INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this research is to perform a case analysis on the American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T) Company. The primary emphasis in this analysis is on the company's private branch exchange (PBX) operations.
PAST STRATEGIES
AT&T's past strategies are considered within the framework of the "four Ps" of marketing. Product, price, place, and promotion are considered separately.
A product is defined as "anything offered for exchange to another person including physical objects, services, places, organizations, and ideas" (DeLozier, & Woodside, 1986, pp. 191 192). Consumers typically recognize five distinctive product characteristics quality level, features, styling, brand name, and packaging. Depending upon the type of product involved physical, service, and so forth, not all of these characteristics will be applicable in each instance. Quality level, features, and brand name have been emphasized by AT&T in the marketing of PBX equipment.
Another factor involved in the development of product strategy is that of the product life cycle. Four stages of
the product life cycle are recognized by most marketing analysts introduction, growth, maturity, and decline (Kotler, 1985). The PBX product concept is in the late stages of maturity. AT&T has been following a strategy of product improvement, as a means of holding decline at bay (Schultz, 1988).
Pricing strategy is the overall task of defining the price range and price movement through the time period required to support the organizational sales and profit objectives,and to support product positioning decisions (Kotler, 1985). Pricing tactics, on the other hand, involves the task of setting the specific price levels, together with the conditions for altering the specific prices, for specific products (Kotler, 1985). The initial step which must be taken by a marketing o...