Assignment Brief:

The task is divided into two parts (Part 1 & Part 2) and candidates are expected to address both.

Your task is to identify an organisation (producer and/or brand owner), that is involved in the marketing of electronic goods and prepare an individual report of 3,500 words (please see appendix 1 for further details) addressing the following issues.

Part 1:

• Using appropriate sources undertake a full marketing audit of your chosen category and brand. Include an evaluation of the current marketing strategy and position in the market.
• Demonstrate the brands effectiveness by providing an evaluation of their current market performance. This should include relevant market performance data to underpin your evaluation, for example market growth, sales trends, profitability etc.
• Provide a critical evaluation of the brand’s competitive edge (USP) with comparison to the main competitor brands in the marketplace.

  • • • • • • • •  [Weighting – 50%]

 Part 2:

• Based on your Part 1 analysis provide the rationale for the introduction of a new product to the range.
• Outline the features / benefits of the new product.
• Identify target segment/s.
• Set clear marketing objectives to launch a new product with the aim of increasing brand awareness, market share, sales and/or profitability.
• Recommendations – with application to the marketing mix, recommend a relevant marketing strategy to addressing the marketing objectives.

These suggestions should be your own ideas but may include marketing tactics and strategies used by other successful organisations or companies.

• [Weighting – 50%]

Your arguments, findings and recommendations should be supported by theories, facts and figures published within academic books, journal articles, recognised business magazines and market intelligence reports. 

N.B. Please note the maximum word count includes the executive summary but excludes appendix and references.

 Key Information

• Length:                                 3,500 words
• Format:                                 Report
• Weighting                             100% of the marks for the module
• Submission date:
• Submission:                        Uploaded onto Turnitin via Canvas

Assessment Criteria

• Upon successful completion of this assessment, students will be able to have demonstrated:

Knowledge and Understanding

• Explain the nature of marketing strategy and its significance for the organisation.
• Assess the drivers and factors affecting the choice of marketing strategies.
• Evaluate appropriate models and techniques that aid the strategic marketing process.
• Analyse contemporary marketing issues and problems in a strategic context.

Skills

• Research skills.
• Interpretation of advanced information and marketing data handling skills.
• Assessing communications skills to develop effective relationship marketing.

SOLUTION (78/100)

Samsung Galaxy Tab Strategic Management Report

Executive summary

This report sought to carry out a market audit for Samsung Galaxy Tab and evaluate its competitive advantage in the UK market. Based on the results of this evaluation the report proceeds to set marketing objectives and suggest appropriate market segmentation, targeting and segmentation. The report then suggests future marketing strategies to be employed to achieve sustainable competitive advantage in UK.

The report established that the UK political, economic, technological and social environment support the growth of Galaxy Tab market share.  However environmental laws and legal framework restrict the company performance. Further the report established that Samsung has strong brand name, capital investments, high innovativeness, investment is research and development and skilled employees that add immense value to the organisation’s output. However the company is reliant of the android operating system and the Samsung brand to enhance the Galaxy Tab image. The Galaxy Tab grew its market share from 4 percent to 10 percent between 2012 and 2013. This has rapidly shot to 19 percent by midyear 2014. Despite the company recording 18 percent fall in profitability the Galaxy Tab recorded positive growth in profits. Furthermore the Galaxy Tab obtained 30 percent of android market share beating rivals like Nexus, Lenovo and Kindle Fire among others.

The report suggests that the company segments the UK market along the psychographic variable of social class. This should be followed by targeting of the middle social class and positioning Galaxy Tab as high quality product that offer consumers value for money. Therefore the report suggests that the company adopt moderate pricing to ensure affordability among the UK middle class. In addition the report proposes that Samsung improves its online presence to boost its online marketing and distribution channels to capture an extensive section of the market. This will improve revenue generation, enhance consumer awareness and improve the company’s physical presence.

