I Need to understand the below qustions and solve them 1 What type of segmentation strategy is used by the company in the case study 2 designa sales strategy for the company in the case, In your sales strategy design segmentation, positioning, and target market for this company 3 Describe the customer value proposition of the company EXPERIENCE HBR ORG Case Study Jill Avery is an assistant professor of marketing at the Simmons School of Management Thomas Steenburgh is an associate professor of marketing at the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business A software company debates its strategic focus by Jill Avery and Thomas Steenburgh Target the The Experts Right Market Roger Martin, dean of the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management he knock on Jane Tamsen's office after Andrew coined what would become loor startled her Vikram, one of the company slogan Marketing is broken Jane's sales directors, poked his head Dirk, who had spent his career in sales, in You ready for us he asked started the business for that very reason Jane waved him in Andrew, another of He firmly believed that cold calling and her team members, followed Let's hear spamming were destroying marketing it, Jane said Rather than pestering prospective custom 'The data are showing what we've sus ers with pushy e mails, companies should, Mike Volpe, chief marketing pected all along, Vikram started We're he thought, use blogs and other social officer at HubSpot playing in two major markets The first is media to attract people who were already small businesses they have owners who researching and shopping in the industry run their own companies, fewer than 20 employees if that The other is medium Then those potential customers could give companies permission to market to size businesses with 20 to about 100 them That approach would be not only employees the purchaser at these places less annoying to consumers but also more is a senior manager, not the owner profitable for the companies doing the I think of them as 'small Sams' and selling SparkPlace's software, available for ILLUSTRATION BRETT AFFRUNTI 'medium Marys, Andrew added a monthly fee, was designed to let custom HBR's fictionalized case studies present 'Creative, Jane said ers manage and measure the effectiveness dilemmas faced by leaders in real Andrew had been one of her first hires of that approach companies and offer solutions from experts This ne is based on the HBS Case Study HubSpot at SparkPlace, a two year old provider of Jane had been Dirk's third employee, Inbound Marketing and Web 2 0 (case no online marketing software, and he'd con and although they didn't always see eye 509049), by Thomas Steenburgh, Jill Avery, and tinued to impress her Founder and CEO to eye, they agreed completely about the Naseem Dahod It is available at hbr org Dirk Middleton liked him, too, especially company's mission October 2012 Harvard Business Review 119EXPERIENCE where does the analysis say we should focus Jane asked Vikram explained that from a sales perspective the Sams were easier to bring on board The sales costs were less than $1,000 for each one, and those businesses were eager for the service Marys, in contrast, were more expensive to acquire about $5,000 but ultimately more valuable as customers because they stayed longer and were willing to pay a higher monthly rate Still, Andrew said, the potential with the Sams is greater because we can do a bigger volume business in that market Sams outnumber Marys by three to one, and that ratio is growing because of the tough economy More and more people are starting their own businesses Plus, our salespeople can easily identify the decision maker and quickly close the deal it's the opposite with the Marys When we show up at a sales call, our competitors are in the waiting room, or at least their business cards are on the Marys' desks Our people are sick of ghting for time with the Marys And it's clear no one is having as much success with the Sams as we are They love us, Vikram chimed in The feedback is unbelievable 0K Nice work, both of you, Jane said At our Friday meeting, let's recommend to the larger group that we refocus efforts on the Sams Vikram and Andrew started to get up, but she stopped them We need to be sure the data back us up Let's double check the analysis Marketing isn't going to like this Will do, Vikram said But don't worry The analy5is is clear Prot vs Potential Standing before her colleagues, Jane saw that everyone was rapt The Saijary narrative was clearly working You can see that our market sizing shows a lot more Sams that we can target as potential customers1 3 millioncompared with less than half a million Marys who have the right prole, Jane said to the group 120 Harvard Business Review October 2012 As she began to wrap up, she eyed Dirk sneaking in and taking a seat at the back Lately he had been consumed with the company's newest venture, an adjacent software product that helps businesses collaboratively create content He was in constant meetings with the VCs that had put up the initial capital for SparkPlace In conclusion, that's why we believe we need to focus our limited resources on the Sams of the world, she said Josh the head ofmarkeh'ng, shifted in his seat Jane had expected him to be the rst with questions I'm not getting the same message you are from the data The numbers show that the Marys are more protable for us over their lifetime as customers On average, each Mary generates $5 UK of prot for us each Sam generates only $10K It seems like a no brainer to go after the more prof itable market, Josh said Jane looked to Vikram They had agreed he would field questions about the analysis Yes, that's true But that's not the whole picture, Vikram said The Sams produce a much higher return on invest ment Each marketing dollar we spend to acquire a Sam gives us $5 of prot It's only $2 from the Marys But that's not the only question we're asking, Josh insisted You know as well as I do that we can't make strategic decisions on marketing R01 alone or any one metric for that matter Maybe the Mary market is smaller, but they're more committed They stay longer and require much less hand holding, which means more prot Don't we want those kinds of relationships We see more potential in the Barns, Jane interjected Yes, tliey're not staying long now, but we believe we can bring down their churn rate by paying more attention to them We can evolve the product to better meet their needs or try using longer contract terms We lock them in for only three months now, and many are leaving soon after that Oh good, we'll force them to stay lon ger, Josh said, shaking his head Jane tried another tack, thinking it might prompt Dirk to weigh in What about our mission We want to change the way this business is done The Marys are already savvy about permission based marketing The Sams know little about it, so when they see the results they get from our software, they'll become immediate converts And then they cancel their contracts be cause all the easy wins are won, Josh said Now Dirk did pipe up You all know how I feel about die mission Marketing is broken But our board isn't going to allow us to leave money on the table They want growth Why can't we go after the Sams and the Marys Make inroads into both markets That's what we've been doing, Jane said It feels like we're hedging our bets rather than placing one But isn't it possible to serve both mar kets well Dirk asked Dirk, with all due respect, you know that the strategy experts say we can't be all things to all people, Josh said Our go to market strategy will be very different depending on which of these groups we're trying to target Jane nodded The company had to pick a strategic direction It would affect a whole host of decisions over the com ing months what features to add to the software, what adjacent products they might offer, how to price all the services, and so on Well, what does Serge say about all this Dirk asked Serge was their lead developer Jane shot alook at Andrew and Vikram Why hadn't she or they thought to get him on board rst Um, he's waiting on direction from us, waiting to see where we net out on this issue, Jane said She could see Josh smirking Why isn't he here Dirk pointed to Josh and Jane You two need to talk to him, nd out where he stands, and then come back to me with a recommendation HBR ORG H B Fl ORG Tell us what you'd do Go to hbmrg CARTOON EC VE'I' you've both agreed on i need you two to help me with this, given everything else that's going on Tiebreaker Josh and Jane sat across from Serge as he nished writing an e mail displayed on one of ve computer screens on his desk He pressed send and asked, So I'm the tiebreaker We wish it was that easy, Josh said At this point, we just need your honest input, because we're at a crossroads, Jane said Is that what you're calling your disagreements these days Crossroads Serge teased them Our disagreements are a good thing They're productive, Jane said And she was being sincere The pushback she got from J oshand gave to himwasn't al ways comfortable, but it often led to better decisions Isn't this your job to gure out Serge asked Come on Just give us the software development perspective, she said That's easy Marys all the way They're more experienced, so they really dig into You know that we can't make strategic decisions on marketing ROI aloneor any one metric for that matter the software They use all the features and see more potential in what we do It's a far more interesting challenge to design for the Marys, Serge said Josh raised his sts in the air, jokingly claiming victory Not so fast, Serge said Yes, the Marys make my team's work more fun, but this isn't really about that, is it It's about What this company is meant to do Part of the SparkPiace model is to give people simple solutions, right Right, Josh agreed We make their job easier A key component of Spark Place's software was to help companies coordinate all of their disparate market ing activities, and Serge's main challenge in developing the product was to reduce complexity for customers And that's what the Sams are asking for, Serge said NOW it was Jane's tum to gloat Ex actly It's what Dirk set out to do We're not transforming the industry by giving the Marys access to fancy reports Josh rolled his eyes This shouldn't be about any of those things It's about grow ing the business, about how much of the market we can capture And the Marys are more protable, he said But there are many more Sams than Marys to make a prot from, Jane quickly added Serge leaned back in his chair Still at that crossroads, I see You were supposed to help us, Josh said I tried But this is up to you two l'm just a programmer This was Serge's common refrain when he didn't want to get involved in a business discussion He turned back to one of his screens Let Dirk make the call, Serge yelled after them as they walked out the door Maybe we should, Josh said to Jane, making their way toward her office We can't do that Dirk asked us to bash it out, and he's overwhelmed, Jane replied If we go back to him without a recommendation, he'll send us away, say ing that's what he pays us for OK then, Josh said Let's go get a drink Should SparkPlace go after small Sams, medium Marys, or both ' See cummer' li'l'l hr l'llf'Kl It's the only way I can get him to dome to work October 201 Harvard Business Review 121

Question

