Political Factors Affecting the Introduction of a New Product or Service

Marketing is a process that starts with the conception of a product’s idea to the launching of a product into the market. Entrepreneurs, especially growing companies, have to gather valuable product or service information to facilitate wise decision making and design plan that will ensure that the business profit (Suttle, 2017). The information gathered on the non-paying consumers and customers is analyzed and used in designing marketing strategies. The process of collecting relevant information to help determine the availability of the market for a proposed product is called market research while the document that outlines the tactical strategies to be employed in the marketing of the product is the marketing plan. Market research is the first step in the marketing process. It may be carried out to either improve a product or service delivery to the customers.

In 2016, Marketing Strategies carried out marketing research on the perception of customers using Electric Vehicle (EV) (MSI, 2016). The market research was driven towards identifying ways in which customer experience can be improved and smoothened. Previous market studies had indicated that there was dissatisfaction in the service delivery regarding failure customer support systems. Consequently, the manufacturer had to carry out a follow-up market research to track any improvement in the customer experience and come up with a better mechanism of improving customers’ experience with EV (MSI, 2016). The research findings indicated that the manufacturer’s website was ineffective regarding providing real-time solutions to the clients. Most customers preferred a working call center to website communications. Thus for better customer and experience, and the probable subsequent better sales, it is upon the manufacturer design a better strategy of communicating to the non-buying customers and assure them of better service.

On the contrary, a competitor may use the same market research to come up with an EV that has a direct-line call button that will ensure customer get assistance instantly. This is the value-addition strategy of launching any product: identify a problem, then solve it (value to clients), and get money (your value).

Part 2:  Who are the competitions for your favorite product?

I love sports. Anyone in the sporting industry will concur with me that nothing is exciting as having pleasant and comfortable sportswear; especially shoes. Consequently, my favorite product is sports shoes such as sneakers. There are a number of brands offering the sporting kits including Adidas, Puma, and Nike but the most prominent market share has been taken by Nike and Adidas hence making them the main competitors in the industry (Chin, 2018). For years, Nike had dominated the market and no one ever thought that another company could ever pose competition to the Market. Every athlete in almost every event had on a swoosh logo (Kings, 2017). However, with an ambitious and consistent improvement of the product developing and marketing strategy, Nike and Adidas are currently engaging in a neck-to-neck to battle for popularity, dominance, and sales.

The two companies are in a continuous battle to improve the quality and endorsements they receive from top athletes. In the process of trying to dethrone each other, the two brands hire top class designers, make use of space-age technology and seek to sign superstars for endorsements. Introduction of Yeezy and Jordan Wear was a game changer for Nike for a while (Kings, 2017). Currently, we speak of Sneakers and quality balls.

The competition between Adidas and Nike is healthy for the consumers regarding quality improvement and products’ diversity. With the current stiff competition between the two, quality is almost assured. Additionally, the difference in the quality of the products of the two brands is negligible hence the marketing strategy and objectives cannot be hinged on the quality only. The two companies based acceptability and popularity. This is achieved by signing top athletes in the industry. The strategy attracts fans and supporters of those athletes hence boosting sales and endorsements.

Part 3: PESTEL and how this affects the introduction of a new product or service

            There are people who think that marketing is just a creative way of convincing people to buy or consume a product/service hence promoting sales. However, this is a simplistic way of looking at marketing includes everything that happens between the producer and the consumer. Consequently, a business must not only take into account internal factors affecting its products but also external factors that can influence the business’ operation based on a specific product. PESTEL Analysis is an essential tool that provides a firm a framework to investigate its external environment and determine how those factors affect its products. PESTEL Analysis takes into consideration Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal (PESTEL) factors (Morrison, 2016). For example, when Nike launched Anti-clog Traction in 2016, the above factors must have influenced the decision (NIKE, 2016):

Political factors:

Political factors mainly affect the backend of the production and sales process. Production methods, pricing, importation/exportation of the end product and raw materials, and general tax and manufacturing policies of the Nike Anti-clog Traction must be favorable for the product to be produced and introduced into the market.

Economic Factors: For Nike to successfully manufacture Nike Anti-clog Traction, availability of capital and economic risks such as the collapse of the market must have been considered. Cost-Benefit Analysis (ABC) of the product’s market must show the possibility of making a profit. Thus economic factors will influence the price of the Nike Anti-clog Traction and even the time of entry into the market.

