Product Proposal: Vibra Sound System
Introduction
A product proposal is a sales tool used in pitching an idea of a product for funding, marketing and other formal business processes. In the current digital age, rapid advancements in technology are critical components in the improvement of human experiences. However, the high substitution levels in replacement of devices from mobile, computer and audio player technologies develop as one of the ways of environmental pollution. Vibra Sound System is a new product in the earphone and headphone industry with a high compatibility capacity with all audio devices. The marketing tag line for the product is “Plug. Connect. Boom,” and seeks to address the disposal of devices within the continually changing technological advancements. Vibra Sound System is a product package consisting of both hardware and software designed to reduce environmental degradation from the disposal of outdated technology devices. This document develops a proposal for a new product in the market, aiming at engagement with the clients for its adoption in the market and to boost sales.
Product Background
The global earphone and headphones industry is on a constant growth with a compound annual growth rate of 5.9% and a market size valued at $10.52 billion in 2018 (Grand View Research, 2019). The industry has witnessed significant technological advancements over the past decade, coupled with the growth of the music industry and shifts in consumer preference. The major trend in the market is the development of smart headphone whose operations stretch beyond the audio playing components but also functions in fitness, personal assistants and heart rate tracking. While such technologies present efficiency and multifunctional devices, the element of e-waste has emerged due to high substitutions of one technological electronic to another. According to Ahmed (2016), the increasing rate of throwing away digital devices as more effective and valuable devices emerge in the market presents a huge global cost on both the consumers and the environment. Technology advancements are critical in ensuring the efficiency and value of the products, but such growth may be unsustainable both financially and ecologically.
The subject of electronic devices disposal also creates another issue of concern on the safety and security of the users. In the modern digital age, consumer data is very vital due to functions that are encoded in the daily devices we use from mobile phones, computers, cameras, music players and other personal and home electronic devices. According to a 2019 Security Tip (ST18-005) release by the US Department of Homeland security, poor disposal of devices that store and contain digital characters affect the cybersecurity of the users who become easy targets for hackers and cybercrime activities (NCAS, 2019). The federal agency thus advised on the need for proper and safe disposal of such devices nearing the end of their useful life through donations or recycling process established across the country. One of the major causes for high e-waste disposal is shifts in material compatibility, and the challenges extend into the creation of global shortages for resourceful mineral resources such as metals whose poor disposal could also create human health risk factors (Zeng et al., 2017). There’s a huge need for innovative e-waste management systems, and the Vibra Sound System product seeks to address these elements through an expansion of device compatibility and production recycling. 80% of the product materials are sourced from recycled raw materials through partnerships with e-waste recycling centers and thus adopts a green production strategy as the core objective of the company.
Product Description
Vibra Sound System develops as an innovative product designed to meet the current market needs, ensure diversified use and promote environmental protection and sustainable technological growth. The initial team of four entrepreneurs designed the product based on their vast experience and expertise in the technology, engineering and business fields. While the current age of smart headphones has replaced the initial sound technologies such as audiovisual (AV) and Bluetooth audio devices, several sections of the market still own the older devices that are incompatible to the new technology. Vibra Sound System appears in the market as a three devices package consisting of the three major types of sound devices in AV, Bluetooth and smart technologies. The smart software is designed for compatibility across all the major operating systems of both the computing and mobile phone technologies with an option for the upgrade in the future.
The device is further equipped with a storage capacity for integration with modern personal assistant technologies such as Google Assistant and Siri and its own system known as Vibra for personal activities such as fitness, personal calendars and health indicators such as heart rate tracking. The devices sound quality is enhanced by the Active Noise Cancellation technology aimed at elimination of background noises across the earbud, headphone and portable sound interface devices. In the future editions of the system’s software, the company seeks to engage with major streaming services to integrate these services remotely without connection to another electronic device.
Market Forces
Technology is expanding across every market and integrating to define the forces affecting the performance of many products in the market. For a product like Vibra Sound System penetrating into a widely competitive market, insights on pertinent market forces are crucial in developing marketing, sales and the overall organizational strategies. Currently, the technology industry is at a transformational phase from digital to augmented reality in the age of artificial intelligence. Thus element has created competition among the top tech companies and giant tech nations, making the government a critical force in the market. Within this perspective and the ever-rising security and safety threats in both online and physical environments, many companies have established themselves in the market due to their privacy policy. According to Savage (2019), the element of information privacy has evolved as a significant market force in the consumption of digital products amid concerns from both the public and governments. The performance of the Vibra Sound System is highly dependent on the company’s investments in research and development of measures to ensure security and safety of user information.
