Social Media Audit of a Company - Essay Example

Market Research EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Safaricom Limited is a Kenyan based company which operates within the docket oftelecommunication and technology sector, to provide mobile phone services. Since its establishment in 1997, the company has continued to provide products and services ranging from telephony, third generation (3G), general packet radio services (GPRS), enhanced data GSM environment (EDGE), data and fax. It also offers Prepay services that include voice mail, prepay roaming and international dialing. Messaging services include ways of communication, i.e., short message services (SMS), multimedia and e-mail. Included in the massaging services are daily updates from news, entertainments, and sports. Additional products and services include Safaricom Mail and Safaricom shops. In March 2007, Safaricom Company, in collaboration with Vodafone Group Services Limited, via Vodafone Marketing S.A.R.L., launched the M-PESA services (Mobile Money Transfer Services). Based on its advancements in terms of growth and service provision, the Company has signed agreements with other companies i.e., Vodafone International Holdings B.V. it is worth noting that one of its major achievements was realized in 2009 (two years after its establishment), when it realized a100 percent interest in Packet stream Data Networks (http://www.safaricom.co.ke/about-us/about-safaricom/our-history-heritage). WHAT: Safaricom begun as a department of the Kenya Posts and Telecommunications Corporation based on an analogue ETACS networks and later upgraded to GSM in 1996. On 3 April 1997, Safaricom Limited was integrated as prescribed in the Companies Act under the category of private limited liability company, and altered into a public company on 16 May 2002, with limited liability. WHO: Safaricom Company is faced with a stiff competition for Airtel, Essar-yu, and Orange companied. Although they apply different strategies, their targeted market is one. WHY: Following its good reception by the market and effective management, Safaricom Company has come up with a range of services and products such as financial aid initiatives, charity foundation, communication support, customer care services, advisory services, flashback services, ‘kipokezi’ services, mobile internet connectivity, e.t.c. KEY WORDS Safaricom limited (Current name of the company since the year 2002) Safaricom Kenya (Fundamental name of the company) Safaricom Foundation (Its branch that is tasked by major charitable activities to the communities) ‘M-Pesa’ (Safaricom being the sole provider of this service where subscribers can send and receive money via their mobile phones as long as they are within the proximity of the service coverage, i.e., East Africa). ‘M-Shwari’ (Safaricom being the sole provider of this service aimed at promoting local business operators i.e. SMEs). ‘Okoa Jahazi’ (Safaricom being the sole provider of this service. ‘Okoa jahazi’ is a Kiswahili term that means advance acquisition of airtime that is paid upon toping up the line). Bob Collymore (Safaricom CEO) Mobile application providers (these applications are mentioned in the executive summary covered above) Mobile Money Transfer Services provider (in addition to the ‘M-Pesa’ services covered above, pay bill services, and buy airtime/top up services are also provided). COMPANY ANALYSIS AND COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS Competition intensity within any industries is not an issue that is based on luck. Competition has its foundation on the underlying industries’ economics and proceeds well beyond any other established competitors within a defined market. Not all industries have equal potential while competing for market coverage. Companies differ basically in their definitive profit potentials as the collective strength of the forces of competition differs; the forces range from intense in industries like paper, tires and steel, where no firms earn spectacular returns, to relatively mild in industries where high returns are common. Initiating long-term relationships with customers is currently one of the most critical strategies that quite a number of financial institutions in the present competitive financial markets apply. The objective of this company’s operative and competitive analysis is to critically establish aggressive strategies that are consistently adopted by Safaricom Limited to ensure that it survives within the competitively harsh environment of business. It is established that Safaricom Limited uses the differentiation, cost leadership strategy, focus strategy, product choice, and market penetration strategy and pricing strategy to gain grounds ahead of its competitors. The application of these strategies has further resulted into creation of other procedures and policies which are applied to improve the strategies, business plans that are based on low cost strategies, and incessant improvement of new customer friendly products. Despite the implementation of these strategies, company is however faced with other challenges in their full implementation and adoption. The inhibiting factors include organizational culture, leadership, organizational structure, inadequate resources, and fully stretched management. INSTITUTION ANALYSIS AND COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS Competition in the telecommunication industry results into firms coming up with new services and products, thus giving consumers better products and greater selection. Strategic responses to competition are fundamental as businesses seek to gain competitive advantage and remain relevant in the available markets. Requirements in strategic response are disciplined, structured, and systematic ways of surviving within operational environments typified by belligerent competitions. To find out the strategic response by Safaricom to deal with competition within the mobile telephone industry, a focus on existing observable facts in its