Market Plan - Solar Communication Company (Thesis Sample)

Marketing Plan – Solar Communication Company
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Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u Executive Summary PAGEREF _Toc435383950 \h 3Market Analysis PAGEREF _Toc435383951 \h 5SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) Analysis PAGEREF _Toc435383952 \h 7Strengths PAGEREF _Toc435383953 \h 7Weaknesses PAGEREF _Toc435383954 \h 7Opportunities PAGEREF _Toc435383955 \h 7Threats PAGEREF _Toc435383956 \h 7Product Description PAGEREF _Toc435383957 \h 7Marketing segmentations, targeting and positioning decisions PAGEREF _Toc435383958 \h 9Segmenting and Targeting a Firm's Current Customers PAGEREF _Toc435383959 \h 10Benefits of Segmenting and Targeting Markets PAGEREF _Toc435383960 \h 11Pricing strategy PAGEREF _Toc435383961 \h 11Table one showing the proposed starting price list for money transactions PAGEREF _Toc435383962 \h 13Ways of delivering products to customers PAGEREF _Toc435383963 \h 13Creating consumer value PAGEREF _Toc435383964 \h 14Contingency plan PAGEREF _Toc435383965 \h 15Referencing PAGEREF _Toc435383966 \h 16
Executive Summary
Solar communication is one of the biggest and brilliant communication industries in the UK that keeps what it does as jargon and complex-free, focusing on keeping the important details simple and easy to understand while satisfying the customers' needs (Burik & Toussant, 2013). The company majorly provides business solutions to its consumers by offering diversified telecommunication services as well as products that majorly deals with the provision of wireless mobility solutions, video conferencing and project management solutions. The company also does the installation of local network infrastructures, business mobile tariffs, as well as providing services for mobile devices (Burik & Toussant, 2013). Apart from Solar Communications' specialties in unified communications, the company can also help customers to link head-office phone networks into more sophisticated telecoms such as video conferencing.
The company was founded in 1988; it has offices based in London, Chippenham, and Manchester, which employs around 80 people (Nykiel, 2003). Headed by chief executive Mark Colquhoun, the company's demand for the company's services has led sales to rise 63% a year, from £2Million in 2008 to £8.6Million by 2011, and further rose to £10 Million in 2012 (Anderson, 2012). The Solar Company has had the privilege to receive several success awards including; being shortlisted for Reseller of the Year in the Communications Business Awards 2012 and recognized as one of the 500 fastest-growing technology companies in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). It was also named in Deloitte Technology Fast 500.
Solar Communication Company intends to beat by far its not-so-close competitors, The Talk-Talk Telecom Group, and CNS Communications Ltd by working closely with its clients to create more flexible communications solutions that deliver tangible value, like cost savings, efficiency gains, an enhanced customer experience and improvements in operational effectiveness (Toussant, 2013). Solar Company's mission is to lead the Information Technology industry with cutting-edge technology, best business practice as the employees and customers sit at the heart of the company's approach. The vision, on the other hand, is to come up with holistic solutions that provide clients with the maintenance, training and support they need to use the systems to their fullest potential. Partnering with ShoTel IP Telephony, Solar Communication is about to launch a new special service of money transfer via mobile phones (Bradford & McDonald, 2012).
The paper, therefore, discusses the nature of the solar money transfer service, an analysis of its marketing and consumer, how customer value will be created and the marketing communications plan the new service. I will also tackle the means on how the product will be delivered to clients, including advantages and disadvantages of different delivery options and the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis of Solar Communication Company.
Market Analysis
Solar Communication, like most communication companies, is increasingly adapting to hosted UC. The 2015-2019 market report published by analysts on the Global (UC) Unified Communication, claiming they expect the global unified communications market to grow at a CAGR of 14.08 percent over the next five years to avail affordable enterprise communications systems. Further proof of a growing unified communications market. Another unified communications sector result, by Grand View Research, predicts the market to increase to $75.81 billion by the year 2020. Growth in mobile workforces and enterprise mobility are the favorable impacts on the Solar Communication's market over the next six years.
