The “Cumber-Coil”:
A Revolutionary Product for the Value-Conscious

SITUATION ANALYSIS
Cumberland Metals Industries developed a new type of cushion pad for pile drivers made of curled metal. The 11.5 inch “Cumber-Coil” was tested by two different companies on two different projects and was found to far exceed the performance of the existing market-dominant product, the asbestos pad. The Cumber-Coil weighed half what the asbestos pad did and boasted a 33% faster driving time, 60% reduction in heat generated, and 400% less time wasted changing pads.

The company that performed the first test was ecstatic with the results and has been pressuring CMI to sell them more Cumber-Coils. Since this is a brand new product unlike anything …show more content…

The first four segments represented groups that are likely to have a positive interest in the new Cumber-Coil pads. Manufacturers and consultants are strong influencers, but are not likely purchasers. Contractors of all sorts are the most likely purchasers, but tend to be the least educated about the pads. The larger contractors were likely to be more savvy purchasers, but would have to be carefully communicated to and handled, while the smaller companies were more likely to be price-sensitive.

The last segment, the rental companies, would likely not have a strong or positive interest in these pads since they make their money from hourly rental rates and the Cumber-Coil pads would significantly reduce the time per job that the contractors would need their equipment.

3. ABILITY TO REACH SEGMENTS
CMI had limited ability in-house to reach any of the segments. They had no direct sales force or distribution outlets of their own via which to sell the new product, so reaching the contractors directly would not be easy. Reaching the supply houses and retail outlets would be similarly challenging without direct contact. This left the manufacturers as the segment they could most easily reach with their available resources.

4. DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS
The existing channels included rental outlets, construction supply houses, manufactures and other miscellaneous outlets.