Marketing Strategy at Orange Mobile - Case Study Example

 Running Head: Orange Mobile Orange Mobile In the current era of globalization, the businesses are going through a competitive period and have to become more flexible and resilient in order to adapt to the changes of the present scenario. Along with the technological advancements and changing processes and methods, it is essential for the firms operating in today’s environment to consider the affects of surroundings on their business activities in every aspect. They need to judge their external environments and align the internal environment accordingly. Orange Mobile There are various industries in which the businesses operate these days. One such profitable industry is mobile phone industry in which many companies seem to be making their corporate entrance currently. Besides being competitive, this industry is particularly giving a tough time to the businesses in financial and economic sustenance as well. Orange is a mobile phone brand used by the France Telecom for its subsidiaries of internet services and network operations provision to the customers across the world. Amongst the big telephone operators, Orange mobile has been the fifth largest telecom operator across the globe and, in the year 2010, the company had a bit more than 210 million customers in its existing customer base. It was in the year 1994 that the brand was brought into being for Hutchison Telecom which is one of the mobile phone networks of UK. Later, this network was acquired by France Telecom during August 2000. The ISP operations of the company were also rebranded in the August 2006. Of all the services of France Telecom, Orange mobile is one of the distinctive business façade. Thus, in 2005, Orange France was incorporated with the establishment of its first headquarters in Arcueil, France (Orange, 2011, Official Website). Most of the operations in Orange, all around the world, are known with the brand of Orange. Orange mobile is a global network operator which runs its activities all across the world. Some of the countries in which it operates include Austria, France, Luxembourg, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Egypt, Caribbean, and Dominican Republic. The brands of Orange mobile are utilized by Partner Communications in Israel through the franchise; in the past few years, the brand was also franchised in India (until 2006), Australia, and Hong Kong. Then, during the year 2005, the company had opened up joint venture with Charoen Pokphand in Thailand. Macro Environment of Orange Mobile There are many factors which affect a business and its functions internally and externally. An environment observes and examines the general climate of a business in the ways in which it impacts and is related to the organization but, itself possesses no link with the organization. In order to assess the compatibility and alignment, the businesses need to perform their environmental analysis, so that they are familiar with the opportunities, threats, regulations and other factors related to their activities. The macro environment of a business is initially associated with the major challenges and issues of the future environmental changes. It deals with the acronym STEEP which is concerned with five major areas affecting a business organization. They include Socio-cultural demographics, Technology, Economic conditions, Ecology and physical environment, and Political and legal environment outside the business. Figure 1: The Macro-environment With respect to Orange mobile, the macro environmental factors affecting the company are discussed below: Socio-cultural Demographics The concept of demography is a blend of age, gender, ethnicity, and other aspects related to the population of a particular area. The demographics in a particular market segment affect the organization and its products in a major way. For instance, a market segment consisting of older population will possess a falling demand for the consumer goods which are normally utilized by the younger generation. With its internet and mobile services, Orange Mobile revolutionized the era of cellular technology amongst the young generation all across the globe (Silk, Alvinj, Choffrayj, An-Mariean, Murlidhar, 1980, pp. 16). The company has been successful in meeting the shifting needs and demands of the society with the passage of time. Keeping in the view the growing needs of the working population particularly in west and the increasing disposable income resulting into the growing purchases of luxury goods, Orange mobile has shifted its concentrations towards the provision of newer mobile services. The SMS and Multimedia message sending services of the company has enabled its customers to socialize more frequently and easily than before. The launching of new functions and features in its up to date handsets has made the products and brands of Orange mobile popular all across the globe. Moreover, the increase in aggregate consumer income has resulted into the introduction of new mobile products and firms. Technology The Orange Mobile and all its franchises in the world operate with high profile technological base at their functional level. The organizations and its human resources have been able to adapt successfully to the advanced technology and gain benefits from their utilization. The company has employed experts from all over the world and delivers advanced mobile and internet services to all the segments of the corporate market globally. France Telecom, along with its Orange brand, also provides its huge customer base with several other products and services. Due to the successful integration of technology into its operations, the company has been able to facilitate its customers with fixed telephony and internet activities, on-line internet access, Voice-over internet protocol (VoIP), TV through ADSL and satellite, Carrier services, Wireless data access, Customer relations solutions, Content broadcasting, Audience and advertising and Healthcare activities. The company has also made the provision of interconnection, interoperability and signaling solutions, 3GRX service, Roaming Hub services possible to its customers (Lees, Martina, 2010, Daily Mail). Recently, due to its specialist technological base, the company has been able to gain the competitive advantage and come into the line of the leading mobile and internet service