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stretched now, but if she becomes more successful that will be an issue. Demand will be systematically
lower during the slow winter months and she will often have little to do. But in the busy summer—and
especially during the periods in early summer and early fall as people are moving in and out she won’t be
able to keep up. Resort town markets often create a “boom or bust” situation for all kinds of businesses!
Students will see that there is little that Wendy has done to differentiate her offering, and many will also
argue that she probably won’t be able to offer customers a better value than they can get from Eric.
What many students will miss is that even if she is successful (over time) in taking a larger share of the
market away from Eric, the overall demand that the two of them split is not likely to grow rapidly. Thus,
even in that “optimistic” outcome, revenue that was sufficient for Eric would simply be divided between
the two of them. In that sense, while Wendy’s decision to enter the market may ultimately hurt Eric (take
away some of his revenue during the slower periods when he doesn’t want to lose it), it doesn’t appear
that she can really win! This unpleasant outcome isn’t likely to change even if she does a better job of
implementing her current strategy (perhaps by being more effective in promotion, doing things to
stimulate word of mouth recommendations, giving price breaks to repeat customers, offering a service
guarantee, etc.) This suggests that she needs to look for some other strategies, perhaps in combination
with what she is currently doing so that her overall marketing program is profitable even if no individual
strategy, by itself, is.
This is certainly not the only possibility. For example, Wendy might look for totally new areas that could
use her skills and where there is more potential for growth (and also less competition). Consider, for
example, her decision to focus on computer service as her Product. In an upscale resort community,
there is likely to be interest in and demand for other Products like “high–end” home theater systems.
These usually require installation, technical skills that many consumers don’t have, and even occasional
service. In fact, there is a merging of technologies so that many computer companies are now offering
audio/video accessories and promoting multimedia capabilities. In many home theater and audio
systems a computer actually becomes the “media server.” By focusing on these needs, Wendy might be
able to get a large share of a growing target market. Note, however, that the case doesn’t tell us much
about the competitive situation in that sub–area of the market. Wendy would need a better understanding
of both the demand and competition in that service arena before making any decision.
Regardless of what alternative opportunities Wendy decides to pursue, she will probably need a
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achieve her income objective if she chooses several targeted strategies at the same time and implements
them well. For example, she may be able to count on the “emergency” business year around, get more of
the seasonal resort home business during the 12–16 week summer season, develop the home theater
business in the early spring (so systems are installed when residents move back to town), and work to get
some large business consulting work, especially during the winter months. By combining these strategies
she may make enough to be able to reach her objective of making a living in Petoskey – even if she can’t
reach her $60,000 objective right away.
Case 5: Polystyrene Solutions
A production–oriented research engineer and company anxiously sought a market for the component
materials it could already make (although it is now trying to sell an installation – note the product class
change at some stage in the discussion, because this calls for different marketing mixes as long as they
keep selling installations). No consideration was given to the legal environment or to potential customers’
attitudes. In this case, architects’ opinions should have been sought along with the probable reaction of
building inspectors and fire marshalls – who are required to enforce building and fire codes.
Case 6: Applied Steel
Applied Steel is facing oligopoly conditions in the smaller sizes markets. And, although price competition
is sometimes avoided in such markets, here price competition from smaller and lower cost producers has
been pushing prices down. Above 24 inches, USX has had a monopoly, and this is the market
International is aiming at with its “new product.”
It is interesting to note that a couple of years after this “new” product was poorly received, supply became
quite tight and International’s product was readily accepted as a substitute which met the specifications!
This is just another illustration of how customers’ needs and attitudes must be considered.
Case 7: Omarama Mountain Lodge
Omarama Mountain Lodge is, in some ways, a very targeted operation–it certainly isn’t trying to serve a
convenient local market or some sort of international mass market. It has been developed to serve a very
elite, high–income clientele, with a targeted set of high–end services and experiences.
