Unit 2 Marketing Essentials Assignment

Unit 2 Marketing Essentials Assignment

Task 2a

2.1 Compare how EE Limited and another ocmpetitor apply the various elements of the extended marketing mix to the marketing planning process to achieve business objective.

Marketing mix can be defined as the set of tactics or actions which are usually used by the business entities for the purpose of promoting brand or the product for the consumers in the target market. The elements which are considered to be the part of the extended marketing mix are as following (Kotler, 2013; Majumdar, 2001):

• Product: This is the manufactured goods which are sold to the consumers which may be physical product as well as intangible service or a mix of both.
• Price: This is the pricing decided by the company according to the strategy of it, which the consumers are needed to pay for using the products or services of the company.
• Promotion: This involves the way the company communicates and sells the products to the consumers through advertisements or promotional decisions.
• Place: Place primarily involves the channels of distribution for the products or the services of the companies.
• People: This is the essential part of the extended marketing mix which involves the employees as well as other relevant internal stakeholders for the companies.
• Physical Evidence/Layout: The way product is presented to the consumers, including the stores etc.
• Process: Process primarily involves the way the consumers are given services, complaints are handled, and any issues are foreseen previous to they in reality take place.

The companies which are being discussed for the purpose of this paper is EE Limited which is a British internet service provider as well as a mobile network operator. Hence the company which has been chosen for the comparison is Three Mobile, which is also in the same industry space. This company has been in view of the fact that it is in the same industry as of EE Limited and hence the comparison between the uses of various elements of the extended marketing mix of these companies to their marketing planning processes. Following is the discussion for each of these elements and comparison between the way the same are used for the marketing mix for the companies under discussion (Kotler, 2013).

Product

As far as the mobile phone and internet service industries is concerned, the differentiation with respect to their product offerings is minimal. Almost all the companies in this industry including EE Limited and Three Mobile have more or less similar product or service offering for its targeting customers. EE Limited and Three Mobile offers wide range of service to its consumers which include voice services, data and internet services, messaging services as well as fixed line solutions. These products are developed by the companies with the purpose of assisting the consumers with their needs of the communication. However some level of differentiation is present between this element of marketing mix for EE Limited and Three Mobile. The focus which EE Limited has in terms of its product offering is more emphasized towards the B2B (business to business) consumers and hence the company centers on the text messaging and voice services more. These are also aligned with the functionality and core use of the handsets. On the other hand Three Mobile is more reliant on the retail consumer segment and hence to cater for the different needs of the consumers, the company has various data and internet as well as voice services for different segments of the customers. This also affects the marketing processes of the companies in view of the fact that the companies market their products differently to the retail consumer and the business consumers (Kotler, 2013).

Pricing

Due to the high level of competitiveness within this industry the pricing which are decide by both of the companies are discussion are competitive and is constantly tweaked and altered for increasing their market share. This is very important for the marketing of the companies in view of the fact that the marketing activities are also needed to be carried out frequently to inform the consumers regarding the changed pricing of the companies. However due to the intrinsic difference in the target markets of both the companies it can be said that there is some variation in the price structures of EE limited and Three Mobiles as they try to suit different needs of different types of customers. EE limited with its focus on the corporate segment has various small as well as large postpaid plans. On the other hand Three Mobile has various prepaid plans as well targeted towards the high number of retail consumers who are not so heavy users of the same.

Promotion

There is a significant different between the promotional strategies between these companies in view of the fact that the predominant consumer segments are different for these companies. The B2C nature of Three Mobile facilities the focus of the company on the social media marketing as well as mass marketing through the television and newspapers and magazines. On the other hand EE Mobile focuses on B2B marketing through engagement with the corporate and providing them dedicated customer service as well as sales team for relationship building and maintaining.

Place

Due to the advent of internet and other relevant information technology driven commutation channels the importance of the physical stores of the companies has diminished. However Three Mobile has more number of consumers’ stores for catering to the retail consumers of the company. EE Limited has a very less number of stores and focuses more on developing and enhancing the call centers and website for catering to the requirement of the customers to avail the mobility solution which they are looking for. Hence Three Mobile also has more opportunity for in store marketing which adds to the

People

There is a lot of focus on the overall productivity as well as effectiveness of performance for the internal employees of EE Limited. In view of the fact that the company is significantly dependent on its well developed sales team for closing the deals with the corporate customers, the same is a very important for the marketing activities of the company. On the other hand Three Mobiles dependency on the people is relatively less.

Physical Evidence

This is also a very important factor for the physical stores which the companies under discussion have. In view of the fact that Three Mobile is more reliant on the retail consumer segment and to cater to the different data and voice service requirements of the consumers, the company has various more number of retail stores and it is an important aspect of the marketing for the company. On the other hand, EE limited has less number of stores and their marketing strategy is also attuned to the same.

