Samsung Inc. is internationally considered among the most active and efficacious companies in terms of marketing communications. The financial and non-financial aspects of the company’s success can be reasonably attributed to several factors, with the most important one in this paradigm being the ability of the company’s managerial team to monitor the situation on the market and to introduce the corrections and modifications that are required to retain its competitive advantage. Most importantly, the innovative products of Samsung have specific features that significantly distinguish them from the output manufactured by their main competitors, the i.e. the producers of Google HTC Androids and the most inveterate enemy of the company – Apple Inc. Market success of Apple is primarily caused by the effective branding campaign, whereas independent surveys prove that the output (tablets, laptops and smartphones) produced and distributed by Samsung are more satisfactory for the needs of the customers.
However, although the production of the three giants outlined above is relatively comparable, the customers are giving their preference to the output of Apple, followed by Samsung and the closer of the race is HTC. However, the comments of the leading economic scholars in the field reveal that if due marketing strategies are launched, Samsung can effectively outcompete these rivals. The main elements of the proposed strategy include the combination of the brand-new technological means of advertising with modern brand-new technological solutions employed by the company.
The following diagram demonstrates how the market of electronic appliances is divided between the Samsung Company and its closest competitors which actively take part in this business area (Deutchaman 2011).
Company Profile, Market Peculiarities and Assumptions of the Strategy
Samsung Company has had traditionally strong presence on the international and domestic electronic appliances markets. It has developed from a small-sized family firm into the international business tycoon, becoming one of the most influential international business players nowadays. In accordance with the recent analytical studies, the company is reported to manufacture various commodities. Although this practice is not the dominant one for the company, the factories are actively involved in the chemical industry, having evolved to be one of the leaders of the entire Asian market (11 % of the market is dominated by the company) (Dai & Palvia 2008). However major key area of the company production, is the manufacture of the electronics for the business and individual household use. Another lion’s share of the revenues collected by the company can be reasonably attributed to the production of the various medical equipment, building instruments, gauging facilities and equipment (Church 2009). Recent analysis of the international market clearly indicates the aspirations of the company to compete on the international and domestic retail trading arena (nowadays the company does not sell its products directly, but the chain of retail providers is utilized).
As far as the financial perspective of the company concerned, the following data shall be subjected to our analytical review; the revenues of the company for the 2012 accounting period were reported to be $ US 247, 5 billion, hereby making the company one of the most acknowledged international leaders in terms of financial capacity and market valuation of a company capitalization (Carrier 2012).
Current Communicational Positions of the Company and their Efficiency
The main objective of this part of the paper is to evaluate the communication strategies and approaches currently utilized by the company that has been subjected to our analytic review and to identify the main imperfections of the strategy at hand. The findings collected by the international research agencies (International Chamber of Commerce, 2012 report) clearly indicate that the marketing communications campaigns launched by the Samsung marketing and sales departments are predominantly linked to traditional techniques (Carrier, 2012).
Having analyzed statutory documents, scholarly and practical sources the following goals have been identified and subjected to the due analysis.
- The company is now trying to solidify its positions on the United States and European markets, specifically on the markets of digital appliances. Recently conducted analysis of international markets precisely displays the intensified activity of the company’s competitors (Apple and Nokia in particular), this resulted in the market value growth. Therefore, the marketing objective in this regard is the increase of the targeted customers’ audience for 12 % and 10 % respectively. Provided that these measures have been successfully implemented, it can be reasonably assumed that that the entire communication on marketing policies of the company can be deemed as relatively successful. With regard to the methods of evaluation, it is necessary to highlight, that the most effective method is considered to be the contracts with mass media companies, that will provide the board of directors of the company with all the relevant data. On the basis of the collected figures, the sales departments of the company can exercise market prognosis more effectively and efficiently.
- Brand New Solutions Aspect. Despite the fact that the company is reported to employ newly developed technological solutions during the industrial cycles of the company production development, the company is known for its routine disability to integrate these solutions into marketing and advertising operations. In this context, it is highly recommended to intensify the use of the brand-new technological solutions for the communication of marketing purposes. Having conceived the importance of this issue, the company analytical department unanimously reaches the conclusion that the second goal of this marketing campaign is to intensify the employment of the internet-based marketing and merchandising solutions.
