Comparing Consumer and Organizational Buyer Behaviour in the UK Essay

Comparing Consumer and Organizational Buyer Behaviour in the UK Desktop Printer Market - Essay Example It is for this reason that companies have to continue investing in research and development in order to produce more innovative products that competitors. The printers industry is experiencing the same challenges, especially in the desktop printer market; innovation is driving firms into developing new products with sophisticated level of technology and performance. In the UK, the desktop printer market is witnessing competition from the digital media market, thanks to advancement in technology. Indeed, statistics show that growth in the UK’s printer market has been in decline compared to other Western Europe countries like France and Germany. However, firms have continued to invest heavily in diversification of their product lines, with competition now shifting from all-purpose printers to 3D printers. Generally, there are two main buyers for desktop printers including consumers for home use and organizations for office use. Here, firms are concentrating on building positioni ng strategies that make them more attractive to the customers. Despite facing competition from digital media, firms have top compete among themselves, with major manufacturers such as HP, Samsung, Canon, and Epson among others investing heavily in advertising and other forms of promotion. This paper will examine and discuss the desktop printer market in the UK. ... n on decline; indeed, the downward trend is expected to continue in the current year, despite the industry being one of the largest in the UK, employing over 77,000 people (Ibis World, 2013). For quite a long time, the inkjet printers have dominated the printer market; however, other types of printers have taken the market by storm and have claimed a sizeable market share, among them being the laser printers and the recently introduced 3D printers. As a result, consumers and organizations have a variety of options from which to choose. With the technology shifting from analogue to digital, it means that new products have also to be digital in order to be relevant. It is for this reason that most recent printers are digital, making them more efficient and convenient to use. Indeed, it is now easy to buy a digital inkjet printer or a laser printer from the market. Importantly, technology has allowed the printer market to diversify further by introducing the 3D printers, which have been received warmly by consumers, thanks to their affordable prices and high quality printing capability. Indeed, almost every company is going for the 3D desktop printers due to the rising demand, especially from architects and home users, as well as from education institutions. It is no wonder that the UK government has established a program to sponsor teaching of 3D technology in schools. The UK market of desktop printers is highly competitive, as almost every large manufacturer of printers is available in the UK. These firms include HP, Canon, Epson, Samsung, and Kodak among others, all of which tend to outdo each other in terms of product differentiation and marketing strategy. The presence of such a big array of operators in the market means that entry to the market is very easy –