Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Ent530 Case Study - Company Analysis - Merindu Savior
Ent530 Case Study - Company Analysis - Merindu Savior
MERINDU SAVIOR
1
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. All praises belong to
Almighty Allah, the Lord of the worlds for granting us the opportunity, strength, and
perseverance to carry out this Case Study: Company Analysis “Merindu Savior”. Prayers and
peace be upon Muhammad, His servant and messenger.
First of foremost, we would like to take this opportunity to thank our class’ lecturer for
Principles of Entrepreneurship (ENT530), Profesor Madya Dr. Abdul Kadir bin Othman for his
continuous support and insightful advice— for always being patient in answering our questions,
be it big or small. No words would be enough to express our appreciation for his guidance and
assistance as we complete this assignment. May the Almighty rewards him for all his deeds and
contribution to the group.
In addition, we want to extend our gratitude to the entrepreneur and founder of Merindu
Savior, Pn. Nor Aniza binti Sabran, preferably known as Zaza, for her willingness to participate
as our main subject for the case study. Her input from the interview is instrumental in providing
us with the necessary data to conclude the case study. We wholeheartedly hope that her
business will continue to grow and expand into new markets, be it domestically or
internationally.
We would also like to take this advantage to thank our parents, friends and classmates
for their unwavering presence and prayers throughout the completion of this assignment.
Without them, we would not have the mental stability and resilience in the journey of
documenting this case study.
And finally, we sincerely thank our group members: Fatin Nur Ayu Liana binti Abdul
Wahab, Muhammad Iqbal bin Mohd.Azman, Nazirah binti Nizam, Nur Alesya Sopia Anuar, and
Ummi Fatimah Azzahra binti Shamsuddin who have stayed together through thick and thin from
the start to the completion of this assignment. This assignment would not be able to be
completed without the cooperation and contribution of every member in the group.
2
TABLE OF CONTENT
TITLE PAGE
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
TABLE OF CONTENT
LIST OF FIGURES
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1.0 INTRODUCTION 3
1.1 Background of the Study
1.2 Purpose of the Study
5.0 CONCLUSION 14
6.0 REFERENCES 17
7.0 APPENDICES 18
3
LIST OF FIGURES
4
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Merindu Savior was introduced in the wedding industry last year in 2022, considering it
still new to the business, Puan Zaza Sabran who has more than 10 years of experience in this
field then later decided to start up her own business. As for most business owners, they started
with nothing to something that also applied to her where she was involved in the wedding
industry with zero knowledge. She started her career as a wedding planner under Nas Great
Idea for 10 years and she enjoyed it. During MCO when the wedding industry had ground to a
halt then she figured out other solutions to earn a living and made her own reserved capital to
be back in the business. Right after the pandemic she started her business and it was not easy
at the very beginning but she managed to overcome it. Moreover, due to her word of mouth
selling techniques, most of her previous customers remain supporting the business still until
today. She earned 8 to 10 events to run just in a month that profited her up to RM50,000.
Despite all that, profit is not the main aspect she looks upon but customer satisfaction is the
main concern.
This case study includes all of the information about Merindu Savior for instance, the
background of the company, organisational chart, business product and services, business,
marketing, operational strategies and their financial achievement. This case study also provides
an in-depth analysis of the company’s management, operation and approach to overcoming
obstacles. Merindu Savior is a business with its own strengths and weaknesses. As a result, the
case study also includes a few ideas for resolving specific issues that might aid Merindu Savior
to run their business more efficiently, provide the business an opportunity to solidify their
business base and get more recognition in the eyes of the public.
5
1.0 INTRODUCTION
In this course, students are tasked with the assignment to interview a micro or
small-sized business. The interview will be focusing on the problems that the company
has faced in the past and the solutions taken to mend the predicaments. Consequently,
this assignment allows the students to perform a thorough analysis on how to run a
business as well as polishing their creativity, leadership and problem-solving skills by
observing the actions taken by the founder of the company in order to grow the business
to a bigger scale. In this case study, the research team is carrying out a case study on
Merindu Savior, an event management and coordinator company.
