Unit 19 Marketing Planning Assignment - EE Ltd

Unit 19 Marketing Planning Assignment - EE Ltd

Introduction

The marketing planningis discussing about the concept of marketing essentials that delves with the aspects of marketing principles, that enables them towards the development of a general marketing plan as well as employing various marketing mix components for the actualization of the results. The two organizations that have been considered here are EE Limited as well as Vodafone that are using marketing for influencing the people for engaging with their products as well as services.

Task 2

Compare how EE Limited and another competitor of your choice apply the various elements of the extended marketing mix to the marketing planning process to achieve business objectives.

Prior to the commencement of the discussion regarding the various elements of the extended marketing mix regarding the two organizations, let us first discuss in brief regarding the aspect of extended marketing mix to the marketing planning process. There exist seven components of the extended marketing mix that are considered as product, price, promotion, place, people, physical evidence as well as process. (McDonald, 2012)

• Product – It is dealing with the original object that is being sold to the customer, and that can be a physical product or a service.
• Price – It deals with any issue associated with the pricing aspect of a product. Primarily, the margin of profit and the pricing related to the competition will be dictating the product’s price.
• Promotion –It is required to take utmost care in regard to promotion when decision is being made in what ways communication is being done as well as selling the product to the customers. (McDonald, 2012)
• Place – It deals with the aspect of distribution channels, and ways by which the product will get to the customers. There takes place the assessment of issues that are transactional, operational as well as logistical. (McDaniel, 2011)
• People– It deals with the individuals that are working for an organization. It is considered essential for recruiting as well as training the right candidates since they will be the one that will deal with the customers that takes into consideration the customer service representatives, sales representatives and so on.
• Physical evidence – It deals with the process by which the presentation of a product is done to the customer that takes into consideration its surroundings and this process is having a lot of significance. (Palmer, 2011)
• Process –It is dealing with the aspect of providing services to the customers as well as the ability of the organization for offering a service, handling complaints as well as foreseeing any matter prior to the actual occurrence. (McDaniel, 2011)

Now, let us take into consideration the two organizations that are required to be compared in respect of the application of the different elements of the extended marketing mix regarding the marketing planning process for the actualization of the objectives related with business. The two organizations are EE Limited as well as Vodafone Group. EE Limited is a mobile network operator company as well as internet service provider and is a part of the BT Group. The company started its operations from 2010 and is headquartered in Hatfield, United Kingdom.

Extended Marketing mix for EE Limited

• Product – The services that are being sold by EE Limited are superfast 4G Network services as well as 3G and 2G network services. They are also providing HD Video Calling services and also broadband services. If someone is using the 4GEE plan of the organization, then they will be able to use their 4G, 3G as well as 2G networks. The company has also launched UK’s first contactless mobile payment process in respect of the customers. (McCalman, 2015) Moreover, the company is offering an IPTV service with the help of its EE TV Box.
• Price – There are three major plans that are provided by the mobile network operator company viz., Orange plans, EE plans, T-Mobile plans. The Orange plans comprise of orange pay monthly plans, orange pay as you go plans and so on, T-Mobile plans consists of price plan brochures, T-Mobile Boosters and so on, EE price plans comprise of phone price plans (pay monthly, pay as you go, SIM only, service number charges for mobile customers), 4GEE Wifi price plans, Home 4GEE price plans, EE TV, home phone and home broadband price plans (Home phone, EE TV and Home Broadband, Service number charges for home broadband customers) (McCalman, 2015)
• Promotion – EE Limited did the launching of its first advertisement in television on 3rd November 2012, four days after launching its 4G services as well as a new brand. The company also did a new online advertisement in respect of WIFI calling in 2015.
• Place – EE limited uses the aspect of distribution channels through which the services reach the customers. The company is continuously expanding itself by opening various retail stores. EE Limited is currently possessing 590 EE retail stores in the UK post the re-branding of existing Orange, T-Mobile as well as Everything Everywhere stores in October 2012. (Lind, 2014)
• People – The leadership team of EE Limited comprises of Marc Allera (Chief Executive Officer), Stephen Harris (Chief Financial Officer), Fotis Karonis (MD IT and Mobile), Sarah Jane Henly (HR Director), Noel Hamill (MD Marketing), Max Taylor (MD Digital, Comms and Innovation), Nick Lane (MD Customer Service), James Blendis (General Counsel), Bruno Duarte(MD Operations and Strategy), and so on. The company has a very effective recruitment as well as training policy that assist in recruiting the most suitable candidates for the organization.
• Physical Evidence – This is the process by which the services of EE Limited are presented to the customers by taking into consideration its surroundings and has a lot of importance.
• Process – EE Limited offers quality services to the customers and does the handling of complaints as well as foresees any matter prior to the actual occurrence. Vodafone Group is a British multinational telecommunications organization that is headquartered in London. In respect of revenue, Vodafone is ranked fifth among mobile operator groups that are operating internationally and second in the number of connections worldwide. Vodafone came into operations in 1991.

