...Trap-Ease America: The Big Cheese of Mousetraps Trap Ease America is the number “ONE” mouse trap that has been in the market for many years. Is easy and safety to use. User can dispose of the mouse while is still alive, or the user could leave it alone for a few hours to suffocate inside the trap. Trap Ease had won a contest and beat 300 new products. According to people magazine, Trap Ease has brought a lot of attention and therefore they have a high demand. But Trap Ease had not actualized the demand. A group of investors invested into Trap Ease and hired a retired rancher and Martha to serve as president to develop and manage the Trap Ease America organization. Questions for Discussion 1. The first step Martha and her team need is the 4 C’s. The 4 C’s consists of Customer Needs & want, Cost to customer, Convenience and Communication ( Robert L). My mission statement would be “to catch a mouse, NOW is “Safe and Easier”. To catch a mouse is “Cheaper and faster”, Trap Ease is the Solution to the mouse problems and child proof. 2. Martha has identified a few market segments (Women/ concern about mouse), but in my opinion; she has not been productive about it. In fact, Martha is having issues with building strong customer relationship. One market segment I will build will be a partner relationship management team. This team not only will recognize the 4c’s but also build an organizational culture for Trap Ease America organization. This team’s strategy will study...
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...1. Martha and the Trap-Ease America investors believe they face a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. First they need to evaluate the product and see if there is anything they can do that could improve it. Second they need to make sure to target the right customers so they can sell as many as possible. Third they need to be able to look at the packaging and shipping so that the product will get to the customers fast but at a reasonable rate. Last would be the mission statement there’s would be like this, “We produce a trap that you could use safer and easier than the traditional trap, with no risk of catching your fingers while loading it”. My mission statement would have been something similar but I would compare my product to others to separate myself from others but I would have included how much safer it is for your family to use. 2. Martha has identified the best target market for the Trap-Ease. Women usually stay home more than men do so this product would be easier for women to handle. Men usually do not care about how it gets trapped as long as it does so this product does work very well and believe Martha should market it for everyone because it makes every bodies life easier by using these traps. 3. The company has put itself in a great position to expand and be high in demand since the traps are so successful. I think they should try to position it towards the elderly because this is an easier way of trapping mice than ever before. 4. The Product mousetrap...
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...Company Case: Trap-Ease America Answer 1: Martha and the investors believed that the product they had was of excellent quality and it should be readily bought in the market. However there seems to be no evidence whatsoever to whether the investors had thought anything out about neither the marketing strategy they would follow nor the fulfilling of the customers’ needs and wants. Not even was there any effort seen to research out information about the market or the needs of the potential consumers. Many organizations develop formal mission statements. A mission statement is a statement of the organizations purpose- what it wants to accomplish in the larger environment. Some companies define their mission myopically in product or technology terms. But I think the group’s mission statement should be market oriented and defined in terms of satisfying basic customer needs. Answer 2: The best target market mean a set of buyers sharing common needs or characteristics that the company decides to serve since it’ll give maximum profit. The case study tells us that Trap Ease is targeting housewives since they are reluctant to set and bait traditional spring loads. As they are concerned about the health and safety of the children, and cleanliness of their homes Trap Ease would be a better product to use. There are other markets the company could possibly target. Segmenting the market we can find any business that handles food storage or production using Trap Ease for their benefit...
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...Trap-Ease If a man [can]? make a better mousetrap than his neighbor?the world will make a beaten path to his door. True, but only if the world perceives more value in it than the next door neighbor's. Statement of the Problem The problem Martha's currently encountering is the fact that despite the publicity and the proven uniqueness of Trap-Ease mousetrap, both demand and sales fall radically short of expectations. The purpose of this analysis is to identify the root of the problem and how it can possibly be solved. Price It was stated in the article that the Trap-Ease was approximately five to ten times more expensive than the standard traps already present in the market. This is largely due to the innovative concept of trapping mice in a mess-free method, and not as a consequence of more expensive raw materials. Trap-Ease utilizes plastic that is generally less costly than wood, thin steel metals and springs which compose the traditional mousetrap. No matter how much more expensive the cost of a new product is, it must not cost higher than the existing unless it possessed mechanics incredibly special, inevitably making customers feel that they are getting the value for their money. Since the innovative plastic mousetrap aims to reach the market with its new concept (something abstract), it will take much more than a low price for buyers to realize its value. Decreasing the introductory price, among other factors, will help increase sales by attracting new...
