The Xbox is a recent Microsoft product in the market. This is an adult video game created by Microsoft Company. It was established in 2001 based in America. The Xbox games have undergone modifications from the sixth to the eighth generation. The Microsoft brand has excellent applications and online services that have made it a big success in the market. The best example of the online service provided by the Xbox is the Xbox live. Xbox live has attracted millions of users in the world. Virtual market services provided by this online service have facilitated the business of selling and buying video games. Through the Xbox Live Marketplace, millions of users can play games from different forms of multimedia. Microsoft Xbox series is a modification of the Xbox created by Atari Jaguar. The most recent series developed by Microsoft is the Xbox One. This is the third modification created by Microsoft to suit the eighth generation. Although the product has not been launched, it has attracted the admiration of many video game players in the world. According to Lowensohn (2013), the Xbox one has the following features; an expanded random access memory, an advanced core central processing unit, and a USB port with a faster connection. The hard drive has an expanded memory with the inbuilt architectural software. This product can use three operating systems at once. Another specific feature of Xbox one is the ability to use windows eight and RT has made it very enjoyable because it can be used with new devices like tablets. The Xbox one is more superior to Playstation 4 because of its features.
The target market segments for the Xbox one are the casual and hardcore gamers. Casual gamers are a group of people who play video games once in a while. They play video games as a part-time activity, and they are not addicted to it. The hardcore gamers are a group of video game players that will play a video game at any cost. They can’t live without playing the game as they are addicted to playing the game. Microsoft Company did market research to determine the best market segment for its Xbox One. The research showed that hardcore gamers are the best market segment. This is because the cost of the Xbox one is very high. Therefore, casual gamers would do away with it. However, the new hardcore gamers would be found in the Asian market. The research established that the ideal market would be Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and India (Hollister, 2013). Japan is also a target market because the initial Microsoft product had failed. The qualities of the Xbox one would win back most of the game players in Japan.
The position of the product in the market would be the best. The product gives gamers more entertainment than just video game playing. Another important feature of the product is the ability to use the Xbox one as a television. All-round entertainment is therefore provided by the Xbox One. This is the major distinguishing characteristic that would make the product a success. The brand image I would develop is to add a television to the Xbox 360 images. The brand equity would use your money to get an all-round entertainment under one product.
The first segment of consumers is casual gamers. This is a group of consumers that play video games for pleasure. Motivating this group of people is a difficult task, especially if the product is expensive. The extended quality of the Xbox one of the Xbox 360 would be the best selling point of this group of consumers. I will explain how the new product combines all forms of entertainment in one series. A feature like using three operating systems at once will be enough to change their attitude. Pricing would be the biggest challenge to sell the product to this consumer segment. The other segment is the hardcore gamers. Hardcore gamers would embrace the Xbox one because they are addicted to gaming. The ideal market strategy for the hardcore would be to explain the new combinations of the Xbox one. The perception that the Xbox one is expensive would be important. This is because the larger targeted segment consists of casual gamers. Explaining the features of the Xbox 360 is an important memory. Consumers will be able to differentiate between the two series since the Xbox one has advanced services and features than most consumers will be convinced to buy it. The best learning concept would be developing a new brand image that will bring out the product as new. Most people like new products, and if Xbox one appears new, then most consumers will embrace it.
The consumer segments will have different decision-making rules. The first segment will compare the price of Xbox one to that of the Xbox 360. Most of the consumers in this segment will shy away from the Xbox One. The decision-making rule will be to choose the cheapest video game because it is not a priority. The hardcore segment will compare the services provided by the Xbox 360 and Xbox One. This segment’s decision-making rule will be to select a video game that provides the best quality services. The Xbox one would be the best choice by consumers in this segment. The other decision-making rules would compare with other competitors like Playstation 4 and smartphones. Under this category, the decision making role would be to choose the best. The choice of the consumers in determining the decision-making rules would be based on the expectation of the individual consumer.
