SWOT Analysis
The SWOT analysis is a tool used in the evaluation of the internal environment, where the organization conducts an analysis of its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The Sony retail company in London has low product diversification, making it vulnerable in the face of the businesses that have a broad range of goods. The threat posed by the competitors is real. Many players in the DVD/CD and video games market have emerged, and the management is concerned that it is becoming extremely hard to retain dominance of the market (Williams and Chinn, 2010, P.426). Several Substitute products are available in the market making hard for the company not only to expand the market, but also to retain the existing market. The retailer stocks some of the most recognized brands in the market, positioning the store relatively strategically well. The company has highly skilled manpower and hence has an edge over its competitors in the entertainment retail sector. However, the threat of substitute products is real. Low levels of diversification are adversely affecting the company and its profit margins.
PESTLE analysis
Sony retail outlet in London has adjusted well to the government policies and regulations. The governments collaborate well with the group on policy issues due to the significant role that the company plays. The enterprise should continue complying with the government in the regulation of the entrainment industry (Hay and Castilla, 2006, P.5). Compliance with the legal requirements for an organization creates an enabling environment for the business, which allows for the smooth operations of the business. Failure to comply with the legal requirements exposes an organization to legal suits that affect the operation of the businesses negatively through damaged reputation and expensive legal suits.
Socially, the customer demographics have been changing, occasioned by the existence of related products such as flash disks and online entertainment. The effect of cultures of diverse communities cannot be ignored in determining the market operations of the retailer. The retailer should respond appropriately by investing in research in an attempt to understand and hence address the needs of the customers (Jackson, Joshi, and Erhardt, 2003, P.825). However, the terrain is changing with the emergence of other products such as flash disks. The changing market implies that the company must innovate to keep afloat. The company should conduct more intensive research to determine the needs of the customers (Simester, Hu, Brynjolfsson and Anderson, 2009, P.490). The company must continue investing in the manpower as it forms the backbone of any organization. Opportunities for training through refresher courses would ensure sustainability and continuity. The continuously changing technology implies that any serious company must invest in latest technologies to achieve its objectives and at the same time cope with the demands of the market.
Marketing
The leverage of an organization's advertising, marketing, and promotional programs have a significant influence on the objectives. For example, Sony uses television, the web, and social media advertising which are always evolving (Freeman, 2010, P.54). The ability of the company to efficiently promote their products through these channels affects sales. Since the technology is continuously changing different products regarding diversity and quality are necessary. The technical innovation strategy involves the introduction of goods and services that are clearly superior to the existing products on the market. The rationale is to enable the products to penetrate the market due to quality. Consumers would like to be associated with superior quality goods. The technical innovation strategy is quite favorable in the application to retail markets as the customers are always looking forward to products that could offer something unique (Valentin, 2001, P.65). Firms that employ the strategy have the objectives to maximize the sales volumes before competitors introduce similar goods and services into the market.
Another strategy would be to experiment with other channels and avenues so that all traditional and modern digital marketing strategies are employed. Whereas the digital platform has been a useful tool in the advertisement of all the Sony’s products, it would be significant to focus on the segment of the consumers around the world who may not be served by the existing avenues (Heckel, Adaboy, 2000, P.601). Customized channels for marketing and advertisements based on the regions targeted in marketing campaigns would contribute significantly to the promotion of the stocked products.
The management team should adopt the skimming method in determination of the price in their new model. The strategy is based on the fact that no competitor has a similar or related DVD/CD/ and video games (Finn, 2006, P.385). The company has a solid background and has a lot of competitive advantages over most of the competitors. Due to the unique features of products, the company should endeavor to maximize the revenues (Enders and Jelassi, 2000, P.545). The opponents are likely to introduce alternative model later in future, but the outlet should exploit the present situation.
An efficient planning is another practice that the organizations should adhere. It is important for the company to set long and short term goals. Successful organizations are keen to come up with goals that are highly measurable within given time frames. The strategy requires planning in an endeavor to align the purposes of the outlet with current activities. Whereas companies plan based on their functions, good organizations are always open to exploration of other avenues that could accelerate their goals (Headd, 2003, P.55). It is not uncommon for an enterprise to get into merger if such move would speed up the achievements of the objectives.
The outlet should employ practices that focus significantly on the customers. The team should be aware of the fact that the clients are the building blocks that hold any entity together. It should thus adopt market strategies geared towards consolidating their customer base (Aaker, 2008, P.35). Customer satisfaction and retention are functions of these organizations which make them go out of their way to come up with pricing models and quality products that are attractive to their customers. Further, they commit massive revenues to expand and penetrate new markets. Therefore, the retail outlet should adopt a continuous marketing and publicity campaigns to popularize their products and services (Bobinski, Cox and Cox, 1996, P. 300). It should be innovative and carry market research aimed at understanding the needs of their customers. Customer care and after-sales services are some aspects that successful organizations do not take lightly. The understanding of the customers should be the first step in the marketing of products at the outlet (Teece, Pisano, and Shuen, 1997, P.525). It enlightens the business about the specific needs of the customers. The requirements of the customers enable the organization to stock goods and services that meet their specifications. The ability to determine the product range compels most organizations to engage in intensive market surveys before they release products and services into the market.
