Rossetta Stone: A brief insight into marketing strategy - Research Paper Example

Recently Rosetta Stone initiated a new brand image-building campaign to accentuate product differentiation. The core products of Rosetta Stone are relatively expensive in comparison to other products and services offered on the web or digital applications. But the company has attempted to present that their products are worth the higher price. In its recent marketing campaign the company has planned a 60 second TV spot that features people of diverse ethnic backgrounds and shots of past events with a tagline, “More than words. Understanding”(McMains 2011). The company also has a strong retail distribution network which encompasses companies like Apple, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and mail kiosk all over the country.

Public Relations 
Initially, Rosetta Stone paid little attention to strategic relationship building or developing its customer base as the company was getting orders without any aggressive marketing efforts. Rosetta Stone’s new marketing campaign titled “More than Words: Understanding” is an attempt to link emotionally with the audience. The ad would inspire viewers to learn a new language, establish new connections and assimilate into a global community.

The company acknowledges the significance of a good relationship with the consumers hence it has undertaken extensive research to fabricate highly creative marketing campaigns in order to create a powerful emotive connection between different languages and their speakers (Business Wire 2011).

SalesForce Efforts 
As mentioned earlier, Rosetta Stone had laid little emphasis on its marketing earlier. Later on, the company established an aggressive sales team and initiated approaching governments, corporations, and schools. The sales team is well trained and proficient that works effectively with other functional departments in order to leverage its sales.

Sales Promotion
Rosetta Stone has engaged marketing firms to promote its products in the market. The company is always eager to develop promotional alliances with synergetic brands in order to achieve its marketing and commercial objectives. Rosetta Stone keeps offering discounts on its websites from time to time. The company usually announces back-to-school sales in late summer at which free shipping and a $100 discount is offered. The products are also offered at discounted rates if bought in bundles. The company seems always active in promoting its products and increasing its customer base.

People (Target Market)
The customers of Rosetta Stone are well educated, well earning, less sensitive to price, and motivated learners. This accounts for only a minority of the population. The changing business scenario or globalization has led companies to diversify and reach out all over the world. Rosetta Stone is specifically one of the large corporations that are planning to expand its business around the world. People who are working with such companies need to have the multi-lingual talent to fit in the local and global marketplaces. The company also targets schools and colleges and government entities. The company is not only focusing on institutions within the US but also exploring markets outside the border. In many parts of the world, most of the population does not speak a second language and hence Rosetta Stone is researching and developing products specifically for this audience (Rosetta Stone 2011).

Customer Service
Rosetta Stone provides an interactive service with speed and efficacy to help learners enhance their language learning capabilities. The customer support team comprises dedicated members who assist learners in every possible way. Customers are offered both traditional and non-traditional methods to choose whichever they like. In the traditional method, there are technical support and customer care services both online and offline. The other customer service is Customer Success which consists of a team that is responsible to encourage, motivate and support Rosetta Stone learners during the course of the whole learning process. Rosetta Stone also offers online support which is the self-help center offering a wide range of knowledge base in the form of articles and video tutorials, live chat with a 24 hours support option, and a broad range library (Rosetta Stone 2011).

Conclusion & Recommendations
The study represents that apart from its considerable sales, Rosetta Stone is into extensive marketing efforts.

Rosetta Stone is easy to get through the internet and saves much time and money for its valuable consumers. The company is dedicated to providing its customers with a range of services including customer support and customer success. Their value-added services show their commitment towards the personal development of its customers. Keeping in view price-sensitive customers, the company also offers discounted Rosetta Stone solution packs to help keen learners. With the success of Rosetta Stone, more companies are likely to enter into the industry hence Rosetta Stone needs to stay prominent on television and on other media and highlight its product differentiation. The company also needs to accentuate the importance of learning foreign languages. Moreover, it needs to expand its market reach and enter into more regions around the world. The company should introduce more languages as well and the process of research and development should be more dynamic. The company should also work on its sales promotion so that more people may acquire the products (Rosetta Stone 2011).