Mature Industries and Strategy
This paper discusses strategic plan when a company is on the way to maturity or has matured. It discusses this in light of Funder Mifflin Company’s intention to begin a social networking site as a result of the maturity of the social media industry. It first highlights on the degree of maturity of the social media industry to develop a background that would assist Funder Mifflin to enter the industry and take advantage of the increasing demand for social networking sites. Based on Google plus and the time magazine website, the paper will look at how the players in the industry are adjusting to the maturation of the industry. There are trends for strategic management used by social networking sites. Funder Mifflin could follow the trend as part of their strategic management and planning. Lastly, the paper looks at differentiation strategy as an approach that would help it take advantage of the maturing social networking industry.
Strategic plan
Introduction
Social media is increasingly being used in various ways. It is an industry that has been on the rise in the recent past. Maturity of a website entails having the website successful at every stage of its existence. Funder Mifflin intends to make an entry into the social networking industry. The website needs to stick against all the other breeds and competition in the industry. In order for the top management of the company to be company to feel satisfied that the social networking website is maturing or has matured, maturity rating has to be done. This involves building a successful social networking website and maintaining the success in the midst of all other competition. Therefore, the maturity of the website will be rated using a comprehensive evaluation framework that will measure quality. According to the framework, measuring is mainly done in a hierarchical manner that takes into account all the defined stages of the existence of a website. All rating and evaluation for maturity for the social networking website will be done using this framework.
Maturation of the social networking industry
Maturation of the social networking industry is characterized by certain basic aspects. Demand for the social networking website has been on the rise. Various segments of the market have appreciated the need to make use of social networking site. Markers, advertisers, individuals and corporate are making use of the industry for various purposes. The demand does not seem to be on the decline. The rate of growth has been high over the past few years. It is still projected that the demand will still remain on the rise within the future although at a slower rate. The other indication is that there is excess supply of competition. There are several social networking sites that operate in the wider global scale with numerous others operating on a smaller scale. All this is an indication of an increasing supply of competition. This is positive indication that the plans to launch a social media site by Funder Mifflin Inc. will head for success because of the maturity of the industry. Google and time magazine website began a social networking site in an already mature industry. The strategy in which they used has enabled them to remain successful in the industry. The industry had already surpassed the emerging and growth phase.
How websites are adjusting to the maturation of social media
Strategic management by companies incorporates the use of social media. The main focus however is on analysis of the market, customers and potential customers. In this regard companies can enjoy competitive advantage over their rivals through monitoring of both quantitative and qualitative information. Companies use social media to gain a better understanding of their products, services and brands. It is easy to gain important information on how the customers are consuming the products and services. It is easy to know whether the products are causing any problems for the clients and in effect respond appropriately. In addition, it is also easy to know the view of the society about a company.
Even though accessing and using the social network will be a free service, users should be given the option to purchase or Funder’s traditional products which would encourage repeat site visits and create an additional revenue stream. Other key features that Funder needs to include is a utility that will allow users to provide feedback directly to the company, rate overall satisfaction, request service, resolve problems, or even express grievances. This is a very valuable tool that will help build strong loyalty among the networks users and help Funder create an advantage.
Customers generally offer opportunities for companies to learn and do things rightly according to the needs of the customers. Online sales efforts and social media marketing have really helped company increase and grow their customer base. The opinions of customers are critically valued especially in the social media setting. Since it is widely known that other companies have success to any information customers present through social media, companies therefore try as much as possible to seriously consider the opinions of the customers. Enhancement of product and services is one of the most important reasons why companies have to engage in social media monitoring. Customers’ sentiments, both negative and positive are important to make improvements to a product or service. Social media provide a good platform in which companies can learn the experiences of customers with their products or services.
Impact of the maturation to Funder Mifflin Inc
The maturation of social media industry offers the perfect chance for the company to launch its bid to run a social media site. This means that company is at a better position to attract markers for the purpose of advertising through the website. The best option for success of the social networking project is to focus on the development of a niche site that can leverage the existing strengths of the Funder Mifflin organization. To support this position, some current industry trends support the activities that will help Funder develop and succeed in the niche market.
Maturation will help the company have highlighted unique features of the social networking site. As a result it will posture Funder to be able to compete with the large and established social network providers that own considerable market share by developing applications and capabilities that on-going interaction with users, customers, and employees to provide innovation, to match user preferences, and obtain input and feedback for developing a successful social networking web site.
New Strategy: Differentiation Strategy
It is a strategic option that can take on a very broad scope or assume a very narrow focus to meet the needs of a specific customer sub-group; target market; or a specialized niche market. The main purpose for considering a differentiation approach whether broad or narrowly focused is to gain a competitive advantage over the competition. Large organizations may choose to employ a broad differentiation strategy to appeal to a very wide segment of the market share. For the Funder Mifflin project, differentiation and focus are alternative strategic approaches that offer the potential for advantage by highlighting the uniqueness of the website to users of the social network. The significance of providing users a unique experience is strengthened by the fact that these unique attributes are not typically easily imitated, copied, or substituted by competing social networking websites.
The strategy allows the company to focus its efforts on a particular industry or market. The cost leadership focus strategy would be incorporated into by having a low cost solution or product in the chosen market. The strategy can be used to establish and sustain the company’s competitive advantage in large markets or on a global scale. The wide-scale shift towards the use of social networking systems is significant because it offers unprecedented access to global markets that were previously unachievable. This revolution in technology and communication has served to redefine how companies organize, innovative, and compete on the global stage. The global strategy offers advantages to organizations that can leverage technology, invest in the right infrastructure, and adapt their business practices and culture to operate in the digital world. The factors that could influence the implementation of a global strategy include creating value for a user base that is connected globally but still has unique social, cultural, political, and even language factors that must be accounted for in the social network architecture. In some cases, there shall be need to create a competitive advantage, this will center on recognizing the subtle differences and then tailoring the value proposition to account for these differences.
Conclusion
In conclusion one of the most common ways in which companies make use of social media is social customer relation management or social media marketing. The main focus here is to engage customers via the social media. Companies can also use the social media platform to conduct analysis or monitoring of the market situation. By creating this environment, the customer’s perception of a quality experience is enhanced by interacting with the social networking website creates which creates a sense of value and satisfaction that help build loyalty and contribute to building a sustainable competitive position in the market.
References
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