The consumer behavior of targeted customers is important. Their purchasing power informs the business on the range of prices for their services. It is always important for organizations to consider their employees with a significant segment of their customers. Employees have first-hand information about functions of an organization and hence are important marketing agents. They are the image of the organization to the public. Another vital marketing knowledge is how to request for customer feedback. The experience is necessary as it enables the organization to understand the needs of the customers. It helps in tracking down the expectations of the customers, the quality, and price of products that they can afford. Knowledge of surveying each customer group is also relevant in total quality marketing management. Different segments of customers have different requirements and that calls for separate investigations so that the organizations can make informed purchasing choices. Quality and prices would be based on the specific needs of each customer group.
Recommendations
The Sony retail outlet in London should apply personal learning strategy to increase the sales. It should make deliberate efforts to learn the latest best practices in their field, so it keeps abreast with trends in the entertainment sector. The company should commit big chunks of the budgets to retrain employees to remain relevant to the needs and objectives of the organizations. The Organizations should retain focus through an acquisition of new technologies and adoption of more advanced machines so that they enhance Efficiency. The Company should also adopt healthy and competitive remuneration of their employees. The company should be aware of the significant role that employees play and would; therefore, go out of their ways to ensure the employees feel appreciated. Apart from wages, employees should be offered comprehensive health insurance covers and other benefits all geared to make them optimize their production. The outlet should also value its partners who provide essential services to facilitate their proper functioning. Such partners include banks, insurance companies, and transportation firms among other critical services.
The company should lay great emphasis on the management of innovations. The enterprise should be aware of the fast changes taking place in the global business arena and should keep pace, so they remain relevant in their field of specialization. It should be committed to research to ensure they explore areas of improvement so that that meets the changing needs of their clients (Fromme and Unger, 2012, P.72). On the same line, they are keen to discard obsolete technologies and practices that could slow down their organizations. The company should put in place assessment mechanisms to ensure it remains focused on their goals. Through proper auditing of finances, the company will be able to forecast and even weigh its performances (Shu, Chu and Sampo Corporation, 2003, P. 598). Frequent evaluation measures are considered necessary to keep the organizations in right standing. It is through proper analysis of the results that the company will be able to determine its future direction. The outlet will hence be able to put in place any remedial measures as required by the achieved results.
The Knowledge to improve will enable the retail outlet to have elaborate development plans that keep them informed about the changing needs of their customers. The improvement is achieved through engaging customers through efficient feedback mechanisms so that no aspect of product or service is compromised. The effort, in turn, ensures that the needs of the customers are continuously met (Williams and Chinn, 2010, P.425). The knowledge of technology application in total management, marketing also focuses on achieving the needs of the client. The use of improved websites, and social media could be valuable knowledge to organizations in consolidating the needs of the customers. Such technologies provide platforms for feedback and interacting with the agencies and their clients.
The retailer should make use of the social media to market the business. The emergence of the social media platform will provide the store managers with a broad range of opportunities that could be exploited to popularize their brands. To overcome competition and win the confidence of the customers, the managers could usefully employ the broad reach of the social media to enhance their endeavors and objectives. One of the opportunities provided to managers by the social media is that the managers can discover the perceptions of the consumers without having to invest in expensive research and surveys. The management team can discern perceptions that consumers have about the stocked products. The managers are also able to tell the attributes and features customers value in brands and even can recognize the changes of the perceptions.
The online social media platform provides the managers with an opportunity to gather intelligence on the views of all related brands in the market. The managers are supplied with an opportunity to assess the degree of market information that consumers have and hence enable the managers to gauge particular brands against others in the market. The managers can analyze the online conversations and hence make necessary adjustments or improvements. Social media is acknowledged as among the most cheapest and effective channels or media that have proven effective in the modern day marketing (Fromme and Unger, 2012, P.75). The ability of the channel to provide an interactive process with customers provides an organization with sufficient information and data that can be used by the organization to study the market. Further, the majority of the target consumers of the organization are young people who are always on social media and tapping into such potential clients offers the organization a comparative advantage as compared to the competitors.
The online social media will provide the retail manager with an opportunity to position better, based on the perceptions and the needs of the customers (Fromme and Unger, 2012, P.778). The information gathered is valuable to provide an efficient framework and basis for the outlet to place the products in the current competition in the industry. The opportunity to understand the expectations of the consumers presents an invaluable resource for the brand managers. Diversification is crucial as some of the products such as Sony DVD/CD are no longer in demand as was the case in the recent past. The retailer should endeavor to explore other products such as musical flash discs and computer software relevant to the entertainment industry as an attempt to increase the options. Overall, the complete range of goods at the store should be determined by the outcome of the market research.
Conclusion
The advancement in information technology has hugely affected the business terrain. The organizations are adopting numerous strategies, especially with the increasing adoption of information technology. In the case of Sony retail outlet in London, the DVD/CD industry is slowly becoming obsolete with the increase in online channels that offer the same products at lower prices. For the Sony Retail Outlet to survive there is a need for a strategic approach to marketing and adopting changes that are occurring in the industry. The range of products stocked at the outlet is technological in nature. The change in the entertainment and technical industry are constant, and hence it is paramount that the retailer keeps the pace of the changes. Innovation and market research are key components in the sector. Robust advertising practices are crucial aspects for survival in the industry.
Reference List
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