Marketing Strategy of the Memory Card Readers - Coursework Example

Heading: Marketing strategy Your name: Course name: Professors’ name: Date Description of the market The product chosen for market mix analysis is smart card reader which is its brand name, a new type of readers capable of reading all the computer and phone memory cards like SD, Flalsh, XD and SM among others. Since consumers are sensitive to the quality and the functionality of the product, it can be categorised under shopping goods in classification of consumer goods. Market size The market size of the memory card readers is on the rise given the relevance of computing and the need to foster fast data transfers in between computers, laptops and even phones like HTC and iPhones. With the card reader capable of reading up to 2.0 USB speed, this speed allows file transfer up to 2 Mb/s and hence one of the fastest in the modern computer world. The market size of the memory card reader is thus expected to grow even more and became a household property like a computer because of its complementing functions. It is also expected to increase its market size all around the world as the computer sales have increased throughout the world. In essence, since more than 200 million PCs and more than 150 million laptops have been sold all over, the memory card reader which cost about 5$ AUD is thus expected to grow even faster than the rate of both PCs and Laptops. In Australia, the market size is large cannot be fully accounted for since almost the entire population uses computers and phones. This means that memory card readers can be used by a wider demographics in Sydney the target market. Major players/competitors In Australian market alone, top brands of card readers include; Aspacer, Transcend, SanDisk and LACIE. Aspacer manufactures Jaycar brands, Transcend manufactures PhotoFast, SanDisk produces Swann and LACIE produces Lexar. These are the top four brands in the Australian market but there are other manufactures of other brands that have also entered into the Australian market and also other parts of the world market. These brands include; disk smith, Verbatim and Cyber Snipa among others. Market segment The market segment will be considered based on the following factors; common needs desires, potential product users, consumer behaviour, demographic consideration and geographic consideration. These aspects of the consumer characteristics are essential in ensuring that the product successfully penetrates the market and achieves high sales turnover. Market segmentation will also be essential in determining the target group of people that are likely to use the product (Wren 2006). Based on market research usage of computers and smart phones, people of ages 8-60 are the dominant users of tables, PCs and Smartphone’s for entertainment purposes and hence market segment for the smart card readers (Franses 2001). This is also because these demographic practise a lot of song download and sharing with friends and even between devices that they have. It is common for these people to download a song and transfer the song to their iPod or iPhone, the vice versa is also common. These behaviours form the basis of the demographic choice. Since the target market will initially be in Australia and precisely in Sydney, this will be the initial geographical segmentation of the market. More so, the use of Smartphone’s and related devices are high in Sydney as compared to other parts of the country. External marketing environment and its effects on the market The key environmental aspects that will have an effect on the product include economical aspect, technological aspect, competition and legal aspects (Rodiek 2008). The economical effects will be important because it determines if the product will be sold in the market or not. The economy of the target market segments explains its purchasing power and hence an important aspect in marketing process. The development of technology means the reduction of the life cycle of the product hence a key environmental aspect that determines the progress of the product in the market, competition forces also may significantly reduce the market scope of the smart card reader and hence a vital external environmental factor. The legal aspect also determines the cost of production and hence the cost of the product, this will be an important factor to be considered because of its implication to the survival of the product in the market. Attractiveness of the market The market attractiveness is influenced by market growth, size, economic factors like inflation, technology, competitors and environmental factors among others. All these factors determine the market attractiveness of a given product and thus influencing marketing strategies that should be employed. In this case, the smart card reader has a relatively large market size with the potential of growing even further. Technological growth also currently has a positive effect on the product because of its features when compared to competing products. Because of the technological progress, the same technology might be a barrier at some stages of the product life cycle (O'Dougherty 2007). There are many competitors of the product and hence a wide range of products for the customers to choose from, the competitors level the demands of the market. Economic factors such inflation currently do not have any negative effect on the product. Any future economic changes might however affect the sales of the product in its market niche. On a positive note, the purchasing power of the target market segment is high and hence adding to the market attractiveness of the product. The environmental factors are favourable because of the favourable regulatory climate and the positive social acceptance of the product in the market segment given its important role in sharing and transfer of files from different digital devices. Generally, the market attractiveness of the product is positive. Branding strategy In order to significantly improve the brand image of the card reader, the brand name “Smart Card reader” will be used to develop the brand because of a number of reasons. The first one is because there are no strong brands of USB card readers as a result of wrong use of names that does not instantly say what the product is about. Using the brand name “Smart Card reader” coupled with qualities of the product as compared to its competitors will be critical in developing the brand name to a wide scope of clientele (Walker 2003). More so listing the key features and the benefits of the product to the consumer will be used in developing brand image. Attributes critical for enhancing the brand image