PEST Analysis for Fidget Cube Device

Discuss about the Business Simulation Games in Enterprise Education.

This report explains all the essential elements which are required in creating a marketing plan for a product such as a PESTLE analysis, issues from the situational analysis of the product, marketing goals, customer segmentation, target market, marketing mix strategy. The study creates a marketing plan for Fidget cub device that helps the business to expand products and services and cater the needs of the target market. The report analyzes the key components of the marketing mix that contribute to an organization’s marketing strategy. The main objective of creating a marketing plan for Fidget cube device is to reach the target customers, enhance the customer base, and eventually, enlarge the bottom line.

According to Hollensen (2015), considering Fidget cube idea provided by two brothers Matthew and Marc McLachlan founded Antsy Labs Company in the market. It is a toy like a top but spin in the hand as opposed to on a surface. The customer holds a pad at the center and flicks one of three rounded blades. These devices are used as a toy for kids and also intended to diverse senses. The situational analysis of Fidget cube consists micro and macro-environmental analysis of the product in the market. In order for reaching new heights to effectively market, a business must recognize the outer variables that assume a significant part in what a new company faces as it enters into the electronics and video game business. The macro-environmental factors that have an impact on the business are as follows (Westwood, 2016):

Political: Factors, for example, taxation policies, foreign exchanges control, and social welfare arrangements impact the video game industry. Fidget cube device tends to play with the feelings of individuals which thus can threaten peace and law, a nation starts multinational. Therefore, the government has the authority to control the substance of the games outlines.

Economic:  Places such as US and Japan are to a great extent ruled by the computer game business which contributing towards the GDP of their countries. Interest rates have very little effect on the fidget cube business as they manufacture their own particular units. The disposable income of the customers in the video game industry affects their purchasing cost.

Social: The social factors that impact the fidget cube game industry are population demographics, income allocation, the way of life changes, social mobility, attributes to work, consumerism and consumer behavior. Also, recreations have an impact on the way of life of individuals bring aggression in kids and so on which affect the business (McDonald and  Wilson, 2016).

SWOT Analysis of Fidget Cube Device

Technological: The part of innovation is fundamental to this industry as it concentrates on technological endeavors for competitive benefits. Each new improvement uses new technology. Though there are confined developments in the gaming business, the speed of technological exchange is high. Fidget cube has sensory tools on all sides such as a rocker switch, gears, a moving ball, a little joystick and five push buttons. The cube is planned to give a simple approach to possess one’s hands and other senses, especially for concentration. Technological up gradation expanded equipment cost and demoralized innovation.

In addition to PEST analysis, a SWOT analysis has been made to perceive both inner strength and weakness along with the possible threats and opportunities exhibited in entering the gaming market (Helms and Nixon, 2010).

Strength: Famous device which is synonymous with gaming and entertainment Strong performance of rocker switch and five push buttons The faces of the fidget cube carry one or two features intended to stimulate different senses	Weakness: Only gaming instruments may affect development. Constrained availability in the market
Opportunities: Use powerful innovative work capacities Benefit from accomplishment of Pokemon GO Online switch service anticipated that would get critical subscribers.	Threat: Intense rivalry from players like Sony and Microsoft Increase in accessibility of counterfeit gaming items in developing market

According to Ainsworth et al. (2015), gaming has frequently been looked with turbulent circumstances all through its distinguished history. Each generation achieved about its own particular issues that would threaten the gaming business. Today’s modern gaming has an entire host of issues that somehow need to be resolving in order to achieve the progress and to reach the fiercely effective part of the vicious cycle. There are some issues which can be identified from the situational analysis are explained as follows:

Lack of Creativity: The most inventive form of entertainment is the presence of the business. Mostly organization chose what they will manufacture is depend on the requirements of its customers. This is because organizations have seen the most achievement when they build franchises. In the present scenario, the gaming industry has found that it is difficult to be creative and gainful at the same time. And, when they can practically ensure that satisfied customers will purchase spin-offs, they see no benefit in creating a unique gameplay. Thus, the company should be able to make creative and innovative features in Fidget cube which attract the customers to purchase the product and increase the profitability growth of the company (Dobosz et al., 2014).

