teamtacticalbookletFINAL-2

1
2014 Volume 1 Number 1
Team Tactical Alex Baty, Austin Culp, Chris Greenridge,
Nicole Marcial Santana, Tinson Nhon,
Emina Zajimovic
Dominating The On Demand
Home Services Market

1
2014 Volume 1 Number 1
Table of Contents
Meet Our Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Our Mission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
The On Demand Market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Valpak: An Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Our Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Walkthrough With Personas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Reflections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

32
Soft and clean square brochure indesign template 2014 Volume 1 Number 1
Meet Our Team
Alex Baty was born in Ohio, and moved to Florida when he was 7 and
has been here ever since. He’s a senior, and will graduate in July 2016
with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. After graduation he hopes to
get a job in the field of cost accounting. After he establishes his career,
he plans on completing his MBA and testing for his CPA. His biggest
strength is in organization and leadership. He has a background in
restaurant management, and has lead a restaurant from the age of 19.
Austin Culp is a 21 year old marketing major who will be graduating in
May. He recently quit his job at Birch&Vine on Beach Drive to pursue an
account management position at Marketopia in St. Pete. He contributed
to this project with his organization and leadership, easily taking charge
and ensuring everyone’s skills and strengths were used advantageously.
Chris Greenridge is a 9th year senior at USF who moved to FL from
NYC in 2005. He was excited to be taking this class, as it represents
the end of a long journey for him. He was also very excited to work
with ValPak, as his technological and creative interests aligned with
this project perfectly. He’s an entrepreneurship major who brought
a creative design oriented way of thinking to our group. Another of
his strengths is in fact public speaking. He is a full-time bartender
downtown at Lux Lounge and with an extensive sales background,
public speaking comes naturally to him.
Nicole Marcial Santana is 23 years old and looking to graduate with
a Bachelor’s Degree in accounting this May 2016. She was born in
Bayamon, Puerto Rico and moved to Florida when she was 12 years old.
She’s travelled to twelve countries in three continents and plans to keep
traveling throughout her lifetime to continue enriching her knowledge
of other cultures and different points of view. After graduation she plans
to work as an accountant while working on her MBA to get her CPA
license. She considers her knowledge of programs like InDesign as well
as her writing ability to be the greatest asset to this group.
Tinson Nhon is a senior at USFSP. He’s not sure what he’d like to do
in the future, but at the moment he enjoys drawing and painting. He’d
also like to travel and learn new languages. He’s currently fluent in
three languages. He’s hoping to learn more.
Emina Zajimovic is originally from Bosnia. She moved to the United
States when she was five years old. She’s a senior and hopes to graduate
in May 2016 with a finance degree. After graduation, she hopes to start
a career as a revenue analyst and go back to school to get her MBA. Her
strengths are that she’s team oriented and likes to make decisions as a
group. She’s also very organized student who worked diligently to ensure
every facet of the project was given full attention.

54
Our Mission: 54
Team Tactical journeys to establish
Valpak as a leader in the on demand home
services market by celebrating what it does
best: establishing trustworthy relationships
with suppliers and customers, and by forming
partnerships with companies that expand their
reach. We will help to reposition Valpak as a
more tech-savvy company while keeping the local
hometown care that customers are looking for in
a home services provider.
Our Mission
The On-Demand Home
Services Market: A
Summary
By The Numbers:
$400-800billion dollar industry
$3.785
billion dollars invest-
ed by the first quarter
of 2015 alone
86.5million Americans
that have used an
on-demand service
With the success of apps such as Uber and
Lyft, the on-demand economy is larger than ever.
After an unsuccessful, stalled start in the late
90’s and the early 2000’s, this fast-paced sharing
economy is prime for the picking. As more people
move away from the 9 to 5 mentality of working,
the more opportunities are created for both
consumers and businesses alike. The proverbial
gold mine of the on-demand market is currently
the home services sector. It has been estimated to
be a market worth $400 billion dollars, while others
estimate it to be as high as $800 billion dollars. The
rewards are obvious, but the challenge is in how
to tap into a section of the on-demand economy
that requires skilled labor and larger transaction
prices. A feat for any company, our team asks how
prepared is Valpak to enter this market? Read on in
the next section.

