Marketing Principles - Essay Example

Marketing Principles Table of Contents Introduction 4 2 PESTLE Analysis 5 Political Factors 5 Economic Factors 6 Social Factors 6 TechnologicalFactors 7 Legal Factors 7 Environmental Factors 7 SWOT Analysis 8 Strengths 8 Weaknesses 9 Opportunities 9 Threats 9 2.2 Market Segmentation 10 2.3. Target Market 11 2.4. Buy behaviour of Consumer or Buyer 11 2.5. Positioning Strategy 12 3.1. Competitive Advantage 12 3.2. Distribution Strategy 13 3.3. Pricing Strategy 13 3.4. Promotional Campaign and Social Media Advertisement 14 3.5. Extended Marketing Mix 14 Physical Evidence 15 People 15 Process 15 4.1. Marketing Mix 15 4.2. Differences between from B2B and B2C of Anki Drive 16 4.3. Differences between International Marketing and Domestic Marketing of Anki Drive 17 Conclusion 17 References 18 Bibliography 23 1. Introduction Anki Company is the robotics and artificial intelligence industry was established in 2010. Anki Company was established through a partnership of Boris Sofman, Mark Palatuci and Hanns Tappenier. The idea related to robotics along with intelligence gaming system was apprehended in the year 2007 therefore and the partners decided to establish the Anki Company to add value to the concepts of robotics (National Robotics Weeks, 2015). Anki drive is the first product of Anki Company and it was launched in the Apple store in the US and Canada. Anki drive was also known as the leading videogame programme that helped in depicting the diverse operations that could be faced under a real physical world. This type of games can operate through the different apple devices. Anki drive product is also known as racing game and has found a huge place amid the new generation people. The Unique Selling Proposition (USP) of this game is that many people can play this racing game together as well as against each other (Apple Store, 2015). The company has been successfully operating within the market of USA and Canada. However, the same wants to develop their market in the UK market and develop the prominence within the new market opportunity. With this concern the paper intends to explain PESTLE analysis along with SWOT analysis for Anki drive. With a greater focus on the segmentation and target market development for Anki drive along with the buy behaviour of consumer or buyer the paper intends to develop a probable market domain for the company in UK. Furthermore the essay provides an in depth analysis of the position of market of Anki drive. With a parallel analysis of the diverse range of products the paper also develops a detailed understanding of the competitive advantage of Anki drive. Additionally a detailed understanding of the extended marketing mix, business to business (B2B) and business to consumer (B2C) has been provided in the essay. 2.1. PESTLE Analysis PESTLE Analysis is a tool which assists in evaluating the macro-environmental factors and helps to identify the external factors of a country that may create an impact on the operations of the business. By conducting the PESTLE analysis it is also possible to assess that whether Anki drive products can increase its popularity in the UK market or not (Guild & Saxton, 2011). Political Factors To gain a competitive advantage the members of Anki Company have to obtain information about the government policies along that are prevailing within the new market (Kolios & Read, 2013). The review of the existing market of UK reflects on the fact that corporation tax in UK is lower than the other countries where the company has been providing services. This acts as a benefit for the Anki drive products to encourage the economic activity and increase the chances of business growth in the UK market. In the present day the interest rates in UK is identified to be around 0.5%, which can also be an advantage for Anki drive to develop its business domain within the country. Correspondingly the stable political scenario that is evident within the UK has been acting as an added advantage for the company to develop the market within the new area (Hussain, 2013) Economic Factors Besides politics the economic scenario of a nation has a pivotal role to play in developing a business within the market domain. These factors are identified to be having greater impact on the economic environment of the UK market. Before launching the Anki drive in the UK market the members of the company should survey the economic environment of the UK market because it helps them to set the price of the product for the UK market (Kolios & Read, 2013). The stable economic scenario and sustainable GDP rate is noted to be creating a positive domain for the company to develop the market within the UK (Hussain, 2013) Social Factors Social environment serves as a huge development of the social constraints that makes the operational system manageable under the complex global domain. The social environment of UK in the recent trends has undergone certain amount of changes that has a huge impact on the business that is being undertaken in the UK market. Several