The gap between Indie and Big Business: According to Paraskeva et al. (2010), the other issue identified from the situation analysis is the difference between Indie and large business. Indie companies have been capable to compete with a large business to a certain level. It is basically the large business who identifies what gamers have access to. Indie companies do not have the similar benefits as large business producers. Their resources are lesser, their plan group is smaller and their customers are also smaller. They manage achievements basically to a certain extent because they have established loyal customer’s bases around unique, inventive gameplay.

Identification of Problems in Fidget Cube Device Business

Corporate Eagerness: According to Lee et al. (2015), the entry runs as one with the micro-transaction and monetization entrance on this list as well as broken and inadequate games. Gaming is a multi-billion dollar industry and the noticeable organizations engaged have turned out to be fiercely gainful. Therefore, like with all entertainments mediums accessible in the world, it is being misused. The overwhelming buildup that organizations make is also harming to gaming business. The most serious case of corporate eagerness originates from pre-order culture. Pre-orders are prioritized to a frightening degree. Develop is the greatest offender of this when it initially uncovered its pre-order motivating forces previously there was even an adequate screenshot of the game available. Pre-orders are exploitative and just serve to create more income and with purchaser trust down as a result of the defect, broken games and it is also a high-value risk involved.

The absence of originality: There have always been a few levels of stagnation introduce in the gaming industry. It seems that innovation, for the most part, originates from enthusiastic game designers, such as BioWare and Monolith or the indie groups. Indies have been pushing the bar and making encounters that are genuinely uncommon. Big developers put their diversions through a large number of channels and bundles a very calculated experience since they are forced by distributors to produce as much revenue as possible (Osterwalder and  Pigneur, 2010).

According to Keller and Thackeray (2011), the main marketing objective of introducing fidget cube device in the market is explained as follows:

Engaged on social websites: Today’s, the most important thing for any business is to have the online networking presence. For example, facebook, twitter, blog website, YouTube channel and much more are the platforms which can be used by the business as a tool to communicate their ideas and thoughts to the customers. This online networking effort began with Antsy Lab playing a game with its followers through photos in the weeks prior to the release of the Fidget Cube.  Antsy Labs used the secret of online networking websites to introduce their campaign to achieve the magnitude of accomplishment that it performs. The organization was receptive to what individuals were saying in regards to the Fidget Cube and would typically thank the individual for posting about how well the venture was doing. From past Kickstarter ventures, there is numerous sponsor on the site, yet with the Fidget Cube, more than seventy thousand individuals progressed toward becoming benefactors (Marchand and  Hennig-Thurau, 2013).

Marketing Objectives for Fidget Cube Device

Involve the customers: Individual enjoys the quality substance based on the promoting tools used by the company about their Fidget cube device. This factor involved the customers towards the product.  The unique features of the fidget cube consist a rocker switch gears, a rolling ball, spinning disc and stimulate different senses. Companies should post the content on the social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and so on so that more buzz will be produced by individuals over the online networking platforms in suspicion of the content. 

Focus on websites: According to Lin (2012), this marketing objective is extremely fundamental in connecting the greater part of social networking outlets together on one, promptly accessible space. The organizations must make their own website in promoting Fidget cube devices in a wide manner. The business can create game websites in order to get the contacts and press information easily available.  The organization must ensure that all the information about the device should be available so that customers can easily identify the device according to their requirements.

Good design sense: The Company should make innovative and creative devices in order to attract the customers towards their product. Fidget cube is a small device which has unique features includes buttons, balls, discs, cogs, joystick, switches and is intended to stimulate different senses. The company can also use color scheme between all platforms and keep the layouts fairly consistent. Using a corresponding mix that is appealing to the eye truly radiates a concentration and focus in a long way to building the product presence (Wedel and  Kamakura, 2012).

