CENTRAL UNIVERSITY COLLEGE

MARKETING PLAN
11/29/2014

NBF/14/03/0781
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE NO

Executive Summary…………………………………………………………………………….2

Situation Analysis………………………………………………………………………………4

Micro-Environmental Auditing………………………………………………………………...4

Macro-Environmental Analysis………………………………………………………………..5

Objectives of the Study…………………………………………………………………………6

Market Research & Analysis Results & Findings……………………………………………...6

Strategies Adopted to Boost GLO Market Share……………………………………………...11

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Recommendations……………………………………………………………………………..16

References……………………………………………………………………………………..20

Appendix for Acronyms/Abbreviations……………………………………………………....23

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 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In developing a detailed marketing plan as the Head of Sales and Marketing at GLO in the
midst of intense rivalry, competition and market saturation to enable it stay ahead and gain a
competitive advantage at the expense of other radical and already existing players such as
MTN, TIGO, VODAFONE, etc., a number of strategic initiatives during the situation
analysis were employed. A few of these pointers dealt with in the course of this extensive
research project are listed as below: (a) Usage of Seven (7) “Ps” during the Micro-
Environmental Auditing (b) Effective utilization of PESTEL in conducting a Macro-
Environmental Analysis of the organization in contention (GLO) as well as the effective
application of the principles of project management tools, techniques, report writing and
presentation skills into its scheme of things to foster competitive advantage, optimum
performance, performance and productivity.

The objective of the study was to augment market share, profit margin, and growth rate,
ROCE etc. by 45% via competitive advantage of GLO at the expense of telecom rivals such
as TIGO, VODAFONE, MTN, EXPRESSO and AIRTEL by the end of December, 2016.

Some of the strategic initiatives deemed fit and feasible to enable GLO have an enviable
competitive edge and stay ahead of the competition irrespective of the saturated nature of
prevailing markets are categorically listed as below: (a) Customer Acquaintance (b) Product
Promotion (c) Strategic Location Selection (d) Building a Strong Relationship with Employees
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(e) Improvement in Billing and Service Quality (f) Adherence to Premium Business Solutions
etc. as well as effective application of project management techniques, tools such as Crashing,
Expert Judgment, Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM), Heuristics, Critical Path Method
(CPM), PERT or GANTT charts, Variance Analysis, Delphi Technique, Monte Carlo
Analysis etc. to prevent both time and cost overruns.

With regards to the Monitoring & Controlling category, tested and reliable project management
techniques/metrics/tools such as the Balance Score Card (BSC), Benchmarking, Performance
Appraisals, Sensitivity/Gap Analysis, Budgetary Control Measures, Statistical Methods such as
Run Charts, Scatter Diagrams, Pareto Charts, Ishikawa Tools of Quality, Kaizen Continuous

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 Improvement, Six Sigma Level just to mention a few were suggested to be used to also boost
GLO’s market share, profit margin as well as the attainment of overall organizational set goals
and competitive advantage.
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 DEVELOPMENT OF A MARKETINGPLAN TO BOOST GLO’s MARKET SHARE

In developing a strategic marketing plan to reverse the trend as far as GLO profit margins,
market share etc. is concerned, the under listed processes are quite insurmountable: (a) Situation
Analysis (b) Objectives of the Study (c) Strategy to Adopt (d) Implementation of the Strategy (e)
Controls etc.

SITUATION ANALYSIS

Situation analysis in the strict sense comprises of: (1) undertaking a Micro-Environmental Audit
of the Telecommunication Outfit in contention (Utilization of the Seven (7) “P’s” i.e. to say (i)
Product (ii) Price (iii) Promotion (iv) Physical Evidence (v) Process (vi) People (vii) Place and
(2) conducting a Macro-Environmental Analysis (Using PESTEL) i.e. (i) Political (ii)
Economical (iii) Social (iv) Technological (v) Environmental (vi) Legal

