SNHU ASSIGNMENTS

MKT 337 Blog – Module One

For our final project, we must select a company and think of a new product the company would launch, throughout it all, writing a marketing research brief that could possibly be shared with the company. The companies we can select from are all Fortune 500 companies, and all are companies that have a ton of current products on the market.

The first thing we must do is select a company, and I’m going to select Apple. I’m fascinated with technology and I think this company designs products that are usable by a large population of people, and look good. I’ve been using Apple products since I purchased an iMac in the late 90s, and I have pretty much grown up using their products.

The product that I would suggest developing would be a handheld device specifically for older children and young teens, and that can transition from school to home with very little effort. There are products like the Leap Frog line and others, but the difference with this product would be the ability of the teachers and parents to interact with them. Groups could collaborate easily, and for individuals, they could receive feedback on assignments easily. They could then use the same device at home to communicate with friends, do homework, or play games.

To research the viability of this product, the company could first conduct interviews with the children of the age range the product is looking to target, namely 9-14, to see what current technologies they use, both at home and in school. A second group that should be interviewed would be the educators of this same group, to see if this product would help them perform their job duties in an easier way. This will help to answer the question if the product is at all viable, which is the initial question that should be answered.

Another method to research viability would be gathering secondary information from current educational institutions to determine if there is already a product being used in this manner. It could also determine if there is a price point at which the product becomes burdensome to parents to purchase. This information could also possibly help determine the average period one of these products can be used before it must be replaced. We may also be able to determine if there is a common type of accident that happens that would need to be covered by warranty.

Using the interview and the secondary data search can allow Apple to determine if this product is viable and production should go ahead, or if the risks outweigh the benefits to develop a product like this.