1.

Analyze the Business model, UBER competitive advantage and digitization

Uber is pretty easy service for customers to use. To access Uber, customers simply has to download
the app on its mobile phone, create account and input their credit card information and after that,
they could just press the button. The app displayed nearest available drives nearby location and
usually responded within seconds that a driver was on its way. The app allowed customers to view
the name of the driver and driver`s quality rating as well. Also, costumers are allowed to reject a
driver with a low rating. Once the driver picked up the passenger, the driver could navigate to the
destination using Uber`s built – in GPS system. At the end of the ride, no cash would exchange hands,
instead of that, the money was automatically transferred from the customer`s account. An email
count was sent to the customer when the trip was completed. This model of paying is a huge
advantage and because of its simplicity was accepted by most people. Uber`s prices were determined
by the time and distance of the trip as measured by GPS. Nevertheless, during times of peak
ridership, which include rush hour, bad weather in the city or some kind of special occasions, Uber
would put something called „Surge Pricing“, meaning that they would raise the price anywhere from
1.5x to 7x of normal. When surge pricing was in effect, customers were notified immediately upon
opening their app. Before they could summon a ride, they had to acknowledge the surge pricing and
type the precise amount of the surge increase into the app to ensure they knew they were being
charged a higher price. The company`s commission remained a flat 20% regardless of the price
charge.

Uber obviously competed directly against the taxi industry. The difference was significant. Only
taxicabs could be hailed on the streets. Taxis were generally required to have distinctive appearance
and to make it clear whether or not they were „in service“. The price of a cab fare was based on the
time and distance of the trip and was regulated by an official taximeter. Even though these things can
be seen as advantage, complaints about taxicabs were widespread. Riders often found taxicab to be
in poor repair, unclean and generally unpleasant. Also, some cabs accept credit cards, but others
don`t. Catching a taxicab generally required standing outside and trying to hail one that drove by.
While in some parts of city, taxicabs were easily hailed, in other areas they were nowhere to be
found. Uber`s service had unique characteristics that made comparison difficult. The fact was, the
technology that was core to Uber`s network represented an unprecedented disruption that ciy and
country regulators were ill equipped to deal with.

2. Analyze the Marketing strategy and analyze the overall external environment

There were a lot of criticism from everywhere when Uber first appear. Critics claimed that Uber`s
prices were designed to kill off competition. Also, one of the critics was that Uber was putting non –
professional drivers on the road. Aside from the specific complaints leveled by critics against Uber,
there was also a more generalized perception that Uber engaged in overly aggressive market tactics.
When Uber entered a new market, it typically just ignored local regulations and began operating its
service without waiting for permission. It also had a reputation for cutthroat competitive tacti’s. The
company was also known for attempting to poach drivers from other ride – sharing services by
developing its sales representatives to order rides and then try convincing the drivers to defect to
Uber with offers of monetary bonuses and other incentives. Other`s signs of Uber`s momentum was
subtler and yet intriguing nonetheless. Some real estate experts, for example reported that because
Uber was making transportation more reliable and affordable in some cities, they were seeing a real
estate resurgence in these dense locations. A few public health studies were reporting a reduction in
drunk driving as a result of Uber. Perhaps most interestingly, the price of a NYC taxi medallion had
dropped precipitously in the past year, which is indication that the market for taxi license had
become bearish as a result of Uber`s presence. At the same time the company continued to clash
with regulators and courts in multiple countries around the world, such as Germany, Spain,
Colombia, France, Australia, Italy, Denmark, China, England. And anti – Uber protests, sometimes
violent, continued to flare up in cities from Paris to Madrid.

3. Identify possible and Targeted Segments

Uber uses a mix of demographic and geographic segmentation variables which helped the

company pricing its services accordingly. Both geographic and demographic segmentation is
important because Uber needs to know which areas to target for customers who are ready to use an
“on order transportation service” over public transport services. We cannot find Uber in Rural areas
but mainly in urban areas only where it replaces taxis. Differentiating targeting strategy is used by
Uber in order to the share of wallet customer brings in and how to increase wallet size by upselling
Because of the very structure of Uber as a company, there is a huge pricing advantage to the end
customer when they compare Uber taxis vs Publicly available modes of transport. User benefit based
and pricing positioning strategy is used by Uber to attract customers from different strata of the
society. Also, Uber uses multi-segment type of positioning and accordingly, targets several customer
segments with different levels of service. The ride-hailing giant offers economy services such as Uber
X, Uber XI and Uber Pool for cost-conscious customers. At the same time, Uber PREMIUM consisting
of fleet of stylish vehicles is available for customers who don’t mind to pay more.