Social factors: Good social relation in business has never been important as it today. The public image of Nike has to be good for consumers to Nike anti-clog Traction. A business may collapse for having a poor relationship with customers. Besides, social norms and culture of the pilot consumers must be in agreement the use of Nike Anti-clog Traction.

Technological Factors: Nike Anti-clog Traction production system needed to be updated with the latest technology through interacting with customers and assessing new trends in design and innovations.

Environmental Factors: The effect of Nike Anti-clog Traction production and distribution into the environment must be considered. Government policies may be in place to curb environmental pollution during the production and distribution process. Thus Nike has to align itself with the requirements for the product to be allowed in the market. 

Legal Factors: Legal factors are related to political factors. The production, pricing, and distribution must not contravene with the law. Besides, for Nike Anti-clog production be launched, background checks must be done to ensure there is no copyright infringement and ownership violations.

Part 4: SWOT analysis and its use in the marketing plan

            One of the most important factors to consider when coming up marketing strategy is the state of the business itself. There are four main considerations are advisable to be looked into. These are Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. The process of identifying these factors about the business is called SWOT Analysis (Shewan, 2017). Strengths are a business’ abilities and resources that give it a competitive advantage in the market. Strengths may include loyal customers, stable financial base or protective government policies. Weaknesses are areas that a business needs to improve; they hinder optimal business’ operation. They may be inadequate finances, and inadequate supply chain Opportunities are favorable external factors such as reduced tariffs and subsidies. Lastly, threats are vulnerabilities of a business and may cause potential harm. Threats may include increasing the cost of labor and competition (Shewan, 2017).

            A SWOT analysis of Britannia and Parle below illustrates the value of SWOT Analysis in the marketing mix. 

Britannia (Bhasin, 2018)

Parle (Bhasin, SWOT analysis of Parle G, 2018)

Strengths

High brand recall

Oldest in the industry

Wide market

Leads bakery market

High brand recall

One of the most popular brands in India

Strong market base in the rural market

Diversity of products

Weaknesses

Specializes in biscuits only

Underperforming in the dairy business

 Most revenue comes from Parle brand

Undifferentiated goods; hence stiff competition

Opportunities

Growing dairy market

Unexploited Overseas market

Growing food industry in India

Broader and more aggressive marketing strategies

Threats

Increasing price of raw materials

Stiff competition in the market

Rising cost of raw materials

Stiff competition

            Based on the strengths and weaknesses, Britannia and Parle can come up with marketing strategies such offering discounts, tapping international markets and carrying out more extensive promotions.

Part 5: Segmentation, targeting and positioning in marketing (STP):

Modern Marketing is evolving, and experts in the industry keep on designing new marketing models for efficiency and productivity. Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning (STP) model are one of the widely used marketing models today. STP involves division of the market into smaller sections based on the characteristics, needs or behaviors that may need unique attention regarding marketing strategies (Segmentation) (Hanlon, 2018). After that, an in-depth and strategic analysis of each division is carried out to determine the number of the segments and how each can be served best based on needs and surrounding factors (Targeting). Lastly, the business has to think about the proposition for each segment, and how to create a lasting and right image to the consumers so that they consume its products (Positioning).

            Several industries can use STP to improve their sales. One of these industries is Travel and Hospitality industry. With the advent of Bleisure, STP can be used to take advantage of the trend. Bleisure is a new hybrid mix of travel that combines business and leisure during trips (Rauch, 2017). We are in an era where the line between work and life is becoming extremely thin. Most people all over the world receive business emails on their phones, and some have offices in their home. Consequently, the hospitality industry is conforming to the new need and STP can use to maximize returns.

A firm in the industry can make use of STP to take advantage of Bleisure by first identifying the possible client (valuable customers for Bleisure), designing a custom-made package for the segment and coming up with marketing messages that suites them. The STP approach is efficient and effective because it facilitates proper engagement with the group so the better ways of serving them are designed and relevant messages created. For example, travel package that includes taking you to a conference for one day and tourist attraction sites for three at 1000 dollars.