The major challenge of selling this new product is its cost. The Xbox One costs more than Xbox 360 and Playstation 4 (Hollister, 2013). Since most consumers play video games for leisure, then the price will determine whether they buy it. Others will choose the cheaper series, while others will shift to competitors like smartphones. The idea of all entertainment under one console will be the selling point to free the consumers. I will convince the consumers that if they buy the Xbox One, they will have bought all forms of entertainment. Most will overlook the price aspect of the series and choose quality. The other problem to consider would be the competition from other video game providers. Maintaining the quality of the series would be the best way to ensure that consumers buy the Xbox One. The quality of Xbox one should be maintained to be higher than the competitors. This will make the consumers’ freedom to buy the Xbox one over the other competitors.
Attitude change is an important aspect to determine the success of a new product. To change the attitude towards Xbox One, I will apply the attitude-toward-the-ad model. This model of attitude change is used to determine how consumers will respond to the introduction of a new product in the market (Howard, 2007). The response can be positive or negative, depending on what was added to the new product. To facilitate attitude change, then I will and the new features of the Xbox one to attract the consumers. The new edition will attract most of the consumers to change attitudes towards the product. This will be done through an advertisement to the consumers showing all the new features. The model is very important to the casual segment because it will act as a moderator (Heider, 2006).
The important subculture in the segment is the adults. The product will complex applications that would only be suitable for adults. Apart from playing video games, the product can provide television and virtual market services that are used by adults. Therefore, the best subculture of the target segment would be the adults as they can use the product for various functions. The adults believe that products that add value to their life are important. Xbox one improves the lives of adults through the online services provided. This belief will change the attitude of the adults towards the product (Mitchell, 2001).
The new product has environmental consequences that need to be addressed. The product is manufactured by the Microsoft Company. This is a heavy industrial company that contributes to greenhouse gases. The greenhouse gases emitted to the atmosphere during the processing of the Xbox one has contributed to global warming. Another environmental challenge of the product is that it uses poisonous chemicals to make the Xbox devices. An example of this chemical is flame retardants. This chemical causes death when exposed to the atmosphere. To address the environmental effects, the company should shift to other chemicals that are not poisonous. Another alternative would be to reduce emissions to the atmosphere that causes global warming. Alternative sources of energy that have less emission should be adopted.
The nuclear family and social service providers will be interested in the new product. The nuclear family is a family made up of parents and children. They are a good target because the parents will use online services like the virtual market while the children will play video games. Also, both parents and children will watch the television using the new product. Social service providers are a household category that is a major market for the product. Most people visit these places to play games, and this product will be essential to them. Advertising is the best method to reach an interested group. This can be done through newspapers, television, or the internet.
The hardcore gamers’ lifestyle will be the best consumers of this product. The Values, Attitudes, and Lifestyles system of market segmentation is the best analysis of this product. The value of the product represents the product superiority compared to another competing product line. The attitude is a major concern for this product because it is expensive. Most consumers will develop a negative attitude towards the product. Therefore winning back the attitude is essential. Lifestyle provides the best avenue to sell the product. Hardcore gamers will be the best consumers of the product because they will not be affected by the price factor to change attitude. According to Yankelovich (2006), he classified consumer lifestyles into several groups. These groups include; Survivors, Owners, Sustainers, Emulators, Achievers, I-am-me, Experiential, Societal Conscious, and Integrated. These categories of lifestyle will be the factor for market segmentation. The hardcore gamers will be categorized as owners because they will provide the best market. The VAL system will help place the product where it is likely to get the best market.
The best outlets for the product would be in the Asian market and Japan. The Asian market is a suitable outlet because most of the people in these regions are hardcore gamers. The selected market target outlets would be Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and India (Mitchell, 2001). Japan is likely to become another important outlet because the initial series of Xbox 360 has failed to pick up (Lowensohn, 2013). The Xbox one comes with an advanced stage, and this will make many people buy the device. The American and European existing market is also suitable. The product will target a new market but still will maintain the existing market.
The diffusion of innovation about the product from one company to another is likely to determine the competition from the consumers. Other competitors will use the innovation to come up with other sophisticated devices. This will increase competition for consumers in the market segmentation. To increase word of mouth the tagline should be based on the culture and lifestyle of the consumers. A tagline is an expression used in marketing to maintain the memory of a certain product to the consumers (Timothy, 2011). The best brand word for the product should include the culture of the consumers. The Asian market provides people who like video games.