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...1 Presented to: David Moscovitz TRAP-EASE AMERICA: THE BIG CHEESE OF MOUSETRAPS 1. Martha and the Trap-Ease America investors believe they face an 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? In order to make the best out of this opportunity Martha and Trap-Ease America organization need to understand strengths and weakness of the company and the opportunities and threats of the market they are introducing themselves to, the size of that market and competitors, applicable marketing channels, specially the distribution channel, therefore their transportation methods and logistics, manufacturing costs, and required return on investment and profit. They also “need to understand customers needs better than competitors do and deliver more customer value“ to gain competitive advantage. According to the information on our textbook, Trap-Ease America focus essentially on their product and not much on the costumer, thus their mission statement would be something close to “The greatest innovation in mouse trap”. In my opinion they should focus more on the costumer and what they believe they are looking for as well as on the features of the product, such as “We provide hygienic, eco-friendly and safe solution to your rodent problems”. 2. Has Martha identified the best target market for Trap-Ease? What other market segments might the...
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...Case Analysis Case: Trap-Ease America: The Big Cheese of Mousetraps Product: Variety, quality, design, features, brand, packing, services, warranties, returns. Price: List price, discounts, allowances, payment period, credit terms. Promotion: Sales promotion, advertising, sales force, public relations, and direct marketing. Place: Channels, coverage, assortments, locations, inventory, transport. Strategic Marketing Choose de value: STP: Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning. The marketing staff must segment the market, select the appropriate market target, and develop the offering’s value positioning. Tactical Marketing Provide the value: Product development, service development, pricing, sourcing making, distributing. Communicate the value: Sales force, sales promotion, and advertising. Strategy Formulation: Overall cost leadership, differentiation, and focus. 1) Diagnose Advantages: Consumers can use safely and easily with no risk, and it poised no injury or poising. Target Market: Women Distribution: Direct through national grocery, hardware, and drug chains (Safeway, Kmart…). Pricing: $0.99 – Suggested Retail Price $2.49 (2 unit) – Cost $0.392 – Retail net revenue $0.75. Price Positioning: 5 to 10 times more expensive Sales expenses: $60,000 ($50K for travel, and sales calls - $10K advertising). Advertising: Good Housekeeping Magazine. Sales Forecast: 5 millions of units - Current Sales: Several hundred thousand. Budget: $250,000 for fixed...
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...Case Study: TrapEase America 1. Trap Ease only has a onceinalifetime opportunity because the investors see that this product has big potential since the idea is great. The investors saw the product and automatically saw that people would buy it since it is such an easy and clean solution to something associated with messy and violent. The information needed to evaluate the opportunity is the study of the market, competitors, and other products. Also, the awards and buzz surrounding the TrapEase also helped the investors see this as a high potential. The positioning of TrapEase is centered around dead mice and the product. They really value their product and want to show its usefulness. The group’s mission statement would be similar to their slogan “Easily trapping mice without a mess.” If the main target is people who stay home, then my mission statement’s point would not be about dead mice but about the peace of an environment that is rodentfree. The mission statement would read like this: “Ensuring a clean and safe environment for our customers through innovation.” 2. Martha has identified that the best target for the TrapEase is women since they do not enjoy the cleanup that happens with the original mousetrap and stay at home. It seems like Martha has used a fast train of thought to come up with this conclusion and not statistics. This is not the best market target. The number of women who study and have a professional life is growing...
