Product Marketing Manager - NCIX PC
Netlink Computers Inc. (NCIX) was formerly a large electronics retailer operating in both Canada and the US, serving the enthusiast computing hardware market as well as other home electronics. After 20 years in business and becoming one of Canada's top electronics retailers, NCIX closed its doors in December 2017.
A separate division of NCIX, NCIX PC was responsible for designing and selling custom computers through B2C/B2B channels, as well as working with industry partners in various marketing activities. As the Product Marketing Manager I was responsible for product strategy and marketing development, and worked with key management members in order to implement business decisions that resulted in NCIX PC being one of NCIX's top performing business units.
Specific information (including names & numbers) have been removed or approximated in compiance with NDAs.
NCIX: Market Research + Analysis
In Q1 2017, I conducted market research on NCIX PC's competitors across North America. My research covered 16 high-priority companies and over 500 products, and I presented my analysis on competitors' changing products, prices, and strategies. Crucially, I provided business recommendations and actionables on how NCIX PC could evolve its product strategy as a response to North America's changing retail landscape.
My Role: Researcher, Analyst
My Contribution:
- provided an updated view on current market conditions
- quantified a growing threat in the behavior of NCIX PC's competitors
- as a response to this new threat, used the documented behavior of larger competitors to proposed a new product strategy for NCIX PC, which was later implemented
Team: Individual Project
Timeline: 2 weeks
- Presentation
- Report & Recommendations
Resources:
- NCIX Database
- Statista
Market Context
Sales Channels
In North America, personal computers are largely sold through two key channels; big box electronics retailers and boutique system integrators (SI). NCIX PC (and its parent company, NCIX) competed in both channels, having had both a general retail arm and boutique SI division.
Product Categories
Personal computers can be broken into three categories:
- Everyday & Business computers are less powerful, more affordable computers targeted at casual home users and small-medium businesses
- Performance & Gaming computers are higher-end machines with discrete graphics cards, targeted at gaming enthusiasts and rendering workstations
- Small Form Factor computers are mid-range machines that relies on its diminutive size as its value proposition, and can target home, business, and enthusiast users alike.
Pricepoints
By identifying the pricepoints at which our competitors operated in, NCIX PC could leverage two key insights:
- Big box retailers, with their large research divisions, had the resources to quantify market conditions and consumer behavior and adjust their product strategy accordingly. However, their size restricted the speed at which this business intelligence could be implemented.
- While smaller boutique SIs lacked the resources of big box retailers, they had a strong connection to a loyal and outspoken fanbase. Combined with the nimbleness of a SMB, these boutique SIs could adjust product strategies rapidly and release products that resonated closely with the enthusiast consumer.
Through analyzing the changing product categories and pricepoints offered by both big box retailers and boutique SIs, NCIX PC could acquire a snapshot of the North American PC market and adjust its own product strategy in response.
Product Categories
Method
Data regarding product categories was collected from the ecommerce platforms of all competitors, with outliers and non-eligible products removed from the final count. Individual charts were created for Canada/USA, and an aggregate chart was created as well. National differences were quantified, and data was compared to previous records available within NCIX's own database as well as Statista.
Preliminary Findings
Combined with business intelligence from other departments, as well as consumer market outlooks from Statista, the findings were as follows:
- Everyday & Business were becoming a lower priority for NCIX PC's competitors, as the improving affordability and performance of computing hardware meant more consumers were purchasing entry-level performance & gaming machines that could "do-it-all".
- Performance & Gaming computers were a more attractive product offering to businesses, a result of their increased demand and higher margins relative to their retail footprint both in ecommerce and in-store.
- While Small Form Factor computers experienced a category growth, it was unknown at the time whether this was a result of improving hardware or another fad similar to the netbook.
- Overall, the market remained predominantly focused around Everyday & Business computers, taking up 60% of ecommerce/retail shelf space.
Pricepoints
Method
Data regarding product categories was collected from the ecommerce platforms of all competitors, with outliers and non-eligible products removed from the final count. An exhausting spreadsheet of over 500 products listing their price, attributes, and other various information was collected for future use. Prices were adjusted for currency conversions, with tax and shipping costs removed from final calculations.
Preliminary Findings
Combined with business intelligence from other departments, as well as consumer market outlooks from Statista, the findings were as follows:
- Everyday & Business were becoming a lower priority for NCIX PC's competitors, as the improving affordability and performance of computing hardware meant more consumers were purchasing entry-level performance & gaming machines that could "do-it-all".
- Performance & Gaming computers were a more attractive product offering to businesses, a result of their increased demand and higher margins relative to their retail footprint both in ecommerce and in-store.
- While Small Form Factor computers experienced a category growth, it was unknown at the time whether this was a result of improving hardware or another fad similar to the netbook.
- Overall, the market remained predominantly focused around Everyday & Business computers, taking up 60% of ecommerce/retail shelf space.
Conclusion
Summary
- Everyday & Business were becoming a lower priority for NCIX PC's competitors, as the improving affordability and performance of computing hardware meant more consumers were purchasing entry-level performance & gaming machines that could "do-it-all".
- Performance & Gaming computers were a more attractive product offering to businesses, a result of their increased demand and higher margins relative to their retail footprint both in ecommerce and in-store.
