marketing strategies, value segmentation, consumer behaviour, leading competitors, forecasts of Sony and Microsoft gaming companies

 marketing strategies, value segmentation, consumer behaviour, leading competitors, forecasts of Sony and Microsoft gaming companies

Introduction

Electronic art is a type of art that uses electronic media. It works about information art, new media art, video art, gaming and electronic music, among others. It stems from the traditional form of art and system art. Therefore, electronic art is also “computer art” as it involves computers. Electronic art became a source of living for different people; hence, companies were started and opened following the same. The companies operate just like all other companies; thus, they need the aspect of marketing for them to thrive. Different strategies have been applied by the latter in the US and Europe. The following content will bring out the marketing strategies, value segmentation, consumer behaviour, leading competitors, forecasts of Sony and Microsoft gaming companies.

Main Body

Specific content

Microsoft Company has unveiled that most game fans desire in-depth and specific content. They focus on ensuring that the fans attain the specific content they want in the game. While creating the game, they ensure that it is targeted to a particular fan. For example, there are many football fans around the world. This has necessitated the need to have specific games for football fans. The football video games have become very popular even in third world countries as they have a particular form of purpose. When the fan takes part as a player, he or she desires to win the football match. In addition, games such as call of duty have specific purposes, which expect the players to win and achieve a particular purpose while playing. Besides the companies have also discovered that fans want game tips, product information, cash prizes, and various features while using the game. Therefore, they focus on ensuring that the games have more than just a purpose; instead, it becomes a whole entity. They provide to take deeper dives into the product by ensuring that the player can customise the game by probably creating one’s profile and following up with the game. Cash prizes have become the best attraction for the fans; most skilled players compete for cash prizes, which bring in more purpose in the game. The fans and players do not just focus on winning but winning for money.

Distribution strategy

Besides, the companies have incorporated the approach of distribution, which focuses on tracking the fan’s requests and monitors, the product as it enters the market. Concentrate on the demands by the fans; the companies get to learn what to sell where. Hence, they have learnt different people want and desire different things and ensure to serve the wants and needs of their fans. Besides, they ensure to have an inventory that helps in checking what is selling and what is not. Research has shown that the older games look obsolete once new games get in the market. Once they check the requests, they know what to improve in the older games and ensure they are modified or updated. Besides, companies also ensure that their shops or stores are never empty as that can put away the customers. As mentioned earlier, third world countries also take part in the games. This has created a reason for companies to focus on opening different stores and shops around the world. Hence, none of the customers is ignored; thus making more sales and getting more customers. All the companies around the world are restocked often to ensure everyone is served right. Moreover, the companies have headquarters that ensures that anyone can access the desired games and make the distribution process better and easier (Pride & Ferrell, 2014).

Offers and Discounts

We are living in a period when everyone wants to save a penny or at least use it for something valuable; hence, this brings in the aspect of pricing for the games and other kinds of EA. Companies have, therefore learnt to focus on the price they set for their products, credit terms, discounts and payment periods. For the new games to penetrate in the market, the companies ensure that their prices are lower than the rest of the companies’. With a lowered price, they attain more customers. Discounts are a good strategy, but the competitors need to be evaluated before the company decides to give a discount. For instance, if upcoming companies such as Zynka fight against the Microsoft company, there is a chance of losing the battle. Microsoft can afford to take a risk in lowering prices, but the smaller companies go on a loss as they are not as popular. Customers in the current world hardly focus on just the pricing but the total cost.

Moreover, not every client will afford to buy and use the product at a high cost. Hence, the companies have incorporated the strategy of shifting from premium prices to in-app and free to play purchases. This helps in controlling the costs and outperforming in the markets. Profit is also realised as the companies try to incorporate this strategy; peer companies such as Take-Two and Activision have realised this. Initially, EA has focused on pricing the games at a premium level, which led to most users to play pirated games to avoid the highly-priced games. Thus, the company decided to use subscription gaming strategy whereby players play as many games as there are at a cost paid monthly (Hinterhuber, & Liozu, 2017).

