Marketing Plan for Change Inc Company - Assignment Example

Game Change Inc. Game Change Inc. is a technology based start-up company which aims to mobilize, transform and enhance the world of video gaming by providing a comprehensive and reliable web-based, online C2C platform where gamers from across Canada are able to interact, create a buyer-seller relationship and explore the potential of widespread gaming opportunities to maximize and enrich their gaming experience. The core product which is being offered by Game Change Inc. is an exclusive C2C online platform which will potentially allow thousands of gamers across the nation to create their respective online profiles, search for games they are interested in and place a bid for purchasing games from other users. This transactional relationship could be based upon 1) paying the full price of the video game or 2) exchanging video games without the payment of additional costs. The premise of Game Change Inc.’s platform is based upon the notion of acting as an intermediary between two entities (the buyer and the seller) for assisting and facilitating the completion of the transaction and shipping the product to the respective buyer. Moreover, the product idea is also based upon reviving the concept of C2C online purchasing by designing a platform which exclusively serves the Canadian market that is recognized as being the third largest nation in terms of the development of video games (Entertainment Software Association of Canada, 2013). According to Kotler and Armstrong (1991), the tool of SWOT analysis can be applied with respect to the company for the purposes of conducting an effective assessment of the market in which it operates. The identification of the organization’s internal and external matters through the execution of this model can allow the company to have a better view of how it develop its strength to significantly benefit from opportunities while, eliminating the noted threats through the minimization of weaknesses. The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the company can therefore be recognized as follows: The strengths of Game Change Inc. are incorporated in the flexible pricing plans which are being offered by the service as unlike the organization’s competitors, the company is focusing upon offering full payment and exchange plans. Secondly, it must also be recognized that unlike its primary competitors Kijiji, eBay and Amazon, Game Change is an exclusive and dedicated gaming platform which strives to enhance the gamers’ overall purchase experience. Therefore, the company intends to offer immediate customer service options, free refund, free shipping and handling of the products by charging only 2% of the overall transaction fee which has to be borne by the buyer. However, the placement of advertisements on the website is entirely free of cost and does not lead to the incurrence of extra charges. Moreover, the company also boosts of a credit facility or ‘changer coins’ which can be used by the seller on the website itself for purchasing games once a transaction has turned out to be successful. This simply implies that if a seller chooses to do so, he/she can opt out of receiving the cash which has been obtained from the transaction physically and simply use the designated balance for carrying out purchases on the website. As of yet, Game Change Inc. has not ventured into the realm of mobile gaming and only specializes in offering console and PC/Mac games, this concept essentially entails that as a player within the gaming industry, the company lacks the expertise to penetrate in the mobile game development market which is the third largest gaming market in Canada by 2012 revenues (Entertainment Software Association of Canada, 2013). Moreover, it is expected that with the identified nature of the service which is rooted in a C2C business model and retailing, the company would have to focus on customer relationship management to benefit from prospects (Philip and Kotler, 1991). However, as a start-up company, the business lacks the capital and financial resources to develop a dedicated customer services team therefore; this can be identified as a weakness of the firm. The company faces strong threats from the availability and increasing popularity of alternative gaming platforms such as mobile, social network, web and MMO which are gaining recognition as some of the most popular and attractive gaming platforms across Canada in terms of consumer and developer interest (Entertainment Software Association of Canada, 2013). These trends indicate that many existing users of console and PC/Mac games may choose to switch to alternative platforms which could negatively impact the business of Game Change Inc. Despite of the persistent threats being faced by console and PC/Mac platforms, the statistics for 2012 revealed that platforms yielded the largest number of revenues for the year (Entertainment Software Association of Canada, 2013). According to the data collected by the Entertainment Software Association of Canada (2013), 40 per cent of the gaming companies which operate within the country indicated that they were optimistic about achieving more than 25 per cent of expected growth in the period lasting between 2013 and 2015. This observation is a positive development for new entrants in the gaming industry of Canada such as Game Change Inc. The marketing objectives of Game Change Inc. in the present scenario are based upon enhancing the awareness regarding the service amongst the target market of Canadian video gamers. Consequently, another significant marketing objective for the business is concerned with capturing a 10 to 15 per cent of the total sales of video games which are brought through online platforms such as Kijiji, eBay and Amazon. These objectives have been established on the basis of secondary market research regarding the status of preference for online shopping amongst Canadian customers, the collection of data for sales of competing websites and an exploration into the target market by assessing reports and data which have been published by organizations such as the Entertainment Software Association of Canada and Nordicity. The marketing goals for the firm in terms of the selected target market is to 1) 10 to 15 per cent of total video game sales within Canadian provinces and 2) establishing brand awareness amongst the profile of targeted video game users. From the perspective of product promotions to conduct brand awareness and increase sales the company is intending to focus upon advertising in gaming magazines, maintaining a strong social media presence on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube and also offer sales discounts for potential customers. It has also been proposed that the company should launch multiple pricing options for the products including trade-in and exchange simultaneously. Currently, the identified target market of Canadian gamers is essentially characterized by a strong preference for console and PC/Mac gaming even though, mobile gaming is also rising to the foremost position. Given these circumstances the company aims to establish an affiliation with local video game developers who can agree to let the company act as the official supplier for their products through a pre-launch sale. This would allow customers to gain access to their favorite products even before they are out within the market which would be a great boost for Game Change Inc.’s sales prospects. The local gaming industry in Canada is highly promising, therefore, benefiting from the establishment of such an association would prove to be positive for the company as it would allow the firm to better understand its target market by gaining access to the market research of local video game developers who have established a reputation within the industry. References Entertainment Software Association of Canada (2013). Essential Facts About the Canadian Video Game Industry. ESA. Accessed from < http://theesa.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Essential-Facts-English.pdf> [27th April, 2014] Kotler, P., & Armstrong, G. (1991). Principles of marketing. Englewood Cliffs, N.J: Prentice Hall. Read More