Sony Corporation Performance - Essay Example

Though not all have been successful, Sony has endured in the world of high technology. The company had its beginnings by bringing a portable AM radio within the reach of all consumers and has evolved to encompass the areas of information technology, digital home electronics, media content, and financial services.

Because of Sony's diverse product line, the company has found it beneficial to have a marketing plan that sells its business products through channels as well as direct sales to the consumer. Sony primarily sells its information technology to businesses through its Solution Provider Center that was introduced in 2006. Jay Dishong, vice president of business-to-business sales states that the Center provides improved, "commitment, communication and service levels to our distributors, solution providers and B2B end-users" (Dishong). Mike Abary, vice president of Vaio notebook marketing states that "You can no longer buy direct if you are a business. The move to an all-channel model, he said, was driven largely by the better economics of delivering to businesses via solution providers" (Moltzen).

In contrast to Sony's Provider Center for B2B products, their consumer products are marketed through direct sales via a web portal. The website, Sonystyle.com also lists a toll-free number that consumers can call to place an order. In addition, consumer products are made available through major retail outlets (Sony Style).

Sony products are marketed under categories that include electronics, music, games, movies, components, and financial services. They sell home entertainment electronics, the Play Station 2 video game, Blu-ray DVDs, and digital cameras and camcorders. As a broad-based home entertainment provider, they also own Sony Studios, which produces and distributes original movies and television content (Sony Pictures). These products are aimed at the consumer market. Sony also markets a line of audio-visual and information technology that targets businesses. These products include VAIO products, public displays, projectors, and optical storage products (Abary). The Sony Semiconductor Group manufactures electronic components to be used by OEM manufacturers. Sony financial services include banking, insurance, and credit cards.

The core of Sony's business is home electronics and information technology, which accounts for 90 percent of their revenue ("Business at a Glance"). Sony's objective has been, and remains, to be the leader in networked home electronics. By offering products that interact with each other they can network a household through a common entertainment network.

Sony's marketing strategy has been to create a group of products that work together to deliver media content in the home. That strategy was based on the popularity of broadband and the forming of alliances. The Play Station 2, and its DVD format Blu-ray, has been a key component of that strategy. "The development of the Play Station itself was aided by alliances forged between hardware designers and game-software developers; so were other innovations like the compact disc, a result of an alliance with Phillips" (Singh, Pangarkar, and Heracleous, 99). Learning from the bitter rivalry between the videotape formats of Betamax and VHS, Sony has utilized alliances to popularize the Blu-ray high definition DVD format.

In conclusion, Sony is primarily an electronics company that offers a wide range of products both to businesses and consumers. From its humble beginnings in 1946 it has grown to become the recognized leader in home electronics. They have been unique in their ability to innovate and provide widely accepted consumer products. While they have limited dealings in the financial sector, their core business remains in electronics. In their effort to remain the world's leader in home electronics, they have sought to network a wide variety of media devices such as video games, television, and DVD players. Their strategy has been to utilize broadband networking and partner with alliances outside Sony to develop and promote their products. Their most recent marketing endeavor has been the high-definition DVD format known as Blu-ray which has succeeded based on their alliances with studios and player manufacturers. Though they have diversified over the years, Sony is still the leader at its core business of home and entertainment electronics.