Innovation

Innovation is at the centre of the success of any company. Therefore, the EA has also incorporated the use of innovation in achieving the desired results in its success. This has worked for the company as they have collaborated with Manchester city to cut through the market even deeper. The company used a club’s kit in a premier league where Samir Nasri was used for marketing the product. Use of a real-life player makes it easy to win over the crowd. The company also focuses on making the latter possible on smartphones and make it possible for the fans to have a social relationship with the EA company and football team. The relationship will not only be on the TV or the stadium but at a personal and social level. In addition, the features applied are such as the use of the QR code that makes it possible for the owner of the product to be the only access particular content in the game. Moreover, every fan will have a personal relationship with the players and the game. The use of this is also an opportunity for the company to promote other games such as FIFA 12, among others. Exposure of the game is also achieved, and new consumers will be involved in the game. Thus, this idea will incorporate the player, the fan and staff involved in executing the plan; hence promoting the product and attaining more market (Strandby et al. 2016).

Technology

High-speed internet has also been used as a marketing strategy for various video games. Gamers have an opportunity to directly download games through platforms like Xbox and Steam other than buy through a store or a disc. The latter has brought in the opportunity for the EA to make high revenue and high sales as through a download; clients cut down their costs by half hence making more sales at an affordable rate. Games have become more directed towards social experiences and the communities, thus attracting more gamers and players. There are also microtransactions for ornaments and skins, which makes the games interesting. Most of the in-game items are cheap to develop, and they make the sales go high by a significant margin hence making pure profit.

Hardware and software products

Moreover, Microsoft Company, for instance, has expanded its boundaries in the market with the hardware smartphones. The touch screens and sensitive phones made it easy to attain the most significant market around the world. Every person that owns a phone is a potential gamer as one way or another, he or she will download or have a game on the phone. Mobile phone companies have earned an upper hand than the Electronic Arts company as there are various games produced daily. Low costs are involved in the creation of the phone games; opening an opportunity for the companies to make high profits out nothing much. Reports have shown that companies such as Apple and Android app stores have uncountable games, and more are produced each day. Hence an opportunity to make a profit out of low resources makes it easy for the companies to compete against other companies that spend a lot of money to make the games. More options have also been brought aboard, making the competition more robust and more complex as reports also show that it has become easy to develop and release computer games.

Intermediaries in distribution

EA has lost its competitive advantage because of the shift of the industry. As the company tries to manage its shelf space, there are other many games produced by other companies. Besides, EA involves many intermediaries before the product reaches the final user. Third-party developers do not need to use an intermediary to contact the user as they deliver the product directly to the gamer. As stated earlier, EA also uses partnerships for marketing its products. The partnership and publishing process slows down the marketing process, as the company has to spend time meeting and to decide a few issues. Some costs come along with the use of partners and publishers.

On the other hand, third-party companies do not spend a lot of time deciding and releasing their products as they make a direct release. The marketing advantages that third-party developers have over the EA are such as low advertising budgets and exclusive power benefits. The gaming industry has also become crowded and easier to penetrate.

Production of a variety of products

Moreover, Microsoft company also stands out in its competitive nature. The advantage comes with the type of products offered by the company. A large number of products makes it possible for the company to remain at the top in the market; for instance, their different offerings to make the games into the software. They have also acquired products such as Skype, Nokia, and Navision, among other companies. These companies are among the best in the world. Besides the Microsoft operating system can be used on any laptop, computer and it is even in most mobile phones. Microsoft is also the dominating operating system around the world; as it is easy to access and affordable to most of the clients.

Shopper segmentation

Most companies have also embraced the art of segmentation to attract and keep their customers. EA applied the shopper segmentation strategy to keep moving and growing. Shopper segmentation helped the company to define and refine their purpose in the market. The company got to understand the market and figure out what is the best fit for the latter. When applying the strategy of shopper segmentation, the company focused more on the customers by dividing the market into subgroups of age, gender, interests, and spending habits, among others. The latter unveils the fact that each customer is dynamic. Hence once they are divided into groups, it becomes easier to create a target that concentrates on what the customers need and can lead them to buy or play the games. Through an in-depth study of the segments, it is quite easy to reach the target, which gives accurate and valuable feedback and marketing opportunity for the company. EA focuses not only on the customers’ demographics but also on the geography, psychography and behaviours. The company has also designed a means through which the segmentation is done. That is: choosing the data to be collected and the methods of collection; collection and integration of data; data analysis aimed at segmentation; coming up with effective communication in useful business units; implementation.