users in the UK are identified to be using apple device therefore, it can be an advantage for the Anki drive products because this product is compatible with Apple devices only. Therefore the social factors are identified to be supporting the development of the business within the UK market. Correspondingly the technology savvy demography is noted to be developing the overall status of the company and supporting the development of the business (Hussain, 2013; Kolios & Read, 2013). Technological Factors The Anki Company uses the new as well as advanced technology to ensure the development so that it finds a ready market within the UK. The progression of technology and nurturing the development that is evident within the UK market ensures that the company will be able to produce products. Thus to launch the Anki drive in the UK market the technology advancement of the country will be beneficial for the Anki Company (Hussain, 2013; Kolios & Read, 2013). Legal Factors The legal factors also have the great impact on the business and the legal obligations that are prevalent within the UK market. After launching the Anki drive in the UK market Anki Company needs to comply with the laws that are prevalent within the countries where the company has been operating. The relaxed legal bindings are noted to be developing the overall attributes are noted to be developing the diverse operations that are associated with the development of the business (Hussain, 2013; Kolios & Read, 2013). Environmental Factors The sustainable environment factors are noted to be developing the overall attributes that could be identifiable for developing the business within the new market opportunity. The stable environment is noted to be developing the overall ability of the company to perform within the global edge. With the diverse and complex domain is identifiable to be developing the overall attribute to perform and effectiveness of the system and creating a diverse notion associated with the system (Hussain, 2013; Kolios & Read, 2013). SWOT Analysis SWOT analysis is a planning method, which assesses the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of a company. The internal analysis of the company could be duly developed so as to meet with the effectiveness and enhance the ability of the company to meet with the complex business domain. In this study based on SWOT analysis the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of Anki Company has been evaluated. Anki drive is the first product of Anki, which provides an innovative idea related to the intelligence gaming system (Newton, 2013). Strengths The major strengths of Anki drive can be the fact that it is associated with high technology and new idea in the world of car racing game. The Anki drive products are available in the Anki and the Apple store. Therefore, People are able to buy this product only form Anki Company and the Apple stores (Jeynes, 2013). The technology of racing car is very high based on the complex resolutions and enhanced graphical integration, which could be supported by the company. Anki drive has been designed with the integration of high technology that acts as an USP for the products that are launched by Anki Company. Thus, by successful management of the diverse integration of technology the company has been maintaining the different domain of advancement and enhancing the prominence within the global edge (Newton, 2013). Weaknesses The major weakness of Anki Company can be the factor that Anki drive is only operated with the help of Apple device such as iPad and iPhone therefore, people who have the other devices that supports other software but does not support Anki drive. Thus, the software does not find a ready market among the devices other than apple. To play the game people should have an Apple phone that supports the software and enhances the prominence. Correspondingly owing to the enormous rates of an apple phone many people fails to afford the Apple phone, which can have a negative impact on the Anki Company (Jeynes, 2013). This product could be enjoyed only with the high graphical configurations of an Apple phone and are only available in Anki store in United State or Canada therefore, the sales and marketing drive for the same gets stagnated and fails to find a ready market (Newton, 2013). Opportunities With the enhancement in technology and progression among the people to have better and new experiences of gaming the product may find a wider scope of development within the new market. In UK Anki product is going to be an innovative as well as new idea of car racing game therefore, there are chances that the demand amid young generation of people may get accelerated (Newton, 2013; Jeynes, 2013). Threats One of the major threats of Anki Company associated with the product Anki drive is its compatibility with Apple device or Apple products. Since Apple devices ate more costly and the affordability is less among the larger groups of people. The product may face severe amount of threat in finding a ready market in the complex business arena (Newton, 2013; Jeynes, 2013). 