After three years of rapid growth in a relatively young industry, branch and payment processing company RevenueWire.com was working in a completely different environment. Sales growth in the partner network service company has leveled off, and the orders for Q1 2010 looked the same as those for the 1st quarter of 2009. New competitors, low barriers to entry, and the plateau in the affiliate market means more opportunities for growth across the industry. Despite these conditions, the company's owners have set aggressive goals for revenue in 2010 and 2012. General manager should evaluate growth opportunities, including new markets and new products, to determine how to meet its objectives. Because RevenueWire.com competitors are private, little public data on the state of their finances or the size of the various markets. General manager has learned to use surrogate data to assess the market and make strategic decisions, and the students have to do the same for the development of an effective three-year plan that will hit or exceed the expectations of the owners. The case provides students with decision-making in the global industry is dominated by private companies. It also provides students with the industry of affiliate marketing from the point of view of an entrepreneurial company that acts as an intermediary between merchants and affiliates. He describes many of the challenges facing the intermediary sector, which includes not only legal, but also a wide range of merchant fraud and counterfeit products. "Hide
by Rebecca A. Grant Source: Richard Ivey School of Business Foundation 16 pages. Publication date: April 12, 2011. Prod. #: W11054-PDF-ENG