Maximisation of the cross and up-selling opportunities has bee attained through segmentation. Personalised messages make it easy also to have special offers to different customers. The special offers focus on the needs of the customers. Through this, the customers are enticed to buy or subscribe for more products. Besides, there is the loyalty that has been identified in the company due to the offers that the customers get; and loyalty comes with retention. The company has also formed a relationship with the customers as they address their needs other than just random ideas about what they might need. Moreover, it is a form of customer management; the company can easily monitor the profits and costs that are realised in the relationship with the customer.

The company uses three models to segments its customers, that is touchpoint engagement. This model helps in learning a customer as he or she continues to shop. Some of the things that one focuses on this are the frequency of the customer’s interaction with the product. It allows the company to study the different touchpoints that people have with the products. Hence, over time it becomes easy to predict the customer’s wants and needs. Monitoring the time’s people interact with your products or games shows the opportunity for their retention. Purchase patterns model also opens the eyes of the company in terms of segmentation. Learning the previous orders from your company makes it possible to predict future trends. EA ensures to check the highest value patterns, the savers, the regular shoppers and the potential customers. After reviewing the groups, they ensure to check what motivates each group and guide them to the product they might desire or like to have. Through this, there is a great opportunity to retain a customer.

Customer goals are also crucial in segmentation which breeds the third model of segmentation used by EA. They focus on the goals of the clients coming in. At this point, the company gets personal with the client by creating more options and personas for them. The client can describe things like their lifestyle, their hobbies, their jobs and more traits. Customer goals make it possible for the company to understand what could be improved and get in a deeper relationship with the client. It not only benefits the client with the product but also the fun that comes with the latter. Interview with the COO of the company revealed that the art of segmentation made it possible for the company to shape its future and make a road map for its future product and create the necessary strategies.

Microsoft company is not behind when it comes to segmentation. They have different modes of segmentation which focus on positioning. They target more than one segment of the customers all at the same time but with different products and service packages. For instance, they have a product identified as Dynamics 365, which has a customer engagement plan that costs 115 dollars per month which is cost-friendly. It is affordable as it helps in focusing on the customer in an accessible way. They also have a unified operations plan that costs 190 dollars per month. These plan s are directed to customer segmentation. They help in creating dynamic segments of different customers.

Moreover, the company also uses the standby positioning that is directed at developing products and services that can be changed in future. Therefore when the market changes and brings in a new product, the company also gets a share in the market. For instance, the company announced the cloud-first and mobile-first business strategy in the year 2014. The cloud data storage was a new segment in which the CEO identified as possible service. Therefore they developed it applying the standby positioning technique. Later in the year 2018, there was a demand for cloud services. Therefore standby positioning technique is a strategy that has helped the company succeed in the new products.

Reports indicate that the Microsoft company uses two consumer behaviour to reach out and get feedback about their products. The first theory applied is the theory of reasoned action. This theory states that consumers behave in a way that brings an outcome favourable to them; hence consumers act on their best interests. Therefore the company has learned most of its consumers who take time to decide what is best for them. The latter is identified through the availability and affordability of their products. Microsoft operating system is used by most computers and phones; also the company has partnered with various PC companies to have the Microsoft system installed in the computers. Therefore, the customer will not have the struggle to get an operating system for their computers. Besides the operating system is well distributed to all the potential buyers and serves every individual. Through this theory, the company has made its products perfect for every prospective buyer.

Moreover, the company also applies the model by Abraham Maslow that speaks of a hierarchy of needs. He brings out the requirements in terms of importance, which is physiological, safety, love, esteem and self-actualisation. Most of the people around the world use computers or have access to the latter. Students need the latter to study; technology is also taking over that even the third world countries also use computers to analyse in the primary schools. Microsoft understands this fact; hence, just as the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs brings out, it has become difficult to exist without a computer. Therefore, the company has taken advantage of this fact and ensures the latter is well distributed and available to everyone as it is a basic need. In selling the Microsoft product, the company used the basic need feature to reach the consumer as they cannot use a computer without a Microsoft operating system.

