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How To Position A Convergence Product
Posted By: Manu Rajan on 7/21/2004 5:11 AM (CST) 300 Points
One of my clients has a product which is as big as a VCD player and functions as a PC, VCD/DVD player, Fax Machine, Music System, Telephone and Video Game.

There are no other products currently in the market. Can someone throw light on how could one position this product in the market? It is priced at par with a branded PC.

I would also appreciate suggestions on how to go about doing this as well.

Posted by: kwinters* Member Response
7/21/2004 10:34 AM (CST)
what are thoughts on the positioning now?

What have the developed to date?
 
Posted by: SteveByrneBranding Accepted Answer
7/21/2004 12:19 PM (CST)
Hi Manu Rajan,

Position it as the first and number one all-in-one solution competing against all of the component-based solutions in the market today.

Hope this stirs more thought,

- Steve
 
Posted by: harshal501* Accepted Answer
7/21/2004 2:27 PM (CST)
I agree with SteveB. Positioning as the all-in-one solution is a good idea.

It is also important to look at the company's current brand equity. For example, if this product is launched by Sony, it will automatically be positioned as a high-quality, premium-priced all-in-one solution.

On the other hand, if the product is launched by a company that is not well-known, they will have to build their own brand equity, with the threat of Sony, Panasonic and other giants entering the market with a similar product.

With a good launch campaign your client can reap the benefits of being a pioneer of such a product.

I hope this helps.
 
Posted by: Peter (henna gaijin) Accepted Answer
7/21/2004 3:08 PM (CST)
Interesting choice of functionality to add into a single product. Not sure I would have thought of putting a phone/fax into the same box as a VCD/DVD player. Fax is mostly business oriented, where music system and DVD is more consumer oriented.

I suspect that positioning this based on the space savings could be one route to go. Aim it at markets where space is a prime consideration (city apartment dwellers, boat owners, college students in dorms, etc.).
 
Posted by: eugene Accepted Answer
7/21/2004 10:04 PM (CST)
Hi Manu Rajan,

Harshal501 did throw some light on this.

Positioning is something you want to consider very carefully along with other aspects i.e. brand equity, resources, market acceptance, pricing etc.

If your company is a market leader or are one of the bigger boys, then it makes absolute sense to go and shout about this...

However, if your company is small or medium sized, you might not have the resources to go head on with people like Sony and the like...question is how long would it take for your competitors to come up with something similar? And with a huge marketing budget from these guys, the noise your company is making might not even be heard.

The cd-rom technology which was invented by Philips was popularised by people like Sony, Panasonic etc...but how many people know that it was Philips that was at the forefront of technology? I didn't until I read the case study...Of course Philips is getting royalty from the other brands for the technology...

Something to consider?


Cheers.
 
Posted by: mbarber Accepted Answer
7/22/2004 8:28 PM (CST)
Gidday Manu

One of the mistakes many manufacturers make with multi function products is that they think merely have more functions will make the product appealing.

In fact, very often the opposite is the result for the wider audience.

The KEY factors in your positioning will be in showing that the product is both multi functional AND easy to use. If you do that, you have some leverage in the mind of the consumers.

Also consider that having a single unit might not in fact be attractive to multi user environments. If you target an office market - why would they want something that does Video games and Music machine stuff when all they really want is a PC and a fax machine?

If you are targeting the domestic market consider the buyer's view. Say I have two kids. If I buy one of these convergence products, who gets to use it? If one of the kids want to listen to music, what does that mean for me? If I want to use the PC, what about the other kid that wants to play a video?

And that leads to a question for the consumer - will I need to buy another one? If the answer is "probably' then you reduce sales opportunities.

So that would lead to identifying a main target market - probably hotels, new housing estates or apartment zones where space is at a premium and airport lounges where your product 'Box of Tricks' can perform multiple tasks in one box.

BUT in all of your positioning you will need to show that using these tools is EASY to do. If there is a hassle changing from one function to another, it won't take long till your products are gathering dust on the warehouse shelves.
 
Posted by: SRyan ;] Member Response
7/22/2004 10:55 PM (CST)
Manu, aren't you glad that Marcus (mbarber) is back online? I've been wondering where he's been...
 
Posted by: Mushfique Manzoor Member Response
8/2/2004 6:43 AM (CST)
Dear Manu Rajan

I totally agree with Marcus(mbarber) regarding the product composition and product benefits. i think you should position the product to studio apartments. airport day-rooms, waiting lounge etc.

regards
Mushfique
 
Posted by: thinkmor Accepted Answer
8/9/2004 10:47 AM (CST)
Hi Manu

Is there a market need for such a product? What has the research suggested? Is there sustainable Market potential and growth?

Has there been any pre-testing?

Sounds like a bit of a white elephant.

Unless, your product has superior consumer or user value,
has bags of style and is distinctive, produced at low cost, beomes widely available, has marketing of high quality and achieves wide awareness & trial (deep enough pockets) AND is attractively priced you will find it difficult to achieve more than moderate brand success.

You will also need to have a service & maximum warranty guarantee built into the propsition to really give the brand a chance to fight against the premium brands if it is a small player, in case some things go sooner than later on the product (R&D should be able to tell you)

From what I've seen in past years of multi-function devices it is extremely difficult to get a combination that is consistent in quality and which performs outstandingly. Maybe I'm more of a cynic? I might be surprised.

Hope that helps.

Zahid / Thinkmor™
 
Posted by: Sharon Moderator Response
8/12/2004 9:31 PM (CST)
Hello all.
I am closing this question since it's more than 2 weeks old. We do this to make sure members' contributions are rewarded in a timely manner and to improve the visibility of newer questions. Thanks so much for participating!
 


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