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Preliminary Report for ALDEN BORDER PATROL
Key Facts:
In the dog containment industry. The Alden Patrol Company proposed premium products.
In the early 1980s owner of the ABP Company "John Alden" successfully acquired the loyalty of customers and increased the customer satisfaction rate through providing full attention, dog training through hands at the homes of customers, and also customized the products.
The manufacturer BP fixed the prices while all other factors for handling the marketing mix were decided by the Alden.
In 1991, the expiration of the product patent happened after which competition in the market was increased.
ABP’s owner was satisfied with their productivity and policies. He did not take competitors into account and found them as a low, and unimportant threat for the company. The reason behind the satisfaction was the installation of skills and training sessions that they provided for their products and services.
It was noticed that the sales of the company were going up, but still, the market share was showing downfall from the hundred percent to under twenty-five percent.
After the decline in market shares, Mark Tapper who was the sales and marketing director of the company recognized the issues and problems with the policies of the company. He realized that there should be some rapid change in market strategies. Convincing Alden about the fact was difficult. Therefore he decided to analyze the alternatives. He assessed product price changes and extra hours of work of labor. The reason behind the review is to provide products and services that could be sold to the middle market section.
Problems:
The company faced the following problems.
In 1991 patent was expired.
The company was relying on the quality of the product only.
The competition was increased in the market with a decrease in product price.
Market shares fell which limited and withhold the potential of the company.
Owner avoided the change in market strategies and avoided the possible solution of developing the product for the middle market segment.
The problem statement of the company was the expiration of the patent and its impact. Initially, the company was in monopoly, but just after the patent expiration, the competition had increased, and monopolization began to squander. It leads to the fall in market shares and sales of the products.
Data Analysis:
The map in the case indicated the manufacturer-distributor company of the ABP's. The map shows the head of the company "Border Patrol," various manufacturers, and three distributors other than ABP. Just after establishing the company, owner and high authority decided to exclusive distribution of the product that was produced. Alden opened the branch of ABP, i.e. BP, and he followed the same instructions and policies for the marketing of its product. Without realizing the increase in the competition, he focused on the quality of the product as he believed that only quality of the product can compete in the competition.
The 1st table named, "Alden Border Patrol Competition Comparison and Timeline" indicates the important information about the competitors of the company. It also contains the similarities and differences between the company and its competitors. The table clearly shows that the retail price of ABP's is higher than the other competitors. ABP's is the only company which does not rely on DIY product's selling. The table is significant as it tells ABP's that it would be good to acquire alternative products to maintain the balance in prices and market shares. It shows the market share of all the companies where ABP's is not having a large share in the market.
The second table "Comparison of Product Features by Competitor" shows the number of products that ABP and its competitors are providing in the market. It also indicates the customizing to property product as well as to the dog by all the companies. The customization depends on the warranty and guarantee of the performance along with the offer onsite training and services. The table is significant if the company want to produce an alternate product to increase the competition in the market. Through the table, ABP can find out the strategies of the competitors and can use the information to adopt new techniques and can reduce the existing strategies and policies to overcome the risk by the competitors.
The third table “Propensity to own a dog (indices to total population)” shows the total number of dogs that owners acquired. It also indicates the income of the owners. The table is significant as it provides the significant tool to measure the amount of that ABP's target market makes, the number of dogs owned, and how much they could own. ABP can use this table to introduce their alternative product in the right segment market.
The fourth table "Demographics of the High-End and Middle Segments" indicates the similarities between the markets of middle segment market and high-end segment market. One difference is shown in the table that is the annual income. So, the information acquired through the table is the difference in the price to find out the dog containment product.
The fifth table "Geographic and Psychographic Characteristics of the High-End and Middle Segments" analyses the important features of the products. It indicates that the less important to the middle segments when it comes to dog safety, child protection, responsibility, etc.
The last and sixth table "Alternatives for Middle Product Offerings" is the most significant table. It tells the gross margins of profits of the company — also the comparison in profits and costs to its initial product. The table is useful for the calculation of the incremental gross margin for an alternative product.
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