Case Study
The stories of the companies and the people who managed to find their own formulas for rapid success belong to the number of the most popular topics for discussion among people connected to media. Anyway, opposite situations when companies lose money and power in a short period of time should also be discussed. Their negative experience is as important because it may help to make necessary conclusions. Furthermore, analyzing this experience will allow developing recommendations for the companies that attempt at reclaiming their authority. Sony belongs to the number of companies facing a series of issues that have had quite a negative influence on its business and the popularity of its products among the consumers. According to the case that we were supposed to study, Sony’s popularity has significantly decreased during the last decade.
There are a few factors that contributed to the present situation and affected Sony’s performance in that period. At first, there was a high level of competition in the market, and a lot of newer brands appeared. It was extremely important for the brands to prioritize the activities that would help them to attract and keep the attention of their prospective buyers. Other companies were developing devices that could become popular among young people presenting the most important group of customers for such brands. At the same time, Sony was wasting money on the development of products that had already been launched in the market by other brands. Macroeconomic factors that have influenced this situation also include growing economic competition between Japan and other Asian countries such as China, South Korea, and Taiwan. Furthermore, there was a series of accidents that seriously disrupted the company’s activities and caused a substantial financial loss. For instance, the hacking attack in 2011 and fire in London that destroyed the company’s warehouse added to the situation that was constantly deteriorating.
If I had to make recommendations for the managers of the discussed company, I would attract their attention to the importance of the customer-centric strategy discussed by many researchers such as Ritter and Henrik, who summarized its main points. The importance and positive outcomes of the use of such an approach are stated by many researchers, including Senn, Thoma, and Yip. Within the frame of this approach, it is important to pay more attention to developing the content that would present an interest for prospective buyers and encourage them to try new products. As has been stated, many specialists working for the brand tend to underestimate the importance of the content produced by the company.
It is clear from Sony’s official website that the information located there is helpful from a technical point of view; at the same time, it is not enough to attract younger customers who may bring substantial profit to the company. To continue, I would recommend the managers of Sony company to revise their policy concerning the launch of new products. As it is clear from many printed publications devoted to business, the role of innovations should not be underestimated. For instance, Mahmoud et al. claim that innovations help to maintain the company’s position in the market and gain interest in the customers. What is more, I suppose that it would be important for the company to take into consideration new ideas and hire more employees who would be able to bring positive changes to the relationships between the company and the entire community.
Works Cited
Mahmoud, Mahmoud Abdulai, et al. “Market Orientation, Learning Orientation, and Business Performance: The Mediating Role of Innovation.” International Journal of Bank Marketing, vol. 34, no. 5, 2016, pp. 623-648.
Ritter, Thomas, and Henrik Andersen. “A Relationship Strategy Perspective on Relationship Portfolios: Linking Customer Profitability, Commitment, and Growth Potential to Relationship Strategy.” Industrial Marketing Management, vol. 43, no. 6, 2014, pp. 1005-1011.
Senn, Christoph, Axel Thoma, and George S. Yip. “Customer-Centric Leadership: How to Manage Strategic Customers as Assets in B2B Markets.” California Management Review, vol. 55, no. 3, 2013, pp. 27-53.