Table of contents

1. Introduction. 1
2. Market Audit 1

2.1.       PESTLE Analysis. 1

2.1.1.        Political environment 1

2.1.2.        Economic environment 1

2.1.3.        Social environment 2

2.1.4.        Technological environment 2

2.1.5.        Legal factors. 2

2.1.6.        Environmental issues. 2

2.2.       SWOT analysis. 3

2.3.       Galaxy Tab unique selling proposition. 4

3. Evaluation of current marketing strategy. 4
4. Galaxy Tab market segmentation, targeting and positioning. 6
5. Galaxy Tab marketing objectives. 8
6. Samsung Galaxy Tab marketing mix. 9

6.1.       Product 9

6.2.       Price. 9

6.3.       Placement 9

6.4.       Promotion. 9

6.5.       Processes. 10

6.6.       People. 10

6.7.       Physical evidence. 10

7. Conclusions. 11

References. 12

1.      Introduction

Samsung Galaxy Tab is an android based handheld tablet produced and marketed by Samsung since 2010. The Galaxy Tab comes in different versions including 7, 7.7, 8.9, 10.1 and 10.5 inch displays. Moreover the tablets features differ significantly thus facilitating broad range of use and compatibilities such as wifi versions and 4G capabilities (Segan, 2014). Since its introduction in the market, the Galaxy Tab has managed to capture a significant market share especially in the UK. Samsung has benefited immensely from the popularity of the android operating system upon which the Galaxy Tab runs. Subsequently Samsung Galaxy Tab accounted for 19 percent of the UK tablets market share by midyear 2014 (Tabtimes, 2014). Moreover the Galaxy Tab continues to expand its UK market share enabled by consecutive product upgrades and launch of new versions of the Galaxy Tab. However despite these positive sings, the Galaxy Tab continues to face stiff competition from perennial rivals such as Apple’s iPad, Google’s Nexus, Amazon’s Kindle Fire and other tablets models that have flooded the UK market.

This report will therefore undertake Galaxy Tab market audit and evaluate the company’s competitive advantage. Based on the results of this evaluation, the report will set marketing objectives and develop appropriate marketing strategies to achieve competitive advantage in the UK tablets market.

2.      Market Audit

2.1.PESTLE Analysis

2.1.1.      Political environment

UK has long standing political stability that allows businesses to thrive. The positive relationships between UK and other countries therefore provides multinationals like Samsung to setup operations in the country and continue to thrive. However the high taxation regime imposed by the UK government affects businesses profitability as well as consumers purchasing power. For instance the recent increase of Value Added Tax (VAT) from 17.5 to 20 percent has significantly reduced consumers’ purchasing power and ability to afford products such as the Galaxy Tab (Hain, 2015).

2.1.2.      Economic environment

The UK was among the worst hit countries by the recent 2008 financial crisis that affected negatively the general consumption levels and consumer spending power. However, the country has seen significant improvements recording positive economic growth that is continually growing in recent years (Barnett et al., 2014). Moreover there has been substantial progress in the economic welfare of UK consumers leading to a rise in consumption. As such Samsung Galaxy Tab has benefited from this increased spending that has seen growth in the company’s revenues.

2.1.3.      Social environment

Ubilava et al. (2011) observes that modern consumers are become more inclined towards branded products. In other words the author suggests that consumers prefer branded products such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab as opposed tablets produced by independent firms. Samsung is well known for its production of quality consumer electronic products which has earned the company positive global reputation. Therefore the Samsung brand that is renowned globally raises the consumer preferences further enhancing their suitability among UK consumers.

2.1.4.      Technological environment

Technological advances enhance Samsung Galaxy Tab performance in the UK through various ways. Most importantly technological advancement allows Samsung to cut down operational costs through improved production efficiencies whilst improving their product quality (Bardin & Rabkin, 2013). Therefore Samsung is able to transfer these benefits of lower costs to customers through lowly priced commodities. Moreover the technological advancements help Samsung to develop high quality products that embrace the tastes and preferences of modern consumers such as low energy consumption, high speeds and high resolution (Segan, 2014). Therefore this ability to effectively meet consumer desires through technologically advanced devices have raised Samsung Galaxy sales in UK.

2.1.5.      Legal factors

The UK regulatory framework is highly supportive of the fair competition between organisations in various industries. The industry is deregulated allowing competitors to leverage their competitive advantage to obtain larger market shares in the UK (Nakamura & Agata, 2001). As such Samsung’s Galaxy Tab has been able to compete with rival products from Apple, Google, and Amazon among others on a level playing field provided by the UK government.

2.1.6.      Environmental issues

The concept of environmental conservation and protection has become a major issue for modern enterprises. Companies like Samsung are expected to develop proper environmental sustainability programs to comply with the set rules as well as raise their appeal to customers. Samsung is under pressure from government agencies, interest groups and consumers on issues such as their tablet’s energy use, and environmental impact of their activities in the UK.

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