Market analysis

Microsoft marketing analysis brings out their approach in the marketing plan. Starting with the products; there is a lot of revenue that is attained by the company from third-party apps. For instance, some games are sold on Microsoft, which bring in revenue. The games serve as a form of entertainment to the customers. It is an added advantage to the buyer hence promoting to the company. The company also focuses a lot on the advertising sector as it is a significant means of promotion for them. They use the women made and super bowl, which makes the company’s image. Besides, they use the non-profit means to attain the market as the company donates computers and gives financial support to the needy. Moreover, the company applies the freemium pricing strategy that offers the products for free and allow the customer to try out their products such as office 365. Once the customers get a chance with the product, there is a chance to buy it or use it in future.

Models applied in marketing

Microsoft and Electronic arts company both use the competitive Advantage model, which helps in the growth and expansion of their markets. Just as the model states the companies focuses on external changes and developing the inside part of the company. In the external changes, they focus on the changes that come along with the pest factors and their capacity to quickly respond to the changes coming up. For instance, they need to have the ability to quickly adjust if there are new things that need to be done to improve their state of functioning. The aspect of new games comes in as there are new games released by different companies; hence they need to keep up with the fast-growing and changing market.

In the development of the inside part of the company, there is a focus on the resources, innovation, and unique competencies. Therefore as the company continues to operate, they have to focus on the innovation part. Without innovation, the two companies would have been closed. Consequently, they have invested in employing teams with the capacity to come up with new ideas and bring in quick solutions.

VRIO resources

Besides the companies possess the VRIO resources which are majorly about( Valuable, Rare, hard to imitate and organised. These resources make it possible for the company to stand out and compete with the rest of the companies because these resources belong to only one company. Some of the attributes identified with these resources are such as intellectual resources about the company, the equity of the brand, culture and reputation. Intellectual resources bring in the aspect of unique competences which is the ability of the company to push through with the tasks successfully. Their skills and capabilities are also identified in the latter. This has majorly bee identified with the Microsoft company as there is no other company that can copy their products. The uniqueness comes with the intellectuals behind the design and formation of the operating system and its components. The unique quality cannot be replicated or copied by any other company.

Looking deeper into the Electronic Arts company, there is a clear indication of the use of the VRIO model. The valuable assets identified are the employees that are specially trained and skilled, which helps them produce the high ranked output for the company. There are high levels of loyalty and retention, which have made the company scale high as most of the workers are familiar with what they take part. The company’s patents are also outstanding as they help the company sell its products without interference from the competitors. There is also an opportunity for the company to make revenue out of the patents as it attains a licensing revenue when it allows other companies to use their products.

Financial resources by this company are rare as it is among the few companies with great financial resources. Electronic Arts company also has an exceptional distribution network. Their distribution system is well laid out, making it hard for the competitors to come up against the latter. Coming against EA would cost along as their distribution is well defined, unlike other companies. Most of the financial resources are also costly to imitate, thus rendering the company ahead of the others. There is also a global organisation in the company as the form of management is well defined. The company has even existed for an extended period hence having a better and stable form of management.

Brand equity

Brand equity is crucial for any company as it brings out the value that customers have placed on your products. If the brand equity serves as a reason to charge more for the products. Therefore, if a company’s products are valued by their customers, there is an opportunity to make them more expensive than generic products. Electronic Arts have several things that lie within the brand equity. The first is brand awareness; Electronic Arts stands at a huge advantage as the company is well known globally due to its operations. This is seen for instance, in their products in FIFA. The youngest boy, even in the third world countries is aware of the game. Besides, the company is also able to plan and execute the plans in various stores around the world. EA also has modified marketing strategies that are all directed at the global market.

Brand association is part of Brand equity. The products delivered by electronic arts are linked to the products produced. Therefore the brand name is clearly linked to the things produced. With the brand association, it is easy to sell out as people know what they are dealing with. They also have a broad product portfolio which has a range of products. The various products make it easy for their customers to choose hence increasing chances of purchase. The company is also linked to international games such as football and the footballers. Their customers link them to there products, thus attracting more customers, especially football fans. Quality is at the core of the brand by Electronic arts; the company is known to deliver high-quality products that are both unique and innovative. Every client likes high-quality products; therefore, Electronic Arts stands at a higher advantage. The games produced by Electronic Arts make the game look real; for instance, the game called Call of Duty is part of EA’ products. The quality is maintained thus promoting the products. Also the company has excellent customer services. There are contacts that are put online for customer care. The company has also been identified to regard the customer’s needs and requests highly. They adjust their games according to the demands by the customers. Also, they have made the games more affordable to their customers by creating an option to subscribe and use as many games as one wants. The subscription option has made it easy to tap customers and make them feel valued.

