Marketing plays a fundamental role in enhancing a company’s growth and performance in capturing new markets, retaining the market and stimulating financial strengths in income returns of an organization.
Safaricom marketing mix and it's environmentFred Mmbololo
This document provides an overview of Safaricom's marketing mix and environment. It begins with a brief history of Safaricom and discusses its vision, strategic analysis, and segmentation using the STP model. It then defines marketing and explores Safaricom's marketing mix using the 7Ps and 4Cs frameworks. The document examines Safaricom's products, the external environment through PESTLE analysis, competition using Porter's 5 forces, and future opportunities via Ansoff's matrix. It concludes with a disclaimer.
Vodafone UK plans to revive its brand image and increase revenue through a new 2018 integrated marketing communication plan. The plan aims to rebuild trust with customers and reposition the brand by focusing on younger and mature millennial customer segments. It adopts the 'star' strategy from the BCG matrix to align with market direction and implements the SIVA model in its marketing mix with a customer-centric approach.
Sample Report On Operation Management in Business By Global Assignment HelpAmelia Jones
Operation management is the most important section of business management. In this process, management of business formulates various strategies for the assessment and optimum allocation of different kinds of resources and functions to get the desired outcomes. For more information regarding Operation Management in Business read our complete sample.
In this paper, we have provided a critique for Nokia 2011 corporate strategy. In order to complete our strategy critique we have covered the following; the history of Nokia, its market share, the ecosystem and operating systems. Then stated the current strategy pillars, vision and mission, nokia and microsoft alliance and then we provided a brief about Nokia new CEO, Stephen Elop.
Then we gone through our strategy critique for the current strategy, microsoft alliance and we then concluded with our alternative suggested strategy.
This document provides an overview and analysis of Dialog Axiata PLC, a major telecommunications provider in Sri Lanka. It discusses the company's background, business environment through a PESTLE analysis, and performs a SWOT analysis. The SWOT analysis is then used to understand how the company's strengths and weaknesses relate to external macro factors and how SWOT analysis informs its decision making.
The document provides an overview of Softlogic Holdings PLC, a leading diversified group in Sri Lanka with interests in six business sectors - ICT, Retail, Financial Services, Healthcare Services, Automobiles and Leisure. It discusses Softlogic's vision, core values of integrity, accountability, humility, simplicity, passion and focus on success. The document also highlights some of Softlogic's achievements and developments in 2014/15, including the opening of its first resort Centara Ceysand Resort & Spa, launching an online retail store and introducing new brands like Tommy Hilfiger to Sri Lanka.
Nestlé operates in the highly competitive global food industry. The document analyzes Nestlé's external and internal environment through various frameworks. Externally, it finds opportunities through demographic trends but also threats from intense industry competition and substitute products. Internally, it examines Nestlé's resources, capabilities, core competencies and value chain, identifying strengths in R&D and a global network, but also weaknesses to address. Overall, the analysis informs Nestlé's current and future strategies to strengthen its strategic competitiveness.
Hutch is a mobile network provider in Sri Lanka and part of the Hutchison Whampoa company. It aims to make everyone a mobile phone owner. A SWOT analysis identified strengths like affordable services but also weaknesses such as limited network coverage. Competitors like Dialog and Mobitel have strengths like large customer bases and network coverage. Hutch uses strategies like differentiated targeting of segments with tailored prepaid and postpaid plans. It positions itself based on low rates and innovative packages.
Safaricom marketing mix and it's environmentFred Mmbololo
This document provides an overview of Safaricom's marketing mix and environment. It begins with a brief history of Safaricom and discusses its vision, strategic analysis, and segmentation using the STP model. It then defines marketing and explores Safaricom's marketing mix using the 7Ps and 4Cs frameworks. The document examines Safaricom's products, the external environment through PESTLE analysis, competition using Porter's 5 forces, and future opportunities via Ansoff's matrix. It concludes with a disclaimer.
Vodafone UK plans to revive its brand image and increase revenue through a new 2018 integrated marketing communication plan. The plan aims to rebuild trust with customers and reposition the brand by focusing on younger and mature millennial customer segments. It adopts the 'star' strategy from the BCG matrix to align with market direction and implements the SIVA model in its marketing mix with a customer-centric approach.
Sample Report On Operation Management in Business By Global Assignment HelpAmelia Jones
Operation management is the most important section of business management. In this process, management of business formulates various strategies for the assessment and optimum allocation of different kinds of resources and functions to get the desired outcomes. For more information regarding Operation Management in Business read our complete sample.
In this paper, we have provided a critique for Nokia 2011 corporate strategy. In order to complete our strategy critique we have covered the following; the history of Nokia, its market share, the ecosystem and operating systems. Then stated the current strategy pillars, vision and mission, nokia and microsoft alliance and then we provided a brief about Nokia new CEO, Stephen Elop.
Then we gone through our strategy critique for the current strategy, microsoft alliance and we then concluded with our alternative suggested strategy.
This document provides an overview and analysis of Dialog Axiata PLC, a major telecommunications provider in Sri Lanka. It discusses the company's background, business environment through a PESTLE analysis, and performs a SWOT analysis. The SWOT analysis is then used to understand how the company's strengths and weaknesses relate to external macro factors and how SWOT analysis informs its decision making.
The document provides an overview of Softlogic Holdings PLC, a leading diversified group in Sri Lanka with interests in six business sectors - ICT, Retail, Financial Services, Healthcare Services, Automobiles and Leisure. It discusses Softlogic's vision, core values of integrity, accountability, humility, simplicity, passion and focus on success. The document also highlights some of Softlogic's achievements and developments in 2014/15, including the opening of its first resort Centara Ceysand Resort & Spa, launching an online retail store and introducing new brands like Tommy Hilfiger to Sri Lanka.
Nestlé operates in the highly competitive global food industry. The document analyzes Nestlé's external and internal environment through various frameworks. Externally, it finds opportunities through demographic trends but also threats from intense industry competition and substitute products. Internally, it examines Nestlé's resources, capabilities, core competencies and value chain, identifying strengths in R&D and a global network, but also weaknesses to address. Overall, the analysis informs Nestlé's current and future strategies to strengthen its strategic competitiveness.
Hutch is a mobile network provider in Sri Lanka and part of the Hutchison Whampoa company. It aims to make everyone a mobile phone owner. A SWOT analysis identified strengths like affordable services but also weaknesses such as limited network coverage. Competitors like Dialog and Mobitel have strengths like large customer bases and network coverage. Hutch uses strategies like differentiated targeting of segments with tailored prepaid and postpaid plans. It positions itself based on low rates and innovative packages.
Burberry has undergone two major shifts in its 150-year history: from an army trench coat maker to a men's wear company, and more recently in 1998 from a "me too" brand to a pioneer in new products and digital promotions. To understand the brand's personality, the author analyzes it using Kapferer's brand identity prism and Aaker's personality scale. Key aspects of Burberry's personality include sincerity, excitement, sophistication, and ruggedness. Burberry has changed its target market to younger millennials and expanded globally through digital marketing. Its main competitors are Louis Vuitton and Gucci, with similarities including heritage, use of digital media, and threats from counterfeiting. Burberry
Tesco is a large global grocery retailer headquartered in the UK. It uses various information systems throughout its operations for functions like inventory management, supply chain management, sales and checkout, financial reporting, HR, and more. Information systems are critical to Tesco's success and have helped increase efficiency, automate processes, and enable new capabilities like e-commerce. Some key systems used include GOLD for warehouse management, their customer loyalty program, and online shopping platforms. Challenges include maintaining system integrity and performance across Tesco's large global operations.
Dialog is Sri Lanka's largest mobile network operator with over 8.5 million customers as of 2013. It has a strong infrastructure and reputation built up since 1995 when it launched the country's first digital network. Dialog offers a wide range of services including mobile, television, fixed line, and international roaming across 211 destinations. However, it faces threats from increasing competition and changing technology and regulations that could challenge its dominant market position in Sri Lanka.
Philips was founded in 1892 in the Netherlands and built its success on product innovation and responsive national organizations around the world. Matsushita was founded in 1918 in Japan and focused on centralized, efficient operations and internal competition between divisions. While Philips benefited from national responsiveness, it struggled with higher costs and coordination between divisions. Matsushita succeeded by focusing on low costs, research, and a flexible structure, but faced challenges in transitioning operations globally as markets changed. Both companies have since worked to adapt their organizations to remain competitive in a global environment.
Vodafone is a global mobile telecommunications company headquartered in the UK. It has a presence in over 30 countries and partners with over 40 more. The document discusses Vodafone's history, vision, products/services, key milestones, strategies employed by different CEOs, benefits of its international scope, and SWOT analysis. It recommends strategies for Vodafone to derive increased value from its international portfolio, such as entering entertainment and partnering locally.
Ufone is a cellular company in Pakistan that is a subsidiary of PTCL. It provides services across 1,500 cities and towns in Pakistan and competes with Mobilink, Telenor, Warid, and Zong. Ufone's marketing strategy focuses on youth and emphasizes having the lowest call rates. It uses various promotion methods like advertising, events, and sales promotions to convey its value proposition of being affordable and accessible across Pakistan.
1. Lead time - The time from when a customer places an order to when it is delivered. Reducing lead time is important in make-to-order.
2. Work in progress (WIP) - The amount of unfinished orders at each stage of production. Lower WIP allows for more flexibility.
3. On-time delivery - The percentage of orders delivered by the promised date. Higher on-time rates increase customer satisfaction.
4. Process bottlenecks - Any steps that slow the overall flow of orders through production. Eliminating bottlenecks can speed up lead times.
5.
Vodafone Group plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in the UK. It operates networks in over 30 countries and owns 45% of Verizon Wireless in the US. Vodafone has around 332 million subscribers worldwide, making it the world's largest mobile telecommunications company by revenue and second largest by subscribers. The company derives its name from "voice" and "data" services provided over mobile phones. It has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index.
Samsung Electronics Group 7 Strategic Management Case Study Samuel Krushniskysleekdude
Samsung has several competitive advantages over potential Chinese competitors seeking to enter the semiconductor market, including its technological leadership, large investments in R&D, diverse product portfolio, strong brand, and efficient production processes. However, Chinese companies may achieve cost advantages from lower costs, government subsidies, and access to engineering talent. Samsung can withstand this threat by continuing to innovate, customizing products, investing in people through merit-based hiring and incentives, and considering strategies like focusing on niche markets or acquiring new entrants.
Samsung Canada faced challenges in redefining its brand as a premium consumer brand in Canada. It conducted a SWOT analysis and considered increasing its promotional budget. However, the document recommends that Samsung focus on improving its customer service by enhancing its helpline, reducing wait times, providing temporary replacement products during repairs, and informing customers about repair timelines. This focus on excellent customer satisfaction and service will help Samsung build brand loyalty and redefine itself as a premium brand through positive word-of-mouth without changing its product lines, prices, or distribution strategies.
Mobilink is the largest cellular company in Pakistan with over 10 million subscribers nationwide. It was the pioneer of cellular networks in Pakistan and has coverage in almost every city. Mobilink aims to be the leading mobile service provider through providing quality service to customers, a good work environment for employees, and value for shareholders. However, it faces threats from new competitors entering the market and may lose customers if it does not improve customer service and lower prices. The document analyzes Mobilink's internal and external environment through a SWOT analysis and recommends diversification and cost reduction strategies.
Harvard Business Review Analytic - philips versus matsushita the competitive ...Golden Gate University
Harvard Business Review Analytic - philips versus matsushita the competitive battle continues
DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.14598.63046/1
Project: Harvard Business Review Analytic
case study describes the development of the global strategies and organizations of two major competitors in the consumer electronics industry. Over four decades, both companies adapt their strategic intent and organizational capability to match and counter the competitive advantage of the other. The case shows how each is faced to restructure as its competitive advantage erodes. Philips was founded in 1892 by Gerard Philips in Eindhoven, Holland. Tradition of caring for its workers. Innovation as a core strength. One product focus on light-bulbs (initially) + Gerard’s technological prowess enable significant innovations. Strong research vital to company’s survival. Philips built its success on a worldwide portfolio of responsive national organizations. Matsushita was founded in 1918 by Konosuke Matsushita in Osaka, Japan. “Seven Spirits of Matushita” and cultural and spiritual training are key. First Japanese company to adopt the divisional structure “One-product-one-division” and Internal competition fostered among divisions. Matsushita built its success on its centralized, highly efficient operations in Japan.
This document analyzes Dialog Axiata PLC, a major telecommunications provider in Sri Lanka. It provides background on Dialog's history and operations. It then summarizes the company's vision, mission, products/services, and 7S framework. The document conducts internal and external assessments of Dialog including PESTLE, 5 forces, and IFE/EFE matrix analyses. It identifies strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Finally, it discusses Dialog's strategy analysis and choice using various matrices to determine its positioning and strategies.
The document discusses customer segmentation and targeting youth customers in the Italian mobile market. It analyzes the youth segment based on their key characteristics like age, needs for self-expression, communication, and entertainment. It then outlines Vodafone Italy's youth proposition targeting these needs through offerings like ringtones, music, games, messaging promotions, and discounted call plans to increase engagement and market share among youth customers.
Nokia's market share declined from 60% in 2006 to 7-9% in 2012 according to IDC Asia Pacific Mobile Tracker. Key reasons for this decline included Nokia being slow to adopt touchscreen smartphones, focus on Windows rather than developing their own OS, and slow response to low-cost smartphones from local Indian brands. Despite efforts like the Lumia range and partnership with Microsoft, Nokia struggled to regain market share as competitors like Samsung focused more on innovation and offering affordable smartphones.
This document contains information about a group project for PTCL Strategic Management. It includes:
- An overview of PTCL, the telecom industry in Pakistan, and PTCL's history.
- PTCL's vision, mission, core values, objectives, products, and matrices analyzing its external and internal environments.
- Suggestions for PTCL including expanding services to rural areas and improving human resource development.
- A proposed implementation plan with annual objectives, policies, resource allocation, matching structure with strategy, and managing conflict and resistance.
- An organizational structure, policies to link performance to pay, and maintaining an evaluation and control process.
Mobilink is currently in the maturity stage of its product lifecycle. Competition has increased with new entrants like Telenor and Warid in the market. A situational analysis identifies high threats of new entry, buyers, suppliers, and rivalry due to perfect competition. A SWOT analysis finds Mobilink's strengths are its brand, network coverage, and services, while weaknesses are fewer advertisements, high prices, and less competent engineering compared to competitors. Segmentation targets different age, income, and social groups with various product lines. Positioning communicates Mobilink provides reliable communication everywhere. Perceptual mapping shows Mobilink leads competitors in value-added services, customer service, and market share.
Marketing Plan
Reposition of the Vodafone brand in the consumer's mind in the UK. Developed a marketing plan to address market challenges and reposition Vodafone in the UK market.
