Beats by Dr. Dre

Beats by Dr. Dre is a premier electronic company founded by Dr. Dre. The company itself has established a name for itself as being an exclusive maker of audio equipment such as headphones, earphones and speakers, thereby allowing consumers to listen to the music a certain way and providing them an outlet to hear the minute details of the music. Beats by Dr. Dre guarantees a high-quality audio experience.

The purpose of the opportunities section of a SWOT analysis is to define how a company can further themselves in the industry that they are currently acting in. Companies use areas of opportunity to have higher growth in profit and to assess the possible business objectives in certain markets that they have not necessarily considered before. The marketing area of a corporation or company sits down and sets forth objectives to develop and establish opportunities for continued success. They prepare briefs and business plans that are systematic in nature to monitor the results of the implemented opportunities that are suggested in meetings. 

In looking at the many opportunities that are available to Beats by Dr. Dre in order to tap into the marketplace more than they have, an assessment is needed to better understand the company and its offerings. The mission of Beats by Dr. Dre is "to provide a superior end-to-end music experience, so fans feel the emotion and hear the music the way artists intended it to sound from the studio. This experience is the touch point of the consumer's life" (“Beats by Dr. Dre,” 2013). These opportunities include larger markets, new offerings, product development, partnerships, promotional opportunities, color changes and custom beats (headphones). Currently, Beats by Dre is relatively new being "founded in 2006 and the first line of Beats distributed in 2008," (Edwards, 2012) therefore the company can tap into a larger market by appealing to consumers who are not happy with other earphone, headphone and speaker manufacturers. Perhaps a way to do this in addition to the "already dominant hip twentysomething" (Edwards, 2012) is to appeal to the audio wizards who do not mind paying a significant amount of money for a pair of earphones, headphones or speakers. The company is starting to appeal more to "athletes, women, business professionals and others who [can be] persuaded to spend hundreds of dollars" (Edwards, 2012). The onus then is to have a smarter marketing approach than what has been done previously.  Of course, this will be easier with new offerings.

Beats by Dr. Dre to increase profitability must bring in a whole new line of products, perhaps for the home. This will allow the company, whose manufacturer is Monster Cable, to flex their marketing muscle and grab a hold of even more individuals to test out their products. By adding a line of home products (i.e. home theaters, home music players) Beats by Dr. Dre can compete with the likes of Apple and other audio equipment masters who have a noteworthy share of the marketplace. Beats may even consider shrinking the packaging the headphones come in. The box "that the kit comes in is quite large" (Evans, 2008). Perhaps considering a smaller set of headphones with the same quality and product will inevitably make for a better known brand, in spite of the notoriety that Dr. Dre already has. 

Beats could consider offering DVD players with the high quality sound that is at present being used by them. The standout aspect of Beats products is that they are not ordinary in terms of sound. The listener, in essence, is hearing music as it sounds in the studio. This would make their DVD players, hot commodities to the consumers who wanted to experience the true sense of a movie. Beats could market something similar to an IMAX sound with their DVD players. Beats may also want to consider the computer market. While Dell, HP and others currently have the market dominated with popularity, Beats by Dr. Dre could stand to get into the proverbial computer game. While an expansive venture to say the least, Beats by Dr. Dre, would have substantial growth. This may cost the company a lot of money at the onset, developing a new line of product, but in the long run it will pay off tremendously. Considering smaller sized headphones, falls in line with further product development. Another opportunity, product development, is in one way – product rebranding. 

Rebranding is a marketing strategy that relies on created anew an already established brand by tweaking a product in some form or fashion. Many companies may change the name, symbol, logo or design (“Rebranding,” 2013), but Beats does not have to necessarily do that to further their product development. Beats by Dr. Dre, at present, needs a rebranding of how best to continue to be successful, rather than changing or altering something that is working. Companies often make the mistake of changing a product or name significantly with costly results. 

Market research examination is a crucial point in rebranding and thus, in furthering the product development opportunity, Beats will have to analyze and assess their current consumer, which is the twentysomething. Asking questions such as what does he/she want in a headphone or earbud or speaker is an important question. The company has solved the question about why consumer needs their product, but they must continually ask why Beats among the competitors? Why would a consumer select Beats over a cheaper set that they can purchase at a retailer such as Best Buy or Target? What is in it for them? 

