Business strategies and organizational implementation

Economics

Industry and company facts:

Demand for microcomputers amongst all sectors and suppliers is currently 9383 per quarter

Ionic, Inc. has the largest market share in the industry at 32%, and hopes to further outstrip its competition in the coming four quarters

Total unit demand for Iconic, Inc. is 2557 for the quarter, with Traveler and Workhorse units accounting for the bulk of sales in absolute terms, joined by Cost Cutters in terms of proportional sales and market share

Increasing demand for technology of mid-level performance and price promises to grow what are already Iconic, Inc.'s most profitable sectors

The most considerable barrier facing iconic, Inc. is industry competition, which has already all but pushed Iconic, Inc. out of certain sectors but which is far behind the company in others

Iconic, Inc. will consider buyout of some of its much smaller competitors that are nonetheless more successful than Iconic, Inc. In certain sectors

Product

While continuing to develop and market products in all five identified market sectors (Cost Cutter, Innovator, Mercedes, Workhorse, and Traveler), Iconic, Inc. will focus its products in the areas where the company is already dominant and meeting with great success, namely amongst the customers of the Workhorse and Traveler sectors, the details of whom are discussed below. Using the knowledge obtained regarding these customers' desires, specific products and marketing techniques will be developed for each sector.

Products have already been successfully marketed to these sectors, as is evidence by the industry and company facts detailed above. Ongoing adjustments to these products will continue to be made throughout their life cycle as customer needs and technological capabilities evolve and expand, as determined through market and product research and development. The following lists provide a breakdown of certain basic elements of the products Iconic, Inc. will be marketing towards the Workhorse and Traveler consumer sectors:

Workhorse Benefits:

High-powered processors for faster saving and retrieval

Designed specifically for ease of integration with large networks

Time-sharing and multiple operation running made easier

Easily accommodate multiple users with different access/security levels

Large RAM and hard drive capacity

Workhorse Features:

Moderately sized to fit most workspaces

Software covering the bulk of standard office operations comes preloaded, with customizable software and hardware available for specialized units

Multiple external ports to accommodate a variety of inter-device connections

Network compatible through several outdated protocols

Traveler Benefits:

Designed to be tailored to each individual consumers needs

High quality sound and image/video capturing and processing

Multiple operation functionality is greatly enhanced

Provides more than enough computing power for standard uses in a smaller and more user-friendly package than is offered by other companies

Traveler Features

Lightweight and compact design for easy portability

Voice-activated control to allow for hands-free operation/multitasking

Standard WiFi and optional 3G connectivity for consistent access to email, data, and the Internet at large

Statistical analysis, word processing, accounting, and other typical business software requirement come preloaded standard

Customers

Customers in the Workhorse category, which is the largest consumer bloc, are seeking units with a wide range of capabilities and decent functionality, though with ease of use taking precedence over performance. Processing power is a major necessity of these consumers, as is the need to keep the price relatively low. Workhorse consumers are also far more likely to buy in volume, so focusing on building a machine for this sector could yield substantial profits.

Travelers, on the other hand, are willing to pay a slightly higher price for slightly higher performance and greater ease in carrying the unit around. Salespeople and others that are often on the road for business need a machine that can keep up with them and all of their work but that isn't cumbersome in terms of size or budget. Though a significantly smaller portion of the industry's customers fall under this category when compared to the Workhorse category, there is still substantial profitability to be had with these consumers as well as potential technology spillovers from innovations made on Traveler-focused products.

Competition

Iconic, Inc. is entering the microcomputer field along with six other competitors, and though Iconic, Inc. is currently the overall market leader there are specific sectors in which the company is being especially threatened, and competition is still quite fierce. Some competitors are focusing on other consumer segments, which carries certain clear advantages for Iconic, Inc. And the decision to focus on this company's strengths, yet there is also significant overlap in targeting and marketing efforts as well as the issue of ongoing competition in the industry as a whole. The following table breaks down the competitive analysis of Iconic, Inc. And its two primary competitors in the Workhorse and Traveler sectors.

Table 1: Competitive Analysis

Factor

Iconic, Inc.

Strength

Weakness

Ikonic

Quantum

Products

Products offered in all five consumer segments, with emphasis on targeted areas x

Offers products in four fo ive segments with less specialization

Offers products in only two consumer segments

Price

Target segments for the company are moderately price sensitive x

Price sensititivty profile is similar to Iconic, Inc.'s, and products are competitively priced