Target Market
According to an October 1999 report by ActivMedia Research, reported on in The Industry Standard,companies will spend more than $10 billion this year on web site development. Whittman-Hart previouslydefined their target market by revenue size focusing on the middle market of $50-$500 million. Withthisnew e-commerce effort the consulting group will broaden it’s focus to the $0-$1 billion range. To dothis,Whittman-Hart will capitalize on its existing client relationships and its traditional businesspracticeswhile also building a reputation as an I-builder through successful projects for emerging companies.
To target this $10 billion and growing market, the company will segment the market and marketingeffortsinto the following segments:
- Pre-VC Funded Startup (capitalization under $1-20M)
- VC Funded Startup (capitalization $1-$50M)
- Very Small Companies ($10-$49M revenue)
- Small Companies ($50-$99M revenue)
- Mid-Sized Companies ($100-$500M revenue)
The following table demonstrates how the market segments will serve Whittman-Hart’s over allgoals:
Goal | Market |
Build a Reputation as an I-builder | Pre and Post VC Funded Startups |
Strong Bond to Up and Coming Companies | Very Small and Small Companies |
Meet Existing Clients Needs | Mid-Sized Companies |
Grow | All |
Recognizing the risk of this new effort, Whittman-Hart will establish sales goals for thefirstyear of operation of this business unit based on the following ratios. These goals are based on aheuristicrisk assessment of each market segment. The Whittman- Hart sales team will be charged with maintainingclient loads in the apportioned ratios to minimize risk and maximize growth.
First Year Target Market Goals
Selling Strategies:
Whittman-Hart will offer e-business services in the following categories:
- e-Strategy
- e-Architecture
- Customer Relationship Management
- Supply Chain Management
- Knowledge Strategies
- Branding & Design
However, each service offering will have a tailored sales presentation to meet the different marketsegment’s needs.
Pre-Funded Internet Startups
The first place for any prospective consultant to analyze an opportunity is to look atlogicalpoints for outsourcing. Pre-funded Internet startups, otherwise known as people with salable ideas,generally have large IT needs and limited internal skill-sets. Their basic need is to develop materialstotake to potential investors for funding. This can take the form of technical documents, specifications,oreven a prototype. They need to do this with their own money, which constitutes a large risk, and inInternet time. Whittman-Hart’s technical expertise makes them well suited to provide these services.
This market is useful to Whittman-Hart for a number of reasons. For one, it offers not only theopportunity to build a reputation as an I-builder with a new company that "makes it big," butalsothe opportunity to build a long term mutually beneficial relationship with these emerging companies. Inaddition, the market is plentiful; there seems to be no end to the number of "people with goodideas" who are starting companies in the Bay Area. On the down side the projects risky because theyareshort-term, the companies are cost conscious with limited resources and may even not be able to payafterwork is completed, they may lack clarity on projects causing unbillable delays and staffing problems.Manyconsultants avoid working with these projects for these reasons; however, Whittman-Hart is used toworkingwith smaller companies and shorter projects.
Funded Internet Startups
Once a company has received investor funding they are ready to make their idea a reality.Somecompanies will choose to hire engineers and build their own e-business, they may seek consultancy instrategic development. Many others will outsource development in order to get their product to marketfaster. Either way these young companies will need help, and many seek it from consultants. Whittman-Hartcan offer both the business management expertise with a strong technical perspective. They can workfastand flexibly.
Existing Whittman-Hart Clients
Whittman-Hart has existing relationships with hundreds of companies in the Bay Area. Thesecompanies are web enabling many internal and external functions. Whittman-Hart has valuablerelationshipswith these clients serving various project based IT needs.
Small/Medium Sized Software Companies
In 1999 Whittman-Hart was named one of the fastest growing companies by Fortunemagazine.To maintain this growth they must continuously seek out new opportunities and adjust to meet themarket’s ITneeds. Whittman-Hart is reinventing itself as a full service e-business consultant. They are expandingtheir traditional target market to both larger and smaller companies, markets they have not historicallysought out. Because of the easy transferability of web enablement projects, their experience with theabovemarket segments will facilitate entering this market.