Analysis of IMC Mix Strategies of Samsung (Research Paper Sample)

ANALYSIS OF IMC MIX STRATEGIES OF SAMSUNG
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Executive Summary3
1.0 Introduction4
2.0 Literature Review4
3.0 Smartphone market environment review: 7
4.0 Company strategies................................................................................................,.................10
4.1.0 Target audience 10
4.1.1. Media selection11
4.1.2 Brand Positioning…….………………………..,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,…………………………..11
5.0. Recommendations and Conclusion……………….…………………………………………12
6.0 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………...……14.
Executive summary
Recently, Ofcom conducted a survey on the number of people owning smartphones in the UK and found a staggering 61% adults did own one such a gadget. In relation to the above, the firm estimated that by the year 2018, a whopping 78% of the residents in UK will be owners of these gadgets. In light of these revelations and predictions, Samsung saw it fit to analyse its IMC in order to understand if it was on track or not.
In addition to this issue being the reason for this report, the company sought to understand how well its IMC was working. It was discovered that Samsung has failed to retain clients but is popular among people who have not bought its Smartphones. Sadly, this report discovered that people in UK and elsewhere are eager to buy Samsung’s Smartphones but no sooner have they bought them, than they just switch to a rival, Apple. The reason behind this trend was intensively discovered, and results showed that there is a serious problem with Samsung’s customer-retention program. In other words, the company’s IMC requires some improvement in order to capitalize on the UK market which, needless to say, is pretty promising.
1.0 Introduction.
It is no doubt that unlike in the past when ordinary phones were the only thing many companies sought to compete on, there is a new phenomenon. Electronic companies are working round the clock in a bid to outsmart each other in as far invention, production and the subsequent marketing of Smartphones is concerned. However, as with any other product, when the supply overshadows the demand, new strategies have to be developed to ensure profitability. This is a report for Samsung where the IMC mix has been closely analysed, findings have been studied, and recommendations offered. This report seeks to understand the market of Samsung’s Smartphones in the UK. To do this, all past studies by various institutions and individuals will be analysed in trying to understand what is missing and how Samsung could capitalize and increase its market share in the UK.
2.0 Literature review
Many companies have discovered that integrated marketing communication (IMC) is essential when it comes to remaining dominant in the market. Unknown to some is that IMC plays a pivotal role in determining the sales a company makes. In essence, IMC refers to a particular approach applied by various businesses where different modes of communication work together with the sole goal of underlining the core message of the product (Gromark and Melin 2013). In other words, the essence of having an IMC is to ensure that all marketing communication aspects are fronted together to work in such a way that consistency is witnessed in uniform way. It, therefore, means that all marketing aspects work in unison as opposed to isolating them. In light of this understanding, it means that a company looks at the all platforms that are used in promotion and unifies them. For instance, social media, promotions, advertising, public-relations and even direct marketing are normally organised in such a way that the message running across all of them is consistent. According to Mc Garth (2005), this approach usually saves a lot and instils confidence in the customer because none of the methods is inconsistent. In short, the message in social media corresponds with that of the advertisement, the one used during promotions.
Besides being cost-effective and winning confidence, IMC goes further to increase sales especially because clients are subjected to the same message. Olof (2006) noted that when IMC is created in the best way, it could transform an organization in a very tremendous way. Some of the components of IMC includes client-centred whereby the organization is not just interested in winning a new customer, but to retain a loyal one. Unlike the traditional approach whereby many business owners were solely focused on winning a customer, the new IMC approach seeks to form a strong relationship with customers. According to Zethaml, Bitner and Gremler (2006) the reason many firms take this approach is because there is a realization that customers keep coming back. It, therefore, means that if a customer is treated well the first time, there is a likelihood of their coming back the next time a company needs them.
Product design is another vital component of IMC as it helps companies in understanding the kind of product to design. In the past, there was a tendency by companies to make products without firstly understanding the consumer needs. However, as Zethaml et al. (2006) noted, the importance of IMC is that it gives companies the guide on which product to develop and the methods to use. For instance, in the case of Smartphones, it became apparent that people’s tight schedules forced them have gadgets that could access internet without necessarily being heavy (Hey, Papay and Gyuri 2014). As a result, companies started developing easy-to-carry gadgets such as the tablets and Smartphones. The developing of such gadgets can and ought to be directed by customer needs and not anything else; this can only be the case if the company is in constant relationship with its clientele.
Promotion comes in as an additional component of IMC and it is very essential to the brand being introduced or sold. This part involves firstly knowing the target group even before one launches the product. It is here that the company devises ways to advertise depending on the platforms used by a particular group ("What is IMC" 2014). For instance, the company analyses where young people are likely to be found and ensures advertisement is placed there. Even though the adverts will be targeting people in different age brackets, the message is the same as is the goal. It is highly recommended that a company first identify where people are likely to see adverts and ensure they are placed.
Once advertisement are placed, the company has to be disciplined in tracking the promotions to assess which method is working and not. Many times companies request clients to leave a message indicating where they first heard about the product. Additionally, one could track as per mode of requests and sales being generated. The importance of tracking these sales is to improve or do away with the method that is least productive which consequently helps in saving money (Olof 2006) Leveraging is imperative when marketing because some platforms are weak and it is important to leverage. This could be done by purchasing a smaller space of advertisement in case it is a TV advert. Leverage could be easily done if the brand identity is strong, as is this case of Samsung. It was noted that companies whose brand name is household do not need to spend a lot in advertisement as they are able to easily promote the products on various platforms (Gromark and Melin 2013).
So far, the discussion has been about ensuring that all departments and people involved in marketing the product are on the same side in regard to the message to clients. This is the part known as synergy in the IMC and it is very important. Synergy works well with brand identity meaning that the brand is easily recognized firm various platforms. The importance of this step is that it helps in various things one of which is helping in publicizing the brand. The publicity of every brand is vital not just when it new but also in making sure it remains known in the market (Aula 2010)
3.0 Smartphone market environment review:
It is no secret that the UK has a wide market for Smartphones evidenced by findings conducted in the recent times. Also, the fact that many companies – Nokia, Apple and Samsung- flock this country is a clear indication that the market exists. As a matter of fact, BBC (2011) reported that 58% of UK residents do own Smartphones. Surprisingly, it is not just the adults who are owners of these gadgets since it was revealed that young people as well do have them. For instance, over 60% of the teenagers do use Smartphones but it was not ascertained if they owned or simply used. Even though this number uses Smartphones for varied reasons the point is that the UK provides companies like Samsung with an opportunity to increase profitability.
However, at this point, it is important to realize that despite this market, Samsung reported a 60% profit-plummetin...