practice+task+answer


 * 1.** **Introduction**

This report was requested by Gary Tsang, Marketing Manager of H&F Electronics. It concerns the performance of our MP3 players in the market, especially when compared with that of iGADGET MP3 players. The aim of this report is to discover the reasons why H&F MP3 players perform worse than iGADGET MP3 players.

In the report, I present findings which attempt to explain the low performance of H&F MP3 players. Following the findings, brief conclusions are drawn and a number of recommendations are made as to how the performance might be improved.


 * 2.** **Method**

Data for the report were gathered from two sources. A sample of 500 H&F and iGADGET users respectively were surveyed about their satisfaction levels concerning 6 aspects of the respective MP3 players in the summer of 2009. The market share of the two products has also been calculated from September 2008 until August of this year.


 * 3.** **Findings**

Attachment 1 shows that in 4 of the 6 aspects, H&F MPS receives lower satisfaction levels than iGADGET MPS players. While sound quality and battery life generally are found to be satisfactory, in terms of design, headphone quality and battery life, the H&F users are far less satisfied than their iGADGET counterparts. Overall satisfaction is also slightly lower.
 * 3.1** **Overview**

Less than half of H&F users are satisfied with the design of our MP3 player compared to nine out of ten iGADGET users. This is probably due to the age of our model. The iGADGET MP3 player was only launched 12 months ago while our MP3 is already 3 years old. In recent years design preferences have changed a great deal, and it seems that our MP3 player is now seen as out dated by many consumers, while the iGADGET one is seen as modern and slick.
 * 3.2** **Design**

In terms of functions, the H&F player also receives lower satisfaction ratings (below half) than its iGADGET counterpart (above half). The likely reason for this is the different methods for transferring music files between the two players. While iGADGET uses a click and drop method, H&F requires software to be installed on the user’s computer.
 * 3.3** **Functions**

Regarding headphone quality, less than a third of H&F users express satisfaction although IGADGET users are also not very content. Both models use parts from Vietnam manufacturers and the styling is quite old fashioned, so this might lead to the low ratings that they receive.
 * 3.4 Headphone Quality**

Attachment 2 illustrates the market share of H&F and iGADGET MP3 players over the last year. It can be seen from the chart that while iGADGET players have seen a slight growth in sales, from 56% in September 2008 to 63% in August 2009, H&F players have seen a noticeable drop in market share, from 23% last year to only 13% in August of this year. The gap between the market share of the two companies has also increased dramatically, from around 25% a year ago to 50% last month. Besides the reasons mentioned in 3.2, 3.3 and 3.4, an additional cause could be the use of Felix Chan as our celebrity spokesman during the last three years. Research has shown that Mr Chan is no longer popular with young adults who are our main market. It should also be noted that iGADGET use the pop stars TWINS to promote their products.
 * 3.5 Market Share**


 * 4.** **Conclusion**


 * 4.1** The findings clearly indicate the main sources of dissatisfaction for H&F MP3 players are the poor design, the lack of easy transfer of music files between the player and the user’s computer, and the headphone quality.


 * 4.2** The results of the survey also indicate quite clearly that the low market share of H&F MP3 players is getting more serious. The gap between H&F and iGADGET is increasing.


 * 4.3** It can be concluded that in order to increase the market share of our MP3 players, we should take some immediate measures to improve the design, functions and headphone quality of our MP3 players, and consider changing our spokesperson.


 * 5.** **Recommendations**

After considering the findings, the following recommendations are made.

comparison to other models, it is recommended that our player is completely redesigned to take account of the changing fashions of the market place.
 * 5.1** Given that users found the design of the H&F player out of date and poor in

our MP3player, it is suggested that more advanced technology be incorporated into future models to improve their user friendliness.
 * 5.2** In the light of the low satisfaction that users found with the functionality of

5.3 Since users find the headphone quality to be quite low, I believe that technologically advanced headphones should be sold as optional extras with our MP3players. These headphones could use the latest Bluetooth technology as well as the most recent sound muffling techniques.

to other players on the market, and a likely cause being the spokesperson we use, perhaps we could consider using a younger celebrity who is more popular with the younger generation.
 * 5.4** As a result of the declining market share of the H&F player when compared