I. Executive Summary: The October 2025 Dilemma

The Situation: It is the final week of October 2025. Mr. Karim Mansour, the newly appointed Executive Director of the Heart of Harmony Community Center (HoHCC) in Mahres, Sfax, Tunisia, faces a moment of truth. The HoHCC, a stunning 55,000 sq. ft. multi-purpose facility, completed its construction phase (Phase I) successfully with a 75 million TND investment from La Fondation Lumière. Mansour's team, inheriting the facility, must now transition this beautiful asset into a financially sustainable social enterprise.

The Challenge: The Foundation’s initial grant funding only covers the first six months of operations. To survive, the HoHCC must generate membership and program revenue to meet a recurring annual operating budget of 5.5 million TND. With just two months remaining before the new fiscal year budget must be finalized, current program utilization is only at 35%. The facility’s broad, unsegmented service offering is failing to establish a differentiated position against two entrenched competitors: the low-cost Municipal Recreation Center (MRC) and the premium Zenith Private Fitness & Arts Club. Mr. Mansour must urgently define a focused, actionable Strategic Marketing Plan (Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning) that ensures both community impact and financial viability.

II. Genesis and Phase I Success (2021–2025)

La Fondation Lumière initiated the HoHCC project to address a critical lack of integrated public spaces in the rapidly developing Mahres, Sfax, Tunisia. The core vision was to create a "Third Place"—neither home nor work—dedicated to holistic well-being.

Mansour, initially hired as a consultant to manage the organizational handover, recognized that the success of the HoHCC could not be measured by its construction (a one-time Project Management success, adhering to best-practice project management standards) but by its sustained operational quality. Phase I, the physical build, was marked by:

• Zero Safety Incidents during the 4-year construction period.
• On-Budget Delivery of the 75 million TND project.
• State-of-the-Art Facilities, including a 200-seat auditorium, professional culinary kitchens, three specialized arts studios, a large gymnasium, and a dedicated high-speed co-working annex supported by a modern Learning Management System (LMS) and a centralized booking platform.

The successful completion provided Mansour with an indisputable internal strength: a brand-new, high-quality physical plant and digital infrastructure that neither competitor could match.

III. The Organizational Excellence Foundation (Phase II)

To protect the physical investment and ensure high-quality service, Mansour mandated a stringent adherence to Organizational Excellence principles in every internal operation. This was essential for establishing a reliable and distinct Reason to Believe for the market.

• Service Standardization (Efficiency Principles): Mansour’s team had implemented a Standard Work methodology, akin to an efficiency framework, for all core services (e.g., facility cleaning, instructor preparation, workshop setup). This minimizes waste and variation.
• Quality Control (QC) & Metrics: The center rigorously tracks its Service Quality Index (SQI), which measures compliance against internal standards (e.g., 99.5% equipment uptime, 98% class schedule adherence). The current SQI is a strong 92%.
• Digital Reliability: The HoHCC maintains a 99.9% uptime target for its high-speed Wi-Fi and digital booking/LMS systems, leveraging its robust infrastructure to promise a seamless user experience.
• Capacity Building: All key HoHCC staff, including program managers, were trained in basic Continuous Improvement tools, ensuring a culture of self-correction and continuous professional development.

This foundation of Internal Excellence represents the HoHCC's most significant potential source of competitive advantage, allowing it to promise a higher quality, more consistent service experience than its competitors. The central marketing challenge is making this internal quality visible and valuable to the external consumer segments.

IV. Market Analysis and Competition

A. The Operating Environment (Mahres, Sfax, Tunisia)

The Mahres area is home to 120,000 residents, characterized by a highly educated, aspirational middle class. The average household income is 15% above the Greater Sfax Area median. The total addressable market for community, fitness, and educational services in the area is estimated at 36 million TND annually.

B. Competitive Landscape

Mansour conducted a thorough analysis of the two main competitors:

C. Segmentation Data (Exhibit 1)

HoHCC research identified four viable segments based on needs and Willingness to Pay (WTP), which must be converted into paying customers to meet the financial targets.

V. The Strategic Marketing Imperative and Financial Overview

Mansour calculated that to cover the 5.5 million TND annual operating budget, the HoHCC requires a minimum of 2,000 active, full-paying members at an average monthly rate of 230 TND, supplemented by event and workshop rental income.

Exhibit 2: HoHCC Annual Operating Budget Breakdown (TND)

Mr. Mansour's dilemma is acute: He believes the HoHCC must choose one primary target segment (from Exhibit 1) where it can establish an unassailable differentiated position (leveraging its high internal quality) and then develop a highly profitable, scalable service offering around that segment. A failure to focus will result in the center becoming a high-cost version of the MRC—doomed to an early operational deficit.

VI. Assignment Questions

Students should prepare to present their strategic recommendations to Mr. Mansour (the instructor) to guide the HoHCC’s marketing strategy for the upcoming year.

1. Strategic Analysis and Targeting (Dynamic Resources): Using the provided data, perform a brief analysis (SWOT/VRIO) that concludes with the recommended single most attractive market segment for the HoHCC to prioritize (targeting). Justify your selection by explicitly demonstrating how HoHCC’s internal Organizational Excellence foundation (Section III) provides a sustainable competitive advantage (based on Dynamic Resources) that can be defended against future market shifts.
2. Competitive Strategy and Positioning (Value Proposition): Define the HoHCC’s recommended competitive strategy (Differentiation, Cost Leadership, or Focused approach). Explicitly define the recommended Value Proposition (e.g., More-for-More, More-for-Same, Less-for-Much-Less, etc.) and then develop the final, persuasive Positioning Statement for the HoHCC (e.g., "For [Target Segment], HoHCC is the [Frame of Reference] that provides [Key Benefit] because of [Reason to Believe]").
3. Marketing Mix (The 4Ps): Develop an integrated and cohesive Marketing Mix (4Ps) that aligns fully with the recommended positioning:
   • Product: Outline one specific flagship program (features, core services, benefits) designed exclusively for the chosen target segment, leveraging the digital platform and LMS for service delivery and enhancement.
   • Price: Propose a specific, justified pricing model for this flagship program that addresses the WTP range (Exhibit 1) and ensures a significant contribution to the 5.5 million TND revenue goal (Exhibit 2).
   • Promotion (IMC): Design a brief Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) plan (channels, key message, and allocation of the 500,000 TND marketing budget) for launching this flagship program.
4. Marketing Control (Triple Bottom Line): Identify the three most critical Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that Mr. Mansour should monitor weekly to ensure the successful execution and control of the new marketing strategy across the Triple Bottom Line: Profit, People, and Planet. (Note: Students must define one KPI for each dimension.)