ASSESSMENT 4, A new concept

Nepal Association of the Blinds

Introduction

Established in 1993, Nepal Association of the Blinds also known as NAB is a non-profit making organization of the blind. With over 1030 general members in 23 branches in different districts, it is one of the active non-governmental organizations encouraging and supporting the rights and well-being of the blind as well as sheltering them.

According to a sample survey conducted by National Blindness Survey in 1980, the population of the total blind people was expected to be about 0.84% of the country’s total population. They have been facing numerous issues and problems for their living as they are regarded as a vulnerable and idle human being by the superstitious and traditional beliefs in the society.

Goal of NAB:

·         Protect and promote the rights, awareness and welfare of the blind

·         Develop leadership character and traits of the blind

·         Promote and develop awareness programs to support and encourage blind

·         Provide educational facilities and make them access to employment work to lead and guide their life with confidence and pride

·         To develop better relationships with other nationalized and internationalized organizations and working for more contentment and support of the blind

Mission of NAB

The main focus of the organization is to make blind people capable of leading their life with more self-belief and dignity as well as supporting them to be independent and work on their own.

Innovation in the service sector

The innovative idea or service for a social enterprise of blind people would be a guide dog. In particular, a guide dog is simply a specially trained dog to assist and support the mobility of an individual who is blind and partially sighted.

This potential service of dogs providing as a guide or more of a companion helps a blind individual to go beyond just mobility as the bond of trust and care with a dog of is always the most important aspect for an individual who is not given much priority by the society.

Here, the dog is trained to lead the blind, obey their command and keep away from trouble acting like a principal member of a family. Consequently, the blind individual is responsible for directing the way by keeping a mental map showing teamwork and convenience with the guide dog.

Need of the service

In a developing country like Nepal, lack of services and facilities for disable and blind people has led these people with a gesture and feeling of sadness and failure in their life. Although, these people are important and valuable same as common people the lack of proper encouragement and support has led them to disappointment in their life.

So, the service of providing a trained dog for a blind individual can be a right decision as the dog can take the individual to places as well as can be loyal and a good companion at the same time.

Target and aim for the service

Here, the service of the guide dog can be used for many sectors and communities such as guard, rescue and safety but particularly the targeted audience would be blind and partially sighted people as a service provided by the organization.

The aim of the organization is protect, promote and encourage the blind people rights and welfare as well as to encourage them to be independent and be able to guide their life with own passion and employment. Thus, the use of trained guide dog would support them and boost their confidence.

Marketing strategy for the service

Marketing a service is much harder than marketing a product as it is not tangible. As a service has the capability to demolish the status of the organization, the proper marketing of the service plays a vital part and it should be perfect for the long-run of the organization.

Since, a service cannot be felt, seen or returned like a product, the traditional approach can be considered to market the service such as 4P’s where people, physical evidence and process can also be considered. Here, the service can be break down into different segments according to the needs and understanding of the blind people capabilities. The wants and satisfaction of the blind people from the service as well as the problems they might face after the use of service should be thoroughly studied and examined.

The marketing of this service can also be done by creating the design and offering of the service to the people and alerting them. The use of guide dog can be recognized as a multi-service strategy as it has its own intelligence and understanding.

Estimate of possible price

Here the expenses that require for the advancement would be training the dog by the veterinary or the dog trainees that would cost the organization about Rs.8000 to Rs. 12000 as per the need and the style of training for each guide dog. More than the expenses require for the dog to train, there are regular and daily expense that may require for the dog as well as it is time consuming for them to train repeatedly.

Where/How to be put on the market

The service is harder to sell unlike selling a product to the customer. Various ideas for core marketing strategies of service can be implemented to sell the service in the marketplace. As the service marketing mix assumes as the product itself, the tactics of 7P’s would help the service to put as a product in the market with regards to provide benefit for the blind people rather the motive of making profit.

 

Environmental analysis and conditions

The service for the guide dog would not need to relate with the environmental conditions as the trainees would definitely have strategies and ideas that can overcome to the issues and problems within the situation.

Legislation

NAB has been registered with District Administration Service in Kathmandu is also affiliated with other organizations such as Social Welfare Council and World Blind Union. Hence, these non-profit organizations have support for the NAB organization to initiate new ideas and innovation to give confidence and support for the blind.

Flexibility/Adaptability of the service

The service of the guide dog can be expressed as limitless as they can utilized more than just mobility as they can also be used for security, rescue operations and the best part is being a companionship with a bond of love and happiness.

Additional requirement for the service

The additional requirement for the service would be regular service by the trainees leading to higher expenses as well as regular expenditure and care for the guide dog that would be more time-consuming for the staffs of the organization.

Recommendation

Blind people can make use of various opportunities as their dog as their companions make them believe that there are also extraordinary factors in themselves which they can do independently and confidently. Though there is also other substitute support, product or service for blind people, use of guide dog can be the most significant as they provide endless support and help as well as a good companion at the same time.

This foundation of service will have a tremendous impact in the society as these people can also walk jointly with others as well as there are various opportunities such as educational, employment and work for their passion. 

Conclusion

This idea to use a guide dog can definitely change a blind individual’s life as there is always a feeling of being an independent person as well as there is an attachment of loyalty and happiness with each other. However, there are advantages and disadvantages for blind and partially sighted people.

A guide dog will always provide a regular service and commitment to the blind as they are the most loyal domestic pets. A guide dog always plays a vital role in the accomplishment and success of blind people. On the whole, there are various benefits to own a guide dog for blind and partially sighted people as there is always a sense of safety and care.

Reference

Nepal Association of the Blinds - Home. 2014. Nepal Association of the Blinds - Home. [ONLINE]

Available at: http://www.nabkavre.org/.

[Accessed 03 April 2014]

Guide Dogs for the Blind - Training with a Guide Dog . 2014. Guide Dogs for the Blind - Training with a Guide Dog . [ONLINE]

Available at: http://www.guidedogs.com/site/PageServer?pagename=programs_adult_mobility.

[Accessed 03 April 2014]

Learn How to Market a Service Effectively. 2014. Learn How to Market a Service Effectively. [ONLINE]

Available at: http://marketing.about.com/od/strategytutorials/a/marketaservice.htm.

[Accessed 03 April 2014]

Components of a Service Marketing Strategy. 2014. Components of a Service Marketing Strategy. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.redscommunications.co.za/resources/marketing-tips-blog/161-components-of-a-service-marketing-strategy.html.

[Accessed 03 April 2014]