Q with it. Trap-ease America also needs

Q with it. Trap-ease America also needs

Q 1. Martha and the Trap-Ease America investors believe they face a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. What information do they need to evaluate this opportunity? How do you think the group would write its mission statement? how would you write it? A 1.I think they believe that they have a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity because Trap-Ease is an new and innovative idea for a mouse trap so it can be potential for the company’s growth and profit but in order to fully take advantage of this opportunity Trap-Ease America will have to first find out the actual needs and wants of their potential costumers which i think should not be limited to only women, they need to find out if the customers actually need a product with these many additional features because the customers might wish or even want such a hygienic and safe approach for a mouse trap but might not be willing to pay the extra cost that comes with it.

Trap-ease America also needs to determine the products strength, weakness, opportunities and threats to further analyze and decide how they want to sell the product and use this opportunity to its fullest.I think that the mission statement should be written in a such a way where it describes how this mouse trap is something different and innovative compared to its traditional counter parts because i think if the difference is clearly mentioned in the mission statement than it would definitely catch the interest of the customer when they are deciding on which mouse trap to buy. i think that the mission statement should be something like this ‘Use Trap-Ease Mouse Trap to catch any mouse lurking around in a much CLEANER, SAFER and more EFFECTIVE way’. Q 2. Has Martha identified the best target market for Trap-Ease? What other market segments might the firm target? A 2. Martha has targeted women for her product.This is a good Marketing segment to start off with but Martha is specially targeting the women who are housewives and who are usually at home and the problem is the now days the number of women opting to stay back at home is shrinking day by day as more of them are looking for jobs or are already working so this means that she is targeting a shrining market, to overcome this problem Martha could divide the target segment of women into different groups by age, profession, marital status etc and then come up with different ways to sell Trap-Ease to each group of women.

Although the selected target segment is a good start for the product but it is better to target other market segments too because it would help with the firms profit and growth. They could target the following market segments.Animal lovers as this product does not really kill the mouse and it also is less of a threat to the other animals they have as it wont snap like the traditional mouse traps on the paw, tongue or any other body part of the pets. Corporate business, restaurant and warehouse owners as this product has a high quality level and is more hygienic and does not create a mess so it is much easier to have Trap-Ease in the office or restaurant. Families with children as the parents wont have to constantly worry for the child since Trap-Ease does not require and kind of poison so it safe for children to be around. Q 3. How has the company positioned the Trap-Ease for the chosen target market? Could it position the product in other ways? A 3.

The company has featured Trap-Ease it in two magazines: People and Good Housekeeping and plus Trap-Ease has won the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval, and beat out over 300 new products at the National Hardware Show which helped to promote the product. Martha has also set up distribution contacts with national grocery, hardware and drug chains, to avoid wholesalers/middlemen. I think that Trap-Ease should be more advertised by placing an advertisement on TV shows that the targeted market segment usually sees and plus they could also have a nice service team tat could deliver or attend to the problems the customers are facing with the product and also help them set up the product at their home, and if they have a good service team then it can help them to make better relationship with their customers. Q 4.Describe the current marketing mix for Trap-Ease. Do you see any problem with this mix? A 4. The marketing mix for Trap-Ease is as following Product – The Trap-Ease mouse trap which is an new and innovative idea for catching mice in a more safer, hygienic and effective way and it does not create a mess while or after the mouse is caught.

Place – Trap-Ease is being sold at national grocery, hardware and drug chains such as Safeway, Kmart, Hechingers and CB drug. This Distribution network helps to avoid all the wholesalers and middlemen from the picture thus saving any money that otherwise might have been given to them. Price – The retail price of Trap-Ease is $2.

9 which is five to ten times more than the other smaller traditional mouse traps sold in the market. The breakup of the retail price of the product is: 31 cents per unit for manufacturing, packaging and freight; 8. 2 cents per unit for royalty fees; and the price at which Trap-Ease will b sold to the customers is 99 cents per unit.

Promotion – the product has been featured on two magazines: People and Good Housekeeping and plus Trap-Ease has won the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval, and beat out over 300 new products at the National Hardware Show which helped to promote the product apart from this Trap-Ease has been the subject of numerous talk shows and articles in various trade publications and popular press.I think that the one of the biggest problem with the marketing mix is that the customers are not repeat buying the product which can be because maybe the customers are not satisfied with the product, or just buying it as a novelty and its also possible that since the product is doing its job well and thus after buying the product for the first time there was no need or use of buying it the second time and since the firms only target market segment is women so the product is getting rid of the mice at their homes so there is no reason for them to buy it again therefore this should also actually encourage the firm to target other market segments like restaurant owners and others. Q 5.

Who is Trap-Ease America’s competition? A 5. Trap-Ease Americas competition is with any company that makes any kind of mouse traps like the spring loaded traps, gel traps or the poison. Usually these other products have low quality standards compared to Trap-Ease and also cause some kind harm for the user or the animals and people around them therefore because of its innovative method to get rid of the mice Trap-Ease is the superior product. Q 6. How would you change Trap-Ease’s marketing strategy? What kinds of control procedures would you establish for this strategy? A 6.The first thing that i would like to change would be to hire more people in the company specially in the marketing department and also increase the marketing budget because first of all Trap-Ease is a new product and it is a good idea to do a good amount of marketing as it creates more awareness about the product and it makes the penetration of the product in to the market for the first time easy and smooth.

Targeting more market segments is also advisable as it will increase the units of the product sold thus increasing profits but we have to be careful while selecting which market segments to choose besides women and also do the marketing for each of the segment accordingly to have a positive result. he retail price could also be decreased while entering the market for the first time as it is relatively higher compared to is counterpart available in the market and plus reducing the cost would also help to attract more customers since they more willing to try the new product because for them the price would be low. In order to save money i would probably also hire some representatives in the region where the trade shows are going to be held so that they could attend the trade shows and collect the information and report it back to me and by doing this the traveling cost can be reduced and the money saved can be used for something else. For this strategy i would be closely monitoring the marketing department to see if the work is going smoothly and also make sure the data collected about the targeted segments is as accurate as it can be.