市场营销案例分析Case 4

Principles of Marketing Company Case

I Want My VOIP

#1. What are the advantages and disadvantages to Rita of accepting the Time Warner offer? Think carefully through the process that Rita would have to go through to switch telephone services. What would you do in her place?

The first thing for Rita to decide is whether she should change her cell phone to digital telephone or not.

Compared with regular telephone, digital telephone has those advantages:

a)Digital telephone applies a much less expensive

technology than the traditional circuit switching used in the past to send cable telephone calls. It is also much less expensive to maintain.(less cost to companies)

b)All the regular services offered by telephone companies

can be offered with digital telephone. However, because VOIP converts phone calls into data, the integration of telephone, TV, and data is extensive. Digital telephone users can enjoy other services such as accessing complete call lists on their PCs, send pictures from cell phones directly to set-top boxes, and easily manage computer based telephone address books.(multifunctional)

c)Digital telephone has no long distance charges.

Furthermore, the physical location of equipment doesn’t matter as long as it’s connected to a broadband modem.(less cost to consumers)

d)Because VOIP systems allow for each user to have

multiple phone numbers, calls between these numbers are free.(less cost to consumers/ convenience)

e)There will be more features in the future such as

videophones, video e-mail, and integrating phone messages etc. which are out of the reach of the local

telephone company to develop.(multifunctional)

f)Digital telephone companies offer a basic package with

standard features for one price, which is 30 percent below the telephone company’s price.(less cost to consumers) However, digital telephone has those disadvantages:

a)The voice quality of digital telephone is not as good as

regular telephone service. (relatively poor quality)

b)Loss of power means loss of telephone service to digital

telephone, while regular telephone systems still operate when electricity is out. (limitation)

Next, Rita should decide which company to choose. Compared with other companies, Time Warner has such advantage:

a)Time Warner offers better service than those companies at

the same pricing level.

However, Time Warner has disadvantage:

a)Because Time Warner focuses on services, its price may

be higher than other companies.

What Rita wants is lower cost, convenience and value. If I were her, I will absolutely choose digital telephone but I will choose other company’s service because Time Warner is more expensive.

#2. Write the first part of a marketing strategy statement for the Time Warner digital telephone offer. Include the target market and planned product positioning.

The first part describes the target market; the planned product positioning; and the sales, market share, and profit goals for the first few years. Thus:

Target market: People who want to cut down their phone bill; business men who usually make long distance calls; families with members who do not always stay near by their homes;