CYBERSURF
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
The company
•
Founded in 1994
•
Headquarters is in Ottawa, Canada
•
Industry: Internet
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Company Size: 51-200 employees
- 80% of employees are male
THE COMPANY
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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
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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
&Steps
Mission
statement
in segmenting
and
Identify
market
needs
•
targeting markets
1. group potential buyers
2. group products to be sold
into categories
3. develop a market-product
grid and estimate size of
markets
4. select target markets
5. take marketing actions to
reach target markets
Execute
marketin
g
program
mission since 1995 has been to provide the highest
quality products and services to its Canadian
customers at the lowest possible prices
•
3 focuses in product development & design
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maximize available resources
•
reduce operating costs
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create new revenue opportunities
Current Situation
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Currently Cybersurfs main markets are Ottawa and
Calgary
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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
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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
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segmenting prospective buyers into groups that have
common needs, and will respond similarly to a
marketing action
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they must be relatively similar to each other in terms of
their consumption
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Cybersurf targeted their marketing segmentation to
single- family households with unmarried children
under the age of 18 (80% of consumption)
Product positioning
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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
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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
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High speed internet is also increasingly in demand
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Many people are switching from dial up connections
because it is much more time consuming
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DSL high-speed internet is now one of the two major
markets for ISP's in Canada
Conclusion
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Cybersurf is a self destructive telecommunications
company that failed to provide what it promised to
customers in a market where competition is fierce
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As a result of poor marketing and even poorer product
design Cybersurf will no longer exist in 5 years (sold
assets to Distributel)
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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