What can SONY’s decline be attributed to?

 

It is not a lack of innovation. Sony is still an innovative company, but where it failed was understanding customer expectations and getting its branding strategy right. Consumers are still interested in SONY products, but they are getting better products at lower prices.

Sony has kept losing market share to others, including South Korean and Chinese markets. Its consumer electronics business was particularly hurt. It exited from the Indian smartphone market due to the heavy competition and fast decline in sales. Meanwhile, its sales of PS4 also fell in 2019, and so did its sales of televisions and cameras.

Its imaging and sensing business (imaging equipment for smartphone brands) grew in 2019 but again took a hit in 2020.

While some of it can be attributed to SONY’s pricing strategy and lack of competitiveness, it can also be attributed to a lack of marketing strategy. SONY is pitted against Apple and Samsung in the premium smartphone industry, but when it comes to marketing, it is nowhere even close to these brands. SONY could have performed better if it had managed its pricing strategy in response to the growing competition, but it also needed to have a focused marketing strategy, which it does not have yet. The result in fluctuation in sales and loss of market share. After exiting PCs, it might be time for smartphones. It also needs to understand customer needs better. Rather than just making excellent products that do not sell, it must make products customers want and are easier to sell. It also feels like SONY is caught in an innovation gap and fails to grab any of the opportunities that it comes against entirely. So, if it gets the product right, it fails in terms of marketing and sales strategy. Retaining market share is difficult because of these gaps and because competitors benefit from the cracks that SONY leaves behind.

Apple versus SONY

Well, one clear answer is innovation but there are more reasons behind it. Apple’s pace of innovation is much higher than SONY’s. However, Apple also excels in terms of customer experience; something that SONY does not seem to care much for. SONY does make great products. It has always made great products but the picture is now focused on the customer and that’s what SONY cannot seem to adapt to.

Apple makes the customer win and therefore it wins. Its marketing and branding strategies are also clearly superior to SONY. While SONY has tried its best to compete, it cannot be as innovative in terms of production and marketing. So, SONY could not survive the competition as well as Apple did.

Another major factor is branding. Apple is a bigger brand because it always focused on the big picture and kept the customer at the center. Its response to changing market dynamics is much better and faster. However, SONY does not seem to read the customers’ pulse like either Apple or Samsung which are clearly better brands. Apple has won in the smartphone market and remains one of the largest players in this industry but SONY is at the bottom with other less known players. Apple’s best bet is its iPhone which accounts for most of its revenue but SONY’s is PlayStation.

Apple’s innovation has always targeted the customer whereas SONY has mainly focused on products. Overall, SONY has missed in many critical areas and that’s why Apple is many times bigger than SONY with its $2.3 trillion market cap.