Expectations of the customer group will obviously be very high. Omarama Mountain Lodge can’t get
good word–of–mouth referrals or satisfy its current customers if everything isn’t exactly the way its
customers hope it will be. This may be a challenge, not only in providing high–level services, but also in
not creating expectations that can’t be met. In the New Zealand wild, it might be impossible to provide
some of the amenities that this upscale target group might take for granted in other locales–like the big
cities where most of they probably live. Omarama Mountain Lodge probably needs to communicate to
guests–before they arrive–what to expect. It can highlight the lodge’s unique features, including the
“escape” from some of the things it doesn’t offer. This may be a bit of a positioning challenge, but it is not
that different from the challenges faced by other service organizations. Disney, for example, focuses on a
very different kind of market but it still must cope with the fact that people who go there don’t find
everything they might expect as normal (such as fast–food places with 99 cent hamburgers). Disney
tourists may also get things they don’t want or expect–like a two–hour wait in a line for a popular ride.
Disney tries to deal with these problems by using careful communications to manage expectations.
It would be difficult for Omarama Mountain Lodge to do many traditional types of marketing research – at
least if that means quantitative surveys. Its target customer is not the kind of person who is likely to
respond. On the other hand, there is probably a good opportunity to make good use of secondary data
and/or to do some informal qualitative research with guests who are actually there. For example, in the
domain of secondary data, Omarama Mountain Lodge might be able to research other similar resort
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Case 8: Besitti’s Restaurant
It seems doubtful that Rosa Besitti has a clearly defined marketing strategy. She picked a location
(Place) near the intersection of major traffic routes because she felt that: “obviously the potential is here.”
This would seem to suggest that she was interested in catering to traveling people – but when the
business did not develop as she had hoped, she resorted to some radio and newspaper advertising,
Note that she had to invest an additional $3,000 for “survival purposes,” which probably means to meet
the ongoing expenses which were not met out of gross revenues. This is another case of “having to
spend money to make money,” and production–oriented people are often very reluctant to spend money
on promotion to tell people what a good product they have. But without promotion, Rosa had to wait a
long time before some customers found that she did have an attractive offering.
So it should be clear that Rosa has created a “small business” that may require her continued
involvement just to break even. Without a bar or at least a liquor license, he may be doomed to working
at her present level just to break even. With hard work, she may be able to make a living – but it doesn’t
look like she has an outstanding strategy that will cause sales to increase much more. Therefore, she
might be wise to consider going with a franchise chain – to get someone else to do the strategy planning
for her. But it may be “too late“ – given that she has “locked” into this place for 10 years and has already
This case can be used to emphasize that it is necessary to have a good strategy to make money. Just
hard work is not enough. In other words, it is desirable to “think smart not just work hard.”
Comments on Cases in Basic Marketing
Case 9: Peaceful Rest Motor Lodge
This case describes the typical production–oriented businessperson who designs a product to satisfy
himself. As a traveling businessman, he had been in many motels and now has bought one that would
have satisfied him as a traveling businessman. Unfortunately, however, most of his potential customers
are tourists and vacationers, and only a few traveling businesspeople.
If Tristan Knaus wants to continue with his present “economical traveler” strategy, he probably should
consider raising prices some. There is no point in “giving away” his rooms. This will not increase the
occupancy rate, but it may increase profits. Or, depending upon his present customer mix, he might
decide to raise prices even higher and count on the “emergency product” business. Whether this is a
good alternative depends upon the mix of his present customers. If most of them come in late in the
evening and stay only one night, then he might want to rely on place convenience to attract enough of
these people at higher rates to make his motel profitable. To help attract more of this kind of business, he
might want to invest some money in signs away from his present location. In fact, this probably would be
desirable whether he goes down the emergency product route or stays with his low price–oriented
approach. People have to know where you are – or be able to find you – to buy – and his motel is not
located in the heart of the resort area nor just off the new state highway.
Depending on the instructor’s objectives, it is possible to push the analysis of the numbers in the case a
bit further. This doesn’t bring some clear resolution to the issues and is not intended to be a substitute for
a look at the qualitative issues, but it can help students realize that a “rough cut” at a profitability analysis
can sometimes be useful even if there is a lot of missing information. For example, we know that the
motel has 60 rooms and that it has a 55 percent occupancy rate. So, on average, that means Tristan is
renting about .55 x 60 or 33 rooms a night. The rooms rent at about $45 a night, so the average daily
sales revenue is about $1,485. If you multiply that times 365 days in a year that means the total revenue
at present is about $542,025.