Uber target customer segment

Uber Premium, Uber Go,

Type of Segmentation Uber X, Uber XI, Uber pool, Uber- UberEATS, Uber BOAT,
segmentation criteria MOTO, Uber AUTO UberRUSH Uber Access

North & South America, Asia, &

New Zealand Australia, Europe,
Africa
North & South America, Asia, & North & South America, Asia, &
Uber AUTO – Bangalore and
New Zealand Australia, Europe, New Zealand Australia, Europe,
Pune
Africa Africa
Region only

Geographic
Density Urban/rural Urban/rural Urban/rural

Age 18+ 25-65 45-65

Gender Males & Females Males & Females Males & Females

Bachelor Stage
Newly Married Couples

Full Nest I

Full Nest II
Full Nest I
Full Nest III Full Nest II

Empty Nest I Full Nest III

Full Nest III
Empty Nest II Empty Nest I Empty Nest I

Solitary Survivor I Empty Nest II Empty Nest II

Life-cycle stage Solitary Survivor II

Students, employees,
Demographic
Occupation professionals Employees & Professionals Retired & Hadicapped

‘Hard core loyals’ ‘Hard core loyals’

‘Soft core loyals’ ‘Soft core loyals’
‘Soft core loyals’
Degree of
‘Switchers’ ‘Switchers’
loyalty

Benefits sought cost-efficiency sense of achievement convenience

Easygoing, determined,
Personality ambitious Determined, ambitious Easygoing

non-users, potential users, first- potential users, first-time users,

Behavioral
User status time users, regular users regular users non-users, potential users,
 4. Identify sources for Customer insight and develop a Customer journey mapping, 

Journey Mapping continues to grow as a very useful method and tool for helping organizations
develop an understanding of their customer’s experience. Journey Maps can come in all shapes and
sizes depending upon the audience, the scope of the journey being mapped, and the specific goals
and objectives for mapping the journey. In the Uber case, the Uber application itself has a ratting
option which allows Uber to collect even more data about its consumers, but at the same time of
their drivers.

Persona: Mislav
age: 30
Job: Director
Interests: Books, Football, Gym,

Decision to use Set up account Request a ride Ride Uber Arrival

Need for Get safely on

1. Customer Set up account in Arrive at
transport from a Find an Uber wanted
goals timely manner destination;
to b destination

Set up ride;
Register; Enter a car and
2. Customer Choose Uber Pick a
Add payment; go to a wanted Payment
actions driver/request
Verify account; destination
Uber;
Enrollment
Uber app Driver call for Receipt of
3. Customer Download app or email;
(driver list and exact pick up transaction;
touchpoints use website Verification
map) location Rate the driver;
email
Overall
After registering
satisfaction (from
and verifying the Impressed by the Easily identifiable
4. Customer the app, driver,
User friendly app account, provide features of the car; Nice and
Experience route and
the steps of how app attentive driver;
payment
to use the app
method)
Payment
5. Customer method? Satisfied;
Want to try Excited; Rushed;
thoughts & Is it safe? Curious, Excited Awkward (lack of
something new Surprised
feelings tipping option)
5. Propose a Brand story proposal and clarify your answer.

„Everything you need is in one click – Uber“

Uber offer something new and different what you can find in one click. Opening Uber app will help
you to solve your problems and have more time with your friends and for the loved ones.

6. What attribution model do you suggest for UBER?

7. How Uber is using automation (in which stages of the customer journey and what forms)?
Would you suggest another area for marketing automation?

Uber is using automation simply by communicating through the app with customer from the
beginning of a journey. By downloading the app, customers can see where the car is, and the driver
can locate the customer as well. Also, uber is using automation at payment. No cash is exchanged
hands. The fare is automatically deducted from the customer`s account. My suggestion would be
ability to select your driver, meaning that if you already experienced pleasant drive with one driver, it
would be great if you could choose the same driver multiple times. Also, it would be helpful for
customers if they could chat with app, if and when they have quick and short question.

8. Have you ever used UBER? What was your customer experience? What would you suggest for
improvement?

I used Uber service only once by now. So, I don`t think I am in position to give critical review that is
objective. Firstly, I have to admit I was skeptical about giving my card information into some app, but
later it turned out to be simple and fast. Also, I was used to recognize the taxi car instantly, but not
with Uber. I wasn`t sure if I am getting into a right car, because it was late at night. Maybe this could
represent a problem for some people. Uber could use significant label for its car, so people could
recognize them easily and not look on the phone to locate the car. Nevertheless, the ride was
pleasant and cheap, which is most important thing for people after all.