1. Running Head: OPERATING VARIABLES FOR ONTRAPORT.COM 1
Ontraport.com: Operating Variables and Situational Factors
Isela Espinosa – Group 5
Golden Gate University

2. OPERATING VARIABLES FOR ONTRAPORT.COM 2
Ontraport.com: Operating Variables and Situational Factors
The Operating variables are the second segmentation nested in the first segmentation of
Firmographics. The variety of its criteria such as, company technology, product and brand-use
status, customer capabilities, and customer strategic type enable ONTRAport to have a more
précised identification of current and potential customers. The operating variables can be applied
singly or in combination, therefore, the criteria must be selected thoroughly.
Ontraport targets small-to mid-sized companies, solo-entrepreneurs, located in medium-
to-large-population cities throughout the US. As ONTRAport gathers information on its
audience, the better they will know the customer. After segmenting the audience by industry,
location, and size its time to define these segments further. Product and brand-use status is how
ONTRAport will establish the perfect audience. The audience is broken up by their reactions to
products in terms of readiness to use (for those who are not customers) and usage rate (light,
medium, or heavy, for those who already purchase) are valuable means of distinguishing one
from the other (Brennan). The benefit of breaking them up allows ONTRAport to learn from its
existing customers to nurture their needs and keep them as loyal customers. ONTRAport’s
Account Managers are here to flourish the relationships in portfolio management by treating the
loyal heavy users with extra care. It is vital for ONTRAport to keep a high retention rate in order
to stay afloat of the competitors such as, Infusionsoft, HubSpot, and Pardot.
A majority of ONTRAports heavy users are people who wanted to start online stores and
online marketing experts running small businesses ranging from 1-10 employees.
ONTRAaport’s heavy users are customers that spend a substantial amount of money and who
use the software the most. The heavy users have a prior education, such as college graduates, and

3. OPERATING VARIABLES FOR ONTRAPORT.COM 3
personal experiences in the industry of marketing and sales. The light users are solo-
entrepreneurs like authors, speakers, trainers, and coaches. Light users spend the least money and
do not use the software as often as the heavy users. Regardless of being a heavy user or light
user, ONTRAport must keep a balanced customer portfolio by investing in the light users. It is
possible that the light users can become the heavy users of the future (Ferry). Perhaps they are
light users because their needs are not being met, so segmenting them will help ONTRAport
nurture them.
Another advantage of using product and brand-use status to segment is the knowledge
gained from existing customers, which helps ONTRAport define potential companies who share
similar characteristics in the use of products (Brennan). In conclusion, It is crucial for
ONTRAport to divide its audience between a light user and heaver use in order to gather
information to segment the audience in why they purchase, their capabilities to re-purchase, and
what triggers some to use the tools more than others. This operating variable is designed to meet
the needs of ONTRAport’s existing and future customer to grow the business and create more
profit for both.
Customer Capabilities is the second operating variable ONTRAport uses for its
segmenting to gather information on the general characteristics of companies. ONTRAport
understands the importance of having and using a CRM system that collects real-time data to
better segment. A CRM system helps ONTRAport in the process of establishing what customers
are capable of doing with it's product and processes in order match the abilities and uncertainties
of ONTRAport and its buyers. "CRM systems can also give customer-facing staff detailed
information on customers' personal information, purchase history, buying preferences and
concerns” (Ehrens). "Leaders, especially in marketing, need to be able to extract insights and

4. OPERATING VARIABLES FOR ONTRAPORT.COM 4
make predictions based on existing and external data," said Meagan Eisenberg, CMO of
MongoDB. Furthermore, A former VP of Customer Acquisition and Marketing at DocuSign
said, "Marketers also need to create efficiencies in the follow up of leads using predictive
analytics and modeling to create a better scoring methodology to focus on opportunities most
likely to turn into customers." (Anderson). ONTRAport’s objective is to leverage the information
in its CRM system to demonstrate a superior knowledge of their customer’s needs by solving
their problems and future customer’s problems. The CRM system helps ONTRAport define its
most profitable customers and enable ONTRAport to segment its customers into groups of
buyers with different tastes or budgets (Using CRM to build customer relationships). Lastly,
by having the CRM system ONTRAport has all the data it needs to segment and drive sales
from its existing database rather than having to spend money on attracting new clients.
Situational Factors
There are many factors that influence ONTRAport’s customer’s buying decisions.
The interpersonal relationships and communication processes between the organizational
members are some of the major contributors in the complexity. ONTRAport faces
competition of similar businesses which is the largest external factor affecting its success,
besides the ever evolving and advancement of technology. It is necessary that ONTRAport
continue to differentiate itself to stand above its competitors. Secondly, ONTRAport has to
be aware of its current and potential customers financial situation. The entrepreneur’s are
capable of choosing a similar product and service for a lower price. As a supplier, now that
Ontraport knows what factors influence organizational buyers, they can work up its business-to-
business sales strategies to manipulate organizational buying activities and thus procure more
purchases (Thakur).

5. OPERATING VARIABLES FOR ONTRAPORT.COM 5
References
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Throughout The Customer Lifecycle. Retrieved June 15, 2015, from
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look-to-expand-predictive-capabilities-throughout-the-customer-lifecycle.html
Brennan, R., Canning, L., & McDowell, R. (n.d.). Business Market Segmentation. In Business-
to-business marketing (3rd ed., pp. 136-161). SAGE Publications.
Ehrens, T. (2014, November 01). What is customer relationship management (CRM) ? -
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Ferry, M. (2010, November 11). Randall Beard’s Blog. Retrieved June 14, 2015, from
https://randallbeard.wordpress.com/tag/heavy-users/
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Thakur, S. (2011, July 30). What Factors Influence Organizational Buyers' Behavior. Retrieved
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