- While Small Form Factor computers experienced a category growth, it was unknown at the time whether this was a result of improving hardware or another fad similar to the netbook.
- Overall, the market remained predominantly focused around Everyday & Business computers, taking up 60% of ecommerce/retail shelf space.
Recommendations
- NCIX PC needed a quick response to changing market conditions, one that catered towards entry-level Gaming & Performance products in the new pricepoint sweetspot
- NCIX PC should leverage the buying power of NCIX's retail arm alongside NCIX PC's custom designs, and offer what neither off-the-shelf big box retailers nor boutique SIs could; a custom PC solution at retail prices
- While NCIX PC had a strong category presence in Performance & Gaming, the neglected Everyday & Business category provided a market opportunity for sales growth
- a suggested strategy was to work with NCIX's B2B team to create a unique series of SKUs of low-cost high volume office computers, rather than selling consumer products at discounted rates
Reflection
Thoughts
As my first individual project after being hired, I felt quite overwhelmed with the scope of this research project. Once the mundane task of data collection was complete however, I got excited when I started seeing patterns in the data. After confirming with other departments and receiving other data to cross-reference, I knew that the picture I was painting would've been unpopular with certain managers. However, my then-colleague Ross Martin persuaded me to move forward with the research. Ultimately, I presented my findings to senior management in sales, strategy, and NCIX PC itself.
I learned a lot with this project, pushing myself to take ownership of the claims I was making. It was frightening being the "new kid" as well as pushing some controversial findings, and without carefully and methodically presenting my findings in a irrefutable fashion I doubt I would've been taken seriously.
Impact
While I didn't know it at the time, my research and recommendations caused a lot of flurry with management. NCIX was struggling at the time, with managers having differing philosophies on how to remedy the situation. My mentor Ross Martin was later promoted to senior management, and I worked with Ross to iterate and implement many of these recommendations in NCIX PC's new Product Strategy Evolution. This led to NCIX PC being one of NCIX's highest performing business units of 2017, seeing a 30% sales growth despite the decline of the company overall.
Product Strategy Evolution
By combining my previous market research with user feedback and a better understanding of the system of processes at NCIX, myself and Ross Martin (Business Manager, NCIX PC) set out to evolve NCIX PC's product strategy. There were three major objectives we worked to achieve with our efforts, namely (1) identify and target NCIX PC's real customer base, (2) to start offering systems that our users actually saw value in, and (3) increase revenue and profits for our parent company.
My Role: Product Marketing Manager
My Contribution:
- corrected NCIX PC's previous understanding of its customer base
- developed an all-new lineup of products that accurately addressed customers' needs and motivations
- optimized the logistical complexity of NCIX PC's former value delivery system, reducing overhead and increasing profits
- ideated and implemented an integrated marketing plan for all-new product lineup
- 30% sales growth, generating approximately $5 million in 2017 alone despite NCIX's struggles
Team: Joshua Fan, Ross Martin, NCIX Management
Timeline: 2 months
- All-New Product Lineup
- Presentation & Reprot
Resources:
- NCIX Database
- Statista
Media & Content
Product Video
Intel Extreme Rig Challenge
Every year, Intel partners with custom PC system integrators to host the Intel Extreme Rig Challenge. Companies such as Cyberpower PC and Maingear are tasked with building insane computers with a $10,000 USD budget, and the public votes on the top systems through Twitter campaigns.
This contest brings immense exposure to all companies involved, showcasing the skills of each builder while simultaneously providing an opportunity for component brands (ASUS, Corsair, etc) to demonstrate their products. Combined with the large marketing development funds (MDF) contributed by partners, the IER Challenge is a massive marketing campaign that culminates in a three-day public exhibition at PAX East 2017.
My Role: Online Marketing Specialist
My Contribution:
- worked with R&D team to design and develop NCIX PC's submission to IER 2017
- managed NCIX PC's social media presence across all channels
- ideated and implemented positive ROI social media strategies to drive voting engagement
- worked and communicated with a large number of stakeholders (vendors + partners)
- represented NCIX and Intel in Boston's PAX East 2017 convention, an 80 000+ attendee event
- won Intel's Best Engineered PC 2017 Award
Collaborators: ASUS, Corsair, EK WB, Intel, Thermaltake
Timeline: 6 weeks
- Product Video
- Social Media Analytics Report
- Live Exhibition at PAX East 2017
Resources:
- Facebook Analytics
- Twitter Analytics
Netlink Computers Inc. (NCIX) was formerly a large electronics retailer operating in both Canada and the US, serving the enthusiast computing hardware market as well as other home electronics. After 20 years in business and becoming one of Canada's top electronics retailers, NCIX closed its doors in December 2017.
A separate division of NCIX, NCIX PC was responsible for designing and selling custom computers through B2C/B2B channels, as well as working with industry partners in various marketing activities. As the Product Marketing Manager I was responsible for product strategy and marketing development, and worked with key management members in order to implement business decisions that resulted in NCIX PC being one of NCIX's top performing business units.
As the majority of this project is under NDA, I've included external media & assets below. However, I'd be happy to answer any questions regarding the full design process & overall experience.