INVESTORSOFT

B2B MARKETING
GROUP 7
Tanay Chitre

G013

Spandana G

G019

Purva G

G020

Ankur Gupta

G029

Himank RathourG047
Harsh Shah

G052

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

Should target Small Cap and Micro Cap companies in Calgary city of Canada (20%
of publiclytraded firms in Canada) with more focus on Micro Cap companies for
generation of revenues
Together comprises of 83% companies listed in Canadian Stock exchange.
Since the pricing does not vary much, volume plays an important role

They lack financial resource for in-house development or hire an in-house personnel.
Both the segment have a uniform IR website method (according to Exhibit 5).
Many of the firms does not have an effective solution(Almost 65%of microcap have
veryinadequate IR website)
No single method of investor relations website management dominated these segments

Least challenging to sell the product as only thefunctionality is important to the Micro
cap companies

Mid Cap will give more credibility to Investorsoft before it approaches Blue Chip.
Approximately 59% of companies listed on Canadian Stock exchanges were Micro Cap firms
and most of them lacked an advanced investor relations program
The CEO acts as the investor relationship manager in Micro Cap.
Such interface would enable him to have free time to concentrate on expansion of sales
and operations
Small Cap companies can be used for brand building and Micro Cap companies will help in
achieving the sales target
Concentrate on Calgary city of Canada since the business centres are concentrated in a
few major areas and Investorsoft will have the closer to home advantage.
Savings of time and money during sales visit

Question 2
Is Market Capitalization 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?

The firms with different market capitalizations have different requirements for their
investor relations page

Therefore, at first glance, Market capitalization seems as an ideal way of segmenting the
market.

However, this segmentation doesnt address the main issue that a company has to consider
while making the sale the buying centers of an organization

When a segmentation is made according to the purchasing structure of an organization,

the sales pitch will be most effective

It will help identify the power centers in a purchase decision and Investorsoft can then
modify their sales pitch according to the client requirement

Making the right sales pitch that targets the people whose vote holds higher power will
result in higher sales conversions

Another segmentation method:

Geographic Segmentation
This will help reduce the physical distance between the client and Investorsoft
thereby increasing client comfort levels
However, markets such as US, which were huge potential markets would be neglected

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

Geographic Factors- Canadian companies may be more willing than American companies.
Great attractiveness of the Toronto area. Customer preference for a nearby supplier.
Emergence of Calgary as a prime location for HQs
Market Capitalisation- Total market size of the companies which will directly impact their
capacity to buy Investorsoft products

Level of service- Different companies will require different level of service. From just
uploading the report to entirely managing the investor relations of the company
Existing Investor Relation Management Tools- Companies which are already using software
or outsourced vendors to manage their investor relations should be differentiated from
those who are new to the software
Acquisition Cost- Investorsoft needs to ensure that the cost of acquiring and serving a
customer is worth the price or benefit derived out of it.

Question 4
What 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?

Segment

Customer Behavior

Micro Cap

Most of the time CEO acts as the IR manager

Most have potential to benefit from serious IR effort
High Sales cost since they have to target more number of customers
Highly price sensitive, Only functionality is important

Small Cap

Are conscious of the need to manage IR and hence invested some time &
money for IR activities
Most are unwilling to spend heavily
No single method of IR website management dominates

Mid Cap

Have capability to spend significant resources but many dont take advantage
if the opportunities available
Credibility & reputation are very important
Would prefer premium products

Blue Chip

Public image of paramount importance, hence ready to spend a lot

Already concentrated heavily on IR
Separate team of professionals and operating staff

From the above Bolivar might interpret that it would be least challenging to sell to the
micro and the small cap segment of customers as for them functionality and price are the
most important factors. Selling to the mid cap might be challenging, but Bolivar could
target them by building a premium version. Post establishing a strong base of satisfied
clients, he could use the credibility built to target Mid cap and blue chip customers

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

Pros

Cons

Leverage the network of 3rd Party suppliers

Difficult to find and market to intermediaries

Can use Brand Building

More time consuming

Cost advantage to client as it will be a

bundled offering

Technically aware of the know how of the

product

Can use the expertise of Consultants to form

business relationship with clients

Might be expensive in the short run

Able to serve in geographic areas where its

expensive for Investorsoft to reach

Need to train the intermediaries

Lesser cost on Marketing activities

Intermediaries will look for transactional and

relationship building with clients

Investorsoft should look to target the market as a combination of direct sales and through intermediaries

It will be able to leverage the benefits of both

Will give access to larger market share

Can allocate cost on the basis of ROI expected from both

Impact on Brand Image

Going with the intermediaries can also result in the brand dilution for
Investorsoft:

Discounting and integrating

Conflicting strategies of 3rd party as against Investorsoft

Sub Optimal performance of other Bundled features

Moreover it will also create another layer, which will dilute

profits of Investorsoft, but would bring in more volumes.
Thus, a Tradeoff should be made.

Question 6
What promotional strategy would you recommend to Chris
Bolivar? Be sure to specify how much you would spend, on
what, and why.

Establish and build

credibility among the
existing clients

Rope in few clients

Launch campaigns for

expansion and to grab
new clients

Recommended promotional strategies

Direct Mail

Try it with ~25% of small cap companies

They are looking for a value deal

Print advertisement

CIRI newsletter is the best option available for targeted advertising

Important to create awareness among the target set of customers

Conference exhibits

No investment here because it wont make sense to invest here before having a
solid base of customers + Too expensive

Industry promotion
Personal Selling
Building Brand Recognition

Good medium to demonstrate the product to potential clients

Use it on 10 high-value and moderate value industrial leaders each
He can visit 50 companies per year. Thus, we split these companies into 25 and
25 for virtual selling and personal visits
Powered by Investorsoft is a good idea, helps create brand awareness in a
subtle manner

Financials
Description

Rate*

Quantit
y

Direct Mail

per mail

150

750

Print
Advertisemen
t

1000
1450

per small ad
per medium
ad
per large ad

Conference
Exhibit

Industry
promotion

Personal
*All Selling
rates in $

Total

small cap
750
companies

2250

2000

1450

150

per user

10

150

per user

10

150
600

per virtual
sell
per personal
visit

high value
1500
contact
medium
value
1500
contact

25

companies 3750

25

companies 15000

282
00

Total Costs

Overshooting
the
marketing
budget
by $3200

Question 7
How should InvestorSoft price its service?

Differential Pricing
InvestorSoft
Standard

Economy pricing option @ $350 per month

For micro-cap and small cap companies

InvestorSoft
Advanced

Premium pricing option @ $595 per month

For mid-cap and blue chip companies
Pay per use services/ unbundled product offerings

Stock Quote

Stock Chart
@ $99 per month

News
Releases

Information
requests

Financial
reports

Information
fulfillment

@ $50 per month

And other
features