This document provides an overview of Lenovo, including its history and current position. Some key points:
- Lenovo was founded in 1984 in Beijing, China and was originally called Legend. It became the largest PC manufacturer in China.
- In 2003, the company renamed itself Lenovo to expand globally.
- A major turning point came in 2005 when Lenovo acquired IBM's personal computing business, making it the third largest PC company worldwide.
- Currently Lenovo focuses on PCs, servers, smart devices and cloud/AI technologies. It operates globally but is still majority owned by the Chinese government via Legend Holdings.
The Use of Financial Inclusion Data Country Case Study: SOUTH AFRICADr Lendy Spires
1. The document discusses South Africa's Mzansi initiative to promote financial inclusion. Launched in 2004, Mzansi was a joint program by South Africa's major banks to create a basic bank account targeted at low-income individuals.
2. Mzansi was very successful, with over 6 million accounts opened by 2010. It helped increase the percentage of formally banked South African adults from 45.5% in 2004 to 62.7% in 2008.
3. However, Mzansi accounts had relatively low usage and balances. After Mzansi, banks further explored marketing low-income products individually to drive more innovation and active usage of financial services among low-income groups.
The use of financial inclusion data country case study south africaDr Lendy Spires
1. The document discusses South Africa's Mzansi initiative from 2004-2008 to promote financial inclusion. The four major banks jointly developed the low-cost Mzansi bank account to meet targets in the Financial Sector Charter. Over 6 million accounts were opened, exceeding expectations.
2. While the Mzansi account increased access to banking, usage levels were mixed. Active use of accounts required ongoing support. The initiative demonstrated both the potential and limitations of a joint industry approach to financial inclusion.
3. After 2008, banks further explored the low-income market on their own with new products, while still using the established Mzansi brand name. Financial inclusion made significant gains but challenges around account usage remained.
Burberry has undergone two major shifts in its 150-year history: from an army trench coat maker to a men's wear company, and more recently in 1998 from a "me too" brand to a pioneer in new products and digital promotions. To understand the brand's personality, the author analyzes it using Kapferer's brand identity prism and Aaker's personality scale. Key aspects of Burberry's personality include sincerity, excitement, sophistication, and ruggedness. Burberry has changed its target market to younger millennials and expanded globally through digital marketing. Its main competitors are Louis Vuitton and Gucci, with similarities including heritage, use of digital media, and threats from counterfeiting. Burberry
Tesco is a large global grocery retailer headquartered in the UK. It uses various information systems throughout its operations for functions like inventory management, supply chain management, sales and checkout, financial reporting, HR, and more. Information systems are critical to Tesco's success and have helped increase efficiency, automate processes, and enable new capabilities like e-commerce. Some key systems used include GOLD for warehouse management, their customer loyalty program, and online shopping platforms. Challenges include maintaining system integrity and performance across Tesco's large global operations.
Dialog is Sri Lanka's largest mobile network operator with over 8.5 million customers as of 2013. It has a strong infrastructure and reputation built up since 1995 when it launched the country's first digital network. Dialog offers a wide range of services including mobile, television, fixed line, and international roaming across 211 destinations. However, it faces threats from increasing competition and changing technology and regulations that could challenge its dominant market position in Sri Lanka.
Philips was founded in 1892 in the Netherlands and built its success on product innovation and responsive national organizations around the world. Matsushita was founded in 1918 in Japan and focused on centralized, efficient operations and internal competition between divisions. While Philips benefited from national responsiveness, it struggled with higher costs and coordination between divisions. Matsushita succeeded by focusing on low costs, research, and a flexible structure, but faced challenges in transitioning operations globally as markets changed. Both companies have since worked to adapt their organizations to remain competitive in a global environment.
Vodafone is a global mobile telecommunications company headquartered in the UK. It has a presence in over 30 countries and partners with over 40 more. The document discusses Vodafone's history, vision, products/services, key milestones, strategies employed by different CEOs, benefits of its international scope, and SWOT analysis. It recommends strategies for Vodafone to derive increased value from its international portfolio, such as entering entertainment and partnering locally.
Ufone is a cellular company in Pakistan that is a subsidiary of PTCL. It provides services across 1,500 cities and towns in Pakistan and competes with Mobilink, Telenor, Warid, and Zong. Ufone's marketing strategy focuses on youth and emphasizes having the lowest call rates. It uses various promotion methods like advertising, events, and sales promotions to convey its value proposition of being affordable and accessible across Pakistan.
1. Lead time - The time from when a customer places an order to when it is delivered. Reducing lead time is important in make-to-order.
2. Work in progress (WIP) - The amount of unfinished orders at each stage of production. Lower WIP allows for more flexibility.
3. On-time delivery - The percentage of orders delivered by the promised date. Higher on-time rates increase customer satisfaction.
4. Process bottlenecks - Any steps that slow the overall flow of orders through production. Eliminating bottlenecks can speed up lead times.
5.
Vodafone Group plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in the UK. It operates networks in over 30 countries and owns 45% of Verizon Wireless in the US. Vodafone has around 332 million subscribers worldwide, making it the world's largest mobile telecommunications company by revenue and second largest by subscribers. The company derives its name from "voice" and "data" services provided over mobile phones. It has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index.
Samsung Electronics Group 7 Strategic Management Case Study Samuel Krushniskysleekdude
Samsung has several competitive advantages over potential Chinese competitors seeking to enter the semiconductor market, including its technological leadership, large investments in R&D, diverse product portfolio, strong brand, and efficient production processes. However, Chinese companies may achieve cost advantages from lower costs, government subsidies, and access to engineering talent. Samsung can withstand this threat by continuing to innovate, customizing products, investing in people through merit-based hiring and incentives, and considering strategies like focusing on niche markets or acquiring new entrants.
Samsung Canada faced challenges in redefining its brand as a premium consumer brand in Canada. It conducted a SWOT analysis and considered increasing its promotional budget. However, the document recommends that Samsung focus on improving its customer service by enhancing its helpline, reducing wait times, providing temporary replacement products during repairs, and informing customers about repair timelines. This focus on excellent customer satisfaction and service will help Samsung build brand loyalty and redefine itself as a premium brand through positive word-of-mouth without changing its product lines, prices, or distribution strategies.
Mobilink is the largest cellular company in Pakistan with over 10 million subscribers nationwide. It was the pioneer of cellular networks in Pakistan and has coverage in almost every city. Mobilink aims to be the leading mobile service provider through providing quality service to customers, a good work environment for employees, and value for shareholders. However, it faces threats from new competitors entering the market and may lose customers if it does not improve customer service and lower prices. The document analyzes Mobilink's internal and external environment through a SWOT analysis and recommends diversification and cost reduction strategies.
Harvard Business Review Analytic - philips versus matsushita the competitive ...Golden Gate University
Harvard Business Review Analytic - philips versus matsushita the competitive battle continues
DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.14598.63046/1
Project: Harvard Business Review Analytic
case study describes the development of the global strategies and organizations of two major competitors in the consumer electronics industry. Over four decades, both companies adapt their strategic intent and organizational capability to match and counter the competitive advantage of the other. The case shows how each is faced to restructure as its competitive advantage erodes. Philips was founded in 1892 by Gerard Philips in Eindhoven, Holland. Tradition of caring for its workers. Innovation as a core strength. One product focus on light-bulbs (initially) + Gerard’s technological prowess enable significant innovations. Strong research vital to company’s survival. Philips built its success on a worldwide portfolio of responsive national organizations. Matsushita was founded in 1918 by Konosuke Matsushita in Osaka, Japan. “Seven Spirits of Matushita” and cultural and spiritual training are key. First Japanese company to adopt the divisional structure “One-product-one-division” and Internal competition fostered among divisions. Matsushita built its success on its centralized, highly efficient operations in Japan.
This document analyzes Dialog Axiata PLC, a major telecommunications provider in Sri Lanka. It provides background on Dialog's history and operations. It then summarizes the company's vision, mission, products/services, and 7S framework. The document conducts internal and external assessments of Dialog including PESTLE, 5 forces, and IFE/EFE matrix analyses. It identifies strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Finally, it discusses Dialog's strategy analysis and choice using various matrices to determine its positioning and strategies.
The document discusses customer segmentation and targeting youth customers in the Italian mobile market. It analyzes the youth segment based on their key characteristics like age, needs for self-expression, communication, and entertainment. It then outlines Vodafone Italy's youth proposition targeting these needs through offerings like ringtones, music, games, messaging promotions, and discounted call plans to increase engagement and market share among youth customers.
Nokia's market share declined from 60% in 2006 to 7-9% in 2012 according to IDC Asia Pacific Mobile Tracker. Key reasons for this decline included Nokia being slow to adopt touchscreen smartphones, focus on Windows rather than developing their own OS, and slow response to low-cost smartphones from local Indian brands. Despite efforts like the Lumia range and partnership with Microsoft, Nokia struggled to regain market share as competitors like Samsung focused more on innovation and offering affordable smartphones.
This document contains information about a group project for PTCL Strategic Management. It includes:
- An overview of PTCL, the telecom industry in Pakistan, and PTCL's history.
- PTCL's vision, mission, core values, objectives, products, and matrices analyzing its external and internal environments.
- Suggestions for PTCL including expanding services to rural areas and improving human resource development.
- A proposed implementation plan with annual objectives, policies, resource allocation, matching structure with strategy, and managing conflict and resistance.
- An organizational structure, policies to link performance to pay, and maintaining an evaluation and control process.
Mobilink is currently in the maturity stage of its product lifecycle. Competition has increased with new entrants like Telenor and Warid in the market. A situational analysis identifies high threats of new entry, buyers, suppliers, and rivalry due to perfect competition. A SWOT analysis finds Mobilink's strengths are its brand, network coverage, and services, while weaknesses are fewer advertisements, high prices, and less competent engineering compared to competitors. Segmentation targets different age, income, and social groups with various product lines. Positioning communicates Mobilink provides reliable communication everywhere. Perceptual mapping shows Mobilink leads competitors in value-added services, customer service, and market share.
Marketing Plan
Reposition of the Vodafone brand in the consumer's mind in the UK. Developed a marketing plan to address market challenges and reposition Vodafone in the UK market.
This document provides an overview of Lenovo, including its history and current position. Some key points:
- Lenovo was founded in 1984 in Beijing, China and was originally called Legend. It became the largest PC manufacturer in China.
- In 2003, the company renamed itself Lenovo to expand globally.
- A major turning point came in 2005 when Lenovo acquired IBM's personal computing business, making it the third largest PC company worldwide.
- Currently Lenovo focuses on PCs, servers, smart devices and cloud/AI technologies. It operates globally but is still majority owned by the Chinese government via Legend Holdings.
The Use of Financial Inclusion Data Country Case Study: SOUTH AFRICADr Lendy Spires
1. The document discusses South Africa's Mzansi initiative to promote financial inclusion. Launched in 2004, Mzansi was a joint program by South Africa's major banks to create a basic bank account targeted at low-income individuals.
2. Mzansi was very successful, with over 6 million accounts opened by 2010. It helped increase the percentage of formally banked South African adults from 45.5% in 2004 to 62.7% in 2008.
3. However, Mzansi accounts had relatively low usage and balances. After Mzansi, banks further explored marketing low-income products individually to drive more innovation and active usage of financial services among low-income groups.
The use of financial inclusion data country case study south africaDr Lendy Spires
1. The document discusses South Africa's Mzansi initiative from 2004-2008 to promote financial inclusion. The four major banks jointly developed the low-cost Mzansi bank account to meet targets in the Financial Sector Charter. Over 6 million accounts were opened, exceeding expectations.
2. While the Mzansi account increased access to banking, usage levels were mixed. Active use of accounts required ongoing support. The initiative demonstrated both the potential and limitations of a joint industry approach to financial inclusion.
3. After 2008, banks further explored the low-income market on their own with new products, while still using the established Mzansi brand name. Financial inclusion made significant gains but challenges around account usage remained.
Whitepaper - Technological Innovation for Credit Unions and Microfinance Inst...Arup Das
This document discusses how technological innovation can empower credit unions and microfinance institutions in Africa. It notes that Africa has a large untapped banking market and opportunities for growth. Mobile banking solutions like M-Pesa in Kenya have helped connect more customers and increase financial inclusion. Shared services and cloud-based solutions can help institutions improve operational efficiencies by reducing costs and moving from legacy to modern systems. Adopting technologies like mobility, shared services, and cloud computing can help address challenges and enable growth for these financial institutions in Africa.
151003 JSE Nkonki Top 100 report email versionDeborah Chapman
The document provides an analysis of integrated reports from the top 100 JSE listed companies in South Africa for 2014. It finds that:
- The average score was 62%, down from 69% in 2013 but using a stricter new marking plan focused solely on the International Integrated Reporting Framework.
- 76 companies scored above 50% while the top areas covered were strategic focus, comparability/consistency, and content elements.
- Companies scored lowest on fundamental concepts, conciseness, and innovation (the "wow factor").
- Basic materials and telecommunications were the top performing industries while technology fell to the bottom.
The document provides an analysis of Ethio Telecom's strategic plan from 2019-2022. It includes an assessment of Ethio Telecom's internal environment through financial analysis and organizational structure. It also evaluates the external environment through analysis of competitors and opportunities/threats. The document then outlines Ethio Telecom's strategic formulation including a SWOT analysis and recommends strategies. It concludes with sections on strategy implementation, evaluation, and conclusion.
What should be the expansion strategy of Softbank?Rahul Sarkar
Softbank is Japan's third largest telecom provider seeking to expand its strategy. It currently generates revenue through mobile services after acquiring Vodafone Japan in 2006. While growing subscribers, it faces competition from NTT Docomo and KDDI Corp who innovate new products. The document analyzes Softbank's position using Porter's Five Forces and recommends expanding into new markets through joint ventures or becoming a mobile virtual network operator to increase advertising revenue and consolidate its ecosystem.
1) The document discusses Mobilink, a leading telecommunications company in Pakistan and subsidiary of Orascom Telecom. It outlines Mobilink's products, mission/vision, goals, strategies, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats, and competition in the market.
2) Mobilink follows typical management functions including planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. It has a departmental organizational structure covering key areas like marketing, finance, HR, and sales.
3) Some problems faced by Mobilink include cultural differences, connectivity issues, and information overload from customers. However, Mobilink has demonstrated effective management and is working to adopt new technologies and retain talent in Pakistan's competitive telecom industry
- Telenor launched its GSM network in Pakistan in 2005 and quickly became the fastest growing mobile operator in the country, now being the second largest.
- With coverage in remote areas, Telenor Pakistan connects previously unconnected parts of the country and aims to help customers communicate and access services.
- Telenor Pakistan focuses on social responsibility and contributing to economic development through initiatives that provide access to education, healthcare and financial services.
