Marketing of UBER Company - Case Study Example

UBER Marketing Introduction Uber is Taxi Company as well as a transport network company. The company is famous for its utilization of mobile application in communicating to clients. The company started its operation in United States of America. It currently operates in many countries across the world. The company operation includes providing taxi services to customers. Uber mode of operation relies on effective communication from clients to the company (Rakić & Rakić, 2014). The company communication team also utilizes effective communication systems to reach its drivers. In application, Uber utilizes Smartphone communication to reach at its customers (Doherty, 2014). The company provides a front where customers are able to communicate with the company using Smartphone application. After communicating to the operation department of the organization Taxi drivers receive information on customers’ requests. Uber utilise an application that is effective in assisting customers relay ride requests as well as make track vehicles’ locations. By the year 2014, the company had its presence in over 53 countries. On the other hand, the company has seen its operations cover over 200 cities around the globe. The brand Uber in the year 2014 was valued at $40 billion. The situation at the current market for Taxi Business in United Kingdom is volatile. The company has been engaging with various competitors in the market. There has been an increase in new entrance in the market of Taxi operation. Since the market is less capital intensive and unregulated, individual owner of Taxi business have been on a rise. During the inception of the company in the market, the company offered only full size luxury car hire services. The companies’ next move was expanding its territorial boundaries. This saw Uber engage qualified drivers in their ranks. It was simple for qualified drivers to enter the ranks of the company. Individuals needed only to be qualified and have a reasonable vehicle. This therefore increased the share market for the company. The next strategy for increasing the market was to reduce the prices on offer by the company (Doherty, 2014). This strategy saw an increase in the demand of the services of the company. However, the company has undergone a lot of turbulence that has led to losses. From the force of protests, that has rocked the company; the company has faced an increase in protests. There has been an increase in protests from the government of the United Kingdom. Individual clients and companies offering Taxi services are another group of protestors. The reason for such protests is that company engages in unfair business practice. The protests are further pegged on the idea that the company compromises with the safety of clients. Market Communication for Uber Uber brand communication plan need to respond to needs of the market. The purpose of the integrated marketing communication is to capture traditional marketing channels. The other side of the divide is to capture the needs of the non-traditional market channels (Doherty, 2014). The marketing campaigns need to be consistent with market trend. For Uber, there is need to utilize various promotional channels of reinforcing. The organizations in their United Kingdom office face various protests. The theme of such protest in the region comes from the Transport for London refusal to stop Uber calculation of transport based on distance (Eidelson, 2014). In the formulation of an effective communication plan for Uber various activities need to be in perspective. The plan needs to recognize the target market and competitors of Uber. It integrates the importance of the company’s organizational culture. Put into perspective is the importance of costs, communication as well as convenience (Eidelson, 2014). It further relates to the issues of advertising, direct marketing and online marketing. The communication plan further integrates aspects of trade shows and corporate philanthropy (Challagalla, Murtha, & Jaworski, 2014). The other important aspects of the Integrated communication plan are promotions as wells as influence of sale promotions. 2. Situational Analysis (SWOT) The situation of the market of Uber in the United Kingdom relates to competitive Taxi operating companies. The transport industry is characterised by delayed transport of customers by Taxi companies (Eidelson, 2014). The market is also chaotic due to unreliable communication channels from companies to clients. To minimise such market inadequacy Uber provides an app that eases communication. Customers are able to make travel arrangements using their smart phones to Uber. Strength The company’s strength lies on its global branding promotion. The company maintains a global marketing picture with an aim of attaining new markets. Uber Strengths relates to the company’s its convenience. Services offered by Uber are convenient since clients are able to arrange for pickups in no time. The Taxi operating company has been utilizing mobile application front to market their products. Customers of its services are able to arrange for transport services using Smartphone apps. Using the app, customers are able to relay real time communication to the company (Doherty, 2014). The app also provides a framework for customers to monitor the movement of Taxi vehicles. In relation to the strength improvement of companies in the market, various aspects need consideration. The company need to look at the strength of their competitors and their position. The other aspect of strength for Uber relates to its payment system. Customers in the United Kingdom perceive the payment system of the company to be reliable and effective. The other important aspect of the organization relates to its utilization of mobile platforms. Uber utilization of mobile platforms provides customers with easy access to the company. The platform of communication provides real-time communication flow (Kitchen, Kim, & Schultz, 2008). The company has also been effective in its utilization of software application. The front is perceived by customers as user friendly and saves of time. The other important aspect for the company relates to its growth rate. The industry for providing Taxi services in the United Kingdom has been receiving many players over the decade. Uber is in a strong position since it has no competitor in its framework for marketing. Weaknesses The company has been engaging with various competitors in the market. Organizational culture is another aspect