Market Assessment of Compact Cassettes in the US - Essay Example

? Product assessment Table of Contents 0Introduction 3 2.0Compact Cassettes 3 3.0Recommendations 6 4.0Conclusion 9 References 10 0 Introduction The world of business today has been characterized by a lot of dynamism. This phenomenon has seen several changes in the market place where some products have consistently lost market due to their decreased value. The same aspect could be as a result of increased technology that by passes the product thus pushing it further towards its last phases in the product life cycle. This leads to a scenario known as obsolescence. This happens to be a situation where a product on offer in the market may never be attractive to the consumers and may also not be wanted regardless of whether or not it can still operate well (Pride & Ferrell, 2011). A product could therefore be rendered obsolete due to its inability to meet the technical, functional or other aspects whereas other products in the same line of operation may be consistently meeting these conditions. This paper will assess this idea with relation to the market of compact cassettes in the US. 2.0 Compact Cassettes Commonly known as cassettes with some even calling them audio cassettes, they use a format of recording where the utilization of magnetic tapes. The sales for this product has constantly been going doing in the US market as very few people are becoming more and more modern. The target market for audio cassettes has always been the young generation who spend most of their life time in the rural areas. According to the demographic data of the US released in April 2013, the total population is slightly above 315million people. Out of this populace, about 82% are inhabitants of the cities leaving other people approximating about eighteen percent in the rural areas. These therefore are the ones that are targeted by the compact cassettes due to the fact that the technology in the rural areas has not been escalated to higher levels as seen in the urban areas. Additionally, those who aren’t in a position to access compact discs are even better suited to use the compact cassettes. Another dimension on the same issue is that the compact cassettes use common gadgets like radio cassettes which are not wholly dependent on technology (Lee & Winzenried, 2009). Others like the CDs require complicated machines and depend on the technical ability and aspects of the user. The rate of unemployment in the USA, according to the same statistics, has crossed the 7% mark which means that most of these people will opt for cassettes in larger scale to cut on their costs. The disposable income for this fraction of the entire population is low thus should devise other means of survival whereby low cost products will be sought for. However, the market for these products has been going down considerably and the same may face an imminent decline. The sales being registered have gone down tremendously and although these products are still performing well, peoples’ interest in them is becoming scarce by day. This has been rendered true by a myriad reasons, most of which the cassettes have failed to satisfy. Technical obsolescence takes the center stage in the whole affair. The advent of CDs and other gadget that purpose to serve the same line of business coupled with technology has superseded the old audio cassettes in spite of them being still in functionality. For example, introduction of multimedia of high quality including the DVDs have rendered the compact cassettes useless due to their unreliability and lack efficiency (Kalb, 2000). To therefore remain consistent with the advancing technology in electronics, many people today in the US have opted for other alternative means to augment their music thirst and needs. Many other version which are newer in the industry has been introduced which also gives a blow to the usage of audio cassettes. Furthermore, the technologies available in the market have gone a series of transformation thus are no longer in a position to produce the cassettes or even repair them. The cassettes therefore may not sustain the pressures posed by the market aimed at increasing the satisfaction of the ultimate customers. It turns out as a misplaced idea and priority to redevelop the audio cassettes since the entire issues surrounding their cost and functionality have been bypassed by events and time. The proliferation of highly technological disc changers which play compact discs as well as overreliance in computers has led to the obsolescence of the once famous compact cassettes. In addition, the compact cassettes are never desirable any more due to their deteriorated fashion and style. Many people today especially in the US are moving away from their usage as they are no longer consistent with the stylistic trends explicit in the music industry. No one would like to be associated with products that are static in development or even show no sensitivity to the changes of technology and style. In relation to age, most of the residents of the US who are youthful would like to be associated with growth and development. Each person wants to test new arrival in this industry with hope and enthusiasm that the products latest products will go a long way in satisfying their needs. The market of the US is characterized by various ethnic dimensions most of which affect the buying patterns of the population towards certain products. The audio cassettes are therefore not an exception in this respect. Usage of these products in the US may be distributed to native and immigrants in the country. Generally speaking, the US is one of the most modern countries in the world having embraced technology several decades back. With such a view in mind therefore, the use of such commodities may have lost value in the society long time ago. This means that there is a likelihood that the immigrants may be the ones with the highest level of usage as they are not in a position to be incorporated so fast into the system of technology. A number of political and legal factors have always determined how businesses operate in any environment provided by a country. The implication here is that there could be distinct acts of parliament and other diverse legislations that give a direction to be followed with regard to this industry. These could scrutinize the aspect of pollution caused by the disposal of these tapes alongside other aspects. Rarely will the business of compact cassettes, having been surpassed by the event of time, to withstand such requirements. Due to inadequacy in technology, it has become challenging to upkeep with strong wave of technology that is posed by other players in the same industry who are geared towards offering commodities of high value that also meet the ever changing needs of the society. 