Introduction
Virgin-Safety is one of the best security products in the market. The product has been launched by Virgin Media, a British company that has excelled in technology applications and software production. The primary aim of the product is to solve the existing challenges in terms of multi-tasking for women. The product will solve the current security issues, as people will monitor their family or friends’ security. The product is expected to perform better in the market because of the gap that it has filled in the security market. Besides, the application is user-friendly and easy to understand. The report aims at exploring the product performance of the Virgin-Safety app product in the market.
Marketing Plan and Brand Quality
Brand equity is the target of every firm in the market. For instance, it allows an organization to learn what the customers want in the market. To understand the customer requirements to satisfy them with the best services, the 4 Ps of marketing was the best theory to understand the factors in the market (Dong, 2020, p. 706). Brand quality is established mainly by understanding the market well. Therefore, our marketing plan will constitute product, price, place, and promotion.
Product
Virgin will be offering security through the Virgin-Safety provider app. The major target o the company is to fulfill the requirements of the market by providing the best security services to the customers. As a result, by defining the nature of the services offered to the customers, we will attain a higher demand for our services. Research by Agnihotri (2020, p. 293) has affirmed that the way products are presented to the customers plays an essential role in the marketing performance of the market’s products. More specifically, customers will always choose the best products in the market. Therefore, we aim to brand our application and make it more user-friendly to increase its usability and performance.
Price
Price is the most significant factor by the customers in the market. The cost of the products mainly determines the purchasing power of the customers (Restuccia et al., 2015, p. 70). As a result, marketers must value their price with the product or service’s quality. The application that virgin media has developed is one of the best in the market. As such, the price of the product will be related to its quality. For the service to sell in the market, the price has to be relatively lower when entering the market. This will be an entry strategy in the market to create more awareness of the service. Therefore, lowering the price and offering discounts when launching the product is one marketing strategy to sell the application.
Place
Deciding the place is one of the most challenging among all the 4 Ps of marketing. For example, a company must come up with a place where they will sell their products and determine the customer’s potential (Bryndina and Trush, 2020, p. 107). The new security application targets women because of the challenges they get when multi-tasking while delivering their duties. As such, the product will not be specific on the type of customers as it will limit many other customers who are willing to purchase the products. Before coming up with a product in the market, one has to decide where they will sell. Hence, predating our product to all the geographic zones will help Virgin media sell more in the market.
Promotion
Promotion refers to the techniques applied in the market to ensure that the product reaches the required destination. The goal of promoting products or services is to create awareness and give customers more reason to choose its product. Social media marketing is the most popular marketing trend globally (Agnihotri, 2020, p.293). Thus, Virgin media will invest in social media marketing to promote the product worldwide. Also, this application’s demand is expected to be high because the product solves the security problems in society.
Managing, Measuring, and Growing Product Performance
PLC Marketing
PLC marketing plays an essential role in determining the growth of a product or service in the market. For example, PLC marketing determines the stage at which the product is in the market. PLC model has highlighted four major stages of product growth: introduction, growth, maturity, and decline (Milichovský and Šimberová, 2015). At the introduction stage, the product is not known in the market. Thus, marketing directors play an essential role in making the product popular through marketing (García Rosales, 2020, p. 57). At this stage, the price is higher because of the low sales in the market. However, the product price continues to increase as the product is promoted. Virgin-Safety App has passed through this process since the application has been marketed well. Despite that, it has not been so popular but has passed the introduction.
Growth
The growth stage is the next step after a successful introduction of the product to the market. At this stage, the product has been known and identified by the customers (Galindo Henríquez, 2018, p. 280). The company starts to earn more revenue through the promotion of the product does not stop. The firm has to continue sponsoring the invention to gain more market segments. Similarly, product price is dropping at this phase, as many customers are buying services and products. The virgin-Safety app is dropping its cost at this point to gain more market power and strength. Growth time is where most of the companies remain for long. The major aim is to make more profits and to increase the stability of the company. Thus, Virgin media is building the product and ensuring that it will blend in with the market.
Maturity
Maturity is the process under which the product performs best in the product cycle. At this stage, the product has grown, and it is competing with many others in the market. After the introduction, every product must be capable of competing in the market (Wirtz and Lovelock, 2016, p.120). Besides, the distribution of the product has increased, and it is available everywhere. The application has not reached this stage; however, it is the next stage. Most of the product cycle end at this stage. The Virgin-Safety app will be recommended to brand the application. Rebranding gets the firm to the decline point, which marks the start of the next stage of the product cycle.
Decline
The decline is the optimum phase of the product cycle where some of the firms end up being monopolistic. At this phase, most of the firms have dropped, and your product faces less competition. Similarly, the price increases since the quality of production are high and the business’s name is popular in the market. The stage is challenging as the product price may be low afterward, and its value is lost in the market (Rossokha and Cherednikova, 2020, p.74). The price drop is expected if the company does not rebrand, customers will get new suppliers. At this point, the Virgin-Safety app should be rebranded, and marketing promotion is done.
