Case Memo 1: Ontela PicDeck (A) & (B)

Sree Dheeraj Karna

February 16th 2016

 Summary

The mobile industry is a billion dollar industry that constantly grows and improves. A

start up company known as Ontela is creating a service that allows subscribers to

seamlessly transfer pictures from their mobile devices to desktop, email, etc 1. Ontelas

goal is to sell this feature and gain profit while bringing more customers to the to the

wireless handset company. In order to this, Ontela has to first find the most suitable

market to target. Therefore, Ontela as developed a cluster analysis of customer

preferences and demographic and media profiles to find a solution.

Recommendation

Sarah the mother of three is the best suitable customer segment Ontela should

target. Using the cluster analysis, the most valuable segments that Ontela should focus on

are based on convenience, speed, and the ability to transfer photos to different locations

(email, computer). In addition the demographics aspect of the cluster analysis cater to the

characteristics of Sarahs market, making it look very suitable.

Analysis

Based on the Exhibit 1, targeting Regina could be the most favorable one. Regina

is a young individual who is raised in the digital era, where technology only seems to be

advancing as time goes on. On the other hand, Steve could be a potential market for the

future since hes is willing to adapt to newer technology. Steve could also be a very

valuable customer in the future since he is not only looking for an upgrade in his service

1 Sawhney, Mohanbir. Case Study, 2009

 but in a new wireless mobile as well. This could be rewarding to both Ontela and the

carriers. However, this isnt the choice Ontela should to participate on. As promising as

these markets seem, Ontela should target Sarah. Entering a new market such as Sarahs

could lead to more differentiated customers and lack of competition. Costs may be

higher, but this will be more rewarding because it brings a range of brand new customers,

resulting in a greater profitability. Markets like Reginas dont need much persuading and

can be approached in the future.

Ontela has to beware that using segmentation research of customer personas, as

target markets can be risky. Just because Regina represents the young generation doesnt

mean they all are as social or high tech as she is. There are also mothers who could be

just as good in technology as Regina is. This results in an underestimation/overestimation

in the amount of potential customers there are in each market. Therefore, its wise to

examine the cluster analysis of customers to understand their preferences. In Exhibit 2,

there are multiple questions with a rating of 1-5, 5 being the most you agree with. The

graph below represents the average score for each question.

Cluster Analysis Graph

7

3 Average Score

0
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Q7 Q8 Q9 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13
Cluster Analysis

Based on the graph, there are multiple questions with high value such as question

2, 3, 6, 7, 8, and 12. Q2 signifies convenience and speed, which is very suitable for a

market like Sarahs. Furthermore, based on the results an important characteristic would

be having photos on their computer and sending them through email. These are delightful

to markets of Sarah and Steve. Despite the fact that they both lack enough technological

knowledge/experience, they still need it because its helpful to them. The question

regarding if the customer would change their technology if a new one emerges (11) or if

they would replace their camera for a higher megapixels phone (5) prove to be of low

value.

However even at low values, these characteristics could be crucial for Ontela.

Although Q11 has a low value, it is essential for Ontela to continue with it because its

trying to get their product out there. They need customers to be able to easily adopt their

product once it releases. Another useful but low value characteristics would be the

question of where you are able share pictures on social media (Q9) and the set up of a

new technological product to be swift. (Q10). It might not be on the customers top

priority, but its what Ontela is trying to offer with its new product. They want to

differentiate themselves by standing out with these extra features. They dont want their

features to go unnoticed.

Another major characteristic that we have to take into consideration is price. The

average price is $5.79, which can be paid by everyone except Regina. Having a
disposable income can be critical on which market to target. Although Regina is active in

social media, she is still a youngster that doesnt pay her bills.

Demographic and Media Profile Cluster

On the demographic and media profile of the clusters, many of the clusters have

similar attributes as Sarahs. The median age of the customers is 37.56 with a particular

high percentage of married people. There also seems to be a pretty high average for

celebrity mags/ and or web sites. Last but not least, 82% of people in these profiles pay

their own bill. All of these variables cater largely to Sarahs market. Moreover, having a

family could be very profitable and rewarding. Sarah not only has a husband but three

children as well. Sarah is able to spread the service with her family and bring more

customers to Ontela. Word of mouth would be a powerful tool over here since families

tend to have lots of contacts ranging from a husbands co-workers to a childs friend.

Ontela could take advantage of this opportunity and start to aim for families to increase

their customer base. In this strategy, Ontela could be targeting all three markets within

one. The kids represent Reginas market while Sarahs husband could represent Steves

market. Therefore, the potential for high profitability is in the market of Sarahs. Also

since Sarah is hesitant to upgrade her phone, Ontela could entice her with their simplicity

and speed features to go with their wireless carrier. This would be beneficial for both the

wireless handset company and Ontela.

 Conclusion

In conclusion, Ontela should target Sarahs market since many of its

characteristics cater to her market and because a family oriented market is more

profitable. Sarahs market if thriving for something simple and convenient which Ontela

can provide with its PicDeck. In addition, a family oriented market results in more

customers in different occupations due the power of word of mouth in all the different

sectors of the family. Ontela should drive for a new market such as Sarahs instead of an

existing market like Reginas because of the ability to capture new segments of

customers and to establish them in a competition free zone.

Exhibit 1:

People Sarah Steve Regina

Gender F M F

Age 42 27 16

Extra Information Married with Single Single

three Successful Student

children real estate Living in the

Weak in agent internet age

technology Needs a Middle class

Likes things camera to Very

to be easy send his client adaptable

and pictures of Loves

convenient houses technology

Wants to Likes things Active on

upgrade her to be simple social media

phone Uses email a No income

Children lot

assist her in Has an

technology income

Has an

income
Exhibit 2:

Clusters

Survey Questions 1 2 3 4 5 6 Average

Q1 3.07 3.19 2.65 4.06 2.29 3 3.04

Q2 4.33 3.37 3.96 2.43 3.86 2.36 3.49

Q3 4.67 4.28 4.21 4.2 4.12 2.75 4.11

Q4 4.11 1.72 2.06 2.31 3.24 1.58 2.66

Q5 4.69 1.81 3.1 3.76 3.59 1.89 3.34

Q6 4.6 3.57 3.75 3.2 3.04 2.42 3.55

Q7 4.53 3.94 4.02 3.22 3.02 2.25 3.61

Q8 4.55 4.07 3.92 3.18 2.94 2.31 3.6

Q9 3.95 3.69 3.83 3 2.98 2.22 3.36

Q10 3.84 3.44 2.71 3.27 3.37 2.83 3.27

Q11 3.13 2.07 3.52 2.65 1.96 2.17 2.69

Q12 4.45 3.76 4.4 3.98 3.06 3.95 3.95

Sum 49.92 38.91 42.13 39.26 37.47 29.73

Cluster 1 had a more promising score since it had more responses. This makes our data

more realistic since it we get more insights on the perspective of the people.
 Exhibit 3:

Steve

Sarah

Regina
Regina is an innovator since she was born in the age where she is heavily

influenced by technology. She is very into social media and loves posting pictures. Sarah

on the other hand, is an early adopter since she wants to upgrade her old device to a better

product. She does not need as much persuasion as Steve. Steve is an early majority

because he needs that extra push or incentive to get PicDeck.