Vodacom Group provides an investment case for its operations and strategy. It has a market-leading position serving over 133 million customers across Africa and aims to strengthen its footprint further through acquisitions. Vodacom is diversifying its revenues away from core mobile services towards financial services, digital services, IoT and fixed connectivity with a goal of growing these new services segments by 25-30% annually. It has a clear strategy of optimizing its operations to accelerate growth and enhance returns while also increasing its positive societal impact.
Ad hoc expert group meeting harmonization of ic ts policies and programmes in...Dr Lendy Spires
Developing the sector of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) remains a crucial element in socio-economic development in general and in the process of regional economic integration in particular. In addition, it constitutes a strategic priority for States in the sub-region in the fight against poverty and in promoting education at all levels.
As a matter of fact, ICT contributes to economic growth by
(1) increasing productivity in all sectors;
(2) creating a conducive environment for market expansion beyond national borders and benefiting from economies of scale;
(3) reducing costs and facilitating easy access to services, particularly in the fields of administration, education, health and banking;
(4) facilitating access to research;
(5) developing ICT-related products and services;
(6) contributing to better governance, an essential ingredient for growth, through increased participation, accountability and transparency.
Embracing ICT gives broader possibilities of positive externalisation and encourages creativity, learning, and augments people’s aptitudes to resolve problems. However, its influence on employment, on new types of exports and on direct foreign investments depends on a number of factors: “It is the interaction between connectivity, access, security of the network, capacities and competencies, the market structures and the management of enterprises, as well as the regulatory and commercial framework that determine the aptitude of enterprises in a developing country to effectively and efficiently participate in the information economy and to compete in the global electronic markets”.
A number of ICT development initiatives have already been undertaken in Eastern Africa, particularly by the member States, the Regional Economic Communities (IGAD, EAC, COMESA), the African Union (AU), the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the International Communications Union (ICU) and the African Telecommunications Union (ATU), etc., in an effort to close the existing digital gap. These inter-state institutions encourage their members to complement the right of regional institutions by a component on “Harmonised Regulation of the ICT Sector”. In this regard, the countries of Eastern Africa have registered steady progress along the path towards economic integration and the development of a common market. In order to facilitate the harmonisation of their national sectortal policies, the Economic Commission for Africa carried out this Study with a view to examining the legal and regulatory regimens, as well as the national ICT institutional frameworks in each of the 13 member States and to compare the performance of the ICT sector vis-à-vis the best international practices.
Long version_366-Article Text-1754-1-10-20170418.pdfWAIHIGA K.MUTURI
Purpose:
To analyse the business strategies of Telkom Kenya Limited and how this has helped the company gain market share.
Methodology:The study adopted a descriptive research design. Findings:The results from the study show that the effects of strategies to gain market share have been successful. Strategies such as culture change, retrenchment, product differentiation, product modification, and aggressive marketing campaigns have had a major impact on the market share of the company. Further results show that the strategies at Telkom Kenya positively affect the company profits.Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy:The findings of this study will benefit a number of interest groups. Foremost, the management of Telkom Kenya Limited as a reference point will benefit from the research and recommendations on areas to improveon.Secondly, the study will benefit managers of other firms who can learn from the TKL case. For academicians, my research will contribute to the general body of knowledge and form a basis for further research on the effects of business strategies on any given industry. Investors, shareholders, suppliers and the general taxpaying public can also gain insight on the company and its strategic position within the mobile industry which can assist them in determining the viability of their investments.Finally, the government can also use the results to monitor how the industry
This document summarizes a study on corruption challenges faced by Safaricom Ltd, the largest mobile provider in Kenya. It discusses Safaricom's anti-corruption actions and identifies areas for improvement, using the McKinsey 7S framework. The recruitment process lacks behavioral assessments to ensure value alignment. The discipline management process allows warnings, weakening the zero-tolerance policy for fraud and confusing employees. Strengthening shared values and staff competencies through improved hiring and discipline is recommended.
Telecommunications industry at cliffs edge Time for bold decisions_June2016Raffaella Bianchi
The telecommunications industry in the Middle East and Africa region is at a turning point, with total returns to shareholders declining in recent years. The region has experienced strong growth and profitability over the last decade due to rising penetration rates, but future growth depends on capturing new digital opportunities. Operators will need to make strategic investments and transform their business models to strengthen their core connectivity business and take advantage of trends like increased data usage, advanced analytics, online video delivery, infrastructure sharing, and digitization to drive the next phase of industry growth in the region.
Assignment Regulations· This assignment is an individual assignme.docxlynettearnold46882
Assignment Regulations:
· This assignment is an individual assignment.
· All students are encouraged to use their own word.
· File should be WORD
· Student must apply Harvard Referencing Style within their reports.
· A mark of zero will be given for any submission that includes copying from other resource without referencing it
The Answer should be 3- 4 pages in length including the cover and appendices, with 1" margins on all sides, double-spacing, and 12 point font. The cover of the answer should include title, course code and name, your full name, and your University id number.
The Answer must follow the outline points below:
· 3PL
· Their Main functions
· Any local example
· Reasons with suitable Examples
· Reference
Logistics ManagementASSIGNMENT -2
Critical Thinking
The purpose of this assignment is to identify and apply Logistics and Supply Chain Management concepts/tools to suggest logistics performance priorities. To this purpose, you should review about these companies through secondary available information. Think about how you can apply the concepts/tools that you learned in this course.
Logistics outsourcing has attracted the attention of lots of industrialist in recent years. As firms enlarge their global reach, they often find that they need to reconsider their internal capabilities in managing the global supply chain. (Trent & Roberts, 2009) commented that many cases firms decide to outsource this function in whole or in part to agents or 3PL (third party logistics) firms.
Using this concept of 3PL you should answer the following questions by taking any Saudi company or any Multinational company.
Question:
1. What are 3PL firms?
2. Assess the reasons for using third party logistics service in Saudi Arabia? Using examples, Explain 3. Reasons why third party logistics arrangement are not always successful?
May 2018
STC Profile
‹#›
Strictly Confidential
1
Part 1: The Company STC
Part 2: STC’s Financial Strength
AGENDA
‹#›
Strictly Confidential
2
STC at a glance
STC is the leading integrated telecommunications provider in KSA and the region as per market capitalization, with international presence in Middle East and Asia
Highlights
STC ownership
(%)
Majority shareholder is one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds
An integrated provider of fixed and mobile voice and data, wholesale and IT services
Home market leader for fixed, mobile and data in consumer and enterprise segments
STC has presence in 5 countries through controlling and minority stakes
Annual revenues of over SAR 50 billion (2017), directly serving over 25 million mobile subscribers across its operations
Biggest telecom group in MENA region by market cap with current market capitalization of 164 Bn SAR
Public Investment Fund
Public Pension
General Organization for Social Insurance
Public Float
Source: STC website Fact sheet
‹#›
Strictly Confidential
3
Sales
Slice 1Slice 2Slice 3Slice 40.77.0000000000000007E-26.7.
This document provides an overview of the Kimari Group of Companies, which was established in 1988 and has since diversified into over 150 sectors of the South African economy. It lists the various international and national companies that make up the group, including those involved in marketing, finance, security, manufacturing, and more. The group aims to establish partnerships and offer business solutions, financing, and opportunities to entrepreneurs. It works to empower disadvantaged communities and combat issues like crime and unemployment through its various affiliates and social programs.
Its the explanation about the joint venture of NTT Docomo and Tata teleservice ltd and their achievements and future strategy to be implemented for its growth in highly technological driven market of Telecom industry. and regarding the Mergers and Acquisition in telecom industry.
IT Shades publishes a monthly I-Byte document with information relevant to the telecommunication and media industry. The December 2020 edition includes sections on financial and M&A updates, solution updates, rewards and recognition, customer success stories, partnership ecosystem updates, and environmental and social updates. It provides information on recent deals, company performances, solutions, partnerships, and other news in the industry. The document is intended to keep readers informed of the latest developments.
IHS Nigeria had a successful year in 2010, transforming from a managed services provider into a leading collocation operator in Africa. Key achievements included refinancing expensive local loans with international loans at lower interest rates, approximately doubling its managed sites portfolio to 2,500 sites, and ramping up collocation tenancy. The company's revenue crossed $100 million while maintaining profit growth. Challenges from declining mobile revenues were addressed through cost-saving measures like hybrid power solutions. Going forward, IHS will focus on increasing managed services and collocation, pursuing tower acquisitions across Africa, and potentially managing over 2,000 towers.
This document is a project report on Airtel's consumer behavior submitted for a Master's degree. It includes an introduction that provides background on India's telecom industry in the 1990s and early 2000s, when Airtel was establishing itself. It notes the roadblocks the industry faced initially like high license fees, regulatory issues, and interconnect problems between private and state operators. The report outlines the research methodology used and covers topics like Airtel's company profile, findings from consumer surveys, SWOT analysis, and recommendations.
GreenN Shoots Special edition to Q4 2013LAP GreenN
GreenN Shoots Special Edition covers LAP GreenN's semi-annual strategy meeting where Group, OpCos and partners meet in one place to discuss their strategies.
For more information, please check our website:
www.lap-greenn.com
or contact media@lap-greenn.com
Similar to Safaricom marketing mix and it's environment (20)
The document outlines Tintoria Ltd's fixed asset capitalization policy. Key points include:
- Assets over Kshs 50,000 are capitalized, except for land and buildings which require a Kshs 100,000 minimum.
- Capitalizable costs include acquisition costs and improvements extending asset life.
- Assets are categorized and depreciated according to class. Land is not depreciated.
- The policy aims to comply with accounting standards and ensure proper financial reporting of fixed assets.
This document is an accounting manual for Tintoria Ltd, a laundry firm in Kenya. It outlines the company's background and services, accounting principles and procedures, policies around cash disbursements and receipts, bank reconciliation, stock control, customer reconciliation, end of month/year procedures, budgeting, computer/record policies, and asset management. The manual provides guidance to ensure uniform and standard accounting practices for the company.
This document provides a strategic plan for Tintoria Ltd for the period of June 2015 to June 2019. It begins with an introduction to strategic planning and what it involves. It then presents an executive summary of Tintoria Ltd's strategic planning process. The next sections outline the company's vision, mission, values, history and organizational structure. A discussion of the need for strategic planning and various analysis tools used follows. The document provides an overview of Tintoria Ltd's operations and the strategic planning steps undertaken. It aims to guide the company's goals and objectives to ensure long term growth and sustainability.
Kcse performance in Kenyan Secondary SchoolsFred Mmbololo
This document summarizes a dissertation on factors affecting secondary school performance in Kilungu District, Makueni County, Kenya. The dissertation examines how teaching and learning resources, head teachers' instructional supervision, teachers' professional qualifications, and teaching experience impact student performance on the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exam. The dissertation presents literature reviewing previous studies on these factors in other areas of Kenya. It finds that inadequate resources, lack of teacher experience and qualifications, and insufficient supervision can negatively influence exam scores. The dissertation aims to determine the impact of these factors specifically in Kilungu District secondary schools.
Tintoria ltd strategic plan june 2011 to june 2015Fred Mmbololo
The document discusses the benefits of exercise for mental health. Regular physical activity can help reduce anxiety and depression and improve mood and cognitive functioning. Exercise causes chemical changes in the brain that may help protect against mental illness and improve symptoms.
Sirona car hire provides car rental services to corporate clients. It aims to establish loyal customers through friendly and reliable customer service. The company owns cars that it leases to customers. It has locations near airports and corporate areas that are open 24 hours a day. Sirona car hire targets corporate clients who need cars for business travel. It offers competitive prices and quality vehicles and service. The company's goals are to grow profitably and increase its market share through strong customer satisfaction.
The document provides a business plan for The Loft, a luxury hotel located in Nairobi, Kenya. The plan outlines the company's mission to provide luxury hospitality services and high customer satisfaction. It analyzes the competitive hotel market in Nairobi and segments potential customer types. The plan details marketing objectives, a SWOT analysis, and marketing mix strategies around pricing, distribution, advertising, and customer service. Financial projections forecast sales growth of 10-12% annually through focus on occupancy rates, new customers, and customer loyalty.
This document provides an introduction to a research study on assessing the relative importance of traditional budgeting techniques versus alternative approaches such as Beyond Budgeting. The study aims to evaluate whether the traditional budgeting system should be replaced given its limitations and criticisms. It involves a qualitative case study of a company, referred to as Case study A, that uses traditional budgeting practices. The researcher will analyze the budgeting process, problems with the traditional approach, and alternatives like Beyond Budgeting through literature review and interviews. The goal is to determine if Beyond Budgeting or another model is a more relevant management tool for today's competitive business environment.
Tintoria Laundry Academy proposed a new laundry training program. A SWOT analysis identified strengths like expertise in laundry skills and a good reputation, but also weaknesses such as being a new business with high start-up costs. Opportunities included offering a new local service, while threats included competition from established training programs and potential oversaturation of laundries in the area.
Tintoria Ltd is a laundry firm established in 1993 that provides dry cleaning and laundry services. This 2-year strategic plan covers 2019-2021 and was prepared by Fred M'mbololo. The plan includes a vision to be an environmentally friendly, world-class quality service enterprise utilizing state-of-the-art technology. It analyzes the company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats and competitors. The plan also outlines the company's history, services, processes, values, and goals to guide its continued growth and market leadership in laundry and dry cleaning.
Power of digital presentation ACCA presentationFred Mmbololo
This document discusses how digital disruption is impacting the accounting profession and how ACCA is preparing accountants for this changing landscape. It makes the following key points:
1) Digital technologies like automation, AI, and blockchain are transforming the finance function and challenging existing business models.
2) In response, ACCA is enhancing its qualification program and CPD resources to ensure students and members have relevant digital skills, including data analytics training.
3) ACCA conducts extensive research on digital topics and how technologies impact roles and careers, helping the profession embrace opportunities while maintaining high-value human skills.
4) Rather than a threat, digital offers tremendous potential if accountants leverage technologies to take on more strategic
This document contains a strategic plan for Simaton Ltd, a real estate company in Kenya. It includes an introduction, executive summary, mission statement, proposed organizational chart, SWOT analysis, PESTEL analysis, strategic goals and objectives, key performance indicators, pricing conclusions. The SWOT analysis identifies strengths such as experienced directors, opportunities such as rising middle class demand, and threats such as economic slowdowns. The PESTEL analysis examines political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal factors impacting the real estate industry in Kenya. The strategic plan provides a framework to guide Simaton Ltd's strategic decision making and growth.
Acca msa board role, directors duties and liabilitiesFred Mmbololo
This document provides an overview of a corporate governance training program module on board roles, directors' duties and liabilities. It discusses the board's key responsibilities in providing leadership, guiding strategy, overseeing management and ensuring proper controls. The duties of directors include acting within their powers, exercising duty of care and fulfilling fiduciary obligations. A case study on Chase Bank is presented to discuss how directors may fail to meet these duties.
