Marketing Management Project Elements Essay

* What should Sonic’s mission statement be? -â€Å"Make technology an asset in your life and not a setback. Be the creator of your world through advanced technology. Sonic brings advanced technology to you through providing communication, information storage and exchange, organization and entertainment on mobile devices†. * In what competitive spheres (industry, products and applications, competence, market-segment, vertical, and geographic) should Sonic operate? Industry: PDA’s and smartphones for all lifestyles. Whether personal, business, or the student on the go. Products and applications: Smart devices that have numerous features and functions on a single device. Some features may include, Wi-Fi capabilities, Bluetooth technology, high definition quality videos, live movie and television streaming, music, camera, and security system all available at a competitive price. Competence: Creating and selling an original product with a wide range of features at a reasonable rate Market-Segments: Students can use the device to contact family and friends while on the go and also as multimedia device. Professionals may be more inclined to use the smart devices for business, such as scheduling appointments, emailing employees, customer transactions, and organizing contact information. Entrepreneurs and corporate users may seek to update and access critical data. Vertical: The product is manufactured and distributed throughout the U.S. markets by wholesalers and retailers. Geographic: The product is placed throughout the country. * Which of Porter’s generic competitive strategies would you recommend Sonic follow in formulating overall strategy? Sonic should look at Porter’s differentiation of focus generic strategy. One of Sonic’s strength is its clever and unique products. Since there products are innovative, it stands out from similar products that may already be on the market. Also, Sonic focuses and targets its products on a few segment markets and aims them at users for different uses. * What demographic changes are likely to affect Sonic’s targeted segments? The target segments that are likely to be affected are the professionals, students, corporate users, entrepreneurs and medical users. The demographic changes would be in age, gender, income, schooling and the kind of work a person does. All these would serve as the body of consumers or non-consumers that would buy Sonics new product. * What economic trends might influence buyer behaviour in Sonic’s targeted segments? The economy is always experiencing alternating periods of growth and decline. In this case economic trends that may influence a buyer behaviour of Sonics target segments is that technological development would have to be on the rise, allowing better ways to do certain things. Also period of growth would be and influence. Persons would spend more money during that time of economic growth. * How might the rapid pace of technological change alter Sonic’s competitive situation? The rapid pace of technological change may alter sonic competitive situation because of the large market of technology. Other companies that are in the same market that are targeting the same demographic would serve as competition. The competitors would come up with new and innovative ideas so that they may be the leaders in that market. * What surveys, focus groups, observation, behavioural data, or experiments will Sonic need to support its marketing strategy? Be specific about the questions or issues that Sonic needs to resolve its marketing problem. Sonic will need to use online surveys, small focus groups and observation to support its marketing strategy. An online survey will be ideal for Sonic as it is more beneficial to collect quantitative information in the fields of marketing from numerous consumers and the target market. A small focus group should be done on students, ranging from ages 18-25 to discern why PDA’s may or may not be popular among this age demographic. The moderator can ask questions such as, â€Å"How many persons are willing to pay more money for a newer, improved product with more features?†. The questions can then become more specific and the moderator can ask about the various brands of PDA’s, preference in brands, pricing, and factors that may persuade a consumer to purchase a certain product. Observation will also be needed to support Sonic’s marketing strategy. Company researchers can observe individuals and settings unobtrusively as they shop for products. They can also ask consumers to write down, there thought process, what they look for in a PDA, as well as how they compare pricing and perceived value amongst products. * Where can you find suitable secondary data about total demand for PDAs over the next two years? Identify at least two sources (online or off-line), describe what you plan to draw from each source, and indicate how the data would be useful for Sonic’s marketing plan. Suitable secondary data can be found online websites such as â€Å"Business.com† and â€Å"ReportLinker.com†. Using â€Å"Business.com†, information can be gathered on the latest news and trends regarding PDA’s. By using this source, we plan to draw information on the newest personal data assistants and handheld computers on the market and how they compete. How other businesses use PDAs in specific industries for specialized task and what may be on the horizon for cutting edge PDA technology. By using â€Å"ReportLinker.com† we will be able to view trends, analysis, statistics and various PDA market reports throughout the country as well as globally. * Recommend three specific marketing metrics for Sonic to apply in determining marketing effectiveness. To determine marketing effectiveness Sonic should apply these three marketing metrics: 1) Sales by market segment. 2) Brand awareness. 3) Customer Satisfaction.