Process

This is very important for both the companies in view of the fact that the companies rely on the innovative product and service offering significantly which in turn is facilitated within the company through the efficient as well as effective processes. Also the defined marketing processes are different  for the companies due to the difference in the target markets for the same.

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Task 2b

2.2 A marketing plan to meet EE’s marketing goals and objectives

Executive Summary

The company that is being discussed in this paper for development of a marketing plan is EE Limited. This company is a British Telecommunications company and it operates in the mobile network as well as internet service provider industry space. For the reason that the company has already a stronghold on the existing market and customer segment, it will attempt to reach out to a new and relatively untapped segment of consumers through this plan. For this the social media marketing strategy will be defined and modifies and will be supported by various ATL and BTL campaigns which will help in create a brand awareness of EE Limited for the next generation of the consumers.

Company Overview

The company that is being discussed in this paper for development of a marketing plan is EE Limited. This company is a British Telecommunications company and it operates in the mobile network as well as internet service provider industry space. The company, which is the largest mobile network operator in the UK and biggest provider of 4G services in Europe, was established in the year 2010 through a joint venture between Deutsche Telekom and Orange S.A. The company has approximately 30 million consumers. Although the company has a fairly evolved marketing strategy, due to the changing dynamics of the industry as well as the ever shifting consumer behavior, it is important that a new marketing plan is developed and fine tuned for the customer segment of the company. The same will be done through this section of the paper.
In view of the fact that the company already has a stronghold on the existing market and customer segment, it is trying to define and modify a social media marketing strategy supported by various ATL and BTL campaigns which will help in create a brand awareness of EE Limited for the next generation of the consumers. This is the marketing strategy which will be developed through this course of this paper.

2.3 Current Marketing Situation Analysis

Internal and External analysis

For the purpose of internal as well as external analysis, the tool which has been chosen for this report is Porter’s 5 forces. This is a relevant tool for analyzing the companies in the telecommunication industry in view of the fact that the same looks into the competitiveness of the company in this highly competitive industry (Ireland, 2004).
The factors which will be looked into for the purpose of this analysis are as following:

• Competitive rivalry: This force is very significant in the context of the telecommunication industry of Europe as well as UK. Due to the presence of various companies within the mobile phone and internet servicing industry with little or no differentiated product offerings, the risk of rivalry is intense in the industry. Almost all the companies in this industry have more or less similar product or service offering for its targeting customers. All the companies offer wide range of service to its consumers which include voice services, data and internet services, messaging services as well as fixed line solutions.
• Bargaining power of suppliers: This risk is low for EE Limited in view of the fact that it is the largest company in this industry and hence the control on the suppliers and vendors will be significantly high for the company.
• Bargaining power of customers: This risk is moderate for EE Limited for the reason that there are various competitive companies within the market which are offering same or similar products as well as services. Hence the consumers can switch their loyalty quickly. However due to the retail nature as well as deep penetration of the business, loss of individual customers is usually not very vital for any company.
• Threat of new entrants: This threat is low for the companies in this industry which includes EE limited as well. The reason for this is the very high capital cost which the new companies need to bear in case they want to enter in the telecommunications segment. This acts as a significant entry barrier for the new entrants in the market and hence it can be said that  this threat is low for the company
• Threat of substitute products or services: This threat is also low due to the ubiquitous nature of the mobile telephony in the modern day society. There is hardly any substitute for the service which may include satellite phones, desk phones etc. However these are either obsolete or beyond the reach of the general people for usage.

SWOT analysis

Following is the SWOT analysis for EE Limited (Ireland, 2004):

2.4 Marketing Objectives

The marketing objective for which this marketing plan is being designed is as following:

• To create brand awareness in the mind of the millennial and new age mobile phone consumers regarding EE Limited
• To utilize social media as the primary channel for the marketing communications and support the same with the traditional ATL as well as BTL campaigns 

2.4.1 Marketing Strategy

Marketing mix can be defined as the set of tactics or actions which are usually used by the business entities for the purpose of promoting brand or the product for the consumers in the target market. The elements which will be considered as the part of the marketing plan are as following:

Product

The primary product offering for this marketing plan would be high speed 4.5G data and internet services along with calling through voice over internet protocol (VOIP). These products will appeal to the teenagers who usually are the early adopters of technology and related services.

Pricing

In view of the fact that the focus is on the development of long term loyal customers, it will be important for the company to offer a lower pricing strategy for the specific market segment which is being addressed here. The company needs to roll out various prepaid plans targeted towards the high number of young users who will also be heavy users of the data services.

Promotion

The aim of the promotional strategy will be to make use of social media as the primary channel for the marketing communications and support the same with the traditional ATL as well as BTL campaigns 

Place

According to the marketing channels as well as the product offering, the strategy for the place will shift from a brick and mortar strategy to a brick and click model where there will be online 24/7 help for the consumers through the internet and social media channels apart from the physical stores of the companies . There will be a focus on developing and enhancing social media support, grievance redress as well as the call centers and website for catering to the requirement of the customers (Mangold, 2009).

