The case indicates that Trap-Ease is targeting housewives, and implies that housewives are reluctant to set and bait traditional spring-loaded mousetraps. They also are concerned about the safety of children and pets that may be around the home because once the spring-loaded trap has caught a mouse, one often has a mess resulting from its action. Besides being unpleasant, the mess presents health concerns due to the diseases that may be carried by mice.

There are a number of other market segments that the firm could target. The issue of disease control suggests several other potential targets. First, the instructor might ask students where disease control concerns would be important. Any business that handles or stores food and, therefore, is attractive to rats and mice would be a potential target. Restaurants should come to mind here, both because of the presence of food and food products and also because these establishments cannot use chemicals near food. This also should suggest food wholesalers or warehouses where large quantities of food may be stored in the channel of distribution. Food manufacturers also need rodent protection.

Another potential market is research laboratories. Here, researchers use large numbers of mice in research projects. It is not unreasonable to think that some of these mice occasionally get loose. A researcher would be interested in the ability to recapture a mouse without harming it—something that the researcher would be able to do with the Trap-Ease.

Another potential target market is exterminators. Because they must work in areas where chemicals would not be allowed and traditional traps would have the same messiness problem, these companies might be a target market. These exterminator companies might also sell the traps directly to consumers with whom they deal. This possibility will allow the instructor to talk about