New Product Development: External Management Environment

Introduction 

For a business to prosper then it needs to produce goods and services which are able to satisfy the needs of the customers and the stakeholders in the industry. The startup business will have to examine the relationship between the internal and external environment through situational analysis. According to (Atuahene,2007) , the internal environment will involve the products, market, customers and competitors and how they relate to the external environment.

Solve Online, is a small company that is owned by a family that is able to adjust to high end leadership in business. It is located in Preston plaza in Johnsonville Town and sells calendar programs that are customized, printing and web designing and other computer items to about 200 businesses, which use programs like e books and designs for promotion purposes. Solve online face different challenges during the off peak seasons. One of the challenges is the employees become idle and the equipment is not in operation. The company needs to increase its sales leading to increment in profits by proper use of the available resources. A major challenge facing Solve online Software is how to increase profits and make better use of its resources during the low season. The company will evaluate the internal environment by examining the strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats that affect the business. In trying to focus on situational analysis, the company will come up with ways of   development of new products and services targeted to the customers. The situational analysis will be determined by the internal factors that will affect the business which is in its stage of growth.

Products.

Solve online tries to market the software, calendars and also customized advertisement to the clients by use of e-books, designs of websites and printing of printouts for advertising. Solve online’s produce services and products that satisfy the needs and expectations of the different clients in the market. The management of the company acts fast to the needs and demands of the customers. The provision of quality services to the customers is hard for the competitors to copy, thereby giving Solve online a competitive advantage over the other competitors. Solve online software company also provides a high-quality advertising services to specific products in the market to its clients. The value of these customized products being advertised will depend on the prices of the products. Solve online is sensitive to consumer demands and price elasticity of the products provided to customers. The company mostly makes its products locally using the available materials. The company conducts door to door delivery of the services depending on the specifications of the services needed by the customers.

Target Market(s)

The first target market for the products entails medium manufacturers or separate manufacturing sections of corporations with widespread brokers, dealers, or even other distributor networks. An example would involve an agricultural producer, like Green Gold Merchants and Smart Farm machinery, which sells products to local farmers in the area dealing with farm seeds. The company provides customized calendars and e-books that contain agricultural information which will help the potential customers.

The second target market will be Non-manufacturing and industrial sections of the business market that have wide network of customer, like financial institutions such as banks. Other  examples will be like various hotels like horizons and hospitals to market their services to their customers. Calendars and e books could be customized to the particular service provided in the market, such as operations and accommodations in big hotels.

Because solve online’s products would require wide customization to be able to meet the needs of the customers then it would be necessary come up with a marketing function. The value of currency in New Zealand has increased during the past 5 years and hence the need to expand the business to gain more profits from the exchange. The company has also experienced a growth of 5% in the last three years and it is expected to grow more. There is a wide market for the products and services in the market since the company offers a variety of products. An elaborate marketing function will focus on target market of the products and services.

Economic Forces.

In New Zealand the economy has grown drastically and more companies are coming up to meet the needs of the customers. As the companies are growing up it has been difficult to compete with one another leading to stiff competition and also the companies have started devising methods of curbing competition. The customized products for advertising the companies will be of help to the companies to market their products (Cheshbrough,2014). The companies will have to grow in the future with the rapid growth of the economy and the utilization of Solve online products and services in the market. Specialty advertising of the companies, such as use of software-based programs and calendars, will help the companies grow in future.

Political Forces.

The company is not affected by any political factors which may affect the different operations of the company in the country.

Legal and Regulatory Forces.

There has been legislation in the town to reduce the amount of advertising materials in the market. There have been licenses for the customized software used in advertising leading to the reduction of flow of advertising materials. Despite this more companies are now diverting their promotion money to customized advertising which indicates that most companies do not fear the potential for increased legislation. There has also been an increased legislation of copyrights and business permits by the county council. There has been increased payments of advertising through billboards and renewal of other licenses hence affecting the company operations.

Technological Forces.

