Marketing distribution management - Essay Example

Part The marketing is a practice employed by firms to identify the d and inferred needs longings s and subsequently satisfying these desires with the most relevant and highest quality products. The selling concept on the other hand entails that a firm first produce a product and then use its persuasive marketing mechanisms to attract buyers. Microsoft in my opinion employs both strategies, but if I were to choose, it would be the former which carries more weight. As a leading software manufacturer, Microsoft programs undergo constant innovation to be at par with other software companies to satisfy customers’ evolving needs.

For instance, even though Windows 7 was a perfectly competent operating system, Microsoft felt the need to come up with a superior variant in Windows 8 which provides users with a more interactive interface with more engaging features.Microsoft’s primary market segment is that of teenagers and young adults. Its new line of products include Windows phones and tablets, as well as the Xbox One, which are all products demanded by people belonging to these age groups. The need to constantly innovate to protect market share due to the continuous emergence of inventive products, such as Android smartphones and PlayStation 4, by competitors remains the company’s biggest challenge.

The recent outlay of $405 million on the marketing of Windows tablets is testament to this fact (Warren).Microsoft has traditionally held a very mature and adult like persona in the minds of the public due its strong association with Windows operating systems. However, the company has recently undergone a rebranding process of transforming its logos and portfolio (The Globe and Mail). Its entry in the tablets market and its acquisition of Nokia’s cellphone division and subsequent marketing of ‘Lumia’ has showcased that it now wants to appeal to a younger audience and portray itself as ‘cool’.

However, it faces stiff competition with the likes of Apple, Samsung and HTC having already occupied that position and possessing greater experience in these markets.Works CitedThe Globe and Mail. Microsoft Rebrands: First New Logo in 25 Years. 23 Aug. 2012. Web. 29 Jan. 2014. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/technology/business-technology/microsoft-rebrands-first-new-logo-in-25-years/article4495185/Warren, Tom. "Microsoft to Spend $405 Million on Windows Marketing, Aims for 16 Million Tablet Sales.

" The Verge, 1 Nov. 2013. Web. 29 Jan. 2014. http://www.theverge.com/2013/11/1/5054026/microsoft-16-million-windows-tablets-marketing-spend-rumors