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Google Inc. is an American multinational company that provides Internet-related services and products. Larry Page and Sergey Brin founded Google Inc. through their research project while studying at Stanford University. Page and Brin own 16% of the company, and this is an indication of their high level of shareholding in the global company. In September 1998, Google was incorporated as a privately held company, and its Initial Public Offering (IPO) followed in 2004. It is worth noting that Google’s mission statement reads, “To organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” The mission guides the company in its operations all over the globe. The company moved to its current headquarters in Mountain View, California, in 2006.
Hopkins (2008) reiterates that the product mix at Google Inc. is categorized into three vital classes. These categories include Advertising solutions, Business solutions, and Google Store. In the Advertising solutions, the company offers Google’s AdWords. In line with Google’s AdWords, the company offers text-based ads that match the search on the site of the user, and customers pay the company each time the users click on their site. In Business solutions, the company offers a Search Appliance to companies that need to search problems affecting their employees in terms of intranet accessibility. Google Store is associated with selling tangible items such as such as notebooks, bags, caps and many other things that can bear the company’s name. The width of Google’s product mix is three as it has three products mixes. The product mix length is three because of the different types of product lines and three types of product mixes the company sells. Notably, the company aims at adding products such as Office Suite and video products to the Business solutions mix. The company has also added mobile products to its product mix. Decisions concerning these additions arrived at after significant consultations among members of the management. The marketing department conducted an extensive market research that indicated that the company has the potential to earn more revenues because of the existence of potential customers to the new products.
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Additions to the product mix in this are beneficial to the company in two significant ways. First, additions would boost the level of product diversification at the company. Google Inc. would not be limited to its commonly known role of providing effective Internet searches for individuals. The addition of products such as Office Suite to the product mix would boost the diversity of products that the company can offer to its large number of consumers hence providing a high level of satisfaction. Diversity would play a vital role in creating customer loyalty to the company, as they would be able to satisfy all their diverse needs in line with the diverse products offered at Google. Second and last, additions of new products into the product mix would be beneficial, as it would increase the levels of revenues generated at the company. A well-organized and large product mix would automatically serve a large number of customers in different parts of the globe. According to Ostrow (2007), the company would be in a better position to outcompete other companies because it is deemed to have a larger base of loyal customers. This implies that the addition of mobile products, Office Suite and video products would boost its revenues to a significant level. Therefore, the company should move on with its plan of adding these products and ensuring consumers are aware of their existence within the company hence boosting overall revenues.
The improvement of the product mix through innovations would boost the customer’s loyalty of existing customers and would be a motivation to other customers to be a part of the company and build their loyalty. This would have a positive effect on the company, because it would boost the revenues earned from the improved product mix as it attracts a large number of newer customers.
Eliminating products from the product mix bears both positive and negative results for Google Inc. The elimination of some products from the product mix will reduce costs associated with advertising hence boosting revenues. On the other hand, loyal customers would be frustrated with the elimination of some products in the product mix and would switch to other providers hence affecting the future performance of the company in terms of profitability.
The chosen product mix is the Business solutions product mix. It is worth noting that the Business solutions product mix is made up of products that offer companies a Search Store that helps them solve problems relating to intranet accessibility. New products such as Office Suite and video products would also be placed under this mix. The placement of products under this product mix was reached after effective decisions concerning the relationship of the products were made. Categorization was based on the target market for these products, and they were deemed to serve businesses better as shown below.
Mix: Business Solutions Product Mix
Products: Search Store------------------Office Suite----------------------Video Products
Key Clients: Businesses and Companies
The product life cycle of the Business solutions product mix starts from the introduction of products into the market. At the introduction stage, products in this mix experience lower sales, and the business makes more losses compared to profits as products are popularized to consumers. The second stage for this product mix is the growth stage where customers start appreciating it gradually and ensuring they purchase and taste its quality. Competitors would automatically try to copy the features of the new product mix to avert intense competition. Another significant stage of the Business solutions product mix is the maturity stage. Hopkins (2008) affirms that the maturity stage is characterized by sales slowing down, as the product would have achieved its goals in the market. The level of competition also intensifies at this stage as other companies also present better products. The last stage could be the decline stage. This implies that the other companies such as Microsoft would have innovated better products hence pushing the Business solutions product mix out of the market. Continuous innovations and research on the product would be a vital strategy to ensure that the life cycle is extended. The strategy would involve analyzing the new additions that competitors include in their products hence making them more appealing. This would then be cancelled through significant innovations to make the existing product more attractive in the market and redeem its popularity.
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Market segmentation at Google depends on the nature of population composition. Ostrow (2007) confirms that the key market segment for Google product lines is the Sawy Student. The Sawy Student segmentation is based on the youth especially because of the view that innovations start with them. This segment is made up of well-educated individuals in society both in the middle class and in the upper class. It aims at providing solutions for faster Internet searches and faster accessibility to the required information among these individuals. The business community is also part of this segment, which would contribute to even more revenues for Google Inc. The key target markets include the video market, Office Suite, and Social Networking. The new markets are the key targets of the Company, as it looks forward to increasing its profitability and taking over the market.