CYBERSURFTELECOMMUNICATIONS

The company

• Founded in 1994

• Headquarters is in Ottawa, Canada

• Industry: Internet

• Company Size: 51-200 employees- 80% of employees are male

THE COMPANY• dedicated to development and deployment of innovative software solutions for Internet service, Internet portal, and new media applications

• Products include: - direct user targeting and guaranteed ad message delivery software- comprehensive turnkey portal that any ISP can adopt- animation technology that delivers television quality to a user’s desktop

the company

• Revenue in 2007: 1.5 million- up 62% since 2003, however still not enough to maintain itself against companies such as Bell or Rogers

• Cybersurf subsidiaries: - 3web- CIA

product design& Mission statement

• mission since 1995 has been to provide the highest quality products and services to its Canadian customers at the lowest possible prices

• mission since 1995 has been to provide the highest quality products and services to its Canadian customers at the lowest possible prices

Identify

market

needs

Steps in segmenting and targeting markets1. group potential buyers2. group products to be sold into categories3. develop a market-product grid and estimate size of markets4. select target markets5. take marketing actions to reach target markets

Execute marketi

ng progra

m

• 3 focuses in product development & design

• maximize available resources

• reduce operating costs

• create new revenue opportunities

Current Situation• Currently Cybersurfs main markets are Ottawa and Calgary

• An article released on March 23rd 2009 in Calgary, Alberta told the public that Cybersurf would be selling their assets to Distributel

• Distributel will assume certain liabilities of Cybersurf relating to its business (the "Assumed Liabilities")

• Purchase price: $5,500,000

current situation• Cybersurf has filed an application for relief of chronic over billing and disconnection by bell- Cybersurf failed to pay the rental fees of Bell’s equipment and software in 2008

• Cybersurf seems to be a very unreliable telecommunications company with frequent network disconnections, poor customer service and weak coverage

• Cybersurf, Rogers, Bell and Telus were investigated by the Competition Bureau of Canada and was forced to sign a document titled “Abuse of Dominance in Telecommunications”

Other isp (competition) • Bell- security advanced; protects up to 3 computers in your home- fast, reliable, portable (internet stick)- wireless router allows unlimited access in home

• Shaw - high speed as well as business internet- good online support- guaranteed 50% faster internet

isp’s continued• Rogers- high speed anywhere with the innovative “rocket stick”- joined with Yahoo & Yahoo Kids- packages from $25 per month to $150 per month- download time claimed to be faster than anyone else

• Telus- smaller ISP- lowest prices starting at $10 per month- “no contract required”- is NOT available everywhere

positioning strategy

• In 3web's mission statement, they demonstrate their positioning strategy when they say "what consumers get with 3web is value-priced communication products and services for significantly less than the competition, but at a quality level equal to or better than the others."

Marketing segmentation• segmenting prospective buyers into groups that have common needs, and will respond similarly to a marketing action

• they must be relatively similar to each other in terms of their consumption

• Cybersurf targeted their marketing segmentation to single- family households with unmarried children under the age of 18 (80% of consumption)

Product positioning• the place that the product offered stand in the mind of consumers on important attributes relative to competitive products.

• two approaches of product positioning:-Head-to-head: competing directly with competitors on similar product attributes in the same target market- Differentiation: seeking a less competitive, smaller market niche in which to locate a brand, usually stressing the unique aspects of the product

• Cybersurf uses/used head-to-head positioning - they sold internet, cable, and telephone to families/households & businesses

Major isp Markets

• The two major markets for ISP's in Canada are Cable and DSL high-speed internet products (DSL - digital subscriber line)

• Internet usage is continuously increasing and these two options seem to be the most popular

• Cable internet is very convenient for those who already have cable or will have cable because the internet connection can be provided through the cable service (Cybersurf did this through Shaw)

major isp markets

• High speed internet is also increasingly in demand

• Many people are switching from dial up connections because it is much more time consuming

• DSL high-speed internet is now one of the two major markets for ISP's in Canada

Conclusion• Cybersurf is a self destructive telecommunications company that failed to provide what it promised to customers in a market where competition is fierce

• As a result of poor marketing and even poorer product design Cybersurf will no longer exist in 5 years (sold assets to Distributel)

• Since Cybersurf started off as a small company competing with monopolistic companies such as Bell and Rogers, they failed to diversify their product and develop their market