Sustaining Growth Over Time and Geographic Areas
Ansoff Matrix
Ansoff is one of the best strategies that are used in assessing the growth of a firm. The Ansoff Matrix was developed by mathematician and business strategist Ansoff Igor and later published by the Harvard Business Review (Yin, 2016). The matrix has four sections that an investor can apply in assessing the performance of a firm. The matrix devices four strategies that are used by managers and marketers in growing their brands. It is also worth noting that the Ansoff Matrix also explains the risks involved in pursuing any of the four strategies outlined in the document. The four strategies are market penetration, product development, market development, and diversification (Cordell and Thompson, 2019, p. 47). Therefore, Ansoff’s matrix aims at assessing the growth of the business.
The market penetration strategy is focused on increasing sales for the already existing products in the business. In this case, the firm is set to apply the strategy to its products in the existing market. The Market Penetration strategy might follow one of the following paths: the brand could lower prices in a bid to increase demand for the products (Schawel and Billing, 2017, p. 32). The brand might also concentrate more effort on product promotion and distributing the existing products across more geographical areas. Finally, the business might also seek to reduce competition in the marketplace by acquiring a competitor.
The Product Development strategy of the Ansoff Matrix as it is focused on introducing new products into the marketplace. The application of this strategy requires the brand to have a strong understanding of the performance of its existing products and the relationship between its audience and the existing products (Proctor, 2020, p. 81). The strategy is then executed by expanding the range of the products offered by the company. For example, a company producing dairy products may introduce a product in the range of dairy products available in the market, like adding Ghee production to the list of existing products. This strategy could also be implemented by merging forces and resources with a competitor to produce a better product that meets the market’s needs. The approach would happen after acquiring the competitor’s product in the marketplace. Another way explained in the strategy is to develop strategic partnerships with other companies or competitors to gain access to their distribution channels.
The third strategy of the Ansoff Matrix, Market Development, focuses on the brand using its existing products to venture into new segments. The definition of entering into new markets, in this case, could be expanding the brand into new customer segments or even expanding into new geographies (Kanoa and Sorour, 2020, p.420). However, the successful performance of this strategy is depended on some factors. First, the brand will be successful in using this strategy if it possesses adequate technology that can leverage the expansion. The firm should be able to control the new market. Second, the targeted potential customers should be in a capacity to draw profits into the sale of the products. This indicates that the customers should possess a disposable income that could be spent on the products.
The final strategy involves entry into a new market with a new product. Being the riskiest strategy might also be the most efficient since the firm introduces a new stream of revenue. This strategy takes two forms: Related diversification or Unrelated diversification (Dawes, 2018). Former diversification involves introducing a new product in the line of the existing products, while unrelated diversification introduces a new product of a different production line. Thus, creating more opportunities and more sales for the company.
BCG Model
The theory is used in the analysis of the current product performance. More especially when the company wants to assess the competition with other products in the market (Kanoa and Sorour, 2020, p.420). The theory, therefore, looks at the product performance in two dimensions that is the general level of growth and finally, the performance of the product in the market. Virgin security is performing well based on the two BCG dimensions in the market. Therefore, the product is positioned well.
The performance of the two models above gives the product the best evaluation. For instance, Ansoff’s matrix explains the product life cycle in four major matrixes: market penetration, product development, market development, and diversification. Through the four major phases, product development and performance are the key factors of consideration (Dawes, 2018). However, the model is very simple in that extra knowledge and thoughts are required for better analysis. BCG model has also given the best description and assessment of product progress. For instance, the theory has described the two major product steps as general level and performance in the market. The theory has not well-illustrated the process of product promotion. Despite the weakness, it illustrates the best product stages of growth.
Expansion into African Countries
Taking the Ansoff Matrix strategy into consideration, expanding Virgin Media into the African market would be a strong move towards increasing its revenue. Considering that the company offers traveling tariffs, introducing Virgin Media into the air travel industry in Africa would capture a new market that has not yet been exploited. This would follow the market development strategy with the company introducing data roaming tariffs into the air travel industry in Africa. However, to fully capture the market, the company would also adopt the market penetration strategy by reducing the new service’s prices to the customers. This would ease the rate at which the product would be accepted by the new market. Considering the product’s distribution, the company should develop partnerships with airline companies in this market.
High sales and performance are essential goals of every business and production. Thus, considering the ethical entry of Virgin Media into the African market, the company should involve itself with community development practices. Likewise, in partnership with other telecommunication companies in the region, Virgin Media, such as the airline industry. Therefore, through the new product, the firm will build proper relations between its target customers and solve the security issues in society.
Conclusion
Product performance is the target of every business in their products. More especially, to assess the level of growth and performance in the market. Research has affirmed that competition is one of the key factors in the analysis of the products. Similarly, in product promotion, pricing plays an essential role in the marketing of the products. Therefore, Virgin-Safety App has performed well based on the three major theories in the market.
Reference List
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