76
◊ AMAZON HOME SERVICES
◊ YELLOW PAGES
◊ YELP
◊ RETAILMENOT
◊ GOOGLE ADWORDS
Valpak: An Analysis
7
In order to formulate the best strategy, we set out to find what makes
Valpak tick. What makes it different from the rest. What does Valpak do
best, and where does it fall short?
Competitors
App Ratings
The on-demand market operates in an area that is by definition easy and instant. The top
providers of on-demand services are almost exclusively on apps. Given that American households
by 2015 were accessing the internet primarily using their mobile devices, (52% vs. the 42% desktop
use) and it is a trend that will only continue to grow, a successful and superior app is of the utmost
importance. The next page shows a comparison between Valpak’s app and a couple of its others
competitors.

98
Partners
◊ YASABE.COM
◊ SAVINGS.COM
◊ BRIDESMAID FOR HIRE
◊ GOOGLE ADWORDS PREMIER SMB
◊ FACEBOOK
Partnerships are a major part of what
has allowed Valpak to move from a direct mail
print coupon firm to a successful franchisor
recognized by Military Times EDGE, and a
marketing consultant and provider for small to
medium business owners. Valpak’s work with
Finn Partners in 2013 earned the app enough
recognition to be listed as number six in the
free Lifestyle apps in the iTunes store for its
integration of Passbook. That and the company’s
partnership with Roximity to deliver Ford and
Lincoln drivers with coupons as they drove
through a hands free car app gave Valpak large
media coverage. Partnerships have elevated
Valpak into the tech-savvy position it needs to
be in order to fully take advantage of the on-
demand home services market.
One of the aspects that makes Valpak unique is that some of its
biggest competitors are actually companies with which they’ve created
partnerships with, like YellowPages and Google Adwords. This highlights
Valpak’s commitment to synergy and sharing, which are a large part of the
on demand economy.

1110
Customers
Team Tactical set out to understand how customers behave and shop, as
well as what they think of Valpak.
Current Customers
◊ “Bargain Hunting Moms”
◊ Hispanic Generation X’ers
◊ Baby Boomer Homeowners
Desired Customers
◊ Young Millennial Professionals
◊ Generation X Couples
◊ Savings Minded Single Parents
80%of people will go online
to check out a business
they’ve never heard of
Where do customers get their
information?
70%
of customers believe
online reviews
52%believe print/
web advertising
50%believe broadcast
advertising

1312
Swot Analysis
e
Strengths Weaknesses
Opportunities Threats
◊ Brand Recognition
◊ Established relationships with
local communities
◊ More direct mail, less on
demand based
◊ Sub-par presence on social
media
◊ Customerservice isautomated
and impersonal
◊ On demand expansion
◊ Partnerships with more tech-
savvy companies
◊ Easy entry for potential
competitors
◊ More focused on small
businesses; less chance to gain big
pieces of the pie
Strengths
Withoutadoubt,Valpak’sgreateststrengthisitsabilitytoformtrustingandcloserelationships
with local communities. This is a unique and not to mention advantageous asset for a large company
to have. Valpak’s competitors have large customer bases, but lack the same close-knit relationships
that are the cornerstone of successful home services transactions. Start-up companies, the other
type of competitors in the on-demand market, have to create their client base from the ground up.
Weaknesses
Despite Valpak having substantial brand recognition, that recognition arises in the form of
the direct mail and print coupon aspect of the company. It is almost the direct opposite of the fast-
paced and instant gratification of the on-demand economy. Another one of Valpak’s weaknesses is
its customer service. Currently, its app doesn’t have a section for customer reviews, which bodes ill
because 70% of people will believe online reviews from total strangers compared to the 56% and
50% from print or web advertising, and broadcast advertising respectively.
Valpak’s weaknesses, however, can be seemed as opportunities. Valpak has an opportunity
to expand to meet the needs of the on-demand market. With its growing technology division
and digital media products, Valpak has the necessary infrastructure required for the on-demand
economy, but it would require for it to be expanded. This is where a partnership with a more tech-
savvy company, or a start-up, would come in handy.
Start-ups, however, are part of Valpak’s outside threat. There’s an ease of entry for potential
competitors and the market is far from saturated. There is a vast amount of demand compared to
supply. One of the biggest challenges start-ups face are obtaining enough capital, but financing
for on-demand start-ups are at an all-time high and keep growing. After money, a start-ups next
important asset is skilled labor for coding.
Opportunities Threats

1514
Five Forces Model
Industry
Competitive
Rivalry
Buyer
Power
Threat of
New Entry
Supplier
Power
Threat of
Substitution
Threats of New Entry:
• Relatively low costs
• No real barriers to entry
• Quickly growing
industry.
Buyer Power:
• Largely consumer driven-
buyer decides what goes
on
• Many competitors-
buyer can take business
anywhere
Threats of Substitution:
• Ideas can be easily
replicated
• Consumers can easily
switch businesses,
making substitution
valuable
Supplier Power:
• Suppliers create
industry standards
• With this power they
will shape what will
become of the on-
demand economy
So What Now?