Currently, Beats has six distinctive types of headphones: which includes the executive, the pro, the studio, the mixr, the solo and the wireless; four styles of earphones: the tour, which provides big sound in a small package, powerbeats, specially engineered earbuds, heartbeats, earphones that are creative and dynamic and urbeats, that were invented to pulsate music; and three types of speakers; the beatbox, the beatbox portable, and the pill. Each of these products could use some rebranding. The audio gear ranges in prices that may be too much for the average consumer. Consumers have a myriad of options when it comes to the offerings that Beats provides but the question is what about the competition. How does Beats continue to distinguish itself from other brands that are more popular?

While Beats prides itself on being different from the competition, it is important in any rebranding or reimaging process to consider altering prices in addition to the typical style, design or logo. This ensures that all elements of the rebranding process have been implemented and that the marketing area has taken certain strengths and weaknesses into consideration in the process as well making sure that strengths are capitalized on.  Implementing a market segmentation strategy coupled with a rebranding of their current products with a new identity or marketing slogan could be the opportunity that Beats by Dr. Dre needs to take in new customers in the audio electronics arena.

Partnerships are another opportunity area for Beats by Dr. Dre. In 2011, a bold partnership was established to bring the sound experience of Beats by Dr. Dre into the Chrysler 300S. The "unique partnership brought music studio to consumers in cars not just by adding speakers, but working the music makers themselves to reproduce sound the way that it’s made in the studio" (“Chrysler Group and Beats By Dr. Dre Bring Recording Studio Sound To The Automobile For The First Time," 2011). This was not a traditional approach to audio sound in cars, yet Beats by Dr. Dre saw an avenue to capitalize on the popularity of having superb sound in one's car stereo and the popularity of Chrysler. Beats also acquired the online music service MOG in 2012 as MOG took consumers "back to the beginning of the music experience and completed the audio connection with Beats products" (Snider, 2012). This provided them with another partnership and lucrative opportunity to increase clientele. Beats by Dr. Dre can tie this in with their promotional opportunities. Consumers may be able to get free service on their computers for a few months if they purchase a certain type of headphone or earbud set from them. This will garner consumer loyalty as it is an effective way of gaining new patrons. HTC also started releasing Smartphone’s with Beats audio equalizers as of 2011. The first phone of theirs to have Beats was the Sensation XE, which was a special edition optimized with the full Beats sound profile.  If Beats by Dr. Dre continues to do these kinds of partnerships, they will be a dominant force in the audio equipment industry surpassing the competition.

One of the most considerable opportunities for any company is promotion. Currently, Beats' commercials have included music artists in them (i.e. Justin Bieber, Lil Wayne and Lady Gaga. It may be a viable addition for Beats to consider seeking out others who use their products to be incorporated into their commercials. While it probable that certain music artists may be bound to agreements with other brand names; it would be worthwhile for the marketing area of Beats to persuade others to market their product lines. In addition to this, Beats' current advertising is minimal other than television and in a few magazines when compared to other competitors. Beats may want to consider advertising in more magazines. While the current populace is predominantly reading magazines online, there are certain customers that can be persuaded who still read paper magazines. 

Beats has recently started promoting itself through the area of social media. Posting pictures to Instagram, having a Facebook and Twitter profile have allowed Beats by Dr. Dre to tap into the young generation and those who are social media savvy. Beats also has taken it upon themselves to also take advantage of the marketplace with a Tumblr profile, Google+ page and Pinterest board. Noted as being the Beats Army, these pages are riding the marketing wave by storm. Of course, there are always better and more proficient ways of engineering one's social media. 

With social media being relatively new within the last 10 years or so, Beats by Dr. Dre can take even more advantage by running promotional days or times when their headphones are marked down. Providing an incentive for consumers to purchase a product will bring them to the website to at least take a glance at what Beats has to offer. Beats may even want to consider expanding their stores. At present, Beats only has a single store based in New York, New York. What about other major cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and Miami? Or even overseas? The marketing area of Beats must take these into consideration if they want to further the Beats name and brand recognition. The competition is already present in the aforementioned major cities, so Beats by Dr. Dre must at least consider expanding their stores in one other major city. 

Beats by Dr. Dre may even consider creating a jingle for their product line. "Nothing can make a business stand out more than a jingle. It provides instant recognition of the product you are trying to persuade the market to purchase. Many businesses try to get instant recognition, but go about it in the wrong ways" ("Why Jingles are Important for Business Promotion," 2013). Jingles have been shown to be cost effective. In today's advertising industry, cutting costs as much as possible is the best way initially for a company to capitalize on the marketplace and ensure they are moving in the right direction. Jingles are the way to do this. It is an investment in the current consumer base as well as the potential consumer base. Some people may feel jingles are corny or unnecessary given the popularity Dr. Dre has, but there are many people who are not aware of all of the products that Beats offers and could be enticed to purchase a produce through this particular promotional path.