The company has grown the business organically, and through the acquisition of Armstrong Communications in January 2013. The company had made many positive changes including the move from Bristol to Chippenham in 2008 when it doubled in size and two years later opened another Quantum House office in London to cope with the ever-expanding customer base. The company has been recognized and commended over the years and are pleased to have collected some fantastic industry accolades including being listed in the Sunday Times Hiscox Tech Track 100 in September 2012 and being shortlisted for the Best Enterprise UC Solution in the National Communications Awards the same year. Inclusion in the Growth Business Top 50 Rising Stars list was a highlight as it considers both turnover and growth.
Since 2008, Solar Communications has been ShoreTel's number one European strategic partner and in 2010, the company was delighted to be accepted into their circle of excellence. Early 2014, Solar became ShoreTel's Number one non-US partner and are now their top partner outside of the United States of America, this shows that the company is still moving forward. There was a registered Net Promoter Score of 75% in 2012 (Bradford, 2012), which is an incredible achievement, especially when a corporation achieving 50% is considered world class.
According to the founder and majority shareholder, Torquil Clark, the financial services giant that has branded itself as, Your Lifetime Financial Group, has seen much growth in the twenty-five years of providing investment and wealth management, life insurance, employee benefits and financial advising. A staff of 80 manages over 100,000 client portfolios, and with a group turnover of 10 million pounds, a very fast expansion rate.
Having the not so close competition and counterparts, the company finds itself being in a stronger position than ever, now looking forward to a great future in their production and delivery. On the other hand, the infrastructure cost of the company's workplace is increasing rapidly owing to the increased employee strength; hence, it is looking to reduce the operational costs to maintain healthy profit margins (Bly, 2003). Although Unified Communications helps, most communication companies reduce their infrastructure costs as well as their communication and transportation costs.
SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) Analysis
Strengths
* Stability in the communication industry
* Strong innovations, excellent timing and consumer satisfaction that ensures success of the company of Solar Communications
Weaknesses
* Increased operational costs
* The new product may have a limited impact of on the market; its lack of recognition may be attributed to the company's inexperience with money transfer and communication.
Opportunities
* Very few and incompetent competitors
* Solar Communication is an already established business and has gained customer trust, which makes the company easier to maneuver the new service into the market
Threats
* Newly emerging competition shortly
* Ability to show the value of any solution
Product Description
By embedding particular words into short messages services sent to specific numbers of the same network, cell phones will be able to transmit commands that tell the wireless provider to add a given amount of money to the phone user's bill. When the bill is paid, the network company hence transfers the amount designated to the recipient. There will be an affordable fee for transferring or withdrawing the money according to the quantity sent or received. The service will allow users to make transactions directly and securely in a few seconds, thus numerous benefits to customers regarding convenience, security, and ease of use. Through the Solar money transfer, a consumer can:
* Deposit money,
* Withdraw money
* Transfer money, all to the same network
* Pay for goods, services and bills
* Purchase airtime
* Manage their phone account
* Make transactions from personal bank accounts
Mobile payments and money transfer services are set for a new wave of growth in the United Kingdom, despite the disruption rising in the blurring industry landscape. Accelerating growth in the country is expected in the value and volume of mobile payments transactions globally, with non-banks accounting for a rising share (Hiebing, 2003). The universe of mobile payments services is expected to expand rapidly in the UK as boundaries blur between payments, marketing, and shopping services delivered via mobile. The use of such services is projected to accelerate from 2015, driven by factors including rising merchant acceptance, policy support and customer education. Ovum estimates that by 2017, 10% of the UK mobile phone users will have stored value accounts.
However, long-standing mobile messaging technologies with the same services, for instance, Vodafone is being used to support services like domestic and international remittances, microfinance and salary disbursem...