Market Plan Enhancing Essay
Market Plan Enhancing Essay The marketing plan of the company would simply outline the particular actions the company can execute in order to make the company’s prospective customers interested in the company’s products or services. My company specializes in the manufacture of a Bio – cell. The company’s competitors include : Caroline county Virginia Co. located in Virginia which manufactures lithium ion as well as photovoltaic cells, South West Electronic Energy Group located in Texas which manufactures lithium ion cells , Wuxi City Baolai Battery Co. Ltd located in China which manufactures Alkali – Manganese batteries as well as Zinc-manganese batteries. Others in the United states are : Battery Universe located in Idaho which manufactures Nickel – Cadmium batteries, Lithium – Ion batteries, Electric City Motors located in Colorado which manufactures Lithium – polymer batteries and Alegna Innovations, LLC located in Florida which manufactures Lithium – polymer batteries (Battery University, 2008).
Analyzing the weaknesses and strengths of the above competitors as per their products , producers of lithium batteries have quite a number of strengths. Firstly , this product is light hence liked by many users since this quality ensures enhanced performance in vehicles. Lithium batteries also lasts longer and are more powerful than many ordinary batteries such as those made of lead and nickel. Conversely , lithium batteries leak within the appliance and this can result to short – circuiting which can ignite the appliance. Lithium batteries greatest disadvantage is that they cannot be recharged. This means that, once the battery is used up , it has to be replaced (Carboni, 2007). Lithium batteries also pose a big commercial use danger. This is because , when stored in large numbers especially close to each other , reactions which can lead to explosions take place. This weakness of lithium batteries makes it very risky to collect , process or dispose lithium batteries in large numbers. Additionally , lithium batteries release toxic gases into the environment which can be very harmful to life (Carboni, 2007).
Photovoltaic cells on the other hand operate for very long without requiring any maintenance. They can also be constructed to any size hence quite portable. Solar energy is also locally available. Photovoltaic cells are though not without weaknesses. For instance , their construction makes use of toxic chemicals such as cadmium and arsenic which can cause dangerous environmental impacts. Their conversion efficiency is also not very pleasing hence a weakness (Carboni, 2007). These cells can hardly compete with other technologies due to their high production costs. Their power production is also dependent on the sun hence energy shortage when the sun is not shining. This dependency also limit their market to areas which experience good sun-light.
Alkaline manganese batteries have a good shelf-life , can operate at sub-zero temperatures , are made from non-toxic materials , are available in different sizes and have a high charge capacity. Conversely, they are costly to manufacture and are not rechargeable (Carboni, 2007).
Caroline County Virginia Co. located in Virginia which manufactures lithium ion as well as photovoltaic cells is the closest competitor of the Bio-cell company. To make the bio-cell company stand out, the bio – cell will be tailored to solve the weaknesses associated with the batteries produced by the competitor. The bio – cell will also be given the features of the competitor’s battery which are highly liked by its customers. These details will be obtained through interviewing customers or employees of the competitor as well as by attending the competitors trade shows to view their exhibits or even through purchasing the products of the competitor. The company will also develop a unique selling proposition (USP), a statement that summarizes the unique features , benefits , and value that the bio-cell company provides that no other company can provide (Rakesh, 2005). Such information will then be posted in the company’s website or put in bill-boards.
Incentives will also be used to gain an upper hand over the competitor. These include free shipping , coupons as well as buy – one – get – one sales. Information regarding these will communicate wider when put in the company’s website. The website will also be upgraded to make it easier for customers to find an in-depth information about the battery. Positive recommendations from friends about their opinion regarding the battery will be put in the website to win the trust of potential customers. A design firm will also be hired to make a unique logo that can make it easier for customers to make out the company products from those of the competitor (Rakesh, 2005).
The bio-cell company is determined to stay ahead of its competitors. This will be achieved through evaluating the pricing scheme of the competitors in order to know their products price point. Search engine strategies will also be looked at in order to strategize on how to better compete in it and be ahead of the competitors in the search engine rankings. This will definitely make potential customers as well as the company’s loyal customers have faith in the bio-cell. The company also intends to assess competitors special offers and marketing campaigns in order to learn of any untapped markets that the competitors may have identified. Intense customer interviews will also be conducted so as to know how customers view the bio – cell and what they think can be done to it to adapt it better to their needs. Customers will also be interviewed to give features in the competitors batteries which they like. The bio–cell will then be tailored to suit all the customers’ needs and wishes.
The company will have to contend with a number of challenges. Firstly , introducing a new technology in the U.S. is not easy because of the bureaucracy involved. The state agencies treat any business that they think is likely to affect the environment with a lot of caution. Since most conventional batteries have a negative impact on the environment , the agencies may treat the bio-cell as such hence bottle necks in obtaining a license. The company will also have to contend with huge fines incase it contravenes requirements of the clean water act.
Technological challenges would include the need to fast track the electrical/ power requirements for emerging electrical products that use batteries. Mushrooming of such products has been witnessed over the last few years and the company will have to invent new technologies to come up with batteries which best suit them. Economic challenges on the other hand would include high cost of production due to the high cost of labor in U.S.. America has one of the most expensive labor force in the world. Investing highly in employee wages would reduce profit margins. The clean up costs of harmful wastes from the industry may also be too high. Social issues are likely to arise since the production process will be highly automated and this would mean replacing human force with computerized machines. The production areas which may be done best by human force may have more male employees since they would require a lot of energy. This may be interpreted by the society as gender discrimination.
The most significant trend likely to impact the company is the technological trend. Nowadays, electrical appliances are being produced with high power requirements. The challenge here is to produce batteries which can store charge for longer. This calls for a lot of research since the available technologies have failed to cater for this need. To cope with this challenge , the company will have to invent a technology which can give the bio-cell features which enable it to have an high capacity and functionality. Use of inter-metallic anode materials come in handy here. The bio-cell has to be given also improved safety features , ability to function well in high temperatures due to global warming , high rate of electron discharge. With the current technologies , as one increases the energy of the battery , its power as well as its safety reduces. Increase in battery power also results to a reduction in battery energy. The challenge for the company would be to come up with design features that enable an optimum balance between battery energy , battery power , safety and economic feasibility.
