ConneCtor, a new hybrid product integrating features of a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) with a cellular phone is being examined for entry into the market. A joint venture, Netlink, between a major US wireless carrier, Conglomerate Inc., and a PC manufacturer, is underway to develop, produce and market this product. ConneCtor encompasses many features that were once only available on two separate devices, therefore opening up a large potential market.
Issue Statement
To position ConneCtor within a set target market, that is chosen from distinct segments. This will enable us to better satisfy customers' needs and wants, thus in turn generating a profit.
Performing a SWOT Analysis (Figure 1) will enable us to determine if ConneCtor has the potential to survive in any given market. The results were positive allowing us to continue our research. We now begin to examine the potential market clusters. We will identify the number of distinct segments present in the market. The data that is used in this analysis has been collected by Happy Valley Consultants and the customers surveyed have been screened to encompass individuals who have or would consider a PDA and individuals who spend time away from the office.
Analysis of Alternatives
We began by observing the different cluster combinations in order to find distinct groups which are easily identifiable. We found that 7 clusters did not allow us to differentiate between the segments and information was overlapping amongst the clusters. When we considered 4 clusters, the segments seemed to have distinguishable preferences over PDA features. However, after further analysis, clusters 1 and 4 were found to be very similar and contained overlaps. Individuals shared preferences for cell phone usage, email and ...