Final Exam, BUS 2510 Case Studyâ?? Something Brilliant .gif”> Something Brilliant was a…
Final Exam, BUS 2510 Case Studyâ?? Something Brilliant .gif”> Something Brilliant was a…
Final Exam,BUS 2510 Case Study– Something Brilliant
.gif”>Something Brilliant was atwo-year-old venture that sold software targeted at business students. Longtimefriends Marion and Charlie, both engineers and 45 years old, had inventedBizWiz in their spare time while continuing in their careers as senior managerswith a medical systems manufacturer.BizWiz sold for $160.00, was theworld’s only software program allowing students to share business case studyfiles electronically, and could only be purchased and downloaded from theBizWiz website by any of the 388,000 business students in North America.Because of its uniqueness, the company received over 100 daily Internetinquiries, helping produce first year sales of 23,000 units, which was 50percent higher than planned. The company found it easy to plan because 80percent of annual sales were split evenly between September and January,corresponding to the beginning of the two major school terms.
BizWiz was promoted solelythrough campus radio advertisements in New York, Florida, Michigan, and Texas,but recently, Charlie was surprised to learn that sales and product inquirieswere growing in California, Pennsylvania, Washington, and the Canadian provinceof Ontario. During its first sales year, BizWiz only used its original30-second radio ads, which featured the voices of both Marion and Charlie,repeated the website address, listed some of the benefits of using thesoftware, and quoted the price several times. Marion had spent her entirepromotional budget of $10,000 per month on radio ads because she enjoyedspeaking on the ads and thought the volume discounts she received were goodvalue.The product price was still setat $160 because the partners felt this would be competitive with popularbusiness products (e.g., Microsoft Office – Word, Excel, Access), even thoughmany educational software downloads were priced much lower, in the $50 to $75range.BizWiz had taken one year todevelop, had been funded through government grants, and had been tested bynumerous students and teachers. Now the only costs for the business were the$5,000 per month website management fees, the $10,000 monthly radio expenses, $4,000for automobile leases, and $2,000 for monthly equipment leases. The businesswas run in Marion’s home, and because there were no packaging, distribution, orservice costs, it was a very profitable venture for the founders.
While conducting research surfing the Web one morning inJune, Charlie discovered an Internet directory listing over 65 nationwidebusiness student forums. When he visited one of these sites, he found manycomments from students who were discussing a variety of different ways to copyand share BizWiz with their classmates and friends. With the academic year quickly approaching, Marion and Charlie wantedto develop a plan to ensure the continued success of BizWiz.
FinalExam Assignment.gif”>Using the marketing concepts learned in this course, provide marketingguidance for Marion and Charlie. Your case response should follow the formatprovided:.gif”>Maximum page length: four [4] pages = four[4] pages, no more. Focus your marketing plan and writing – a briefing /outline format is acceptable.To aid in your final exam I suggest you begin by developing aSWOT Analysis = Strengths – Weakness – Opportunities – Threats for Biz Wiz.This is a good first step in developing your marketing plan. See below for anexample of a SWOT analysis students developed for a small appliance company inConnecticut..jpg”>The next step is to be clear about the targetmarket and potential market segments, remembering that a marketing strategythat appeals to everyone is successful with no one.
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