Gould Inc.

Purpose:

Willard Koepf, national sales manager of the Graphics Division of Gould, Inc. wants to review marketing possibilities for the electrostatic printer Gould 4800 and formulate a marketing plan for FY 1970.

The purpose of this analysis is to determine:

• What should be Gould Incs distribution strategy: Whether marketing efforts should be concentrated toward OEM’s or have the Graphics Division sell the product directly to end users.

• Financial goals- Maintain a 15% growth in earnings per share over the next 10-15 years.

• Break-even and become profitable with this new product within at least 5 years.

Recommendations:

• Make a second attempt at market research on the market for electrostatic printers;

• Identify the attributes sought by end users in the printer market, i.e. their perceptions and preferences like character speed, peripheral requirements, software and application packages.

• Develop a positioning and distribution strategy based on the above findings. For example, create interest among end users by giving introductory trial offers with money back guarantee. Provide initial set-up and maintenance support by hiring a sales force of atleast 10 people.

• Expend initial marketing efforts to create awareness in Line Printer Market and Plotter Market and then give bulk discounts to OEM’s to push the product.

Analysis:

Market/ Consumer Analysis:

Gould National Battery Inc. faced a declining market share and a fall in earnings of 25% between 1962 and 1967. To revive the company, Gould National Battery merged with Clevite Corporation and launched a new product – the electrostatic printer Gould 4800.

The market for computer peripherals was rapidly growing and Gould’s management wanted to enter this market to become profitable.

The Graphics Division of Gould Inc. had very high expectations of the product solely on the basis of their engineers’ feelings about the product. There was no extensive market research available on the...