Dyson Case Study

Week Two Mini Case No. Two - Dyson Case Study

Marketing 6200 - 33100

We continuously innovate existing products into exciting and smart reinventions that provide real benefits and make life easier.” This could be a market-based mission statement for Dyson, based on the case study. Dyson seeks to out-think current product design so that they can provide consumers with simple solutions that really work, and in doing so meet their goal of “doubling their annual revenues of $1.5 billion (Dyson case study).” Vacuum cleaners or hand dryers are not new products, but Dyson seeks marketing opportunities where they can “supply an existing product or service in a new or superior way (Kotler & Keller, 2016).” Dyson’s goal is to design sleek and simple products. They challenge themselves to creatively engineer products in a way that will reduce environmental impact, such as vacuum cleaners with no bags and hand dryers that use cold air, as shown in Exhibit 1, and simplify the product life cycle. Their overarching goal is to simplify life for real people with superior engineering of their products and other than TV advertisements that mimic their sleek and simple designs, their objective is let the consumers be a primary source of marketing through positive word of mouth. They also seek to continue their global expansion and have a goal of opening Apple store-like shops to showcase their products.

A business portfolio is defined as, “A company’s set of investments, holdings, products, businesses and brands ("The Difference Between Product Portfolio & Business Portfolio," n.d.).” Dyson has a number of developed products in multiple areas, including various types of consumer products, such as vacuums; hair dryers; air treatment devices, including fans, heaters, humidifiers and purifiers; as well as asthma and allergy technology. Moreover, the company has business products such as lighting and hand dryers. Accordingly, the Dyson has a business portfolio ("Dyson Vacuum Cleaners, Fans, Heaters & Tools | Official Site," n.d.).

However, Dyson does not develop its portfolio in the traditional way that its competitors strategically develop their business portfolios, rather the company utilizes its founding principles of developing products that make life easier, utilizing unique approaches to accomplish everyday tasks and infusing excitement into products to turn them from the mundane to innovative (Dyson case study). Consequently, Dyson chooses to invest in technologies that allow it to meet its founding principles – integrating technology into everyday products to make people’s lives easier. For example, the company is now revolutionizing the sink faucet and adding it to its business portfolio.

While other companies choose to build their business portfolios through traditional market research methods, such as focus groups, etc., Dyson uses an approach called “interrogating products” where they test prototypes on real consumers to determine how real people interact with a product (Dyson Case Study). Additionally, Dyson focuses on “no nonsense” promotion to promote products within its business portfolio leaving behind traditional advertising campaigns for more simplistic messaging. With products in the company’s portfolio having a high price point and a reputation for quality, it is clear that Dyson’s business portfolio is on track to bring in over $1 billion in annual revenue.

Dyson’s marketing mix of product, price, promotion and distribution are aligned with its principles and strategies. The company was founded on a three simple principles: 1) each product from Dyson needs to provide real consumer benefits to make their lives easier; 2) each product must have a completely unique approach to accomplishing prevalent, everyday tasks; 3) every Dyson product must install excitement into mundane products that most individuals never consider. Its market-challenger strategy has resulted in the company leapfrogging into new technologies and developing unique, revolutionary products through the process of research and development. Dyson uses a mass customization, high growth strategy of modifying existing consumer goods in order to meet the needs of consumers.

As discussed by Michael Porter, companies