Casio Computer Company Ltd. was established in 1946 by Tadao Kashio. Casio is a Japan-based multinational company that deals with consumer electronics as well as commercial electronics. The headquarters of Casio is located at Shibuya, Tokyo. The company manufactures calculators, smartphones, cameras, electronic musical instruments, and watches. It was the first company to launch a compact electronic calculator. The company is also a pioneer in digital watches, electronic keyboards, and digital cameras. Over the years, the company grew impressively and currently has more than 12,000 employees (Casio, 2019). In 2017, the company generated revenue of 321.2 billion Japanese Yen (Casio, 2018). Casio is known for its innovation and creativity in electronic products its manufactures.
Following are the four dimensions of the Ansoff Matrix for Casio:
Market Penetration
Market penetration is the act of selling existing products in existing markets. Casio uses various strategies to penetrate its markets. The first strategy is to produce various product variants that are a slight modification of the existing products that can attract more customers based on the functions the products offer. The improved products help increase sales. The company offers product variety to ensure that can maintain or even enhance its market share. The variants are also priced differently to cater to the needs of different market segments. It also motivates its current customers to increase their use by trying different products and buying new products as a part of their consumer electronics inventory. The new features the products offer are marketed to encourage consumers to purchase new models once they are launched. During holidays and other times, price adjustments and discounts are offered on various Casio products to increase sales, especially smartphones, digital cameras, and watches are often used as gift items and marketing can help increase their sales during holidays.
Market Development
Casio develops its markets by promoting its existing products in new markets. One of the strategies that Casio uses is to export its products to new markets, such as new geographic regions, it was not already exporting to. The company also creates marketing plans for these regions to enhance sales after creating awareness. The products are packaged with manuals in local languages in addition to Japanese and English. The consumer requirements are studied for the market before launching different products in the market. For example, Casio sells various variants of scientific calculators that vary greatly in price. In developing nations, Casio works on marketing low-end or middle-range products that consumers in these markets can afford. The company also uses distribution channels that suit the market such as online sales, retail sales, or through distributors that can market its products (Paing, 2016). In each case, the sales increase and the profits go higher.
Product Development
For Casio, produce development refers to promoting new products in existing markets. This is done in various ways. The first strategy is to launch new products that are newer versions of earlier products. For example, new models of smartphones or digital cameras are regularly launched. The models are then aggressively marketed to promote their sales. Casio also improves existing products by offering variants that have improved functions. This is easier than creating new products. Each new product requires extensive research and development that consumes funds and time to create the product prototype. The prototype is then tested before it is marketed. Once the tests are successful, marketing campaigns are created that help promote the product. The products are marketed in different markets based on consumer needs. New products are the greatest source of revenue for the company.
Diversification
The launch of new products in new markets is diversification. Casio has already diversified in various ways. It has horizontally diversified by manufacturing products related to various industries, such as consumer electronics, smartphones, calculators, and so on. It can further expand this to enter other related industries. It can vertically backward diversify by manufacturing the components that go into the products it makes rather than procuring them from suppliers. This will require investment and planning but can be done. It can also diversify into unrelated industries, such as chemicals, automobiles, paper, sports, heavy machinery, and others. A successful brand name can help the company achieve success.
References
Casio, 2018. Annual Report 2017. [Online] Available at: https://world.casio.com/media/files/ir/annual/annual_2017.pdf [Accessed 02 Jan. 2020].
Casio, 2019. Employees. [Online] Available at: https://world.casio.com/ir/financial/employee/ [Accessed 02 Jan. 2020].
Paing, M.S., 2016. Presentation – Marketing Analysis of Casio ( G-Shock). [Online] Available at: https://www.slideshare.net/MinPaiz/presenatation-marketing-analysis-of-casio-gshock [Accessed 02 Jan. 2020].