of smart card reader will be fair pricing, packaging in an attractive small box and also providing different colours of the products to the market. Identifying emotional benefits and narrowing it down to how the benefits such as music sharing, using different memory card at the same time will be essential in further enhancing the brand image of the product. It will also be essential to consider key factors in the competitive positioning strategy in order to clearly or uniquely identify the product and thus creating a distinction with competing products (Craig 2000). Key features of the product and its name will be of importance in creating a unique brand image of “Smart Card reader”. Lastly to create a lasting brand image of the card reader, maximizing on its functionality will be the key aspect as consumers will always like to buy a product that fully satisfies their need and also shows equivalence to its pricing Product mix According to Schiffman (2008) product mix is the entire set of type of product such as brand, colour, size and style. Product mix consist of two main dimensions namely, breadth which is the number of product lines and depth which are variety of sizes, colours and models. Product mix strategies include; expansion, contraction alteration and trading up and down. Smart card reader bread will only concentrate on one product line which features smart card reader. This is important because of the need to develop the brand image of the product in its market niche. The increase of the product depth will include provision of different design sizes, colours, models and varieties. This is particularly important considering the youthful target market. Pricing strategy Product pricing is one of the most sensitive aspects of the marketing aspect that can decide the success of the product in the market niche. This is mainly because if a new product that already exists in the market is priced above other market prices, it may not survive the competition despite the superior quality and other important features. On the contrary low pricing of the product may create a negative image to the consumers as they may perceive the product to be of low quality (Hyman 2010). This may thus make consumers opt for another product serving the same purpose which is of higher price but well known. Considering these key aspects of the product pricing, ensuring that the price of the product does not create a negative perception is critical for the product success. The pricing strategy that will thus be used for the product is an average price which is slightly lower in price as compared to other memory card readers. This will thus make consumers want to experience the functionality and the new experience that the product has. Creating a psychological pricing by setting the price to be $9AUD instead of $10AUD will be another pricing strategy that will be used in setting the sales pace for the product at its introductory stage in this life cycle. Promotional strategy Promotion is also an essential aspect of the entire marketing process because it ensures that the consumer is made aware of the existence of the product and the functions of the product. Promotion also aims at creating a distinction between the product and its competing products versions which is a key aspect in convincing the consumers on the reason why they should opt for the product instead of its competitor’s products (Bradley 2007). There are many promotional strategies that can be employed especially in the information age where the barriers of geographical locations have been eliminated. One important promotional strategy that will be fostered in the introduction phase of the product is the use of social networks. Considering the growing aspect of the social network in today’s world, creating fan pages and like pages of the product that targets the market a particular market segments will be critical in ensuring that the product is made known to fits consumers. Since the product targets Australian market, twitter and facebook will be used to create a small profile of the product that aims at reaching to this particular market segment. Creating a website that details the functions of the product, pricing, colours, brand names and places of sales and other details will be imperative in ensuring that the target market is reached. Linking this website with other pages and creating Google search engine listing using key words will make the page accessible to a wider clientele and hence increased sales. Other forms of marketing that will be relevant to the product include direct marketing approach and setting prices for purchasing the product. This will be done by fixing codes on products and doing a once in a week price award to the lucky winner. Distribution strategy Distribution strategy is an important marketing consideration because it ensures that the product reaches the customer in the cheapest and strategic way possible. There are many distribution strategies that can be adopted in selling a product, they include but not limited to the following; direct selling, selling through an agent, using a distributor like a wholesaler and using a retailer (Baines 2002). Direct selling approach will be used in this case; the point of selling the product will be Sydney. The rationale for this option is because of the need to concentrate on the target market and direct sales will be the most basic and cost effective option. More so, the location of the shop will be critical because of the need to be strategic with respect to the consumer location. Because of this, smart card readers will be located near computer sales shops and phone sale shops because customers purchasing these products also need card readers. References Baines, P & Chansarkar, B 2002, Introducing market research, John Wiley & Sons, Sydney. Bradley, N 2007, Marketing research: tools & techniques, Oxford University Press, Melbourne. Craig, SC & Douglas, SP 2000, International Marketing Research, John Wiley & Sons, Sydney. Franses, PH & Paap, R 2001, Quantitative Models in Marketing Research , Cambridge University Press, Melbourne. Hyman, M & Sierra, JJ 2010, Marketing Research Kit for Dummies, For Dummies, New York, NJ. O'Dougherty, D 2007, Consumer Behaviour, Pearson, Canberra. Rodiek, C 2008, External Environmental Analysis - The U.S. Television Manufacturing Industry, GRIN Verlag, New York. Schiffman, LG & Hansen, H 2008, Consumer Behaviour: A European Outlook, Prentice Hall/Financial Times, New York. Walker, G 2003, Modern Competitive Strategy, McGraw-Hill International, New York. Wren, B, Stevens, RE, &Loudon, D 2006, Marketing research: text and cases, 2nd edn, Routledge, Canberra. Read More