Introduction The following report will analyse Vodafone and their current position in the international market. This report will cover the competitive strategy of Vodafone and their influence of products and services in relation to the demand of the market. In today’s current economic state, the likelihood of a company entering into a global market is inevitable. Multinational corporations (MNCs) such as Vodafone are required to standardise their Research & Development activities throughout the world in order to penetrate the market. This is achieved by obtaining new technological opportunities, such as the most up-to-date phones, thus maintaining a competitive driver in the market. Firstly, the report will introduce the company and give an outline of the current operations, with focus on their current position in the market, and discuss the main competition faced in a global market. Secondly, focus will lie on the external forces and their influences on the company’s operations, along with discussing the strategic opportunities in order to overcome any facing competition. Finally, the report will include recommendations for the future of Vodafone and how they can become a market leader. Current position and strategy of Vodafone What kind business is Vodafone? Vodafone are a multinational cooperation who retail in telecommunication services. They were originally set up in the United Kingdom in 1984, and since then they have expanded globally and have been recognised as ‘the second largest telecommunications company in the world’ with revenue spanning over $46 billion (as of 2012). Telecommunications gained mainstream attention in the early 90’s; however the initial key market was business men and women, who used their phones whilst being on the move and so allowing them to communicate with their companies with ease. Though in the modern era, telecommunication went through segmentation in the market trends, and now in this day and age it would be difficult to find someone who does not own some form of mobile technology. Many phone providers battle to provide the best service for their customers (Figure 1). Figure 1: Vodafone’s market share compared to other leading brands. (Ofcom quarterly figures. Q3 2009) Figure 2: Vodafone’s coverage across the world. Competitive advantages of Vodafone. In order to identify Vodafone’s competitive advantage, first it is necessary to analyse the strengths and weaknesses within their current SWOT analysis. (Figure 2) Strengths Weaknesses • Diversification of products has increased the potential numbers of new consumers • A vast global presence and powerful brand image. • According to a Mintel report released in 2010, Vodafone is recognised as one of the most trusted service, with their excellent signal strength and efficient services (Market Line, 2012, p.
Phone companies are in a constant battle about which one has the best service. What would you say is the best phone company? AT&T and Verizon have been known to be one of the best companies, which means they are constantly competing against each other for customers. The two ads I found are from each companies perspective to show how both think they are the better carrier. I argue that Verizon is the better company between the two because of background knowledge and research that has been done.
In 1990s, ground-based wireless phone service grew rapidly around the world. A key factor in the growth of wireless phones was the adoption of a single standard, known as GSM, in Europe and parts of Asia. There were 480 million cellular subscribers worldwide by January 2000 and it reached more than billions before 2005. The economy of scale that introduced will provide the extent of competitive pressure in the business environment. It helps to stimulate Iridium to consider price-performance tradeoff that offered by the substitutes and the need of product differentiation alternatives in advance.
Imagine if nobody had a cellphone in today’s world. That’s why today everybody has some form of a cellphone contract with the four major companies (AT&T, Sprint, Verizon or T-Mobile) or a less know cellphone provider. AT&T and Verizon Wireless provide more than the other two major companies.
For many customers, our competitive advantage lies in our global network. We offer enterprise-grade network services in 182 countries representing 99 percent of the world’s economy.
AT&T 27.1%, Verizon 26.3%, Sprint-Nextel 23.6%, Other 11.9%, T-mobile 11.1%. Source Forrester Research December 2007.
In this paper, I will compare three different websites that contain information about cell phone plans. I chose T-mobile, Verizon and Sprint for comparisons. I chose T-Mobile because I am currently using T-mobile as my cell phone plan. I selected Verizon and Sprint because they are the leading competitors of T-mobile.
In a competitive environment where market is changing instantly, organizations are in a fix to design a strategy that could market their products enticing the consumers to buy their products and services. Market is the arena for business gladiators who fight out for maximum share and profitability and this is possible only through effective marketing strategy. Competing in present economy means finding ways to break out of commodity status to meet customers’ needs better than competing firms (Ferrell and Hartline, 2010). The intensity of competition has increased after the introduction of media and internet where the companies present their product in the best way through advertisements, product reviews, blog entries, etc. With the advancement in technological innovations, companies have found various ways of providing services to the consumers in a cheaper and effective way and this has resulted in communication revolution in late 1990’s as the cellular technology was unfold in most of the regions. Singtel Optus Pty Limited (Optus) is one such company that has evolved during this period as a leader in integrated communications and this paper is assumed to make an analysis of the company’s marketing strategy and its financial position in the market industry.
Mobile is the first order priority device for access because people are connecting with others, finding entertainment, and doing business—all with smart phones. The prices of mobile phones are never over $1,000 in today’s world. They are affordable and accessible. As the result of the changes the worldwide and national business environment has undergone, people own 1-2 cell phones on average. However, the mobile markets in US seems to have been saturated.
There is a slowdown in sales of mobile handsets, in some markets like the UK, as the mature part of the product lifecycle is reached. Customers are exposed to a barrage of different images and messages by mobile phone companies, as the competition gets tougher. Vodafone appeals to new customers and aims to keep its existing ones by emphasising the uniqueness of the brand.