2.2 Market Segmentation Market segmentation can be defined as the diverse strategies which are used by the company to recognize the target customers and deliver the required data to achieve the marketing objectives. Marketing segmentation is also useful to divide the target markets into subgroup of consumers. Customers have their own choice to purchase the products because of the likes and dislike of customers that differs from each other to a greater extent. There are different types of buyer or purchaser who could be segregated based on their different needs. Therefore, with the help of market segmentation it is possible to identify the buyers and target the buyers based on the product specifications (Robotics Business, n.d.). The decision of buyers related to purchasing a product is identified to be based on the major factors that broadly include price, quality and brand of products along with the features of product. In this study Anki drive product has various features and it can be operated only by the Apple devices. The technology of Anki drive is high and advanced that merely covers up the elated price that is associated with the product. Therefore, Anki drive products can be segmented among the buyers who use Apple devices only or who have the ability to buy the Apple products. In this regard, it can be observed that the Anki Company needs to focus on consumers who are largely gadget savvy and have an inclination towards buying Apple products (Clover, 2013). 2.3. Target Market Target market identification plays a pivotal role in developing the overall market structure helps in developing a probable array of consumers who would buy the products with ease. In other way it can also be explained that developing a target market helps in identifying the customers and sell products based on their needs. In this regard, it can be assessed that Anki Company should focus on the youth customers along with the customers who like to enjoy video games. These consumers will act as a probable target for the products that are being provided by the Anki Company (Wired, 2014). Anki Company also needs to focus on the youth customers who can use the Apple products because Anki drive products can be operated only through the Apple devices. With the larger dependency of the consumers on the technical devices and for developing an overall market for the same the company may find a congregation of consumers within the UK market (CNET, 2015). 2.4. Buy behaviour of Consumer or Buyer UK has been considered as the third leading gaming industry in world. There are multiple numbers of youth customers as well as gamers who like to play new games. Therefore, it is possible for the Anki Company to motivate more number of youth customers by doing the marketing or advertising for the products that are being presented by Anki in the UK market (Rani, 2014).Due to Advanced technology Anki drive is only operated by Apple products which may create a dilemma among the buyers to buy the product and largely restrict the sale of the product in the market. Therefore, Anki Company is able to develop the trust on the customers because Anki drive is associated with the Apple products. Through the advertising of Anki product in the UK market Anki Company s able to provide the information to the people of UK about the features of the new software that is being viewed are noted to be having a huge impact on the marketing plan. Therefore, through the advertisement the company is able to influence the buying decision of buyers and motivate the customers to buy the Anki drive products (Sachs, 2014). 2.5. Positioning Strategy Positioning strategy provides information about the market position of Anki Company that would assist in developing the Anki drive product in the UK market. Anki Company has been developing its prominence within the market based on the elegance of the product and the diversified ranges of the product. With the effective development of the software and to meet with the needs of the consumers the product needs to be developed accordingly (IFIXIT, 2015). Brand positioning play the most crucial role to improve the market position and increase the number of customers in the market place. Anki drive has good brand name this product is associated with the Apple products which are one of the effective needs for developing a proper service. Therefore, Anki Company is able to attract the customers who like to play the game and increase the market position in the UK market (The Register, 2015). 