¶ … reposition product service a target market. Remember a product service chosen. 1. Discuss product terms repositioned target market demographics U. Repositioning of the compact disk to a new target market

Once the epitome of technological innovation, the compact discs are gradually decreasing in popularity. The previous assignment has shown how the volume sales of compact discs decrease, alongside with the actual locations selling music on compact discs. This trend is usually pegged to the popularization of the internet within the more developed societies, as well as the emergence of alternative technologies for music, such as iTunes or MP3s.

Still, despite its decreasing trend, the CD industry remains a billion dollar industry and emphasis is placed on revitalizing it. At the level of the current project, emphasis is placed on the identification of a new possibility to reposition the compact discs.

The CD in the new target market

As it has been mentioned throughout the previous assignment, the usage of the compact discs could remain increased among the more traditional consumers, who prefer the superior quality of the material support for music and other types of files. Additionally, the usage of the CDs could be increased in the less economically and technologically developed regions, where the access to internet is decreased and where the alternatives are limited.

Still, aside from these two opportunities, it is also possible to increase the popularity and usage of the compact discs within a specific target market in the United States, namely the commuters. According to the United States Census Bureau, in 2009, there were 138,592,000 people who commuted to their workplace. Most of these people commute by car, and they drive alone. The table below reveals the figures for the commuters in the U.S. In 2009:

Means of transportation to work

Total workers (thousands)

1.

Car, truck of van

Drove alone

Carpooled

119,393

105,476

13,917

2.

Public transportation

Bus or trolley bus

Streetcar or trolley car

Subway or elevated

Railroad

Ferryboat

6,922

3,673

89

2,372

37

3.

Taxicab

4.

Motorcycle

5.

Bicycle

6.

Walked

3,966

7.

Other means

1,176

8.

Worked at home

5,918

Source: The United States Census Bureau, 2011

As it can be observed from the table above, the large majority of the population commutes by car, and they do this by traveling alone. Also according to the U.S. Census data, most commuters spend up to 30 minutes on their way to work. Half an hour represents sufficient time for the drivers to want to listen to something. On occasions, these commuters would listen to the radio, in order to get real time information on the traffic, the weather or any other topics of interest. Still, on other occasions, the driving commuters would prefer to listen to their favorite songs and bands. And they could do this by purchasing more compact discs with their preferred music.

3. Research required

The repositioning of the compact discs within the new target market of commuters who drive to work is a rather difficult task, which could lead to both successes, as well as failures. In order to increase the chances of success in the repositioning of the CDs, it is useful and necessary to conduct additional research. At this level, research could be conducted in the following directions:

The media to which driving commuters listen to when in the car to and from work. This could include radio, and at this level, it is useful to know which radio stations are more popular among the various categories of commuters, but also CDs, MP3 players and others.

The music preferences of the driving commuters. At this level, it is important to know the musical preferences of the commuters in order to create compact discs that are popular with this target market and which would be purchased by these individuals. The driving commuters might be interested in songs that make them feel relaxed and enjoy themselves, rather than the newest songs released within the industry. At this level, it would be interesting to identify the musical preferences of the commuters, as a distinctive group of consumers.

The profile of the driving commuters and their habits while they commute. For instance, it is useful to know if they make stops along the way to and from work and what is the purpose of these stops. Additionally, it is important to know if they make car related stops on regular basis, such as if they fuel the cars at the same gas stations. This piece of information would be necessary to identify the sale points to stock with compact discs.

Methods to increasing adoption rates
Aside from conducting research to identify the behavioral traits of the driving commuters, the success of the CD repositioning strategy can also be better supported through the development and implementation of other specific methods. Some examples in this sense are revealed below:

The creation of CDs with the preferred musical choices of the driving commuters, rather than the newest and most popular songs. The tastes of the commuters might differ and might be marked by personal preferences

The creation and usage of a specific distribution network that best reaches the driving commuters. For instance, since the majority of the commuters use their own / or the company, cars, they need to take care of these vehicles. This means that occasionally, they will make stops to gas stations or stores specialized in automobile products and services. In such a context, it would be useful to make these locations sale points for the compact discs as they would reveal higher penetration levels within the selected target market (Lamb, Hair and McDaniel, 2007).

Finally, it would be necessary to develop and implement a marketing campaign that would promote the compact discs among the driving commuters. At this level, it would be necessary to create advertisements that directly appeal to the targeted individuals and capture their attention. Furthermore, it would be imperative to identify and use the marketing media which was most likely to reach the selected customers, such as the preferred radio stations (Raulerson, Malraison and Leboyer, 2009).

5. Adjacent offerings

In the effort to maximize the success of the CD repositioning strategy, a question is being posed relative to the possibility of attaching the CD to another component. In order for such a measure to succeed, it would be necessary for the added product or service to create additional benefits for the buyer (Sharma, 2009). Furthermore, given the traits of the driving commuters, it would be necessary for the added product or service to create benefits in the specific field of commuting. In this setting, the marketing campaign could be presented with two possibilities.

On the one hand, the effort to reposition the compact discs could see the attachment of small objects to the CDs. Some examples in this sense include lighters or air fresheners for the cars. In order to provide this additional service, it would be necessary for the CD distributors to sign seek the distributors of these small objects and sign contracts with them; the scope of these contracts would be that of shared retailing of the items, and terms would also be settled regarding the distribution of the sales revenues (Humphries, 2009).

On the other hand however, the CD itself could be perceived as a small size object, which could be attached and sold combined with other items. Some examples in this sense include truck organizers, high volume gas purchase, magazines and so on. Similar to the first possibility, this type of partnership also relies on collaborations and contractual terms and agreements between the parties.

6. Distribution problems and solutions

In the overall effort to reposition the compact discs within the selected target market of driving commuters, a crucial role is played by the distribution network. At this level nonetheless, several problems could occur. For once, the sales points at the selected locations could be spread out too far across the country and stocking them would raise tremendous logistics costs. This issue can however be resolved through the development of partnerships with distribution firms which have already developed scale economies and which can deliver distribution services in more cost and operationally effective manners.

Another issue which could be encountered in the distribution of the compact discs onto the new target market is represented by the development of the partnership with other retailers, for the shared retail of CDs and other products. At this level, difficulties could arise due to dissatisfactions on revenue distribution, packaging, promotions and so on. In order to address these issues, it would be useful for the parties to both assess these types of contracts within the industry and understand how they normally work. Additionally, the parties should negotiate and could even solicit the input of specialists in the area (Kunitzky, 2010).

7. Conclusions

In the face of rapidly evolving technologies, the popularity of the compact discs is decreasing; fewer CDs are sold each year and the label companies are forced to seek new ways to promote this type of material support. The previous assignment has suggested traditional buyers and buyers in developing regions, but the current one has focused on the repositioning of the compact discs in the United States, on the target market formed from driving commuters.

In order to increase the chances of success within the selected customer market, it is necessary to conduct additional research of several…