Chapter11 - Developing and Managing Products.

A product that is new to the world, market, producer, seller is called new product. Sony's Bravia 3D TV is a good example of new product that goes under category addition to existing product lines( new produtcs that supplement a firm's established line). Sony already had existing TV lines and added new 3D TV to Bravia line.

Developing new products goes through many stages before going to the market. The first stage is new product strategy that outlines roles of future product. The second stage is generation of ideas coming from customers, competitors, distributors. The idea of 3D is an example of a new and innovative technology. Then the idea goes to screening process(3rd stage) by appointed screening group. then product goes to another stage Business analysis. Sony does research of competition and market to determine future profitability. The next stage is development when Sony tested of the product performance and safety. Then its product- Bravia 3D is introduced in test market to evaluate consumers response. Finally Sony brings the product to commercialization. Since Sony already has TV line it already has most building inventories. Sony has experienced sales force that presents new product to the market

Chapter 7. Business Marketin(continued)

Sony also involved in strategic partnership or strategic alliance is cooperative agreement between business firms. for example, on December 13,2007 Indiana University and Sony Electronics announce strategic alliance for HD production project. Potential research activities to be conducted by Sony and Indiana University include  technologies such as virtual reality, 3-D video and 3-D animation, as well as the development of new communications tools to engage teachers and students. 

Also in May 20, 2010 Sony established strategic alliance with Google. the goal of both companies The two companies started working together to explore the joint development of compelling new Android-based hardware products for the home, mobile and personal product categories. 

(http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press/201005/10-0521E/index.html)

 

Chapter 7. Business Marketing

"Business marketing is the practice of individuals, businesses, commercial businesses and organizations marketing their products or services to other individuals, companies and organizations that in lieu of adopting the merchandise as their own for their own personal consumption, use them as components in products or services they offer, use them to support their operations or more commonly - resell them."

Sony Electronics is a leading provider of audio/video electronics and information technology products for the consumer markets. Sony also offers a full line of business-to-business products for medical, security, visual imaging and photofinishing applications.

chapter 8. Segmenting and Trageting Markets.

A market segment is a group of people that might share few characteristics and that have similar product needs. The first thing the corporation has to do before making a product is to identify with target market is willing to buy it. Market segmentation meets 4 basic criteria: 1) sustainability, 2)identifiably and measurability, 3) accessibility 4) responsiveness.
Also age, race, gender, income status and family life -cycle- all need to be considered. Most consumers of Bravia 3D TV are from generation X and generation Y. The majority of TV buyers are men. Most of the "home" time men spend watching sports, or playing video games. A lot of video games, for example, for Sony Play Station 3, are made in D which require 3D TV. Family life-cycle is also very important factor. The majority of 3D TV consumers are single people. Singles are likely to have more free time, like i said, men can spend their time playing video games all night.  Married couples, specially with kids, have less time for watching TV. But because of  really tight schedule they might not have time or energy to go out for movies, they can easily have their 3D movie theater at home.

Chapter 16. Integrating Marketing Communications. .

Almost all copanies use advertizing as one of the elements of promotion, uncluding Sony. For its new product Bravia 3D TV the corporation used traditional methods(media- television, radio...) as wel as new methods - websites(www.sonystyle.com), blogs(http://blog.discover.sonystyle.com) and others. 
Promotion seeks to modify behavior and thoughts in some way. Sony uses informative promotion that seeks to convert an existing into a want or to simulate interest in a new product. For example, Sony's advertisement for Bravia is focused on "turning dream to reality" by bringing 3D at homes, when before 3D was available only in movie theaters)

Chapter 10- Product Concepts.

Sony can classify its products as both business products(equipment, accessories...) and consumer product, which in this case  takes a major advantage of business product. The corporations produtcs can be classified under category shopping products, homogeneous type- such as television,  laptops etc.
Most of the companies sell a variety of things not only one product. Sony sell all kinds of different electronics but its surprising to know that  the company's first product was the electric rice cooker. right now sony offers a big variety of products. Its products mix consists  television, dvd's, cameras, mp3 players, accessories, security systems and even medical equipment.
A group closly related producs is called product line. For example, Sony 's 3D bravia TV represents one f the corporation's product lines. Different sizes, colors distinguish items in a product line.
Sony is a global brand , its recognizable in about 150 countries.

Sales Promotion and Personal Selling.

