Clocky the Run Away Alarm Clock

1. What are the key marketing challenges facing Gauri Nanda ?? how would you prioritize them in terms of which are most crucial to effectively bring her new product to market ? Product Positioning: First challenge facing Nada would be the product positioning, already she has media/consumer interest,which will help her to bring the product to the market. Nanda has to decide which segment to target. According to the case there two segments described a) Need Segment, b) Fun segment. a) If clocky is positioned as a fun/cute product she needs to be careful to avoid turning the product into a fad, which happened with some other products which were lunched before such as Furby and Tickle-Me-Elmo. b)If clock is positioned as a need product she may raise consumer expectations and would have to shift some of her limited resources by making sure clock was able to consistently deliver on its promise as a more effective alarm clock. a + b = It is also important that targeting either if the fun or need segment would not preclude her from selling to the other segment. By first deciding how to position the product in the market Nanda then can decide on the most appropriate way to distribute. Distribution: Retail channel and distribution plan is important for Nanda because it would determine how the product would be delivered to the market and could have the greatest effect on relieving her financial pressure. I think that Clocky should not be sold from large scale departments because in this case it loses its individuality and intimacy, and Nanda wants to have the flexibility of changing clocky's design and functionality in the future. So the best choice would be : Main retail channel is internet stores (including Nanda's web site), secondary retail channel is small electronics shops. Time to Market: Nanda needs to focus on getting her product to market as soon as possible to take advantage of the positive PR, beat competitors to the punch and relieve her financial burden. Otherwise