People

Employees who would be working as the face of the company for the consumers through the social media and call centers will be trained well and adept at handling customer grievances and queries. There will be a lot of focus on the overall productivity as well as effectiveness of performance for the internal employees of EE Limited.  

Physical Evidence

Due to the low use of the physical stores, the physical evidence for this marketing segment will not be present at all.

Process

EE Limited will need to develop various innovative product and service offering through the efficient as well as effective internal processes.

2.4.2 Marketing Segmentation, targeting and positioning (STP)

In view of the fact that domestic market of the company under discussion has highly diverse demographic characteristics, due to the people belonging to different economic as well as social classes, it will be important to implement an effective strategy for STP. In this process, the entire market is broken down into few groups of homogeneous people basis some specific criteria. Following this a segment will be chosen for targeting and the product will be positioned for appealing to that particular segment (Kotler, 2013).
Following are the segments which are being recommended here. The demographic segmentation is being used for the same.
Segment 1: Consumers with lower average age from year 14 to year 23 and belonging to the household with higher average income ($600 per month or above)
Segment 2: Consumers with mid level average age from year 23 to year 29 and belonging to the household with higher average income ($600 per month or above)
Segment 3: Consumers with higher average age from year 30 and above lower average income ($600 per month or less)
In view of the fact that the marketing objective that has been chosen for this marketing plan is to create brand awareness in the mind of the millennial and new age mobile phone consumers regarding EE Limited and utilize social media as the primary channel for the marketing communications, the segment which can be targeted is Segment 1.  
EE Limited will have a cutting edge technology product offering and medium to high pricing which will eb appropriate for the chosen segment. The primary product offering for this marketing plan would be high speed 4.5G data and internet services along with calling through voice over internet protocol (VOIP). These products will appeal to the teenagers who usually are the early adopters of technology and related services.

2.4.3 Marketing Tactics & Action

The marketing tactics of the brand will be as following:

• In view of the fact that the millennial and youngsters are being the decision makers for the product and segment which is relevant for this marketing plan, EE needs to use social networking websites for reaching out to them (Saravanakumar, 2012). These people are very active on the social networking websites and use the same for information collection for decision making. Also as has been shown in various studies, this demographic segment spends 2-4 hours per day on an average on the social networking websites (Kotler, 2013).
• Traditional ATL as well as BTL campaigns will also be used for supporting the campaigns through the social networking websites for creating a top of mind recall as well as brand awareness (Kotler, 2013).

There will be a campaign which will be initiated through the Twitter and Facebook page of the brand and will be sponsored / targeted to the selected segment. This will have a catchphrase of “Your gateway to Digital Life”
These social networking websites will be very useful medium for engaging and interacting with the consumers. In view of the fact that the target consumers is expected to be early adopters of technology and well informed regarding tools including Twitter, Blogs, etc. the same will also be used for interaction with the individual customers and receive quick feedback from them. Videos and pictures would also be uploaded on the website which would help in maximizing impact (Kotler, 2011).

2.4.4 Marketing Budget

2.4.5 Marketing Control

In view of the fact that the marketing campaign is primarily aimed towards defining and modifying the social media marketing strategy supported by various ATL and BTL campaigns which will help in create a brand awareness of EE Limited for the next generation of the consumers, the marketing control will also be designed accordingly (Saravanakumar, 2012). There are various approaches for controlling the marketing activities. The ones which will be used in this plan is:
Marketing research: Through the research the rise in the brand recall and brand awareness will be tracked for the specific target segment at the interval of every quarter and there needs to be at least 5% rise QOQ for sustenance of the marketing plan.

Conclusion

For the reason that the company has already a stronghold on the existing market and customer segment, it will attempt to reach out to a new and relatively untapped segment of consumers through this plan. For this the
social media marketing strategy will be defined and modifies and will be supported by various ATL and BTL campaigns which will help in create a brand awareness of EE Limited for the next generation of the consumers.

References

Majumdar, R (2001), Product and Marketing Management, PHI Publishing Group, Page 99-107
Michael A. Hitt, R. Duane Ireland, Robert E.  (2004), Strategic management: competitiveness andglobalization:concepts& cases, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Page 119-121
Rieple, A. (2008), Strategic Management: Theory And Application, Oxford University Press, Page 130-137
Kang,Juhee(2015). Social media marketing. Journal of Marketing.
Mangold, W.G. & Faulds, D.J. (2009). "Social media: The new hybrid element of the promotion mix". Business Horizons.
Saravanakumar, M. & SuganthaLakshmi, T. (2012). "Social media marketing". Life science journal