Loyalty towards the brand has been an asset that Electronic Arts has. They have a unique and influential marketing strategy that keeps the clients loyal. Electronic Arts are well known around the world as it has been in existence for a long time. Also, it was among the first companies to embrace the electronic arts. Therefore it has already built a strong market in the world, which has become a loyal market. There is also an increase in loyalty as the company keeps adding value to its products. There is also a product portfolio that allows the customers to learn about the products once they are out. Thus it has gained many loyal customers.

As stated earlier, EA was among the first companies that embraced electronic art; therefore, a number of people also invested in the same. Through the investments, the company gained a high financial value. Moreover, most of the people are also well aware of this product and trust it more than other brands; hence there is an increase in the financial value of the same. It is also ranked among the most expensive companies around the world; therefore making it an envied company. The employees working for the latter are also a significant asset as there is a high retention rate. They have also gained skills and have been trained to work for the company; they have also gained experience over time which makes value for the company. Additionally, the employees working for the latter are from diverse cultures and backgrounds; this has opened up the opportunity for the company to succeed as there are numerous ideas generated and used in the growth of the business in different ways. Besides, have experts in technology, the other workers employed are people who are experts in areas such as psychology, marketing, and human resources, among others. The company has embraced different professions who have helped in the growth and competitive nature of the latter. Besides the company ensures that the products are adaptable according to different cultural demands.

Microsoft also has brand equity that makes it a threat to its competitors. There is brand awareness for Microsoft that comes with its long-time existence. Reports show that 80% of the world’s population is aware of Microsoft. Through the campaigns, it also gained awareness; besides most people use a computer that supports the Microsoft operating system. Every computer needs an operating system; thus, Microsoft has been installed in most. Also, they have made an effort to take part in the charity activities whereby they donate computers through which the uses also get to know and try the operating system. As stated earlier technology has taken over the world; thus, most people use computers in studies and other activities. Every household has at least one computer which uses the Microsoft operating system. Their collaboration with companies such as Skype, Gmail and yahoo has made it famous. The company also makes efforts to build its brand, which has made it gain popularity.

Microsoft has also earned itself loyal customers as its products are affordable and can be used throughout the world. They have attained the loyal customers through their offers which allow people to use the products for a period of time before subscribing. Also, they have included free games on their operating system that makes it appealing to the gamers. For instance, there is a free solitaire game that players can use without paying for it. They also have a constant struggle to change, update and bring out better brands to its customers. Through their updated and unique products, they retain the customers and win over more.

Reports and research bring out that Microsoft has attained a cool age image for people that lie within the age of eighteen and twenty-nine. This has been achieved through the innovation of the product called surface. Also, there is the use of a woman-ish image that makes the brand attractive. The games produced by the company are linked to women, which makes them appealing to the male players. Moreover, the colours used by the company are attractive to the users. The company mostly uses colours such as blue, yellow, red, green and other beautiful colours thus making it impressive.

Microsoft has developed a robust technological structure during its time of existence. Its name is a significant asset as it influences most people. The brand has shown strength in its value as there is a great reverence for the same. The company’s logo also goes hand in hand with its reputation as it is well known all around the world. There is also a strong association that the company has with brands that give it a reliable back up, such as skype. Working with these brands helps Microsoft get a better market and reputation.

Forecast

The future of Microsoft company is also a way that is used as a form of marketing strategy. They have a new fluid framework develop that was aimed at building shared and services that promote interactions and several applications on their website. The fluid-structure also works by co-authoring on the website at high speed that is yet to be achieved. The company is also working with many people with an aim to co-operate in office and the whiteboard app. Through these plans, there will be a benefit to the company and the gamers and other users. There is also the possibility for content to be componentized and use it on different applications.