1716
Our Solution: Three Tiers
The Bronze Medal
Better Understanding of the Companies:
On the Valpak App, each business
will have a full description of the company’s
mission, vision, and goals. It will also
provide what each business excels in and
how they are willing to help its customers.
This is a quick way for our customers to
understand the company and what kind of
services they provide.
Review Forms:
We want to hear what our customers think.
On the Valpak App, the customers will be able
to review the service and rate the company. This
will allow Valpak and the small businesses have a
better understanding what the customers think and engage with them better.
Refer-a-Friend Reward Program:
We want our business to grow and with the refer-a-friend reward program, it
will allow us to reach other potential customers. This program will not only help the
small business but also the current and new customers. When a current customer
refers-a-friend, they both receive a discount or a free gift with the service.
The Silver Medal
Put The “Social” Back In Social Media:
Broadcast and print advertising is declining
in effectiveness, as previously highlighted
in the Customers section. While Valpak has
Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest accounts,
they are not being handled as effectively as
they could be. Its presence on these sites
amounts to shouts into a void: screaming and
hoping someone listens. No longer. Our goal
is interaction.
We will keep track of tags such as “repair”,
“expensive”, etc. Someone is complaining
about their leaky faucets on Twitter? We will reply, offering a solution by referring
them to the Valpak app, and instituting a new hashtag: #ValpakTalkback.

1918
The Gold Medal
One way Valpak will place itself ahead of the
other on-demand home service companies is
with the roll-out of the one-touch button. The
idea is that Valpak will create a button that when
pressed, sends a message to a call center: the VP
Click. The call center will then call the person’s
phone, determine what the problem is, and
connect them with a home service company that
will satisfy their need.
For instance, if Sally Sue has a flood in her bathroom caused by a leaky pipe, she will
press the button. The call center will call Sally immediately, determine her problem, and
connect her with the community’s highest rated plumber.
After Sally’s experience with the plumber, she will have a chance to go on the Valpak
app and “save this company”. Sally’s saved companies will be the company that she is
automatically connected to when she calls the call center. Similarly, if Sally has a bad
experience, she can “forget this company” and she will never have to deal with said
plumber again.
New Business Model
We’ve examined competitors, partners, customers and now we’ve got
the plan. What else do we need to make it happen?
Key Activities Key ResourcesSuppliers
• Small/medium home
services business owners
Offering:
• Discounts if they also buy
digital consulting services
• Wider customer base
• Work from home
Software:
• Further development on the
app & website
Networking & Customer
Service
Marketing
• Reposition Valpak away
from direct mail
• Skilled labor for coding apps
and website development
• Financial capital
Value
Propositions
• Easy, quick, and reliable home
service professionals
• Free of the contractor/
employee problem because
Valpak is a middleman
• Affordable rates for customers
with attached discounts
• Professionals that consumers
can trust
• Convenience
Channels
• Online media
• Television
• Streaming Services
Customer
relationships
• Establish stronger social media
presence which will appeal to
the millennial demographic
who will eventually own homes
• Provide perks for customers
who review (after making in-
app reviews possible)

2120
Cost Structure
• High up front costs associated with improving the app, setting up
the button, and improving customer service. These are relatively
fixed costs, leaving some room open for negotiating prices with app
developers, and such.

• Variable costs come into play with marketing, dependent upon
Valpak’s commitment to non-traditional advertisement.
Revenue Streams
• Fees to small and medium business
owners for placing them on a priority
list when implementing the VP Click.

• Fixed pricing on the actual sale of the
VP Click.
• Option for home service contractors
Visualize With Us!