Covering sixty-three nations, the vital union will see Vodafone Global Enterprise supply about 50,000 Unilever workers with gadgets, network and Managed Mobile Services, which will enhance the conventional path and direction of Unilever's portable interchanges spend, upgrading cost efficiency and effectiveness in relation to the delivering of products and services. Vodafone Global Enterprise deals with the correspondence demands and needs of its clients in relation to the agreement, Vodafone will likewise supply services to Unilever with important information on the most proficient method to increase more prominent upper hand through conveying inventive versatile arrangements. Likewise, Vodafone will give key guidance on new patterns, for example, the successful administration of purchaser gadgets and applications in the working environment. Vodafone and Unilever will work a graduate learner trade project to empower further versatile development in the work environment. To rearrange the administration of Unilever's versatile interchanges, Vodafone will send a variety of arrangements including Vodafone Telecoms Management, a completely facilitated and oversaw administration intended to eliminate various operational issues. Supported by Vodafone's worldwide backing and administration level understandings, Vodafone Telecoms Management will give Unilever more prominent perceivability and administration control over its telecoms consumption, and additionally enhance the nature of administration conveyed to representatives. (Technology Marketing Corporation,
Tactical problem: Inability to go against the government`s decision to open the 1800Mhz for mobile communication with concession for a third player. Advantage of Vodafone is starting a business year earlier than WESTEL. In addition, WESTEL is not sure about what kind of strategy that Vodafone will use to penetrate into Hungarian market. -S.W.O.T ANALYSIS- -STRENGTHS- Strength: WESTEL has a local partner (Hungarian Post and Telecommunication Company). Strength: In 1990, WESTEL had generated a waiting list of 3000 customers, without any advertising. Many customers had never seen an actual phone. Strength: In 1992, the management decided to lower entry barriers and launched the affordability campaign. Teaming up with a leasing finance company, clients could lease equipment and pay the joining fee. Strength: In 1993, the geographic coverage became more complete, smaller equipment became available, and consumers started to utilize the service up to its full potential. Strength: GSM technology was a major departure from the previous system and the WESTEL had selected Ericsson to build its GSM system. Strength: WESTEL had a strong emphasis on quality and received the ISO 9001 certificate. Later it was dominated and selected for the Hungarian National Quality Prize, and the European Marshall Award. Strength: In a company survey a great part of WESTEL customers was willing to recommend the company to others. Strength: Subscription services provide excellent opportunities to cross-sell, basically providing content or other products to the customers. Further, these services offer to opportunities to upgrade, to brand and loyalty programs. Loyalty programs later have become an important factor in consumer retention. WESTEL has created its loyalty program early on, so it is a advantage for WESTEL. Strength: In May 1996, WESTEL launched its first major promotion bringing down entry barriers to an unprecedented low. During 12 days the company sold more subscriptions than WESTEL 450 in three years.
In 1990, Nokia Mobile Phones (NMP) was the smallest of the five business divisions of Nokia, with annual sales of $500 million and 3,051 employees. Jorma Olilla, the new president of NMP, in the same year led the division to become the world's second largest manufacturer of mobile telephones after Motorola in just a year and half later. Motorola and NEC, the close third competitor, were the dominant players with a combined 33 percent global market share, compared with NMP's share of 13 percent. During this period, the main customers of mobile phones were business users who could afford the high prices. The everyday consumers were not overly attracted by these high prices and limited functional phones. Despite these limitations, the cellular market was growing rapidly, which brought more Asian producers into the competition. To make the matter worse, there was much proprietary technology and equipment required for analog standards around the globe. The emergence of digital technology provided a hope for a uniform communication standard. As a result, NMP had to make a difficult decision regarding which technology to commit significant resources to.
We should know how everyday life is changing and how this relates to mobile telephony. Work Cited = == ==
The year is 2014, the markets are changing constantly, and they always have to meet the needs of new consumers as well as old consumers. Mobile telephones have been in the retail and wholesale business for quite some time, and are only evolving from here on out. There are things that these cell phones can bring us that are major benefits in our everyday lives. Cell phones bring us maps, radios, address books, and even flashlights now. Cell phones have taken shape from a huge portable device to a more convenient thin device that can fit in your pocket. With time in any consumer market, the consumer adapts to the technology that makes their life easier. The constant innovation of cell phones has led us to smart phones, and these smart phones are capable of putting certain businesses out of the market. Businesses that engineered PDAs in the past were met with challenges because smart phones are able to match their productivity. Land lines have become useless since everyone can afford a mobile device now. Listening to music has also switched from a traditional CD Player/MP3 Player to an everyday smart phone.
The Company, which is ISO 9001:2008-certified, operates in accordance with the requirements of good corporate governance practices, providing fair working conditions and offering secure products and services. In fact, MT provides a full spectrum of voice and data services using fixed-line, mobile and internet platforms. It also offers convergent services through My.T, its multiplay-IPTV service. Mobile