Produce a marketing plan to meet EE’s marketing goals and objectives. The extended elements of the marketing mix should be addressed in your marketing plan.

Firstly, let us understand the marketing goals and objectives of EE Limited. The goal of EE Limited is providing the most excellent network as well as best services so that the company can win over the trust of the customers. The objectives that have been orchestrated by EE Limited for achieving these are,

• Best Network –To build a new digital backbone in respect of Britain.
• Best Service – To deliver excellent services in respect of the customers with the help of their stores, in our centers as well as online. (Freeman, 2010)
• Customer trust and relevance –To offer a personalized experience in respect of the customers through the products as well services they are offering to the way the company is selling them.

Marketing Plan for EE Limited

• Executive Summary –This marketing plan is mainly focused towards meeting the marketing goals as well as objectives of EE Limited. The various elements of the marketing  mix such as product, price, place, promotion, people, physical evidence as well as process will get addressed as well.
• Company Overview -EE Limited is a mobile network operator company as well as internet service provider and is a part of the BT Group. The company started its operations from 2010 and is headquartered in Hatfield, United Kingdom. (Freeman, 2010)

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Current Market Situation Analysis

SWOT Analysis of EE Limited:

Strengths (S) –It is having more than 27 million customers from the time of its commencement of business. The major strengths of EE Limited are the company’s largest coverage that includes biggest 3G Network across the UK. The organization is operating the largest amount of retail stores that is more than 570 in number that includes 100 franchise stores situated on the high streets as well as shopping malls. There was the launching of the 4G services by EE Limited before the other competitors that provided accessibility to more than 70% of the population for the UK that made it the leader of the market. The visibility of the brand increased due to the sponsorship associated with big events related with football as well as movies.

Weaknesses (W) – There is the existence of very weak brand recall process because if its current launch in comparison to the brands that are already well-known. EE Limited is majorly concentrating on the business sector and therefore, not able to acquire individual customers. (Fernando, 2011)

Opportunities (O) - The market is growing in respect of the telecom industry. EE Limited is having a great platform in respect of B2B growth in business particularly with its wide services related to broadband. There is an increase in the ownership of smart-phone as well as increase in the use of mobile phones that can be considered as a very good opportunity. Being the market leader of 4G services, EE Limited can do the boosting of its revenue through the sale of increased number of 4G supported phones as well as with the help of post-pay contracts.

Threats (T) – The future potentiality for growth regarding 4G might be leading towards severe competition that will be resulting in EE Limited losing its share of market and as well as position in the market. Increasing number of IT attacks on mobile phones will be discouraging customers from utilizing data functions on their handsets that will adversely impact the margins of the organization. The utilization of EE voice servers will be decreasing in a significant manner through the introduction of different VoIP as well as instant messenger phone applications. (Fernando, 2011)

Objective- To build a new digital backbone in respect of Britain. To deliver excellent services in respect of the customers with the help of their stores, in our centers as well as online. To offer a personalized experience in respect of the customers through the products as well services they are offering to the way the company is selling them. (Daft, 2015)

Strategy-The extended marketing mix for EE Limited needs to be addressed as part of the marketing strategy for the company. It is as follows,

