APPLICATION IN MARKETING - SAMSUNG
Abstract
Samsung is listed in the Fortune 500 and is considered one of the most recognized brands on a global level in multiple categories.
With Mobile devices leading the product category, Samsung has also been able to develop world class product lines, in Television and Audio and Video, Cameras, Information Technology, Home Appliances and Memory and Storage.
Samsung products cater to a wide variety of consumer segment and this makes the company unique in terms of carving in a profitable business niche.
Samsung’s aggressive strategy in the emerging market is a key way forward to maximize revenues and create new stream of revenues, with Japan also being focused with a timeline to have major impact in that low key region for Samsung.
Samsung is willing to adopt and adapt in terms of product strategies that wins the market share, and the marketing mix is being developed accordingly, that enhance the Brand’s portfolio’s presence in terms of sales and equity in an effective manner.
With strong R&D capability and strategically sound decisions to sustain and grow in the emerging markets, Samsung is growing at a rapid pace, it is imperative to monitor the trends and keep churning quality products and services.
Introduction
We are living in age of globalization and the company’s operational objective is not only to operate in one region but expand on a global basis, there are many companies’ successfully operating globally, names such as Nike, Apple, Wal-Mart, General Motors are some of the companies with strong global positioning in terms of sales and brand image and equity.
A prominent list that shows the latest Global positioning of 500 companies on an annual basis in terms of revenues is Fortune 500, and the company on the list that will be showcased in terms of the business line, operational capability in different countries and the marketing mix is the South Korean electronics giant Samsung.
The significance of Fortune (500), list can be gauged from the numbers shared, i.e. market value of the 500 companies on the list as $17 trillion and profits of $945 billion and the revenues a gigantic $12.5 trillion, with the people employed by the 500 companies totaling a huge 26.6 million people globally.
The electronics giant has an excellent operational mechanics, and is of the greatest diversified company, with the product line ranging from Electronics items such as TV, laptops, washing machines, semiconductors, holdings in fashion, advertising, however, the one product line that dominates Samsung Electronics revenue streams and brand positioning on a global level are the smart phones (Fortune Global 500, 2015).
Samsung Electronics as an organization is listed on the Fortune list on the basis of the key attributes, and it got a rank of 2 on innovation, that is the hall mark of Samsung’s technological advancement and the consistent delivery of quality services and products that has also been ranked as 2, as shared in the Fortune (2016) list of World’s Most Admired Companies, Samsung’s rank has slid to five places, from 30 to 35.
Global Operations
The global operations of Samsung showcases the companies reach in terms of countries it operates in and also the people who are working with the giant globally, Samsung employee’s more than 270,000 employees across 79 countries, and at this pace it is expected that Samsung’s employee count will surpass Iceland populations in the near future (Epstein, 2013).
The key attributes as mentioned above, i.e. the research and development process (R&D) and innovative quality products and services are the main aspects on which the global domination has been developed and sustained, besides the marketing and operational prowess, that has enabled all the global entities to work in a self-sufficient and thriving way (Lev-Ram, 2013).
Samsung from an operational perspective is focusing on the emerging markets to gain new revenue streams and also strengthen the lost position in countries like China, India and Indonesia, with jewel crown, in the diversified group, i.e. smart phones (Cheng, 2016).
The three markets mentioned above are the ones that Samsung has been dominating, however, they lost the position of domination and lately, the strategies to slash the price to be able to compete with other brands has helped Samsung, another market that Samsung has long not taken on a serious note is, Japan, and Samsung can no longer afford to bypass this huge market for smart phones.
According to researcher IDC, in Japan, Samsung only controls 6% of the market share of the 36 million phones, and it trails behind the main competitor, Apple who have 50% of the market share in Japan and other companies such as Kyocera, Fujitsu and Sharp (Einhorn, 2016).
4P’s Marketing Mix Concept by Samsung
As one of the biggest diversified companies in the world, the marketing mix entail a detailed view of the product and services on offer by Samsung, that has helped the brand carve a global niche in major categories and consumer segment in a profitable manner.
Product
Samsung’s products innovativeness are the direct results of the company’s immaculate and consistent search for betterment, with the world class research and development (R&D) facilities.
With Mobile devices leading the product category that includes tablets, wearable’s, accessories and smart phones; Samsung has also been able to develop world class product lines, in Television and Audio and Video that includes High Definition, LED and LCD’s, & Plasma technology, Cameras, Information Technology that includes printers & multifunction products, Home Appliances and Memory and Storage that includes SSD, portable SSD and memory cards (Product, 2016).
