eCompeteUSA is a competitive video gaming tournament company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. Video game tournaments are organized competitions where multiplayer video games are played for cash prizes of up to $500,000. Gamers and fans are flocking to tournaments both in-person and virtually. Recently, an eSports tournament housed at the Staples Center sold out in under an hour, which surprised even industry insiders.

eSports is gaining popularity worldwide with audience sizes exceeding 134 million. The industryis currently valued at over $747 million, and many predict that the value will top $1.9 billion by 2020.The industry is currently dominated by males (85% male, 15% female) and young people (60% of viewers are under 35 years old). Currently, eCompeteUSA has a relatively small share of the market, but the company feels there are significant opportunities for growth and profitability. You have recently been hired as a research analyst reporting to the VP of Marketing,whose task is to help eCompeteUSA grow its business.

You consider the situation, roll up your sleeves, and get to work. What should be the first step you take in obtaining the information you need to help eCompeteUSA move up in the eSports industry?

a. Examine the secondary sources you have at hand (public and internal databases) to establish exactly what data you already have and what data you need to obtain.

b. Set up a meeting with the VP of marketing and other involved parties to define the problem that needs to be solved.

Solution:

The main objective in the question is to grow eCompeteUSA business. Based on this, the 1st step to take is to define the problem which needs to be solved. Hence, one has to meet with the VP of marketing and every other involved parties.

This is necessary so that every impediments that can affect the growth can be solved. Hence, the first step is to set up a meeting with the VP of marketing and other involved parties to define the problem that needs to be solved.