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The profit picture with either Holiday Inn or Days Inn would depend on a variety of factors, but probably
the most significant ones would be (1) the interest expense on any loan to make the capital
improvements, (2) the occupancy rate actually realized, (3) the price per night that would be charged, and
the fee earned by the chain (which at present is the same for either chain, 8 percent of gross revenue).
Lodge’s revenue (after paying the fee) would be about $618,342. This is the result when you increase
the current revenue by the 24 percent increase in occupancy (which gives you about $672,111) and then
subtract 8 percent of that amount in fees (which is .08 x $672,111 = $53,768). Thus, under this scenario,
revenue would increase from about $542,025 to about $618,342, or a change of about $76,317. That
extra revenue would come at a cost since there would be about an extra 8 guests per night or about 8 x
365 = 2,920 extra guest nights per year. However, if you divide the extra revenue by the extra “guest
nights” you get $76,317 / 2,920 or about $26 per guest night. Since it is unlikely that it would cost this
much to clean the rooms and keep them in shape, this looks like it might be a more profitable
arrangement than what is happening at present. If could be quite a bit more attractive if the room rate
could be higher, the occupancy rate higher, or both happened at the same time. Note that the point here
isn’t to be precise so much as it is to show that one can work with what little information is available to
“get a handle” on the financial side of this issue.
The Holiday Inn arrangement requires more cash up front but that is offset by higher room rates. For
example, if the occupancy rate went up to the industry average (68 percent) and the rooms could rent for
$75 per night on average, the total revenue would go up to about $1,027,549 (after paying the fee). This
is the result of multiplying 60 rooms x .68 occupancy rate which is 40.8 rooms (on average) per night or
about $3,060 per night in revenue multiplied by 365 nights per year is about $1,116,900 gross revenue,
from which 8 percent ($89,352) must be subtracted for the fee. So, if the average occupancy rate could
be achieved at the higher price, the increases in revenue in the first year would almost be equal to the
Case 10: Cooper’s Ice Center
Claude Cooper is facing a very difficult problem which has been “solved” by most rink operators by simply
catering to the “mass market” – anyone who wants to skate in a public skating session. As explained in
the case, this leads to the ice rink catering to a mixed group. Some people want exercise (physiological
or personal needs). Others see it as a social situation. And the younger kids are just there for “fun,”
Comments on Cases in Basic Marketing
which includes skating around the other patrons and reducing their pleasure. In most rinks, ice guards try
to keep some degree of order and slow down the faster skaters.
So Claude is trying to change established customer patterns. This is a big job – perhaps an impossible
one, because ice skating is more difficult to learn. The first experience is typically not the most enjoyable
– especially compared to the first experience on roller skates. This is due to a variety of factors including
poor fitting or dull ice skates, no instruction, and perhaps poor physical coordination of patrons. Roller
skating, in contrast, is done on four wheels and, at the very least, the patron can just stand there and be
pushed around by friends.
Claude will not be able to make a drastic change in his public skating format in the short run unless he is
willing to “invest” in a new format. If he decides to go after the “couples” market, then he will have to
exclude the younger patrons. At the same time, it probably will be necessary to promote aggressively to
the new target market. Further, it might be desirable to offer mini–skating lessons for partners who have
not skated before. Further, in the transition stage, the “dances” should be relatively easy to make it a
pleasurable experience.
Perhaps the marginal gain from switching strategies would not be worth the effort. An initial loss probably
would have to be incurred while eliminating the younger part of the present market and attracting
“couples.” But if the strategy is successful, then in the long run a loyal group of customers might develop
and make the sessions very profitable. As noted in the case, this has happened in some ice skating
rinks. But this is probably because of the skill and determination of the manager to make such a session
go – rather than customers asking for it or just coming to the regular session and making it a social
situation.
Changing people’s attitudes is difficult. But staying with the present strategies (especially for Friday and
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Saturday nights) does not solve the profitability problem either! Maybe he’ll just have to accept the
present situation as the best he can do – “the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence.”
Case 11: Running Room
Running Room is a “specialty shop” which in the past focused rather narrowly on Nike running shoes and
some running accessories but has begun to branch out trying to find a new way to grow sales and profits.
