Successful New Product Launch Of Amazon Alexa †Free Samples

Question: Discuss about the Successful New Product Launch Of Amazon Alexa. Answer: Introduction The objective of this report is to research and examine significant success factors of product launches in extant literatures. The success or failure of the product launches is dependent on the proper application of these factors. Thus, the feasibility of a new product in the preferred market requires an accurate analysis of the relevant and specific success factors (Cooper, 2013). Product Newness The link between the performance of a product and its critical launch success factors is affected by the level of a products newness. New products are always characterised by radical innovations which make consumers to develop perceived risks and the feeling of incompetency in the product use. Thus, there is the challenge of appreciating the benefits of the new product by the consumer more so when it is distinct from the existing products in the market (Kunz, Schmitt, and Meyer, 2011). Amazon Alexa is in its second generation has had several derivative versions of different prices as it continues to advance its music, smart-home and technological assistant features (Tang, 2017). There are over 25,000 Alexa Skills such as information access, playing games, brainstorming, working out, playing music, monitoring basic tasks, and linking with care providers and family (Warren, 2016). The product can also be integrated with most of the improvised technological home appliances. Amazon Alexa occupies 70% of the market share on the voice-regulated speakers with its competitors like Google having 23.8% share of the market (Brooke, 2017). The growing success of the Alexa product can be attributed to various factors such as the ability of Amazon Echo to be used as an alternative to smartphones, tablets and computers while at home or school (Powers, 2016; Sheppard, 2017). Competitive Analysis Amazon Alexa is a virtual personal assistant speaker which operates in the voice technology industry. The device uses the Open-System Approach which requires smart home organizations to write software code and give it to Amazon for evaluation without the need for any particular chip (Tang, 2017). For instance, LG has successfully integrated the Alexa embedded technology into its LG smart refrigerator which permits consumers to search for recipes, add products to the shopping cart or order them online (Barry, 2017). Mizak et al. (2017) opines that the industry is expected to overgrow due to the comfortability that the Smart appliances come with and the ability to integrate them with various devices like phones and Alexa thus making the device useful to all age brackets. For instance, the pilot analysis report by Mizak et al. (2017) shows that in 2017 the young between 25 and 34 years comprised of 26.3%, the millennials making up 33.5% of assistant, virtual users. Direct and Indirect competitors According to Lpez et al. (2017), the primary competitors of Amazon Alexa are the Google Assistant and Apples Siri each with specific needs that they meet. The Google Assistant responds to voice commands, permits continuous listening, and has a customizable appearance. It has options for streaming music via Google Play Music, Youtube Music, Spotify, and Tunelin. It has also partnered with various smart home companies such as Nest, Honeywell, and Philips Hue among others. It also allows multiple users such that each family member can train Google Home to recognize their voices and respond to them anytime after that (Lpez et al., 2017). Lpez et al. (2017) found out that Google Assistant has also incorporated the Smart Home controller features such as voice commands on lighting different bulbs in the house. It also has an integrated high-excursion speaker that produces quality, clear and powerful bass and it allows multiple pairing of Google Home Devices to listen to the same song in all the rooms in the house (Mizak et al., 2017). Apples Siri allows the control of music on HomePod using one's voice, just like the integration of the HomePod with Apple HomeKit. This procedure permits the software developers to design applications that integrate with smart home items. Siri enables users to access over 40 million songs via the HomePod. It also allows music streaming services, and it supports Bluetooth functionality (Hura, 2017). However, its integration into hardware of outside companies has not been made open like that of Alexa (Lpez et al., 2017). Industry Critical Success Factors The success of Amazon Alexa can be attributed to two main factors namely, location for retailing and its exceptionality for technology products. Amazon Company trades in various items on its website and in addition to that, they have improvised Alexa which helps one to order things online using voice commands. The highest sales of Alexa after its launch were from the purchases made at Amazon (Heires, 2017). This is an advantage to Amazon in that one can order items online using Amazon Alexa which is highly compatible with the hardware of most of the company partners (Larsson et al., 2017). Sands (2016) notes that Amazon Echo which utilizes Alexa