Marketing New Product - Solar Your Phone

Executive summary

The purpose of the report was to create a proposition for a new product or service that will be in either one of the four industries: tourism, banking, technology or entertainment and leisure.

The task is to become the class expert on the product/service and the industry it operates in. Creating a market plan for the product/service begins to enter its introduction stage. Analysing the market and industry, then planning the product and creating the business proposition and action plan will be the following stages of the cycle. As an expert in the technology industry, there was a gap in the industry to launch a product called ‘Solar Your Phone’.

Solar Your Phone is a product as well as being a service. There will be a mini solar panel that can be fitted into an individual’s iPhone, which will allow it to charge and gain power in a sustainable way. The service part of the product will be getting the solar panel fitted into your phone. Technical experts that have full knowledge on the product itself will do this.

Once I have compounded all the data I will then be able to identify strengths and weaknesses for Solar Your Phone as well as the competitive market. This will allow me to see where ‘Solar Your Phone’ will be able to impact the market most productively and efficiently.

GSMA released a report revealing that “a US$2.3 billion* opportunity for mobile operators through the provision of off-grid charging solutions such as solar phones or external solar chargers in emerging markets.” (GSMA, 2009) This quotation conveys that there is untapped potential for Solar Your Phone in the technology industry. The gap in the industry needs to be filled; therefore it is relevant to propose Solar Your Phone. It is a niche product that will be used by every individual with there everyday life.

Global crisis is a key topic within the industry and there is a high demand for solar your phone because everybody needs it. Being able to give sustainable power to your iPhone will attract consumers directly; it will provide the consumer with energy and power for their device in an ecofriendly way that is important for consumers; therefore there is not a high demand to market the product. Allowing your phone to charge with a renewable and sustainable source will attract a consumer in every aspect, which is why this product is being proposed.

Introduction

In this report I shall analyse and introduce my new product called ‘Solar Your Phone’. I will be analysing the market the product will enter and also be looking at the strengths and weaknesses that may occur. Knowing your competitors is key and gathering information and carrying out research on them is fundamentally important to any business that is actually looking to succeed. Having a business proposition and action plan is vital so you know exactly what you expect or have projected to be achieving in the companies long-term and short-term future.

Analysis of the market

As ‘Solar Your Phone’ is not currently an existing company it does not yet have a position in the market.

However a similar firm would be portable phone chargers and the producers of HyMini, which is a wind-powered charger. "Up to 500 million mobile users...in emerging countries could benefit from the provisioning of off-grid charging solutions such as solar phones or external solar chargers” (EE times, 2009)

The strengths for the firm are: it will be usable long term and it is a convenient product because it can be used in any situation. Due to the amount of processing power used in iPhones, the battery life has significantly decreased. Solar your phone will overcome this barrier by being able to charge your phone in an eco-friendly way.

Another strength is that there is no product in the technology industry that charges a mobile with a solar panel; there are similar products such as portable chargers but they consume more power and are not sustainable. They are the Solar Your Phone’s competitors and there strength is that they have a cheaper price and are more acknowledged. However, solar your phone is a long lasting product that you don’t have to charge up and carry around with you like a portable charger, meaning it is more efficient for the consumer.

The weakness for the product will be that it only works when there is sunlight, meaning it can’t be used at all times. Nevertheless, we can solve this issue in the future and change the solar panels that can also gain energy from lighting as well as the sunlight.

In the technology industry, brand reputation is one of the most important factors. As a result people may not trust our product and not know if it’s reliable. In order to overcome this we will need to build a high brand reputation.

The competitor’s weakness would be that there is a significant amount of portable charger firms, which means they can’t make their prices too high otherwise they will lose sales, as the competition rate is too high.

Business Proposition

Having objectives allows a business to recognize what needs to be done in the future. It allows them to work towards their goals; by achieving them they know that their business is brining them success.

As a business, Solar Your Phone will have short and long term goals. The short-term goal would be to get established and turnover within 2-3 years of running the business. This will be achieved by promoting the product well and ensuring the consumer is satisfied with the service as well as the product.

Our long-term aims would be able to fit solar your phone into other mobile phone devices such as Samsung, Nokia, HTC etc. This will allow the business to expand and go international.

Another aim we hope to achieve would be to have partnership with Apple. This would allow the consumer to have the option to get Solar Your Phone, as an add-on, built into the mobile when they purchase it.

When proposing the product, the period it enters the industry is very important. The reasoning for this is the product is a solar panel, it will work better during sunny periods. So to release the product start of spring will be more beneficial as the weather conditions will be more sutiable for the product.

Identifying your customers and knowing their interests to be able to satisfy there needs is one on the main parts of launching a new product/service.

The target market for solar your phone would be for every individual with an iPhone who would like to increase there battery. This will remove the need for portable battery chargers