But, these efforts are not working very well and Raina Cisco, the owner, faces the classic problem of
trying to retain the loyalty of her traditional customers while changing her marketing mix to try to appeal to
Probably the most basic question is whether it is possible for Raina to adapt what she is doing in such a
way that she would have any sort of competitive advantage. The “custom shoe” opportunity on the
surface seems to be very consistent with Raina’s original focus, but it requires a focus and investment
that is narrow compared to what she has been doing in recent years.
It is logical to expect that a shoe manufacturer would look for other shoe–market opportunities–even mass
territory is large enough, she may be able to attract customers from a larger distance, especially if she
can use her website effectively. On the other hand, promoting the idea of custom shoes on a website is
different from doing the business over the Internet. She still has to get the customers into her store to
make the mold—and one has to ask how much demand there will be relative to the required investment.
One alternative that she should evaluate is being satisfied with her present business. It may not be a
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was not enough demand for custom shoes to justify the costs; after all, most people—even serious
runners—can find a good quality shoe from an off the shelf assortment.
Admittedly, some of these markets (say, for general athletic shoes) seem to be quite large, but there are
will probably show that some of her customers are quite fashion–oriented and taking on additional
“quality” fashion lines of both running and walking shoes might be consistent with her present image.
This might enable her to keep some of the “fashion” business that she loses to competing stores and this
might be enough to enable her to continue in her present location.
Whether she adds more “fashion” merchandise and aims at fashion–oriented shoppers or moves to the
to a sporting goods store. This is far from her present operation and strengths and would require much
more capital. Further, most areas already have a number of well–entrenched sporting goods stores and
discounters fighting it out in market maturity.
So, more careful analysis of possible variations on her present operation would probably yield the best
results. She knows a lot about her present market and should be able to make a more informed
Case 12: DrJane.com—Custom Vitamins
This case offers an opportunity to discuss customer service, customer retention, word–of–mouth, customer
satisfaction, financial analysis in marketing, and possibly cross–functional topics in the context of an
Internet retailer. Customer service has proven to be a challenge for many Internet companies, so the
situation may not be unusual. In fact, an instructor might start the case by asking, “Has anyone
experienced problems buying online?”
This case was inspired by a real life incident and “The Case of the Complaining Customer,” (Harvard
Business Review, May–June 1990, pp. 9–25). The Harvard Business Review case includes comments
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from four customer service experts. Some of these comments may be useful in the discussion of this
case and interested instructors are encouraged to check this resource.
In teaching the case, the instructor might start broadly, perhaps asking “What is the problem facing
Dr.Jane.com?” This question typically results in a broad variety of responses that include: (a) specific
people like Maxine Slezak or Prince Zimbalist; (b) computer systems; (c) customer service procedures;
and (d) issues like whether to compensate Maxine Slezak and, if so, how much. The instructor should be
prepared to take the case in several different directions. It might make sense to record different answers
(to the questions above) on the board – and then explore each individually. Arguments can be made for
each:
• Maxine Slezak is demanding and seems to have had a hand in the mistake. Is she actually
asking for too much?
• Prince Zimbalist does not appear to be a strong customer advocate. Should a customer service
manager more strongly advocate the customer – or the company?
• Internet companies often rely on computer systems to help them manage customer service.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of this approach?
The discussion can then move on to whether to compensate Maxine Slezak and, if so, how to
compensate her. By the way, another option for teaching this case is to start with the statement and
question: “Maxine Slezak is asking for a free 90–day supply of vitamins plus a formal apology. Should
the company compensate Maxine Slezak for her trouble? How many of you think she should be
compensated? How many of you think she should not receive compensation?” Recording student votes
on the board helps to commit students and get them more involved in the discussion.
Then the instructor can ask students favoring a more modest proposal, “Why do you think this is the right
option? Why aren’t you advocating something way out there like ‘Student name’?” The instructor can
then choose a student who advocates greater compensation and another with a more extreme proposal?
A variety of issues may surface here. One is that while customers often ask for hard compensation (free
services or cash) – they often react best to someone simply showing they care. In fact, if Dr. Jane Chung
herself were to call, thank Slezak for her concern, and promise to improve service, Slezak may forget all
about compensation. On the other hand, a good argument can be made for giving Maxine Slezak
financial compensation, especially when we consider her financial importance to DrJane.com. A financial
analysis of the value of Maxine Slezak helps to make that point.