I Need to understand the below qustions and solve them  1 What type of segmentation strategy is used by the company in the case study  2  designa sales strategy for the company in the case, In your sales strategy design segmentation, positioning, and target market for this company  3 Describe the customer value proposition of the company  EXPERIENCE HBR ORG Case Study Jill Avery is an assistant professor of marketing at the Simmons School of Management  Thomas Steenburgh is an associate professor of marketing at the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business  A software company debates its strategic focus  by Jill Avery and Thomas Steenburgh Target the The Experts Right Market Roger Martin, dean of the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management he knock on Jane Tamsen's office after Andrew coined what would become loor startled her  Vikram, one of the company slogan  Marketing is broken  Jane's sales directors, poked his head Dirk, who had spent his career in sales, in   You ready for us   he asked  started the business for that very reason  Jane waved him in  Andrew, another of He firmly believed that cold calling and her team members, followed   Let's hear spamming were destroying marketing  it,  Jane said  Rather than pestering prospective custom  'The data are showing what we've sus  ers with pushy e mails, companies should, Mike Volpe, chief marketing pected all along,  Vikram started   We're he thought, use blogs and other social officer at HubSpot playing in two major markets  The first is media to attract people who were already small businesses they have owners who researching and shopping in the industry  run their own companies, fewer than 20 employees if that  The other is medium  Then those potential customers could give companies permission to market to size businesses with 20 to about 100 them  That approach would be not only employees  the purchaser at these places less annoying to consumers but also more is a senior manager, not the owner   profitable for the companies doing the  I think of them as 'small Sams' and selling  SparkPlace's software, available for ILLUSTRATION  BRETT AFFRUNTI 'medium Marys,  Andrew added  a monthly fee, was designed to let custom  HBR's fictionalized case studies present 'Creative,  Jane said  ers manage and measure the effectiveness dilemmas faced by leaders in real Andrew had been one of her first hires of that approach  companies and offer solutions from experts  This ne is based on the HBS Case Study  HubSpot  at SparkPlace, a two year old provider of Jane had been Dirk's third employee, Inbound Marketing and Web 2 0  (case no  online marketing software, and he'd con  and although they didn't always see eye 509049), by Thomas Steenburgh, Jill Avery, and tinued to impress her  Founder and CEO to eye, they agreed completely about the Naseem Dahod  It is available at hbr org  Dirk Middleton liked him, too, especially company's mission  October 2012 Harvard Business Review 119EXPERIENCE   where does the analysis say we should focus    Jane asked  Vikram explained that from a sales perspective the Sams were easier to bring on board  The sales costs were less than $1,000 for each one, and those businesses were eager for the service  Marys, in contrast, were more expensive to acquire about $5,000 but ultimately more valuable as customers because they stayed longer and were willing to pay a higher monthly rate    Still,   Andrew said,   the potential with the Sams is greater because we can do a bigger volume business in that market  Sams outnumber Marys by three to one, and that ratio is growing because of the tough economy  More and more people are starting their own businesses  Plus, our salespeople can easily identify the decision maker and quickly close the deal  it's the opposite with the Marys  When we show up at a sales call, our competitors are in the waiting room, or at least their business cards are on the Marys' desks  Our people are sick of ghting for time with the Marys  And it's clear no one is having as much success with the Sams as we are      They love us,   Vikram chimed in    The feedback is unbelievable      0K  Nice work, both of you,   Jane said    At our Friday meeting, let's recommend to the larger group that we refocus efforts on the Sams    Vikram and Andrew started to get up, but she stopped them    We need to be sure the data back us up  Let's double  check the analysis  Marketing isn't going to like this      Will do,   Vikram said    But don't worry  The analy5is is clear    Prot vs  Potential Standing before her colleagues, Jane saw that everyone was rapt  The Saijary narrative was clearly working    You can see that our market sizing shows a lot more Sams that we can target as potential customers1 3 millioncompared with less than half a million Marys who have the right prole,   Jane said to the group  120 Harvard Business Review October 2012 As she began to wrap up, she eyed Dirk sneaking in and taking a seat at the back  Lately he had been consumed with the company's newest venture, an adjacent software product that helps businesses collaboratively create content  He was in constant meetings with the VCs that had put up the initial capital for SparkPlace    In conclusion, that's why we believe we need to focus our limited resources on the Sams of the world,   she said  Josh  the head ofmarkeh'ng, shifted in his seat  Jane had expected him to be the rst with questions    I'm not getting the same message you are from the data  The numbers show that the Marys are more protable for us over their lifetime as customers  On average, each Mary generates $5 UK of prot for us  each Sam generates only $10K  It seems like a no brainer to go after the more prof  itable market,   Josh said  Jane looked to Vikram  They had agreed he would field questions about the analysis    Yes, that's true  But that's not the whole picture,   Vikram said    The Sams produce a much higher return on invest  ment  Each marketing dollar we spend to acquire a Sam gives us $5 of prot  It's only $2 from the Marys      But that's not the only question we're asking,   Josh insisted    You know as well as I do that we can't make strategic decisions on marketing R01 alone or any