ASSIGNMENT – CASE STUDY
ADVANCED CERTIFICATE IN MANAGEMENT
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 that Martha must make sure that the manufacture had the ability to produce the product as per the customers demand. Then only the Trap-Ease will be able to supply the products to the customer. This will keep the investors happy and company can reach the forecasted sales.
A mission statement is a brief description of a company’s purpose or objectives. It is a written dedication and it normally remains unchanged. Normally the mission statement focuses on a company’s present state. A group might also form their mission statement stating their future goals. Trap-Ease America might write their mission statement stating that it had obtained worldwide rights to market the innovative mousetrap, their won on the contest and their forecasted sales.
I would write the mission statement for Trap-Ease America “To provide the world’s best mousetraps that enables customer to get rid of the troubles of mouse”.

2. Target market is a group of customers that the business has decided to aim its products and services. Martha’s early research suggested that women were the best target market for the Trap-Ease. But it is not the best target market for the company. Because women often stayed at home and took care of their children.
The firm can choose their target market as men. It will be more beneficial than women. Because usually men, it seems more willing to do shopping. Trap-Ease can market their product through different television programs like family programs, during news etc. So they will be able to find the advantages of mousetraps over spring loaded traps. When compared with spring loaded traps or poisons, mouse traps had many advantages. Customers could use it safely and easily with no risk of catching their fingers while loading it.

3. Any person or company who is a rival against another is competitors. In business usually a company in the same industry or a similar industry which offers a similar product or service. There are direct and indirect competitors for Trap-Ease.
Direct competitors means where two or more companies offer essentially the same good or service. Spring/loaded trap was the direct competitor for Trap-Ease. This will highly compete with mousetrap, because according to the case it seems men were doing the work of buying these products. And they prefer to buy traditional spring/loaded mousetrap.
Indirect competitors mean competition against the different types of products that satisfy the same needs. The poison that used to kill the mouse is the indirect competitor for Trap-Ease. Martha had chosen the best target market as women, and they prefer to stay at home. And most probably they will use the poison for killing the mouse rather than go and buy the mousetrap.
To face or to overcome the threats of competitors Martha and Trap-Ease America must advertise their product aggressively. They can advertise the trap through different TV programs, showing the advantages trap over other products like spring/loaded mouse trap and poison. After seeing that it is safer and easily used product, customers will change their way of trapping the mouse and move to the Trap-Ease product. Martha can market the product through internet also; they can do email marketing or blog marketing. They must consider the cost as important factor to beat the competitors. The cost must match the quality of the product.

4. A person, group, or organization that has direct or indirect stake in an organization because it can affect or be affected by the organization's actions, objectives, and policies. Key stakeholders in a business organization include creditors, customers, directors, employees, owners (shareholders), suppliers, unions and the community from which the business draws its resources.
For Martha and Trap-Ease America there were several stakeholders. Customer, supplier and investors would be the stakeholders. Customers are those who receive or consume products and have the ability to choose between different products. Suppliers are a party that supplies goods or services. A supplier may be distinguished from a contractor. Investors are someone who commits capital in order to gain profits.
Trap-Ease America sold the traps in packages of two with a price of $2.49. This price is five to ten times more expensive than smaller standard traps. Though the trap had advantages over other products like spring/loaded traps or poisons, customers would consider the price as main factor. If Trap-Ease product is more expensive than other products then it will the customers.
Martha had decided to distribute the product through different suppliers like National grocery, hardware and drug chains such as Safeway, Kmart, Hechinger and CB drug. She told directly to them avoiding wholesalers. But later she noted that there had not been enough repeat buying, and many of them kept their sample mousetraps on their desk as conversation pieces. It might happen because she had not given the enough information about the trap.
She had already sensed that investors were not satisfied with company’s progress. It is because the company was not making reasonable profit.
The performance Trap-Ease would increase if they focus more on the demand of stakeholders. They could sell the product at the same price, if so they need to market the product up to the mark. Otherwise they had to decrease the price of the product to meet the customer’s satisfaction. They must give the information about the product to the suppliers; Martha even can apply the marketing methods through retailers. So it would give information to the various customers more closely. As she sensed that the investors were not happy with their progress, to keep the investors happy and to make a reasonable profit Martha already budgeted $250,000. So if she would be able to meet their forecasted sale then the company’s performance would be improved.

Martha had initially forecasted Trap-Ease first year sale at five million units. To meet this she had to change their target market, because targeting the women who often stayed at home would not bring this improvement. Changing their target market means they should apply different methods for marketing the product which could carry the information to the target market. To satisfy the demands of stakeholders and to meet their mission statement Martha must apply the new strategies of marketing.