Like many other companies Sony uses sales promotion to increase the effectiveness of its promotional efforts.  Sales promotion offers consumers an incentive to buy, either by lowering price or adding value. Sony uses both consumer sales promotion  for consumer market and trade sales promotion for the members of marketing channel. For example, one of the tools for consumer sales promotion is online sales promotion. From December 30th 2010 to January 5th Sony had promotion which offered 55 Bravia  XBR8 3D TV for $4999 (original price $5499)  plus free shipping.
Sony also involved in trade sales promotion. For instance, Sony uses trade allowances- price reduction offered by manufacturers to intermediaries. One of Sony's retailers BestBuy receives special discount for running its own promotion of Sony products. Another Sony's sales promotion tools is training. When i visited BestBuy i noticed that the salesman was well trained how to demonstrate new features of the latest TV models.

Advertizing and Public Relations.

Sony is a popular and trusted brand in about 150 countries around the world so when it comes to advertising Sony uses product advertising, to be specific, pioneering advertising- to stimulate primary demand for a new product or product category.  Sony have earned the trust of a lot of customers throughout the world so the company doesnt  need to strive to enhance its image by using institutional advertising. When the company came up with Bravia 3D TV,  Sony started advertising the product through the major advertising media- television, internet, magazines, newspapers and outdoors media. For example,  in one of the Bravia 3D TV commercials Bravia  TV and 3D glasses takes a family to a different 3D world to have a new entertainment experience.

Retailing.

Sony is a leading manufacture of electronic technology. Last week i  visited one of the Sony's retailers Best Buy located on 86street and Lexington ave. Its a department store that carries a wide variety of electronic products. You can see that the level of service is moderately high as soon as you walk in to the store. I observed few salesmen working with customers and i saw that they delivered an excellent customer service that helped costumers to make right choices.  All the workers are properly trained on the products, so they can answer your questions, provide assistance in setting up your products and treat you with respect and professionalism. Then i decided to experience it myself. I came to one salesman named Alex and asked for help. i said i was interested in Sony Bravia 3D TVs. He asked me few questions about my preferences to help find a right product for me. While talking to him, i noticed that he stays informed about new technologies what helps costumers be on the "cutting age".After he explained me everything he let me try to watch a video on the Bravia 3D TV. At the end he thanked me for visiting the store and gave me a small brochure about the product that i was interested in, so i can learn more about it at home.
Best buy is also online retailer. You can buy  products from the website BestBuy.com.
from my personal experience i can conclude that  Soy works with retailers who provide customer care even before you make a purchase whether in store or online.

Consumer Decision Making.

When buying new products, especially expensive, consumers follow the consumer decision-making process which consists of  5 steps. The first one is need recognition which occurs when consumer is exposed to either internal or external stimulus. For example, you want to buy a TV and you see a commercial of Sony 3D TV, the next thing you want to go to the store and have this new viewing yourself. After you recognize what you need or want, you go to the next step information search. For example,  you already had a good experience with Sony products, you saw a commercial about that product on TV, read about it in a magazine or heard about it from your friends or family.  Once you get the information you move to the next step evaluation of alternatives. You begin narrowing the number of choices by either using cuttoffs or picking up a product attribute and exclude all products that dont have that attribute. For example, you need to buy a TV, at least 40 inch, you want it to have 3D, HD, and access to internet. Next step is a purchase. Ultimately you have to decide whether to buy or not to buy, specifically, when, what, where to buy and how to pay. Nowadays, there are so many ways to purchase a product, you can go to of of the electronic retailer stores and buy the TV or you can order it from online store. Same way, you can pay for you purchase right away or buy it on credit. The last step is postpurchase behavior which influenced by certain expectations. For example, people have high expectations regarding performance of Sony 3D TV which are satisfied because Sony's main goal is to satisfy costumers by making high quality products. Sometimes people tend to feel cognitive dissonance. in that case,Sony provides warranty for its products,product replacement plans or product insurance to help reduce dissonance.

Global Vision.

Sony is one of the leading manufactures  of electronics, products for the consumer and professional markets. Using global marketing Sony has expanded its company and now, according to Sony website, it operates approximately in 150 countries. 
Sony always tries to focus on marketing mix.  Sony products might be different in price in different countries.For example, even though Sony originates from Japan, the electronics there are more expensive then,for instance, in USA. the reason to it is that that the the costs to run a business are higher in Japan.
The corporation's promotion is towards middle and upper middle class families, from age 20 to seniors, working adults with habits of TV watching.
Sony also focuses on the third "P" of a marketing mix- place(distribution). As i said before, the company operates in about 150 countries.
And, finally, Sony's product and promotion is developing more and more everyday. Their purpose is to bring market products that capture the imagination of consumers and enhance their lives.

