Discussion and Participation questions - Essay Example

There are many things that companies should consider when developing a product. The objective of developing a new product is to help companies improve their sales. Prior to developing a product the product development team has to work with the marketing department to determine the target market for the product. The product specifications vary based on the demographic characteristics of the customers. For example senior citizens are the ideal customers to target for a firm in the tourism industry.

Generation Y are a good group to target for companies that create video games. A product that came out over 10 years ago which failed very fast after its release into the marketplace was Cherry Cola. The flavor of the soda was awful. A product that was introduced by Microsoft to compete directly with the IPod was the Zune. The Zune player failed to achieve the goal of threatening the dominance of the IPod in the portable music player market segment. A product in the automobile industry that failed was the Yugo auto brand.

The Yugo was a very inexpensive automobile whose target market was the low income customers. The cars lack of performance, reliability, and style made this product a failure in the marketplace. 2. Companies should consider a variety of factors when establishing a price policy for a product or service. One of the most important factors in regards to price is that a price point must be selected at a value that is sufficient to cover the direct cost and overheads of the company and to earn a decent profit.

Companies that select a price point that is too low might run out of business soon because if sufficient revenues are not generated a company will go out of business. Once the correct profit formula is in place there are several other factors to consider. A very important factor in price setting is the competition. The price of the competition will determine the lowest or highest price one can charge for a similar item. A third factor to consider in price setting is the marketplace. For example the pricing strategy of a company in the United States might be very different than the price strategy a company uses in India.

Adapting the pricing strategy over time is important because things change that affect the price of a product. For instance when a new product comes into the market with better qualities and lower price a firm has to make adjustments to its strategy to compete with the new competition. 3. I remember the New Coke debacle. Coca Cola did not realize that its brand value was so strong. People were very loyal to the Coca Cola formula. Introducing an alternative formula to Coke was perceived as a major threat to the loyal customers who feared that the New Coke concept might replace the traditional formula in the long run.

I don’t know if you remember, but Cola-Cola has had problems in the past trying to introduce new products. Back in the late 80’s or late 90’s Coca-Cola attempted to introduce a product called Cherry-Cola. The product was a complete bust. I believe the big issue with Cherry Cola was taste. 4. I agree with you that a lot of products fail because they don’t meet the demands and needs of the customers. The customers are the most important stakeholder group of all organizations. Without the sales from customers companies would seize to exist.

A company that has done very well due to its ability to introduce new innovative products that customers’ desire is Apple computers. Two of the biggest products hits Apple had achieved during the last five years were the IPod and the iPhone. Both products revolutionized their market segments. 5. The system you mentioned in your response in regards to new products seems like a good methodology to use. It is always important to have everyone in your company on the same page. Everyone on the company must know who the target customers are in order to apply consistent standards.

The design, production, and sales team must work together and communicate with each other effectively in order to satisfy the needs of the customers. Unveiling your product at an event is a great way to add excitement to the introduction of a new product. 6. The article how to build transactional emails was very interesting. I believe that the use of emails is a great way to stay in touch with the customer. If a customer starts to build a relationship with a company in regards to them starting conversations with the firm it is smart move for a firm to take advantage of the opportunity to engage the customer in conversations including persuasive messages to attempt to sell a service or good to the customer.

A customer that likes a company will appreciate any special offers the company may be able to offer in the email conversations. 7. A lot of times companies diversify into new products lines in an attempt to increase their revenues. These types of ventures are not always successful because companies may lack the expertise needed to market a new type of product. The marketing efforts associated with selling new guns are much different than the efforts needed to sell mountain bikes. It is important for marketing managers to analyze the marketplace well prior to introducing new products that are not associated with the core business of the enterprise. 8. In the business world there is a lot of competition in every industry.

There are thousands of new products that come into the marketplace every year. Successful companies realize that product innovation is very important towards the success of an enterprise. In order for products to have a greater chance of succeeding companies have to invest their money well in research and development initiatives. Sometimes the reason that a lot of products failed is because companies fail to research the market well and they fail to design products to meet the needs and demands of the customers.