Negative brand 4Ps analysis - Assignment Example

Marketing 21 May Negative Brand 4Ps Analysis: A Case of Acer Acer Group Summary Acer group was established in 1976 in Taiwan (Global Sources 34). Over the years, the company has grown leading to the establishment of subsidiaries in different locations around the world, as well as joint ventures and affiliates. Acer group Personal Computer (PC) brands include “Acer, Gateway, Packard Bell, and eMachines” (Hitt, Ireland and Hoskisson 99). In terms of worldwide PC sales, Acer held a third place for quite some time, with Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Dell topping the list respectively.

During the 2007 to 2008 global recession, Acer managed to compete successfully in the PC market and as most companies incurred losses, Acer’s profits rose (Hitt, Ireland and Hoskisson 99). The company’s strategy for succeeding in the market has been selling its products at a lower cost and for years, its culture has been operating on the assumption that keeping costs under control will sustain the company in the competitive global PC marketplace. Things have however changed in recent years and Acer has been constantly failing in the market.

In 2012, the company was a position down in terms of worldwide PC sales, since it occupied a fourth place (Barker, businessinsider.com). Acer Brand PersonalityIn an effort to satisfy its users and customers and maintain a competitive position in the PC market, Acer has been changing its look. Acer group named this as its multi-brand strategy (Acer Group, acer-group.com). The implementation of the multi-brand strategy has been done by making Acer’s range of products different aesthetically, as well as fully featured and innovative.

For desktops, their conventional design had been changed, while notebooks have been made slimmer and longer lasting. For desktops, Acer has come up with stylish LCD’s and for notebooks, their weight has been significantly reduced making them lighter and their battery life lengthened for more convenience and freedom (Acer Group, acer-group.com). People like having their needs and desires met without too many complications and Acer’s goal has been to satisfy its customers. The 4Ps (Product, Price, Place, Promotion) of Acer and why Acer cannot succeed in the Market PlaceProduct: In terms of reliability, Acer laptop brands occupy 9% among all laptop brands worldwide (Egan, pcadvisor.co.uk).

After being used for a while, it has been noted that the speed of Acer laptops reduces, while booting seems to take longer and webcams have problems. These negative factors make Acer fail as a product in the market place. Price: The cost of Acer PC products in comparison to other PC products is relatively low. This has been the case for years. The company has maintained the low cost culture with the assumption that since it is used to the practice, it can run low costs without running into trouble.

This strategy has however brought trouble to Acer since the low cost of products has gradually reduced the company’s profit margin making it too low. Among the goals of any business is to make profit and when this is not attained, the business becomes a failure and so do its products in the market place. Place: In order to cut overhead costs, Acer has over the years opted to sell its products “only through retailers and other outlets and to outsource all manufacturing and assembly operations” (Hitt, Ireland and Hoskisson 99).

Acer’s decision to sell its products directly to consumers has worked to its disadvantage. Promotion: In terms of promoting its products, Acer has lagged behind other companies for some time now. Commercials and advertisements are the best product promotion strategies to help access a huge pool of customers. Advertisements and commercials for Acer products are very rare, while the company’s competitors have been very active in advertising their products. Acer also minimally engages in direct marketing and personal selling, which are also excellent product promotion strategies.

No cheap method can cover for the lack of advertising for a product and this is another reason why Acer fails to succeed in the marketplace. Works CitedAcer Group. “Brand Personality: The Challenge becomes Reality-Acer’s Multi-Brand Approach guides the New Product Lineup.” acer-group.com. 7 April 2009. Web. 21 May 2014. Barker, Anthony. “Acer’s CEO Slams Microsoft’s Tablet: ‘I Don’t Think it will be Successful.’” businessinsider.com. 22 June 2012. Web. 21 May 2014.Egan, Matt.

“Most Reliable Laptop Makers Revealed.” pcadvisor.co.uk. 9 January 2013. Web. 21 May 2014. Global Sources. Market Intelligence Report: Notebook PCs & Accessories. Hong Kong: Global Sources, 2004. Print. Hitt, Michael, R. Duane Ireland and Robert Hoskisson. Strategic Management: Concepts: Competitiveness and Globalization. 9th ed. Mason: South-Western Cengage Learning, 2010. Print.