Safaricom Limited
Introduction
As research has stipulated severally, the study of market conditions and fluctuations of some aspects allows companies to develop rational decisions that can enhance robust progress of their operation (Grandke, 2013). Marketing research enables a company to examine its market, prevailing trends, new approaches, threats posed by competitors and identify new ways of marketing among other factors. Such research allows the firm to evaluate its target markets by boosting customer experiences, determine precise strategies to follow in community outreach, and develop a network services to facilitate organization growth through customer comments and suggestions. Most information for market research is availed by the stakeholder and customers receiving any services or product. In this respect, a survey inquiring about customer satisfaction, interests, and recommendations would be a pathway to establish viable progress of such a company (Wagner & Hollenbeck, 2015). In a bid to exemplify the role of market research within business sector, this reports assesses Safaricom Limited to avail its culture, structure, markets, product and service quality, human resource, organizational behaviors, and information systems. It will evaluate these aspects while basing on marketing competence while related to other competitors in the market.
Business Description
Safaricom Limited is a leading telecommunication company rendering its services within the communication industry in Kenya. This company, founded in 1997, has established diverse services and products to enhance its business models by communication and money transfer services (Adams & Okello, 2015). It provides networks to connect people through calls, SMS, MMS, and internet. Safaricom is mandated to transform the lives of its clients, communities, and business collaborators. In so doing, it developed a mobile money transfer service that assists people to send and receive money through virtual platforms, making it the most competitive business within the country. This money transfer service termed as Mpesa is among many other business approaches that Safaricom have invested in (Waruguru, 2015). In essence, Safaricom is not only concerned about its incomes as per the business practices of most firms, but also strives to connect with people through offering health initiatives and education programs inclusive of sponsorship in order to promote its goal course. In this regard, the company has developed such initiatives as the disaster response where over 830000 Kenyans have benefited from specialized healthcare services. In another community outreach program on education, 680000 children have managed to attend school via the aid of Safaricom. Even such basic life requirements as water and economic empowerment of residents have been promoted to benefit over 400000 people within the country. Until 2015, the company has invested in foster environmental protection and sustainability by enhancing such recurrent plans of planting trees where over 5.6 million trees have been plants. These tactical strategies of community outreach enhance the market dominance of Safaricom Limited in Kenya. It wins the loyalty and trust of people by showing that it cares for the people’s future. This aspect also enhances the birth of organizational integrity and a unique culture that other businesses have not tried. Safaricom limited is being managed by Bob Colymore as the CEO.
The Market
Safaricom Limited is a dominant business within the money transfer and communication services. It had over 25 million subscribers to its communication networks out of the possible estimation of 40 million Kenyans. The loyalty of subscribers to Safaricom had been enhanced by the setup of various communication aspects through mobile devices. Most past mobile devices bought within Kenya had a single slot for sim card. Since Safaricom was the first company to penetrate the market all over the country, most people subscribed and brought a network contact line. All contact lines from Safaricom Limited were different from other companies and made charges vary from one company to the other. Since Safaricom had the highest subscribers, the customers were forced to purchase line from this company in order to hedge the losses associated with internetwork connections. Therefore, the perceived loyalty is connected to networks maintenance via charges differences. Such other competing companies as Airtel, Zain, Yu Mobile, and Orange find it had to penetrate the market in respect to the above argument. In a similar manner, Safaricom became the first company to establish the mobile money transfer services. This opportunity was connected to the lines where the subscribers could deposit money and send to their destinations instantly. Other services that had initially strived to penetrate the mobile money transfer markets like Airtel Money were trying to copy their strategy which was also prevented by making market penetration hard. Safaricom’s Mpesa hiked the charges for sending money from one network to other, which made the internetwork transfer a non-preference (Waruguru, 2015). In these respects, Safaricom Limited has always managed to control the Kenyan communication and mobile money transfers markets until the regulations to control dominance were set and an existing banking firm named Equity Bank became concerned about the failure of their business future (Nganga, Oluoch, & Douglas, 2014). In perspective, the Kenyan government controlled dominance and its regulations especially related to control of markets by prices in order to prevent penetration. Safaricom was set to allow relatively equitable money transfer rates across networks as per restrictions set to regulate their pricing capabilities. This challenge rose as Equity bank was developing a strategy to neutralize the expanding and expanded Mpesa services that limited their capabilities and reduced their initial profits (Waruguru, 2015). Equity Bank first developed a communication network namely Equitel that enhanced communication and inter- and intra-bank money transfers. This strategy was somewhat similar to the other communication companies that had failed initially on the part of communication. However, Equitel did not target the communication services as the major business approach but rather an additional service to the loyal clients. As the leading Banking firm in the country, the company started issuing lines to the people in order to commence the process while another strategic approach was being prepared. Equitel had devised a strategy to break the main tool of Safaricom business and loyalty attribute. Since most phones owned by people in Kenya had a single SIM slot, Equitel innovators developed a thin sim to attach to the standard SIM cards. This approach would allow every person to use Equitel as second line for both calls and money transfer (Waruguru, 2015). They also ensured that the clients’ mobile lines for Equitel and Safaricom had almost similar digits. For instance, if the initial Safaricom contact for an individual was 0721123456, then the subsequent Equitel line would have been 0761123456, which made it easy to identify and remember. This development has been a huge market challenge for Safaricom Limited. The figure 1 shows the standard and thin sim cards as patented by Equitel.