In order to ensure that the interview and analysis will be effective and informative
for the case study, the research team uses strategic analysis model such as the
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT) Analysis, Business Model
Canvas (BMC), or Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, and Legal
(PESTEL). These tools are utilised to aid the members in conducting a fruitful company
analysis. By doing so, it helps us identify the unique mindset of an entrepreneur which
lets them evaluate whether a business venture would be fruitful or not by analysing the
internal and external risks. Furthermore, it also teaches the students about the key
elements in starting a business, which are product, price, place, and promotion, in which
these four elements will determine whether a product or service provided by a business
can fulfil the market’s needs and demands or not.
6
1.2 Purpose of the Study
This case study is a method of analysis and a specific research design for
examining a problem that occurs within an organisation. It helps the students
comprehend the intricacies of real-life situations and how it influences the
decision-making process in a business. Analysing a case study requires the students to
apply their prior knowledge and business theories that they have learnt in class and in a
real-life situation. Besides, it also helps the students think critically, polish their creativity,
form logical reasoning and draw coherent conclusions.
In order to ensure that the interview proceeds smoothly and will not be
misguided, the group members need to prepare a questionnaire that includes all
questions that would be asked in the interview, which will be given to the interviewee a
few days before the interview takes place. By doing so, it helps the interviewee prepare
more detailed and precise answers to the questions, and as a guide for the interviewers
through the interview session. In this case study, the interviewers have prepared a
12-question questionnaire for the interviewee. The questionnaire has been arranged to
make sure that every question is asked in an orderly manner.
7
2.0 COMPANY INFORMATION
2.1 Background
Merindu Savior was founded in 2022 during the endemic of Covid-19. The
director of the business as well as the head of the organisation is Puan Nor Saniza binti
Sabran. Besides being a business owner, she is also a mother of two kids. She
graduated from SEGi College with a diploma in Mass Communication. She began her
journey as a wedding planner from 2011 until 2019, in which she was the luckiest and
got the opportunity to work under one of the biggest event management companies in
Malaysia called Nas Great Idea. Thus, she has over a decade of experience in this field
respectively. One of the core motivations that trigger her to start up her own business is
passion. The name ‘Merindu Savior’ is derived from the Malay word ‘merindu’ that is
actually dedicated to her late mentor and she is also adoring the language. Meanwhile,
‘savior’ is directly translated as the saviour of the event. This company provides event
management services that specialise in wedding planning and coordination.
8
The figure shown above is the organisation structure of Merindu Savior company.
Puan Nor Saniza Sabran as the Director, the General Manager is Abdul Mutalib under
him there are other managers in each department, the Head of Operation Department is
Azim Makmin and two assistants are Shah and Harris, the Head of Human Resource
Department is Nor Syafiqah, the Head of Finance Department is Nadia Muslemin and
the Head of Sales and Marketing Department is Fazilah Safri, and her two other
assistants are Mohd Zaki and Munirah.
2.3 Product/Services
9
2.4 Business, Marketing, Operational Strategies
This company's strategic plan consists of short-term goals which the company
aims to be a saviour to more wedding ceremonies and give awareness how crucial it is
to have wedding coordinators during their ‘big day’. Next, the long-term goal is this
company wishes to expand their business legacy if possible to be passed on to the next
generation in the bloodline and spread the knowledge of managing an event to the
community. Moreover, this business marketing strategies firstly, word of mouth. This is
where they generated customer chains or referrals. Started from handling a wedding
event, to Aqiqah and Malay head shaving (cukur jambul) ceremony. Secondly, using
social media platforms, for instance Instagram. This company also takes the advantage
of it to utilise the apps to market their business in order to adapt with the circulation of
time. There are few operational approaches that have been used in this company, firstly,
managing the employees. The company has an estimation of the workforce needed
according to such events. For instance, an intimate wedding ceremony needs about 4 to
5 wedding coordinators whereas a grand wedding ceremony needs about 12 to 15
amount of wedding coordinators to ensure the process of the ceremony runs smoothly.
