Sheffield-based Llama Digital is a website and mobile app company on the leading edge of bluetooth beacon positioning technology, using the latest web development tools and practices.
The company has developed a platform, Situate, for creating location aware apps that can use bluetooth beacons, GPS and near-field communication (NFC). Situate can be used to create visitor guide apps, walking trails, audio guides and exhibition guides. To date, Situate has mostly been used in the museums and heritage sector.
The Challenge:
Llama Digital had been focusing on the day-to-day business operations and saw there was potential to develop and grow significantly, but did not have a strategic plan to enable that growth.
The key aim for Llama Digital was to grow the team across areas of sales, marketing, management and design through increased sales and/or investment, but required support developing a roadmap to scale the company up. The strategic roadmap would assess new markets, pipelines for increased income and investment opportunities.
What we did:
Managing Director, Stephen Elliott was able to work with Dr Shuangfa Huang and Professor Vania Sena from the University of Sheffield’s Management School to identify and make use of opportunities to grow the business.
Dr Huang and Professor Sena conducted a review of the company’s business model and conducted a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis to identify potential growth opportunities. They then worked with Stephen to develop a growth plan outlining the strategic priorities and key initiatives to pursue in the next 3-5 years to grow the business. As a final step, they reviewed the potential challenges and risks associated with growth and identified ways to mitigate them.
The results:
By reviewing the different elements of Llama Digital’s existing business model and identifying potential areas for enhancement, key actions were agreed for the business to move forward with. These included marketing and communications, website design and development, diversification and expansion of the customer base and staff resource and recruitment.