The Use of Conventional Communicational of Marketing Tool
Despite the fact that the commentators and practitioners have almost reached the unanimous opinion that the internet based technologies are considerably more effective and substantially less expensive then the conventional ones, currently, it is practically impossible to deviate from the traditional solutions completely. According to the recent study conducted by the International Research Institute of Commerce, it has been empirically concluded that the overwhelming majority of all the company’s existing and prospective customers are highly influenced by the conventional tools of advertising and marketing. Moreover, international business practice clearly manifests that although internet based marketing and advertising solutions are gradually increasing in their popularity, the influence of traditional means of communication is still strong. For instance, recent study conducted by the Harvard Business School clearly stipulates that on the market of electronic appliances (combined with smartphones, this market share constitutes 45 % of entire revenues collected by the company), the major portion of customers’ attention is taken by the internet-focused tools of advertising.
Costs Distribution
Having evaluated the financial funds allocated for the fulfillment of this project it can be reasonably recapitulated that they are sufficient to exercise in the project effectively, successfully and within the timeframes designated by the company’s Board of Directors.
The funds in question are proposed to be distributed the following way: $ 200, 000 are to be channeled for the use in the online marketing operations, and the remaining $ 300, 000 shall be channeled to finance the operations that are connected with the solidification of the company conventional to marketing and advertising. This allocation of the resources available for the project has been done on the basis of the meticulous evaluation of the existing business practices and the recommendation of the leading academic scholars, whose opinion have been traditionally highly valued by the Board of Directors of the Samsung Inc. Company (Hong 2006).
Tactical Goals and Some Aspects of Their Practical Implementation
The importance of the tactical aspects of the company projects have been numerously admitted by the scholarly and practical authorities. However perfect strategic goals of the company may be formulated, unless the proper course of tactical actions is not composed, strategic patterns have little practical value to the entire project implementation, since those who are charged with the responsibility to implement the project on the practical level are likely to face considerable obstacles while carrying out some particular elements of the company missions.
The tactical goals of the company can be divided into three major groups. The classification, although, purely theoretical in nature, is in reality of paramount practical importance for the effective implementation of the company’s strategic goals. The first group of the classified tactical goals is the geographical ones. In particular, the management board of the company has determined various tactical goals for African, Asian and American departments and markets of the company respectively. In the United States of America the company is expected to increase its digital presence for 40 percent, while the use of a conventional to marketing and advertising tools shall be increased for 5 percent (the assumption is made on the annual basis). Besides, it seems to be relevant that the implementation of the discussed strategic tasks in the United States of America seems to be an objective of particular complexity due to several important reasons. First of all, the competitors of the company are reported to have very strong business positions in this country. To be more exact, Apple Incorporated is unanimously reported to be the unchallenged leader of the United States software applications industry in smartphones and electronic appliances production. The market share of this company in this country is reported to be 56% percent, while the overall presence of all the competitors taken combined hardly exceeds 18%.
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As far as the European market is concerned, several important assumptions must be mentioned as well. First and foremost, the market is already saturated by the commercial activities conducted by Apple Company and its closest affiliates. Consequently, in order to accomplish the task effectively and less costly it is highly recommended to get focused on the composite approach. To be more exact, this approach implicates the combination of the aggressive marketing communication techniques and the so called means of soft advertising. To sum up, in Europe the management of the company expects to intensify its digital presence in general and web advertising in particular for 14 %, while the use of conventional tools must be intensified by 31%. As far as the modification of the conventional tools is concerned, it is vitally important to highlight the fact that the contents of European advertising shall be subjected to the most critical review and a number of important modifications is to be exercised. In order to succeed in the implementation of this mission, it is highly recommended to employ the team of professionals who will assist the sales and marketing department of the company (Kunkel 2002).
Nowadays, the expansion to the African market seems to be one of the most prioritized tasks the company. However, one of the most dramatic problems on the African continent is the low purchasing power of the African inhabitants. According to the findings encapsulated in the company reports, the sales of the company are practically carried out in Egypt, Tunisia Algeria, and South African Republic, where the activity of the customers is reported to be the highest one.
Overall, the goal of strategic importance to be accomplished on the African continent can be described the following way. The digital presence on the internet market of all the Samsung manufactured commodities must be increased for 25 percent; especially with regard to the fact the African society is becoming more and more computerized. Nowadays approximately 32 percent of the entire African population is reported to be permanently using internet and these figures are considered relatively sufficient to launch the operations in the country.
Another important classification deals with the industrial division. To be more exact, the company is known to operate actively in numerous fields. For each field of tactical importance specific goals should be outlined. The marketing and advertising sales are not an exception to this rule, primarily due to the fact that the entire welfare of the company is highly dependent on the effectiveness of the operations.