Secondly is vendor selection. There are some vendors venturing with the company in
each event. Those vendors are from the decoration team, music and lighting, food
catering and more. The vendors vary depending on the type of events planned by the
client. In order to meet the client’s satisfaction, the company only selects vendors that
have great reputation.
10
2.5 Financial Achievements
The amount of profit that is earned by this company depends on the scale of the
event. The bigger the event, the bigger the profit. This company's monthly profit could
reach up to between RM30,000 to RM50,000 per month. Again the profit varies
depending on the project given. This company handles sometimes 4 to 8 ceremonies per
month depending on the demand of the customers. This company roughly makes about
half a million in a year. Moreover, this wedding industry is an evergreen industry as more
people wish to build a ‘home’ (want to get married) and it is never ending. On top of that,
the wedding industry is one of Malaysia’s most lucrative industries, worth up to RM7
billion a year (The Malaysia Reserve, 2019).
11
3.0 COMPANY ANALYSIS
Merindu Savior is the leader of the vendors under their supervision. The
list goes from decoration, sound system and lighting, hotel and venue
management, photographer, videographer and emcee. As mentioned by Mrs
Zaza, as an event manager Merindu Savior also builds their collaborations with
Indah Weddings, Nas Great Idea, and WeddingsByEmma to ensure the quality
and success of their event.
12
And her only mission is to get the job done and reduce all risks that are being
accounted for. Her principle is that all problems have their solutions, and it is her
job to solve her client’s troubles. As she’s a hands-on type of person, she prefers
to be on the event itself, rather than downstreaming and ordering her workers
from afar, and she prefers to choose the events, relatively different from others as
this is to ensure the quality of her outcome and to be something memorable to
the clients and guests. And that is where the term ‘merindu’ comes from. To give
an event that is extravagant and memorable to the clients and guests.
Thus, that is her way of keeping a great quality, special bond and a
giveaway of being different from her competitors.
3.6 Channels
13
Merindu Savior uses few channels to promote and generate their income.
The core channel as mentioned by Ms. Zaza is word of mouth. In the interview
she mentioned that she built a strong relationship with her clients, she then
mentioned that with the relationship that has been built words are spread around
about her business from her past clients. Customers that have a good experience
with her business tend to recommend her business to their friends, family,
coworkers, and online networks. Hence, she attracted new clients and increased
customer retention by using her own customers testimonials and
recommendations.Other than that, Merindu Savior also owns an Instagram
account which they use as the main online medium to gain customers from their
posts and stories. The use of Instagram can be seen as a platform to post their
successful events to attract future customers.
For customer segments, the target market for Merindu Savior is mainly
couples who want to get married and parents who are in the process of planning
for their child's wedding. As she normally caters to those from higher income
backgrounds, the clients usually have a clear vision of how the event would
unfold on the day of the event. This is also another reason for how and why she
chooses her clients carefully, so that she can fulfil their dream event, and will stay
with them from the beginning till the end. This will not only increase their bond,
but also create trust as they usually return to her to do more events together as
they already know her capabilities and completely trust her actions.
For costs, she categorised them into reserve capital and the actual cost of
Itself at 40% and 60% respectively. This is one of her ways of not being
dependent on others and standing on her own two feet. It is also how she began
establishing the company back in 2011, where she funded the company solely on
her savings, with no loans or external sources. Thus, she kept 40% of reserve
capital from her events and that is her primary source of funding, especially
during the Movement Control Order (MCO) that lasted for two years, and she
14
uses that capital to care for her workers and pay for their salary, and keeping her
company afloat.