3.1. Competitive Advantage Competitive advantage can be defined as the different techniques that have been associated with the development of the quality products at affordable price to the customers and satisfies the demands of customers based on their needs. Anki drive product can achieve the competitive advantage because it is the new idea for the gaming industry and it provides a new dimension to the customers for playing the car racing game. As Anki is a new company in the gaming world therefore, the company ensures the quality of products and provides better quality of Anki drive to the customers (Carr, 2015). Anki Company also fixes the lower price for the product Anki drive in the UK market than the US market to increase the acceptance among the customers in the UK market at the time of penetration. Anki drive could operate only with the use of Apple products, which has a prominent brand name in the market along with ensuring a proper quality of products. Owing to the fact that the apple products are having a ready market within UK this could act as a positive move for finding a ready market within the UK domain. Thus, the company could have a competitive advantage over the other services (Sebhatu, 2010). 3.2. Distribution Strategy Distribution strategy is essential to distribute the product to the customers through the various channels that majorly includes several stores and online channels that are gaining prominence within the global edge. The distribution channel used by Anki Company is with the services that are provided through the Apple store that would help in developing the overall attribute of the services. Correspondingly the company can even plan for developing the online peripherals for developing the overall attribute of the services and enhance the prominence of the same (Yeung, 2014). 3.3. Pricing Strategy Penetration pricing is one of pricing strategy through which the company can set the lower price of products to increase the sale of products. On the other hand skimming is also a pricing strategy that can help the company to set little high price of products based on the quality of products. Among both pricing strategy skimming strategy is suitable for the Anki drive based on the quality of products. In the recent trends customers’ belief that the quality of high price products can be better than other products hence by setting a high price may meet with the needs of the luxury consumers (Hoopes, 2013). 3.4. Promotional Campaign and Social Media Advertisement Promotion and different promotional link can be defined as the process through which the promotion of Anki drive is to be developed within the UK market. Two promotional links through which the company is able to promote the Anki drive product in the UK market can be developed through advertisement and events. With the help of developing the online strategies the company will be able to meet with the needs of progression and ensure that the marketing needs could be developed within the new marketing domain. Anki is also able to provide information about the features and functions that are associated with Anki drive. By promoting Anki drive in the UK market company want to increase the market position and become leading gaming brand in the UK. Online advertising is one of the easy ways to promote the products because in the recent trend most of customers are inclined towards online shopping. In the present day social media also plays an important role for promoting product in the various markets (Elder & et. al., 2004). 3.5. Extended Marketing Mix Extended marketing mix involves three elements such as physical evidence, people and process and these elements are important for improving the business growth. Physical Evidence The Anki drive services are sold through the Apple Store and hence the stores acts as physical evidences for selling the services. Thus, Anki Company has been providing its services through the apple stores for developing the physical evidences of the service that the company has been providing. People The people refer to the sales personnel or service providers who are demonstrating the services that are provided by the company. Thus, the people must be trained so that the overall services could be enhanced creating value for the consumers. Process The service process refers to the urgency of services and developing the overall process that should be induced for enhancing the services. This includes the effective process that helps in addressing the needs as and when to arise. Sources: (Mucai, & et. al., 2013). 4.1. Marketing Mix Marketing mix involves in 4 P’s such as place, price, product and promotion, which is essential to be analysed before launching a new product in the market. These four aspects play the important role for the successful of business. Anki Company should identify a suitable place for launching the Anki drive. UK could be a probable location as the overall development of the product could be initiated with the successful management of the services within the new market. The price of the Anki drive should be based on the quality of products however for penetrating the market the product price should be kept low. Therefore, by using the skimming strategy Anki Company should set little high price for Anki drive. This could be justified as people in the recent ears are usually aligned towards developing an alignment towards high price product as they consider this to be of reliable quality. For developing the product mix the company needs to survey the overall market and develop a plan for justifying the services that are associated with the same (Business Case Study, 2015). 