of these firms for their own benefit.
Conclusion
It has been evident from all the factual presentations of the business plan that Ayojon is a
committed and resourceful for creating and developing the intellect of business in the country.
The owner and the visionaries are confident that they can make up a better service and establish
a perfect network of event management business even in the tough times of Bangladeshi business
environment through their wisdom and endeavor in the context of arranging different ceremony.