providers. Economic conditions It is essential for any business organization to analyze the economic environment in which it is going to or is operating with its mission and vision. This is due to the fact that the economic analysis of a market would help the marketer or the producers have an idea of the disposable income or the amount of money that the existing or potential consumers hold with them to spend on a company’s products and services. The products of Orange are also affected by the economic changes occurring in the environment. Though, in the times of recession, the unemployment in the economy increases resulting into a decline in the average spending per user, but France Telecom is still optimistic that its internet and mobile services will be a big support in boosting its revenues. The upgraded mobile handsets of the company have given it a competitive edge over its increasing rivalry in the corporate markets. Political and legal environment The political environment of a country imposes major influences on a business, irrespective of its nature, scope or size. It pertains to the laws and legislation, tax breaks and tax levies, trade agreements, and market regulations. For the mobile phone companies such as France Telecom and for brands such as Orange Mobile, it becomes a necessary element to consider the features of its political environments and its demands. Due to operating in many countries, the group is faced with different political environments and various legal issues. It is subject to diverse regulatory obligations which dominate the provision of services and goods and mainly include obtaining licenses for various existing and new business activities. The company, particularly, in Poland and France, faces many regulations and laws regarding the fixed line packages of telephones (Miles, Snow & Pfeffer, 1994, pp. 64). Besides this, the renewal or withdrawal of licenses for the broadcasting activities, the legal documentation of opening up the civil engineering infrastructure in many countries and legislations concerning the reduction in roaming voice mails are some of the examples that the France Telecom and its Orange mobile group is faced with. Marketing Programme Elements Every business operates with a combination of marketing program or marketing mix elements. According to marketing professionals and management experts, the concept of marketing mix is very broad and includes various aspects of marketing, all of which demand to accomplish the mutual objective of creating customer loyalty and awareness. There are four essential and basic elements of marketing mix which include the 4Ps: Product, Price, Promotion, and Place. The following section will be providing a brief description of the marketing program elements of Orange Mobile: Product The product and its quality play a major role in determining a customer’s choice and selection for the brand and also helps build up the reputation and image of a brand. When talking about the products of France Telecom and the Orange brand, it is observed that the quality of product keeps it intact in the competitive markets and leads to increasing sales and revenues. The good quality internet services and mobile phone features have been successful in satisfying the company’s customers. With the provision of quality business and customer solutions, the company has been able to gain a wide share of the IT market in the industry (Ginter & Duncan, 1990, pp. 91). Orange UK operates its business activities and provides services in the EDGE, 3G and GPRS with utmost quality. Recently, the company has also been in the process of rolling out a network of HSDPA. In the year 2009, the company decided to contract out the services of its mobile network and further chose to plan, manage, optimize and expand upon the current network and introduce future maintenance services for the Orange UK. Price One of the reasons for the huge success of Orange Mobile is the competitive pricing strategies that the company has adopted. France Telecom offers reasonable prices for all its mobile and internet services. It targets the youngsters and businessmen as its main audience, and through the demographical analysis, the affordable prices are set. It has set feasible packages of monthly and standard talk time packages for its consumers. According to many studies, the prices of 100 minutes per month mobile usage range from US$11 to US$ 64. Due to the cheap prices, the subscribers of the Orange services have been increasing in US and UK with the passage of time. Promotion Just like all other businesses, the Orange mobile has also undertaken various promotion strategies to keep its products and brands familiar amongst the consumers. Advertising acts as a major tool of promotion and is very visible to the mass audience. It develops an array of connections through open communication and convinces the consumers to purchase the products in an effective manner. In most of the cinemas across UK and other countries, the promotional advertisements and clips containing the products and services of Orange are shown to the audience before the film starts. Most of the times, the advertisements of the Orange company are shown before the trailers or adverts of the films and the company has named these adverts as "Orange Gold Spots". The adverts of Orange mobile also feature the celebrity sketches in them in order to attract the attention of their customers. Orange mobile has tailored its advertising strategies to target the youngsters and businessmen more frequently. It has positioned its brand as youth and business centric all across the world (Fahey & Narayanan, 1986, pp. 18). Moreover, the products and brands of France Telecom are not limited to only the local markets but extend to serve the customers globally. Through the feasible call and messaging charges, more and more people are switching towards the usage of Orange mobile services. Not only this, but the company also makes use of online participation through its websites and online press releases to keep its customers connected with its latest news updates. Placement The placement of a product is an essential step to be considered before reviewing the profit generation of the product or for the company. Countering the competition, Orange mobile operator has opened up more than 300 retail stores. All the stores have brought the orange products in easy access of