The services that are being sold by EE Limited are superfast 4G Network services as well as 3G and 2G network services. They are also providing HD Video Calling services and also broadband services. If someone is using the 4GEE plan of the organization, then they will be able to use their 4G, 3G as well as 2G networks. The company has also launched UK’s first contactless mobile payment process in respect of the customers. Moreover, the company is offering an IPTV service with the help of its EE TV Box. (Price) There are three major plans that are provided by the mobile network operator company viz., Orange plans, EE plans, T-Mobile plans. The Orange plans comprise of orange pay monthly plans, orange pay as you go plans and so on, T-Mobile plans consists of price plan brochures, T-Mobile Boosters and so on, EE price plans comprise of phone price plans (pay monthly, pay as you go, SIM only, service number charges for mobile customers), 4GEE Wifi price plans, Home 4GEE price plans, EE TV, home phone and home broadband price plans (Home phone, EE TV and Home Broadband, Service number charges for home broadband customers) (Promotion) EE Limited did the launching of its first advertisement in television on 3rd November 2012, four days after launching its 4G services as well as a new brand. The company also did a new online advertisement in respect of WIFI calling in 2015. (Daft, 2015) (Place) EE limited uses the aspect of distribution channels through which the services reach the customers. The company is continuously expanding itself by opening various retail stores. EE Limited is currently possessing 590 EE retail stores in the UK post the re-branding of existing Orange, T-Mobile as well as Everything Everywhere stores in October 2012. (People) The leadership team of EE Limited comprises of Marc Allera (Chief Executive Officer), Stephen Harris (Chief Financial Officer), Fotis Karonis (MD IT and Mobile), Sarah Jane Henly (HR Director), Noel Hamill (MD Marketing), Max Taylor (MD Digital, Comms and Innovation), Nick Lane (MD Customer Service), James Blendis (General Counsel), Bruno Duarte(MD Operations and Strategy), and so on. The company has a very effective recruitment as well as training policy that assist in recruiting the most suitable candidates for the organization. (Physical Evidence) This is the process by which the services of EE Limited are presented to the customers by taking into consideration its surroundings and has a lot of importance. (Process) EE Limited offers quality services to the customers and does the handling of complaints as well as foresees any matter prior to the actual occurrence. (Daft, 2015)

Segmentation, targeting and positioning (STP) – (Segmentation) It is significant in respect of EE Limited for acquiring new customers as well as for future development. In majority of the scenarios, geographic, demographic, psychographic as well as behavioral aspects are utilized in respect of segmentation of the market. Every segment of the market for EE Limited is required to measurable, accessible as well as substantial for serving the company’s interest. Demographic variables do the segmentation in accord to income, age as well as customer’s nature. Psychographic variable majorly does the segmentation of the market in relation to standard of living as well as personality. Behavioral variable can be segmented into three types such as local call, STD call as well as ISD call in relation to the rate of usage. (Targeting) There should be a selection of a target market for competing in an effective manner. For strengthening its presence in the mobile telecom market, EE Limited is producing products as well as services in respect of various segments through the introduction of various tariffs. At present, the organization did the adaptation of the differentiation targeting strategy. (Positioning) EE Limited has positioned itself in conjunction with the existing Orange as well as T-Mobile brands as a quality brand and the progressive service for driving the mobile market forward through the assistance of the 4G services. (Dwyer, 2012)

Budget –For developing the marketing plan budget in respect of EE Limited, first and foremost there is the requirement for creating a list of the various segments related to the marketing efforts that includes market research. Then, there occurs the estimation of the cost that is having the involvement regarding market research. Then, the cost is estimated to test various marketing strategies. Then, estimation of the cost is done regarding the campaign related to communication that takes into consideration the costs related with creative design regarding packaging, ads, and websites. Then, estimation of the cost is done to track as well as monitor the efforts associated with communication process. Then, the total estimated costs will get added that will be determining whether the company will be able to afford the total price related to the marketing plan. Finally, there is the need for creating a formula for spending that will be tying the company’s marketing budget to sales percentage.

Control – Controlling can take place in the marketing plan for monitoring the advancement of the plan that constitutes of the feedback from the customers, target market sales, budgeting, and share of the market. (Dwyer, 2012)

Conclusion –The marketing plan will immensely help the organization in having a step-by-step guide for the success of the organization. There will be the assessment of the organization from top to bottom and ensuring that every component is functioning in the best possible manner for the company

Conclusion

This assignment delves with the aspect of marketing essentials in which a comparison has been made for finding out the ways by which EE Limited as well as Vodafone has applied the different components of the extended marketing mix in respect of the marketing planning process for the actualization of objectives related with business. Along with this, a marketing plan has been produced for meeting the marketing goals as well as objectives of EE Limited. The extended elements of the marketing mix have also been mentioned in the marketing plan.

References

Draft, R 2015, Organization Theory and Design, Cengage Learning.
Freman, R 2010, Stakeholder RThoery: The state of the Art, Cambridge University Press.
Frydman, R 2013, Rethinking Expecttaions: The way forward for Macroeconomics, Princeton University Press.
Furnham, A 2012, The Psychology of Behavior at Work: The individual in the organization, Psychology Press.
Lind, P 2014, Monitoring Business Performance , Routledge.
MacCalman, J 2015, Change Management: A guide to Effective Implementation, SAGE.
MacDaniel, C 2011, Essentials of Marketing, Cengage Learning.
McDonald, M 2012, Market Segmentation, John Wiley & Sons.
Palmer, A 2011, The Business Environment, McGraw Hill Higher Education.