of importance as a weakness. Poor organization affects the organization on a higher scale. The weaknesses of the Uber relates to its costs of operation. The company require additional funds to maintain its operations. The company requires money to purchase vehicles. It requires operational funds to cater for fuel and salaries expenses. The other negative implication that the company faces relates to changes in the global marketing. The fluctuating oil prices affect the company’s returns (Rakić & Rakić, 2014). Aspects such as inflation limit the scope of operation for the company. There is a brewing influence of increase in competition. This might affect the company since there is an increase of new entrance. The other weakness for the industry might relate to high loan rates. Since the company might finance its operation through loans, high rates might limit growth. The company on the other hand faces an influence that might affect its future profitability. An increase in the number of entrance in the market and the environmental factors influence future profitability of the company. Another negative influence of the company relates to its pricing strategies. The company lacks a comprehensive pricing strategy. The pricing strategy need to put into consideration aspects such as destination and time (Eidelson, 2014). A rise in complaints on the services that Uber offers affects its reputation. Customers argue that the company utilises unfair market practices and charge range is high. The other important weakness for the company in the United Kingdom is the lack of capital to increase its number of vehicles. The competitors of the business also have an upper reach of advertising. Opportunities Uber Taxi Company has an opportunity of delivering an effective marketing system. The management of the organization may develop a reward payment system for their services. The more customers utilize their transport system the company may develop a system that rewards loyal customers. The company has an opportunity of collaborating with other stakeholders (Ressler, 2013). One of such important interactions may include interacting with private car owners to increase its number of vehicles. The company also has an opportunity of interacting with emerging companies to increase its market share. Uber and major Taxi related companies in the United Kingdom concentrates on offering services to customers in urban areas. The company has the opportunity of offering services to rural region and on a regional level. Despite the fact that Uber concentrate in London its operations may spread to other cities within the country. The corporation can move into other forms of businesses. It strategy may Involves application of its services on Water, buses and Moving Trucks Taxis. The market of the United Kingdom has seen an increase in population (Dewhirst & Davis, 2005). The increase in population provides an opportunity for the operation of Uber Company. Threats The company faces many threats in its operation. One come from the influence of many competitors in the market. Many competitors within the countries border offer similar services as Uber. Since the company operates on a mobile platform, incidences of online money fraud are high. The influences of the government regulation are other threats (Kliatchko & Schultz, 2014). The government might institute various policies that might affect the normal operation level. Such policies may include changes on regulation of operations, change in taxation rate or other policies. There has been an increase in protests from the government of the United Kingdom The Company in the United Kingdom faces many lawsuits. Various consumer groups as well as the government have developed lawsuits against Uber Taxi offering company. Such Lawsuits have detrimental effects on the expansion level of the company as well as on cost of operation (Doherty, 2014). The other threat to the organization is the ever increasing in number of application for the industry. Such an increase in apps in the market reduces the market share of the company. Uber SWOT Analysis Strength Use of mobile platforms for advertising global branding positioning Use of apps convenient service delivery Convenient and safe payment system Weaknesses High operational costs lack of sufficient capital for expansion Increase in the number of competitors providing the same services. fluctuating global oil prices lack of comprehensive pricing in the market Opportunities rise in population in addition to the increase in customers There are opportunities for partnerships and collaboration in the market There is an open market in the Rural area of the United Kingdom There is the possibility of the company engaging in other businenesses Threats Changes in the global market rise in the number of competitors existing in the market Increased possibility of online money fraud Increased influence of government regulations Increase in the number of lawsuits on the company. 3.Objectives The objective of the integrated marketing communication framework of Uber Taxi Company is to improve its image to the public. Since the company has been facing an increase in the number of lawsuits, it is essential to improve its image. The company has been facing an increased competition. It is the objective of the management system to limit such influence by improving the competitive edge of the company (Rakić & Rakić, 2014). The company faces continual threats from an increase in fraud incidences in its system. The objective of the management team of the organization is to provide additional security on the system to limit fraud cases. The organization has been unable to operate under full capacity due to lack of capital. The duty of the company is to seek for capital to promote growth. The company faces challenges from an increased influence of competitors in terms of advertising. To limit this influence the organization needs to improve its edge in terms of advertising and service promotion. The organization aims at improving its operation base. To capture this aspect, Uber needs to increase its operation to capture rural region as well as regional markets. The other goal of the organization is to improve its customer base through partnership (Doherty, 2014). It should be the job of the company to limit government influences on its operations. The company’s objective includes limiting lawsuits the organization faces. It further relates to the issues of advertising, direct marketing and online marketing. The other objective of the