Principles and Practice of Marketing - Case Study Example

Running Head: Marketing Plan Project Marketing Plan Project Executive Summary Today’s information technology (IT) industry is a global phenomenon and it is interlocked with different other industry areas. The geographical and economical importance of this industry is great. On the other hand, increasing number of IT security threats are emerging. Recently, freelancing industry is on the boom and many non-IT professionals are working from home-based computer systems online. Now not all non-IT professionals are well acquainted with the intricacies of Internet and computer security. In this way, in the realm of antivirus manufacturing and maintenance sub sector, new requirements and varieties of users are prospectively emerging. In such a scenario, if a product is launched with both an antivirus utility and a self-learning kit, then it can address the problems and demands of a variety of non-IT users most of whom are freelancers. In this paper, a marketing plan is developed to create, launch and distribute a new easy-to-use antivirus product. The proposal is being made to Microsoft Corporation. At first, the proposed product would be launched in the areas around London but it is expected that its distribution will have to be broadened rapidly. It is expected that this product line will help the firm to innovate in IT security and stabilise its present market position. Introduction In this paper, a proposed product line will be discussed in the form of a marketing plan. The firm, to whom this proposed product is suggested, is Microsoft Corporation (and its UK/European branch). The proposed product is an easy-to-use antivirus software suite, packaged together with a self-learning educational kit. Discussion on Marketing Plan 1. Analysis of the market a) Description of the firm – current position in marketplace Although Microsoft has a stable market position, its market share in the Operating Systems industry is declining (Worstall 2012). According to experts like Latamore (2013) most Microsoft clients for enterprise level systems-of-record still prefer running on Windows, and Microsoft Office remains prevailing on majority of business desktops. b) Your product’s/firm’s strengths and weaknesses The uniqueness of this product will be that it will contain a self learning kit too. This self learning kit will help the user to learn the theoretical aspects of malicious software. It will also provide theoretical information on identifying potentially dangerous emails messages and websites. The software suite will thus be designed as both an antivirus and an interactive educational material. However, security vulnerabilities may creep in and prove to be a major weakness in absence of improvisation in R&D. c) Competitor’s strengths and weaknesses According to the analysis of OPSWAT (2012), Microsoft can achieve a very strong position among established antivirus vendors, but not without competitors. For example, competitors like Eset and Avira are very strong. They are increasing their market share rapidly. On the other hand, highly popular brands like Avast and Symentec are very stable with only marginal loss of market share in recent times (see Appendix, Figure – 1). The main weakness of Microsoft’s competitors is that they do not have a sales and distribution infrastructure as large as that of Microsoft (Latamore 2013). Another big weakness of the competitors is that they generally do not provide any dedicated training, education, or even information distribution platform for novice users. Since Microsoft has an educational aptitude too, this plus point can be used in the antivirus industry as well (Microsoft 2014a; Microsoft 2014b). d) Sales trends and forecasts As far as sales trends are concerned, organisations like Microsoft, Kaspersky, etc. are doing well in the global IT security market. However, recent forecasts reveal that some of the antivirus vendors may not be able to sustain their success in future. Unfortunately, Microsoft is one of them. According to Min et al (2013), the company’s products like Microsoft Security Essentials are chronically vulnerable to external threats (see Table 1 and Table II in Appendix). 2. Business proposition a) Measurable and attainable objectives – long/short term goals The long term goals of the software are explained as the following: 1) To achieve a major market share of the antivirus software market in entire UK 2) To venture in Europe and America 3) To begin an educational management program in UK with an aim of training the general users on using antivirus software and maintaining Internet security 4) To create a loyal customer base with the help of an efficient help desk or call centre. The short term goals of the software are also enumerated as the following: 1) To rapidly win confidence of the customers by rapidly building up an active malware1 database and telephonic assistance service 2) To establish a research institute dedicated for research and development (R&D) of more cyber security products b) Target market – Identify your customers Most of the IT professionals and computer savvy users of today are generally well acquainted with Internet security and various antivirus software products. Therefore, the aim of the proposed product line is to fulfil the demands of home users. The target market is thus the home users with special focus on freelance professionals who are engaged in online but home-based jobs. c) Strategy statement – What are you proposing? There is a potential market of home-based computer and Internet users who need both antivirus software and educative material. The proposed antivirus product is designed to meet the requirements of mainly home-based computer users who might need some user education and guidance as well. d) Key planning assumptions (cite sources of information) There are both good and bad prospects for Microsoft in the IT industry as a whole. While the company is diversifying its products, its market share of the operating systems industry is plummeting. (Worstall 2012) However, as of 2012, Microsoft still holds a strong position as a global antivirus vendor (OPSWAT 2012). Therefore, a new, improvised product line can help the company to diversify more. The freelancing industry is expanding, and many freelancers are engaged in home-based online jobs (Wald 2013). This variety of freelance professionals is not always directly involved in the IT industry (e.g. copywriters, journalists, essayists, etc.). They, therefore, need easy-to-use antivirus software as well as education on optimal computer security. Microsoft already has a huge marketing and distribution infrastructure. The UK branch of Microsoft (under its European operations) is capable enough to experiment with a brand new antivirus software product line. At first, the primary focus will remain on UK and European markets. Once the project is successful, world wide distribution, R&D, and manufacturing operations can be started. 