Market Research - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages... The product being launched is that of a rival company to Microsoft, Apple; therefore the paper entails a detailed analysis of the major areas that can be utilized to overcome the market power of Microsoft and promote the sale of the new product. Marketing Research: Competing Company and Product SWOT Analysis for the Launch of a New Product When a company conducts a SWOT analysis, it does not mean that it is in a state of crisis, but this is only a measure designed to understand whether it is suitable or not. It is usually conducted in the wake of a company’s launch of new major projects and business undertaking the organization wishes to embark on (Cleland & Ireland, 2007). To launch a new product, the organization has to conduct a detailed analysis of its current position so as to determine the means with which the launching of the project can be addressed based on the findings. Microsoft Corporation (SWOT Analysis) Strengths First, Microsoft has the advantage of being popular as the largest software company usually associated with software and hardware products that are highly innovative. This is displayed by the presence of more than 500 offices in 160 countries (Drucker, 2007). Secondly, the basic operating systems used globally are Windows 7, Vista and XP accompanied by suitable products such as Microsoft Word, Excel and Access among others. These offer the company a competitive advantage via the ease of integrating the products and setting of standard prizes for their standardized products (Hafner & Hibbert, 2001). Another major strength of Microsoft is the nature of rapid development of products and provision of timely updates as well as its strong, flexible and elevated quality of its staff. One of the other strengths of Microsoft PCs is the size. The design of its tablets and laptops makes them easier for portability and they are widely spread globally (Hafner & Hibbert, 2001). Weaknesses One major weakness of Microsoft is its failure to articulate the growth of its products, thus being overtaken by competitors with respect to productions. Similarly, the products are usually sold with an assumption that the customer is running a Microsoft operating system (OS) for its compatibility which has resulted in declining sales of the OSs and server software (Hafner & Hibbert, 2001). In addition, employee exhaustion is evident owing to intense deadlines for products and their launching. As Drucker (2007) reports, Microsoft is characterized by recurrent restructuring, many rules and regulations with a domineering atmosphere that causes employee morale to reduce and sometimes loss of instrumental employees. This slows down the company’s innovative process. Microsoft has been dormant in the Internet space up to the time MSN was released although it still faces tough competition from Yahoo. With the increased consumer demand of the products, there has been limited human resource to deal with these needs in good time. Opportunities Microsoft has the opportunity of having access to cheaper international telecommunication and new markets since many people around the world are connected to the Internet (Drucker, 2007). With the demand for personal computers (PCs) and software components increasing worldwide, despite the market being flooded by attractive handheld devices, Microsoft can still produce more and increase their sales. Finally, Microsoft has ...Download file to see next pagesRead More