is the most sold product of the Alexander Home appliances. The technology that has been adopted by Alexa has enabled easy integration with most of the smart home appliances such as refrigerators, bulbs, Uber, etc. thus increasing its success rate. Using voice command, Alexa can play music, offer responses, and provide news update, weather among others. Its technology enables it to provide over 15,000 skills courtesy of Alexa Skills Kit (ASK) (Jones, Benton, 2016). Amazon Alexa Overview Amazon Alexa is a portable, virtual assistant that answers voice commands and inquiries. It uses the speech and language patterns of the owner after learning them and is based on the cloud (Dizon, 2017). It comes incorporated in various devices namely Echo, Echo Tap, and Echo dot. It can accomplish multiple tasks through voice commands such as play music; provide the latest update on sports scores, weather, news, switch on bulbs, order for Uber, order for online items among others (Chung et al., 2017; Naheem, 2016). Amazon Alexa Unique Competitive Advantage The report by Mizak et al. (2017) asserts that the exceptional competitive advantage of Amazon Alexa has been attributed to its cloud connectivity. The success of Alexas allied devices like the Echo is, without doubt, impressive and the main reason for the Americans embracing it in their homes. This technology breakthrough has enabled the company to always improve the device every time. As opposed to previous technologies where the consumer appliances were inbuilt in the products, and thus further improvements were only possible in new products. For instance, the cloud capability has enabled software developers to make it possible to be used in cars, baby monitors, and in cameras (Huang, and Lin, 2017). The cloud capability, unlike Apple which has restricted Siri to specific companies, has enabled outside companies and developers to access Alexa and integrate it into their own devices thus improving its success rates (Hoy, 2018). Analysis of the Marketing Strategy of Amazon Alexa The marketing strategy of Amazon Alexa has seen the devices expand everywhere. The price of the device is relatively higher compared to that of its competitors. However, Amazon Alexa allied device, Echo, is still the most sold device because of its natural compatibility with several home appliances. Additionally, Alexa has been promoted using the open approach and its cloud connectivity, where, several outside companies have been invited to integrate Alexa into their products (Haase et al., n.d) as opposed to Apple which has restricted its Siri product. Thus the more the smart home appliances purchased, the more Alexa is sold out. Also, Amazon has used the location of retailing as a marketing strategy. For instance, Alexa is used mostly to order items online, and yet Amazon sells items online thus convincing one to use Alexa for making orders from Amazon. Amazon Alexa targets all age groups, where the young can use it for entertainment while the seniors can use it for functionality p urposes like lighting bulbs in different rooms (Baria, and Bhatt, 2017). Criteria for Success The measures of success of Amazon Alexa can be attributed to market share and customer satisfaction. Amazon is one of the leading electronic commerce companies and with the introduction of Alexa, its customers were already existing and thus quickly shifted to the purchase of Alexa and appliances integrated with it. The uniqueness of the Alexa technology has also lead to its success. The software is easily compatible with other smart home hardware, and the fact that Amazon has allowed free integration of Alexa technology with most of the manufacturers of the smart home appliances has increased the presence of a variety of smart home appliances in the market from which consumers can select thus increasing customer satisfaction (Purington et al., 2017). Summary of Key Success Criteria The critical success criteria for Amazon Alexa are its Open system approach and its cloud connectivity (Haase et al., n.d; Mizak et al., 2017). The success of Alexa as a voice-controlled speaker can be attributed its cloud connectivity. This technology enables the software developers to improve or add new ideas to the previous version of Alexa product. Thus, making it easy to advance Alexa products. This also allows developers of other partner hardware companies to access it and incorporate it to their home appliances like refrigerators, cars, etc. (Barry, 2017) thus, the more people want a variety of smart home appliances with enabled voice technology, Alexa remains to be on the lead. References Baria, S.H. and Bhatt, C., 2017, June. Personal and Intelligent Home Assistant to Control Devices Using Raspberry Pi. InInternational Journal of Computing and Digital Systems. University of Bahrain. Barry, K., 2017. Finally: A fridge with Alexa that orders groceries for you. [online] USA TODAY. Available at: https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/reviewedcom/2017/01/04/finally-a-fridge-with-alexa-that-orders-groceries-for-you/96155086/ Brooke, Z., 2017. REPORT: What Do Users Think of Digital Voice Assistants? 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