InvestorSoft

Group 6
Mathilde Hlavek | Nimisha Gupta | Nikhil S | Avinaba Ghosh | Swati Padhi | Siddharth Pandey | Akhil Saraf

Question 1
What customers should InvestorSoft pursue
with its new service? Why?

Buyer Market Segmentation

The Target Strategy for InvestorSoft

Gaining a foothold in
SMALL & MICRO CAP CANADIAN COMPANIES
who currently utilize CEO and Senior Officers as IR Manager
Customize product
for S&M-cap orgs.

Effectively reach
these companies

Support and keep

building client base

Why we chose Small and Micro Cap?

Pros
Target: Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton and
Saskatchewan
Access to more than 80% of all publicly
traded Canadian firms
Shorter sales cycle due to smaller
purchasing units
Geared for growth: InvestorSoft could help
them appeal more to investors

Cons
Lack of penetration of 3rd party IR services
Smallest Market Caps = Risk of noncontinuity
May be hesitant to start spending for IR
services

Question 2
Is Market Capitalisation the best way to segment the market?
Is there a better way to segment the market?
What other Macro or Micro segmentation base would you
utilize to segment the market effectively?

Segmentation of the potential customer

Based on Market Capitalization
Type

Market Capitalization

Micro Cap Companies

Less than $50 million

Small Cap Companies

$50 - $300 million

Mid Cap Companies

$300 million - $1 billion

Blue Chip Companies

Greater than $1billion

Based on Geography

Not the best way to segment the market as purchasing

criterion is not homogenous within a group so company
will have to adopt different sales strategy depending
upon the client.

Based on Purchasing Criterion

Pros

Cons

Advantage in Canadian market

because of local presence

Will lose a large potential client

base based out of US

Savings in terms of time and

money

Analysis :-

Pros
Sales strategy based on
the companys need

Can address their pain

areas more effectively

Cons

Question 3
What are the various factors that Bolivar should take into
account while making a decision of segment?

Factors for consideration in Segmenting

Size of Companies
Geographical
Spread
Competition

Pricing

Micro Cap Companies

Small Cap Companies
Mid Cap Companies
Blue Chip companies

United States 6000 companies with 29% Blue chip companies

Canada 2500 companies with 59% as Micro Cap companies

In-house development groups

External Website development teams
External investor relation consultants
Specialized investor relations website

Differential pricing for different segment of customers

Customization of number and versatility of features
Micro, Small cap - price sensitive
Mid, blue chip -wary of low prices

Question 4
What is the behavior of the customer when it concerns
handling the investor relations portions of their website?
Are there any discernible patterns to the behavior?
What clues are there for Bolivar in this behavior?

Type of customer

Current Situation

Importance of
investor handling

Ability and
Desire to
improve
investor
handling

Clues for Bolivar for

increasing sales in this
segment

Micro cap
companies

59% of market.
Lacked investor
relations program.

Medium

Medium

He believed these
companies can be
convinced by showing
the enhancement to their
reputation by the service

Small Cap
companies

29% of market. Very

scattered segment

High

Medium

These aspirants provide

major opportunities for
Bolivar

Mid cap companies

Well known
companies with
importance to
reputation

High

High

These companies do not

take full advantage of
opportunities; this can be
channelized

Blue chip
companies

9% of market. Top
companies

High

High

Difficult for Bolivar to

exploit this segment

 Better investor relationship management is valued by all the segments of

customers
Customer looks at it as brand promotion and reputation enhancement feature
A visible pattern is that companies look at superior investor relationship
management as a tool to jump to next ladder of companies by reputation
For large companies, poor investor relationship poses greater threat to their
reputation
Bolivar has to approach this behavior by projecting his product as a brand
promotion product.
Aspirants like small cap firms can be effectively targeted with strategy

Question 5
What are the pros and cons of distributing through intermediaries?
Does this make sense for InvestorSoft?
Why or why not?

