Samsung ran a very large campaign for the launch of Samsung Galaxy S III on Facebook. The marketing campaign was aimed at achieving maximum sales for the device. The campaign was run by Samsung Mobile USA on Facebook. Samsung invested a large percentage of its expenditure on the campaign. The strategic use of Facebook strategy enabled Samsung to generate millions in sales. Large profits were made due to the expenditure on advertising (AEF, 2014). The objective behind the campaign on Facebook was to enable Samsung launch its product in a way that would generate a lot of sales leading to large profits.
Some of the goals of Samsung in the launch of Samsung Galaxy S III included the creation of mass awareness of the device; increasing the market for the device; attracting potential customers; and encouraging customers to market the device to other people (AEF, 2014). Creation of mass awareness enabled more people to know about the device. The market for the device became large with the help of Facebook. Satisfied customers helped Samsung in spreading the news about the device.
The strategy used by Samsung had two stages. The first stage was before product launch, and the second stage came after the product was launched. Samsung strategically built connections with people through its Facebook page before the launch of the device. The early building of connections enabled Samsung to create a lot of anticipation among the potential customers. The connections enabled Samsung to have millions of fans before the launch of the product. At the time of launching the product, Samsung used the millions of fans on its Facebook page to reach more people. The strategy managed to reach over 588 million friends of the fans of the Samsung Mobile USA Facebook page (AEF, 2014).
The statistics show that Samsung has been spending more money on marketing of mobile devices compared to its competitors such as Apple and HTC. The revenue generated by Samsung shows that the expenditure on advertising is effective. Below is a table showing the marketing expenditure and revenue made by Samsung and its competitors in the years 2012 and 2013.
The role of Facebook for Samsung
Facebook plays a very big role in the promotion of Samsung’s products. The role of Facebook for Samsung is in marketing of its products. Facebook has enabled Samsung to market its products through the creation of connections on Samsung’s page on Facebook. Facebook is one of the largest social media communities. Facebook allows people to join as individuals, and it also allows organizations to gain membership. Facebook is popular because it is easy to use (Murphy, 2011).
Samsung uses Facebook for its marketing strategies because Facebook has millions of users. Samsung has a Facebook page that enables the users of Samsung to interact with one another by becoming fans of that page. The fans of the Samsung page can get updates on new items that the company is launching. The company is also able to get information about its products from the users (Murphy, 2011). The users can give their review about the products on the Samsung page. Facebook enables Samsung to get honest reviews about its products from the customers.
Facebook has enabled Samsung to have a profile on the network. Through its profile, Samsung is able to showcase its videos, photos, and updates on its Facebook page. Samsung is also able to interact with other users of Facebook. The connections built by Samsung with its fans have enabled the company to collect a lot of important information. The information collected enables Samsung to know what the consumers need.
Facebook plays a role in building Samsung through enabling the company to perform market research. Samsung can carry out market research by collecting data from its fans on Facebook. Samsung can do this by posting topics on its page that allow people to comment about their thoughts on the matter. The information gathered can be used by Samsung to develop new products to suit the needs or tastes of the market (AEF, 2014). Some of the information gathered could also include the negative feedback about some of the products that Samsung has created. The negative feedback can act as a basis for improvement of the products.
Facebook has enabled Samsung to have an avenue through which it can promote its products, and inform people of special offers. Many people are attracted to special offers, and they will feel inclined to become fans of Samsung on Facebook. These people end up buying the products on special offers. The satisfaction derived from using the Samsung products helps the company in building loyalty among its customers. Retention of customers is very important to any company because it will enable the company to continue generating sales even when the economy is not good (Dignan, 2014). It also gives the company an advantage over its competitors.
Samsung’s Existing Facebook Strategy
Samsung uses Facebook to market its mobile devices. Samsung’s strategy on Facebook is to build connections with people before the launch of any of its products. The company is able to create a large fan base before the launch of its products. In addition, Samsung depends on the loyalty of the fans it has created over the years. Upon launching the products, the company then relies on its fans to buy the devices, and help in marketing the products to their friends.
Samsung depends on its fans to market its products through the “like” feature of Facebook. The fans can like the posts that Samsung shares on its Facebook timeline (Dignan, 2014). The Samsung’s posts on its Facebook page attract a lot of likes from people. The likes indicate the number of people who are happy with the post being showcased. These people help Samsung in advertising its products by word of mouth. The problem that Samsung face is the conversion of the Facebook likes into sales (Dignan, 2014). The weakness of the strategy is that the number of likes does not equal the number of sales.