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...BUSINESS STUDIES A group of investors had formed Trap-Ease America after it had obtained worldwide rights to market the innovative mouse traps. The group had hired Martha to serve as president and to develop and manage the Trap-Ease America organization. Martha had initially forecasted Trap-Ease’s first year sales at five million units. Martha knew that the investor group believed that Trap-Ease America had a ’once in a life time chance’ with its innovative mousetrap. To evaluate this opportunity Martha must collect information from different angles. She must choose a best target market for the Trap-Ease. 1. As Martha and Trap-Ease America feel that they face once in a life time opportunity after obtaining worldwide rights to market the mousetrap. Martha had forecasted Trap-Ease’s first year sales at five million units. As she sensed that group’s impatient with the progress of company so far. So she budgeted approximately $250,000 in administrative cost and fixed costs for the first year, but this did not include marketing cost. To evaluate this opportunity Martha must evaluate write market for mouse traps. Market can be divided into different groups of buyers with different needs; buyers desire different benefits from one product. Consumers needs and wants change with their age. As Martha wondered, apart from trapping mouse using mouse traps consumers may also buy the trap as novelties. Company needed to sell enough traps to cover the administrative and fixed costs. For...
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...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...
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...suggestion and share why you think their suggestion is the best market for Trap-Ease. I think Trap-Ease target market is too narrow. Martha tries to target her customers, women, only through magazines, knowing that most women read magazine and somehow they will see and read about Trap-Ease America mousetrap. But I think that Martha should have marketed this products within a broader demographic area. For instance, docks should be also targeted; because in shipping there are usually problems with mice and rats. Moreover, docks will buy traps in large amounts, which will undoubtedly improve the company sales. Also grocery stores is good place of targeting women because most of the time the women are the ones running errant. Positioning: Improve Trap-Ease's positioning statement. Write a new, more compelling positioning statement for the company. We can see that Trap-Ease America’s positioning is “trap mice easily”. I think this position is somehow too broad and thus it is not too catchy. If I were part of the group, I would suggest “Trap mice and leave your hands clean” or “trap mice and leave no mess behind”. Marketing Strategy: How would you change Trap-Ease marketing strategy? What controls (i.e. means of monitoring) would you establish for this strategy? I can see that Trap-Ease America is facing marketing myopia and its marketing strategy is more product-oriented than it is customer-oriented. Trap-Ease group seems to create the mousetrap for their own pleasure without really...
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...Case Analysis of Trap-Ease America A group of investors had formed Trap-Ease America after obtaining the worldwide rights to sell a patented and innovative mousetrap from an inventor. The group hired Martha as president to develop and manage the company. Trap-Ease America regarded housewives as the best target market. Because the company believed that women will be attracted to the safety and cleanliness that the traps offer. Unlike traditional spring-loaded traps or poisons, the tarp lures the mouse into a square tube in which it will be trapped alive. There is no danger in baiting and setting trap. It can also avoid the “mess” resulted by the traditional trap’s operation. Martha sold the trap directly to large retailers such as Safeway, Kmart, and CB Drug. The traps sold in packages of two, with a suggested price of $ 2.49, about five to ten times more expensive than the traditional trap. Martha promoted the mousetrap mainly through trade show and personal selling. Despite the innovativeness of the trap and its success at gaining public attention, sales are disappointingly slow. Following are analysis of the problem Trap-Ease faced and some suggestions. Martha and the investors believe they face an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that the patented mousetrap will bring huge profits. But things were not going on well in the start-off. We know that in order to evaluate any investment opportunity investors need to conduct a detailed analysis concerning a variety of different issues...
