Experience with Market Place Live - Term Paper Example

Experience with Market Place Live One of the biggest challenges was being a new entrant into the market where there were leading competitors were popular and advertised better and aggressively. Advertising became the biggest challenge for the company because it had to be kept within the budget and at the same time be used in the best possible way to endear consumers to the company’s products. The sales team was not enough to meet the demanding market. After the rejection of the company’s advertising, the company re-strategized by introducing rebates and investing more in advertising and by making changes to advertising and media placements as shown in the data below Workhorse – Previous Ad Workhorse – New Ad Mercedes – Previous Ad Mercedes – New Ad These decisions have helped the company improve its market share to 38% making it the market leader in a demanding and highly competitive industry as shown below Advertising- The Company had a small advertising budget because it wanted to keep its costs low. Having a low advertising budget led to the rejection of the company’s adverts by the International advertising federation. Had the advertising succeeded, the company would have sold more and even increased its market share from the current 38 percent. Sales team- The selected sales team was too small as compared to the demanding market in which the company operates. If the company had a stronger sales team, it could have sold more units and would have sold all the units as compared to the current situation where it had inventory left. The company should therefore focus on building a strong sales team both for the web and the sales office. Un-fulfilled demand- Dues to the small size of the company’s sales tam, it was not able to fulfill the demands of the consumers; a situation which left the company with inventory totaling 400 as shown below The figures above show that the demand per sales person for Space-Age Technology was much higher as compared to other of its competitors. The sales team had to work three times harder than those of other companies. Cutting costs- The Company decided to cut costs by redesigning its brand of computers and invest more in areas that were thought would help the company grow. The company missed the opportunity to make money and increase its market share by using the competitors brand data in making its redesign decision. The redesign decisions that affected Space Age Technology are shown below; Workhourse Brand: The original cost was $817 and the new cost is $677. Changes from prior design:     Removed the auto backup system Changed the computer range from high to mid-range Mercedes Brand: The original cost was $1068 and the new cost is $990 Changes from prior design (removed): Bookkeeping Presentation Changed the mouse and keyboard to standard Had the company just stayed with its original design, it could have sold more units thereby increasing its profits. Market share - Having been a new entrant into the market, the company did well in acquiring a market share of 38 percent as compared to its competitor who have been in the market for some time. The market share of 38 percent makes the company the market leader. Therefore on the issue of market share, the company did way better than its competitors. The company is also leading in product demand as shown below; Product quality- The company has used research to help it understand the needs and wants of the consumer; a factor that has enabled it come up with simple yet innovative designs that have helped it stay ahead in the industry. The company’s designs PC-WH and PC-M computers were accepted by consumers in their respective sectors. The company’s PC-M computer was the only brand accepted by the Mercedes customers. The company has done exceptionally well on brand quality as compared to its competitors earning the highest brand judgment rating in the industry a shown below; Advertising quality and media placements- The company has not done so well on advertising, this was evidenced by the rejection of the company’s advertising by the International Advertising Federation. However the company has improved on its advertising and media placements which will go a long way in improving its advertising. On the issues of advertising and media placements, the company did not do as well as compared to its competitors. Sales productivity- The company has the highest market share at 38 percent. Being a new entrant into the industry, the company has done well compared to its competitors. However, the company should increase its sales productivity by making use of more sales personnel. The sales team used was not adequate enough to meet the demands of the market which left the company with inventory. The company’s performance on sales productivity was better than those of its competitors as shown below; Strengths Manufacturing productivity - Space Age Technology has shown effectiveness in manufacturing productivity as compared to its competitors and is an industry leader in this segment. With a manufacturing productivity of 1.000, Space Age Technology has the possible industry maximum in that segment. Investment in future - the company has invested in the future where it comes in third as compared to its competitors in the industry. The company believes that its future is just as important as meeting consumer demands and profitability. Therefore investment in future ensures the long term existence of the company. Some of the areas a company invests in for the future include problem solving skills, communication skills and creativity and innovation skills. Financial risk - The Company’s risk profile is low making it a low risk company; a factor that helps in attracting investors and consumer goodwill. An industry leading manufacturing productivity of 1.000 and low risk profile makes the company look mature despite only being a new entrant into the market. Weaknesses Financial performance – Space Age Technology’s financial performance is a weakness. At 12.483 it is only 2 point above the industry minimum and way below the industry average. A company like Space Age Technology with an industry leading manufacturing productivity should increase its financial performance to be more competitive in the marketplace. Market performance - the company did not perform well in the market mainly because of its small sales team that could not meet the market demand. Marketing effectiveness – The marketing strategy used by the company fell short and was even rejected by the International Advertising Federation. The company’s marketing effectiveness was also affected by the low advertising budget and the media placements used by the company. More should be done to improve the company’s marketing effectiveness. Asset Management – the company’s asset management was the lowest in the industry as compared to its competitors. To compete effectively in the marketplace, the company has to find better ways of managing its assets. Advertising – This experience has taught me that advertising is important in any industry and in driving sales especially in a technology company like Space Age Technology. Sales team – this experience has also taught me that the sales team is important in driving sales and meeting customer demands both online and at the retail section. Having a small sales team made it difficult to meet market demands thereby leading to inventory left over. Increased market demand also meant that the sales team was overworked. Comparison – I learnt that comparing a company with another might not be the best as evidenced in the case of Space Age Technology when it compared its design with that of its competitors; made design changes which did not work to the company’s benefit. This has taught me to stick to what works for my company. Read More