Samsung advertises the features of its products on its Facebook page. Samsung uses Facebook to gather the opinions of its fans about the devices. The opinion of customers is very important, and it enables Samsung to learn more about the tastes of the customers. Facebook is, therefore, a very important tool for market research. The Facebook strategy used by Samsung is beneficial to the company because it enables the company to know about the needs of the market. The data gathered from the market enables Samsung to know the tastes and preferences of the customers. Such knowledge is important because it can influence the design of a product. The information can also be used to improve the existing products to suit the needs of the market.
The Facebook strategy used by Samsung has proven to be very effective. It has enabled Samsung to perform well against its major competitor Apple (Tibken, 2014). The present strategy used by Samsung is focused on loyal customers. The company is using Facebook to make sure that it maintains its customers. Its focus is on making sure that it retains its existing customers. Customer loyalty is important because it enables a company to operate even when faced by stiff competition.
The strengths of the Samsung’s existing Facebook strategy include attraction of new customers to Samsung, retention of existing customers, ability to carry out market research, and ability to get reviews on the products (Nisen, 2013). The Facebook strategy enables Samsung to attract new customers by creating connections through its Facebook page. The company is also able to attract new customers through the help of its fans. The strategy enables Samsung to retain its existing customers through the creation of customer loyalty. Facebook enables Samsung to keep its customers updated, and informed about the Samsung products. The Facebook strategy enables Samsung to carry out market research through the creation of posts that enable customers to give their opinions about the questions asked. The Facebook strategy enables Samsung to get reviews from customers about the products. The positive reviews enable Samsung to attract more customers to its products. The negative reviews enable Samsung to improve its products so as to meet the needs of the customers satisfactorily.
The weaknesses of the Samsung’s existing Facebook strategy include difficulty in conversion of the Facebook likes into sales; and reduction of potential customers due to negative reviews of the Samsung products. Converting the Facebook likes into sales is very difficult (Dignan, 2014). Many people who like the Samsung’s Facebook page already own Samsung devices; therefore, generating new sales becomes very difficult. Negative reviews can act against the company. The Facebook strategy allows people to give their opinions about the products. The negative reviews can discourage potential customers from buying Samsung products.
Recommendations
Samsung should make some changes that will help in the elimination of the weaknesses in the Facebook strategy. The Samsung’s Facebook strategy should create offers that reward fans who bring in likes that translate into sales. Such rewards would encourage Samsung fans to advertise the Samsung products to their friends who are in a position to buy the products. The rewards will act as incentives to the fans, and will enable Samsung to make more sales through the conversion of the Facebook likes.
The Samsung’s Facebook strategy should encourage continuous discussions on the negative reviews. Discussion of the negative reviews will enable the customers to get responses that will give them a different perspective about the company. They will be able to view Samsung as a company that listens to customers, and takes action towards the satisfaction of the customers. Potential customers will not be discouraged by the negative reviews if they see that the company has given reasonable responses to these reviews. Improvement of products can also be done by Samsung through the help of the information gained from the negative reviews.
References
AEF. Samsung Mobile USA: Product Launch. 2014. Retrieved from: http://www.aef.com/pdf/in_class/case_histories/samsung_mobile_fb.pdf
Dignan Larry. Samsung’s Marketing Blitz vs. Apple: Effective, but Big Data Would Help. 2014. Retrieved from: http://www.zdnet.com/samsungs-marketing-blitz-vs-apple-effective-but-big-data-would-help-7000028471/
Tibken Shara. Samsung Doc: Beating Apple was Survival Strategy. 2014. Retrieved from: http://www.cnet.com/news/samsungs-sohn-beating-apple-was-our-survival-strategy/
Murphy Patrick. What is The Role of Facebook in a Business Marketing Strategy. 2011. Retrieved from: http://www.siliconcloud.com/blog/bid/65343/What-Is-The-Role-Of-Facebook-In-A-Business-Marketing-Strategy
Nisen Max. Samsung Has a Totally Different Strategy from Apple, and it is Working Great. 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.businessinsider.com/samsung-corporate-strategy-2013-3
