Introduction You have asked me to develop recommendations on the best market segments, branding, value proposition and competitive strategy for InvestorSoft. Issues to be Considered What market segment or segments should InvestorSoft target to have the best chance of achieving their revenue targets? What market share will they need to reach their targets ? How should the Optamedia and InvestorSoft brands be managed? If multiple product bundles are offered how should these be branded? Provide the specifics of the value proposition Investor Soft should use to win.
Which class of competitor should InvestorSoft target and what is the recommended strategic approach to succeed? Relevant Case facts InvestorSoft is a Software as a Service ( SAAS) solution that simplifies how companies can provide timely information to their investors. Currently, companies have either in house staff, outsource it to a web developer/consultant or use one of the four current competitors in the marketplace. InvestorSoft is looking to successfully launch their product in Canada and the US.
Analysis Target Market – From the information presented in the case, I would recommend that InvestorSoft pursue the micro cap companies in Canada. These firms currently do not have an effective solution and lack the financial resources to hire and in house person to manage the process. ( 65% have a very inadequate IR website) For micro cap companies, investor relations is a job that gets heaped on to the CEO’s plate, when their time should be focused on managing the company and driving revenue.
The proposed pricing structure of $295/395 and $595 per month also supports this target market. Also, the competitor penetration, especially our direct software competitors, is extremely low ( 5%). Since InvestorSoft is a new start up, initial sales efforts will need to be in person. To conserve marketing spending, they should focus on the Canadian market first, and then expand to the US after 2 years. The total potential market is 1495 firms in Canada and 1,340 in the US
Market Penetration – Using the data in the case, and the market assumptions above, the estimated market penetration is as follows: Brand Management I believe that the InvestorSoft brand should stand alone. It is important that any presentation discusses the corporate relationship between the two and how InvestorSoft has leveraged the Optamedia experience and expertise to benefit their customers. Since Optamedia is a corporate communications firm, mixing the brands could dilute the focus of InvestorSoft from its prime mission…. o be the choice of micro cap companies to deliver up to date, highly effective, easy to use investor relations solutions. Also, mixing the brands could create channel conflict as other corporate communications firms may not refer InvestorSoft business to a company that could potentially take the corporate communications work from them. ( Optamedia) Value Proposition InvestorSoft is the first firm to provide a hosted, best in class, real time, comprehensive Investor Relations solution to micro cap public companies. We do this by:
Providing a fully hosted, managed and supported website that is completely branded to your unique requirements. Real time links to deliver up to the minute stock quotes, charts, and news releases to your investors. Providing an easy to use solution to easily create and update your company’s public filings, media coverage, corporate governance, earning releases and presentations. Our InvestorSoft solution is maintained, updated , hosted and supported in our secure data center so that it remains accessible 24 x 7 to your investors.
You no longer need to worry about up time, backups, investor access or developing or updating HTML or other software. We do it all for you. Our plans start at $295 per month. For this, you get an investor relations site with the functionality and security of a Fortune 500 firm, all for less than it would cost to deal with one irate investor. This value proposition address all of the key needs of the micro cap market and positions InvestorSoft to win. Competition Targeted
Based on the case analysis and the fact that InvestorSoft is a start up, they should target the in house web and external web development competitors. Their simplicity and support features position it to win against in house development, and the ease of use, and pricing can position it against outside web developers. With external developers, they have to pay them every time there is a change or update. With InvestorSoft, anyone can easily update the site without any knowledge of programming or development. ———————– [pic]
