1. INTRODUCTION
Hewlett Packard (HP) specializes in the manufacture and sale of personal computers (PCs), software and utilities, IT services and solutions. The company has its headquarters. in Palo Alto, California (HP® Official Site, n.d.). HP’s Personal Systems segment is in the closing stages of introducing a new smartwatch. This new product targets the corporate customer. Although the company has already ventured into the wearable and smart technology market, the gap in the corporate market makes the new smartwatch a viable investment. Furthermore, the company’s existing portfolio of smartwatches that include Hilfiger and The BOSS Classic Smartwatch are engineered to blend with consumers’ fashion needs (HP Store, n.d.). HP can use its experience, knowledge, vast resources and existing market share to make the new product a success. The following is a comprehensive marketing plan for Hewlett Packard
2. PRODUCT/SERVICE
Wearable Technology is Revolutionizing the Modern Workplace (Atkinson, 2018). Therefore, tech companies need to stay ahead of their game. For HP, the new smartwatch has special features that make it outstanding for the corporate world. It has an updated tracking system that incorporates both an Id tracker and a G.P.S tracker. In this case, it makes it easy to monitor the activities of employees especially if they take on dangerous assignments. The trackers also help employers to enforce work policies such as timely arrivals by monitoring movement. In addition, the watch will have a wellness and fitness tracking feature. This will enable companies to track employee performance based on sleep, heart rate or related factors. For instance, fatigue and stress levels of air traffic controllers can be calculated on basis of sleep
Added features include the ability to update employees in real time without the need of logging on to emails and controlling access using the ID tag feature.
3. OBJECTIVES/MISSION STATEMENT
3.0 Mission
To provide a constantly innovative product that exceeds customer expectations. We will offer prestigious smartwatches to large corporations and mid-level companies that meet the dynamic needs of the modern workplace. The specific focus on innovation will enable the management to increase the market share.
3.1 Marketing Objectives
· Enhance brand exposure within the first year
· Boost the company’s total client base by about 5% within the first year
· Take a portion of market share away from major players such as the Apple watch
· Utilize the various smart/wearable technologies to attract different customer base
· Increase the HP’s market popularity as a whole, to attract new customers and retain existing ones.
3.2 Financial Objectives
· A profit margin of approximately 5%-10% within the first year.
· Through the first year, new corporate deals are expected to cover the costs of doing business
4. TARGET MARKET
The new product is customized to meet the management needs of mid-level businesses and large corporate organizations. This market is sufficient for the new smartwatch given that most tech companies concentrate on the healthcare and fashion sectors (Newswire, 2015). Furthermore, large corporations can sign off mega deals that keep the product in the market
5. COMPETITION
IDTechEx estimates that the direction of the wearable technology market is oriented towards a rapid growth phase (Newswire, 2015). Similarly, SNS Research names the period (2014 – 2020) a Wearable Technology Ecosystem where future market growth is estimate at a CAGR of virtually 40%. In the same perspective Newswire (2015) contends that the wearable electronics business was expected to augment from $20 billion in 2015 to a value of about $70 billion in 2025,
Apple watch can be termed as the most successful brand in this market segment. However, the market is wide open as it includes players from other industries such as healthcare and sporting apparel retail industry. They include; Google, Apple, Samsung, SAP, IBM, SAS, Accenture health insurers Adidas,, Fujitsu, Nike, Philips, Reebok (Newswire, 2015), Most competitors focus on the healthcare sector with fitness and wellness being the major concerns. Therefore, the diversification towards corporate organizations is an added advantage.
6. PRODUCT/SERVICE FEATURES
The new smartwatch has features that employers can use to manage the workplace. For instance, they can send instant messages that will be viewed by employees in real time. However, there are numerous privacy concerns in the use of a tracking system. For example, the G.P.S trackers have the capacity to intrude into the family life of employees. The marketing and advertising campaigns should refrain from deception and unfairness which are unethical. Similarly, the marketing should be respectful towards competitors.
7. CORE STRATEGY
Strategy: The marketing strategy of the HP smartwatch will focus on the corporate customer, his management concerns and innovation needs.
Tactics: customer focused messages will be formulated by the marketing division in collaboration with other departments such as product development. The company’s website, word of mouth and the mainstream media will be used to transmit such messages.
