A deteriorating company/brand image & Firm’s product perceived as being relatively substandard

Acer. Its one of the cheapest computer brands you’ll ever find. The only reason to buy this product, if you do not know the companies history would be its price. With low price also comes the perception of low standards. When it comes to an important purchase such as a computer standards or quality is critical. Acer used to make computer chips for companies like IBM and HP. However, as I would later find out their computers are no up to par with the IBM (Laptop division is now Lenovo) or HP brand names. I bought an Acer laptop a couple of months back. I asked my self, what does price really say? If Acer made chips of IBM and HP why couldn’t they make computers just as good? With in a month the computer stopped working due to hardware problems. When I took a look at the brands of products Acer used inside their laptops, I was surprised at their low standards. I returned the Acer for an HP.
If Acer could replace low quality hardware, with high quality and heightened their prices a little I would have still bought the Acer. And also still be an Acer user. This also deteriorated the brand image of Acer in my mind. Acer has continued in the path of a deterioration brand image. After all if an Acer breaks why would you go for another Acer? As a marketing student I know that a low price doesn’t always mean low quality, but in this case it did. This company’s strategic choice to used low quality parts for low prices has made me never want to look at an Acer again.
Acer’s strategy to be to be the new kid on the block with the cheapest price has failed. It is not a means for continued growth. Computers are not bought only on price, quality is a big factor. It is important to satisfy a consumer’s heart and mind, not just their budget. A deteriorating company/brand image & Firm’s product perceived as being relatively substandard are Acer's problems.

Niche, Market Share and the Gov.

Niche dominance and Market Share, A Story of both

A Niche is a special area of a market the big firms fail to fill. A small firm comes into fill the niche, or as I like to call it “small hole” the big guys in the market over look. An example is when Amazon first came in to fill the need for customers to buy books online. At the time it was niche, the big players such as Barnes and Nobles thought was insignificant.

Another niche can be found in the Beer Industry. Called Craft Beer, these specialty type Beers were until recently overlooked by Millar, Anuhiser-Bush and Coors, the big three in beer. However in the face of lower demand for Regular Beer the big three have come in to buy and start their own Craft beer companies. The reason for this is for past few years Craft Beers have been the only part of the Beer Industry that has been growing. The Craft Beer Niche has dominated growth while regular beer was flat.

Now the big three, with the biggest market share also own Niche, Craft Beers with the highest growth.
-Blue Moon is owned by Coors
-Skip Jack Amber, Rolling Rock, Bare Knuckle Stout are owned by Anheuser- Busch
-Henry Weinhard’s, Milwaukee’s Best, Mickey’s, South-pair, Steel reserve are owned by Miller.

The firms with the biggest Market Share have dominated. The Big guys win. Again!


Government Protected

Government Protected = Incompetent

The worst way to run a business is for the government to intervene in it. The MTA, Amtrak, and Con-Edison are a few firms that come to mind. Remember the summer of 2006 in Queens. Customers were without electricity for weeks. Government Protection had given Con-Edison a relaxed corporate culture that did not know how to act in an emergency. In the 1980’s when AT&T became too big the Federal Government broke it up. In 2000 there was talk about breaking up Microsoft. However, Con-Edison is allowed to monopolize a whole industry in New York City. Same can be said about the MTA and Amtrek.