Global growth is projected to be 3.4% in 2016 and 3.6% in 2017. Sub-Saharan Africa growth is projected to be 4.0% in 2016 and 4.7% in 2017, mainly due to declining commodity prices and demand from China. Kenya's growth is projected to be 6.0% in 2016 and 6.5% in 2017, supported by continued investment in infrastructure and improved agricultural productivity. The 2016/17 Kenya budget aims to consolidate gains for a prosperous Kenya through investing in key sectors like agriculture, energy, security, transport, and health while managing fiscal risks and gradually lowering the fiscal deficit.
Kenka Invest Potato Plantation seeks financing from AFC Bank to expand its potato farming operations. Kenka has over 10 years of experience in potato planting and owns over 1,500 hectares of suitable land in Nyahururu, Kenya. The business plans to plant potatoes on 1,000 hectares which could produce over 72,000 tons of potatoes annually. Kenka aims to become a leading agribusiness in Kenya and sees potential for growth in potato consumption and reduced imports. The financial projections estimate that revenue could reach over KSH 3 million by the second year with net profits.
Marketing stuff mcgraw-hill- The marketing environmentFred Mmbololo
This document provides an overview of the marketing environment and how companies monitor and respond to changes within it. It discusses the macroenvironment, which includes political/legal, economic, ecological/physical, social/cultural, and technological forces outside a company's control. It also briefly introduces the microenvironment, which includes customers, competitors, distributors, and suppliers. The document focuses on describing the political/legal forces in the EU and individual countries that can influence marketing, such as laws around competition, mergers and acquisitions, state aid, and national regulations. It then discusses key economic forces including economic growth and unemployment, interest and exchange rates, and the growth of emerging markets.
IFRS changes from 2014 to 2018 were summarized, including new standards like IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers effective 2017 and IFRS 9 Financial Instruments effective 2018. Major changes covered IAS 32, IAS 36, IFRS 10/12, IFRIC 21 Levies, annual improvements, and various amendments. The presentation provided a high-level overview of new requirements and effective dates for upcoming changes to IFRS.
Ias 32 - compound financial instruments Fred Mmbololo
1. A compound financial instrument contains both debt and equity elements, such as a convertible bond. IAS 32 requires separating compound instruments into their debt and equity components.
2. To split the components, the present value of future cash flows for the debt is calculated using market rates for similar non-convertible debt. The equity portion equals total proceeds minus the debt value.
3. Transaction costs are allocated propotionally to the debt and equity amounts. The components are accounted for separately over time, and both are extinguished if conversion occurs through issuance of shares.
Lajem College is a private college in Nairobi, Kenya that offers computing and IT courses. It aims to serve both the premium and middle class markets. The business plan outlines the company description, objectives, courses offered, target market analysis, and marketing strategy. The objectives are to achieve 30% annual growth, provide job placements for 75% of students, and open 3 new teaching centers per year. A variety of computing, programming, and software courses are offered at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. The target market includes students, professionals, and government officials. The marketing plan details segmentation, targeting, positioning, and a 1-year action plan to establish 3 new coaching centers across Kenya.
Conferences like DigiMarCon provide ample opportunities to improve our own marketing programs by learning from others. But just because everyone is jumping on board with the latest idea/tool/metric doesn’t mean it works – or does it? This session will examine the value of today’s hottest digital marketing topics – including AI, paid ads, and social metrics – and the truth about what these shiny objects might be distracting you from.
Key Takeaways:
- How NOT to shoot your digital program in the foot by using flashy but ineffective resources
- The best ways to think about AI in connection with digital marketing
- How to cut through self-serving marketing advice and engage in channels that truly grow your business
How to Use AI to Write a High-Quality Article that Ranksminatamang0021
In the world of content creation, many AI bloggers have drifted away from their original vision, resulting in low-quality articles that search engines overlook. Don't let that happen to you! Join us to discover how to leverage AI tools effectively to craft high-quality content that not only captures your audience's attention but also ranks well on search engines.
Disclaimer: Some of the prompts mentioned here are the examples of Matt Diggity. Please use it as reference and make your own custom prompts.
In this humorous and data-heavy session, join us in a joyous celebration of life honoring the long list of SEO tactics and concepts we lost this year. Remember fondly the beautiful time you shared with defunct ideas like link building, keyword cannibalization, search volume as a value indicator, and even our most cherished of friends: the funnel. Make peace with their loss as you embrace a new paradigm for organic content: Pillar-Based Marketing. Along the way, discover that the results that old SEO and all its trappings brought you weren’t really very good at all, actually.
In this respectful and life-affirming service—erm, session—join Ryan Brock (Chief Solution Officer at DemandJump and author of Pillar-Based Marketing: A Data-Driven Methodology for SEO and Content that Actually Works) and leave with:
• Clear and compelling evidence that most legacy SEO metrics and tactics have slim to no impact on SEO outcomes
• A major mindset shift that eliminates most of the metrics and tactics associated with SEO in favor of a single metric that defines and drives organic ranking success
• Practical, step-by-step methodology for choosing SEO pillar topics and publishing content quickly that ranks fast
In today's digital world, customers are just a click away. "Grow Your Business Online: Introduction to Digital Marketing" dives into the exciting world of digital marketing, equipping you with the tools and strategies to reach new audiences, expand your reach, and ultimately grow your business.
website = https://digitaldiscovery.institute/
address = C 210 A Industrial Area, Phase 8B, Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar, Punjab 140308
We’ve entered a new era in digital. Search and AI are colliding, in more ways than one. And they all have major implications for marketers.
• SEOs now use AI to optimize content.
• Google now uses AI to generate answers.
• Users are skipping search completely. They can now use AI to get answers. So AI has changed everything …or maybe not. Our audience hasn’t changed. Their information needs haven’t changed. Their perception of quality hasn’t changed. In reality, the most important things haven’t changed at all. In this session, you’ll learn the impact of AI. And you’ll learn ways that AI can make us better at the classic challenges: getting discovered, connecting through content and staying top of mind with the people who matter most. We’ll use timely tools to rebuild timeless foundations. We’ll do better basics, but with the most advanced techniques. Andy will share a set of frameworks, prompts and techniques for better digital basics, using the latest tools of today. And in the end, Andy will consider - in a brief glimpse - what might be the biggest change of all, and how to expand your footprint in the new digital landscape.
Key Takeaways:
How to use AI to optimize your content
How to find topics that algorithms love
How to get AI to mention your content and your brand
Mastering Local SEO for Service Businesses in the AI Era is tailored specifically for local service providers like plumbers, dentists, and others seeking to dominate their local search landscape. This session delves into leveraging AI advancements to enhance your online visibility and search rankings through the Content Factory model, designed for creating high-impact, SEO-driven content. Discover the Dollar-a-Day advertising strategy, a cost-effective approach to boost your local SEO efforts and attract more customers with minimal investment. Gain practical insights on optimizing your online presence to meet the specific needs of local service seekers, ensuring your business not only appears but stands out in local searches. This concise, action-oriented workshop is your roadmap to navigating the complexities of digital marketing in the AI age, driving more leads, conversions, and ultimately, success for your local service business.
Key Takeaways:
Embrace AI for Local SEO: Learn to harness the power of AI technologies to optimize your website and content for local search. Understand the pivotal role AI plays in analyzing search trends and consumer behavior, enabling you to tailor your SEO strategies to meet the specific demands of your target local audience. Leverage the Content Factory Model: Discover the step-by-step process of creating SEO-optimized content at scale. This approach ensures a steady stream of high-quality content that engages local customers and boosts your search rankings. Get an action guide on implementing this model, complete with templates and scheduling strategies to maintain a consistent online presence. Maximize ROI with Dollar-a-Day Advertising: Dive into the cost-effective Dollar-a-Day advertising strategy that amplifies your visibility in local searches without breaking the bank. Learn how to strategically allocate your budget across platforms to target potential local customers effectively. The session includes an action guide on setting up, monitoring, and optimizing your ad campaigns to ensure maximum impact with minimal investment.
Breaking Silos To Break Bank: Shattering The Divide Between Search And SocialNavah Hopkins
At Mozcon 2024 I shared this deck on bridging the divide between search and social. We began by acknowledging that search-first marketers are used to different rules of engagement than social marketers. We also looked at how both channels treat creative, audiences, bidding/budgeting, and AI. We finished by going through how they can win together including UTM audits, harvesting comments from both to inform creative, and allowing for non-login forums to be part of your marketing strategy.
I themed this deck using Baldur's Gate 3 characters: Gale as Search and Astarion as Social
This session will aim to comprehensively review the current state of artificial intelligence techniques for emotional recognition and their potential applications in optimizing digital advertising strategies. Key studies developing AI models for multimodal emotion recognition from videos, images, and neurophysiological signals were analyzed to build content for this session. The session delves deeper into the current challenges, opportunities to help realize the full benefits of emotion AI for personalized digital marketing.
Unlock the secrets to enhancing your digital presence with our masterclass on mastering online visibility. Learn actionable strategies to boost your brand, optimize your social media, and leverage SEO. Transform your online footprint into a powerful tool for growth and engagement.
Key Takeaways:
1. Effective techniques to increase your brand's visibility across various online platforms.
2. Strategies for optimizing social media profiles and content to maximize reach and engagement.
3. Insights into leveraging SEO best practices to improve search engine rankings and drive organic traffic.
The Strategic Impact of Storytelling in the Age of AI
In the grand tapestry of marketing, where algorithms analyze data and artificial intelligence predicts trends, one essential thread remains constant — the timeless art of storytelling. As we stand on the precipice of a new era driven by AI, join me in unraveling the narrative alchemy that transforms brands from mere entities into captivating tales that resonate across the digital landscape. In this exploration, we will discover how, in the face of advancing technology, the human touch of a well-crafted story becomes not just a marketing tool but the very essence that breathes life into brands and forges lasting connections with our audience.
Did you know that while 50% of content on the internet is in English, English only makes up 26% of the world’s spoken language? And yet 87% of customers won’t buy from an English only website.
Uncover the immense potential of communicating with customers in their own language and learn how translation holds the key to unlocking global growth. Join Smartling CEO, Bryan Murphy, as he reveals how translation software can streamline the translation process and seamlessly integrate into your martech stack for optimal efficiency. And that's not all – he’ll also share some inspiring success stories and practical tips that will turbocharge your multilingual marketing efforts!
Key takeaways:
1. The growth potential of reaching customers in their native language
2. Tips to streamline translation with software and integrations to your tech stack
3. Success stories from companies that have increased lead generation, doubled revenue, and more with translation
In the face of the news of Google beginning to remove cookies from Chrome (30m users at the time of writing), there’s no longer time for marketers to throw their hands up and say “I didn’t know” or “They won’t go through with it”. Reality check - it has already begun - the time to take action is now. The good news is that there are solutions available and ready for adoption… but for many the race to catch up to the modern internet risks being a messy, confusing scramble to get back to "normal"
What’s “In” and “Out” for ABM in 2024: Plays That Help You Grow and Ones to L...Demandbase
Delve into essential ABM ‘plays' that propel success while identifying and leaving behind tactics that no longer yield results. Led by ABM Experts, Jon Barcellos, Head of Solutions at Postal and Tom Keefe, Principal GTM Expert at Demandbase.
We will explore the transformative journey of American Bath Group as they transitioned from a traditional monolithic CMS to a dynamic, composable martech framework using Kontent.ai. Discover the strategic decisions, challenges, and key benefits realized through adopting a headless CMS approach. Learn how composable business models empower marketers with flexibility, speed, and integration capabilities, ultimately enhancing digital experiences and operational efficiency. This session is essential for marketers looking to understand the practical impacts and advantages of composable technology in today's digital landscape. Join us to gain valuable insights and actionable takeaways from a real-world implementation that redefines the boundaries of marketing technology.
As 2023 proved, the next few years may be shaped by market volatility and artificial intelligence services such as OpenAI's ChatGPT and Perplexity.ai. Your brand will increasingly compete for attention with Google, Apple, OpenAI, and Amazon, and customers will expect a hyper-relevant and individualized experience from every business at any moment. New state-legislated data privacy laws and several FTC rules may challenge marketers to deliver contextually relevant customer experiences, much less reach unknown prospective buyers. Are you ready?Let's discuss the critical need for data governance and applied AI for your business rather than relying on public AI models. As AI permeates society and all industries, learn how to be future-ready, compliant, and confidentlyscaling growth.
Key Takeaways:
Primary Learning Objective
1: Grasp when artificial general intelligence (""AGI"") will arrive, and how your brand can navigate the consequences. Primary Learning Objective
2: Gain an accurate analysis of the continuously developing customer journey and business intelligence. Primary Learning Objective
3: Grow revenue at lower costs with more efficient marketing and business operations.
Mastering Local SEO for Service Businesses in the AI Era"" is tailored specifically for local service providers like plumbers, dentists, and others seeking to dominate their local search landscape. This session delves into leveraging AI advancements to enhance your online visibility and search rankings through the Content Factory model, designed for creating high-impact, SEO-driven content. Discover the Dollar-a-Day advertising strategy, a cost-effective approach to boost your local SEO efforts and attract more customers with minimal investment. Gain practical insights on optimizing your online presence to meet the specific needs of local service seekers, ensuring your business not only appears but stands out in local searches. This concise, action-oriented workshop is your roadmap to navigating the complexities of digital marketing in the AI age, driving more leads, conversions, and ultimately, success for your local service business.
Key Takeaways:
Embrace AI for Local SEO: Learn to harness the power of AI technologies to optimize your website and content for local search. Understand the pivotal role AI plays in analyzing search trends and consumer behavior, enabling you to tailor your SEO strategies to meet the specific demands of your target local audience. Leverage the Content Factory Model: Discover the step-by-step process of creating SEO-optimized content at scale. This approach ensures a steady stream of high-quality content that engages local customers and boosts your search rankings. Get an action guide on implementing this model, complete with templates and scheduling strategies to maintain a consistent online presence. Maximize ROI with Dollar-a-Day Advertising: Dive into the cost-effective Dollar-a-Day advertising strategy that amplifies your visibility in local searches without breaking the bank. Learn how to strategically allocate your budget across platforms to target potential local customers effectively. The session includes an action guide on setting up, monitoring, and optimizing your ad campaigns to ensure maximum impact with minimal investment.
Mastering SEO for Google in the AI Era - Dennis Yu
Safaricom marketing mix and it's environment
1. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 1
SAFARICOM MARKETING MIX AND IT’S
ENVIRONMENT.
