Trap-Ease_America

Case Study Trap-Ease America 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' In order to evaluate the opportunity that Trap-Ease America investors believe they face, they will need to establish a mission statement that clearly defines exactly what they wish to accomplish. They will need to answer questions specifically relating to their business and their market. The will need to analyze the markets and environments to find attractive opportunities and avoid environmental threats. They will need to analyze the company’s strengths and weaknesses with a SWOT analysis. They will need to analyze current and possible marketing actions to determine which opportunities it can best pursue. Some questions that they will need to ask themselves should include “What is our business' Who is the customer' What do consumers value' What should our business be'” (Kotler and Armstrong). I think that the investors would focus more on the product itself when writing the mission statement and deliver a product-oriented definition. I think that they would simply say they sell mousetraps. If I were to write the mission statement, I would focus more on the market-oriented definition and a societal marketing concept. First, the market-oriented definition I would use for the company is that, “We provide a safe and reliable pest removal tool that empowers everyone (including the most squeamish) with the ability to protect their home and family from disease carrying rodents.” 2. Has Martha identified the best target market for Trap-Ease' What other market segments might the firm target' Martha has a good grip on her target market. Most women prefer not to get “their hands dirty” and touch rodents, and most moms wouldn’t want traps and poison lying around that their kids can get into. The problem with targeting woman is that in today’s society woman aren’t staying home and raising the family any more. Today’s women work, while some may stay home so might some men. I feel that her target market should be based around families. Trap-Ease provides a safe alternative for families with children. Some other markets that I think Martha is overlooking are the markets for the elderly, the environmentalist, the animal lovers, and businesses. The elderly are often like children and Trap-Ease would ensure that these individuals didn’t hurt themselves on the more traditional traps. The environmentalist will appreciate that the traps are re-usable and will cause less waste in the environment. The animal lovers will appreciate that the traps don’t kill the animals, and provide for a safe transport to freedom far away from their home. Finally, businesses can position them around the office without causing an unsightly scene or drawing attention to a rodent issue. 3. How has the company positioned the Trap-Ease for the chosen target market' Could it position the product in other ways' Currently Trap-Ease has been featured in two magazines, which include People and Good Housekeeping. Trap-Ease has won the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval, and beat out over 300 new products at the National Hardware Show. Martha is distributing Trap-Ease to national grocery, hardware, and drug chains directly to avoid wholesalers and intermediaries. Given the target market that Martha is gearing towards, I feel that she has done a good job to position the company for that market. I feel that the positioning of the product could be improved by collaborating with others in the marketing system. 4. Describe the current marketing mix for Trap-Ease. Do you see any problems' A company’s marketing mix “consists of everything the firm can do to influence the demand for its product” (Kotler and Armstrong). All of the possibilities can be classified under the four P’s of marketing, which are product, price, place, and promotion. Currently Trap-Ease has only on product – the mousetrap. As for price, it appears to be “five to ten times more expensive than smaller, standard traps” (Kotler and Armstrong). Place – Martha has negotiated directly to the store bypassing retailers and middlemen. Promotion – Martha has had articles in magazines and shown her product at trade shows. There are a few problems with this mix. As for the product, there is no structural diversity or solutions to an abundance of mice. They don’t offer discounts to people who buy multiple packs of Trap-Ease even though the price for one is more costly than the traditional ones. The promotion of Trap-Ease seems to be its biggest problem. They should utilize the internet and allow for online sales. They should place ads in newspapers and magazines with coupons. Once they get people to buy the product for the first time, it’s more likely that these people will buy again. 5. Who is Trap-Ease America’s competition' Trap-Ease America's competitors are any that make mousetraps. The mousetrap market is filled with multiple low cost methods of mouse disposal. 6. How would you change Trap-Ease’s marketing strategy' What kinds of control procedures would you establish for this strategy' I think that the first step to improve Trap-Ease’s marketing strategy would be to hire more people and create a marketing team. The marketing mix needs to be improved and could be upgraded with an expansion to the promotion portion of the mix. I would implement discounts and sales promotions within the stores to get the products into homes. Some control procedures that I would establish would be to have the performance of the product measured and checked against the annual plan. If it isn’t meeting the goals than corrective, measures should be taken. Some strategic controls would also need to established such as periodically reassessing the company’s overall approach to the marketplace to ensure that it isn’t outdated and stale. References Kotler, Philip and Gary Armstrong. Principles of Marketing. 14. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Prentice Hall, 2010.