4.2. Differences between from B2B and B2C of Anki Drive With the progression within the business there has been a huge amount of shift within the domain of business. The market conditions could be divided into B2B (Business 2 Business) marketing and B2C (Business 2 Consumer) marketing. With the effective B2B marketing Anki is connected with manufacturer or retailer in the UK market directly and it helps to promote Anki drive in the UK market effectively. On the other hand with the help of B2C marketing Anki Company can connected with the customers directly and does the promotion of the Anki drive directly with the customers. In this regard, it can also be evaluated that B2B marketing is more beneficial for Anki Company for the promotion of Anki drive because it is one of the useful marketing technique to target more number of customers and increase the sale of products as well. Under the provided market scenario the company needs to focus on the development of the product through B2B marketing (Liendgen, 2013). 4.3. Differences between International Marketing and Domestic Marketing of Anki Drive International marketing and domestic marketing are the two major concepts that are identified to be developing the overall attribute of the market. International marketing refers to the concepts that are attached with the needs of developing the market across national borders. Whereas on domestic marketing refers to marketing within the national boundaries. This could be identified to be creating a diverse edge within the concepts of marketing. Anki drivers must be focusing on both the types of marketing for developing the attributes that are attached with the concepts of practising both domestic as well as international marketing (Collins, 2014). Conclusion From the above discussion it can be stated that Anki drive is the first product of Anki Company and it was launched in the Apple store in United State (US) and Canada. Anki drive is associated with the Apple product such as iPhone and iPad. Therefore, customers who use Apple products can play the car racing game with the help of Anki drive product. Anki drive can also be known as the innovative as well as new idea for the gaming industry or to play the car racing game. Based on the PESTLE analysis it can be evaluated that UK market is identified to be a suitable market for the Anki drive because by launching the product Anki drive the company can become one the largest gaming company in the world. With the help of the same the company it can be observed that Anki drive has certain advantages along with disadvantages. Moreover, based on the diverse needs of the system and development thereon the company can explore its market based on the different software and progression of technology. References Apple Store, 2015. iPhone Accessories. Anki Drive. [Online] Available at: http://store.apple.com/us/product/HD003VC/A/anki-drive-expansion-car-spektrix [Accessed May 29, 2015]. Business Case Study, 2015. Creating Strategies That Meet Customer Needs. Marketing Theory. [Online] Available at: http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/business-theory/marketing/creating-strategies-that-meet-customer-needs-the-marketing-mix.html#axzz3bVBOsW8M [Accessed May 29, 2015]. Clover, J., 2013. Anki Debuts Anki Drive Intelligent Robotic Car Game. Macrumors. [Online] Available at: http://www.macrumors.com/2013/06/10/anki-debuts-ankidrive-intelligent-robotic-car-game/ [Accessed May 29, 2015]. CNET, 2015. Anki Drive Racing Game Outgrows Ios with Android Support. News. [Online] Available at: http://www.cnet.com/uk/news/anki-drive-racing-game-outgrows-ios-with-android-support/ [Accessed May 29, 2015]. Collins, K., 2014. Anki Small Cars With Hard To Revolutionize Robotics and AI. Robotic Industry. [Online] Available at: http://robotic-industries.blogspot.in/2014_10_01_archive.html [Accessed May 29, 2015]. Carr, A., 2015. Anki Drive Is Racing Google, Not Other Toy Makers. Technology. [Online] Available at: http://www.fastcompany.com/3020147/anki-drive-is-racing-google-not-other-toy-makers [Accessed May 29, 2015]. Elder, W. R. & et. al., 2004. Effectiveness of Mass Media Campaigns for Reducing Drinking and Driving and Alcohol-Involved Crashes. A Systematic Review, Vol. 27, No. 1, pp. 57-65. Guild, M. & Saxton, J., 2011. Look - Nfpsynergy Have Done My PEST Analysis. The Socio-Economic Trends Affecting Charities Today, pp. 2-33. Hussain, W. S., 2013. UK PESTLE Analysis. Country Profile. [Online] Available at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/133398848/UK-PESTLE-ANALYSIS-Part-1-docx#scribd [Accessed May 29, 2015]. Hoopes, H., 2013. Meet Anki Drive, the Self-Driving (Toy) Car for Your Living Room. Gizmag. [Online] Available at: http://www.gizmag.com/anki-drive-self-driving-toy-car/28070/ [Accessed May 29, 2015]. IFIXIT, 2015. Anki Drive Teardown. Guides. [Online] Available at: https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Anki+Drive+Teardown/18651 [Accessed May 29, 2015]. Jeynes, R., 2013. The Complete (External and Internal) Analysis of Apple.Inc and its SWOT Analysis. Management Theory into Management Practice Assignment, pp. 4-16. Kolios, A. & Read, G., 2013. A Political, Economic, Social, Technology, Legal and Environmental (PESTLE) Approach for Risk Identification of the Tidal Industry in the United Kingdom. Energies, pp. 5024-5045. Liendgen, K., 2013. What Are the Differences between B2B and B2C Marketing. Spectate. [Online] Available at: http://spectate.com/2013/01/what-are-the-differences-between-b2b-and-b2c-marketing/ [Accessed May 29, 2015]. Mucai, P. G. & et. al., 2013. Extended Marketing Mix and Customer’s Satisfaction in Classified Non-Star Hotels in Meru Municipality Kenya. International Review of Management and Business Research, Vol. 2, Iss. 3, pp. 691-696. Newton, C., 2013. Anki Drives Tiny, iPhone-Controlled Toys Are the Pace Cars for a Robot Revolution. The Verge. [Online] Available at: http://www.theverge.com/2013/10/16/4841798/are-anki-cars-the-start-of-a-robot-revolution [Accessed May 29, 2015]. National Robotics Weeks, 2015. Anki Drive. Materials. [Online] Available at: http://www.nationalroboticsweek.org/materials/trading-cards.pdf [Accessed May 29, 2015]. Rani, P., 2014. Factors Influencing Consumer Behavior. University Kurukshetra, Vol. 2, No. 9, pp. 52-61. Robotics Business, No Date. Anki. Industries. [Online] Available at: http://www.roboticsbusinessreview.com/company/anki [Accessed May 29, 2015]. Sachs, G., 2014. Technology Driving Innovation, Opportunity and Transformation. Technological Megatrends Are Transforming Businesses, Markets and Entire Economies, pp. 1-2. Sebhatu, P.S., 2010. Corporate Social Responsibility for Sustainable Service Dominant Logic. Karlstad University Studies, pp. 5-75. The Register, 2015. Man +iPhone Versus Artificial Intelligence: Anki Robot Racer Slot Cars. Game. [Online] Available at: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/10/17/anki_ios_race_car_game_out_this_month/ [Accessed May 29, 2015]. Wired, 2014. Anki Drive: revolutionising toy cars with robotics and AI. Robotics. [Online] Available at: http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2014-10/30/anki-drive-robotics [Accessed May 29, 2015]. Yeung, K., 2014. Anki Drive’s Ios App Gets Updated With New Support Items And Upgrades For Its AI-Controlled Cars. Update. [Online] Available at: http://thenextweb.com/insider/2014/01/03/anki-drives-ios-app-gets-updated-new-support-items-upgrades-ai-controlled-cars/ [Accessed May 29, 2015]. Bibliography ABAHE, 2014. PEST Analysis. Arab British Academy for Higher Education, pp. 1-2. Afridi, K. F., No Date. Extended Services Marketing Mix and Emergence of Additional Marketing Ps. Files, pp. 138-143. CIC Corporate, 2014. Global Social Media Marketing. Complete Guide. [Online] Available at: http://www.ciccorporate.com/download/the-complete-guide-to-global-social-media-marketing.pdf [Accessed May 29, 2015]. Doole, I. & Lowe, R., 2008. International Marketing Strategy. Analysis, Development and Implementation, pp. 3-35. DECA, 2015. Advertising Campaign. Guidelines. [Online] Available at: http://www.deca.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/COL_Advertising_Campaign_Guidelines.pdf [Accessed May 29, 2015]. Ehmke, C., No Date. Strategies for Competitive Advantage. University of Wyoming, pp. 1-8. Fell, M. & Melin, H., No Date. The Emerging Internet of Things. Roadmap, pp. 6-74. Nakashima, R., 2014. Gadget Watch: Car Game Leaves Hot Wheels in Dust. Home. [Online] Available at: http://phys.org/news/2014-01-gadget-car-game-hot-wheels.html [Accessed May 29, 2015]. Nielsen, 2010. Understanding the Value of a Social Media Impression. Advertising Effectiveness, pp. 3-11. Papulova, E. & Papulova, Z., 2006. Competitive Strategy and Competitive Advantages of Small and Midsized Manufacturing Enterprises in Slovakia. Competitive Strategy, pp. 1-8. Szopa, P. & Pękała, W., 2012. Distribution Channels and Their Roles in the Enterprise. Polish Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 6, pp. 143-150. Sharma, K. M., 2014. The Impact on Consumer Buying Behavior: Cognitive Dissonance. Global Journal of Finance and Management, No. 9, pp. 833-840. Saylor, 2015. Consumer Behavior: How People Make Buying Decisions. Organization. [Online] Available at: http://www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/BUS203-PoM-Ch3.pdf [Accessed May 29, 2015]. Shah, B. A., 2012. The Extended Services Marketing Mix Used By Restaurant And Banking Industry. International Journal of Retailing & Rural Business Perspectives, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 163-166. Sauro, J., 2014. 6 Differences between B2B and B2C Usability. Measuring. [Online] Available at: http://www.measuringu.com/blog/b2b-usability.php [Accessed May 29, 2015]. Trade Start, No Date. Differences Between Domestic And International Business. Thinking about Exporting. [Online] Available at: http://www.tradestart.ca/domestic-vs-international [Accessed May 29, 2015]. Read More