marketing is to improve the flow of messages to the market. The company should increase the number of vehicles in order to improve its market share. It is the objective of any organization to make profits. The company has faced various negative financial turns due to various shortcomings. The plan of the organization is the creation of a blueprint to meet its shortcomings. The blue print consists of various methods and procedures of accomplishing integrated marketing plans. SMART Objectives To seek for additional capital To increase company’s area of operation To improve the online app system 4.Promotional Strategies An organization may utilize the pull or push promotional strategies. A push strategy involves taking a product directly to the customer. An organization in such a scenario might use all the available resources and strategies to meet customers. Push strategies are essential in the creation of awareness of a product in the market. Such strategies include the promotion of product through tradeshows. A push strategy might involve negotiation with customers, direct selling approaches as well as creating an efficient supply chain in the market (Einwiller & Boenigk, 2012). Other ways of attaining Push strategies is maintaining displays at the point of sale or ensuring an efficient packaging approach. A pull strategy on the other hand involves corporate providing customers with motivation to seeking their products. The Pull strategy involves the following tools in attaining goal; promotional activities and advertising. The other medium of a pull strategy is advertising products through referral. The other procedure for this strategy is the management of customer relationships. Sales promotions and the application of discounts is part of the tools that relate to pull strategies. In order for Uber to successfully meet its objectives, there is need to utilize both push and pull strategies. 5.Promotional Tools Promotional strategies in an integrated marketing communication are crucial to the application of Uber needs. Promotional strategies utilize various tools in order to meet the needs of an organization. A closer look at the promotional strategies reveals that the most important tool for promotional strategies is advertising (Lee & Park, 2007). However, one cannot neglect the fact that there are other promotional tools in the market for the organization to utilize. The organization might utilize personal selling, trade promotions and public relations. Uber Taxi organization first needs to consider public relation as their important Tool of promotion. The records a rise of strikes from the firm’s drivers’ fraternity. Further, protests from members of the public and other players have negative influence on the company. Therefore, a public relation strategy is important to resolve such perceptions in the market. Public relation strategy involves official from a firm passing information through media (Barger & Labrecque, 2013). This mode of communication is less expensive compared to advertising. However, its negative implication relate to the firm’s inability to control mass media. The next important tool that the organization might use is sale promotions. Uber Taxi organization might instil in the market a sales promotion strategy. The organization might offer Taxi tickets at discounted rates to customers. The other ways of the company attaining its goals is the use of referrals in distributing its goals. Referrals are important since the organization utilizes apps (Eidelson, 2014). The firm can collaborate with other social media channels thus creating a formidable referral base. The strategy that the organization might utilize is to develop and effective customer management program. The creation of influential customer management program ensures loyalty of customers and in providing statistics on consumption. 6.Developing Promotional Strategy (Tactics) In order for the organization to develop an appropriate promotional strategy, four considerations are necessary. The tactics of developing the strategy involve segmentation of the market into distinct parts. The other aspect of importance in the development of a promotional strategy is the formulation of market targets. The next option in the development of a promotional strategy is the creation of a position. The other aspect of importance is messaging. The message for the campaign of Uber Taxi is to communicate to customers of its price list and service rate. The campaign message reads “Uber Taxi Provides services at lower prices with safety assurance”. The first important aspect of the company is the development of market segments. Market segments relates to the development of customers’ distinct groups in order to market products. In order to come up with a segment, Uber Company needs to conduct surveys as well as research on the market. Such survey utilizes desk research, face-to face interviews as well as focus groups (Dano, 2014). Once the market segment has been developed, the next step involves market targeting. Market targeting ensures that the firm meets its intended audience appropriately. The company may utilize the following Integrated marketing tools; Advertising, Public relations and Digital tools. In respect to advertising, the company may utilize some aspects of the tool. The organization may utilize Radio and magazines. Advertising may also be categorised as a mass media approach to marketing of products or services (Eidelson, 2014). In the United Kingdom market, the organization might print its message in the Daily Mirror newspaper. The caption will capture the interest of customers every day for one month. The other important aspect is the utilization of public relation channels. The best recommendation in utilization of public relation drive is release of press information. Press releases over the print media are instrumental in maintaining the image of the organization despite negative influences. It is a recommendation that the organization utilize the influence of social media (Rakić & Rakić, 2014). Uber Taxi service offering company may utilize Facebook as well as Twitter to market its services. The other front of advertising includes the utilization of company’s website. Since the services of Uber utilizes app on smart phones, the use of digital advertising is appropriate. Customers may be encouraged to develop a referral network valued at some points. Such points are later redeemed for cash or fare. Utilizing of digital marketing on the other hand assists the firm capture individuals utilizing social media platforms. 