Market Opportunity Analysis For A New Smart Watch With Vital Sign Tracking Functionality

Description of the new product

Undertake a market opportunity analysis for a new product. You will present the market opportunity analysis as a portfolio.

The product launched by FitOn is a smart watch that can help people to identify the vital signs and check the health of the people in a proper manner. The product can also act as a watch as people can count the rate of heartbeat and understand the level of fitness that they possess. A chart regarding the blood oxygen saturation level (Spo2) is also provided that can help in determining the level at which the blood oxygen level of the individual exists. The Heart Rate Variability (HRV) can also be determined with the help of this product. Apart from this, the watch is also waterproof meaning that people indulged in swimming exercises can wear the watch and determine the vital signs and rate of respiration while swimming. This product can be beneficial for sports person or people indulged in regular exercises in order to determine the health and stamina of the people (Kickstarter.com, 2017).

However, in order to launch the product in the Australian market, it is necessary to analyse the market of Australia. The analysis includes the business trends, needs of the customers, competitors and other factors that help in determining and influencing the purchasing power of customers. Huang, Tzeng & Ong (2017) stated that in order to determine the business trends it is necessary to identify certain factors that play an effective role in business. These include:

Demographic: The demographic factor of a country includes the population, age, gender, level of education, income level, religion and family size. In the case of Australia, the size of the population that can afford or need to purchase these watch is low. This is because Australia is not a densely populated country.

Economic: According to Solomon (2014), the economic condition of the country can fluctuate owing to the rise and fall of the value of dollars. Hence, this can be a huge factor for managers as the price of the product need to be determined based on the economic condition of the country. 

Natural: The natural environment determines the level of pollution in the country. In Sydney, the level of Ultra-Violet rays from the sun is high leading to the occurrence of skin diseases among the people. Hence, this factor needs to be considered before the launch in order to determine the effectiveness of the product.

Conducting a SWOT analysis

Technological: As stated by Dibb (2017) technology is an essential factor in the modern business environment. Every customer uses technology in order to continue his or her daily work. Thus, the technological impact on the country is high as Australia is a highly developed country.

Political: The political factor of Australia allows business to continue as long as it does not affect the environment in a negative manner. In the case of the watch, it can be said that the environment of the country cannot be polluted as the product watch is used for helping people determine the health (Baker & Saren, 2016).

Cultural: The cultural factor of Australia consists of both high and low cultural groups of people. However, among the cultural groups, sub-cultures can be formed consisting of people interested in sports and exercises.

Having analysed the business trends it can be said that the customer needs are also an essential factor that needs to be analysed. The determining factors that are to be analysed include suppliers, customers and competitors.

Suppliers: The suppliers of the product need to be considered before purchasing the product. The place and the price offered by the suppliers affect the supply of the product. This is because customers may find the cost of the product to be more from one supplier than others provide. Hence, it is necessary for the managers of the company to determine the suppliers before launching the product in the market.

Customers: Armstrong et al., (2015) stated that it is important to identify the target customers to whom the products can be sold. This is important as it can help the managers to determine the type of product that needs to be manufactured and the cost of it. In the case of the smart watch launched by FitOn, the target customers for the company are the people involved in sports and indulging in exercises.

Competitors: One of the biggest competitors that this company may face is from Apple. This is because Apple has launched a smart watch using which people can connect to the internet, listen to music and use it as a phone (Armstrong et al., 2014). This multipurpose smart watch can be a huge demand in the recent market. However, a competitive edge can be gained as the product launched by FitOn is water resistant and helps in maintaining the health of the people.

Thus, based on the analysis of external environment that may affect the product, an analysis of the internal environment can be conducted.

Scope and concept of marketing

In order to identify the internal analysis of the company, determining the strengths and weakness of FitOn and the smart watch is necessary. On the other hand, the opportunities and threats can be determined by the external analysis conducted in order to determine the market of Australia. Thus, a SWOT analysis can be conducted of the smart watch.

Table: SWOT Analysis

(Source: Created by author)

From the analysis it can be seen that FitOn smart watches have the ability to provide a proper health check of the people. The fact that it determines the essential health requirements of the people is an important strength of the product. Moreover, another advantage that the product provides is the fact that people indulged in swimming can use it. The water-resistant feature of the product can make it a huge success in the market. The high technology used for the product is another advantage of the product. Apart from measuring the health of the people, the product can also be used for internet and social activities. However, due to the cost of the product, most customers may be reluctant to purchase it due to the high costs of the product. The fact that the target market also does not respond to the market is another weakness that the smart watches face.

However, after the analysis of the internal factors and the external factors the opportunities of the smart watch can be determined. By making changes to the price of the product, the smart watch may have a huge market. This can be possible because of the non-interfere of the Australian Government in terms of business. The popularity of the product among the sports people in Australia can help in the launch of the product in the international market, as Australia takes part in every major sporting event in the world. The threats of the product may come from the competitors and the fact that Australia has a lower population as compared to other countries in the world. This may hamper the growth of the product in the Australian market.

According to Hollensen (2015), marketing is considered as an activity that can be considered as a process of creating, communicating and delivering services as per the needs and satisfaction of the customers.  Over the years, marketing has evolved and in the present day marketing is one of the most important factors for the success of a company. In the case of the smart watch, the marketing of the product needs to be such that it determines the needs of the customers. In this regard, certain activities related to marketing can be considered in order to determine the evolution of marketing in the modern world. These activities include:

Distribution: This symbolises the activity required for transferring the product from the company to the customers. This either can be done directly to the customers or may involve the help from the suppliers and intermediaries.

Financing: According to Cross, Belich and Rudelius (2015), investments made in a product need to be considered before setting up the price. This can help in determining the price in a way so that the products can be launched in the market.

Promotion: The promotion of the product is one of the important factors of marketing. Without proper promotion, companies cannot reach the target market and gain the popularity of the product.

Market research: Huang and Sarigöllü (2014) stated that without proper market research, it could be difficult for companies to determine the target market. In the modern, this also helps to determine the level of threat expected from the competitors.

One of the main reasons for conducting marketing research is to identify the external factors that affect the business environment. These factors normally are the determining factors that influence the behaviour of the customers as well. In order to conduct a proper market research, it is necessary to implement certain techniques (Hanssens et al., 2014). These techniques may include in-depth interviews with the customers in order to understand the factors that affect the purchasing power. It may also include a customer survey that can determine precise responses owing to the tastes and preferences of the customers. Thus, these techniques can help in the proper interaction with the customers and determine the level of competition that can be faced by FitOn while trying to launch the new product.

Marketing mix refers to a set of tools that are used by marketers to determine the marketing objective for a company (Khan, 2014). Initially, the elements of marketing mix consisted of product, price, place and promotion. However, with the advancement in the business market, the tool was extended to three more elements. These include people, process and physical evidence. Baker & Saren (2016) stated that the reason for the expansion of the elements is that the extended version consists of elements that are equally important for determining the market strategy. The involvement of the people is essential to understand the process undertaken to manufacture a product. The physical evidence is required so that the customers can understand the quality of the product by feeling it instead of seeing it with the help of sight or referral.

References

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Dibb, S., (2017). Changing Times for Social Marketing Segmentation. In Segmentation in Social Marketing (pp. 41-59). Springer Singapore.

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Kickstarter.com (2017). FitOn: World's 1st Blood Oxygen Saturation Smart watch. [online] Available at: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/567949755/fiton-worlds-1st-blood-oxygen-saturation-smartwatc?ref=popular [Accessed 17 Dec. 2017].

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