Marketing- MKT607

Assess your current situation and the market (What are your firm’s strengths and weaknesses?)

Bikes are gaining acceptability in the market because of the emphasis on environmental sustainability. Therefore, we have a broad market base that can be leveraged to increase profits. Bikes have also become prevalent in most companies’ logistics because they do not cost a lot to maintain. Many companies rely on bike riders to get products delivered to their customers within specified timelines. Therefore, we can customize our bikes by including a GPS location that will always notify owners where their bikes are and the routes they take daily. Our company is also able to meet specific customer needs by customizing bikes based on customer needs and preferences. This will help us create a competitive advantage over other bike manufacturers. Another strength is a good return on investment because the demand for our bikes is anticipated to be high due to their unique features and convenience.

Although the strengths identified above create a promising future for our company, there are various weaknesses that could affect business success and slow the growth process. One of the weaknesses is the need for high technology. The bikes have to be equipped with 3D technology, which may be costly to implement. Therefore, the company may first opt to manufacture fewer bikes based on its financial capacity and increase production based on demand. Another weakness is low net income because the company has to invest a lot of money in purchasing the technology required to manufacture the bikes and pay highly skilled manufacturers who are conversant with the proposed technology and how to use it to manufacture bikes that compete favorably in the bikes and transportation market.

What were the lessons learned and recommendations?

One of the lessons learned is that implementing new technology to manufacture a product is costly and requires ensuring that the team in charge of the manufacturing process has the skills and capabilities needed to produce the desired product without wasting the company’s resources. Therefore, I would recommend training the manufacturing team to equip them with the knowledge, skills, and capabilities required to manufacture the bikes. The second lesson learned is that production errors could have a long-term negative impact on the company. Therefore, I recommend testing the bikes before releasing them to the market. The testing should include ensuring that every aspect of the bike is advertised to gain the trust of potential customers and gain a competitive advantage. According to Russo & Confente (2017), customer loyalty plays a significant role in defining how a product is perceived in the market and dictates return sales.

Another lesson learned is that business strategy can be aligned based on the company’s performance. For instance, a company may opt to differentiate its product when facing stiff competition or use cost leadership when introducing a new product in a highly competitive market. I would recommend using different business strategies to create a competitive advantage. The company may consider using a blend of focused cost leadership and focused differentiation. Focused cost leadership includes competing based on price to target a smaller target market, and focused differentiation strategy includes providing unique features that meet the demands of a smaller target market (An & Lifen, 2017). Therefore, our company needs to identify a narrow target market with the highest growth potential and concentrate on it to increase sales. I would also recommend regular market research to identify changes in the market structure so that the company can adjust its branding strategy on time.

References

An, G., & Lifen, C. (2017). Explore the integration of cost leadership strategy and differentiation strategy. Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Education, Management, Information and Computer Science (ICEMC 2017). https://doi.org/10.2991/icemc-17.2017.75

Russo, I., & Confente, I. (2017). Customer loyalty in the business-to-business context. Customer Loyalty and Supply Chain Management, 14-50. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315162829-2

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