Marketing for Samsung Galaxy S Series - Coursework Example

Marketing Marketing for Samsung Galaxy S Series Marketing for Samsung Galaxy S Series Marketing is the management process which pinpoints, anticipates, and provides customer needs proficiently and profitable. In this report, the promotionblueprint for Samsung Galaxy S series.13 Samsung has a vision and mission that it uses to spearhead its decisions and moves. For successful marketing strategies, there are certain matters that have to be considered. What the business is right now and what it is meant to be in the forthcoming years. These statements are reflected in the company’s mission statement. (Drucker, 1973, 57) The mission is defined by expertise, market statements and the added worth.1 the customer basis has to be defined clearly and the intent of the company in meeting the customers’ requirements. For Samsung to emerge top in the smartphone market it needs to focus on its key strengths and core company networks. Currently Samsung is the top manufacturer of smartphones in Europe. The tallied figures from 2012 revealed Samsung’s share of the market at 32.3% after overtaking Nokia. Samsung has set goals to attain by the year 2020 and it is reflected in its vision statement ‘Inspire the world, create the future.’ Taking focus on its key strength: creative solutions, new technologies and innovative products. In order for Samsung to reach its $400 billion revenue goal by the year 2020, there are three strategic moves that must come into play. They include: creativity, partnership and talent. Being an innovation leader is essential to Samsung, enough time has been spent being an innovation follower.2 Marketing mix This refers to the blend of product, evaluating, advertising and distribution approaches meant to satisfy exchange within the target market.3 the marketing mix incorporates the four Ps. Product, price promotion, and place. Product Over the past years, Samsung products have proven to be of standard quality in terms of performance. Choosing to market on this in the development of new products is a brilliant strategy because there is the quality assurance that the customers have. This is a strong hold especially in the Smartphone products. In the launching of the galaxy S4, there is no doubt that the customers are expecting a high performance quality device. Product portfolio is therefore a strongpoint that Samsung can boast of. Price With the wide range of products that Samsung has to offer, each commodity is accompanied by a unique pricing strategy. Taking into consideration at the complexity of this matter, price change due to outside change should be expected and therefore dealt with at the initial stage of price setting. Pricing depends on geographical demand, market segment requirement, and purchase timing among other factors. Some of the strategies include discriminatory pricing, promotional pricing and product-mix pricing. For geographical pricing, it depends on how Samsung tends to cover shipping costs; prices in distant regions should therefore be expected to be higher than the announced price. Offering of discounts in the new product (galaxy S4) for a period to beat competitors who might launch new smart phones at the same time span. Promotional discounts are a win-win strategy to the consumers and to the company as this reflects on the flexibility of the company in its product pricing. The secret to successful promotion is in the setting of the time span for the promotion and termination once the promotion has outlived its purpose. The promotions should be linked to the sales made rather than orders made this is solely because orders can fluctuate over a season.4 An example of promotional pricing is special event pricing, where the product is on promotion for a certain season and once the customers have been drawn, it slowly fades away. Another approach is in adding a free warranty and this would be quite the bargain for Samsung who have proved to have high quality products over the years. When it comes to discriminatory pricing, there is more than one approach. The first one is charging a separate price to each customer and is dependent on the level of demand of each customer. The other approach is offering a discount to customers who buy the product in bulk. A third approach is charging on the product in relation to the class of the buyers. It is like in the case of museums which charge less to students and elderly visitors. Or the use of image differences or appearance to alter the prices. For product mix pricing, this would easily fit the galaxy S4 scenario. The S4 is a product in the line of Galaxy smart phones. As soon as it is launched, it will have set itself apart from the predecessor Galaxy models due to its improved features. This would therefore substantiate the reason to rank it at a higher price range. Place The marketing concept has three sections: sales and amenity dealers, modern merchandizing and distributors. The sales and service dealers are involved with corporate sales. They are responsible for organizing and managing Samsung’s showrooms. The modern retail segment is concerned with companies involved in the modern retail chain. A good example is Hypercity, Vijay and Croma. They play the role of providing Samsung products as an alternative brand for