the customers within their residence. All the stores of the Orange mobile are branded as ‘The Orange Shop’ which functions as the indirect channel of sales. The company has its stores all over UK and at those places where it operates with its numerous branches. Besides this, there are other retailers too which deal with the products and mobile phones of Orange company. Some independent and smaller dealers in the mobile phone market include Phones4u, Carphone Warehouse and Argos operate in online, retail and even function in the supermarkets for easy access of the customers to the products of Orange Mobile Company (Miles, Snow & Pfeffer, 1994, pp. 64). Not only this, but the company has now also started dealing with its customers through its web portal. The online subscriptions, and purchase and selling of the Orange products, Orange Mobile has made it easier for the customers to avail the services of the company just through a click. Recommendations for enhancing Profitability In the present business scenario, the company, France Telecom, is countering severe competition and cut-throat rivals across the geographical units within which it operates. Much of the increased consolidations and the smaller other competitors entering the mobile industry are busy reshaping the landscape of the competition present in the industry. Thus, there is a significantly stiffer rivalry present today than it was there two years back. Orange Mobile faces major threats to its market share and revenues in the French market where SFR-Neuf Cegetel, Numericable and Bouygues are its most prominent competitors in the consumer fixed-line telephone market. Not only France, but Spain Egypt and U.S. also pose grave threats to the profitability and growth of the market. The, there are various legislation and regulations that the company is subject to. Though, regulations benefit the society at large, the regulation on termination rates and international voice roaming has impacted the group's revenues and profitability in recent years. All these threats and adverse effects reduce the profitability and revenue generation of the Orange Mobile company. Moreover, Orange Mobile has concentrated its operations mainly in UK. Through, it has diversified and is operating with more than 300 stores all around the world; still it provides its major services and products in the United Kingdom and France. However, the competitors of the company have diversified their operations largely and have created their presence in the local as well as international markets. Thus, the high level of penetration created by the competitors in international markets have removed any chances of remarkable growth of the France Telecom and thus of Orange Mobile. The following recommendations for the company and the group can increase the profitability and revenue generation of the firm: The company can take the initiatives to expand its operations and enhance its network of subscribers. Some new technology could be introduced beginning form France and UK where the company has strengthened all its strengths. The technology can late be taken to other parts of the world and the competition can be countered in a sophisticated manner. As far as the ‘Product’ element of the marketing mix is concerned, the company can embark upon increasing in video content streaming and possibly gain the popularity for its services through internet in a much cheaper, easier and much more accessible manner. Besides his, the extensive adoption of cloud computing and its integration into the business activities is more likely to give company a competitive edge in a clear manner. The cloud computing technology is forecasted to be adapted strongly by very successful companies in future. France Telecom can reduce its royalty, licensing and other related expense by applying the cloud computing technology. The expansion strategy in African and Middle Eastern markets should be applied as these countries have a huge consumer base and the group has low penetration rates over there. Stronger and advanced promotional strategies can be applied and the mass level campaigns can be conducted to make the potential customers aware of the company’s products and services. The company already possesses a strong brand image and market positioning. This feature will help it further to make its services more distinguished for the company’s customers. The integrated operations of the group such as mobile telephony, internet access, satellite services, fiber optic infrastructure, and other related services offer the company a strong competitive advantage in the industry. CONCLUSION The paper discusses the overall marketing environment of Orange mobile through the qualitative study method. The information presented here is researched from various publications, online libraries and databases. The marketing mix elements as well as the macro environment of the company have been discussed in an elaborated manner. Orange is a mobile phone brand used by the France Telecom for its subsidiaries of internet services and network operations provision to the customers across the world. Amongst the big telephone operators, Orange mobile has been the fifth largest telecom operator across the globe and, in the year 2010, the company had a bit more than 210 million customers in its existing customer base. The social, technological, environmental, economic and political factors affecting the company’s business operations have been discussed upon in an extensive manner. Moreover, the essential elements of marketing mix along with the major recommendations for the enhanced profitability of company have also been given. REFERENCES Fahey, L. and Narayanan, V.K., (1986). Macro environmental Analysis for Strategic Management. Thomson Learning, Florence, KY, pp. 18-27 Ginter, P. and Duncan, J., (1990), Macro environmental analysis for strategic management. Long Range Planning, 23(6), pp. 91–100 Lees, Martina (2010). Orange and T-Mobile merges as 'Everything Everywhere. Daily Mail (London). Miles, R. E., Snow, C.C., and Pfeffer J., (1994), Organisation – environment: concepts and issues. Industrial Relations 13: pp. 64–244 Orange, (2011). Orange Multimedia. Official Website. Silk, Alvinj, Choffrayj, E. An-Mariean D. Rao, Murlidhar, (1980), Industrial Advertising Effects and Budgeting Practices, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 40, pp. 16-24 Read More