Color is a huge part of headphone selection. This is one of the notable aspects of Beats. Beats by Dr. Dre can seek out a better array of colors than just plain white or black headphones. The color spectrum is a vast one and with a dynamic approach to inventing new audio equipment that offers more colors for consumers, this will undoubtedly bring in more customers and open up more opportunities for profit. Beats has also become the audio electronics company to offer limited edition colors for certain holidays. As recently as St. Patrick's Day, Beats offered shamrock shaded audio gear that fit with the holiday. These kinds of promotions aid companies in growing and becoming more profitable than they are currently. This ties in, with furthering their product development opportunity. The last opportunity that can be taken on by Beats by Dr. Dre is what is known as custom beats. 

It is true that Beats has become more popular over the years since it was first launched in 2006, however, to enhance the audio journey; many recommend getting custom Beats by Dre. While the price is lofty, consumers can customize each and every aspect of the headphone. There are three types of models, Custom Beats by Dre Studio, Custom Beats by Dre Pro, and Custom Beats by Dre Solo (L, 2011).  Each of these headphones costs an extra $200 per headphone. Beats is "every customizable thanks to ColorWare and the number feature makes them difficult to pass up if you have extra cash to spend and want to take your swag to the next level. Customizing your beats is the only official way to do it" (L, 2011). This line of Beats by Dr. Dre is not well-known by consumers, and has normally been considered to be offered solely to artists and producers, yet Beats would open up a whole host of profitability by allowing consumers to purchase their own custom beats. The prices could also be tailored to fit the consumer budget without being pricey.

The definition of an opportunity is any feature that creates potential for a business to succeed even more than it already has. With these opportunities, Beats by Dr. Dre can create new demand for their product and diversify themselves across many diverse consumers who may not necessarily have given Beats a chance simply because of price, style or lack of product offerings. In assessing Beats by Dr. Dre, the marketing area at their company must account for an ever-changing audio technology by enlarging their focus to specific markets and individuals. By moving into larger markets such as different clients from their current ones and into major cities; providing new offerings, rebranding their products, creating more partnerships with established brand names, giving consumers incentives to purchase their products, changing the color schematics of their products, and allowing consumers more access to custom beats; this will allow them to be more profitable and to be able to compete on the same levels as their competitors who currently dominate the electronics industry and alter the landscape of that industry dramatically.

References

Beats by Dr. Dre. (2013). Retrieved March 17, 2013, from Beats by Dr. Dre website: http://www.beatsbydre.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-beats-Site/default/CustomerService-Company?page=company

Chrysler Group and Beats By Dr. Dre Bring Recording Studio Sound To The Automobile For The First Time. (2011, April 19). Retrieved March 17, 2013, from Beats by Dr.Dre website: http://www.beatsbydre.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-beats-Site/default/NewsAndPressRelease-ShowArticleContent? 

articleID=NewsAndEvents_art_1&articleType=NewsAndEvents&articleCategory=All

Edwards, C. (2012, January 12). Beats Electronics Is Breaking Up with Monster.Bloomberg Businessweek Magazine, Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/beats-electronics-is-breaking-up-with-monster-01122012.html? campaign_id=rss_null

Evans, J. (2008, July 30). Review: Beats by Dr. Dre headphones. Retrieved March 17, 2013, from Ziff Davis Inc. website: http://www.geek.com/articles/gadgets/review-beats-by-dr-dre-headphones-20080730/

L, M. (2011, May 18). How To Get Custom Beats by Dre – Lil Wayne’s Custom Dre Beats. Retrieved March 17, 2013, from MykeTech.com website: http://www.myketech.com/custom-beats-by-dre-lil-wayne/

Rebranding. (2013). Retrieved March 17, 2013, from WhatIs.Com website: http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/rebranding

Snider, M. (2012, July 2). Beats Electronics acquires MOG music service. USA Today. Retrieved from http://content.usatoday.com/communities/technologylive/post/2012/07/beats-electronics-accquires-mog- music-service/1#.UUZ9ABdJOAg

Why Jingles are Important for Business Promotion. (2013). Retrieved March 17, 2013, from SelfGrowth.Com website: http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/why-jingles-are-important-for-business-promotion