Pros

Pros and Cons of distributing through Intermediaries

Difficult to build relationships
and trust with web developers
and
investor
relations
consultants which already work
with multiple other firms
Difficult to identifiy the firms
and market to them
Loss of control and reactivity

Cons

Gain of time since Direct

distribution would involve
talking to each companys
investor relations manager
Third party suppliers will
provide
assurance
of
reputation and credibility
Web developers will judge
Investorsoft on its technical
merits
Each web developper and each
investor relations consultant is
likely to result in several sales

Does this make sense for InvestorSoft?

Investorsoft is not known by the
potential customers. The firm has
to build brand recognition before
selling directly to the firms.

It helps reduce the cost of

distribution by making
transactions routine

Reducing the number of

necessary contacts brings more
efficiency

Its easier to convince potential

targets through third partysuppliers since they are already
trusted by their customers.

It allows to cover a larger part of

the market. Bolivar expects to
convince 100 firms by year 5; its
difficult to provide good service
to many customers.

Question 6
What promotional strategy would you recommend to Chris Bolivar?
How much you would spend, on what, and why?

Promotion & Advertising (Options)

Direct mail

Wide exposure,
Specifically
Targetted &
Cost effective

Print
Advertisement

Conference
Exhibits

Industry
Promotion

Personal
Selling

Brand
Recognition

Promotional
Discounts

Wide Exposure
with relevant
and reputable
magazine (CIRI,
NIRI)

Direct contact
with TG &
Service
demonstration

Effective
product
demonstration
to decision
makers

Closing sales
with product
demonstration
and reassurance

Increased brand
awareness and
stimulate
derived demand

Incentive for
smaller
customers

Virtual method
may not be
effective &
personal visits
may be costly

Customers may
be indifferent or
may view as
unwelcome ad
on its platform

Negative
perception
about quality

No info

15% discount or
free trial for 3
months

High cost &

May be ignored
& May be
perceived as
pushy

Not focused on
specific segment

May not make

sense without
strong customer
base

Regular
envelope - $5

Very small-$500

Attendance$5000

Larger envelope
- $20

Medium-$1000

Small-$750

Large-$1450

Attendance+boo
th-$10000

Free trials may

have negative
impact on brand
image

User account$150

Virtual(per
prospect)-$150
Personal(per
prospect)-$600

Promotional Strategy Recommendation

Personal Selling
Personal Selling
(Virtual)

Effective for software services

Personal visit to Calgary based firms (Service Reassurance based on distance)
Cost effective
No of firms?????????????????

Direct Mail

Can be done for all prospects outside Calgary

No of firms????????????????

Industry
Promotion

To 10 high value industry leaders

$150*10=$1500

Print ads

Promotional
Discount

Once before annual budgets prepared (Large ads in both CIRI & NIRI????is usa TG???else only in CIRI once)
$1450*2=$2900

Attract cost sensitive & apprehensive clients (15% discount to first10 clients)
0.15*$5000*10=$7500

Promotional Strategy Recommendation (Contd.)

Building Brand
Recognition

Try and convince clients to display the logo

Can be clubbed with discounts

Total
Cost=

Question 7
How should InvestorSoft price its service?

Pricing Strategy
Uniform Standard
Less Customer
Conflict

Differential

Perception of
Value for Money
differs

Easy & Fast

High Customer
Relevance

Higher Selling cost

implications

Customizable

Supply Side &

Demand Side
Segmentation
Mismatch

Can be ineffective
Segmentation
Different Standard loss
Packages

Bundling
Lower Selling
Costs
Increased
customer
satisfaction
Sell
underperforming

Unwanted features
also can be
bundled

Pricing it Right!!
Basic Model Economically Competitively Priced
Product Bundling Should be used
A mix of high & low demand services
2 3 Add on Bundles

Higher focus on Profits via add-on services

Initial Discounts 6-9 Months
Licensing Discounts
Effective Push Strategy for time bound results
Reduced Margins & Control

Promotional Discounts
Quicker Coverage & Penetration
Can harm the positioning of the products

Thank You!