Samenvatting

Inducement
This research is written for CBTC. CBTC is a trading company which will soon expand their business with an online flower shop. The online flower shop will be a new competitor in the online floral industry of Shanghai. In order to succeed, CBTC wants to gain a strong and distinct market position compared to their competitors. The main question of this research is: Which positioning suits the best for the online florist and will the florist be distinguished from the potential competitors in the online floral market?

Research
In order to answer this main question field and desk research was used. The field research conducted a quantitative survey in which the potential target group was questioned. In this survey, the needs of the target group were investigated when it comes to buying flowers online. The desk research consist a internal and external analysis.

Findings:
Deskresearch:
Internal
• CBTC wants to grow the sold flowers themselves
• CBTC has a flower park that can be linked to the online store
• CBTC has a good and reliable network with Dutch companies
External
• The direct competitors make little or no use of social media
• The direct competitors offer a limited range of flowers
• Most of the websites look messy and unclear
• The rise of the smartphone ensures that more and more people shop online through their smartphone.
• The economic growth in Shanghai has positively influenced the purchase of flowers
Field research:
• The most important need of the target group is the quality of the flower when it is purchased online
• The target group sees a connection between tulips and The Netherlands
• Yupoo is an upcoming social media platform that attracts and inspire the target group when it comes to buying flowers
• The target group is looking forward to an online flower shop in combination with a flower park

Recommendations
The new online flower shop need to focus on the core qualities of the organization in its positioning. it is important that the core qualities are emphasized; like having own greenhouses to guarantee quality, the cohesive flower park that can greatly enhance the image and the reliable contacts with the Netherlands which gives the opportunity to gain a lot of useful knowledge. These aspects provide a distinctive positioning in the market. In addition, it is also necessary to look into the other elements of the online flower shop.