Fiserv, a pioneer in electronic payments, would like to increase the number of consumers who receive bills electronically. Currently, adoption is relatively low. To help guide their efforts, Fiserv managers have done extensive customer research and have segmented the market based on customer perceptions of e-billing. Students must recommend which segments to target and why. To support their recommendations, students must calculate the likely financial costs and benefits of adoption, estimate the likely returns for targeting different segments, and make targeting and positioning recommendations based on these calculations. Because Fiserv's direct customers are billers (such as utilities and credit card companies) and its end users are individual consumers, the case allows a focus on both B2B and B2C issues.
This case gives students the opportunity to estimate the relative profitability of different segments and to make targeting and positioning recommendations based on these calculations. It highlights the importance of assessing segments based on both quantitative and qualitative considerations. It also emphasizes the potential difficulties associated with targeting multiple segments at once.