3. Action plan a) Product Proposition – product/service description, value added features, etc. The proposed product is a comprehensive antivirus software suite. It will constitute an antivirus software utility (provided in a CD) along with a self learning kit on computer security (provided in the form of a book). The antivirus product specific user guide will be provided in the CD itself. The book will provide general security information along with an attached educational CD with computer based test and interactive lessons. b) Price – pricing strategy, incentives (sales, discounts), etc. The price will be maintained as low as possible. Roughly, a package price of ₤20 can be assigned as a starting point. No incentives are suggested at this stage. If the customers come to know that a new product in the market has arrived along with a discount (or some other kind of incentive), then there can be a negative reaction. Customers may think that the manufacturers are not confident enough about their very brand new rollout. c) Place – sales area, distribution, etc. The main sales area will be London and its suburbs. After studying the initial response, expansion will be done in the western and central parts of UK. Geographically nearer countries in Europe (e.g. France, Ireland, etc.) will be explored as initial export markets. However, online stores (from where the product can be directly downloaded) will remain a major Internet-based sales avenue for worldwide distribution. d) Promotion – advertising methods, public relation etc. Advertising will be done mainly through Internet, tabloids, and news papers. Internet ads are easily accessed by home-based computer users. The company can collaborate with online job providers to publicize the product. For example, suppose ABC Corporation is an Internet based news portal that hires home-based online journalists. Now this ABC Corporation can advertise the proposed product to reach potential home-based freelancers and IT security learners. In this way, limited joint ventures can be launched for advertisement purposes. Occasional press meetings are another way of effective public relation (PR) campaign. 4. Evaluation a) Achievements – evaluate relative to long/short term goals The company already has a strong presence all across the global markets. The company’s most famous and popular product is the Windows Operating System, which has been designed for a variety of computer systems in the form of different product lines. The company already provides security updates and service packs to the users whenever a new threat appears. So the company is in a strong position for launching a new antivirus product at its behest. b) Recommendation for future action In near future, there will be increased security threats and even home-based users might become exposed to most dangerous cyber attacks. Therefore, continuous updating service is most necessary for any antivirus product sold. Moreover, educative assistance on the part of the provider will create a wow feeling among the users giving rise to significant goodwill across the markets and reviewers. c) Contingency plan – what do we do if our project is not successful? If the antivirus project is not successful, then investments can be increased in R&D. Thus, the antivirus software suite can be made more versatile. Facilities like Internet security, secure online storage facility, and integrated email accounts can further be appended along with the company’s antivirus software product support. Thus, even if the initial market response does not appear to be encouraging, the company may make tactical shifts by investing in R&D and bringing about the product’s more versatile versions. Conclusion and Reflection Although Microsoft already has a strong presence in the antivirus market, it should innovate. Otherwise, it will not be able to sustain its market position or improve it. Therefore, improvisation of existing R&D facilities should be reflected on. Also, Microsoft is capable of turning out quality educational product. This capability can be used to enhance its antivirus product lines too. List of References Latamore, B. 2013, Mircosoft Market Position Strong for Future Growth, Palo Alto: SiliconANGLE Network. Available: http://siliconangle.com. Last accessed on 17th August 2014 Microsoft 2014a, Microsoft Security Essentials - Microsoft Windows. Available: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-IN/windows/security-essentials-download. Last accessed on 17th August 2014 Microsoft 2014b, Microsoft Education Devices, Services, Software and Solutions. Available: http://www.microsoft.com/education/ww/Pages/index.aspx. Last accessed on 17th August 2014 Min, B., Varadharajan, V., Tupakula, U., & Hitchens, M. (2013). Antivirus security: naked during updates. Software: Practice and Experience. Hoboken: Wiley OPSWAT 2012, Market Share Report September 2012, San Francisco: OPSWAT. Available: http://www.opswat.com/about/media/reports/antivirus-september-2012. Last accessed on 17th August 2014 Wald, J. 2013, How an exploding freelance economy will drive change in 2014, Forbes. Available: http://www.forbes.com/sites/groupthink/2013/11/25/how-an-exploding-freelance-economy-will-drive-change-in-2014/. Last accessed on 17th August 2014 Worstall, T. 2012, Microsoft’s market share drops from 97% to 20% in just over a decade, Forbes. Available: http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2012/12/13/microsofts-market-share-drops-from-97-to-20-in-just-over-a-decade/. Last accessed on 17th August 2014 Appendix Figure – 1: Market positions of Microsoft and its competitors among the antivirus vendors worldwide (OPSWAT 2012) Table I and Table II: Antivirus sales trends and forecasts (Min et al 2013) Read More