According to Zhu and  Iansiti (2012), customer refers to a party that perceives or consumes products or services and has the capability to decide between the distinguished products and providers. A customer plays a significant role in any business achievements. One the primary objective of any marketing strategy must be determined and cater the requirements of the customer. Specifically, kids ( aged between 5-10 years) and youngsters ( aged between 18-25) are the target market for the Fidget cube device is attempting to capture through this marketing strategy. On the other side, target marketing includes breaking a market into sections and then focuses on marketing endeavors on one or a few key segments comprising of the customers whose requirements and wants most intently match the product or service offerings. In the marketing plan for fidget cube, the manager must plan and make ideas for device keeping in mind the target customer and there is a lot of research accessible which enables the customer to decide which device is performing well with which target customer. For fidget cube, the company can segment this device into five major ways which are as follows:

Segmentation by material: Company can segment fidget cube device by a material such as metal, plastic, and wood. Every consumer has different preference and requirements in the gaming devices. Some customers want the metallic body, some want the plastic body, thus by keeping in mind the consumer preference, the company can segment this device by material segmentation (Liu, 2010).

Segmentation by arms: The other segmentation for the fidget cube device is based on the arms segmentation such as one arm, two arms, three arms, four arm and other. This segmentation helps the business to determine the actual requirements of the customer in the device and offer product according to their demand.

Segmentation by bearing type: According to Williams (2011), the bearing segmentation includes ceramic, metal or hybrid type devices can be provided by the business to their customers.

Segmentation by distribution channel: Company can segment distribution channel both offline and online to the customers. Customers can buy the device both by an offline channel that is through shops, retail stores and by an online channel that is purchasing the device by through online shopping websites such as Amazon, eBay and much more.

According to Huang and Sarigöllü (2014), the marketing mix below entails further detail on the fidget cube that will be aimed at the consumer is as follows:

Product: Fidget cube is a handheld tool designed by Antsy Lab. The device has sensory tools on all the sides. The cube is intended to give a simple approach to possess one’s hand and different senses, especially for self-grooming. The characteristics of the fidget cube carry one or two features intended to stimulate different senses. The device consists various characteristics such as buttons, switches, discs, balls, joysticks, and dents.

Price: As fidget cube is segmented between the age between 5-10 years people and 18-25 years for young people, therefore price should be cost effective and affordable so that customer can buy it. The company sells their product by keeping in mind the target market and offer reasonable price of fidget cube to their customers.

Place: According to McDonald and  Wilson (2016), the distribution channel is both online and offline modes, so the customer can buy the product from the different websites which offer fidget cube device in all over the world. The customer can access the place by checking the online websites which offer fidget cube device.

Promotion: The Company can use various promotional methods in order to create the awareness towards their fidget cube device among the customers are explained as follows:

Advertising: Advertisement takes up a significant part of an organization’s budget assigned toward marketing and promotion. The company can advertise their products through television, newspapers, and magazines to increase the awareness among the customers and also for the growth of the product.

Public relations: Maintaining image with the people is an imperative long-term strategy for both small and large companies. An assortment of advertising strategies is used to connect with customers through unpaid for media messages (Luan and Sudhir,  2010).

Social media: Company can use various social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to promote the product in the market. The Fidget cube was introduced on Kickstarter which spread the message about the product as well as prompted it to potential investors through social media platforms.

Conclusion

From the above report, it has been concluded that marketing plan plays an important role in business as it helps to reach the potential customers that help the business to ensure that individuals know about the product or service. This report explains the marketing plan for Fidget cube device in order to promote the product among the customers. The study describes the situational analysis of the product, identification of problems, marketing objectives, market segmentation and marketing mix strategies for Fidget cube. The marketing plan for Fidget cube enables the business to serves as a guide for an organization to follow in promoting its products and services.

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