Firstly, as far as the markets of electronic appliances are concerned, the tactical goal of the company is to increase the internet advertising for 5 percent while a conventional means of sales shall be increased for 11 percent. In order to make the strategy more effective, it seems to be reasonable to analyze the situation from different viewpoints. First of all, the consumer group shall be identified. In the case of electronic appliances market the most promising consumer group are the children, the adolescents and young adults group, since according to the recent studies, 79 percent of the company electronic appliances have been sold to the people whose age is ranged from 16 to 39 years. Consequently, this age group shall be particular targeted by the company sales and marketing departments and the advertising strategies should be customized for them. Hereby the first industrial goal of the company today is the customization of the commercial utilities used in the online and conventional advertising campaigns.
The customer service of the company can be reasonably classified following many criterions. The first criterion in this context is the purpose for which the products of the company will be utilized. Logically, it can be assumed that the products of the company are used for personal or business purposes, with the personal use being the dominant one. Company’s policies determine whether the products of the company are focused on the individual use, while the business solutions in this field are primarily offered by the competitors of the company. With regard to the practical formulation of the first tactical objective in the field, it can be expressed in the following way. The entire commercial marketing and advertising activities of the company should be focused on the attention of the individual households, which are reported to constitute the majority of the company customers (71% according to the report of the International Chamber of Commerce). In order to accomplish this task, it is recommended to invite music stars, athletics who gained international recognition and who are considered as international icons for the youth (Newcomer 2011).
The Actions that must be Done by the Company to Accomplish Tactical and Strategic Goals
The actions that are recommended to be followed by the company are classified into two categories. The first group of actions is of internal nature. The entire internal business structure of the company is highly recommended to be reconstructed completely, because of the fact that present structure inhibits implementation of the strategic goals, as well as tactical ones that have been formulated by the company board of directors. The advertising commentators vigorously advocate the idea that’s the most effective way to complete this mission is to integrate the solutions proposed by the technological world with the increase of the staff, which is necessary to maintain the productive capacity of the company (Kumari and Malhotra 2012).
The second action that seems to be the most indispensable one is the hiring of the highly skilled and professional staff responsible for designing the project then practically implementing (Kunkel 2002). Moreover, in order to remain competitive, a permanent in-house counsel shall be hired as well, due to the fact that his presence assures that the actions of competitors will be monitored and respective actions will be taken in the case of practical necessity, which, according to the popular business practices, arise quite often recently. Another important fact that shall be mentioned in this section of a report is the dialogue that must be established with a customer survey company and then maintained on the level that is dictated by the standards of common commercial practice in the electronic appliances retail trade area.
To Invest to the Development of the New Technologies
Although this sector seems to be very far from marketing and advertising objectives, there is a direct connection between the technologies and effectiveness of the company’s marketing strategy (Kotler and Phillip 2011). It must be always taken into consideration that the competitors of the company actively cultivate their research departments and introduce new technological tools into the operational framework of their business activities.
Construction of the Dialogue with the Clients
The dialogue can be constructed via the application of the numerous instruments. First and foremost, the customers can have reasonable opportunity to submit their reports and critical remarks by means of Internet. However, in other to make this option possible, specifics option should be integrated into the application that is currently governed by the company sales department. Statistically, it has been concluded that if the complaints of the customers are regarded, the customers are likely to remain loyal to this particular company in foreseeable future (Hertzfield 2004).
Contemporary commercial practice precisely indicates that the competitors of the targeted company have already launched similar strategies. In particular, the commodities produced by Apple routinely ask the users weather the performance demonstrated by the professional qualities of these commodities is consistent with the expectations of the customers.
Conclusion
Having summarized the major findings of these reports, several inferential conclusions can be drawn. First and foremost, the current level of the company’s operations in the field of marketing advertising and customers’ communication treatment is partially consistent with the existing and recommended standards. This is primarily due to the fact that significant attention is paid to the employment of the purely traditional techniques, which are outdated now and rarely employed. In order to accomplish its mission statement strategically, the company must focus on the following issues. Most importantly, profound investments are to be made into the technological developments. Secondly, these investments must be linked to marketing and advertising campaigns waged by the company.
Finally, the company has to monitor the situation on the market on the permanent basis, especially with regard to the fact that the situation is highly volatile in its nature and changes almost always occur with unprecedented rapidity. Considering the fact that the majority of those changes can be debarred targeted by the company major competitors, the firm should launch an extensive set of preventive actions in order to avert the negative consequences.
Overall, provided that the measures outlined above are implemented, the marketing and advertising success of the company campaign is assured.