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...to manage the company that includes assuming responsibility for sales and marketing. Trap-Ease America has targeted the trap to housewives, whom it believes will be attracted... Trap-Ease America has the patent to a revolutionary new mouse trap. Trap-Ease America expected the revolutionary mouse trap to sell like hot cakes unfortunately things have not progressed as predicted so far. A few major problems can be identified with the overall business strategy of Trap-Ease America. First of all, the President of the company happens to be the only sales person as well for the product. Secondly, there seems to be a wrong selection in terms of market segmentation. Even though the product is a revolutionary one, however it is still only an improvement of an age-old device. Regardless of how much promotion the product has received from third party reviewers, the consumers still need to be educated on why this more expensive mouse trap is better than the conventional ones. Thus it is imperative that the President hires experienced sales people in order to reach and educate more potential consumers. Apart from that, it is also important to change focus in terms of target market, since the current strategy is targeting women. The target market should be anybody facing the issue of mice in their household. With the right marketing and positioning strategy, along with a strong sales force, Trap-Ease America can definitely capitalize on the revolutionary product. Swot Analysis Strength ...
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...1) Martha and the Trap-Ease America investors believe they face an 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? Martha and Trap-Ease America have an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with a new mousetrap but in order to capitalize on this opportunity they need to evaluate the 4-Cs of marketing. Focusing on the customer’s solution, cost, convenience and communication will enable Trap-Ease America to effectively market their new innovative mousetrap. The mission statement from Martha and the investors would be something like “We make a mousetrap that is safe, easy to use and less mess.” This is because they were focused more on the product than on the customer. My mission statement would focus on the customer: “We help you remove your un-wanted pests--easier, safer and with less mess.” 2) Has Martha identified the best target market for Trap-Ease? What other market segments might the firm target? Martha has identified one of the best target customer for Trap-Ease by choosing women. Most women do not want to use or handle the old mousetraps. Trap-Ease would be a great product for them. Another market she could add to Trap-Ease is animal lovers. This trap would allow this market to release mice into a field or other uninhabited area. It also will not cause non-fatal injuries to a mouse. Because this product is reusable, she could...
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...Trap Ease Case Study 1. Martha and the investors in the Trap Ease seem to face a “once in a lifetime opportunity.” What information do they need to evaluate this opportunity? How do you think the investor group would write the mission statement? How would you write it? Trap Ease America has obtained worldwide rights to market an innovative mousetrap which had won the title of “best new product” at a National Hardware Show in Chicago. In order to evaluate this once in a lifetime opportunity the investors at Trap- Ease need to understand the market place in which they will be operating in terms of customer needs, customer wants and demands in order to create value for customers and build a strong customer relationship to capture value from their potential customers in return. This will help Trap Ease to identify who will be the best target market for their product and what would be the best market offering, how your target market makes purchasing decisions, how your competition positions their products and what your product has to offer. B) I think that the investor group would write a product oriented mission statement stating the product that they offer for example “ we sell an innovate mousetraps” where as I would write a market oriented mission statement geared towards satisfying the customer basic needs. 2. How is the product positioned relative to the selected target market in the case? Are there other ways to position the product? Trap –Ease America’s research...
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...Executive Summary: Trap-Ease America has the patent to a revolutionary new mouse trap. Trap-Ease America expected the revolutionary mouse trap to sell like hot cakes unfortunately things have not progressed as predicted so far. A few major problems can be identified with the overall business strategy of Trap-Ease America. First of all, the President of the company happens to be the only sales person as well for the product. Secondly, there seems to be a wrong selection in terms of market segmentation. Even though the product is a revolutionary one, however it is still only an improvement of an age-old device. Regardless of how much promotion the product has received from third party reviewers, the consumers still need to be educated on why this more expensive mouse trap is better than the conventional ones. Thus it is imperative that the President hires experienced sales people in order to reach and educate more potential consumers. Apart from that, it is also important to change focus in terms of target market, since the current strategy is targeting women. The target market should be anybody facing the issue of mice in their household. With the right marketing and positioning strategy, along with a strong sales force, Trap-Ease America can definitely capitalize on the revolutionary product. SWOT Analysis: Strengths • Very innovative and engineered product • Highly environmental • Long lasting product because of re-usability Weaknesses • High price • Less...
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