this is a unique opportunity to purchase an online business directory that is well established, has a high profile within the franchise industry and has existing clients already generating revenue. This business was established in 2006, by a successful web entrepreneur. The owner has already been able to demonstrate the potential of this product. The brand is already well known within the uk franchise sector. The website provides a storefront to promote franchises to potential investors. With employment opportunities in short supply, the franchise route for many people seeking a source of income has seen significant growth this year. Customers are able to upload there own content thus allowing for minimum maintenance on the part of the business and of course also contributing to profitability. Revenue is generated every time a client receives an enquiry, making the sales model straight forward and making new sales easier to achieve. Clients are able to put their own branding on both the website and the automated responses that are sent on their behalf. Payments are made by clients online and must be made in advance of the service being offered, so obviously there are no issues in terms of credit control. The owner has invested both considerable time and funds to ensure that the technology used to power the business is highly reliable and achieves everything to make the business run smoothly. Customer service: like most online businesses, this company does not require any resources that would normally be devoted to after sales service. The investment that has been made to ensure that the website is reliable and allows clients to get what they are paying for, is all that is needed to achieve customer satisfaction. This investment has already paid off and repeat business levels are very healthy. Most importantly, the owner has created a model to guarantee satisfaction, by only charging on results. The payment on enquiry model is popular with existing clients and will make it much easier to sign up new clients. Key strengths: this business is operating in the very buoyant franchise sector. Only a small number of competitors exist. The website name has already achieved a considerable level of brand awareness amongst the franchise community. As a result of working in a vertical sector, revenue and traffic to the site has been achieved without any investment in marketing basically all the hard work has been done. The website looks up to date and incorporates more than enough functionality for the needs of the business. Potential new clients have already been identified and a comprehensive list of these is included in the asking price. Key opportunities: as a result of redirecting his resources, the current owner has not dedicated any sales staff to this business for some time. There is a large untapped list of potential clients who have limited opportunities to advertise elsewhere. This list should provide numerous new customers as the community of users of the site are ideal targets for these prospects. Even a modest investment in marketing would generate new business opportunities. Again because the potential clients for this business are clearly defined and already identified, there should not be a need for any major marketing spend. Brand awareness could be improved upon, simply by attending exhibitions that are a regular feature of the franchise industry.