7. Implementation Gantt chart for project implementation ACTIVITY START DURATION START DURATION COMPLETE PERIODS               1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 project description 1 5 1 4 20% strategy formulation 1 6 1 6 10% Developing objective 2 4 2 5 35% Analysis of the market 4 8 4 6 10% Developing promotional tools 4 2 4 8 85% developing strategies 4 3 4 6 85% implementation 10 4 5 7 50% control and evaluation 5 2 5 5 60% The above diagram depicts the project for Uber Company in the United Kingdom. The first depiction of information reveals that on the first date the activity in question is the description of the project. The schedule reveals that activity will end at a period of 6 to 5 days at a complete rate of 20%. The next step involves the formulation of the strategy. This activity takes a period of 6 days and provides a 10% completion rate. The development of the objective takes a period of 4 to 5 days with a 35% completion rate. The next fundamental action is the investigation of the market. The analysis of the market takes the organizational team a period of 8 to 6 days. The next step involves the development of promotional tools and development of strategies. The first objective begins at the fourth day while take 2 to 8 days to complete. The other activity begins on the fourth day and takes 3 to 6 days. The implementation period takes a longer period with a completion rate of 50%. The control and evaluation stages take place in 2 to 5 days subsequent to the finishing point of the project. The financial plan of the project is approximated at $140,000 at the current market rate. 8. Evaluation and control For evaluation of the project individuals, need to measure performance of organization in terms of returns and customers reviews. Integrated marketing communication networks need monitoring on a continuous basis. The firm needs to allocate a common scale for measurement and a standard for error. Uber might evaluate the performance of their project through utilization of research foundation details (Dano, 2014). The other important aspect of measurement and evaluating the activities include measuring of activities using performance indicators. The other action of evaluation includes the measurement of return on investment of firms. The important aspect of evaluation and control for Uber is the use of return on investment to measuring the performance of the organization. The use of ROI is essential to calculating the amount of return in respect to the cost of running the activity. This front of measuring provides evaluation criteria for the project. The next criteria for evaluation are the use of number of sales (Barger & Labrecque, 2013). An evaluation into the number of sales provides a basis for evaluating the project. The augment in the amount of tickets sold after the integrated market communication plan reveals the project was a success. Customer response is another important feature for evaluating the project of Uber. Customer response in terms of feedback reveals the level of importance of the project. The company might evaluate the response of customers, through frequent research (Dano, 2014). Such research activities might include use of personalised interviews. Competitor response is another important feature in evaluating Uber project in the United Kingdom. The reaction of competitors after the initiation of the project reveals the important features of the project. The evaluation criterion takes a short-term perspective or a long-term perspective. The organization might utilize concept-testing procedures. Other important procedures for evaluation are recognition testing and copy testing. The company also needs to choose the individual responsible for evaluation. The criteria for evaluation include message evaluation and behavioural evaluation. In order to have an effective control procedure, organization need to identify the overall corporate goals (Dano, 2014). The evaluation of the goals of the organization shows if there is an improvement or failure of the project. The other aspect of measure is the market share variability. The level of productivity is another important variable for control. Employee attitude and behaviour are other important aspects in the realization of organizational level of performance. 9. Conclusion Uber Taxi is a company with operation bases in various countries in the world. The influence of the organization is felt over 200 cities. The company has undergone various changes over the period. Uber company drivers have been embroiled in strikes. The company has been for the last years the company has witnessed protests from customers and other industry players. In order to minimize these challenges the organization develops an integrated marketing communication plan (Doherty, 2014). The component of this plan includes organization culture. It also considers the cost of production. The cost of production in the Taxi business includes salaries and the cost of oil. The other aspect of consideration considers convenience factors. Uber considers creating an advertising framework. It further considers the analysis of the situation of the industry. Uber needs to consider their strength, weakness, opportunities and threats in the market (Smith, Gopalakrishna, & Chatterjee, 2006). The consideration of these needs further requires the provision of the objectives of the project. While designing these plans the management team needs to consider the strategies of the plan. Other factor of study in creation of the plan is formulation of actions of the plan. In the designing of the marketing plan by Uber, the company has to consider the actions it takes to the evaluation stage. The action need to be with its period. Formulation of these designs provides a work plan for the organization (Dano, 2014). This depiction reveals the times activities as well as persons responsible. The next essential feature to consider is the implementation stage of projects. The final steps in the development of the plan are evaluation and control. These last stages in the plan, provides a basis for evaluating the plan. These stages provide basis for future activities. References Doherty, B 2014. Smartphones vs. Taxi Drivers, Reason, 46, 6, pp. 20-28. Eidelson, J 2014. The Company Cities Love to Hate, Bloomberg Businessweek, 4385, pp. 31-33. Dano, M 2014. App-Based Upstarts Fight For Slice Of Taxi Market, Coloradobiz, 41, 3, P. 10. Rakić, B, & Rakić, M 2014. 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