1. Bose is one of the best-known names in the audio equipment world. Bose loudspeakers are the largest sellers in both the United States and throughout the world Bose was founded in 1964 by Amar Bose, a professor of electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Amar Bose ignored existing technologies and started entirely from scratch. Bose started a system of research and worked around certain core principles that have guided the philosophy of the company. The firm has three main product lines: retail, automotive supply, and professional systems. The firm is using an innovation/ differentiation strategy. They produce high-end products that use their uniqueness in the market to attract customers interested in the latest in technology and willing to pay the premium to have it. "Through technology and innovation, Bose aims to provide unique products to the marketplace." The company is committed to create products that combine high technology with simplicity and small size, manufacturing sound systems that are easy to use and accessible to all consumers. co nsumers. The focus on innovation is found not only in Bose's products, but the mentality is present throughout the whole company. The professional market serves customers requiring specialized equipment. Customers in this group are typically buildings, stadiums, airports, orchestras, bands, and houses of worship. Bose also has some smaller product lines such as noise reduction headsets for military and aviation needs, a joint venture with PictureTel Corporation (incorporating Bose speaker systems into video conferencing systems), and a joint venture with Gulfstream Aerospace (installing Bose music systems in custom corporate jets). Bose has a presence in almost every country in the world. In comparison to larger companies such as Sony, Bose has a proportionately wider market. They have the same broad distribution but with a smaller firm. Bose manages most of the subsidiaries that distribute its products outside the US. There are some outside distribution agents that are used, especially in areas with small sales volumes, but as much as possible the company tries to keep all aspects of the products within the firm. For instance, Bose owns the distribution throughout Canada and Japan, but uses agents in many South American and Asian countries. Bose believes that audio products exist to provide music for everyone, everywhere--that music, not equipment, is the ultimate benefit. The Bose goal is to create products that combine high technology with simplicity and small size, to create the best possible sound systems that are easy to use and accessible to all consumers. From the beginning, Bose directed all profits back into research and development, avowing a greater interest in producing excellent speakers than in money, and keeping his company privately held, and therefore not responsible to stockholders. Amar Bose and company officials also stressed the importance of creativity at the company.
In Operations magazine, for example, Greenblatt stated 'our challenge is to prod people into being innovative and using their creativity to do something that's better. In the long run, this is the source of sustainable advantage over our competition.'
2. I will say that Amar Bose’s approach entrepreneurial marketing strategy in his firm. Bose Corporation arose in part from Amar Bose's dissatisfaction when he attempted to buy speakers for his home stereo system in 1956. As an engineer, he had expected that laboratory measurements would indicate sound quality. To his dismay, however, he realized that measured sound and perceived sound differed. Amar Bose directed his research efforts into psychoacoustics, the study of sound as humans perceive it, and psychophysics, the study of the relationship between measurement and perception. His research led to numerous patents and the creation of Bose Corporation in 1964 to develop and market products using those patents. Bose produced its first 901 direct/reflecting loudspeaker in 1968, and its first customers were secured through contracts with the military and NASA. The 901 was based on Bose's earlier research, which indicated that in excess of 80 percent of what audiences heard at a concert, for example, was reflected sound, sound bouncing off walls, floors, and ceilings apparently contributed to the quality of the listening experience. Bose determined that his disappointment in speakers then on the market resulted from the fact that speakers only directed sound straight forward. To achieve a better spatial distribution of sound, therefore, Bose developed the 901, which aimed eight of the nine transducers in the speaker to the rear of the speaker where the sound could bounce before it reached the listener. The 901 employed an active equalizer to allow the speaker to reproduce the audio spectrum. Since its introduction in 1968, the 901 speaker series underwent several revisions in which sound quality was improved and the speakers were made suitable for the digital age. Bose also applied the direct/reflecting concept to lower priced speakers i n the company line and began marketing speakers to the general public for use in home stereo systems.