MICRO-ENVIRONMENTAL AUDITING

PRODUCT Diversified products including Blackberry, Broadband 4 U,

Semi-satisfied customers
PRICE Exorbitant prices/tariffs of products and services
PROMOTION Customer loyalty, partial/semi promotion of products
PHYSICAL Quality and corporate branding of products, well-groomed,
EVIDENCE energetic and neatly dressed staff, state-of-the-art building such as
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the head office and numerous outlets across the nooks and
corners of the country
PROCESS Internal processes and customer care service deficiencies, well-
knitted, market-driven processes, user-friendly, cost-
effectiveness (lack) etc.
PLACE Strategically located/vantage outlets
PEOPLE Innovative/skilled staff, high labor turnover

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 MACRO-ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
USAGE OF SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Efficient network infrastructure
Loyalty bonus to customers
Expertise/Skilled workforce
(Innovative staff with high acumen
and ingenuity)
Low labor turn-over/downsizing
through retrenchment strategies,
spinning-offs etc.
Diversified geographical portfolio
with strong mobile telecommunication
operations in Europe, the Middle East,
Africa, Asia Pacific and to some extent
the US
Leading presence in emerging
markets such as India and China
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OPPORTUNITIES
Prevalence of Global brand
Products and services targeted at
segmented markets
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WEAKNESSES
Non-existence of product promotion
Weak strategic location selection
Less utilization of web-marketing and
inability to build strong relationship with
employees
Non-existence of service quality, physical
evidence, employees’ lack of information
management (tightlipped) and billing
inefficiencies
GLO in Dubai business not nearly as
strong as the Europeans/rest of the
world operations as well as inadequacies
of basic business and enterprise
solutions as well as process variation
Non-existence of customer loyalty,
service quality evaluation, quality
option, strong/corporate image as well
as product market expansion
Low average customer handling time,
lack of product market expansion,
inability to build strong brand, quality
option, evaluation of service quality
and lack of strategic initiative
implementation
THREATS
New entrants prevalence
Other Internet Service Providers
(ISP’s) offering the same products such
as Vodafone & MTN
 Stable democracy
Focusing on technological solution such
as the effective utilization of project
management tools and techniques thereby
improving returns
Major stake in the developed countries
Research & Development of new and
state-of-the –art mobile technologies
Prevalence of highly competitive
market & radical players such as MTN, etc.
High influx of inferior quality pirated
products from countries such as China.
Extremely high penetration rate into the
Dubai market
Influx of digital music industry,
prevalence of file transfer
Increasing internet savvy population

Smart devices increasing becoming popular,

increasing demand for laptops, greater appetite
for data connectivity

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

To augment the market share by 45% via competitive edge (advantage) of GLO at the
expense of other radical players in the telecommunication industry such as MTN, TIGO,
EXPRESSO, etc. by the end of December, 2016.

MARKET RESEARCH & ANALYSIS RESULTS & FINDINGS

LACK OF IMPROVEMENT IN SERVICE QUALITY

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Service quality is a consumer’s overall impression of the relative inferiority or superiority of

an organization and its services (Bitner & Hubbert, 1994). Mackay and Crompton (1990)
defined service quality as “the relationship between what customer’s desires from a service and
what they perceive that they receive”.

In particular, it has been observed that if a customer perceives service quality to be high, he/she
will have high levels of satisfaction (Ganesh et al., 2000; Caruana, 2002). Ganesh et al. (2000)
reported that if a business performs a service that surpasses customer expectations, the customer
will be satisfied and is likely to be a repeat customer at the establishment that provided the
service. This perspective suggests that poor service delivery would be a major cause of

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 dissatisfaction among consumers which will indirectly affect the penetrability of GLO in the
Dubai market.

There should therefore be an improvement in fixed network system so as to foster effective data
service delivery across the country as a whole.

There is therefore the need to also augment sales to facilitate installation and maintenance
processes at GLO. This will invariably help boost its market share, profit margins via
competitive advantage at the expense of other radical players in the telecommunication
industry.

