FW+Answer


 * 1. **** Introduction **

This report was requested by Gary Tsang, Marketing Manager of F.Worthington Electronics (FW). It concerns the performance of our MP3 players in the market, especially when compared with that of Keysound MP3 players. The aim of this report is to discover the reasons why FW MP3 players perform worse than Keysound MP3 players. In the report, I present findings which attempt to explain the low performance of FW MP3 players. Following the findings, brief conclusions are drawn and a number of recommendations are made as to how the perfomance might be improved.

** 2. **** Method **

Data for the report were gathered in September 2008. A sample of 500 FW and Keysound users respectively were surveyed about their satisfaction levels concerning 6 aspects of the respective MP3 players.

** 3. **** Findings **


 * 3.1 ** Table 1 shows that in 4 of the 6 aspects, FW MPS receives lower satisfaction levels than Keysound MPS players. While sound quality and battery life generally are found to be satisfactory, in terms of design and battery life, the FW users are far less satisfied than their Keysound counterparts.

** 3.2 ** Less than half of FW users are satisfied with the design of our MP3 player compared to nine out of ten Keysound users. This is probably due to the age of our model. First, the Keysound MP3 player was only launched 18 months ago while our MP3 is already 3 years old. In recent years design preferences have changed a great deal, and it seems that our MP3 player is now seen as out dated by many consumers, while the Keysound one is seen as modern and slick.

** 3.3 ** In terms of functions, the FW player also receives lower satisfaction ratings (below half) than its Keysound counterpart (above half). The likely reason for this is the different methods for transferring music flies between the two players. While Keysound uses a click and drop method, FW requires software to be installed on the user’s computer.

** 3.4 ** FW headphones quality also receive significantly lower satisfaction ratings than Keysound, just over one third satisfied compared to over two thirds. This is probably due to FW headphones being manufactured in China, while Keysound uses Japanese manufactured headphones which have a higher quality.

** 4. **** Conclusion **


 * 4.1 ** The findings clearly indicate the main sources of dissatisfaction for FW MP3 players are the poor design and the lack of easy transfer of music files between the player and the user’s computer. Users are also dissatisfied with the quality of FW headphones.

** 4.2 ** It can be concluded that in order to increase the market share of our MP3 players, we should take some immediate measures to improve the design, functions and headphones of our MP3 players.

** 5. **** Recommendations **

After considering the findings, the following recommendations are made.

** 5.1 ** Given that users found the design of the FW player out of date and poor in comparison to other models, it is recommended that our player is completely redesigned to take account of the changing fashions of the market place.

** 5.2 ** In the light of the low satisfaction that users found with the functionality of our MP3 player, it is suggested that more advanced technology be incorporated into future models to improve their user friendliness.

** 5.3 ** As a result of the poor satisfaction users gave our headphones, it is proposed that we implement strict quality control procedures in our factories within China.