I. The Firm's Objectives
A clear strategic plan was set out in the beginning, and adhered to throughout the course of the simulation. Our overall objective was to determine the correct mix and balance of camera components, which enabled the most favorable outcome in the competitive arena. In order to offset the cost structure of the multi-feature camera, a low cost structure for the entry-level camera was implemented. This was achieved by offering a differentiated, high end multi-feature camera, offset by a low cost leader entry-level camera.
Entry-level strategy
o Low cost strategy
o Minimal features
o Low cost per unit on core components
o Market leader
o High sales volume
o Low P/Q rating
o High Image rating
Multi-Feature
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III. The Marketing Mix
Other competitive factors being equal (P/Q rating, advertising, model selection, special promotion, and so on), charging a wholesale price that was below the geographic market average, raised Amalgamated Holding's potential for above average unit sales and market share. However, price was a much bigger factor in the entry-level segment as opposed to the multi-featured segment. The users of multi-featured cameras were more concerned about picture quality and performance features, than they were about price. We could charge above-average prices for multi-featured cameras because users were willing to pay more for the quality product. It possessed a higher P/Q rating, increased advertising, more special promotions with attractive discounts off regular price, and longer warranties. We chose to have fewer models, than competitors, so as not to risk losing sales and market share to competitors, who were offering a greater selection. Amalgamated Holding's sales and market share, in each of the regions, were heavily influenced by the fact that we chose to maximize retail coverage, for each retail avenue, by sending to every retailer that was interested in our product (see perceptual map in Appendix A). Below are the key points of the marketing mix we employed:
Product
o Entry Level Camera
Low cost strategy
Minimal features
Low cost per unit on core components
Market leader
High sales volume
Low P/Q
significantly on R&D costs. We chose to spend nothing for our entrylevel cameras and only
With the entry-level cameras, our strategy was to produce them with very minimal cost to ourselves. Furthermore, by having the entry-level cameras relatively low-cost this will potentially lead to mass production, which was our intended goal for these cameras. These cameras were envisioned where any average customer could purchase it comfortably to use on a daily basis. With that being said, we figured that many other companies would attempt to tackle the same price adjustment strategy that we were operating with. We reckoned that many companies were attempting to raise their prices for entry-level cameras, having said that we altered by maintaining a fairly lower price to raise profits. Unfortunately, we realize that this isn’t working out for our company, and decided to modify the prices, however we preformed this adjustment a bit to late for any major outcomes.
Perreault, William D., Joseph P. Cannon, and E. Jerome McCarthy. Basic Marketing: A Marketing Strategy Planning Approach. 19th ed. N.p.: McGraw Hill, n.d. Print.
Perreault, Jr., W.D., Cannon, J.P., & McCarthy, E.J. (2011). Basic Marketing: A Marketing Strategy Planning Approach [University of Phoenix Custom Edition eBook]. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Retrieved from University of Phoenix, MKT/421 website.
ReferencesKerin, R. A., Peterson, R. A. (2013). Strategic marketing problems cases and comments (13th ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall
We aimed to win market share by appealing to cost-conscious or price-sensitive customers, which we felt that the majority of consumers consisted of. This would be achieved by having the lowest prices in the target market segment, or at least the lowest price to value ratio (price compared to what customers receive). To succeed at offering the lowest price while still achieving profitability and a high return on investment, it was evident that we had to be able to operate at a lower cost than our rivals. We aimed to achieve this goal though a combination of two methods, the first being achieving a high asset turnover. In the manufacturing of our cameras, we wanted to achieve the production of high volumes of output. In theory this approach meant fixed costs would be spread over a larger number of units of the product or service, resulting in a lower unit cost. We hoped to take advantage of economies of scale and experience curve effects[3]. We hoped and realised that higher levels of output both required and resulted in a higher market share, and created an entry barrier to potential competitors, who may be unable to achieve the scale necessary to match our low costs and prices.
By charging a high price for a high quality product and keeping all unrelated costs low, such as administrative costs, labor, depreciation, we were able to triumph all other competitors at large profit margins with large market share in entry level and the best multi featured camera.
In 2002, Leitax had suffered through poor planning of 3 camera models: the launch of one camera delayed (cost: $19.5 million), another outsold its inventory (costs: $4.5million) and a third model reported sluggish sales ($2.5million). To compensate, Leitax extended the life of an existing model and made a mad scramble to find product and customers but the most costumers preferred to wait for the delayed camera. These
“Marketing strategies can have a broad impact on the business in terms of instilling a marketing orientation among all those in the firm: the way of thinking or philosophy of the whole organization. However, marketing strategies can alternatively be seen as dealing only with the development of competitive advantages directly associated with the marketing function such as customer loyalty and distribution channel control. In the latter case, the domain is sometimes even further restricted by sole attention to the various element of the marketing mix rather than the more general issues of customer and channel relationships. There are two key
The advertising strategy was also to be an immediate market follower. J.D.B.T.’s advertisements were modified by comparing them to the top rated brands’ advertisements. This worked well until R&D came into effect. Other companies were able to advertise titles such as Highest Performance Processor, and Technical Leader Most R&D. We had a decline in our advertising because we did not strategize in the beginning to invest in the R&D as fully as other companies.
The team’s unique reasoning behind the choice of strategy that we executed throughout the simulation played a significant role and set the tone toward the effort and attitude that each team member maintained during the process. The strategy of the broad differentiator was the teams choice, because we thought that it would be the most difficult to accomplish, would take the most time, and provide us all with a well rounded learning experience because we would be able to learn how to be successful in both the low and high tech segment with our products instead of just one of the segments. With our previous knowledge about running a business we all were in agreement that if we could sacrifice and work harder to participate in both segments it would lead to some great competitive advantages. As mentioned by Lui, (2013), “the only competitive global business strategies would be based on differentiation by unique specialization in terms of quality, product, service technology, or cost leadership” (p.2824). The great execution of the strategy by our team enabled us to find success and gain different competitive advantages with each of our sensors, in turn accomplishing our goal of meeting the needs and expectations of both the low and high tech segment.
In order for a business or corporation to grow and expand at a calculated pace, they must be able to strategize the proper business plan to get there. A strategy is a set of analytic techniques for understanding and influencing the firm 's position in the marketplace (Raimundo, 2001). Having a business
We perhaps erred on the product design providing far too many features in the entry-level camera resulting in an increased cost of manufacturing. We did fairly well in terms of global prices but fared badly in P / Q ratings. The average Price for an entry-level camera in the global market is ranging from 150 - 175
The initial strategy was to maintain a competitive presence in each segment by keeping our prices aligned with the average for each target market, while maintaining costs low. Specifically, it was our goal to become the leader in Traditional and low-end segments of the sensor business by allocating significant resources to R&D, marketing and promotions for these products. Our differentiator would be the result of a high investment in R&D to ensure our products were the best available.
In terms of sales and marketing, we adapted our strategy based on how the products played in each segment. Our strategy was to spend efficiently in marketing & sales to keep the customer awareness and accessibility high for the premium products, while maintaining a decent level of awareness and accessibility in other segments.