P4 – Marketing Research

Introduction

In this assessment there will be information containing PEST and SWOT analysis for
Sony Corporation. There will also be a PEST and SWOT analysis conducted for one
of Sony’s products which is the Sony Ericsson Satio mobile phone.

PEST Analysis for Sony Corporation

Political factors for Sony Corporation can be changed at any time. The
Government holds the power to change any policies and regulations which may
affect Sony at the time. The credit crunch and the recession may become
reduced, therefore resulting in better trades for Sony Corporation. However this
also means that the same has occurred for Sony’s competitors. This means that
Sony must develop ideas on how to stay ahead of its competitors. The laws
which can affect Sony Corporation would consist of new international policies.
Internationally the Government may change or increase trading restrictions which
would definitely change the way Sony works, because it needs to trade. The
Government also has the power to change minimum wage, tax, VAT etc. These
factors must be concentrated on so that Sony is prepared for any major global
changes. Also, minimum wage would also increase because reports indicate that
since 1999 it has increased from over three pounds to five.

Currently the state of our economy is not in a good position. From all the historic
recessions, we are currently reported to be in the worst one. The economic
growth has shrunk which means that the growth of the economy is negative. The
recession and the credit crunch may be deducted over the next year.
Economically, due to this many changes can occur such as the interest and
exchanges rates. Due to the recession being deducted in the near future,
exchange rates may also decrease, however steadily. Sony must be aware of
any trading restrictions the Government has made. Since Sony is an international
company the exchange rates can be different to whichever country they trade
with. If the exchange rates in different countries have changed, Sony would need

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to work out what prices are their products being sold at and whether it would be
worth it.

Socially, Sony Corporation would be predicted to do well. The company has

already gained a lot of reputation because of the quality products and services
they provide. Technology has been improved by a mass majority. Sony may even
have new competitors which may impact on them. Sony must ensure that they
stay ahead of technology. They must be able to create revolutionary equipment
for people because that’s what their company would rely on to stay alive.
Companies such as Microsoft and Apple would also do the same. People have
trends which Sony must learn so that they may create products which can relate
towards them. For example, many young adults tend to listen to music; therefore
Sony would create products which may allow people to listen to music anywhere
at any time. People will have different tastes of style, trends, activities etc. Sony
must also improve their work of ideas so that they can still please their
customers and that they have adapted with the ageing of the company.

Technological factors for Sony Corporation are very important to study. Sony
Corporation works around the use of technology every day. It depends on
technology so that it may provide efficient productivity of work internationally.
Sony would use upgraded and new technology to increase its productivity level
and to stay ahead of its competitors. Sony would need to use new technology to
conduct its research and development which would help the business create new
products using customer information and also by conducting market research.

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SWOT Analysis for Sony Corporation
Strengths
 Sony able to create high quality
products for its customers.
 History of products shows that
the business is very reputable.
 Engineers have learnt from the
past failures and so they can
produce and work better
 The company is very competitive
towards other companies.
 Sony is able to expand its markets
and work to produce various
products.
Opportunities
 The engineering department has
increased in size and so therefore
are working harder.
 Sony is known not to copy any of
its competitors and so more
reputation is gained
 The marketing department has
increased advertising techniques
in order to attract new customers
 Sony is trying to sell their high
quality products cheaper to attract
customers
 Sony Corporation may decide to
expand more overseas.
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Weaknesses
 Within the last few years Sony has
been making a loss with a few of
its products.
 Sales of all products are
seemingly starting to slow down.
 The company has no sense of
direction and is not being
managed properly.
 The functional departments within
the organisation are not
communicating with one another
and so productivity has
decreased.
Threats
 Sony Corporation has competitors
which are more powerful, such as
Microsoft.
 Recent reports show that most of
their products are forged and sold
as fakes, which means that some
of Sony’s reputation is decreased.
 Sony also lacks the direction of
strategy which means its
competitors could be doing better.
 Competitors achieving most of
Sony’s customers due to the fact
that their products are achieving
various market types.
SWOT Analysis for Sony’s Product – Playstation 3
Strengths
 The Playstation 3 is considered
to be a high quality product.
 As well as gaming it also allows
users to access the internet
and allow them to play video
and audio files.
 Many people are attracted to
the product due to its
predecessor’s reputation.
 The product is well known due
to its HD (high definition)
functionality.
Opportunities
 The PS3 system is capable of
being updated if the user
wishes.
 The PS3 system is the latest
and newest console.
 The console has a lot of
reputation due to its
predecessors.
 The console has many varieties
of storage options so people
can save or back up anything
on the console.
 The console can be bought in
bundle packs, for example with
two controllers and two games
or without.
The PEST analysis for Sony’s product is the same as the business.
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Weaknesses
 The cost of the product is
extremely higher than its
competitors.
 Most people were disappointed
because of the late release of
the product.
 The product uses Blu-Ray
format which means that the
games sold for the PS3 are
expensive.
 Sony has not made much profit
from selling the Playstation 3.
Threats
 The competition of the console
is being sold more such as the
Nintendo Wii and the Xbox 360.
 The Xbox 360 is known to have
better interface and upgrades
are more available.
 More people would prefer the
Xbox 360 and the Nintendo Wii
rather than the Playstation 3.
 M2 - Marketing Research