Programs: the company will initiate integrated marketing communications to popularize the new brand.
8. MARKETING MIX: COMMUNICATIONS & PROMOTION
Personal selling creates essential attention towards the individual customer which sustains a long-term relationship. It is also characterized by customized messages, direct and prompt responses, and product demonstration. Users’ feedback can also be easily retrieved. On the negative side, it involves a high cost per action and high training costs for personnel (Dutta, 2011). Secondly, sales promotion draws the attention of the customer to the product. However, discrepancies between what is offered, and the real deal causes miscommunication (Dutta, 2011). Advertising presents both a diverse and affordable media. It addresses specific needs and reflects on the priorities of the society (O'Guinn, Allen & Semenik, 2013). Its pros include the tendencies to perpetuate stereotypes, encourage materialism and to make people buy things they didn’t want. While publicity improves the overall image of a company, it is sometimes viewed as an unethical undertaking. On the other hand, direct marketing has a poor reputation. It is however essential in generation of market feedback (O'Guinn, Allen & Semenik, 2013).
Advertising, personal selling and publicity will be essential for HP’s IMC approach. While personal selling will enable the company to interact with corporate customers on a first-hand basis, advertising media popularizes the brand within a large geographical area. The company also intends to use the website for public relations and publicity. It will be critical to coordinate the three elements of the IMC in order to ensure that consistent messages are communicated
The critical message to be delivered by all the IMC elements is that the new smartwatch is engineered to aid the management of people. Messages will be communicated through word of mouth and via the company’s website
Marketing surveys will be used to measure the effectiveness of advertising. They give market relevant information that reflects the actual performance of the marketing team
9. MARKETING MIX: PRICE
The value proposition is used by companies to articulate their unique offering in the market. It supersedes the company’s slogan by outlining the product’s characteristics, especially those that add value to the customer (Gnecchi, 2009). The new smartwatch optimizes the management processes. Thus, pricing will depend on the demand that derives from the value proposition. The company will also adopt a competitive pricing strategy that keeps it ahead of competitors.
10. MARKETING MIX: CHANNELS OF DISTRIBUTION
HP will deliver the new smartwatch to the target market through its own retail/online stores and direct sales men. In addition, outside retailers and wholesalers will be used in some jurisdictions for reaching out to new customers
11. MARKETING MIX; CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT
Other than the company’s website, a corporate blog will be maintained to monitor the customer’s feedback. In this context, HP will leverage the power of tagging in order to categorize the customer’s feedback. Response modeling will be made possible once the feedback and dominant viewpoints are tracked (Ahuja & Medury, 2011). Trained customer attendants will also be available to attend to customer concerns physically, via the phone or email.
12. CONCLUSION
The new smartwatch will emerge successful due to its unique features that target the corporate world. Moreover, HP is an established company that can be trusted by mid-level businesses a large corporation. Advertising, personal selling and publicity are the selected elements for HP’s integrated marketing communications. The three elements will be coordinated to communicate consistent messages to the corporate customer. Lastly, the company’s website and the corporate blog will be used for customer relationship management
References
Ahuja, V., & Medury, Y. (2011). CRM in a Web 2.0 world: Using corporate blogs for campaign management. Journal Of Direct, Data And Digital Marketing Practice, 13(1), 11-24.
Atkinson, J. (2018). Workplace Monitoring and the Right to Private Life at Work. The Modern Law Review, 81(4), 688-700.
Dutta, B. (2011). Fundamentals of sales and distribution management. New Delhi: I.K. International Publishing House Pvt. Ltd.
Gnecchi, F. (2009). Market-Driven Management, Market Space and Value Proposition. Symphonya. Emerging Issues In Management, (2).
HP Store. Smartwatches. Retrieved from https://store.hp.com/us/en/cv/smartwatches
HP® Official Site. Laptop Computers, Desktops, Printers and more. Retrieved from https://www8.hp.com/us/en/home.html
Newswire. (2014). Wearable Technology Ecosystem: 2014 - 2020 - Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies, Industry Verticals & Forecasts. Newswire.
Newswire. (2015). Wearable Technology 2015-2025: Technologies, Markets, Forecasts. Newswire PR ; New York.
O'Guinn, T., Allen, C., & Semenik, R. (2013). Advertising and Integrated Brand Promotion. Mason, Ohio: South-Western.