PREVALENCE OF ARCHAIC ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT

Pertaining to the afore-mentioned attributes, it will be appropriate for GLO to factor into its
scheme of things the pointers listed below: (a) hiring and up skill personnel/staff to facilitate
better and formidable service delivery and for that matter customer satisfaction
management (CSM) (b) Exigent need to establish SLAs and secure feasible contracts with
customers/clients by the Vodafone outfit (c) Precedence with respect to corporate and service
excellence to customers through strict adherence to Total Quality Management (TQM),
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) etc. particularly VGE’s and government accounts.

LACK OF BILLING IMPROVEMENT

A vast improvement in the billing processes or systems will do the trick at GLO as far as the
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effective delivery service to clients/customers is concerned. This can be achieved when the
requisite priority is accorded the following attributes listed below: (a) Augmentation of manual
processes and systems (b) Streamlining of the billing system to boost sophistication at Vodafone
i.e. to say Online Billing Portal (c) Provision of consolidated billing across all enterprise
products.

NON-APPLICATION OF BASIC ENTERPRISE SOLUTIONS

This can be achieved and dealt with if the under listed pertinent issues are thoroughly dealt
with: (i) Optimization of data service pricing; streamline bundle offering e.g.
Voice+Data+Device and lastly but not the least (ii) Attention should be placed on dedicated

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 internet and extended corporate mobile solutions even beyond senior management. This will
undoubtedly help boost CSM/CRM, TQM, effective service delivery, market share, and growth
rate as well as the attainment of the strategic goals at GLO thereby enhancing its performance,
productivity, profitability and overall competitive advantage at the expense of competitors such
as MTN & TIGO.

NON-EXISTENCE OF PREMIUM BUSINESS SOLUTIONS

A vivid adherence to Premium Business Solutions where issues/strategic initiatives such as the:
(i) Provision of WAN and LAN services (ii) Filling in of product gaps to offer more
comprehensive enterprise solutions such as Blackberry offers via (iii) Audio and Video
Conferencing; Centex; Securing remote accessibility is critical as far as gaining a long term
competitive advantage in the wake of intense rivalry from emerging telecommunication outfits,
market saturation and new entrants.

NON-PREVALENCE OF SERVICE RECOVERY

Service recovery refers to the actions an organization takes in response to a service failure
(Gronroos, 1988). A service failure is defined as any service-related mishaps or problems
(real and/or perceived) that occur during a consumer’s experience with the firm (Maxham,
2001). Michel and Meuter (2008) posited that service failures can lead to negative
disconfirmation and ultimately dissatisfaction, though appropriate service recovery efforts may
restore a dissatisfied customer to a state of satisfaction. Although some researchers have argued
that the best strategy is to fail-safe the original service delivery, it is nearly impossible to
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eliminate all failures. Thus, firms with the ability to react to service failures effectively and
implement some form of service recovery will be in a much better position to retain its
customers and if possible augment its penetrability, market share, profit margins via its
competitive advantage (Michel & Meuter, 2008). The market penetration decline evident in the
case of GLO can highly be attributable to the above-mentioned parameter which has a direct
repercussion on its market share and optimum profitability and performance.

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 LACK OF CORPORATE BRAND IMAGE

In recent times, corporate-level marketing, referring to a broad managerial philosophy whereby