Introduction

This assessment will contain vital and essential information consisting of PEST and
SWOT analysis and the differences between them. The organisation that I have
chosen to use as an example is Sony Corporation. I will then choose which type of
marketing technique is better for Sony Corporation.

SWOT Analysis – Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages of SWOT Disadvantages of SWOT

 SWOT analysis is used to help
clarify and summarise the key
issues and opportunities facing a
business.
 SWOT analysis also helps the
business set its aims and
objectives.
 The Objectives would be helpful to
help maximise the businesses
strengths.
 This type of marketing technique
can also help the business
conduct new strategies.
 It would enable the management
department of an organisation to
focus on strengths and build on
opportunities.
 Can enable the business to spot
business opportunities and use
them fully.
 If the SWOT analysis was to be
effective, it must be conducted
regularly which can cost a lot of
time.
 It could also take a long time to
receive information of the
company to produce the SWOT
analysis.
 The SWOT analysis lacks detailed
structure and so therefore can
miss key elements.
 SWOT analysis is mainly made up
of lists.
 If the company keeps on
compiling lists then it will not
sufficiently concentrate on the
objectives.
 Businesses may overlook all the
weaknesses and concentrate on
strengths of the business from
SWOT lists.

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PEST Analysis – Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages of PEST Disadvantages of PEST

 It is simple to conduct a PEST
analysis.
 It would only cost the business
time to produce a PEST analysis.
 Provides an understanding of
wider business environment.
 Increases the development of
strategic objectives.
 It can raise awareness of threats
towards a project within the
company.
 Can help businesses to anticipate
its future difficulties.
 Can help businesses to avoid the
upcoming difficulties or minimise
the effects.
 Can help businesses find
opportunities and exploit them.
 PEST analysis would only be
effective towards a company if it
was conducted regularly.
 The PEST analysis needs
different reviews in order to view
different prospective.
 It will take time for the user to
access business information.
 It is usually produced as a list not
produced as a written report.
 The changes of society make it
difficult for business to anticipate
or conduct future decisions.
 The analysis can be based on
assumptions which can be false or
prove to be unfounded.
 PEST analysis only covers
external business environment.

How PEST can be Useful towards Sony

Sony Corporation would use these factors to monitor the external factors of the
business. PEST can be useful towards Sony Corporation because it can be used to
identify any new legislation, trading restrictions, VAT, tax laws, social trends,
technological improvements etc.

PEST can also be used as a marketing technique towards Sony business Sony
marketers would want to know how well the business is running. By using PEST
Sony marketers can develop new strategies to help develop the business overall.
They could do this by advertising new products or advertising the company and its

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components. The company is able to predict what their future business environment
will be using political, environmental, technological and social factors.

How SWOT can be Useful towards Sony

Sony Corporation can use SWOT analysis to monitor its Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities and Threats. Strengths can be useful towards Sony because it would
help them identify attributes which help them in achieving their objectives.
Weaknesses can be helpful towards Sony because it would be providing them with
information concerning attributes which are harmful towards achieving objectives.
Opportunities are external factors which can help the business achieve its objectives.
Threats are external factors which could do damage towards the business.

Using SWOT analysis at Sony Corporation can be very helpful as they would be
notified of both their strengths and weaknesses; however the company may only
concentrate on their strengths and try to improve them. This is because businesses
tend to overlook weaknesses of the business. SWOT analysis can be used to
identify Sony’s current business standing and also how far or behind it is from its
competitors. This would give Sony the incentive to work further towards reaching
their aims and objectives.

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