2322
Personas
Meet...
James Harrison
• Age- 34 Years Old
• Income - $120,000/yr
• Favorite Saying - “My kids and my family are all I
need.”
• James Harrison is a family man. He’s been
married to his beautiful wife for 8 years, and has two
little girls that are his life. They own a house together
and are constantly fixing or updating it when they
have the money. James and his wife both work full
time to make the hefty $120,000 salary for their
household, which leaves them only the weekends
to spend with their girls. On those weekend they enjoy hiking, camping, and generally being outdoors
enjoying the World. The last thing that James likes to do on his day off is spend time fixing things like a
leaky pipe or putting in a new water heat
Steve Planter
• Age- 25 Years Old
• Income - $65,000/yr
• Favorite Saying - “Just taking life day by day, figuring
it all out as I go.”
• Steve Planter is a bachelor who graduated 3 years ago
and is currently renting an apartment in the city. He
got a job straight out of college where he’s been quite
successful, now he’s making a good salary and living
the life he’s always dreamed of. He’s hardworking, and
honest, and intelligent, but because of his success he
lacks the free time to do things he’s capable of, like oil
changes on his car for example.
Betty Willis
• Age: 30 Years Old
• Income - $85,000/yr
• Favorite Saying - “Life is what you make it.
You can do anything you set your mind to, if
you try.”
• Betty Willis is a single mother of one to
her 8-year old son from her past marriage.
Betty married extremely young, and now
is trying to figure out life without someone
there to help her. She has a good job at the
bank, where she has flexible hours and most
holidays off to spend with her son. For all
intents and purposes, she’s super-mom. She never misses a soccer meet or an award ceremony. Her only
flaw is that she is in no way a handy woman. With her full time job and being a full time single mom, she
doesn’t have the time to learn.
Follow Their Journey!

2524
James’ wife tasks James with the new project of painting the living
room. A few weeks later, he opened the Valpak envelope he had
always ignored and found some coupons for home services.
After seeing the Valpak envelope, James went online to check out
the website. Once on Valpak’s website he entered in his zip code to
see available companies in his area.
Using Valpak’s website, James looks up and researches a few of the
painting companies. Right on Valpak’s website, James reads each
companies’ profile and reviews without having to go to another
site. As he browses, the site informs him that he can make an
account to save his favorite companies.
After deciding on a company or contractor, James contacts them
using a form that allows James to input what service he requires,
how to reach him, and what time he’s best available. He gets a live
phone call soon after from Paul’s Painters. They decide on a date
and time to work.
At this first appointment, Paul’s Painters is able to give James a
quote for the work he is requesting and begin the project. After
the project is completed, James receives an email from Valpak,
asking him to rate Paul’s Painters on their website, and inform
him of a new feature he’d be interested in: VP Click.
James Has To Paint A RoomSteve’s Car Broke Down
Steve was about to drive into work like he always does but when
he goes to start his car, it sputters and refuses to start. Angry and
running late, he leaves his car and catches a ride to work.
On his lunch break, Steve logs in to his Twitter and complains
about work. Because he uses the phrase “repair”, Valpak’s Twitter
comes across it and replies to Steve letting him know about its app
and coupons, ending their tweets with #ValpakTalkback. Steve
then downloads the app and checks out mechanics.
Because he doesn’t have much time to browse, Steve quickly fills
out an application and explains his problem, chooses a contact
method, and sends the request in. He soon gets confirmation
email, letting him know he will be contacted by several auto
mechanics.
Since Steve requested to get e-mails from the competing
companies vying for his business, he starts to get numerous
e-mails from the actual mechanics that have partnered with
Valpak, offering competitive prices and services. When Steve
decides, he goes to the Valpak app and chooses Larry’s Auto
Repair.
The next day, Larry comes with a tow truck, it being one of the
reasons Steve chose to go with Larry to begin with, and fixes
Steve’s car in time for his date. When Steve owns a home in the
coming years, he will rely on Valpak and use his loyalty points to
book home services.

2726
Betty Clogged The Sink
Betty Willis is a 30 year old single mother of one. Betty
makes about $80,000 per year and just recently bought her
own home. Betty heard about the VP Click from a woman in
her yoga class and decided to purchase the button and set it
up in her home. After all, it only takes five minutes to install!
Betty was doing the dishes when suddenly, her sink backed
up. She has tried to unclog the drain herself, but nothing
seems to be working!
Betty presses her VP Click because this problem needs to be
fixed immediately. Having set up her VP Click to contact her
via phone, Betty gets a call from a customer representative
who then dispatches a local plumber based on Betty’s
schedule.
Alex’s Plumbing shows up to fix Betty’s problem since Alex’s
Plumbing is a partner of Valpak and signed up with the VP
Click to get top priority on service calls.
Alex takes a look at Betty’s sink and tries to determine the
problem.
Looks like Alex found the issue! Another satisfied customer
thanks to the VP Click! Because Betty signed up with VP
Click, she will be billed automatically.
Watch the VP Click in action here! > https://youtu.be/qA1Y5xAqtd0

