External Environmental Scan
In order to develop effective strategies, it is critical to understand the marketplace environment. In this assignment, you will explore the relationship between marketplace positioning based on environmental factors.
Throughout this course, you will work on a strategy audit for a selected organization. In Module 1, you selected an organization for your course project activities and completed a market position analysis for your organization.
In this module, you will conduct a comprehensive external environmental scan of your business unit, including a five forces analysis, to identify the relevant trends that pose opportunities or threats to your business. These will serve as inputs for a final strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis that will be due in Module 4: Assignment 2.
There are many elements that can go into an environmental scan, and your analysis will depend on the nature of your business unit, product portfolio, target market, and other factors related to the scope of your business.
Your environmental scan should include some or all of the following elements:
- Economic factors and trends
- Political factors and trends
- Regulatory and legal factors and trends
- Societal factors and trends
- Technological factors and trends
- Geographic factors and trends
- Porter’s five forces that consists of the following aspects:
Threat of new competitionThreat of substitute products or servicesBargaining power of customers (buyers)Bargaining power of suppliersIntensity of competitive/industry rivalry
Although your analysis will be tailored to your specific business, be sure to cover the following:
Write a 2-3-page report in Word format. Apply APA standards to citation of sources. Use the following file naming convention: LastnameFirstInitial_M2_A2 .
Running head: Strategy audit
1
>Marketing analysis for
Samsung
Electronics
Name of students:
Institutional affiliation:
Introduction
The research is aimed at assessing the portfolio of the product of the business unit selected by analyzing the market position, value proposition and the competitive advantage of its products and services. Samsung Electronics America (SEA) sells a wide range of product ranging from electronics. A subsidiary of electronics giant Samsung Electronics, the company’s Consumer Business division markets consumer electronics and household appliances, including TVs, Blue-ray disc players, portable audio players, home theater systems, hard drives, cameras and fridges. Mr. Y.K. The president and CEO of Samsung, Mr. Kim who is charged with overseeing the operations of the company in Mexico and the United States. He was the immediate deputy vice president and the head of sales and marketing department of Samsung electronics and visual display business. I conducted an interview in order to discover where Samsung electronics stands in the market.
I: Thank you very much for your time sir. I would like to know the position of your company with regard to market position.
Mr. Kim: Well, as the immediate head of sales and current C.E.O, our company has made tremendous progress since its inception. We are among the leading suppliers of electronic equipments to consumers. In Android market share alone we scooped 65% according to the 2
0
12 public companies shares.
I: would you shed some light on the company’s value proposition?
Mr. Kim: Well, Samsung electronics is a multi billion global industry and has been established as a global leader in providing electronics and high quality products. We exceeded the 100 billion dollars mark in our annual sales in 2007
I: Based on your success, what are some of the competitive advantage factors that you enjoy?
Mr. Kim: Our Company is well known for understanding our customer’s needs before our competitors. Our products are engineered innovatively and originally in order to meet the needs of the customers and they also cater for future technological needs. Our products are designed and tested for conformity with the customer’s needs.
SUMMARY ANALYSIS FROM THE INTERVIEW
The product portfolio of Samsung exhibits a wide range of equipments ranging from machinery; software design and house hold goods to audio-visual equipment. The research focused on telecommunication unit of Samsung Electronics as it involved the purchase of electronic goods like television, mobile phones and services that included installation, system repairs and delivery to customers’ premises. Samsung has dealers located in several places all over the world. Samsung also has partners all over.
TARGET CUSTOMER
The target consumers of Samsung’s products are mostly the youth and adults who are technologically sensitive. Through its marketing strategy of research and innovation, Samsung has lived up to expectations of the market demand. Inventions of I pod, apple laptops, galaxy phones, tablets and high LED televisions are a proof of this. There is co-ordination of its activities to ensure that the customers’ needs are met in time through an efficient communication channel. The company provides free transport from its sales outlets to consumer’s premises in cases of heavy electronic equipment. The consumers of these products exhibit a consistent buying pattern as every day youths are purchasing mobile phone, television sets, laptops as these are essential gadgets of communication fundamental among human interactions. The customers’ needs and wants vary depending on the financial resources and technological needs. College youths will require laptops with high processing speeds, tablets which can multi task rapidly and for adults depending on their profession they will choose electronic gadgets which are appropriate to them. Flat screens with high resolution power will be ideal for such wealthy television viewers. The middle income category will go for gadgets that are moderate yet perform almost similar functions as the expensive ones. This is evident in the types of Samsung phones that people possess.
Consumers prefer buying Samsung products because they are technologically superior, understands the needs of the customers by doing extensive research and the price is relatively fair. One of the needs that Samsung has not yet ventured into is the manufacture of robots. Research is still going on in this particular field
Our products are currently the market leaders owing to the good work of our system engineers, designers and programmers. Design has become an important part of the success as shown the awards scooped by Samsung Design team in annual technological conferences. This is in spite of stiff competition from
Nokia
, Techno and
Sony
in the telecommunication field.
Samsung products normally have an inscription of Samsung written on the front part. The logo is in the software of most laptops and flat screens with a dark bluish color background to distinguish it from counterfeit images of its competitors. The products are available from all approved dealers at a relatively affordable price. The differentiation of Samsung products assists customers in choosing the genuine Samsung products. From the interview, Samsung enjoys the competitive advantage of huge financial returns based on the sales figures which exceeded $100bn mark in 2009 in addition to the skilled engineers who work round the clock to ensure the needs of consumers are met. This has a long term importance effect because Samsung will always keep up to toes with the competitive and dynamic technological world.
Customers’ need |
Samsung | Sony | Nokia | ||||||||
Mobile phone |
2 | 0 | |||||||||
Television |
|||||||||||
Home theatre |
1 | ||||||||||
Laptop |
References
Ferrell, C. (2001) Marketing strategies in the global arena, Chicago, Chicago press.
Ping, J (2008) The revolution of Samsung into a multibillion corporate, Tokyo
Hummel W. The competitive business environment, California. University of California press.