the corporate image, identity, or brand of a company is perceived to be the central anchor or
driver for its strategies and management, has attracted considerable interest from scholars
(Balmer, 2009; Brown et al., 2006). What these corporate marketing-related perspectives
share as a basic assumption is the notion that the various constituencies or stakeholders of a
company essentially orient their behaviors towards the company according to what they perceive
about the company’s identity and how they evaluate it – that is, according to perceived corporate
brand image (Aspara & Tikkanen, 2011). Notably, consistent with the inter-disciplinary work in
the area, the role of the perceived corporate identity as a driver of stakeholders’ behaviors is
seen to be the case with the company’s customers in particular. Brown et al. (2006) provide
further support for this view, construing image as consumer perceptions of the brand and what
individuals know or believe about an organization. Balmer (2009) highlighted the importance
of corporate image, asserting that a link exists between an individual’s image of the
organization and that person’s behavior towards it. In consonance with this, Minkiewicz et al.
(2011), in their quantitative study in the leisure services sector, found positive corporate image to
be related to customer satisfaction. Drawing on the disconfirmation paradigm (Churchill &
Surprenant, 1982), Minkiewicz et al. (2011) suggested that satisfaction will occur when
individual expectations are confirmed and that it is reasonable to expect that a positive image
and expectation of a leisure experience prior to consumption, if met or exceeded, would result in
customer satisfaction (Customer Satisfaction or Relation Management (CSM or CRM).
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On the other hand, the possibility that a positive corporate image may negatively influence
satisfaction cannot be discounted, particularly where the image has created unrealistic
expectations for customers. Where these expectations are not met, customers are likely to be
very dissatisfied (Minkiewicz et al., 2011). In lieu of this, the possibility that GLO’s outfit is
deficient in this perspective is glaring, appears unquestionable and cannot be underestimated in
this case study as far as trying to revamp its market share at the expense of key players such as
VODAFONE, TIGO, MTN, etc. is concerned.

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 EMPLOYEE CUSTOMER ORIENTATION

Owing to the intangible and interactive nature of services, customers often rely on the behavior
of service employees when judging the quality of a service offered by an organizational setting.
Consequently, the employees’ level of customer orientation is considered a significant
leverage for service firms’ economic success (Hennig-Thurau, 2004). A customer orientation is
defined as a selling behavior in which salespeople assist customers to satisfy their long-term
wants and needs versus a sales orientation, which places the selling organization and/or
salespersons before the customers (Jones et al., 2003). Hennig-Thurau (2004) had postulated
that despite its significance position in the value chain, only few studies have addressed the
construct of customer orientation of service employees and its impact on service firms’ market
share, profit margin, productivity and for that matter its success and competitive edge.

Indeed, the behaviors and attitudes of a firm’s boundary-spanning employees such as salespeople
should significantly influence the customers’ perceptions of the firm’s service delivery (Heskett
et al., 1997). The behaviors and attitudes of salespeople are, in turn, influenced by their
perceptions of the firm’s market orientation and their interaction with sales managers, thus,
highlighting the importance of examining market orientation from the sales force’s perspective.
Customer orientation of service employees is characterized by employees’ recognition of
such things as the “need to pamper”, “need to read the customer”, “need for personal
relationship”, “need to deliver”, and “need to communicate” (Brown et al., 2006).

From all indications, GLO seems to fall short in this category and it will incongruous to turn a
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blind eye to its prevalence. This issue, when thoroughly dealt with, will irrevocably boost its
market share and penetration vis-à-vis efficiency, performance and its overall profitability.

LACK OF STRATEGIC FOCUS/INITIATIVES IMPLEMENTATION

As the new Head of Sales and Marketing at GLOBACOM (GLO), I will beyond
reasonable doubt propose to that the management of this telecommunication outfit incorporates
these under listed pointers into its scheme of things in order for it to not only stay ahead but also
compete favorably with some already existing players such as MTN & VODAFONE as well as
new entrants afore-mentioned irrespective of the saturated nature of telecommunication
outfits/networks in Dubai. There should be the deployment of NGN solutions to curtail and

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 address the pertinent challenges associated with fixed network of most
telecommunication firms of which GLO is a part.

Secondly, it will be most appropriate that GLO offers more comprehensive enterprise
solution/panacea such as network services and its management to enhance customer satisfaction
management (CSM) via its overall profitability and competitiveness. Also, the deployment of
3G in hotspots is a must and will irrevocably provide a panacea with respect to the
improvement of mobile data experience. Precedence should be given to the maintenance of
superior quality through the incorporation of TQM, Kaizen Continuous Improvement Strategy,
Change Management, Business Process Reengineering (BPR), Strategic Management in
addition to the New and State-Of-The-Art Network Coverage Rollout Option. Furthermore, it
will be quite incongruous and absurd to turn a blind eye to the expansion of retail and internet
café experience as this pointer will also help foster GLO’s competitive advantage.