real-life context was applied. Formulation of strategies to respond to competition at Safaricom is influenced by meeting the basic requirements, needs and providing benefits for the client, status of competing forces in the market environments, and any success and/or failure of strategies previously followed by the firm. These strategies assisted the Safaricom Company to adequately acclimatize to the evolving business environments, and systematically steering the company on ways to raise incomes rapidly than its competitors. Resulting from these strategies of the company was renowned in terms of being ahead of its immense competitors in market shares and profit. Among the challenges faced by Safaricom in its strategic responses to competition included: unpredictable government interferences; market environments; complexities in the implementation of strategies; high risks involved in the diversification of strategies, and; weak financial management policies and contradictions between leadership styles and management orientations used (http://live.mystocks.co.ke/stock=SCOM). PLATFORM ANALYSIS – NETWORKS AND COMMUNITIES Safaricom in its strategies has introduced a service called ‘chattitude’, which are mainly social network bundles to facilitate subscribers’ twitter, LinkedIn, face book and WhatsApp browsing for just $ 0.11 a day (24 hours). Through this service, subscribers are in apposition of getting 20megabytes of data bundles daily for the social media purposes solely. In addition, Safaricom provides daily data bundle offers ranging from 10megabytes for $ 0.09 to 25megabytes at $ 0.23, Chattitude will therefore add 20mb more data at a cost of $ 0.11. All the data charges arising from twitter, WhatsApp and face book activities are handled via ‘Chattitude’ after which the prevailing data bundles are used or airtime for nonsubscribers (http://tuvuti.com/2013/07/kaa-social-na-chattitude-safaricoms-social-bundle.html). STRATEGIC APPROACH – CONCLUSION AND EXECUTION PLAN According to Communications Commission of Kenya statistics report of May 2011 there were four registered National Mobile operators in Kenya, and further ten within the East Africa region (Ranger, & Titcomb, 2002, pp. 493-503). This in itself offered a very big challenge to Safaricom as it was setting up its foundation into the market. Market segmentation and proper stratification of its steps forward, with users’ involvement was therefore very necessary to ensure its acceptance by the market and eventual success amongst other companies. Among other strategies that may be adapted to aid survival in deferent market segments, diversification strategy was identified as the main strategic approach that is adopted by Safaricom Limited and the telecommunication industry as whole, and further still, on the challenges faced in implementing their strategies. Strategies, being at the central part of organizational plans for the future and how the organization wishes to beat and stay ahead of the competition, the company has stood firm to ensure their implementation. The key findings from the study are that Safaricom underwent an organizational restructuring process. Some of the notable impacts of the process include improved customer service, initiatives to retain high value customers, delivery on cost initiatives aimed at improving margins, focus on quality, product differentiation and value creation. Had the company not engaged in organizational restructuring and operations streamlining, it would not have gained the 65 percent market share and the market leadership that it currently has. It can therefore be concluded that Safaricom, as a company, had considerable performance improvements as a result of the restructuring exercise of its structural framework and roles definitions. In case the company had not engaged in the restructuring process, it would not have maintained its current market leadership because of the everyday’s involved complexities of operations within the Telecommunications industry in Kenya and East Africa as a whole. The recommendations of the study is that similar studies be replicated across all other mobile telephony providers in order to be able to access whether organizational restructuring can lead to improved operational and financial performance to the telecommunications industry in Kenya as a whole. Another recommendation was to have a similar study but for a longer period of time so as to evaluate if the firms that have undergone the restructuring process like Safaricom will continue to have performance improvements sustained over the years. Works Cited http://live.mystocks.co.ke/stock=SCOM http://tuvuti.com/2013/07/kaa-social-na-chattitude-safaricoms-social-bundle.html http://www.eaag.org/index.php/component/content/article/113 http://www.safaricom.co.ke/about-us/about-safaricom/our-history-heritage Ranger, R., & Titcomb, A. A Three Step Approach to Teaching Logic Models. American Journal of Evaluation, (2002), 23(4), 493-503. Appendix I Platform Description 1 Face book The Android Safaricom App makes users’ lives easier by making accessible all the functions for use daily. 2 LinkedIn Safaricom has its services’ professional profile on LinkedIn, which helps them to discover their potentials 3 Google Groups Through Google groups, Safaricom provides a number of services, i.e., New Supa ongea tariff, ukora ya Safaricom, Safaricom alert SMS, Safaricom Wimax, M-Shwari Scam e.t.c 4 Social mention Social Mention is a social media search engine used for searching user-generated content i.e., comments, blogs, and events. On the Safaricom eNewslatter, Social Mention is provided as a real-time social media analysis and search tool. 5 Twitter On Twitter - @SafaricomLtd. Customer care related information can be obtained, or any questions asked with immediate and quick response given for the Twitter Mobile SMS. 6 You Tube Link available at Safaricom Kenya – You Tube with adverts of ‘Niko na Safaricom’, ‘Sambaza Internet’, Safaricom Challenge, and Daily Bundles. Read More