Business Information Systems and Customer experience
Safaricom avails its information via different ways accessible by people worldwide. The first line of information system is availed by a support system that assists clients with business information and procedural issues related to communication and money transfer issues. The support system is an interface created within the customer care department to handle issues through messages, live chats, and calls. The customer care operates in a 24/7 schedule to cater to customer problems and enquiries in real time (Waruguru, 2015). It is responsible for handling comments, suggestions, quality complains, and technical issues within the services. Another equally reliable source of information is their website that offers information regarding its progress, business progress, community outreach, investments and ventures among other aspects. The company relies of online services and community outreach programs to gather information of customer experiences. In perspective, the operating customer service numbers are inique and easily identifiable. The contact line 100 and 200 are used by clients to call Safaricom customer care and Mpesa care centers respectively (Waruguru, 2015). The company may also contact its clients using the line 0722000000. These communications allow the company to gain knowledge about the satisfactions and problems that the target customers may be experiencing in the markets.
CRM and CLTV
In a bid to monitor the services being offer to the customers by employees, Safaricom has set a monitoring department to collect and evaluate client feedbacks and communications with the staff. For instance, it has established an automated messaging platform where clients respond with their satisfaction rates after calling the customer care line. The request from this department is a way to monitor how the clients were assisted in order to warrant quality. It also records conversations and stores chats as well as messages as a references point for staff misconduct. Essentially, the staff representative who fails to meet the organizational standards when addressing issues affecting the customers is warned or fired as per the terms and conditions of employment (Brodeur & Crawley, 2009). Another CRM issue of concern is the loyalty and outreach programs set to attract the client satisfaction and integrity of the company to the target market. The loyalty programs include the Bonga points for people communicating using their lines. They also offer promotions for their product sales like mobile phones and laptops that enhance communication within and outside the country. Finally, the company also installed a fully integrated CRM software system to enhance direct interaction with the customers.
On the CLTV, the company has a continuous communication system where customers using the mobile money transfer and communication services are expected to seek the services severally. The company takes loyalty as the most vital aspect to enhance CLTV in order to enhance recurrent needs and develop their future markets as new customer arise in time. They, therefore, retain their integrity and boost how people like them in the market by participating in sports’ sponsorship, environmental protection activities, beyond zero women campaigns, and education and health improvements among others (Waruguru, 2015). Loyal Safaricom customers are expected to use the services throughout their lifetime. In this respect, getting a new customer means a lifetime commitment and profits for the company.
HR and Marketing Practice
Safaricom is among the companies that have employed the highest number of people in Kenya. Its workforce work independently as Mpesa agent, product wholesalers and retailers, and employees. The employees work in different branches within the countries as marketers, customer care providers, managers, technical advisers, IT specialists and cashiers among many others (Hughes, 2005). The Mpesa agents operate independently by hosting and facilitating the delivery of money to clients through their accounts. They earn commission through the transactions they have made successful. Other human resources are required in the sale of devices and scratch cards used to enhance communication and money transfers.
Safaricom applies different approaches to enhance marketing inclusive of social and mass media advertisements, posters and billboards, SMS’s, and information pass on by loyal customers (Waruguru, 2015). It also engages in other programs such as sport and outreach to market its products and services to the people.
Personal Reflection
This market research on an oversea company has assisted me to gather specific information regarding the operations and market conditions that exists around it. It has enhanced my research tactics and boosted my confidence in enhancing identifying issues that affect companies within the market and how they are handled. Most of the information about this company was collected through reports and official company websites. I can apply the skill attained to evaluate this company once I am employed to examine other markets and allow proper decision making.
Conclusions and Recommendation
Market research enables firms to identify problems and plan the strategic ways that can be used to handle them. This research has examined the strengths and threats connected to the company in order to establish new ways of retaining competence. Safaricom limited ought to gather other prominent strategies to retain its customers since the initial loyalties forced by lines are becoming ineffective with the intervention of Equitel. One such way to foster changes would be to take advantage of economies of scale to reduce prices and hinder other companies from penetrating the markets (Wilde, 2010).
References
Adams, Y., & Okello, J. (2015). Social Distance in Safaricom Chattitude Dating Cartoon Advertisement. AJIS Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 4(3), 201-214. doi:10.5901/ajis.2015.v4n3p207
Brodeur, D. R., & Crawley, E. F. (2009). CDIO and Quality Assurance: Using the Standards for Continuous Program Improvement. Engineering Education Quality Assurance, 4(13), 211-222. doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-0555-0_17
Grandke, J. (2013). Quality assuarance in immunoassay performance. Berlin: Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM).
Hughes, K. (2005). IT fundamentals. Croydon, Vic.: Tertiary Press.
Nganga, C., S, P. N., Oluoch, O. J., & Douglas, D. M. (2014). The Relationship between Firm Performance as indicated by Financial Performance and Equity Market Premium. A Case of Safaricom Kenya. IOSR Journal of Business and Management IOSRJBM, 16(5), 79-89. doi:10.9790/487x-16537989
Wagner, J. A., & Hollenbeck, J. R. (2015). Organizational behavior: Securing competitive advantage. New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
Waruguru, E. (2015). Factors Affecting Effectiveness of E-Procurement in Business Organizations, a Survey of Safaricom Dealers in Nakuru CBD-Kenya. International Journal of Economics, Finance and Management Sciences IJEFM, 3(3), 303. doi:10.11648/j.ijefm.20150303.27
Wilde, S. (2010). Knowledge Management. Customer Knowledge Management, 3(3), 19-32. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-16475-0_3
