Overall Evaluation of Current Promotion Mix Strategy
Introduction
Promotion mix is a main concept in the modern day marketing. This strategy is basically the whole lot of any marketing can use to manipulate the consumer into believing that your products are the best compared to other companies. Generally, promotion mix is a replica of crafting and implementing a marketing strategy. The purpose of this article is to interpret and evaluate the, marketing strategy of Sony Inc. The analysis will take into account them information in marketing strategy, its implantation and the management of e-business in marketing. Sony has put into place different blends of promotional variable to help the company achieve its goals. In order to achieve the most excellent marketing results and find an answer to all the marketing challenges, the best possible way to achieving it is to allocate budgets for all the elements used in promotion mix.
Fewer Products Strategy
Sony believes that that the answer to awe-inspiring profits is to have the center of attention in narrower band of products. This move will enable to Sony to stop pursuing growth of its business in marketing products that have intense competition from rival companies. An example of such a situation is in the manufacture of Smartphone. Sony has struggled to cope with completion from other manufactures such as Apple and Samsung. However, Sony will not fully consider implementing the exit strategy as it will still make Smartphones and TVs. There is likelihood of Sony partnering with another company to market these products. This will see Sony shift its focus on other products that are more profitable. These areas include the manufacture of camera sensors, entertainment products and video games Option Strategies Evaluation (Das, 2000).
The Three Business Strategy
Sony has been divided into three main sectors. In order to have an achievement the sales growth and profit expansions, the company will invest heavily on the potential profitable business areas. Expanding the PlayStation platform, putting more focus on increasing the audience to pictures and in relation to music, center the growing areas will enable Sony to make lots of profits Sony and the Japanese Culture (Kumar & Thomas, 2014).
Qualitative Analysis of Sony’s Marketing Strategies
Use of consumer engagement programs
Sony has put more focus on natural engagement with its customers unlike focusing on purchased management. This calculated move will ensure that relevant products are promoted in a prevalent environment. Sony’s technology is directly related to entertainment and it is therefore wise to bring that message to potential customers with the help of entertainment experience. Sony’s entertainment experience plays a big role in drawing its customers to a specific on-site space unlike premiums. The adoption of this strategy has been a major improvement to the company as it has been cost effective compared to using the premiums.
The E-business strategy
Sony has integrated the e-business in its strategies in order to build a burly relationship with the customers and direction communication between both parties. Today, Sony uses the internet as a form of communication with its customers, resellers and individuals. This type of technology has made communication reliable.
Recommendations
In the past years, Sony has announced annual losses amounting to billions of dollars. The main problem affecting Sony is the numerous product lines that the company uses to serve the entertainment parts of the value chain. Sony initiated the “empire-building” strategy without knowing that it would adversely affect the running of the company. Therefore Sony should come up with segment factor for it to be able reconstruct around the focused segment. This restructuring will help the company to apply nearly all of its resources on the segment that seem to be more profitable. The main segment will act as the focus of the collection while the least money-making segments will either be done away with or incorporated to the main segment.
Sony has been affected by both internal and external factors. The appreciation of the Japanese Yen for example, has negatively affected the company in that; the demand for Sony products by the non-Japanese has gone down. To avoid such cases, Sony should buy foreign currencies.
Sony’s products are generally believed by customers to be genuine and reliable. However, this has not been the case for the past few years as many have questioned the quality of products manufactured by Sony. Sony should stop being aggressive top avoid a scenario where, the quality of its products would be put under scrutiny. Sony should have a decentralized monitoring and an evaluation mechanism at all the stage of manufacturing. This will as assure the company that the final products are of the right quality and passed fit for use. This decentralized system will allow the company to scrutinize the components. It will also enable the company to track a problem before the products are supplied and rectify any remedy.
Recommended Promotional Tools
Sales Promotion and Personal Selling
Like other competing companies, Sony should pay more attention to more effective method of promotion in order to have effectiveness of the promotional efforts. Sales promotion and personal selling offers incentives to customers by adding value and in some cases, lowering the price of the products. Sales promotion utilizes the encouragement techniques to increase the sales from the targeted customers and at the same time, generate response from the customers.
Advertising
Sony should advertise its products through various means and media. The TV for example is an avenue that can be used to reach, many people around the world. Sony should therefore utilize the available TV channels properly to unsure that it broadens its market base. Direct response advertising enables the customers to give their views on the products using the various forms of communication such as mails and telephone.
Publicity and Public Relations
Public relations ensure that a company maintains friendly ties with the customers, media, its own employees, financial institutions, potential investors as well as suppliers. Sony should its website to provide all the relevant information that may be needed by anyone. This move will ensure that Sony will create a mutual understanding with customers and other investors. However, Sony should be very careful on its advertisement to avoid damaging the reputation of the company and maintain a good relation with the general public.
Cost Benefit Analysis
The presence of Sony internationally has made it greater than before the sensitivity to many economies and exchange rates. Sony have not have control of these factors and this might affect the running of the company.
Sony has competitors and most of them use the same methods of advertisement and production methods that are recommended for Sony. Sony should therefore accept the challenges; implement the recommendation keeping in mind that the competitors are also using the same methods.
References
Kumar, A., & Thomas, S. (2014). Option Strategies Evaluation. SSRN Electronic Journal SSRN Journal. doi:10.2139/ssrn.2646837
Das, B. (2000). Sony and the Japanese Culture. SSRN Electronic Journal SSRN Journal. doi:10.2139/ssrn.2370964