The earphone and headphone industry, on the other hand, is largely applied in fitness, gaming, virtual reality and music and entertainment consumption (Grand View Research, 2019). Growth in consumption of products within these four markets creates a positive implication in demand for the product as its primary market segment. Virtual reality market, for instance, has a compound annual growth rate of 14% and companies within the product’s market are equipping their products to meet the VR consumer needs (Grand View Research, 2019). Consumers of Music and general entertainment products are, however, the largest segment of the market and thus crucial in the marketing strategies of the product. The market also entails a serious difficulty in penetration due to established brand names and huge cost and installation complexity (Choi et al., 2016). In a 2016 research survey by Silva et al. (2016), the study established existence of spatial perceptions among the headphone users experience in choosing devices based on their auditory localization, a perspective incorporated in the product development and testing. The existent brand names with a huge market share such as Apple (Beats), Sony, JVC and Samsung (Harman) have a significant market share with Apple leading with 15.31% (The Market Watch, 2019), but an integrated system like Vibra Sound System would still make competitive marketing approaches and establish an efficient market share.
Benefits and Feasibility
Integration and Compatibility
The major objective in the development of the product is to expand the level of compatibility to other devices and integration with software technologies. The digital transformation is happening fast, and every year, new technological advancements create an element substitution leading to the disposal of outdated devices. According to Meng et al. (2018), there is a huge need for improvements in information management across different technologies, such as the integration of BIM and IoT technologies in the near future. Vibra Sound system is a product that not only addresses this issue but also challenges the need to address environmental sustainability in technological growth.
Diversification of Applications
Vibra Sound System is a product whose applicability extends to most of the modern devices through both the wired and wireless connectivity technologies. In this regard, the device can easily equip devices that lack most recent technologies to produce quality sounds which aren’t available in the outdated preexistent devices in the market. According to Kim et al. (2016), technological diversification is crucial in financial sustainability on both the micro and macroeconomic activities to ensure cost efficiency and lower costs of technology substitution. The product benefits the consumer by integrating devices to achieve the effectiveness of newer technology and thus feasible.
Efficiency through future system upgrades
The product’s software is designed to adjust and adapt to major technological changes that may occur in the future and thus can be updated both online and locally. Consumers buying the product will be able to make regular updates and thus enjoy all future improvements made to the device. The company is also invested in sustainability programs and includes a buyback option in the future for consumers of the product wishing to upgrade the hardware in a discounted exchange program. Consumer electronic wastes can be reduced through the extension of their lifespans and organizational programs to buy back products for recycling (Jackson, 2018). Through this approach, the company will ensure the efficiency of the product to the consumer while fulfilling the sustainability objective of its foundation.
Conclusion
Electronic waste is a huge threat to ecological and natural resources sustainability but also a key component in further technological advancements through recycling. The proposal involves a sound system gadget that will ensure a reduction in electronic waste through both recycling and integration of devices to function within the technological advancement spheres. The analysis further examines the industry within its growth perspectives and constantly changing technologic dynamics that make it suitable for the consumers in the market. Major constraints, however, are the high competition with established brands in the market and huge costs of sustainability. The company can, however, invest more in marketing due to reduced costs of resource sourcing and thus ensure feasibility and maximization of product’s benefits to the consumer.
References
Ahmed, S. (2016). The Global Cost of Electronic Waste. The Atlantic. Retrieved 19 April 2020, from https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/09/the-global-cost-of-electronic-waste/502019/.
Choi, J. W., Cho, B. J., & Shin, I. (2016). Toward the holographic reconstruction of sound fields using smart sound devices. IEEE MultiMedia, 23(3), 64-74.
Grand View Research. (2019). Earphones & Headphones Market Size | Industry Report, 2019-2025. Grandviewresearch.com. Retrieved 19 April 2020, from https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/earphone-and-headphone-market.
Jackson, G. (2018). Consumer Electronic Waste: Multiple-case Study of Environmental and Social Attitudes towards Recycling & Refurbishment (Doctoral dissertation, Northcentral University).
Kim, J., Lee, C. Y., & Cho, Y. (2016). Technological diversification, core-technology competence, and firm growth. Research Policy, 45(1), 113-124.
Meng, Y., Wu, N., Pang, H., & Yang, F. (2018, June). Study on Improving Engineering Information Management by Integrating BIM and Internet of Things+. In 2018 8th International Conference on Mechatronics, Computer and Education Informationization (MCEI 2018). Atlantis Press.
NCAS. (2019). Security Tip (ST18-005) Proper Disposal of Electronic Devices. Retrieved from https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/tips/ST18-005
Silva, C., Mouta, S., & Santos, J. (2016, September). Choosing audio devices on the basis of listeners’ spatial perception: A case study of Headphones vs in-Earphones. In 2016 IEEE 6th International Conference on Consumer Electronics-Berlin (ICCE-Berlin) (pp. 129-132). IEEE.
The Market Watch. (2019). Headphone Market 2019 – Business Size, Share, Opportunities, Future Trends, Top Key Players, Market Share and Global Analysis by Forecast to 2024. Retrieved from https://www.marketwatch.com/press-release/headphone-market-2019—business-size-share-opportunities-future-trends-top-key-players-market-share-and-global-analysis-by-forecast-to-2024-2019-11-08
Zeng, X., Yang, C., Chiang, J. F., & Li, J. (2017). Innovating e-waste management: From macroscopic to microscopic scales. Science of the Total Environment, 575, 1-5.