PREPARED BY FRED M’MBOLOLO
(ACCA), CPA (K)
2. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 2
Table of Contents
1.0 Brief History of Safaricom
1.1 Business Objective
1.2 Safaricom Vision statement
1.3 Strategic (SWOT) analysis
1.4 The STP model
2.0 What is marketing
2.1 Marketing mix (7PS)
2.1.1 Product
2.1.2 Place
2.1.3 Promotion
2.1.4 Price
2.1.5 People
2.1.6 Process
2.1.7 Physical evidence
2.2 Marketing Mix (4CS)
2.2.1 Competition
3.0 What is a Brand.
4.0 Global Networking
4.1 A brief summary of market expansion plans
3. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 3
4.1.1 Kenya
4.1.2 Tanzania
4.1.3 Afghanistan
4.1.4 South Africa
4.1.5 India
4.1.6 Eastern Europe
4.1.7 Other markets
5.0 Pestle overview
5.1 Political
5.2 Economic
5.3 Social
5.4 Technological
5.5 Ecological
5.6 Legal
6.0 Porter’s 5 forces
7.0 Ansoff Matrix
7.1 Market Penetration
7.2 Market Development
7.3 Product Development
7.4 Diversification
4. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 4
8.0 Future Expansion Opportunities
9.0 Conclusions
10.0 References
Table 1.1-Internal Environment
Table 1.2-External Environment
Table 3.0 Pestle for Safaricom
Table 4.0 Ansoff Matrix
Figure 1.1 Safaricom’s Logo
Figure 1.2 The STP model
Figure 1.3 The 7PS marketing mix
Figure 6.1 Five forces analysis of Safaricom Kenya
Figure 8.1 Kenya’s GSM Subscriber distribution
5. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 5
Disclaimer Statement
The information contained herein is provided as a public service with the
understanding that the Author makes no warranties, either expressed or
implied, concerning the accuracy, completeness, reliability, or suitability of
the information. Nor does the Author warrant that the use of this information
is free of any claims of copyright infringement.
The Author does not endorse any commercial service providers or their
products.
6. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 6
1.0 Brief History of Safaricom
1.1 Safaricom’s Logo
Safaricom Limited was incorporated on 3 April 1997 under the Companies Act as a
private limited liability company as a fully owned subsidiary of Telkom Kenya.
It was based on an analogue ETACS network and was upgraded to GSM in 1996
(licence awarded in 1999). By virtue of the 60% shareholding held by the Government
of Kenya (GoK), Safaricom was a state corporation within the meaning of the State
Corporations Act (Chapter 446) Laws of Kenya, which defines a state corporation to
include a company incorporated under the Companies Act which is owned or controlled
by the Government or a state corporation.
In May 2000, Vodafone group plc, the world’s largest Telecommunication company
acquired a 40% stake and management responsibility for the company. It was
converted into a public company with limited liability on 16 May 2002.
Until 20 December 2007, the GoK shares were held by Telkom Kenya Limited (“TKL”),
which was a state corporation under the Act. In accordance with the Government of
Kenya’s policy of divesting its ownership in public enterprises, the Government of Kenya
through the Treasury Department, on 28 March 2008 made available to the public
10,000,000,000 of the existing ordinary shares of par value Ksh 0.05 each, of the
Company. This represents 25% of the total issued share capital of Safaricom from the
7. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 7
Government of Kenya’s shareholding in Safaricom Limited. therefore GoK ceased to
have a controlling interest in Safaricom under the State Corporations Act and therefore
the provisions of the State Corporations Act no longer apply to it.
Safaricom’s aim is to remain the leading Mobile Network Operator in Kenya. With the
growing subscriber base, the company has employed over 1000 employees and
opened 10 retail shops in Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru and Kisumu. The firm has a wide
dealer network of over 152 dealers countrywide, (www.safaricom.co.ke)
Safaricom is partly owned by the Government of Kenya 35%, Vodafone 40% and 25%
is owned by the shareholders. It is worth forty billion Kenyan shillings in shares. This is
approximately four hundred million Euros. Its market capitalization is worth two
hundred and twenty two billion Kenyan shillings as at 31st of March 2010.
Safaricom is listed in the Nairobi stock exchange market with a rather low but steady
share price ranging from 4-6 Kenyan shillings. This share price is interestingly low as it
has been trading in the stock exchange market for more than 2 years having started at
5 shillings during its Initial Public Offering (IPO) way back in 28th March 2008. Some
reports indicate the Safaricom IPO was oversubscribed by 532%.
1.1 Business Objective
“Our key initiatives are targeted at sustaining customer focus and positioning us for
future success and maintain the number one- market Position”
1.2 Safaricom Vision statement:
Safaricom is dedicated to transforming the lives of our customers, communities and
colleagues. We pride ourselves in our track record of the same, and know that this is
just the beginning; we will continue to work collaboratively to impact positively the lives
across the country and beyond.
8. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 8
1.3 A Strategic SWOT analysis
A Strategic SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) Analysis provides
a comprehensive insight into the company’s history, corporate strategy, financial data,
business structure, business divisions and key operations. Each report contains a
detailed SWOT analysis with additional information on the key competitors, market
structure, major products, brands and services, as well as detailed financial data for the
last 5 years.
Southerland and Canwell (2004, 276)
“Swot analysis is a very suitable technique in understanding the overall future of
an organization considering the launch of new projects. Taking advantage of
these strengths and opportunities will enable this company to manage its threats
and weaknesses to ensure it maintains its high market share and provide better
services for its customers”.
In the table below depicts a detailed SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and
Threats) analysis to identify their strengths and how it can be utilized in view of available
opportunities in the market; and how their weaknesses can be downplayed such that it
does not adversely affect them, considering the threats from the internal and external
environment. Analysis for Safaricom indicates that the Internal Environment is
addressed using the strengths and weaknesses of the company and the External
Environment is addressed using the opportunities and threats facing the company.
9. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 9
Table 1- Internal Environment
Strengths Weaknesses
Strong capital base and
partnership with vodafone
Safaricom has strong roots in the
Kenyan market, being a home-
grown company.
A good knowledge of local
cultures and purchase-behavior of
intended customers
Huge Investments in research &
development activities in
equipment and other facilities (a
wide network coverage)
Commitment to corporate social
responsibility that has ingratiated
them to the hearts of the people,
like sponsoring the economic
empowerment projects, medical
camps, water projects and sports
projects among other projects
Wide range of products to offer.
Tough start-up and operations
legislations
Operating M-pesa (mobile
banking) has seen its subscription
base grow even more.
Even though they have a vision of
being the biggest network in Africa,
their major operations are still limited
to a few East African countries.
Relatively low levels of customer
satisfaction characterized by slow
moving very long queues at the
customer services stations
Jamming of network because of
many subscribers
Telecoms business is capital-
intensive, hence the slow pace of
international expansion.
Higher mobile charges and money
transfer charges as compared to its
competitors Airtel, Orange, Yu
10. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 10
Table 2 – External Environment
Opportunities Threats
A wide market potential in Africa, a
developing continent.
Communication is a basic necessity in life,
not a luxury, so the market is limitless.
It is stability provides assurance in it is
customers. It is biggest competitor has had
many changes in ownership and leadership
over the past years.
M-Pesa and its related products and
scope to increase customer base
New fiber network
Global Market
New Products and Services
Price Wars and competition
Network congestion due to many subscribers
Government regulation like changes in tax
rates and further MTR cuts
Increase in labour costs
Lack of basic amenities like power supply,
roads and water in Kenya, leading to high
cost of doing business.
Strong competitors: especially Airtel Bharti
11. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 11
1.4 The STP model
The STP model is useful when creating marketing communications plans since it helps
marketers to prioritize propositions and then develop and deliver personalized and
relevant messages to engage with different audiences. This is an audience rather than
product focused approach to communications which helps deliver more relevant
messages to commercially appealing audiences. The diagram below shows how plans
can have the flow from.
Audience options > Audience selection > Production positioning
Figure 1.2 The STP model diagram
Through segmentation, you can identify niches with specific needs, mature markets to
find new customers, deliver more focused and effective marketing messages.
12. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 12
The needs of each segment are the same, so marketing messages should be designed
for each segment to emphasize relevant benefits and features required rather than one
size fits all for all customer types. This approach is more efficient, delivering the right
mix to the same group of people, rather than a scattergun approach.
Safaricom broad customer base encompasses the full spectrum of individuals and
organizations across Kenya. They offer voice, data and financial (mobile money)
products and services to both consumer and enterprise customers.
Consumer customers are individual purchasers of goods and services while
enterprise clientele are business of all sizes, ranging from small-to-medium
enterprises (SMEs) to large corporate firms. Their total customer base, 99% are
consumer customers and 1% are enterprise clientele.
Each type of customer is managed by its own Business Unit; namely, the
Consumer Business Unit (CBU) and the Enterprise Business Unit (EBU).
They also have two customer segments in the Enterprise Business Unit these are the
SMEs and large corporate clients.
Currently the individual customers are given a bonus storo time after hitting a certain
target time of talking, also if one subscribes to their facilities, the customer can send
text messages at subsidized rates, voice mail services and automatic call me back text
messages. The M-pesa money transfer services though expensive is very reliable and
has wide network coverage unlike its competitors. It also offers roaming facilities to
individual customers, at times free promotions for Facebook and wattsapp users.
In respect to the enterprise customers they provide them with reliable internet
connection, calling services, M-pesa services, web-hosting and data solutions, on-line
payroll and on-line accounting.
13. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 13
2.0 What is marketing
Marketing can be defined as a process by which organizations, individuals and groups
investigate the needs and wants of the customers, create products/services that
satisfies them to the intended markets (Kotler 2000, 8).
Services marketing can be used to market a product or service and is based on
relationship and value. A service unlike a product is intangible and this means that the
service cannot be returned by the customer in case of dissatisfaction. Service Marketing
mix adds 3 more ps such as, People, physical environment and process. (Baron &
Harris 2003, 21-26).
The role of advertising is to create demand for a product. It is also important to consider
the cost of advertising so that it does not exceed the intended return. However the
expenses to be incurred vary based on the nature of the product. For example, new
products need a larger advertising budget to help create awareness and to encourage
consumers to try the product. A product that is highly differentiated may also need more
advertising in order to gain competitive advantage, emphasizing on the difference.
To achieve the objectives, marketers should select carefully their market segments.
Attractiveness of the market may be due to size, income level and competition
available. The implication of selecting target segments is that the business will
subsequently allocate more resources to acquire and retain customers in the target
segments than it will for other, non-targeted customers. In some cases, the company
may operate to the extreme of discouraging customers that are not in its target
segment.(Baron & Harris 2003, 8-9).
14. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 14
2.1 Marketing mix
In order to understand which strategy Safaricom has used to achieve its
objectives, we will look at the different kinds of marketing mix of the company.
As marketing strategy shapes the marketing mix for the products and services
offered by the company, the marketing mix will point to the strategic choice of the
company.
The marketing mix is a synonym for 7ps, which is constructed of the four most
important components of every product’s strategy - Product, Price, Promotion
Place, People, Psychical evidence and Process.
Figure 1.3 The 7PS Marketing Mix
15. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 15
Marketing mix is a process where specific marketing elements are used to achieve an
organization’s or individual’s objectives and satisfy the target market. This is achieved
by using seven tools such as Product, distribution, promotion and price. Besides the
four Ps, services marketing comprises more categories such as People, which means
any person meeting customers. They are particularly important because, to the
customers, their personal presentation creates either a positive or a negative impact to
them. Because of this, they must be appropriately trained, well-motivated and the right
type of person assigned the duties. Process involves the steps in providing a good or
service and the behavior of people, which can be important to customer satisfaction.
Physical evidence is important to be considered because unlike a product, a service is
intangible. This, therefore, means that potential customers could perceive greater risk
when deciding whether to use a service. To reduce the feeling of risk, thus improving
the chance for success, it is often important to make the consumers visualize what a
service would be (Baron & Harris 2003, 5-8)
Kotler (2006,536) discovered that the effectiveness of promotion in marketing of
services is generally affected by four distinct elements, namely advertising, public
relations, word of mouth and point of sale. It was realized that there is an outcome when
promotion uses the four principle elements together, which is common in film promotion.
Advertising involves any communication that is paid for, from television and cinema
commercials, radio and Internet advertisements through print media and billboards.
Public relations is where the communication is not directly paid for and includes press
releases, sponsorship deals, exhibitions, conferences, seminars or trade fairs and
events. Word-of-mouth is any apparently informal communication about the product by
ordinary individuals or satisfied customers.
16. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 16
2.1.1 Product
Followings are products of SAFARICOM
Safaricom Pre-paid services
Safaricom Post-paid services
M-Pesa money transfer, M-kesho, M-Co-op, M-shwari and other related
products
Cell phones with warranties depending on their sizes and prices
Discounted cell phone prices
A Safaricom SIM-Card plugged into their customer mobile devices, this
promotes loyalty in a market in which many customers own multiple SIMS.
Value Added Services (VAS)
Fixed line and telephony
Broadband and fixed-line internet services
Digital television and IPTV
DTH operator
The different value added services provided by Safaricom are-
Instant Balance Enquiry
Bonus talking time and bonga points that can be redeem later as air time.
Okoa jahazi, where short time credit facilities for buying air-time is extended to
pre-paid customers
Caller line identification
Call divert, Call wait & Call Hold
Multimedia messaging service (MMS)
Live Portal
SMS based Information Service
17. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 17
Product refers to all the goods and services a company offers to the market. Also
products may comprise physical products, services, information, places, organizations
or ideas that can be offered for attention, acquisition or consumption that might satisfy a
want or a need.
Products are classified in two categories; tangible and intangible products.
(Kotler 2001, 7)
The product is therefore more than a branded, packaged good offered for sale. Its
definition has been widened to include services and benefits and the services that can
be achieved from the product. This refers to a core product or service, which can be
changed by adding features and options. It consists of multidimensional entities and
benefits offered to customers. In business-to-business markets, products satisfy buyers`
wants or needs. The products should be developed to satisfy the group intended.
Product should clearly define who the intended users are and the customer’s
preferences and needs. Through the product concept, the product idea can be analyzed
through several concepts by considerations such as who will use the product, what are
primary benefits and when it should be consumed (Kotler 2001, 164).
Product consists of elements such us packaging, branding labeling and product
attributes that are of good quality, style, features and design. Strong brand preference is
an added feature to the product. A product which is an object or a service, is produced
or manufactured on a large scale with a specific volume of units. A less obvious but a
common mass produced service is a computer operating system. A successful new
product is the result of careful marketing (Kotler & Keller 2009, 46).
A product has its concepts; brand, product line and product mix. A brand is a distinctive
product offering created by use of a name, symbol, design, packaging or some
combination of these intended to differentiate these from competitors. A product line is a
group of brands that are related in terms of the functions and benefits they provide.
Product mix is a total set of products marketed by the company. (Jobber 2004, 296).
The use of information technology influenced introduction and application of effective
promotion methods that eased marketing of organization services in the target market
18. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 18
With the advancement of technology there have been new channels of selling products,
and this has also provided consumers with a good quality of the products, this is due to
high rate of competition. The product information can be accessed easily. The
consumers can sort products based on any desired attribute. IT has made the
companies to be flexible in changing and managing their portfolios of options and
products. Another impact is that IT has significantly reduced transaction cost, thus
making products cost cheaper and ease of doing business and actual product
improvement. The use of information technology increases the pace of product
development and this facilitates effective marketing of communication services.