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sure students consider actual profits by looking at contribution margin. “What type of contribution margin
are vitamins likely to have?” If the contribution margin on the vitamins is 50%, the contribution might be
$500 per year. Plus, if we talk about lifetime customer value we can see that she may buy vitamins from
DrJane.com for many years to come. If she buys for 10 more years, this totals to $5,000 in contribution.
We know that her referrals have resulted in at least 7 new customers (who noted her name in the referral
program). Plus, it is likely that even more customers have been influenced by her positive word–of–mouth.
If we simply assume that she brought ten customers to the company by her positive word–of–mouth, each
spent a similar amount as Maxine Slezak, and stayed an average of five years, then her referrals would
bring the company an additional $25,000 (10 customers x $500 contribution per year x 5 years). This
quickly demonstrates the power of her advocacy.
While this teaching note emphasizes the financial issues, and they should not be overlooked, it is
important to spend as much or more time talking about the softer side of customer service. Customers
need to feel that the company cares. The financial issues show why it is important to keep this customer,
but it is likely that the way the issue is handled will determine Maxine Slezak’s continued loyalty. To
return the discussion to the softer issues, the instructor might ask, “Should we simply send Maxine Slezak
a check? Is there anything else you might suggest?” This allows the instructor to remind students that
ultimately customer service is an interpersonal experience – DrJane.com must also appeal to Maxine
Slezak on an emotional level.
The case may be used in a number of different chapters:
• Chapter 2: customer equity, customer retention, or customer lifetime value.
Case 13: AAA Office World (AAA)
AAA Office World (AAA) is selling operating supplies and the folder line in question appears to be in
market maturity already (the margins are down to 20 percent and the president is worried about the
“commodity end of the business“). Assuming that Business Center is now determined to get its own line
(a reasonable assumption) then AAA must decide among several alternatives: (1) produce a dealer
brand for any request, (2) produce dealer brands for “commodity” items like the folders, or (3) don’t
produce dealer brands. Ideally, some assumptions about likely sales, costs, and profits should be made
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similar or higher (when the normal “promotion and overhead costs” are backed out of the costs) and (2)
so that not many other customers will want to buy their own dealer brands. (Note: the local stationers
may get a buying group together and want a lower price too – but this will come regardless of what AAA
does here. The market is just getting more competitive for “commodities.”)
Case 14: Showtime Media
This company basically sells business products (although it does sell some consumer products to serious
amateurs) and probably has been projecting the appropriate image. The most recent Christmas
promotion, on the other hand, was aimed at amateurs who do not normally buy from them. The signs in
the front windows probably would not be seen by these people. And the four advertisements in the local
newspaper were certainly not impressive promotion in contrast to the usual barrage from discount houses
and other stores at Christmas time. Further, Bob Merita’s prices just met competitive “discount store”
levels.
Case 15: The Buckeye Group
Theresa Campana is a manufacturers‘ agent selling accessories in Columbus, Ohio. Agents usually
expand by adding similar lines that will appeal to the same target customers. Ideally, agents should have
a large number of lines so they are not too dependent on one producer. So, typically, they are continually
looking for new complementary lines which need their aggressive sales effort and access to “their”
customers. Rejecting the lift truck offer probably was wise – not just because of the low profit potential –
but because different “customers” would be involved, i.e., production people rather than data processing
people.
Comments on Cases in Basic Marketing
strengthen her manufacturers’ agent business by developing new lines which might be needed by her
present Columbus customers.
Case 16: J&J Lumber Supply
Jimmy Olson is a drop–shipper. He sells lumber to lumberyards, which sell these component materials to
contractors. Some probably also sell directly to “do–it–yourselfers” who buy shopping products – perhaps
even homogeneous shopping products for some types of lumber. Jimmy had a geographic monopoly
until about six months ago when an aggressive younger man entered and began occasional price cutting
on the essentially homogeneous products. In effect, they have an oligopoly situation in the immediate
area, although the buyers could buy in almost pure competition if they were willing to reach beyond the
two local salesmen. It is probable that everyone is aware of this and competition may continue to force
prices down and put a continuing squeeze on profits.