The enterprise account management team at GLO should endeavor to be dedicated and exhibit
high levels of team spirit, cohesiveness, synergy, diversity, ethicality, fairness/transparency,
sound organizational climate/culture etc. which are undoubtedly some of the critical factors
associated with successful organizational framework such as TIGO and lastly but not the
least ,there should also be an improvement in faulty reporting and resolutions as these when
properly taking care of will enhance effective communication between workers/co-workers
at GLO and clients in totality.
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STRATEGIES TO ADOPT TO ENABLE GLO STAY AHEAD OF THE COMPETITION

AT THE EXPENSE OF ALREADY EXISTING RADICAL PLAYERS SUCH AS TIGO,
MTN, AIRTEL, EXPRESSO, VODAFONE
An efficient marketing strategy is one of the pre-requisites for the success of a business.
Numerous researches have been carried out to know which marketing strategies can guarantee
success. But the fact is with rapidly changing global markets, competitive rivalry becoming so
intense as well as market saturation, organizations need to be at their innovative best to come up
with strategies that cater and appeal to the target customers. There are numerous successful
marketing strategies and enlisting each one of them is not possible as what may work for one
product or service may not work for another. There are certain basics of marketing that have

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 proven to be useful and effective over the years. A few of these marketing strategies that GLO
can factor into its scheme of things to enable it stay on top of the competition in terms of market
share, profit margins via competitive edge are categorically listed as below:

Customer’s acquaintance: The first and the foremost thing that needs to be done before
brainstorming on marketing strategy is to identify which segment of population will the
product or service cater for (People). It is important for us to familiarize ourselves with this
attribute because customers have varied tastes and preferences and ignorance on this can have
serious repercussion/impact on our plans. It is therefore imperative that we plan our strategy in
accordance with our target customers. Along with a proper promotion policy, an ideal people-
oriented marketing strategy ought to be put in place by GLO to enhance Customer Satisfaction
Management (CSM). Customer-centric product promotion is nothing new in the industry
though product promotion campaigns are less likely to be determined by any other factors than
the strengths of the product (Lovelock, 1999). In as much as the emphasis might be placed on
the overall promotion strategy to attract as many potential customer as possible, there won’t be
any strategic advantage in the long term if GLO concentrates too much on its strengths only
such as network infrastructure, loyalty bonus to customers etc. This is irrevocably a
strategic shortcoming in the continual development process that GLO should imbibe into its
scheme of things in order to maximize profit margin, market share and overall profitability
in the long run.

Strategic Location Selection: The location of an outlet or franchise is another important factor
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which determines the effectiveness of a marketing strategy (Place). If outlets are placed at
important/vantage junction or near a landmark, chances are that we will get more browsers,
whom we can convert into buyers. Have you ever noticed that majority of McDonalds outlets
are at some of the busiest places in the world? The location plays a very important role as it
creates an opportunity for us to be accessible to our customers. Place, again imposes some
limitations on the firm’s ability to exploit broader marketing principles. Market
segmentation strategy of GLO is exclusively intended for the creation of brand dependency and
therefore, there is a drawback associated with its geographical location. For example, GLO,
which markets Black Berry, has a huge network of outlets in almost every nook and corner in
Dubai. It is therefore imperative and pressing that a lot of emphasis be placed on this attribute

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 by GLO so as to confer on it an enviable competitive advantage at the expense of new entrants
as well as staying ahead of the competition irrespective of market saturation in the
telecommunication industry in the country.

Utilization of Web-Marketing: As mentioned earlier, organizations need to be innovative if

they have to stay ahead of the competition. One of the steps in this direction is the visibility of
our business on the internet (Physical Evidence). One would have noticed that every prominent
website offers a link to customers through which we can go to a company's homepage, place
orders or know about an upcoming offer. Putting ourselves up on popular social networking
sites can also help us know our customer's tastes and preferences. In fact, market researchers are
of the belief /candid opinion that internet marketing will be one of the dominant marketing tools
in the near future.

