Market Segment Two
The market segment comprises of structured needs such as in the sales and car dealership industries allowing for easy customisation of a solution. Further, the market serves millions of customers in New Zealand which provides a huge market for the products that the academy shall be offering. The customers in this segment have expressed their need to be trained which illustrates existence of a ready opportunity. The market segment comprises of unique sales people who are market-oriented and as such may be willing to pay a higher price for the training making it an attractive investment segment for the academy. Aside from the fierce competition, there is a projected growth in the sector which gives hopes of a larger market for the various skills the academy will be training for.
On the downside, the fact that the business trainers are previous top performing sales people is a threat to the success of any new entry into the market such as the MWS sales academy. There is also a massive competition from well-established training institutions including the service IQ who are in fact recognized by financial advisors who act as the supervisors ("Hospitality » ServiceIQ" 2016). Another major challenge faced in this market segment is that the needs are too specific limiting the number of training areas that the academy may be able to offer as opposed to if the field was totally open in which case the academy could determine its own courses to offer.
Traditional B2B Market
A brief description of the potential actionable steps in actualizing the marketing strategy is provided below:
People: This market segment comprises of tens of thousands of employees in over one hundred companies. This alone, offers an expansive market to which the MSW sales academy can sell their services. It is therefore important that the MWS academy strategizes on capacity enhancement to be able to serve the large market.
Price: The fact that these clients are on employment provides an advantage to the MWS sales academy in the sense that through their salaries, the employees are able to afford courses that are priced at premium rates which again increases the profit margins for the academy. The academy could, for example, offer payment plans that allow for deduction from the salaries of the employees toward their fee accounts. The segment, besides, has a few trainers compared to the other market segments. This provides a lee way for the MWS academy to prosper in the sense that there is limited competition from rivals offering similar services as the academy. It is thus wise for the academy to strategize to reap maximum profits from the segment before competition sets in which will decrease their profits especially if they offer more competitive training courses than the MWS academy.
Product: This market segment has expressed a need for facilitator skills otherwise known as order-taker skills. This creates another revenue stream for the MWS sales academy in that they can diversify their services to counter the rivals who may attempt to bring competition in this particular market segment. The academy therefore needs to align its curriculum to include these skills in order to satisfy their market demands.
Promotion: As a new market segment, it has been projected to grow tremendously in the foreseeable future which further guarantees the profits of the academy if it invests in this area. This will require the academy to form an excellent branding campaign that will help them remain relevant and the academy of choice among many when other players join the market as projected.
Place: As the tens of millions of customers in this segment are spread across various parts of new Zealand, the MWS sales academy will require to establish a network that allows for easy reach of its clients such as opening several satellite campuses or having an online portal through which course materials and other necessary information can be exchanged between the relevant stakeholders of the school.
Physical evidence: The academy will also require to involve skills training for special sections of this segment who deal with standardised and moderately technical products and services in order to fully satisfy the consumer demands of the segment.
Process: This segment is also characterized by lower middle management personnel. This group is able to afford paying premium rates for courses offered by the academy, again boosting the profit margins for the academy. The academy could strategize to offer convenient payment plans that allow for deduction from the salary towards payment of fees. The employees will however need to consent to the deductions to comply with law ("Payroll deductions | Business.govt.nz", 2016). On the downside, however, companies in this market segment do hire external trainers who conveniently offer training to their staff. Characteristic of external trainers in this market segment is that they offer both off course training as well as in-house training which makes it very attractive to the working population who may not be able to afford time to go to classroom. Studies show an increasing preference for in-house training among mostly the working class ("Inhouse", 2016).
References
Hospitality » ServiceIQ. (2016). Serviceiq.org.nz. Retrieved 25 May 2016, from http://www.serviceiq.org.nz/our-programmes/hospitality/
Inhouse. (2016). Conferenz.co.nz. Retrieved 25 May 2016, from http://www.conferenz.co.nz/inhouse
Payroll deductions | Business.govt.nz. (2016). Business.govt.nz. Retrieved 25 May 2016, from http://www.business.govt.nz/tax-and-finance/tax-when-you-have-employees/payroll-deductions
