The Segway was created to make everyday transporta Essays

The Segway was created to make everyday transporta Essays The Segway was created to make everyday transportation for people to become even easier and to replace automobiles. The Segway was first thought of in the early 90's by creator and inventor Dean Kamen. Kamen is the mastermind behind the IBOT Mobility system, the Auto S yringe, a portable dialysis machine, and many more inventions that have revolutionized the world we live in today, so it only made sense that he created something that would revolutionize travel. Kamen took on the task of manufacturing the Segway himself, giving himself a timeline of selling thousands per week, only to fall short of that goal by thousands. While the Segway product was a genius idea and thought by so many that it would change the world, another genius inventor didn't think so. Steve Jobs, the creator of Apple, sought to be the greatest inventor of his time. He wanted to reach new heights that people were only dreaming of, and he made sure he surpassed those heights. Steve Jobs told Kamen that his design was " not innovative, it's not elegant, it doesn't feel anthropomorphic. You have this incredibly innovative machine, but it looks very traditional. (Harvard,2003)" Kamen should have taken the advice of Steve Jobs, as we all know, Jobs was a marketing genius. He also told Kamen that he should slowly release the Segway, Jobs was supply and demand type of marketer. He would create a mass hysteria about his products and then when time came to release the product he would release an amount that would both satisfy the needs of the consumers and create a need for them as well. Steve Jobs said he is a "big ban g guy" which meant that instead of slowly incorporating his product into the market, he wanted to go all in and show the consumers they needed his product. In the early years of the Segways existence, it had a few setbacks which caused the sales of the unit to also be halted. In " 2003 there was a recall for the battery life of the device and its interference with the gyroscopic system in the device causing users to fall off, it wasn't a hard recall due to there only being about 6000 units "(Segway,2014) . However, " in 2006 there was another mass recall on the device, this time for 23,500 units switching randomly into reverse and causing riders to fall off "(Segway,2014) . These recalls were very bad for the reputation of the device, and could have led to many injuries and lawsuits for the company which would most likely have put them out of business. Kamen eventually ended up selling the company to Jimi Heselden , a millionaire out of Great Britain. Heselden never had the chance to change the market value in a good way for the Segway , he had actually lowered the reputation by falling off a cliff while riding the product. As a product manager working towards marketing and selling the Segway there are many things that could be done differently than they were done. The first thing that needs to be changed is the slow rollout process the company originally intended to roll out. A slow rollout would mean there is no mass need for the product but if you come out with the product in a bulk and create a marketing campaign to show consumers they need this product instead of just over looking it. Creating a supply and demand position would create more publicity for the product and create a bigger captivating need for the product, increasing sales once the product has another batch out. Another aspect as a product manager would be the price point, Segway was selling for a heavy price when it first came out, limiting the amount of people that could afford it with ease. Different price points would be created for different models on the Segway, with a different set of features and polishing points on t he higher priced items. With this adjustment, the market would be changed, and more sales would bring the company more profit. Giving out Segways to large companies to advertise would also serve as an advantageous aspect, making smaller companies want to