Build a Strong Relationship with Employees: Our employees are one of the most important
parts of our marketing strategy. If our employees feel strongly about the company, it reflects in
their behavior and helps in creating a positive impression on our customers and within their own
social circles. It is so glaring that some people boast of the company that they work with, and
some always speak ill about the policies of their employers. This, to a great extent, shapes the
public opinion and has the ability to impact on our outcome of the marketing strategy. It is
important therefore, that we instill a feel-good factor in our employees so that they have
magnificent things to say about our organization. This will help in building a positive brand
image for organizations of which GLO is a part.
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Process: With regards to the process, a lot of setbacks associated with the internal processes as
well as customer care services cannot be over-emphasized or underestimated. Strictly speaking,
the lengthy amount of time it takes for customer’s application to be processed or attended to
leaves much to be desired. Customer’s credit check is further compounded by long delays
which more often than not militate against GLO’s billing of optimum customer of satisfaction
management or customer relation management (CSM or CRM). Also, pertaining to the external
processes associated with some telecommunication giants for the purposes of the case study in
contention such as MTN, Vodafone, etc., porting by other radical solely attributable to the
manual facilities utilized or employed at GLO. This invariably impedes effective
communication amongst client’s day-to-day activities in the country as a whole thereby

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 affecting GLO’s competitive advantage. There is therefore the exigent need to map out
formidable strategies/mechanisms to curb these debilitating encumbrances associated with
network service providers of which GLO is a part. Radical player such as MTN takes too much
time before it addresses customer’s complaint (demerit).

Price: Prices of the variety of products and services at GLOs disposal is essentially a reference
to the larger context of the company’s pricing strategy and especially at the current
competitive environment vis-à-vis intense rivalry and market saturation. There is very little
liberty if any is available to the firm in contention to adopt a pricing policy of its choice. In the
strict sense, market penetration would seem to be the most ideal pricing strategy for
product/services such as Black Berry, Broad Band 4 U just to mention a few as well as price
discrimination on the basis of market segmentation.

MONITORING & CONTROL

This aspect of the marketing plan basically accentuates on comparing GLO’s set goals/targets
such as budgetary allocation/cost with actual. Performance appraisals of employees,
benchmarking can also be used to ascertain the performance of the organization in contention
not losing sight of the effective utilization of the Balance Score Card (BSC) comprising of
key parameters as shown in the diagram below:

TQM ELEMENT FINANCIAL MEASURE NON-FINANCIAL MEASURE

Customer Satisfaction Field service expense, External Results of customer satisfaction
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failure cost survey, On-time delivery,

Internal Performance Preventive cost, Internal Number
Defectofrates,
customer complaints
Idle capacity,
failure cost, Appraisal cost Yield Unscheduled machine
down time, Lead times etc.

In addition to the afore-mentioned metrics, competitor analysis, quality techniques and tools such
as the Six Sigma Level, Ishikawa Tools of Quality, Pareto Charts, Kaizen Continuous
Improvement Strategy can also be employed to really predict assertively if GLO is not only on
track to success but also living up to its billing of Zero-Defect as regards its product

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 manufacturability and superior quality service delivery as well as strict adherence to Customer
Satisfaction Management (CSM).

Also, major source of poor quality which give rise to variation, usage of Statistical
techniques such as Control charts, Run Charts, Scatter Diagrams, Process Variability, Quality
Circles, DMAIC can be factored into the monitoring and control process to ascertain if the
implemented strategies are yielding the expected dividend as well as conformance to
organizational goals/targets via ISO/QS 9000 standards of quality.

Furthermore, Problem solving tools such as PDSA, Quality Control (QC) Tools, Sensitivity &
Gap Analysis, Florida Power & Light’s “7” Steps Model can also be utilized at this stage of
monitoring, controlling/evaluation which will irrevocably enable GLO have an enviable
competitive advantage thereby ensuring that it stays ahead of the competition at the expense of
already existing telecommunication gurus such as MTN & VODAFONE via the two new
entrants namely EXPRESSO & AIRTEL with a high affinity for branding and broadband
capability orientation.

