It’s not news that Sony is a global company or that (25%) of all Play Station profits’ for the past seven years came from Sony to Japan. After all that’s what international marketing and the global economy are all about, companies like Sega, Nintendo, Microsoft, X-Box doing business around the world. The global economy now reaches every corner of the United States. Current interest in international marketing can be explained by changing competitive structures coupled with shifts in demand characteristics in markets throughout the world.
With the increasing globalization of markets, companies find they are unavoidably enmeshed with foreign customers, competitors and suppliers. A significant portion of all products made in the United States is foreign made. Japan’s economy is based on a strong work ethic and being a leader of technology, in which has helped Japan advance to the second most powerful economy in the world. One notable characteristic of the economy is the working together of manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors in closely-knit groups called keiretsu.
The keiretsu, which means “order” or “system,” is a unique form of business that links companies together in industrial groups that provide Japanese business with a substantial competitive edge over non-keiretsu organizations. Keiretsus are collections of dozens of major companies spanning several industries and held together by cross-shareholding, old-boy networks, interlocking directorates, long-term business relationships, and social and historical links. There are six major Japanese industrial keiretsu groups and eleven lesser ones.
Together, the sales in these groups are responsible for about 25 percent of the activities of all Japan, and keiretsus account for 78 percent of the value of all shares on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Japan’s industry, which is the most important sector of the economy, is heavily dependent on imported raw materials and fuels. For three decades overall real economic growth had been one of the highest, 10% in the 1960s, 5% in the 1970s, and a 4% average in the 1980s. Growth slowed markedly in 1992-95 largely because of the aftereffects of over investment during the late 1980s.
Growth picked up to 3. 9% in 1996, largely a reflection of low rates of inflation. But in 1997-98 Japan experienced a recession, centered about financial difficulties in the banking system and real estate markets. In early 1999 output has started to stabilize as emergency government spending begins to take hold. Here of some of Japan’s statistics for 2000. GDP – $2. 903 trillion GDP per capita – $23,100 Labor force – 67. 72 million Unemployment rate – 4. 4. % Imports – $319 billion Exports – $440 billion Japan is the home to of the top companies in the world.
One of the companies, which has helped Japan’s economy to be one of the top, is Sony. Modern day Sony is a high profit high output company, which is manly due to its marketing strategies and decision to its customers. What is marketing? Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy both individual and organizational goals. Marketing also include being able to get the goods from the producer to the consumer. The producer is responsible for the design and manufacture of goods.
Marketing also includes market research and product development, design, and testing. Marketing concentrates primarily on the buyers, or consumers and determining their needs and desires. Companies then need to stress the availability of products and the important product features. You then need to develop strategies to persuade them to buy and keep their satisfaction with the product. Marketing management includes planning, organizing, directing, and controlling decision making regarding product lines, pricing, promotion, and servicing.
In addition, the marketing department of a business firm is responsible for the distribution of the products, determining the means of distribution that will be used and supervising the profitable flow of goods from the factory or warehouse Sony has a complete grasp of this. Sony, which is based out of Japan has expanded to almost every country including a tremendous market in the US, is considered by many to be a marketing marvel. Sony has a dedicated consumer backing, due to its ability’s to market it’s products and keep it’s consumers happy.
The company name “Sony” was created by combining two words. One is ‘sonus’ in Latin, which is the root of such words as ‘sound’ and ‘sonic’. The other is ‘sonny’ meaning little son. The words were used to show that ” Sony” is a very small group of young people who have the energy and passion toward unlimited creation Though Sony is perhaps best known as a consumer electronics giant, the company is a major provider of technology and services to business, as well. On both consumer and business fronts, Sony is rapidly reinventing its business model for a networked world.
For example, Sony successfully arranged a deal with Cablevision for a new generation of set-top boxes. And the lure of content from Sony Pictures, Sony Music, and other entertainment assets has helped Sony build valuable relationships with companies such as Microsoft, Palm, Microsystems, and TiVo. With a library of more than 4,400 films and more than 40,000 hours of television programming, along with the work of more than 1,000 recording artists on various Sony Music labels. One of Sony’s best and most successful marketing strategies was aimed at their debut of Playstation in 1994.
Sony’s idea to enter the very profitable video gaming world was a very profitable move. In 1994 when Sony decided to enter the gaming world unknown to them at the time they rewrote gaming history. Sony’s playstation soon reached the top of the market and then in 200 they did it again with playstation 2. Sony’s entry into the video gaming world was a shock to both Nintendo and Sega. Nintendo, for once had been outdone. Sony, which had once been its ally, now became their number one competitor. The battle between Sony and Nintendo got really vicious.
After Nintendo’s nasty little surprise at a Japanese show, Sony sat down and planned ahead. Sony’s marketing was bigger than either of its competitors could have dreamed of. Then they bought a major software company, Psygnosis. They employed some of the greatest programmers and hardware designers ever heard of. And then to top it all off, Sony made a rather large deal with Namco, the second biggest arcade machine maker in the business. The Playstation became the most powerful console on the market.
Sony researched using its unlimited cash to find out what type of game console that a consumer was looking for and came up with almost the perfect machine. Using some of the existing technology from the fabled SNES CDROM, Sony decided that the best bet was to market this wonder machine under its own label, thus making it another Sony product and convincing the purchaser that they can’t go wrong. And so far they’ve been the favorite in the war. It was Sony PlayStation that single-handedly made gaming cool. But that was not good enough for Sony.
It 2000 Sony introduced the Play Station 2 console. The Playstation to 2 become the hottest new toy before it was even on the market. The play station 2 was sold out long before it ever reached the shelves. Sony once again rewrote gaming history with playstation 2. Part of the magic and popularity behind playstaion 2, besides the Sony name, was is it’s ability to play back DVD videodiscs, and support for all types of sound hardware, including Dolby Digital and DTS, which is, used for home theater systems.
These added options plus it’s ability to play back the original playstation games made it appealing to every one regardless of age. For the Kids you had the hottest new system that could also play the original play station games even faster, for the parents you had a new DVD Player. Sony’s ability to market and tailor the playstation to a wide range of consumer young and old is what but it on top of the charts.
Even with the introduction of Microsoft’s XBOX and Nintendo’s game Cube this October Sony is still topping the charts this Christmas season. Sony’s has proved it’s self in the gaming world and has its consumers behind them. The strategies that Sony uses is marketing it’s playstation is not complex, Sony just uses it’s assets to find out what the consumer wants and need and then gives it them. Sony produces high quality products tailored to the need of its consumers. A simple concept that has left Sony and Playstation on top of the charts.