2.7 PESTLE Analysis

First we analyze the political situation and political changes. Point does not operate outside of the US, but you have plans to take the company across the US. Luckily, there doesn’t exist any terrible national political feelings which may limit the existence of Point. However, depending on the state Point decides to perform its business within, different feelings do exist on a more local and state level. After searching through the state governments websites it’s easy to determine which states are pushing for policies in favor of or against your business.

Second, we analyze the local and national economy. Since Point operates nationally, areas in which the economy has improved immensely will likely create the greatest opportunities. The general improvement in the economy is already an advantage to point however.

Third we analyze our customer culture, demographics, and consumer attitude. Many American residents have negative opinions of door to door salespeople. Areas which have already experienced an oversaturation of such sales strategies are less likely to have a positive response to Point’s sales approach. Areas of the country in which pests are a major problem, however, are far more likely to react well to Point.

Now we analyze technological changes. Door to door sales have evolved with the recent application of technology. The use of iPads and tablets has allowed for enhanced product presentation as well as the ability to transact sales on the spot. Point sees great opportunity in the development and use of a new customer app which will increase feedback as well as improve customer relations.

Next we take into account the legal aspects. At this part of our analysis we consider national and state regulations, laws and tax codes. As it turns out, depending on the state, laws have been created which specify the types of pesticides which can legally be used. Other regulations by both the EPA and OSHA limit pest control practices to a certain extent. Knowing these laws affects the operation and sales location of Point. In addition to state laws, many cities have laws which require door to door salespeople to have specific licenses and city permission. Depending on where Point can obtain licenses will also determine business operation. In areas which are more strict, less competition is likely to exist, which provides Point with an opportunity to monopolize certain areas. Tax code, which fluctuates by state, may also play a role in Point’s business strategy.

Finally we consider the environmental aspects to Point. The environment plays a huge role in Point’s business operations as it is the climate which determines if pests are even a problem. Point can easily determine states with year round warmer weather will be better candidates than states with freezing temperatures as warmer states will naturally have greater problems with pests than others. Other environmental aspects such as locations in danger of environmental catastrophes only have to be considered when deciding where to place Point’s headquarters.

Based on the threats and opportunities determined up to this point (no pun intended), we now determine an action plan that best allows Point to defend against these threats and take advantage of these opportunities. The PESTLE framework becomes a key decision making tool for determining this plan. The action plan, which will not be detailed in this paper, would consist of exactly which states Point would target, products Point would sell, the integration of Point’s customer app, and the specifics of employee training activities.

The final step to PESTLE analysis involves integrating the action plan by picking a place to start and beginning.