SOME OF THE LIKELY REASONS FOR GLO’S MARKET SHARE DECLINE& ITS
RECOMMENDATIONS
Inadequate average customer handling time: As the case study depicts is currently deficient
in strong customer support department which would provide solutions to the clients and take
care of them in the long run. Thus, there is a communication gap between GLO and the
custom which needs to be abridged to enable it stay ahead of the intense rivalry and competition.
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Lack of customer loyalty: GLO can encourage their employees towards the high customer
activity to satisfy them and augment the total expenditure of each customer. This can be done by
motivating them to integrate online and offline through loyalty programs like privileged cards
and redemption points. While there is no particular set of metrics to measure brand loyalty for
GLO Black Berry in Dubai, there is enough empirical evidence to attest to the fact that the
product is indeed attracting a lot of patronage (Tasner, 2010).This strategic initiative will
undoubtedly foster the attainment of organizational goals such as competitive advantage and
optimum profitability vis-à-vis staying ahead of the competition in the telecommunication
fraternity.

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 Non-existence of service quality evaluation: The telecommunication outfit in contention
should try as much as possible to adhere to the effective utilization of Six Sigma and TQM
concepts and tools to ensure that both the perceived level of quality and the actual quality
management methods such as Kaizen Continuous Improvement, Ishikawa Tools of Quality
(Gantt Charts, Scatter Diagrams, Run Charts, Delphi Techniques, Monte Carlo Analysis etc. by
minimizing variations in standards, living up to the billing of Zero-Defects in
product manufacturability and service delivery, unifying product specifications and removing
errors systematically. This will automatically boost GLO’s growth rate, profit margin, market
share and subsequently enhance its competitive advantage via staying ahead of the competition.

Lack of quality option: Brand or product differentiation strategies heavily weigh on the
subsequent ability of the firm to distinguish its brand on the basis of quality. A customized
mobile phone service company would have the desirable impact on the customer’s expectations
only when the quality standards have been satisfactorily met (Donovan & Samler, 1994).
Thus, the quality option in brand differentiation for the GLO’s new brand of mobile phone
for the youth and professionals is determined by the company’s ability to drive the point
home for the potential customer that indeed means a lot. Hence, it is therefore auspicious and
expedient that the management of GLO strategizes along these lines of initiatives afore-
mentioned so as to boost its market share/profit margin as well as stay ahead of the competition
via competitive advantage in the telecommunication jurisdiction and fraternity.

Inability to building a strong brand image: A strong brand doesn’t necessarily connote that
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radical players such as TIGO & MTN or new entrants with the broadband capability
strategy would remain quiescent (inactive) or in a state of inertia. In other words, the building
of a strong brand depends on the already existing and established degree of loyalty. For that
to come to fruition there must be some brand equity promotion activity (Mac Donald &
Sharp, 2000). GLO should be constantly seeking to build up a strong brand on the basis of
brand equity so as to compete favorably with sister companies in the country as a whole.

Less attention given to product market expansion: The product market expansion strategy
for 3GM must be based on the afore-mentioned parameters (Gonzalez & Quesada, 2004).
These parameters can be identified as a measure or approach to overcome the existing level of

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 competition and strategically re-orient its marketing campaign to achieve positive cohesiveness
and synergies directly and indirectly related to the corporate goals of GLO.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR GLO TO GAIN COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

a) A new marketing strategy for GLO’s products and services such as Video
Conferencing, Black Berry, Broad Band 4 U just to mention a few has to be characterized by a
series of value creation/additions to tempt the potential customer to purchase the variety of
products offered by the outfit in contention.

(b) A product orientation and expansion strategy based on the existing brand strength associated
with the new customized mobile phone’s market leadership is desirable.

(c) ANSOFF’s product market growth strategy might be useful to a varying magnitude e.g.
in targeting new niche markets (new markets-new products/brands) to place the customized
mobile phones for teens. However, new niche markets where there is already some intense
rivalry and stiffer competition from radical players can be very expensive (Gerpott & Jakopin,
2005).