Part 6: New product/services launch

The business environment is very complex, and success of a product or service introduced in the market is a probability. Since business strategists and entrepreneurs strive to minimize the risk of failure, both success and failure continue to be a witness in the market. For example, one of the most successful new product launches is Chrome Thailand Launch. In the processing of expanding the market for its products, Google needed to introduce its Chrome browser in Thailand. Strategically, with the knowledge that culturally preferences are one of the most important factors to be considered when introducing a product in a diverse market and that people of Thailand value traditional storytelling, Google integrated storytelling in their Chrome Launch campaign (ProBlogger, 2017).

Google brought the ancient story of Ramakien, a national heroic that originates from the history of Hinduism (Ramayana). The story pivoted around the triumph of good over evil. Seemingly, Chrome was coming to Thailand and bringing the ancient story back to life. The browser received a heavy acceptance including an endorsement from the Prime Minister and the Thai people. Chrome grew by 53% during the campaign and is currently the number one browser in Thailand (ProBlogger, 2017).

            On the contrary, the launch of Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 was a big fail (Gilbert, 2016). Though one of the Samsung’s most significant flagship projects, Galax note 7 had technical hitch occasionally resulted in it catching fire and exploding. It was reported that a car had been burned to ashes due to the explosion of the Galaxy. In fact, flight operators had banned it on the planes. Samsung decided to recall the entire line (Gilbert, 2016). This remains one of the biggest Samsung’s failed product launches.

References

Bhasin, H. (2018, Jnuary 11). SWOT analysis of Britannia. Retrieved May 3, 2018, from Marketing91: https://www.mbaskool.com/brandguide/food-and-beverages/3541-parle-products-ltd.html

Bhasin, H. (2018, February 17). SWOT analysis of Parle G. Retrieved May 3, 2018, from Marketing91: https://www.marketing91.com/swot-analysis-parle-g/

Chin, K. (2018, February 9). Nike is DOminating Adidas in the Sneaker War. Retrieved may 3, 2018, from Business Insider: http://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/nike-stock-price-is-overtaking-adidas-stock-price-in-the-sneaker-war-2018-2-1015237559

Gilbert, B. (2016, December 29). 24 of the biggest failed products from the world’s biggest companies. Retrieved May 2, 2018, from Business Insider: http://www.businessinsider.com/biggest-product-flops-in-history-2016-12?IR=T

Hanlon, A. (2018, March 5). The Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning model. Retrieved May 3, 2018, from Smart Insights : https://www.smartinsights.com/digital-marketing-strategy/customer-segmentation-targeting/segmentation-targeting-and-positioning/

Kings, A. (2017, November 19). Nike vs Adidas: Who wins the battle of quality against quantity? Retrieved May 3, 2018, from Born2Invest: https://born2invest.com/articles/nike-vs-adidas-quality-quantity/

Morrison, M. (2016, May 6). Introduction to the PESTLE analysis tool. Retrieved May 3, 2018, from Rapidibi: https://rapidbi.com/introduction-to-the-pestle-analysis-tool/

MSI. (2016, July 7). Retrieved May 3, 2018, from MArketing Strategies Internationa;: https://www.marketstrategies.com/library/2591/1/Ensuring-a-Smooth-Experience-for-Electric-Vehicle-Customers.aspx

NIKE. (2016, March 22). Nike Anti-Clog Traction. Retrieved May 3, 2018, from NIKE: https://news.nike.com/news/anti-clog

ProBlogger. (2017, March 14). Brands That Nailed Their Product Launches (And What You Can Learn From Them).

Retrieved May 3, 2018, from Pro Blogger: https://problogger.com/6-brands-nailed-product-launches-can-learn/

Rauch, R. (2017, December 6). Hospitality Trends 2018 – What’s Happening in Hospitality. Retrieved May 3, 2018, from Hotel Online: https://www.hotel-online.com/press_releases/release/hospitality-trends-2018-whats-happening-in-hospitality

Shewan, D. (2017, December 17). How to Do a SWOT Analysis for Your Small Business . Retrieved May 3, 2018, from WordStream: https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2017/12/20/swot-analysis

Suttle, R. (2017, January 30). Types of Marketing Research With Examples. Retrieved May 2, 2018, from Chron: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/types-marketing-research-examples-21474.html