There is no “right” answer about what Jimmy should do. The important point to recognize is that he is
being asked to do something different. Jimmy should seriously consider what he wants to do and also
whether he is able to do it. He has not had order getting experience for many years (if ever). This is a
more taxing kind of work and at age 50 (or more) he may not be willing or able to take on this new
responsibility. On the other hand, he may have relatively little to lose – as he would not have to invest in
inventory. He could try the new “opportunity” for a while – and see how easy it is to handle and whether
he enjoys this kind of work. Certainly, the future is not too bright competing directly with the new
competitor. Perhaps this new opportunity will enable him to make some additional income while
continuing to compete directly with the new man. If Jimmy gives evidence of staying on, then the new
man may move elsewhere, because two drop–shippers doing exactly the same thing in this area may not
be as profitable for either one. Jimmy probably should accept this reality and either tighten his belt or
plan to expand into new activities.
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Case 17: Simply Pure H2O4U, Inc.
This case can be used in a variety of ways: to introduce marketing strategy planning, as a way to highlight
integrative planning later in the course, or as a vehicle for students to practice “working with numbers” to
support their marketing ideas with financial analysis. In these teaching notes we’ll focus on using the
case as the basis of an integrative analysis (including some work with “marking numbers”) later in the
course. However, if you use the case earlier in the course the same basic ideas – focused on identifying
what target market(s) to serve and what the marketing mix needs to look like to serve them – apply.
Simply Pure H2O4U has several potential markets and they are outlined in the case, but at present its de
facto target market seems to be individual homeowners. The apartment dwellers are not likely to react
the same as the homeowners, and selling to apartment owners/builders will require a very different kind
of promotion effort. The institutional market (perhaps with the exceptions of bars/restaurants) will also
require a different kind of selling, different prices, etc. Moving through retail channels will similarly require
a different approach. It will probably be difficult to identify/reach owners of boats/rvs without help from
intermediaries (i.e., dealers), unless secondary data is available to help target some sort of direct
response promotion effort (for example, a mailing based on registration lists for boat licenses, etc.). The
company has a current way of doing things that can work – but it does not have a well thought out
program for developing different strategies to target different types of markets.
Comments on Cases in Basic Marketing
side and in the process hopefully improve the sales rate. More effort to identify good prospects should be
a high priority.
The material that follows provides some illustrative questions and analysis related to these broad
assertions. Here again, how much you expect from students on these issues might depend not only on
when the case is tackled in the course but also how much preparation you have done with respect to
individual issues.
How does the PURITY II compare with other alternatives? What are its advantages and limitations
relative to customer needs?
One approach to this question is to look at the economic value and/or cost to the customer. Simply Pure
H2O4U costs $.05 per gallon, ignoring the initial $395 cost. Since the filter costs $80 and lasts 2 years,
A disadvantage of the PURITY II is that it requires the money “up front”. This might eliminate some lower
income consumers who would see it as a luxury. The price would be trivial to a bar, restaurant, or other
institution that is offering beverage services. It would not be a lot of money to people who could afford a
boat or an RV. However, for the current target market, some way to finance the purchase might be
useful.
Another disadvantage is that it would require that a hole be drilled in the sink. This would probably
reduce the market for customers who rent apartments. Even if the landlord did not object to the renter
drilling a hole in the sink, most renters do not stay in an apartment for a long time and that would mean
leaving the PURITY II behind. To make effective inroads with apartments would thus probably require
selling to the owner of the apartment – a job that would probably be easiest while new apartments were
being constructed. (i.e., check building permits, especially in areas with lousy water.)
How much contribution to profit comes from the sale of a PURITY II and/or filter? What would happen if
Simply Pure H2O4U wanted to develop a different type of distribution through retailers or dealers?
The markup percent on the PURITY II is ($395–$200)/$395 = .4937. If the same markup was used on
filters, the cost of a filter would be about $40.50. Thus the contribution to expenses and profit would be
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What do we know about the firm’s current costs? About its profitability.
The company has 6 sales reps who, we are told, can easily sell about 20 units a month. That would be
How much does the firm need to sell to break even? Should the firm expand into other geographic
markets?
The break–even sales volume is only about $57,000/($395–$200–$100)=600 units a year, or $237,000 in
sales. Each unit sold contributes about $95 to profit – so profits accumulate quickly with more sales.
How much does a typical salesperson make? Is it enough to attract more salespeople?