one metric for that matter  Maybe the Mary market is smaller, but they're more committed  They stay longer and require much less hand holding, which means more prot  Don't we want those kinds of relationships      We see more potential in the Barns,   Jane interjected    Yes, tliey're not staying long now, but we believe we can bring down their churn rate by paying more attention to them  We can evolve the product to better meet their needs or try using longer contract terms  We lock them in for only three months now, and many are leaving soon after that      Oh good, we'll force them to stay lon  ger,   Josh said, shaking his head  Jane tried another tack, thinking it might prompt Dirk to weigh in    What about our mission  We want to change the way this business is done  The Marys are already savvy about permission based marketing  The Sams know little about it, so when they see the results they get from our software, they'll become immediate converts      And then they cancel their contracts be  cause all the easy wins are won,   Josh said  Now Dirk did pipe up    You all know how I feel about die mission  Marketing is broken  But our board isn't going to allow us to leave money on the table  They want growth  Why can't we go after the Sams and the Marys  Make inroads into both markets      That's what we've been doing,   Jane said    It feels like we're hedging our bets rather than placing one      But isn't it possible to serve both mar  kets well    Dirk asked    Dirk, with all due respect, you know that the strategy experts say we can't be all things to all people,   Josh said    Our go  to market strategy will be very different depending on which of these groups we're trying to target    Jane nodded  The company had to pick a strategic direction  It would affect a whole host of decisions over the com ing months  what features to add to the software, what adjacent products they might offer, how to price all the services, and so on    Well, what does Serge say about all this    Dirk asked  Serge was their lead developer  Jane shot alook at Andrew and Vikram  Why hadn't she or they thought to get him on board rst    Um, he's waiting on direction from us, waiting to see where we net out on this issue,   Jane said  She could see Josh smirking    Why isn't he here    Dirk pointed to Josh and Jane    You two need to talk to him, nd out where he stands, and then come back to me with a recommendation HBR ORG H B Fl  ORG Tell us what you'd do  Go to hbmrg  CARTOON  EC  VE'I' you've both agreed on  i need you two to help me with this, given everything else that's going on    Tiebreaker Josh and Jane sat across from Serge as he nished writing an e mail displayed on one of ve computer screens on his desk  He pressed send and asked,   So I'm the tiebreaker      We wish it was that easy,   Josh said    At this point, we just need your honest input, because we're at a crossroads,   Jane said    Is that what you're calling your disagreements these days  Crossroads     Serge teased them    Our disagreements are a good thing  They're productive,   Jane said  And she was being sincere  The pushback she got from J oshand gave to himwasn't al  ways comfortable, but it often led to better decisions    Isn't this your job to gure out    Serge asked    Come on  Just give us the software development perspective,   she said    That's easy  Marys all the way  They're more experienced, so they really dig into   You know that we can't make strategic decisions on marketing ROI aloneor any one metric for that matter    the software  They use all the features and see more potential in what we do  It's a far more interesting challenge to design for the Marys,   Serge said  Josh raised his sts in the air, jokingly claiming victory    Not so fast,   Serge said    Yes, the Marys make my team's work more fun, but this isn't really about that, is it  It's about What this company is meant to do  Part of the SparkPiace model is to give people simple solutions, right      Right,   Josh agreed    We make their job easier    A key component of Spark  Place's software was to help companies coordinate all of their disparate market  ing activities, and Serge's main challenge in developing the product was to reduce complexity for customers    And that's what the Sams are asking for,   Serge said  NOW it was Jane's tum to gloat    Ex  actly  It's what Dirk set out to do  We're not transforming the industry by giving the Marys access to fancy reports   Josh rolled his eyes    This shouldn't be about any of those things  It's about grow  ing the business, about how much of the market we can capture  And the Marys are more protable,   he said    But there are many more Sams than Marys to make a prot from,   Jane quickly added  Serge leaned back in his chair    Still at that crossroads, I see      You were supposed to help us,   Josh said    I tried  But this is up to you two  l'm just a programmer    This was Serge's common refrain when he didn't want to get involved in a business discussion  He turned back to one of his screens    Let Dirk make the call,   Serge yelled after them as they walked out the door    Maybe we should,   Josh said to Jane, making their way toward her office    We can't do that  Dirk asked us to bash it out, and he's overwhelmed,  Jane replied    If we go back to him without a recommendation, he'll send us away, say  ing that's what he pays us for      OK then,   Josh said    Let's go get a drink    Should SparkPlace go after small Sams, medium Marys, or both ' See cummer' li'l'l  hr  l'llf'Kl   It's the only way I can get him to dome to work    October 201  Harvard Business Review 121

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I Need to understand the below qustions and solve them. 1:What type of segmentation strategy is used by the company in the case study? 2:

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