Dyson is a business most known for being innovative in the market of vacuum cleaners. This was achieved through many patented ideas such as Dyson’s cyclone technology which increase overall performance of suction. This, as well as many other factors, helped Dyson become the market leader in vacuum cleaner’s market with 21% market share of volume sales compared to the next best (Vax at 13%). Dyson is a business that has rapidly grown diversifying new products into different markets such as washing machines, fans and hand dryers. For this reason, Dyson’s marketing strategy previously used on vacuum cleaners may not work for the new products. However, there are some key elements of their marketing strategy that will play into their hands when they enter new markets.
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A good way to show Dyson’s marketing strategy is through the Ansoff Matrix which will illustrate their product and market growth strategy. From Dyson’s vacuum cleaner range, it is clear that they are aiming their vacuum cleaners in the product development section. This is because Dyson are always aiming to achieve better. An example of this would be the Dyson ball which adopted a ball which made it easier to move the vacuum cleaner around sharp corners. They are not reinventing the vacuum cleaner: they are adjusting the original design to make it easier and more efficient.
The other products of Dyson, mainly the fans and fan heaters currently are also in the product development section. Although the fan market is a market where Dyson has not much experience in, their cyclone technology and understanding of aerodynamics has helped them to achieve a high quality product in this new market. Just like with the vacuum cleaners, they have found a weakness and niche in an existing market, analyzed the weakness, found the solution and built a product based on solving the weakness (the weakness being blades on contemporary fans buffering the air causing turbulence and also no fans blades mean it’s a lot safer too). This marketing strategy of Dyson means when advertising their new products, they need to exploit the weakness in the current market and then inform potential customers how Dyson’s new product solves this problem. Therefore, the promotional side of Dyson should be the focus of their marketing strategy after they have built the product: the pricing for new technology from Dyson is always at the
expensive side of the market therefore Dyson need to lure customers in from the features and not price.
expensive side of the market therefore Dyson need to lure customers in from the features and not price.
Overall, it is clear from the Ansoff Matrix that Dyson’s marketing strategy for their products is always the same. They are a business that seeks to improve current markets which they have done in the vacuum cleaner, fan and hand dryer markets. As a result, Dyson should keep their Ansoff Matrix strategy the same no matter what market they are entering. Although James Dyson claims to be an inventor which in some ways he is (he’s inventing new ways to improve existing products), a true inventor plants his product/service in the diversification section where a new product is going into a new niche market. An example of this would be Steve Jobs and the original Apple iPad which truly fired up and created the tablet market. However, although it is clear Dyson’s Ansoff Matrix strategy is working for them as they profits have been on the increase for three years. At the same time though, if Dyson are innovative to make revolutionary products desired by many even if there are more sensible cheaper alternatives, they have the ability to go into diversification and create a product in a new market desired by many.
Dyson’s marketing strategy may change when infiltrating a new market due to market analysis they perform. Market analysis is when a firm undertakes a detailed examination of the characteristics of a market such as market size, share, and trends, patterns of sales and cost and difficulties of entering a new market. Dyson, from being in product development section, should not use market mapping as a primary source of market analysis. There is an element of risk in product development which can’t be highlighted well in market mapping. As well as that, the inaccurate potentially biased results and cheap method of market analysis is not a reliable way to show in depth data on any market of any sort: it is extremely easy to misinterpret the data which would cause the whole marketing strategy to be aimed at something which wasn’t true. Even so, I feel that market mapping should only be used as a last ditch attempt of market analysis: a big business such as Dyson should be able to budget for in-depth qualitative and quantitative research and market analysis.
From the other methods of market analysis such as extrapolating a trend line, forecasting and especially market research (both primary and secondary), Dyson would be able to gather a more accurate tailored marketing strategy if they choose to use them methods of analysis. Although market research looks at competitors and Dyson has no competitors aiming to develop products technology within markets, customer feedback and the complete view of opportunities and threats makes it key to the success of Dyson: if there’s a market with lot’s of opportunities to expand on, Dyson should aim for it. Forecasting into the future is crucial to Dyson as with a risky strategy such as Dyson are undertaking where they create high technological products hoping people will desire them, there are many different outcomes and ways the product could turn out to be. It could be a loss leader where the profit margin is slim but accessories and repairs is high or it could be a ‘dog’ in the Boston matrix. Via Dyson forecasting all the potential outcomes helps eliminate risk and helps the business prepare for the very worse or the very best.
Ultimately, market analysis has the potential to change the marketing strategy of Dyson when they enter new markets. If, from market analysis of the new market, results turn out to be different compared to those of the fan or vacuum cleaner markets, then Dyson may have to adopt a different approach into the market to accommodate this. As well as being beneficial (market analysis), it can also hinder the success of Dyson. They may change their marketing strategy for the worse because invalid market analysis was performed causing misinterpretation of data. If this happens, the whole strategy of Dyson’s new product will fail causing a decrease in customer reputation and brand awareness (brand awareness will increase but for all the wrong reasons. Example of this would be the iPhone 4 which lost signal when you held it in a particular way).
Porter’s low cost vs. differentiation in some ways is significant to Dyson deciding to change their marketing strategy for a new market. The Porter’s low cost vs. differentiation analyses the differences between a low end, basic, opportunity cost product to one that has high quality. Examples in Dyson’s case would be Dyson and Hoover where Dyson aim to make their products have more features, look more and be more innovative and have promotion that emphasizes the difference. Hoover on the other hand look at their products price wise and have similar features at a lower price as well as having a more basic design and layout. As a result, it is clear that Dyson will place themselves as the differentiation in all their markets. Due to this placement, Dyson needs to promote a marketing strategy to follow the guidelines of which a differentiation product should have. Such marketing corporate objectives could be to increase the advertising budget by 10% to increase product awareness highlighting the difference between the Dyson product and an ordinary low cost product.
Ultimately, I think Dyson should not change their marketing strategies for different markets because Dyson has an objective for all products. In a video where James Dyson shows how the Dyson AirBlade works, he says, ‘what I’m interested in doing is promoting technology and science in Britain’. To achieve his aim and possibly Dyson’s aim, the marketing strategy cannot differ. The products need to be differentiated in the product development section of Ansoff Matrix or differentiation section. Even though some of Dyson’s products will promoted more in hotter areas where the Dyson AirBlade can better replace air conditioning in countries such as America, Japan and Australia, Dyson have made their products end of shelf displays with detailed explanations on how the fan works in major electronic stores such as Curry’s, PC World and Comet causing many of Britain’s public to see Dyson’s new fan every time they walk in. This promotes James Dyson’s aim and shows the marketing strategy Dyson are adopting: ‘create a wow factor for customers and the price won’t matter as much’ which can easily be used in many other markets Dyson are prepared to enter.
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