The Marketing Environment.

Marketers cannot control external environment but they must understand the changes of external environment and the impact on target market. Creating new products Sony's marketing managers should be aware of these external environment factors- social, demographic, economic, technological, political and legal, and competitive. To succeed they need to collect and evaluate environmental information. 

For example,Sony changed the way people think about technology  when it came up with Bravia 3D HD TVs. Creating this product the company had to answer these questions:
-are people willing to buy the product?
-who's going to buy product? what target market and is it big enough?
-is economic environment in a god condition? is the economy in recession?
- do my competitors have similar products?
The target market of  3D TV consumers most likely would consist of young people, rather then seniors.
Marketing also depends on lifestyle of people. for example, people who dont spend to much time at home wouldnt spend money on 3D tv that they will barely watch.
Economic factors also influence the external environment. Because Bravia 3D tvs are not cheap not everybody will be afford buying it. People with higher income will be the major consumers of that product.  Also the target market may be reduced during recession, when the prices will go up.
Another factor that can influence marketing is competitive environment. There are a lot of different popular similar firms that  will also produce 3Dtvs. So Sony has t work harder to maintain its profits and market share regardless of competitive market.

Ethics.

 Sony corporation recognizes the importance of protecting the natural environment that sustains all life on the earth for future generations. Sony strives to achieve a zero environmental footprint throughout the life cycle of its products and business activities.
the corporation reduces environmental footprint and prevents environmental pollution by complying with all environmental regulations.
Climate changes:
Sony reduces energy consumption and strives to achieve zero emissions of greenhouse gases.
Chemical substances:
The corporation minimizes the risk of chemical substances that it uses and eliminates the use of substances that have potentially significant impacts on the environment.
Resources conservation:
Sony uses water efficiently, minimizes waste from  sites and maximizes the effort for take back and recycling products from marketers.

The Sony corporation established its Green Management 2010  mid-range group environmental targets. these targets guide Sony in its effort to prevent global warming, recycle resources, ensure appropriate management of chemical substances and address a broad range of other environmental issues.

History of Sony Corporation and its mission statement.

Sony corporation's mission statement is
"to become a leading global provider of networked consumer electronics, entertainment and services".


Sony corporation was created in May 7th 1946 by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita.
The company was established with a capital of 190,000 yen, which is about $ 1,600. At first the name of the company was "Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation". In 1958 the company changed its name to"Sony" which comes from a combination of two words: "SONUS", which in Latin means "sound" and "SONNY", which means a small size.
  In 1960 the company established its American branch, called SONAM (Sony Corporation of America). Today it is known as SCA.

Strategic planning- Sony brings 3D home.

In September 2nd 2009Sony Corporation decided to take viewing experience to the next level announced its plans to deliver 3D to home in 2010.  The corporation has created many different models and series of 3D TVs but to be specific lets take a look at one of the latest models and its features.

Sony  BRAVIA 60 inch LX900 series 3D HDTV delivers incredible viewing experience in full HDTV 1080. It also has a build in Wi Fi which allows you to use internet straight from your TV and gives you access to watch your favorite movies, shows, music or add information applications to access the latest local news, weather and more.Another unique 3D feature of this TV is that you can easily convert 2D content into 3D just by pressing a button on the remote. And to fully enjoy new viewing experience the package also includes 2 pairs of 3D glasses.

Sony continues to strive to embrace its make.believe philosophy which signifies the company's ability to turn ideas into reality.

History of Sony corporation and its mission statement.

Sony corporation's mission statement is

"to become a leading global provider of networked consumer electronics, entertainment and services".

Sony corporation was created in May 7th 1946 by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita.
The company was established with a capital of 190,000 yen, which is about $ 1,600. At first the name of the company was "Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation". In 1958 the company changed its name to"Sony" which comes from a combination of two words: "SONUS", which in Latin means "sound" and "SONNY", which means a small size.
  In 1960 the company established its American branch, called SONAM (Sony Corporation of America). Today it is known as SCA.