their clienteles. Then there is the distribution network. In each country there should be one distributor to whom Samsung sells the product to. The distributor then has the task of retailing the product throughout the country. An example of this is the SSK distributor for Samsung products in Mumbai.5 in some cases; Samsung has its own pop-up retail distributors. Promotions Alongside advertising, Samsung has adopted multiple product promotion strategies. With promotions running throughout the festive seasons to giving trade discounts to its distribution partners as a form of motivation to continue selling Samsung products. Market mix is an avenue that can be exploited by Samsung through its wide range of products to price and promote its smart phones. Strategy Analysis In the introduction of a Smartphone such as Galaxy S4, there are two strategic models that can be applied. First off there is the Smith’s differentiation and integration analysis. It recognizes price as a differentiation scheme whereby market segmentation and product differentiation come into play.6In segmentation, the focus is on the demand aspect of the market. Samsung can be successful by developing a product that targets a particular market. This in turn results to a higher rate of returns than when the product created targets the whole market because it recognizes the demand that there is and aims at meeting that demand.7it can also be viewed as a way of identifying the smaller market and focusing on it.8 Differentiation Strategy It is aimed at creating regulation of the product in the market. Through advertising, the company should aim at setting the product apart from its competition and in so doing boost its demand in the market. This can be done through shifting the focus to the design of the Smartphone or its packaging in the advertisement.10 this was the strategy that Samsung adopted in the unveiling of the S4 and it is still viable for the S5. At the time, the feature of the front and rear camera combined with device sensors gave the S4 an edge over its competitors. Strategy analysis was also applied in this model because it targeted the business class clientele. Porters Generic Strategies The other model is Porter’s Generic Strategies. This strategy groups and compares low cost with the uniqueness of a product and constricted market segments. The physical characteristics of the Smartphone (S4) and its non-physical features are used to set apart the Smartphone from its competition. Another segment of this strategy aims at achieving the lowest possible cost of production. This is the issue that has led to omission of certain features in smart phones just to make them affordable. Targeting the broad market is normally targeted with a low cost competitive advantage. The narrow target is an approach used by small capital companies but they can also be exploited by large capital markets like Samsung who have high quality products. The flipside to this strategy is that it fails to differentiate product price. SWOT Analysis This analysis is a tool to examine whether Samsung has regulated its weaknesses, explored its opportunities and maximized on its strengths. It is more of an overall evaluation process that digs into both the external and internal environments. When it comes to quality management, Samsung has set itself apart from its competitors and this is a sign of investment in its strengths.11 however, this does not mean that the company’s weaknesses and threats facing its market be ignored. They all come into consideration since they play a role in the being of the company. Samsung has a numbers of strengths. These consist of: a strong market position which it gained after overtaking Nokia in 2012[14], an expanded business portfolio which is as a result of the expanded customer base, strong top line growth- this is evident with the growing demand for Samsung products especially the Galaxy series smart phones, innovation in design as reflected in the Smartphone S4 and low production cost which reflects to the customer friendly pricing of their merchandise. Challenges/ Weaknesses Like any other business, there are challenges that face Samsung as a company. First off there is the patent infringement as was the case when their competitors Apple sewed them. With the need to make affordable smart phones, there is a reduction observed in the profit margin. Samsung has found it almost impossible to set itself apart in the industry as a whole due to the absence of its own Operating System (OS) and software. Samsung is still dependent on Android operating systems and applications and this creates minimal distinction between Samsung and other companies that incorporate Android Systems into their smart phones. This poses quite a hurdle especially with Nokia launching its first Android Smartphone (Nokia X) in March 2014. This move worked towards levelling the playing field between the two technological giants. In the S4 however, there are Samsung apps that are the first of their kind in the market. This is a new strategy that is unique to Samsung. Samsung has a substantial number of opportunities that it can focus on so as to widen the gap between itself and its competition. Samsung has a wide range of smart phones for their customers to choose from. They are the manufacturers of the