An example can be the Xbox One for Asian games. This will promote the brand because the consumers will feel that the product has been designed for them. The word should be included in the advertisements and the newspapers so that it becomes commonly used by the consumers. This will facilitate word of mouth using the name. The effectiveness of the product will depend on the type of culture. The common culture among the majority of the customers should be used in the memory word.
Organizations are a good market for the product. The Xbox one is a social product that can be used by everybody in society (Yankelovich, 2006). Organizations are comprised of the human capacity to perform the various functions of the organization. After the workers are tired, they need some leisure activity to provide comfort and relaxation. The video games provided by the product will provide the workers with a good source of entertainment. The television services are also important for all people working in any organization. To entice the organizations to buy the product, I will embark on the online product promotion. Through social sites, the product can be promoted by advertising.
The advertisement should target the benefits the organizations are likely to get from using the product. Promoting the social cultures of consumers is also an important promotional strategy. The organizations will mainly be concerned with people’s culture will easily buy the product. Workers in an organization where culture is promoted will also buy the product. The promotion of the environment is also a special promotion strategy. Most organizations related to environmental conservation will buy the product. Other people outside the organization will also compel organizations to buy environmentally friendly products. Therefore, the promotion should focus much on the aspect of environmental management. The quality of the product is another special promotion strategy. Organizations are usually concerned about the quality of products, unlike the price. Since the product is of high quality, then including the quality aspect of the product will compel the consumers to buy the product.
The main post-purchasing issue that is likely to occur to this product is if the consumers expected quality is not met. The Xbox one is a high-quality game console. When a consumer purchases the product, he expects that high quality will be provided. When the customers discover that the expectations are not met, he/she may feel bad. However, the consumer may not come out and declare that he bought a poor quality product using a lot of money (Joel, 2007). This is known as post-purchase rationalization. The consumer will not admit to his poor choice of product. This is the major post-purchase issue that is likely to occur with this product. Other issues that are likely to occur include failure of the device or the product using a lot of power. A lot of power may be used because the product has a combination of systems that are operated concurrently. The faults experienced by the product will limit its entrance to the targeted market. The worst results will be felt where the product is yet to enter the market. Consumers will view the product as a poor quality product that is being branded as high quality. When the fault is corrected, the consumers would still associate the brand with faulty. Therefore, this will form a barrier for the product to repeat the sales in the market.
Handling a disappointed customer is very important to maintain a good reputation for sales in the market segmentation. When a disappointed customer presents himself, his protest should be taken seriously. The reason for this is because the disappointed customer is likely to change the attitude of other customers. Handling a disappointed customer involves a series of procedures. The first procedure would be to listen to the customers’ complain. This will make the customer feel appreciated (Thomas, 2011). The next step is to remain calm as the customer gives their complaint. The customer will make his complaint to be understood properly. Validation of the customer involves determining if the customer has a genuine claim. This can be done by asking a few questions about the product. If the complaint is genuine, then respond to the customer what might have been the cause of the issue. This should be followed with an apology to show concern and the need for correction. Congratulating the customer will make him feel great and therefore build his attitude to be positive again. Action should then be taken to correct the fault. Check back with the customer to ensure that the product has been corrected.
References
Heider, F. (2006). Attitudes and cognitive organization. Journal of Psychology. pg 21(3): 107-112.
Hollister, S. (2013). Xbox one will not be backwards compatible with Xbox 360 games. New York: McGraw-Hill press.
Howard, J. A. (2007). Consumer behavior: Application of theory. New York: McGraw Hill Book Company Press.
Joel, B. (2007). The Dissonance Model in Post-Decision Product Evaluation. Journal of American Marketing Research. Pg7(3): 315–32
Lowensohn, J. (2013). Xbox One controller gets programmable trigger buttons, design refinements. New York: McGraw-Hill press.
Mitchell, A. (2001). Are product attribute beliefs the only mediator of advertising effects on brand attitudes. Journal of Marketing Research. Pg 18(5): 318-322.
Thomas, A. (2011). Critical Success Factors in the Front-End of High Technology Industry New Product Development. Huntsville: University of Alabama Press.
Timothy, R. (2011). The Art and Science of the Advertising Slogan. California: University of Southern California press.
Yankelovich, D. (2006). Rediscovering Market Segmentation. Massachusetts, USA: Harvard Business school press.