The evolution and introduction of more effective communication services is greatly
influenced by development of new information communication technology. New product
development leads to a wide product range that influences attraction and retention of
many customers.
Lack of product development leads to loss of market share, as the few products do
not satisfy many customers’ interests.
This also negatively affects marketing of communication services in various market
segments. (Turban, Lee, king & Viehland 2004, 16)
2.1.2 Place
SAFARICOM is getting its products to the market through distributors channels
both formal (traditional) ones and informal channels.
It mainly sells its Products and services through Mobile operators and retailers,
which is common for the industry with a distict Safaricom logo
The Safaricom retail shops adopted a strategy of being a one shop for all
mobile telecommunication equipment.
It has wide and extensive presence even in the remotest areas, Safaricom
boasts of a distribution foot print of 2,000 exclusive distribution network and
ensuring that subcribers can access airtime wherever they are
Safaricom Customer Care centres and Distributors like E.g. shops, stalls,
supermarkets, chemists, retail outlets etc. also helps as a place of availability of
product.
19. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 19
Has a reputation for a strong and wide coverage, it owns 75% of base stations
in Kenya, of which 53% are 3G, enabled.
Place or distribution involves delivering of products or services to the final user.
The channel of distribution is very important to be considered depending on the size of
the company and the nature of the product. It should also be estimated on whether to
sell directly to the consumer or use intermediaries such as wholesalers and retailers.
Cost is the most important factor to be considered when deciding on the distribution
channel. Proper distribution planning which means a systematic distribution decision
making process, is also important for effectiveness and cost reduction (Evans & Berman
1994, 480)
The distribution channel needs to be designed and monitored frequently to withstand
changes in the market and to reduce channel problems resulting from inefficiency using
features such as transportation and storage in the market place. (Chaffey 2002, 314)
Distribution chain or the channels refer to the stages involved in delivering the product
to the market. Each of the elements in these stages has specific needs it meets for both
the seller and the end user and are very important to be considered especially by the
producer because the main objective is to satisfy the needs of the customers. There are
different types of these channels such as selling direct to the consumer, wholesalers
who sell in bulk and retailers who sell the products in smaller units to the customers.
There are two basic types of channels, a direct channel of distribution and indirect
channel of distribution.
Direct involves the movement of goods and services from producer to consumers
without the use of independent intermediaries. It is mostly preferred by companies that
want control over their entire marketing programs, desire close customer contact and
have limited target markets. An indirect channel of distribution involves the movement of
goods and services from producer to independent intermediaries to consumers and is
usually used by companies that want to enlarge their markets, raise sales volume,
reduce distribution functions and costs, and are willing to waive some channel control
and customer contact.(Evans & Berman 1994,486)
20. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 20
2.1.3 Promotion
Biggest artistes in Kenya music scenes like gospel master Daddy Owen, P-Unit,
gospel sensation-Gloria Muliro, love ballads are roped in to support the product.
Two way communication channels, such as social media marketing like the Bring
Zack back home and Kenyans for Kenyans promotions won the best private
sector product/services campaign actually 2nd
place on twitter and 4th
place on
facebook.
Safaricom uses the SKIZA tunes which are widely downloaded at a small fee.
Customer awareness of new products and services offered to them.
Safaricom uses following promotion ways...
Television
The print media
Posters
Internet
Hoardings can be related to compulsive buying (such as never passing up a
bargain), the compulsive acquisition of free items (such as collecting flyers), or
the compulsive search for perfect or unique items (which may not appear to
others as unique, such as an old container).
Sponsors of various events like football, athletics and rugby management.
Promotion is important because the consumers are informed about the new products
and their attributes before they develop positive attitudes toward them. For the goods
and services in the market, promotion acts as a way to persuade and informing the end
users so that they attain the product knowledge and hence like the product. A Satisfied
customer will send word-of-mouth to the others thereby increasing the demand of the
product. A good promotion involves product, distribution and price components of
marketing. (Evans & Berman 1994, 574)
A business' total marketing communications programme is called the "promotional mix"
and consists of a blend of advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, brand
21. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 21
management, product placement and public relations tools. It has been established that
many companies apply these promotion mix elements in order to increase sales
revenue. Decline in sales revenue has been a result of poor implementation of the most
effective promotion mix elements.
Each of the applied promotional mix elements has strengths and weakness and it
should be the company management`s responsibility to determine the most effective
promotion mix element that will increase sales revenue. (Evans & Berman 1994, 591)
2.1.4 Price
Customers often perceive high priced brands to be of higher quality and less
vulnerable to competitive price cuts than low priced brands
Call rates available are communicated via cell broadcast service (CBS)
This price varied for different kinds of services like the caller ring back tone and
money transfer charges
Content localization, that is the process of adapting a product or service to a
particular language
Customer based pricing strategies.
Communication commission of Kenya (C.C.K) has gradually decreased the
mobile termination rates (M.T.Rs)
Price represents the value of a good or service for both the seller and the buyer. In
order for it to be of importance there has to be a defined price planning which means a
systematic decision-making relating to all aspects of pricing by a company involving
both tangible and intangible factors, purchase terms, and the non-monetary exchange
of goods and services. It is the only element in the marketing mix that produces
revenue; the others produce costs.
Price balances demand and supply because it makes the buyer and the seller agree on
a certain value for goods and services. (Evans & Berman 1994, 690)
Price is one of the positioning methods and should be implemented in relation to target
market, product mix, services and competition. Price should involve all the cost,
otherwise companies will incur losses. Therefore, the management and the managers
22. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 22
should understand how to set the price by considering lost margin and lost sales. Also
factors such as demand, competition, distribution channels, internal environment and
public authorities affect price setting. Understanding how to set a price is an important
aspect of marketing decision-making because of changes in the competitive market that
many believe will act to decrease prices in many countries. Developing a coherent
pricing strategy assumes major significance (Jobber 2004, 376).
Pricing decisions include determining the overall level of prices (low, medium, or high),
the range of the prices (lowest to highest), the relationship between price and quality,
the emphasis to place on price, how to react to competitors` prices, when to offer
discounts, how prices are computed and what billing terms to implement such as cash
or credit policy. (Evans & Berman 1994, 37)
Customary pricing occurs when a company sets goods or service prices and seeks to
maintain them for a period. Price does not change for a given period. It is used for items
such as candy, gum, magazines and restaurant food. Rather that modify prices to
reflect cost increases, a company may decide to reduce package size or change
ingredients. The consumers will tend to prefer these alterations to price increment. Odd
pricing is used when selling prices are set at levels below currency values for instance
dollar or Euro. It is a popular strategy for several reasons. Consumers like obtaining
change, they also gain an impression that the company thinks carefully about prices
and sets them as low as possible and customers may believe that odd prices represent
price reduction. Prestige pricing is a pricing strategy that indicates consumers may not
buy a product when the price is low. Many people tend to correlate price and quality and
perceive that a high quality product should be expensive. People will buy a premium
priced product because they believe the high price is an indication of good quality and a
sign of self-worth. It indicates their success and status. It is a signal to others that they
are a member of an exclusive group. In psychological pricing, the consumers are
sensitive to certain prices and tend to avoid purchasing products decreasing the
demand. Customary, odd and prestige pricing strategies are all forms of
psychological pricing. (Evans & Berman 1994, 716-718).
23. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 23
2.1.5 People
Total Employees about 5,000 workers
Dedicate and passionate workforce.
One of the best customer support base and service in the industry.
Overall, our employees are young, dynamic Kenyans, with 70% of our
workforce in their 30s, 16% still in their 20s and 85% of our workforce are
based in Nairobi.
On the whole, our staff complement is pretty evenly split between men and
women, although the number of women in more senior management
positions remains relatively low
Safaricom is one of the best employers in Kenya.
Of both target market and people directly related to the business.
24. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 24
Thorough research is important to discover whether there are enough people in your
target market that is in demand for certain types of products and services.
The company’s employees are important in marketing because they are the ones who
deliver the service. It is important to hire and train the right people to deliver superior
service to the clients, whether they run a support desk, customer service, copywriters,
programmers…etc.
When a business finds people who genuinely believe in the products or services that
the particular business creates, it’s is highly likely that the employees will perform the
best they can.
Additionally, they’ll be more open to honest feedback about the business and input their
own thoughts and passions which can scale and grow the business.
This is a secret, “internal” competitive advantage a business can have over other
competitors which can inherently affect a business’s position in the marketplace.
2.1.6 Process
Safaricom shops are easily accessible and everywhere in the country
Processes for services are very simple, easy and customer can access it very
easily.
100 and 234 are the customer support numbers which can be dialed from
anywhere in Kenya and are also free of charge.
Through M-pesa pay system, one can deposit and withdraw money from their
bank accounts, send money to relatives, employees and also buy airtime.
The systems and processes of the organization affect the execution of the service. So,
you have to make sure that you have a well-tailored process in place to minimize costs.
It could be your entire sales funnel, a pay system, distribution system and other
systematic procedures and steps to ensure a working business that is running
effectively. Tweaking and enhancements can come later to “tighten up” a business to
minimize costs and maximize profits.
25. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 25
2.1.7 Psychical evidence
Safaricom products are well packed and labeled with the Safaricom logo.
The Safaricom staff are well informed and aware of their brand name and their
product and services
On line experience of dealing with customer’s queries
Interface of the customer care centres
In the service industries, there should be physical evidence that the service was
delivered. Additionally, physical evidence pertains also to how a business and its
products are perceived in the marketplace.
It is the physical evidence of a business’ presence and establishment. A concept of this
is branding. For example, when you think of “fast food”, you think of McDonalds.
When you think of sports, the names Nike and Adidas come to mind. While in Kenya
when you think of telecommunication, you think of Safaricom first.
26. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 26
You immediately know exactly what their presence is in the marketplace, as they are
generally market leaders and have established a physical evidence as well as
psychological evidence in their marketing.
They have manipulated their consumer perception so well to the point where their
brands appear first in line when an individual is asked to broadly “name a brand” in their
niche or industry.
2.2 Marketing Mix 4C’s
The 4Cs marketing model was developed by Robert F. Lauterborn in 1990. It is a
modification of the 4Ps model. It is not a basic part of the marketing mix definition, but
rather an extension. Here are the components of this marketing model:
Cost – According to Lauterborn, price is not the only cost incurred when
purchasing a product. Cost of conscience or opportunity cost is also part of the
cost of product ownership.
Consumer Wants and Needs – A company should only sell a product that
addresses consumer demand. So, marketers and business researchers should
carefully study the consumer wants and needs.
27. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 27
Communication – According to Lauterborn, “promotion” is manipulative while
communication is “cooperative”. Marketers should aim to create an open
dialogue with potential clients based on their needs and wants.
Convenience – The product should be readily available to the consumers.
Marketers should strategically place the products in several visible distribution
points.
Whether you are using the 4Ps, the 7Ps, or the 4Cs, your marketing mix plan plays a
vital role. It is important to devise a plan that balances profit, client satisfaction, brand
recognition, and product availability. It is also extremely important to consider the overall
“how” aspect that will ultimately determine your success or failure.
By understanding the basic concept of the marketing mix and its extensions, you will be
sure to achieve financial success whether it is your own business or whether you are
assisting in your workplace’s business success.
The ultimate goal of business is to make profits and this is a surefire, proven way to
achieve this goal.
According to Philip Kotler (2001, 215) technology is taking us back to an era of
negotiated pricing. The internet, corporate networks, and wireless setups are linking
people, machines, and companies around the globe connecting sellers and buyers than
before. Websites such as compore.Net and priceScan.com allow buyers to compare
products and prices quickly and easily. Price is one of the flexible elements and can be
changed quickly. The pricing power has changed from companies to consumers e.g. in
auction homes such as ebay.com and priceline.com, the customer proposes the price to
the company. IT has also reduced many transactions, hence lowering the prices. This is
also due to intense competition. It provides comparative price information that may
reduce the cost. Concerning the consensus over competition on the internet, it has also
created the issue of price discrimination, whereby the seller can charge different prices
to different consumers for the same product.
From the figure below, it can be established that the pricing process involves the steps
shown and based on the market segment and the prevailing market situation.
28. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 28
2.2.1 Competition
The competitive environment often affects a company’s marketing efforts and its
success in attracting a target market. Thus, a company needs to analyze the structure
of the industry in which it operates and to examine it competitors on the basis of these
characteristics: It is important that a company to develop reputation for reliability, sell
products at the lowest profitable prices, and convince as many distributors or retailers
as possible to stock their products. (Evans & Berman 1994, 43)
3.0 What is a 'Brand'
www.investopedia.com/terms/b/brand.asp website defines a brand as:
A brand is a distinguishing symbol, mark, logo, name, word, sentence or a
combination of these items that companies use to distinguish their product from
others in the market. Legal protection given to a brand name is called a
trademark”
Doole and Lowe (2008, p.283) opine that because a brand’s image is the most visible
part of a product or service, customers relate it to the perceived value and it plays a vital
role in positioning the product in the market. I concur that a brand, if managed properly,
is capable of generating additional value to a company and is a source of strategic
competitive advantage. Brands are custom-made to the demands of the target market
using the marketing mix of product, price, place and promotion. However, in a service
industry they are additional 3 P’s namely people, physical evidence and the process.
The concept of corporate branding finds its origin in product branding. Branding refers
to the creation of such a distinctive product or service. Corporate branding brings to
marketing the ability to use the vision and the culture of a company as part of a unique
selling proposition (Hatch and Schultz, 2003). The idea of corporate branding is based
on the assumption that consumers create images of companies based on the whole
experience of these companies (Heding et al., 2009). Corporate branding requires a
29. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 29
holistic approach to brand management, in which all members and aspects of an
organization behave in accordance with or are in line with the brand (Harris and de
Chernatony, 2001).
Figure 3.1 Corporate Reputation
Basically Branding is about creating a unique position and distinguishing
the organization from its competitors. Schmidt and Ludlow (2002) defined positioning as
it is normally used in marketing to denote the distinctive market position which a
brand has, or wishes to have in regard to competition. They presented a holistic
approach to positioning . Keller (2000) identified some characteristics for a
successful brand which is effectively positioned. De Chernatony and McDonald (2003)
explored two types of competitive brand advantage: cost -driven and value -added
Positioning is the differentiation of a brand or a product according to the target market
perception relative to similar offerings in the given markets. All elements of a
company’s behavior affect the position in customers mind.
30. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 30
Brand positioning refers to consumer’s perception and insights about a special brand
as well as the niche the brand occupies in their minds. Strategic position of a
corporation is the outcome of decisions made at the corporate level , and is influenced
by external environment and internal environment such as the availability of internal
resources and core competencies, and expectations of various internal
stakeholders and external stakeholders (Johnson , Scholes , and Whittington, 2006)
Strategic Position at organizational level is a long term process of developing the
organizational overall competitive advantage in market place. It identifies
organizations place in the environment in relation to vision, mission and core
competency (Hooley, 2001; Hamel and Parahalad ,1993). The primary motivation
for Safaricom to expand locally is the company’s business objective that its key
initiatives are targeted at sustaining customer focus and positioning themselves for
future success and maintain the number one- market position”
When Niko na Safaricom was launched in 2009, the subsequent campaign in 2010
captured a stunning glimpse of Kenya’s diversity in a heartwarming way that was
culturally relevant to them and in line with the company’s vision which is dedicated to
transforming the lives of their customers, communities and colleagues.
This campaign not only helped them define them through the brand, but also to define
their lives with a single and powerful line said in everyday-speak, Mimi ni Safaricom.
This was a proud statement of ownership and progress by their customers.
With time, Niko na Safaricom has been the single most compelling association with their
brand. It is thus a dynamic brand and wherever you go in Kenya, Safaricom is closely
woven into our cultures, making it an essential part of every Kenyan’s life. For
the brand, a natural progression would flow from this insight. The direction of the brand
commercial explores this mutual relationship of brand and consumer by cleverly delving
into our lives.
It also requires manager to take deliberate and proactive actions to identify and
develop the organization‟s competitive position based on its operational and
31. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 31
experimental dimensions rather than promotional effort ( Kalafaties ,Tsogas ,and
Blankson ,2000)
Safaricom M-pesa is such a strong brand with a wide network coverage and it is also
fast and reliable though fraudsters have recently targeted the customers.
M-PESA (M for mobile, pesa is Swahili for money) is a mobile phone-based money
transfer, financing and micro financing service, launched in 2007 by Vodafone for
Safaricom and Vodacom. M-PESA was originally designed as a system to allow
microfinance-loan repayments to be made by phone, reducing the costs associated with
handling cash. But after the pilot,testing it was broadened to become a general money-
transfer scheme. M-Pesa is devised from a Swahili word that denotes to send money; it
is a product that enables customers send money via the mobile phone not only locally
but also internationally. Through continued customer sensitization and education they
are able to help minimize the cases of fraud that affect our M-PESA customers.
They have well developed systems and procedures in place to protect our customers on
all these fronts.
Also Safaricom partnered with Equity Bank and launched a service known as M-KESHO
on the 18th
March, 2010, M-KESHO, is a full savings account issued by Equity Bank but
marketed as an “M-PESA Equity account.” Like M-PESA accounts, M-KESHO accounts
have no account opening fees, minimum balances or monthly charges. But unlike M-
PESA accounts, M-KESHO accounts pay interest, do not have a limit on account
balances, and are linked to limited emergency credit and insurance facilities. And unlike
its regular Equity account holders who can only transact at the bank’s 140 branches,
Equity’s M-KESHO customers is able to transact at any of the 17,000 retail outlets that
accept M-PESA.
Also Safaricom partnered with Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) to launch M-Shwari, a
banking product within M-Pesa in the year 2012. M-Shwari is invented from a Swahili
word that denotes to smoothen or make something better or good, it is a revolutionary
product set to change the lives of millions of Kenyans. It is not accessible through any
CBA branches but, on the consumers handset. All the consumer’s requires is their
32. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 32
handset and be registered on M-PESA! There are no physical forms or additional
documentation required for them to sign up into M-Shwari (www.cbagroup.com).
In 2014 Safaricom partnered with Britam and Changamka Micro Health to provide
insurance to Kenyans with low income and launched another service called Linda Jamii.
Safaricom also partners with the Government of Kenya through E-citizen to provide one
Paybill number 206206 for use in payment of government services through the
governments e-citizen platform. It is also partners with so far 17 banks that have been
on boarded for the Real-Time Gross Services (RTGS)
Michael Porter, in 1980, identified three generic strategies that organizations use in
gaining competitive advantage namely Cost leadership, Differentiation and Focus.
Safaricom uses the differentiation and focus strategy to market its products and
services, where by they gain market share by having using their brand loyalty and
maintaining high and having higher returns and profitability through offering a wide
range of products like M-Pesa, M-Shwauri, M-Kesho.
(Porter 1980, pg 67-68) in his book on the competitive strategy he reckons that:
Differentiation provides insulation against competitive rivalry because of brand loyalty by
customers and resulting lower sensitivity to price. It also increases margins, which
avoids the need for a low-cost position. The resulting customer loyalty and the need for
a competitor to overcome uniqueness provide entry barriers. Differentiation yields
higher margins with which to deal with supplier power, and it clearly mitigates buyer
power, since buyers lack comparable alternatives and are thereby less price sensitive.
Finally, the firm that has differentiated itself to achieve customer loyalty should be better
positioned vis-a-vis substitutes than its competitors.
Achieving differentiation may sometimes preclude gaining a high market share. It often
requires a perception of exclusivity, which is incompatible with high market share. More
commonly, however, achieving differentiation will imply a trade-off with cost position if
the activities required in creating it are inherently costly, such as extensive research,
product design, high quality materials, or intensive customer support. Whereas
33. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 33
customers industry wide acknowledge the superiority of the firm, not all customers will
be willing or able to pay the required higher prices.
34. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 34
4.0 Global Networking
Networking depicts a relationship between two or more individuals or organizations that
involves sharing of mutual resources and information to their individual advantages
(Boonchoo and Tongurai, 2012). Companies expanding into international markets utilize
networking in activities like identifying the target customers and their needs, establishing
relationships with suppliers, identifying competitors and their activities and identifying
with professional bodies/ trade unions to enable them survive in those markets.
A company starting up in a new market has to analyse and get as much information as
they can from the market (macro environment) and compare it with their internal
processes (microenvironment) before they decide for or against investing. There are
several approaches to study the external environmental but I emphasize two for the
purpose of this paper, i.e., PESTEL and Porter’s Five Forces analysis.
4.1 A brief summary of Safaricom M-pesa markets
expansion plans
4.1.1 Kenya
M-Pesa was first launched by the Kenyan mobile network operator Safaricom, where
Vodafone is technically a minority shareholder (40%), in March 2007. M-Pesa quickly
captured a significant market share for cash transfers, and grew to 17 million
subscribers by December 2011 in Kenya alone.
The growth of the service forced formal banking institutions to take note of the new
venture. In December 2008, a group of banks reportedly lobbied the Kenyan finance
minister to audit M-Pesa, in an effort to at least slow the growth of the service. This ploy
failed, as the audit found that the service was robust.
At this time The Banking Act did not provide basis to regulate products offered by non-
banks, of which M-Pesa was one such very successful product. As at November 2014,
M-Pesa transactions for the 11 months of 2014 were valued at KES. 2.1 trillion, a 28%
increase from 2013, and almost half the value of the country's GDPOn 19 November
2014, Safaricom launched a companion android app Safaricom M-Ledger for its M-Pesa
users. The application, currently available only on Android, gives M-Pesa users a
historical view of all their transactions.
35. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 35
4.1.2 Tanzania
M-Pesa was launched in Tanzania by Vodacom in 2008 but its initial ability to attract
customers fell short of expectations. In 2010, the International Finance Corporation
released a report which explored many of these issues in greater depth and analyzed
the strategic changes that Vodacom has implemented to improve their market position.
As of May 2013, M-Pesa in Tanzania has five million subscribers.
4.1.3 Afghanistan
In 2008 Vodafone partnered with Roshan, Afghanistan's primary mobile operator, to
provide M-Pesa, the local brand of the service. When the service was launched it was
initially used to pay policemen's salaries set to be competitive with what the Taliban
were earning. Soon after the product was launched, the Afghan National Police found
that under the previous cash model, 10% of their workforce were ghost police officers
who did not exist; their salaries had been pocketed by others. When corrected in the
new system, many police officers believed that they had received a raise or that there
had been a mistake, as their salaries rose significantly. The National Police discovered
that there was so much corruption when payments had been made using the previous
model that the policemen did not know their true salary. The service has been so
successful that it has been expanded to include limited merchant payments, peer-to-
peer transfers, loan disbursements and payments.
4.1.4 South Africa
In September 2010 Vodacom and Nedbank announced the launch of the service in
South Africa, where there were estimated to be more than 13 million "economically
active" people without a bank account. M-Pesa has been slow to gain a toehold in the
South African market compared to Vodacom's projections that it would sign up 10
million users in the following three years. By May 2011, it had registered approximately
100,000 customers. The gap between expectations for M-Pesa's performance and its
actual performance can be partly attributed to differences between the Kenyan and
South African markets, including the banking regulations at the time of M-Pesa's launch
36. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 36
in each country. According to MoneyWeb, a South African investment website, "A tough
regulatory environment with regards to customer registration and the acquisition of
outlets also compounded the company's troubles, as the local regulations are more
stringent in comparison to our African counterparts. Lack of education and product
understanding also hindered efforts in the initial roll out of the product." In June 2011,
Vodacom and Nedbank launched a campaign to re-position M-Pesa, targeting the
product to potential customers who have a higher Living Standard Measures (LSM) than
were first targeted.
Despite efforts, as at March 2015, M-Pesa still struggled to grow its customer base.
South Africa lags behind Tanzania and Kenya with only c.1 million subscribers. This
comes as no surprise as South Africa is well known for being ahead of financial
institutions globally in terms of maturity and technological innovation. According to
Genesis Analytics, 70% of South Africans are "banked", meaning that they have at least
one bank account with an established financial institution which have their own banking
products which directly compete with the M-Pesa offering
4.1.5 India
M-Pesa, was launched in India as a close partnership with ICICI bank in November
2011. Development for the bank began as early as 2008. The service continues to
operate in a limited geographical area in India. Vodafone India had partnered with both
ICICI and ICICI bank, ICICI launched M-Pesa on 18 April 2013. Vodafone plans to
rollout this service throughout India. The user needs to register for this service by
paying 100 Rupees, on which 25 Rupees will be credited back to the users account and
there are charges levied per M-Pesa transaction for money transfer services and DTH
and Prepaid recharges can be done through m-pesa for free
37. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 37
4.1.6 Eastern Europe
In March 2014, M-Pesa expanded into Romania, while mentioning that it may continue
to expand elsewhere into Eastern Europe, as a number of individuals there possess
mobile phones but not possess traditional bank accounts. It is unlikely, as of May 2014,
however, that the service will expand into Western Europe anytime soon.
In May 2015, M-PESA was also launched in Albania.
4.1.7 Other markets
M-Pesa expanded into Mozambique, Lesotho, and Egypt in May, June, and July 2013,
respectively. A full listing of countries in which M-Pesa currently operates can be found
on M-Pesa's website.
38. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 38
Table 3- Pestle for Safaricom
Political factors:
The Kenya Information and
Communications
(Amendment) Act, 2013
Concerns over radiation from Mobile
Telephones
Industry regulation bodies
Economic factors:
Middle income families in Kenya
encourage its expansion.
Inflation and low incomes in other East
African countries
Currency exchange fluctuations
There is also rising competition from it is
main competitor Airtel Kenya and the
other competitors like Orange and Essar-
Yu in terms of services offered and the
lower prices charged.
Social factors:
Inclination towards Internet Information
Increasing need for communications
Internet at home and in public places
Technical / technological factors:
Wireless and Mobile communications
Real time and on-demand
communications
The next generation nextwork and 4 G
speed mobile phones
Legal factors:
Licensing framework
Mobile phone and driving
Environmental factors:
Corporate social responsibilities through
transformation of lives of its customers,
communities and colleagues.
The Waste Electrical and Electronic
Equipment recycling
39. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 39
5.0 Pestle Overview
Enterprise planning involves taking a look at the environment in which you operate as
well as looking inside the organisation to see what’s working well and what needs to be
improved. The PESTLE analysis is a common tool for helping you articulate and
structure this type of analysis. It focuses on the external environment and can be a
useful piece of analysis to inform the areas that you will need to highlight and / or
address through your business plan.
The PESTLE framework allows you to evaluate, anticipate and plan for external factors
that affect your organisation. PESTLE analysis groups these factors into Political (P),
Economic (E), Social (S), Technical (T), Legal (L) and Environmental (E). Note these
categories will necessarily be equally important to your enterprise
5.1 Political
Regulation and KYC rules
M-Pesa sought to engage Kenyan regulators and keep them updated on the
development process. M-Pesa also reached out to international regulators, such as the
UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Payment Card Industry (PCI) to
understand how best to protect client information and adhere to internationally
recognized best practices.
Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements impose obligations on prospective clients
and on banks to collect identification documents of clients and then to have those
documents verified by banks. The Kenyan government issues national identity cards
that M-Pesa leveraged in their business processes to satisfy their KYC requirements
This partnership comes months after Safaricom roped in Vodacom Tanzania and MTN
Rwanda to introduce cross-border transaction between customers on the respective
networks
5.2 Economic:
The middle income earning families in Kenya has encourage Safaricom’s expansion
plans
The East African markets, in which Safaricom has established presence, comprise of
developing countries. Such markets are not predictable and are characterized by
40. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 40
economic uncertainties like inflation and currency/exchange rate fluctuations and low
income earning families.
In Afghanistan, it has been very successful, and soon after the product was launched,
the Afghan National Police found that under the previous cash model, 10% of their
workforce were ghost police officers who did not exist; their salaries had been pocketed
by others. When corrected in the new system, many police officers believed that they
had received a raise or that there had been a mistake, as their salaries rose
significantly. The National Police discovered that there was so much corruption when
payments had been made using the previous model that the policemen did not know
their true salary. The service has been so successful that it has been expanded to
include limited merchant payments, peer-to-peer transfers, loan disbursements and
payments.
There is also rising competition from it is main competitor Airtel Kenya and the other
competitors like Orange and Essar-Yu in terms of services offered and the lower prices
charged.
5.3 Social:
Social normally includes cultural issues like life style, language and demography.
Inclination towards Internet Information has contributed to the growth of Safaricom
subscribers by offering them internet facilities on their mobiles and other public places
through the usage of wifi wireless internet.
There have been challenges for instance that 70% of South Africans are "banked",
meaning that they have at least one bank account with an established financial
institution which have their own banking products which directly compete with the
M-Pesa offering. Lack of education and product understanding also hindered efforts in
the initial roll out of the product in South Africa.
Increasing need for communication in Africa, the population has been on a steady
increase and there are few telecom operators per country. This translates to an
increasing potential market for Safaricom. They offer Wireless and mobile
communication, real-time and on demand communications, the next generation
nextwork and 4 G speed mobile phones
5.4 Technological:
Safaricom invests highly in research and development activities and the infrastructure to
render outstanding services, especially in the telecoms industry that is highly dependent
on information technology.
41. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 41
5.5 Ecological:
Include environmental issues and natural occurrences like earthquakes and floods. The
African climate is not prone to such, but there are tendencies in the East European
countries and Asian countries where Safaricom has strategic alliances.