application processors that operate their smart phones and their patent has a great portfolio. But these opportunities are coupled with significant threats. Competition First off there is the competition that is also making strides to keep up with Samsung; Nokia for example. The availability of a substitute from the wide market of Android powered applications provides no room for error whatsoever. Price wars are an issue as Smartphone manufacturers launch cheaper phones with high specs. Samsung like any other manufacturing company is tasked with the challenge of keeping up with the rapid technological evolution. Strength (Specs) Samsung has an edge over other technology based companies in that it strives to make most of its products in a way that is compatible with Android software systems. Samsung’s latest launch, the Galaxy S4 is its biggest strength at the moment with its superior technology. It has the most superior network technology (4G) which is available in but a few regions due to its superior nature, it has a net weight of 130g and a 2GB RAM.12 These are but the few superior features that have maintained Samsung’s top position accounting for a striking 35.8% share of the world market. Indeed this growth that has been realized over the past four years can without doubt be attributed to the Galaxy S series. Even with the iPhone 5S which was launched by Apple at relatively the same period, the S4 has outdone itself with the higher screen resolution and pixel density features. Samsung’s undisputable wide range of smart phones is an avenue to attract diverse markets. Since they manufacture TVs which are reputable for their clarity, this high definition technology can be incorporated into their Smartphone screens so that they can capture the same market with two commodities. A new industry that is rapidly growing is the mobile advertising industry. If Samsung was to tap into this industry, with their wide customer base, it would be a lucrative venture. Another option is through acquisition of other competing firms in a bid to eliminate competition. Objectives The launch ceremony is intended to host 1000 guests at a charge of 150 pounds per head. This revenue collected will spearhead Samsung’s goal of attaining a 15% profit margin from the Smartphone by the end of the first four business weeks. The target market is the business working class. Audit The S4 has better specs than its predecessor the S3 with its ultra potent 8 core processor that makes the phone fast. With the air view, air gesture and the smart screen, this Smartphone is more interactive with the user and is therefore more popular. As much as these features are not new to the technological field, it should be noted that they come pre-loaded in the phone because they are Samsung applications. The smart screen feature is dependent on light and therefore it is not as efficient in poorly lit areas. This phone is unique in the sense that it has its own custom applications (the first of its kind). The functionality of the S4 has been compromised by the customization of Samsung apps which overlap with those of Android. This is reflected in the start-up process of the phone which requires one to have a Samsung and a Google account. Another illustration is the App store; there is the Samsung App store and Google play and the e-mail and browsers. There is an overlap tendency in these features. The S4 has set itself apart from its competition; the phone 5s and HTC One with its screen and customized apps. References 1. Successful Marketing Strategies for High-tech firms” Viardot (2004) 2. O’Brien C., 2013, Samsung embarking on an aggressive expansion in Silicon Valley. Retrieved from. http://articles.latimes.com/2013/feb/18/business/la-fi-samsung-silicon-valley-20130218 Consulted. 22.10.2013 3. Hutchison T., Allen P., Macy A., 2009, Record Label Marketing, 2nd Edition. 4. Pricing Strategies, Retrieved from, http://www.marketing91.com/pricing-strategies/ 5. Marketing, Retrieved from, http://www.marketing91.com/strategy/ 6.Smith W. R., 1956, Product Differentiation and Market Segmentation as Alternative strategy, Journal of Marketing. 7. Hamper R., 2013, The Ultimate Guide to Strategic Marketing: Real World Methods for Developing Successful, Long-term Marketing Plans. 8. Shaw H. E., Goodrich K., 2005, Marketing Strategy: From the History of a Conceptual Framework, CHARM. 9. Nisen M., 2013, Samsung has a totally Different Strategy from Apple, Business Insider, Retrieved from, www.businessinsider.com/samsung-corporate-strategy-2013-3 10. Dickson, P.R., Ginter J.L. (1987). Market Segmentation, Product Differentiation and Marketing Strategy. Journal of Marketing, 51(2), 1-10 11. Kotler P., Keller K. L., Brandy M., Goodman M. & Hansen T., 2009, Marketing Management, 1st edition, Pearson Education. 12. Samsung Galaxy 19500 S4, Retrieved from, http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_i9500_galaxy_s4-5125.php 13.Samsung Website, About Samsung, Corporate Profile, Vision & Mission, Retrieved from, http://www.samsung.com/fi/aboutsamsung/corporateprofile/vision.html 14.Samsung tops smartphone brands in Europe, (2012), M&M Global. Retrieved from, http://www.mandmglobal.com/news/09-08-12/samsung-tops-smartphone-brands-in-europe.aspx 15. McDonald M. et al, (2013), The Complete Marketer. Read More