A major emerging technological in the market involves personal information managers (PIMs), or personal digital assistants (PDAs). These devices help for the clients to store information, keep personal information and also information concerning the business by keeping notes. The software programs and computer programs should be developed more to gain competitive advantage since it is a new technology in the market. 

Sociocultural Forces.

In the society of New Zealand, customers work most o the time and have less time for leisure (Carland,2015). The products and services in the market should be easy to use and user friendly. The products and services need to save time and resources. The Software-based programs and calendars are able to fit the specification mentioned above which is a paperless society where everyone depends on the usage of computers.

Customers

Solve Online has tried to focus on provision of quality products and services by adopting a differentiation strategy in the market. The annual returns have improved due to the company’s ability to differentiate the products to the customers. Its target market consists of service industries like hotels, restaurants, manufacturers or manufacturing companies. The products that are profitable in the company involve; software programs and calendars, which can be customized to meet client needs which are used as a promotional tool.

Due to the increase in the usage of PCs and increase in technology, the programs including e books and calendars have become more profitable. This led to the expansion of the business to suit the needs of the customers. Other businesses conducted by the company to meet all the needs of the customers involve printing of e books, documents, print outs and calendars to the customers who still need them in hard copy. Solve Online has tried to keep in touch with the customers by provision of quality products and services since the customers are a great asset to the company.  

Competitive Dorces.

The competition in the advertising field is very rampant and the companies need to adopt a strategy that will help them compete in the market (Poetz, 2012).

The competition in companies that use programs and design is very strong. Currently programs like e books and program calendars holds 40 percent and the market is growing rapidly. Also 10 percent market share held by Program software. The company has tried by holding 10 percent of the computer-based calendar and programs market. The competitors in the market involve   Futuretech technologies and Comptech technologies which offers the same products in the market. The company also employs the 5 potters approach in dealing with the competitors in the market. 

Swot Analysis

1. Solve online has differentiated its product through marketing, provision of quality products and services.
2. There is also enhanced teamwork and effective communication among the employees because of the few employees.
3. The company has also maintained a long term relationship with the suppliers which has to provision of quality goods by the supplier in the market.
4. There is also good communication with the customers for feedback on the services provided by the company.
5. Weaknesses
6. The management is centralized and hence there is no opportunity for the employees to increase creativity and growth.
7. The company may be prone to events like disasters, strikes or dissolutions of the supplier supplying the products.
8. The different fluctuations of the production of the products bring excessive stress to the employees and the equipment.

Strengths refer to the advantages that are able to give the organization to meet the needs of its customers.

Weaknesses refer to the limitations that face a company in trying to develop a marketing strategy.

4. Solve online needs new facilities and equipment since it is crowded with old materials which affects production. 

1. Opportunities
2. The expenditure in advertising by New Zealand exceeds $20 billion annually. There is an opportunity in special advertising of organizations hence the need to focus on the market. The potential for Solve Online Software’s growth in the future is important in this market.
3. With the changes in technology the company can be able to develop more advertising products with the advanced technology and use of computers in the market.
4. As New Zealand companies try to develop customer relations with the customers, the company has tried to develop good relations to customers by offering gifts, bonuses and incentives.
5. The company is able to distribute its products country wide since it is easily portable. The products involve programs and calendars.
6. Threats
7. Due to old channel of relationship with the distributors and brokers it is hard for the company to restructure and resize since it will lose its products, dealers and distributors.
8. There can be theft of the secrets of the organization and also software piracy by un authorized people who may copy the information in soft copy.

Strategies

Solve online faces a number of challenges in the market in its operations. The company has found it difficult to determine the different needs and requirements of the company. The company should try its best to market the required products to its customers by first identifying the needs of the customer. According to Slater,(2014) the company can improve its productivity by focusing on the improvement of the available products.

The company should also increase its advertising to the customers so that it captures a huge market of the products and services. The company should adapt new technology that will utilize the current equipment and human resource. This is because it has been hard for the company to adapt to technology. The company will grow more with the required equipment, human resource and finances (Kahn, 2012) .The Company can improve its profitability by improving the marketing strategies and setting up of goals. 

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