Samsung products caters to a wide variety of consumer segment and this makes the company unique in terms of carving a profitable business niche, besides, the company’s aggressive strategy in the emerging markets where, the South Korean tech giant’s newfound aggression in low-end phones is a gamble that it can win a race to the bottom, against local and global competitors showcase the fact that, Samsung is willing to adopt and adapt in terms of product strategies that wins the market share (Cheng, 2016).
Price
In the emerging markets pricing is the key, and last year Samsung adjusted prices and slashed as per requirement, to maintain sales growth in the S6 series, besides, to combat in emerging markets, adding more middle and low end mobiles (Advertising Age, 2015).
In an article by Sepherteladze (2015), Skimming and Competitive pricing were mentioned as pricing strategy for Samsung, where skimming is used for S6 series to gain an edge over Apple and competitive pricing is adopted to gain a slice in markets where they fail to gain an edge, example being in Cameras with Cannon and in Home appliances LG taking the lead.
Place
Place is the key for Samsung to be able to operate successfully, wit Samsung outlets leading the place for products and services, and the showrooms are famous for the user experience.
Besides, the presence in the retail space is massive in view of the reliability of the company. Distributors and online presence on other portals are also used for Samsung products, in Mumbai; a single distributor operates to save the company from large discounts (Sepherteladze, 2015).
Samsung opened a new 40,000-square-foot store in New York’s Meatpacking District was launched in February, which is a prime retail space (Kessler, 2016).
Promotion
The promotional techniques range from Advertising, on ground activation, digital activation, events and sponsorships and also involvement in global viral moments such as the Oscar selfie in 2014 (Vranica, 2014).
Difference Observed in Implementation
The implementation is dependent on the location of operation, such as, offering low price products in emerging markets, Indonesia. India and China, was to take the initiative of leading those regions from competitions such as Micromax Informatics & Huawei Technologies Co (Cheng, 2016).
In Japan, the focus on creating product presence, by focusing on placement, to be able generate a visible identity and new promotion techniques are being devised, to create a strong presence in the emerging region by 2020 (Einhorn, 2016).
With strong R&D capability and strategically sound decisions to sustain and grow in the emerging markets, Samsung is growing at a rapid pace, it is imperative to monitor the trends and keep churning quality products and services.
References
Advertising Age (2015). Samsung Adjusting Prices Amid Stalling S6 Sales Growth.
Retrieved from http://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/samsung-adjusting-prices-amid-stalling-s6-sales-growth/299786/
Cheng, J. (2016). Samsung Makes Aggressive Play for Emerging Markets. The Wall Street Journal.
Retrieved from http://www.wsj.com/articles/samsung-makes-aggressive-play-for-emerging-markets-1459997969
Epstein, Z. (2013). How Big is Samsung? BGR.
Retrieved from http://bgr.com/2013/10/17/samsung-total-employees-worldwide/
Einhorn, B. (2016). Samsung’s Emerging Market Is Japan? Bloomberg Businessweek.
Retrieved from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-15/oil-drillers-betting-three-month-crude-rally-is-nearing-the-end
Fortune Global 500 (2015). Samsung Electronics. Fortune.
Retrieved from http://fortune.com/global500/samsung-electronics-13/
Fortune (2015). Fortune 500.
Retrieved from http://fortune.com/fortune500/
Fortune (2016). World’s Most Admired Companies. Samsung Electronics.
Retrieved from http://fortune.com/worlds-most-admired-companies/samsung-electronics-35/
Kessler, S. (2016). Samsung Is Opening A Massive Flagship Store That Doesn’t Stock Any Products. Fast Company.
Retrieved from http://www.fastcompany.com/3056708/samsung-is-opening-a-massive-flagship-store-that-doesnt-stock-any-products
Lev-Ram, M. (2013). Samsung's road to global domination. Fortune.
Retrieved from http://fortune.com/2013/01/22/samsungs-road-to-global-domination/
Product (2016). Samsung Singapore.
Retrieved from http://www.samsung.com/sg/home/
Sepherteladze, S. (2015). Samsung Marketing Strategy: The Master Brand. Inevitable Steps.
Retrieved from https://inevitablesteps.com/marketing/samsung-marketing-strategy/
Vranica, S. (2014). Behind the Preplanned Oscar Selfie: Samsung's Ad Strategy. The Wall Street Journal.
Retrieved from http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304585004579417533278962674