(d) More so, new emerging markets and entrants in the case study the corporate branding and
broadband capability strategy might be more feasible for a sustained marketing campaign
coming into the market almost on a daily basis with their highly distinguished brands and
products.
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(e) A broader and better focused strategic vision in conformance with the long term marketing
goals including competitor and customer orientation strategies might be the best and likely
alternative for GLO right now.

(f) Again, market segmentation according to consumer demographics based on key variables
such as the number of visit to store/retail outlet during a given time period by an average
customer is feasible.

(g) Above all and lastly but not the least, the awareness of customer preference matters. The
existing market shares of GLO mobile phones and its rivals depict that it leads with the lion’s
share. The bigger the market share, the greater would be the possibility of success. But

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 nonetheless, the company in contention is highly concentrated at the top management level. This
presupposes that the decision making process has to be decentralized to accommodate marketing
companies that run on high budget and tight time schedules (Bennett & Blythe, 2002).

GLO’s products such as Black Berry, International Roaming etc. need to be marketed by
adopting a market penetration strategy. This means that introductory prices of products and
services must be kept to the barest minimum so that quite a sizable share of the market can be
captured and maintained. The existing competitors such as MTN, VODAFONE, TIGO,
AIRTEL and EXPRESSO in the telecommunication fraternity basically rely on providing
a core number of enabling services, especially to the 3G mobile phone user.

GLO’s current strategy of concentrating on providing a broader spectrum of services across

seamless application of both technology and user friendly operational parameters is good
enough but requires a much cost conscious approach. The company in contention has
successfully created customer value through the expanded marketing mix rather than
restricting the marketing strategy to the 4P’s based mixed in the market.

However, there is still greater possibility of increasing market share through an extensive online
advertising campaign. Radical players such as MTN & TIGO’s customized Nokia and Sony
Erickson tunes have noticed the reliable efficacy of sensory marketing as a potent force in
appealing to the youth in the digital music market in Dubai delivered on the mobile, visuals and
audio quality. The country currently is a saturated market for mobile telephony but an innovative
marketing strategy such as the Boston Consulting Group Matrix and ANSOFF should be used
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judiciously to capture this so-called market by concentrating on customer preference and

their taste.

In order to capture a large segment of the market, it is vital that initial price of the products be
kept to the barest minimum. The price cutting war in the market is going to be particularly
deadly for small competitors though. In other words, a market penetration pricing strategy is
almost the foregone conclusion with rivals such as MTN, VODAFONE, etc. just to mention
a few.

In lieu of this analysis and findings from the market analysis and research carried out, GLO
cannot be complacent. It should continue in experimenting with newer technologies in order to

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 come up with novel inventions. Else, they could be overwhelmed by other competitors (Alleyne,
2011).

Furthermore, GLO could strategically form new alliances with other organizations in the
telecommunication industry informally and formally so as to share technology and thus
further enhance the quality of their products. Technology concurrments (agreements) with other
service providers would be desirable in this context.

Based on the results/findings trampled upon throughout this extensive research work as regards
the undertaking of micro & macro environmental audit and analysis as well as the effective
application of sound project management practices, tools and techniques, I will of the notion as
the new Head of Sales and Marketing of GLO emphatically propose that further research
studies ought to be taken in future to ascertain the extent of influence on customers’ decision to
patronize telecommunication products and services and this shouldn’t be restricted to only price
reduction, semiotics etc. but also extended to a study of how brand and customer loyalty are
formed even in the absence of any tendency to associate personal preferences of
consumers with some superior product quality. This is in direct conformance with the current
trend in marketing adopted by radical players in the telecommunication industry in the country
as a whole and the world at large.
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 APPENDIX FOR ACRONYMS/ABBREVIATION

DMAIC: Define Measure Analyze Improve Control

ISO: International Standards Organization

LAN: Local Area Network

PDCA/PDSA: Plan Do Check/Study Act

QS: Quality Standards

SLA: Service Level Agreement

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VGE: Voice Grade Equivalent

WAN: Wide Area Network

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