There is also a need to carry out some social responsibilities, they aim to support
sustainability in many aspects of living and improve the general living standards through
the transformation of the lives of their customers, communities and colleagues.
The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment recycling needs to done and the waste
which cannot be recycled disposed of safely
5.6 Legal:
Usually includes regulatory laws and bodies guiding businesses.
In the year 2014 Safaricom has been on an expansion plan for its mobile money
transfer service M-Pesa across the region, after the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK)
awarded it a cash remittance operating license, enabling it to carry out money transfers
out of the country
Telecommunications in Kenya is governed by the Communication Commission of
Kenya; in Uganda, by Uganda Communications Commission, in Tanzania by, the
Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA)
42. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 42
6.0 Porter’s 5 Forces
The model of the Five Competitive Forces was developed by Michael E. Porter in his
book „Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors“ in
1980. Since that time it has become an important tool for analyzing an organizations
industry structure in strategic processes.
Porters model is based on the insight that a corporate strategy should meet the
opportunities and threats in the organizations external environment. Especially,
competitive strategy should base on and understanding of industry structures and the
way they change.
Porter has identified five competitive forces that shape every industry and every market.
These forces determine the intensity of competition and hence the profitability and
attractiveness of an industry. The objective of corporate strategy should be to modify
these competitive forces in a way that improves the position of the organization. Porters
model supports analysis of the driving forces in an industry. Based on the information
derived from the Five Forces Analysis, management can decide how to influence or to
exploit particular characteristics of their industry.
43. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 43
THREAT OF NEW ENTRY
The Telecoms business is capital intensive and requires
huge start-up capital and technological expertise so
there is little threat of new entrants. Safaricom has a few
competitors in Kenya. Vodafone Kenya owns 40% stake
in Safaricom and hence it has strong corporate
governance. However, there is room for more players
because some parts of the population still don’t have
access to telephone services.
COMPETITIVE RIVALRY
Safaricom main competitor is Airtel Kenya, a
subsidiary of the Indian-owned company Airtel
Bharti which has apparently partnered with
MTN, a South African-owned company to
expand internationally. Its main rival is Airtel
Kenya. Other rivals include Essar's YU (which
they recently purchased, in conjunction with
Airtel) and Orange Wireless.
THREAT OF SUBSTITUTION
The substitutes to Safaricom GSM services are the
fixed lines and mobiles. SAFARICOM is the market
leader in Kenya. Their great achievement is the
coverage area, which assisted by Aviat. It was the
first company in East Africa to possess 3G Internet
technology with recent success of 4G / LTE
connectivity currently in Nairobi and Mombasa.
Safaricom use LTE (advanced) offers 4G services, the
substitutes are other Internet Service Providers like
Airtel that offer only offer 3G services at the
moment. Other substitutes offer only 1G and 2G
services.
BARGAINING POWER OF BUYERS
Subscribers switch networks mainly for quality
network coverage and price. Switching cost is very
low; free for a new SIM card. The new number
portability introduced in Kenya was futile and does
not enable subscribers to switch service provider
whilst maintaining old numbers. Hence, Safaricom
still dominates this market due to the superiority and
reliability of their goods and services.
BARGAINING POWER OF SUPPLIERS
The main suppliers to Safaricom are its human
resources. Safaricom operates a direct employment
policy and their remuneration is the highest in the
industry. They partner companies like Equity Bank,
Commercial Bank of Africa, Alcatel and Aviat
Networks, a leading global provider of microwave
networking solutions roll-out. Hence, no supplier has
monopoly or control.
Fig 6.1: Five Forces Analysis of
Safaricom Kenya
44. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 44
7.0 Ansoff Matrix
To portray alternative corporate growth strategies, Igor Ansoff presented a matrix that
focused on the firm's present and potential products and markets (customers). By
considering ways to grow via existing products and new products, and in existing
markets and new markets, there are four possible product-market combinations.
Ansoff's matrix is shown below:
Table 4.0 -Ansoff Matrix
Existing Products New Products
Existing
Markets
Market Penetration Product Development
New
Markets
Market Development Diversification
Ansoff's matrix provides four different growth strategies:
7.1 Market Penetration
The firm seeks to achieve growth with existing products in their current market
segments, aiming to increase its market share. Safaricom had penetrated the market
through advertising on different media platforms, increasing it is customer
responsiveness, marketing and image management, in responding to the complexity of
the environment. Through its dealer management team, most of its customers have
been able to get access to goods and services provided by Safaricom. M-PESA being
45. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 45
the useful brand, with more than 13 million registered customers and served on
consistently branded stores, has ensured customer experience has been transferred to
local communities. The stores are recognizable as they are painted Safaricom green
with a prominent M-PESA logo.
On the number of agency networks, Safaricom has more than 5000 Head office agent
networks supported by over 90,000 agent outlets. This has helped the company widen
their reach and preach the gospel of their products and services
7.2 Market Development
The firm seeks growth by targeting its existing products to new market segments.
Differentiation involves achieving competitive advantage by providing unique services or
products that provide an added value to consumers. Its aim is to provide products and
services that are different from those of competitors. The uniqueness of the provided
service or product can be derived from different activities, including product
performance, marketing, technology, location and experienced employees. Since most
of the mobile telephony industry products are the same and the current regulation of
ceiling imposed by the government on interconnection fee discourages firms from
lowering further their call charges, then the mobile companies had to look other ways of
differentiating themselves to attract and retain customers.
Safaricom Kenya Ltd has continuous come up with unique products to satisfy the
various levels of customers they serve. M-PESA product for example has yielded more
than 50 unique products. Other unique products serve particular segments of customers
for example Zidisha products, corporate value packs. Segmented customer service
experience also has been created to elevate the brand. Platinum shops and both
prepay and Post Pay sections have been set up in their retail outlets.
46. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 46
7.3 Product Development
The firms develops new products targeted to its existing market segments. Product
development involves modification of existing products or the creation of new but
related products to be marketed to the existing customers through the existing
channels. When asked whether Safaricom Kenya Ltd adopted new product
development strategy in their quest for growth, all the interviewees, from the
findings, indicated that Safaricom Kenya Ltd has continuously developed new
products and services to meet the needs of the consumers. They do so by analyzing
market needs and determining the opportunities available in the industry.
The company serves most of the market segments within the environment it operates in
therefore have to come up with strategies that will enable it maintain and grow its
business and customers. Examples of New Products and modified are fourth
Generation Internet access recently launched in the brand name 4G, Mobile Money
Transfer Services in the Brand name of M-PESA which has generated other products
like Lipa na MPESA, Paybill services, M-ticketing, M-distribution, Mshwari & KCB-
MPESA loans and
savings account, Wifi Services for Internet, Short Messaging Services (SMS) promotion
offers and Directory services. The company has also been reviewing existing products
and introducing more value added benefits like Okoa Jahazi for prepay customers to
borrow airtime and repay later, Call back Ringtone Services in the brand name SKIZA
for all customers.
The company has also been in fore front to ensure new products and services are
availed. From the findings, the interviewees affirmed that the company has invested
heavily on development of new products and services through their strategy and
innovation division. The team ensures the company comes up with new products and
services that give their customers continuous satisfaction through different products and
services availed. The company runs promotions and does customer education to
ensure that all its customers are aware of their new products. They ensure that
47. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 47
customers participate in the roadmap towards new product release by way of
interviews, opinions, roadside shows and pretest launches. For example for the launch
of latest products for example advantage plus services for post pay, promotions like
Shangwe Mtaani, customers are educated by w ay of text messages, newspapers
adverts and outsourced marketing companies.
7.4 Diversification
The firm grows by diversifying into new businesses by developing new products for new
markets. Diversification is a strategy that allows a company to enter additional lines of
business different from the current products, services and markets. Diversification
strategies help organization widen organization’s scope across different products and
market sectors.
Safaricom’s core business which is mobile voice service provider, however over the
years it has diversified to mobile and fixed data services, video conferencing and mobile
money transfer services under the brand name M-PESA. The data services target both
corporate and individual consumers mainly for internet access services, e-mail services.
Cloud services have been the latest development which the company has launched.
The various diversification options include Concentric Diversification which has seen
Safaricom Kenya Ltd add new products to fully utilize existing technologies and market
systems. This includes MPESA Products, Data services. It has also practiced corporate
diversification through production of unrelated but definitely profitable goods for
example Data services and M-PESA. Also Safaricom partnered with Equity Bank and
launched a service known as M-KESHO on the 18th
March, 2010, M-KESHO, is a full
savings account issued by Equity Bank but marketed as an “M-PESA Equity account.
Also Safaricom partnered with Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) to launch M-Shwari, a
banking product within M-Pesa in the year 2012. In 2014 Safaricom partnered with
Britam and Changamka Micro Health to provide insurance to Kenyans with low income
and launched another service called Linda Jamii. It has also invested in Venture Capital
markets and started a Safaricom Investment Committee where citizens can get credit
and buy parcels of land over a given period of time.
48. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 48
Safaricom also partners with the Government of Kenya through E-citizen to provide one
Paybill number 206206 for use in payment of government services through the
governments e-citizen platform. It is also partners with so far 17 banks that have been
on boarded for the Real-Time Gross Services (RTGS)
8.0 Future Expansion opportunities
In considering what course of action a company will take in order to expand its market, it
has to consider several options and the determine the most lucrative markets, the
strengths, weaknesses and the intended strategies to be implemented by the company.
The characteristic risks in international expansion can be lessened by appropriate
planning, employing competent personnel and expertise, use of the required information
technology and skills.
Figure 8.1 Kenya’s GSM Subscriber Distribution
The CA report was as at 3rd, March, 2015 and it indicated that Safaricom was the
leading telecommunications operator in Kenya in terms of subscriber base,
commanding a
49. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 49
67.4 % of the total subscribers, Airtel were the second largest operator, accounting for
22.6% of the entire market and then followed by Orange which had only 10% of the total
market as at that date.
9.0 Conclusions:
Safaricom has been successful due a combination of factors especially it is marketing
mix of the Seven (7Ps) of marketing and other strong marketing strategies. It has also
managed to partner with several parties with the aim of enhancing it is brand name and
increasing it is customer base.
Safaricom's mobile banking product MPesa has been wildly successful in Kenya, but
similar products have not taken off in countries like South Africa or India. The success
of M-PESA was driven by mainly two factors which were particularly instrumental.
The first factor was the financial exclusion was pervasive in Kenya before the launch of
M-Pesa and proliferation of MFIs and SACCOs (Micro-credit savings unions). A
significant majority of Kenyans, mainly from lowly penetrated rural areas and low
income earners, were not captured by the incumbent banking institutions. Banks were
not accessible in remote areas and had done little to bring financial services to the
inhabitants of these areas.
The requirements for opening a bank account were stringent and unfavorable to low
income earners. A banking service had little to offer to a low income earner. These
people need to access their money in form of cash as most of their daily expenses are
met in such. A debit card or standing order offers no value for a person who lives day to
day based on what he earns. MPESA offered a more accessible 'banking' option that
was simple to use, less discriminative and fit right in with liquid requirements.
Another factor is the regulatory environment in Kenya that fostered and continues to
foster an enabling environment for innovation and financial inclusion through mobile
money. Financial regulators in this region, East Africa, have recognized the power of
mobile money (and MPESA) in driving a more inclusive financial system that contributes
to economic growth. Regulators work collaboratively with commercial issuers to bring
50. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 50
value to customers and mobile money (MM) operators. The Central Bank of Kenya, the
regulator, recognizes the global position of Kenya as a pioneer of mobile money( MM)
The global attention motivates them to lead the pack in mobile money (MM) innovations
through favorable policy and regulation.
It is thus obvious that marketing plays a fundamental role in enhancing a company’s
growth and performance in capturing new markets, retaining the market and stimulating
financial strengths in income returns of an organization.
51. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 51
10.0 References
Books Sources
Baron, S. Kim, H. 2003.Services Marketing.Basingstoke.Palgrave
Blythe, J. 2006. Principles and practice of marketing.London: Thompson
Chapman, J. Holtman, C.1994.IT in marketing.England.Alfred Waller Ltd.
Combe, C. 2006. Introduction to E-business.Amsterdam: Boston: Butterworth-
Heinemann
Chaffey, D.2002.E-business& E-commerce management.England: Prentice Hall
De Chernatony and McDonald, 2003, Creating Powerful brands
Doole and Lowe. 2008, Cengage Learning EMEA. ALL RIGHTS : Image, branding and
positioning
Evans, J. Berman, B.1994. Marketing. New York: Macmillan
Jobber, D.2004.Principles and practice of marketing.London: McGraw-Hill
Johnson , Scholes , and Whittington, 2006, Exploring the Corporate strategy.
Kotler, P.2000.Marketing management.New Jersey: Prentice Hall
Kotler, P.2003.Marketing management.New Jersey: Prentice Hall
Kotler, p. Keller, L.2005.Marketing Management. New Jersey: Prentice Hall
Kotler, P. Keller, L.2006.Marketing Managerment.New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Kotler, P. Keller, L.2009.Marketing Management.New Jersey: Prentice Hall
Kotler, P. Amstrong, G.2001.Principles of marketing: New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
52. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 52
Ludow and Schmidt 2002. Palgrave Macmillan, Oct 22, 2002 - Business & Economics
Mark, S. Phillip, L. Adrian, T.1997.Research methods for Business Students.London:
Pitman
Palmer, A. 2005.Service marketing.London: McGraw-Hill
Porter, M. E. Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and
Competitors. New York: Free Press, 1980.
Sutherland , Canwell (2004), Key Concepts in Management (Palgrave Key Concepts)
Strauss, J. El-Ansary, A.Frost, R.2006.E-Marketing.New Jersey.Prentice Hall
Svend, H.2004.Global marketing.New York.Financial Times.
Turban, Lee, king & Viehland, 2004, Electronic Commerce: A Managerial Perspective
2006, 4th Edition
Wheelen, T. & David, H.2004.Strategic management and business policy.New
Jersey.Prentice
Hall.
Journals
Boonchoo and Tongurai, (2012), Networking, Marketing, activities, and firm
performance: A Survey of Thai Construction Firms.
Kalafaties ,Tsogas ,and Blankson ,2000, Positioning strategies in business markets
Newspapers.
Business week dated 3rd
March, 2015 on Kenya’s GSM Distribution of the market.
Hamal and Parahalad, 1993, Harvard Business Review on Strategy as stretch and
leverage.
53. Prepared by Fred M’mbololo Page 53
Websites
www.cbagroup.com
www.investopedia.com/terms/b/brand.asp
www.safaricom.co.ke
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet
www.smartinsights.com/marketing.../marketing.../4cs-marketing-model/
www.smartinsights.com/.../segmentation-targeting-and-positioning/
www.mindtools.com › Strategy Tools