3. i)
Michael Porter defines strategy as the offensive or defensive position taken by a company to position itself within an industry and create a superior return on investment for the firm
Porter
Cost leadership • minimize costs subject to quality, service requirements Differentiation •
product/ service uniqueness Focus
•
focus on a particular market segment
ii)
Treacy and Wiersema, on the other hand, discuss strategy as a means to create customer value, which they have defined as the sum of benefits received minus the costs incurred by the customer in acquiring a product or service
Treacv and Wiersema
Operational excellence • Low-price, quality, hassle-free products and services Product leadership • offer the latest product innovations Customer intimacy •
focus on a particular customer
These definitions all point out that strategy is a reaction to the environment, determining the position and course of action the company will take to attain its goals. Bose has big reputation when it comes to producing good quality audio devices and their marketing strategies too are quite clever. Building on core product values, loyalty programs offer additional benefits to c ustomers, and tie them more closely to the brand and product. Bose think it worthwhile, however, to ask what other strategic approaches can also improve post-sale perceptions. For example, the product itself could improve —since the Lifestyle system is software-driven, upgrades could add new features, even after the product is already in use. Or, the product features could be increased pre-sale. Bose also are interested in exploring the relationship of pre-sale promises: what expectations are set in the mind of the Bose customer as they are shown the features of the Lifestyle system? If expectations are higher than the product can reasonably fulfill, then a loyalty program is placed in the awkward position of trying to compensate for these unmet expectations. Ideally, a combination of strategies would work in harmony to ensure that customers are continually delighted with their purchase, finding valuable experiences built on a solid core of product performance.
4. Bose is the technology leader in acoustic science. Over the years, the company has acquired strong technical expertise in acoustics and speaker technology, which has enabled it to significantly reduce the size of, and improve the sound quality of standard speaker systems. Starting with 901 Direct/Reflecting speakers which reflected 89% of the sound off walls, similar to a live concert, in 1968, the company introduced several innovative products over the following years that established it as a clear leader in acoustics science. Some of its breakthrough technologies include Acoustic Wave guide speaker technology, Acoustimass speaker technology and acoustic noise canceling headphone technology. Recently, the company launched Companion 5 system, Bose on-ear headphones and L1 Model II.
Technology leadership has enabled the company to build a strong brand image in the marketplace. It also helped in establishing Bose as a market leader in high end audio systems market. Bose has a strong market position in home theatre systems segemnt. Its Acoustimass range of speakers and speaker systems are widely recognized as one of the best in the world. The company’s home theatre systems have the distinct advantage of larger and better quality output and smaller size, relative to competing products. Inherent product advantages have boosted demand for the company’s Acoustimass and other surround sound systems. Home theatre systems are one of the fastest growing segments in the consumer electronics market. Leading market position in a fastgrowing segment strengthens the competitive position of the company. Bose is facing increasing competition in its market segments. The company’s primary competitors in the premium audio systems market include specialists such as Bang & JBL and Cambridge SoundWorks. In the automotive audio systems, the company competes with the likes of Blaupunkt and Pioneer. In recent years, the company is also facing increasing competition from mass market consumer electronics companies such as Sony and Samsung. Intense competition threatens to erode the company’s margins and reduce its market share. Bose's protection of market share through free trial, promotions, and sampling lead to competition in the market thus led him to win more customers to his company. Expansion of market share is another marketing strategy that matches with Bose's competitive position in an industry. Bose could only compete with other competitors in the market through determining sales on a value basis or on a nut basis. Market shares reflect changes in the market size or changes in economic conditions hence, the strategy matches in this position. 5. Bose has grown with a great pace throughout the globe and great customer centric approach company. The essence of a customer centric company is the capability to treat customers individually and even uniquely, based on customer’s preference . they should make products according to their customers’ will. You can attract a customer once with a low price. But if that product or service doesn’t meet expectations, isn’t supported, or disappoints in any way, customers can, and will, move to a competitor faster than the amount of time they’re on hold waiting for a customer support representative. Bose really supports its products by honoring the warranty without question. It’s nice to know the investment is protected. Bose is a customer centric-company because of his company's unique philosophy. His attempt to outdo the competition by differentiating product lines with features and attributes that other companies do not have is a way of creating a positive consumer experience at the sale point. His keen interest in research and product innovation and other unique corporate market strategy philosophies makes him in a position of being a customercentric.
6. Bose Corporation has been successful as a private company, it could face problems in funding its growth owing to its ownership status. The company does not have the kind of access to financial resources that public companies have. Bose Corporation competes against public companies such as Sony, Yamaha, and Sharp which have a clear advantage in terms of raising capital. Private ownership puts the company at a competitive disadvantage. When Amar Bose leaves the company, many things will change because Bose is a mysterious, elusive, and an obsessive philosopher. It will be difficult for those who will remain to run the company since his ideological skills is unchallengeable, and no one can compete with him. The company may either lead to disclosure or operate at a high cost. It will also not outdo other companies in the competitive market. He is a man who has things that are the company's secrets thus making his company different from others. His tremendous research on products makes his company different from others. If incase he moves out of the company then the company will no longer operate the same as it used to do.