The typical salesperson can make about $21,000 a year, less expense. This comes from 20 x 12 x $90
(average of $80 and $100) = $21,600 a year + filter commissions – expenses. Looks ok. Should be easy
to recruit this type of salesperson. In fact, the one unit a day level of sales appears low. It would make
What would the firm have to do differently if it were to try to sell through retailers and/or dealers (say,
marine dealers)?
A completely different strategy would be required. Obviously, the thin margin would not support the
current sales commissions. One or more reps would need to specialize by retail accounts. They would
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Should Simply Pure H2O4U target institutional customers rather than final consumers?
Targeting other than final consumers will increase the risks of the business. At present, it has very low
fixed cost and high margin. Most of the institutional customers would be volume purchasers and the
What are the implications of expanding into other geographic areas?
Expanding into other geographic areas would probably be the fastest way to grow – beyond internal
Should the firm increase the number of sales reps?
Since sales reps are basically a marginal expense, there is very real leverage from increasing the number
Case 18: Whistler Township Volunteer Fire Department (WTVFD)
The Whistler Township Volunteer Fire Department case allows students to explore marketing strategy
planning, and more specifically Promotion planning, in a non–traditional context. The case allows for
discussion of a number of different issues around Promotion, including promotion objectives, integrated
marketing communications, publicity, promotion methods, and media. The context of the case allows
discussion in a situation where financial resources are limited.
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case. Typically at least one or two students will know a firefighter – and because the situation described
here is quite common they may validate the situation described in the case.
An instructor wanting to cover the case very quickly might skip questions about customers, competitors,
company, and context – but these provide a solid foundation for discussing the case and reminding
students that marketing strategy decisions should flow from this analysis. So we recommend at least a
quick discussion of these background topics.
The instructor might ask, “What do we know about our potential customers?” The case does not provide
a lot of detail about Whistler Township’s firefighters – except that they come from a variety of
backgrounds. WTVFD’s firefighters include professionals, blue collar workers, and students. The
conclusion here might be that there are many different types of people that could be interested.
Obviously, this effects the choice of target market. Students may be asked, “Who do you think would be
most attracted to volunteer firefighting?” Perhaps young single people in their 20s might be a good target
market – if they get interested they are likely to stick with it for a long time. We might also want to find
people who have community–minded values. A lively discussion might center on who these people are
and where we might find them.
To shift the discussion to Promotion, an instructor might ask, “What do you think Nolan Fenwick should
use as promotion objectives?” The case makes it pretty clear that awareness of WTVFD is quite low –
most members of the community think that the town’s firefighters are full–time paid staff. So the primary
objective may be informing – to generate awareness that then leads to interest. “What can WTVFD do to
generate awareness?” While students might jump to advertising activities, it should be noted that
financial resources are limited.
Some organizations in town might support a good cause like volunteer firefighting. For example, the
author has found that McDonald’s restaurants sometimes allow nonprofit organizations to use tray liners
for promotional purposes. And males in their 20s are a large market for McDonald’s. Instructors should
be open to suggestions, but ask the class – “Does this method work with our target market?” WTVFD
might be able to get public service announcements on local radio programs – “What types of stations
might work best?”
Comments on Cases in Basic Marketing
If the case is used with Chapter 15, the instructor might ask, “What copy thrust should be used?” It’s
important to grab recruits’ attention, but it’s also important to set expectations so that they stick around.
Another option, alluded to in the case, is targeting current firefighters with promotion. They might be
reminded that WTVFD needs more recruits – so they will talk to friends, relatives, or co–workers about
what they do. Sometimes employees need to be reminded about how they can generate word–of–mouth
or how they can become salespeople for the cause. Current firefighters could be trained to discuss their
firefighting activities with other people and to sell the idea of firefighting.
The key here is to let students share ideas – and for the instructor to make sure that students evaluate
options on sound criteria. Do they make sense given what we know about customers, competitors, the
external market, and WTVFD? Do they address the promotion objectives? Are all the objectives being
addressed with the promotion blend? Are WTVFD’s budget constraints being considered?
Case 19: MyPerfectWedding.com
There are a number of aspects to this case that capture student interest – and there are good lessons to
be learned from analyzing the situation and coming to grips with what needs to be done.
Most students initially get interested in the case because:
• the central figure in the case, Jessica Eggleston, is a recent college grad who wants a rewarding
marketing career,