3.0 Recommendations Several recommendations will come in handy to salvage the business of compact cassettes from collapsing. The same ought to be aimed at enticing the already existing customers rather than attracting a totally new lot. One of the possible courses of action is to set an incentive program based on the sales. This would give the sales workforce with the reasons for reaching for the customer with the offer. This could remain instrumental in making sure that the sales staff reaches for the customer so as to achieve the targeted sales volume. Another dimension towards this is to substantially set up a program with an objective to reward the customer. The already existing customers can be offered trade discounts to encourage them to continually stand with the business. This will be geared towards increased loyalty and positive perception not only of the products but also the concerned company. Moreover, the company may purpose to offer free samples to the customers. This could be administered through giving free items for a specific number of cassettes bought. It could range from items like bags, umbrellas alongside others that may help sustain the customer attachment with the business. These free samples may be passed to other potential customers who would in turn like the company’s products and ultimately buy them. To attract new lot of customers is a key asset to any business that envisages success in its operations. However, it’s never the only way to champion for more sales and entails a lot of activities that are capital intensive. Notably, by focusing the sales agenda of the company to the customers already in existence creates the best avenue to improve the sales by strengthening the foundation of loyalty and encouraging repeated sales as far as customers are concerned. Given this scenario, the best foreign country to venture with this kind of a product is Kenya. This country comprises of a large population of about 44million which, according to a survey done in 2010, 78% live in rural areas. These areas lack social amenities where a great chunk of the populace lives below a dollar per day. Being a developing nation, most rural areas in Kenya lack electricity and also there is a slow pace in terms of technology due to inadequate resources to invest in the same. Notably also, the estimated rate of urbanization is around 4.2% implying that many people will still live in the rural areas for the longest time. The age structure of the population also displays that about 42.4% fall below 14 years. This age has a lot of enthusiasm and willingness to try new products. This will make the country a soft landing for the compact cassettes. The company could use various positioning strategy to place the product competitively. This would include cost differentiation. There are also other players competing on the same platform hence there is need to position the product as a low cost one in order to gain track and attract as many customers as possible. Apart from price strategy, the representation given below depicts other ways that the company can use to position the product competitively (Crisp, 2004). In the aspect of segmentation, the market can be segmented in a way that adds value to the business and also reaches the target group within the time frame set. The product could be best suited to target the youthful group who would be eager to test the product. The concerned company can use selective or undifferentiated marketing to target this youth. This will involve approaching each segment in the market with distinct marketing mix elements that match with the needs of the customers who inhabit that specific segment. These could take the form of product, price, promotion and place. This in turn will allow the company to spread its risks thereby averting any impacts that could be caused by declines in the demand exhibited by different segments. The figure below represents this argument in a broad perspective and adds weight to this discussion. 4.0 Conclusion A company’s product goes through a number of faces before it becomes successful in the market place. After inception, the product experiences the growth stage which is characterized by enormous growth and increase in sales. However, as this continues, there emerges the saturation of the market where the product sales stagnates. This stagnation makes it impossible for the firm to withstand its expenses because normal business activities continue. Ultimately the business fails in production and starts to nosedive. There is need therefore to help out this incident so as to prevent total failure. This paper has discussed a product facing a similar problem and also offers recommendations on the same. References Crisp, R. D. (2004). Marketing Research. Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Kalb, I. S. (2000). Fundamentals of High-technology Marketing: What Marketers Need to Know. K&A Press. Lee, M., & Winzenried, A. (2009). The Use of Instructional Technology in Schools: Lessons to be Learned. Aust Council for Ed Research. Pride, W. M., & Ferrell, O. C. (2011). Pride & Ferrell Marketing. 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