Microsoft also uses digital assistants such as Cortana help in the translation of text and get content from the website. The same assistant will also work in suggesting edits and performing other tasks. There is the excellent opportunity for the company to grow because the company is also making the latter available to developers and will be integrated into the applications such as word, Microsoft teams, outlook and a wide range of products. This framework was released at the end of 2019.

There is an excellent potential for the product to be a great source of revenue for the company as it has just been released. There was a demonstration for the fluid framework, which included the live translation for words. There was also a demonstration of the latter working in various websites such as chrome, edge, and firefox, which indicates wide support of the product. Therefore, through this product, the company will make significant steps towards its desired growth.

Also, there is hope in office 365 owned by Microsoft. The latter serves as a high backbone for the company and is much bigger than anything achieved by Microsoft. It has helped in catapulting the stock of the latter just as it was stated, “the growth opportunity for what is Office 365 is a lot bigger than anything we’ve achieved, even with our high penetration in the client-server world.” this statement shows that there is a lot of trust and hope in the product. Looking into the assets owned by Microsoft, there is a bright future for the latter. The statement mentioned earlier was by Nadella a worker within the company.

Besides cloud also stands to hold and secure the future of Microsoft as it is named the 800-pound gorilla in the cloud computing room which is identified as the Amazon.com, Inc. comparing the Amazon’s cloud computing room to the Microsoft’s; Microsoft indicates a high rate of expansion and growth than Amazon. Reports indicate a 56% growth rate of Microsoft’s cloud space. There enormous growth of Microsoft’s cloud as the medical health care also gets the opportunity to use the same for their services. The medical sector is buying the cloud sector at a fast rate; hence, a big market is awaiting Microsoft.

Electronic Arts also has a bright future that it has planned for itself. There is a plan by EA to focus on the transformative technology such as AI that will help in building project Atlas which eventually strengthens the gaming platform. The company plans to build a cloud platform that helps in delivering the best gaming experiences in the current world. The company plans on working with the frostbite game engine and services that work by online matchmaking and having the social side experience. Through the latter people can play the games from any point and whichever place they are at. As quoted, Ken Moss the chief technology officer at Electronic Arts; “We’ve been developing software that utilises the cloud to remotely process and stream blockbuster, multiplayer HD games with the lowest possible latency, and also to unlock even more possibilities for dynamic social and cross-platform play.” Therefore this means that there will be no limit between the traditional game engine and the games which will turn them into a splendid cloud-powered experience.

Moreover, there is the use of the AI smarts, which means artificial intelligence. Through this, there will be the achievement of the big dream, as mentioned by Moss. When there is a developer crafting the game, there will also be a team working on the distribution of the resources. Eventually, the company will bring out a seamless project atlas and the developer will create a real-life game which has breathing game experience, bells, whistles and real-life game experience altogether. Workers at EA are all working at achieving this gaming experience. Through this kind of a game and project, the company will give the players extraordinary experience hence opening up the market base. Thus through the Atlas project, EA has a significant opportunity to blow out the market.

Conclusion

Companies in the electronic arts such as EA and Microsoft have come up with strategies that aid in the marketing and promotion of their products and services. These two companies have ensured that to use strategies such as having specific content for the clients. Having explicit content aims at targeting the client’s personal needs. Distribution is also a means they use to reach out to most of the people around the world. Offers and discounts have also been used by the companies to reach the people as people want things at a lower price; hence they capture a more significant number of people through the latter. Besides, these companies have to remain innovative and segment their website to attain the desired market.

Moreover, their VRIO resources have been their big help, such as workers and financial support. Over time, the companies, have gained brand equity through their loyal customers and creating awareness. Therefore through their financial resources, the two have been able to secure a future through the use of cloud system. Cloud will be a source of market for them in different ways in the future.

References

Pride William, M., & Ferrell, O. C. (2014). Marketing 2014. Mexico: Cengage Learnig.

Hinterhuber, A., & Liozu, S. M. (2017). Is innovation in pricing your next source of competitive advantage? 1. In Innovation in Pricing (pp. 11-27). Routledge.

Strandby, M. W., Szatkowski, M. K., Petersen, J. L., Storebjerg, A., Dindler, C., & Ryan, T. P. (2016, October). URBAN FIFA: Augmenting Social Sports with Video Game Elements. In Proceedings of the 9th Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (p. 85). AC