15
4.0 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Finding
16
their roles are crucial in making sure that the company can function well.
However, there is always the risk of part-timers running away before the
completion of a project. If this situation hypothetically happens, the business will
be shorthanded to handle the workload, which can potentially jeopardise the
event. For this reason, this problem should not be overlooked because labour
fluidity is crucial in order to fulfil the manpower requirement for certain events.
4.2 Discussion/Recommendations
17
Secondly, the problem of the practice of an unstructured employee
management system in Merindu Savior can be solved by developing an
organised employee management system. This solution will help the HR
department to save the information of the regular part-time employees. In this
way, the company can identify the loyal part-time employees and prioritise them
when new recruitment is opened. This is because regular part-time employees
are already used to the ins and outs of the company, thus less resources are
used to train the new recruits. Furthermore, a structured employee management
system can also increase employees’ confidence that the company considers
their welfare in creating new policies for the company. According to Rishabh
Bajpayi (2020), a systematic practice will also prevent clashes between the HR
department, part-time employees, and full-time employees.
18
5.0 CONCLUSION
To conclude, this case study can be one of the stepping stones and guide for
people who want to start up their own business, especially when it comes to providing
services, which in this case, focuses on event management services. This course also
allows students to learn the basics of entrepreneurship as well as honing their soft skills.
This is because through entrepreneurship, it can enable students to gain knowledge and
skills needed to start up a business. As a result, the course helps students learn about
business terms and management skills. This case study in particular could help new
business owners on how to make profit with minimal resources.
This case study also encourages people to continue doing their business even
when faced with challenges such as going through an environmental crisis. Seeing how
Merindu Saviour focuses more on customer satisfaction rather than profit, this helps
business beginners to not focus on profit and instead enjoy the journey of doing
business. This case study shows that when a product or service manages to establish
their uniqueness that sets them apart from their competitors, it is more likely for them to
be prioritised when customers want to reorder or recommend the business to others,
gaining more customers. Knowledge about possible partners and collaboratives is also
one of the ways to ensure a great business reputation. Being personally involved in the
work could also build customers’ trust and quality of product or service. Lastly, as
mentioned above, customer satisfaction should be prioritised when running a business
as well as creating bonds with them could be one of the key secrets of doing so. With
the problems stated above, new business owners could take note and prevent making
the same mistakes by using their solutions and recommendations as a guideline for their
business plan.
All in all, this course and assignment can be beneficial to new business owners
with start-up ideas to flourish and realise their dream business. With gaining
management knowledge and making use of recommendations by other business
owners, this can help generate and develop one’s business. Being able to take risks,
promoting economic development, creating jobs, and the ability to overcome
unexpected challenges are few of the many benefits of learning this course, principles of
entrepreneurship.
19
6.0 REFERENCES
Ch’ng, C. B., & Tan, V. C. L. (2020). Customer perception towards wedding services.
BERJAYA Journal of Services & Management, 13, 44-54.
https://journal.berjaya.edu.my/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Jan-2020_44-54.pdf
Ip, B., & Jacobs, G. (2006). Business succession planning: A review of the evidence.
Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 13(3), 326-350.
https://doi.org/10.1108/14626000610680235
Lark, A., & Bonfrer, A. (2022). Hybrid marketing is here to stay: Preparing the marketing
operation environment. NIM Marketing Intelligence Review, 14(2), 19-23.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/364768983_Hybrid_Marketing_Is_Here
_to_Stay_Preparing_the_Marketing_Operation_Environment
Moriarty, R. T., & Moran, U. (1990, November). Managing hybrid marketing system.
Harvard Business Review.
https://hbr.org/1990/11/managing-hybrid-marketing-systems
20
7.0 APPENDICES
21
7.2 Interview session with Ms. Nor Saniza binti Sabran at Sentul, Kuala Lumpur, on
May 26, 2023.
22
7.4 Product catalogue
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33