Turner Test Prep Case Study

1.  What is Jessica’s idea?

Jessica Turner is the founder and CEO of Turner Test Prep, a California company specializing in prepar-ing people for the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam. Since its inception, Turner has lost some luster and Jessica wants to return to a high growth business by improving on marketing efforts and gaining market share.

2. How does Turner Prep overcome the competition from NTC?

NTC has the advantage of being a leader in test prep services and has proven through its high passage rates. NTC has become highly recognized in the test prep services as a a company whose students achieve high grades/completion rates. Jessica must highlight her competitive advantages.
A possible approach Jessica could take is to: make it clear that she has a high pass rate by communicating that to increase her credibility and attract students, she must also leverage the high degree of personalized service that characterizes Turner Test Prep. A final step would be to set up a strong marketing campaign which will center around setting up a website that will clearly communicate all the benefits of her courses, by providing in depth materials and the level commitment that all her students receive. Jessica should also run promotional offers that entice customers/students to a high value program that is accessible and almost guaranteeing success.

3.  How can Jessica achieve greater market share?
Jessica needs to leverage her personalized services and grow the niche segment. It is important that Jessica offer a good set of options and ensure that this propositional value is clearly known to the target demographic (students seeking personalized test prep).

4.  What is Jessica’s break even point?
Her BE point is 279 students based on Fixed Costs of $139,200, Variable Costs of $600 per student and a sales price of $1,100, so the BE is:

139,200 / ($1,100 – $600) = 278.4 ~ 279 students