2928
Reflections
TeamTacticalwouldliketothankFredSteubeandValpakforthisamazing
opportunity to work on such a challenging and rewarding project!
Throughout this experience I’ve learned many things. I’ve
learned how to research effectively, how to focus on the important
things, and how to fine-tune and perfect a presentation. All of these
things will help ensure my success at a professional level. The most
important thing though, that I’ve learned, is that having a good
group foundation is critical to success. Being on the same page as
fellow team members contributed vastly to our success throughout
the semester. With our firm communication skills and contribution
from every team member involved, I’m positive that any task can be
accomplished. Setting up a good foundation on any group project is
what makes or breaks a group, and that’s what I’m most happy about
taking away from this class this semester.
The biggest thing I learned about throughout the course of this
project was strategy application. In order to be on top, a business
must differentiate itself from all the competitors. Other than learning
how important it is to differentiate one’s self, I learned how to work
well with a team and how to strive in the face of adversity-both with
group issues and with completing a project that was so complex in its
nature.
In just eleven short weeks, working on this project has taught
me valuable skills and attitudes I will be able to take with me and
apply to my own life, professional and personal alike. This project
took a lot of hard work and dedication, and wouldn’t have been
possible without the enthusiastic involvement of everyone in this
group. I never thought that I would come to learn that one of the
most important aspects of effective strategic management is building
and maintaining good relationships. It was truly a pleasure to learn
and then apply that knowledge directly on this project.
For the past eleven weeks, I have learned a lot about how to
strategically think and work with others. Throughout the semester
we would meet at least once or twice a week to discuss new ideas
and strategies. It was very interesting how we all had different
strategies but was able to come together as a group and pick the
best solution for Valpak. Not only did I learn a lot about working
with others but also about myself. I was able to push myself and
make myself think outside the box. Also, with the help of my group
and practice, I was able to overcome my fear of presenting in front
of a large audience. I believe we were so successful at completing
this project because as a group we had the same goal and that was
to find a solution for Valpak.
In the first month of the semester, I was positive of a few things. One,
that our group’s suggestions and input would have no impact on our
client, Valpak. Two, that no matter how much research analysis we
could do, that none of it, I would see as useful after this semester.
Both of those two things have been proved incorrect. I am extremely
confident going into the final weeks of the semester that Valpak will
find our group’s ideas useful and just as importantly that the learning
of how the home services industry has evolved in just a short number
of years seems to be invaluable. I STAND CORRECTED!

30
Soft and clean square brochure indesign template
Works Cited
Chaffey, Dave. “Mobile Marketing Statistics Compliation.” Smart Insights. Web.
Hackett, Tanner. “Why On-Demand Delivery Services Failed in the 90s.” Business Insider. 14 Sept. 2014. Web.
Hawthorne, Janelle. “Valpak’s digital effort delivers as coupons reach electronic inboxes.” PR Week [US] May
2013: 89. General OneFile. Web.
Jaconi, Mike. “The On-Demand Economy Is Revolutionizing Consumer Behavior - Here’s How.” Business
Insider. 13 July 2014. Web.
Lush, Edie. “The Uberfication of Everything: Sharing Economy Is Here to Stay.” 02 Feb. 2014. Web.
“Millenials & Homeownership.” MGIC Connects. Web. <http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE|A421771
711&v=2.1&u=tamp44898&it=r&p=ITOF&sw=w&asid=8963d478ca4e98f3aa4b7c796865b4b1>.
McManus, Roger. “A click away: online reviews help your shop’s traditional advertising.” Tire Review July
2015: 24+. General OneFile. Web.
“The On-Demand Economy Is Here To Stay and Now Is the Time to Put It to Use for Your Business.” Forbes,
14 July 2015. Web.
Physioc, Felice. “INFOGRAPHIC: The Consumer in Power.” WOBI, 18 July 2012. Web.
“Porter’s 5 Forces - Advertising Industry.” Desi Jewellers. Web.
Taylor, Harriet. “Amazon, Google Move into On-demand Home Services.” CNBC. 1 Oct. 2015. Web.
Webster, Karen. “Michael Porter’s Five Forces and Payments Innovation.” Pymnts.com. Mar. 2014. Web.

teamtacticalbookletFINAL-2

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (15)

Similar to teamtacticalbookletFINAL-2

Similar to teamtacticalbookletFINAL-2 (20)

teamtacticalbookletFINAL-2