Trap-Ease America
Trap-Ease America Questions 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?
Martha and the Trap-Ease America investors believe that they face a once-in-a-life time opportunity with the new mousetrap that they have developed. Martha and the Trap-Ease America need certain information to evaluate this opportunity. First, they need to know that the demand in the market will determine whether this opportunity will be realized. Secondly, they also need to know that the needs of the consumers will determine whether their mousetrap will sell or not. Therefore, they have to prioritize customer needs. They also need to understand that people are used to low cost traps and they may not sale as much when their trap costs five times expensive than the existing ones (Trap-Ease America: The Big Cheese of MouseTraps).
How do you think the group would write its mission statement? How would you write it?
The mission statement of the group would be, “To ensure that we target women with our new and easy to use mousetrap.” I would write the mission statement as, “To provide a better way to eliminate rodent problems through the creation of an easy and safe to use mousetrap.”
Has Martha identified the best target market for Trap-Ease? What other market segments might the firm target?
Martha has not identified the best target market for Trap-Ease in the sense that she has targeted women only, yet the mouse problem affects almost everyone in the society. The firm might target several other market segments. First, the firm could target the youth. This is because many young people live by themselves not with their families. This means that they may also have mouse problems, despite the fact that they do not live with their families. Another market segment that Trap-Ease might target is institutions such as schools, colleges, universities, factories, industries and other organizations. All these institutions could need the product (Trap-Ease America: The Big Cheese of MouseTraps).
How has the company positioned the Trap-Ease for the chosen target market? Could it position the product in other ways?
The company has not positioned the Trap-Ease for the chosen market in an effective or strategic manner. The company could position the product in different ways. First, the company could increase its distribution chains to include wholesalers and other intermediaries because some consumers may not be in the position to go to the distributors that the company uses. Secondly, the company should also consider setting up shops to sell the product and put up stands that does demonstrations for the prospective consumers. Third, the company could position the product by selling it in packages of one, two and more than two packs. This may enable the company rearrange the pricing of the product and attract more consumers (Trap-Ease America: The Big Cheese of MouseTraps).
Describe the current marketing mix for Trap-Ease. Do you see any problems with this mix?
The current marketing mix for Trap-Ease is the four P’s that is Product, Place, Price and Promotion. The marketing mix has some problems. The company seems not to have strict guidelines for the marketers. The company seems to operate by the rules of the marketers instead of the marketers operating by the rules of the company because it is the manufacturer. This makes the marketers handle the product and adverting in a slow pace and at their own terms.
Who is Trap-Ease America’s competition?
Trap-Ease’s competition is any company that produces mousetraps. In the current market, large volume of low quality and low priced mousetraps and poison are being sold (Trap-Ease America: The Big Cheese of MouseTraps).
How would you change Trap-Ease’s marketing strategy? What kinds of control procedures would you establish for this strategy?
I would change Trap-Ease’s marketing strategy by increasing the number of people or firms in the marketing mix. One of the control procedures that I will use for this strategy is to develop rules and regulations that must be followed by all marketers and retailers. Secondly, I will introduce a monthly review strategy that would check on the marketing of the product and ensure that problems are eliminated and the marketing goes on smoothly.
Reference
Trap-Ease America: The Big Cheese of MouseTraps. (n.d.).
