Particular Questions Raised About Etisalat's Marketing Management (Essay Sample)

ETISALAT MARKETING MANAGEMENT
Student’s Name
Professors Name
Course Name + Course Code
State/City
Date
Introduction
Etisalat is a leading telecommunications operator in the Middle East and parts of Africa with services currently being offered in 15 nations. The company presently holds a market value of $26 billion and has annual revenues of over $13 billion. The company also has assets valued to be worth an excess of $33 billion (Etisalat 2016, n. pag.). Etisalat is currently engaged in a market expansion process where it seeks to increase its global market share through offering services in new markets. Marketing plays an important role in both the established and new markets for Etisalat.
How does the organization of your choice differentiate between selling and marketing concepts?
According to (Schmitt 2011, p.18), the marketing concept demands that businesses must critically examine the needs of their consumers to enable them to make informed decisions aimed at meeting the identified needs better than competitors. Through the understanding of the target consumers, the business focuses its product features to meeting the intricate needs highlighted through the marketing concept. The marketing concept as explained by Schmitt is thus a process of ascertaining business competitiveness through filling the gaps competition has ignored or is unable to fill. Etisalat’s growth is pillared on the quality of services mobile and internet services across its operating markets. As a market leader in the nations the company offers its services, Etisalat has taken up innovation and creative products as a differentiation strategy. Innovation is also part of the strategic plan as it seeks to explore the global market. Etisalat’s customer service department is utilized as a key contact point with its consumers. As such, it is an important part of the marketing process as the primary feedback platform on new and existing services. The company views the customer service section as an important feeder to the marketing team with customer feedback. Customer feedback is also taken as a primary indicator of the success of all marketing activities and new product launches. Through the customer feedback, both the marketing and the research and development teams are in a position to get first-hand information from the customers and make strategic plans in reaction to this information. Since the customer service department plays such an important role, it is one of the most diversified functions of the company with several contact points having been created. Customers can get in touch with the company through; its website, various social media accounts, calls, live chat as well as through direct interaction at its various dealer offices. The essence of this move is to ensure that the company is completely accessible so as to enable easier market information collection.
On the other hand, the selling concept is explained by (Roberts & Berger 1989, p.174) to assert that customers will not buy the products of a company on their volition. As such, the selling concept holds that the seller must aggressively engage in selling and promotion activities to ensure the consumers buy their product. This view is further echoed by (Kotler, et al., 2009) who argue that consumers intrinsically have buying inertia and thus ought to be coerced into buying the products on offer. Typically, the selling concept is applied by companies that have a production overcapacity whose aim becomes selling what they make as opposed to what the market wants. Etisalat’s global market expedition is geared by the firm’s achievement os production efficiency in its current markets. As such, the company can produce and support its services in their most efficient forms thus maximizing the profit generated. The selling concept at Etisalat clearly comes out through their R&D engagements. After providing their customers with the common mobile service products, the firm has gone ahead to create particular products for their different market segments. These products target the organizations, youth, heavy data users, heavy call time users and also the light users for both data and calls. Above creation of these products, there is massive advertisement behind every package in its target niche to ensure that subscribers are not only aware but also consume the service in large numbers.
Explain the marketing process and its relevance with respect to your chosen organization.
The marketing process as discussed by (Wright 1999, p.18) is made of four core processes – analysis, selection, marketing mix and management.
Market analysis
The first step in the marketing process is a comprehensive evaluation of the market so as to identify the existing gaps and opportunities to be exploited by a product in a bid to exert itself in the market. As such, these opportunities are the needs and wants of the customers that have not been met by the competition. When initiating their marketing process, Etisalat focused on the longevity of identified opportunity to enable it to improve the service over time. Further, the supporting of a marketing information system (MIS) is seen as a critical element in this process for the collection of important information about the target market. The MIS offers useful information on customer demographics, competitors, general market trends, and any unusual changes in the market that may be beneficial to the firm.
Fig 1: Marketing Information System
Selection of target market
The selection of a segment where the marketing and selling of the product will focus is an essential stage of the marketing process. Since it is impractical for the company to meet the needs of their entire market, targeting enables it to concentrate on the segment where it can best utilize its strengths to meet the segment’s needs. Selection of the target market is made up of; market segmentation, targeting, and position.
Market segmentation
Etisalat has divided its market into several segments with each segment having homogenous wants. The segmentation process is informed by characteristics and behaviors of consumers with each diverse segment requiring different strategic approaches as well as marketing mixes. Here, Etisalat grouped their customers primarily by their talk time and data usage; there are also products for the youth.
Market targeting
A discussion by (Weinstein 2013, p.67) holds that in the targeting process all sections of the whole market are evaluated to verify the attractiveness of all the sections. The outcome of this process is the selection of a single or more of the most attractive segments, and the market penetration process is initiated. The approach taken by Etisalat here is that the segment ought to offer an opportunity for the firm to create customer value over time. Another important factor taken into consideration here is the firm’s ability to meet the needs of the particular segments.
Market positioning
The marketing position principle defines the process through which the product on offer is placed on the minds of target consumers in a way better that taken by competition. In its market positioning strategy, Etisalat focuses on the particular elements through which its products offer a competitive advantage to customers over competitor products. Market positioning is deemed to be effective when the firm can offer efficient and competitive products to its consumers enabling them to attain maximum value as opposed to competing products.
Development of the marketing mix
The development of a marketing strategy is followed by planning on the marketing mix. A discussion by Kotler and Armstrong (2006, p.74) explains the marketing mix to be a composition of variables that the firm mixes to stimulate particular desired behaviors from the targeted market.
Product – this defines the services Etisalat offers to its consumers. These are messaging, internet and data, mobile and wireless, e-payment services, managed services, and voice.
Price – this is the money consumers are required to pay for them to use Etisalat services. The pricing strategy is taken according to the needs of Etisalat’s various target segments.
Place – these are the efforts the company puts to ensure that its products are readily accessible to its consumers. Etisalat has moved to ensure reliable network coverage that is supported by a substantial number of Etisalat dealers across the market.
Promotion – these defines the measures the company has implemented to increase product sales through the provision of ample information on their products and the advantages they offer.
In the organization of your choice, understand and explain how the marketing objectives are aligned to the core objectives of the organization.
The marketing team at Etisalat is engaged in a continuous process to ensure customers are aware of its products and also buy these products. The core objectives for Etisalat are;
* Re-shape the lives of consumers
* Accelerate the economic growth of businesses, and
* Enhance the competitiveness of the country
As such, the firm’s marketing objectives are designed to support these objectives as a tool for enabling the firm to attain its set out objectives.
The marketing objective for an increase in Etisalat sales works to accelerate the firm’s aim for economic growth. Through a sustained growth in sales volumes, Etisalat is placed at a better position to meet its economic advancement objectives. The economic acceleration aim is also supported by the marketing goal for the growth of market share (Sm...