Marketing essay

The purpose of this report is to develop the marketing plan for KKTC Telsim, a telecommunication company developed after Vodafone Group acquired Turkey’s Telsim. The report identified the background information of Vodafone Company and describes the proposed methodology aimed at collecting information for the generation of an effective marketing plan. Also, it describes the current situation faced by the organization using the internal environment analysis, market audit, and situational analysis.

Table of Contents 1.0 Executive Summary 2 2.0 Introduction 2 3.0 Methodology 2 4.0 Situational Analysis 2 4.1 Internal Environment 2 4.2 Market Audit 3 4.3 Competitor Analysis 3 References 4

Vodafone Group is a UK based telecommunications company operating in more than 60 countries spread across Europe, Asia, North and South America, Oceanic, and Africa. The company is the number one provider mobile and fixed network services to customers and businesses in Europe, and the world’s number one provider of Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity (Vodafone Group Plc 2021). Vodafone has been eying Turkish market its main target market.The main entry strategy used to enter the Northern Cyprus Turkish market was through the acquisition of Turkey’s biggest mobile operator, Telsim. According to Vodafone Group PLC (2019), Vodafone aims at deepening their customer engagement by converging different customer needs and bringing out an additional service to customers. The above strategy has been used by the organization to improve lives of people in Cyprus, Turkey.

The secondary methodology was used to collect data about Vodafone Group expansion to Turkey. The secondary methodology was selected because it was the easiest, cost-effective, and most convenient method of acquiring data about the Vodafone’s strategic entry to Turkish market. As such, it was possible to acquire large volumes of secondary data with rich information about the topic. The main sources of information used were: Company financial reports, Business reports targeting the company, or the telecommunication firms in Turkey, past studies conducted by students, scholars, and business researchers like Mintel, and newspaper reports.

The organizations internal capabilities influence its position in the local and international market. Vodafone’s priority has been to extend its competitive advantage and improve returns through innovative and unique positioning strategies. One key area that has led to the growth and expansion of Vodafone market in Europe is its over-reliance on technology development (Vodafone Group PLC 2013). The organization continues achieving high economies of scales through its innovative and updated technology infrastructure that is practiced in all the operating countries. Moreover, the company’s brand image has led to an increase in the global market share (Niaz, & Garcia-Medina 2018). As such, Vodafone possesses a solid foundation to enter different target markets and create a significant impact. For example, Vodafone’s Turkish subsidiary created after acquiring Telsim led to the exploitation of different market opportunities making it the Vodafone Turkey the fastest growing and most competitive telecommunication company in the country. On the other hand, Vodafone laid little emphasize on customer service and marketing while concentrating on competing in specific high-level consumer segments that affected its market positioning in Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). The company failed to consider internal factors such as change in management and leadership while planning for the market entry, which affected its long-term performance in Northern Cyprus.

Vodafone is the leading telecommunications brand in Europe and Africa, and continues to extend its market presence in other regions like Asia and North America. Smith (2020) claimed Vodafone has been focusing on learning new trends to meet changing consumer demands. It has deployed the 5G technology and made it commercially available to its customers. Moreover, the company uses clear strategies to invest on new markets. The acquisition of Turkish telecom company, Telsim, was based on clear strategies that inform the company’s strategic path. The organization is working on a growth strategy to increase its market share in new markets like Turkey where they have invested in technology and innovation to remain competitive (Vodafone Group PLC 2021). However, issues such as strong bargaining power of suppliers have influenced Vodafone’s strength to remain competitive in new markets. The different consumer structure experienced in the new market affected the company’s future sustainability as the global telecommunication leader. Additionally, the legal, cultural, and political factors in Northern Cyprus affected the market and corporate decision making creating a delay in strategy implementation (Vodafone Group PLC, 2021). As such, there is a need to carry out an extensive study to identify strategies that the company could adopt to overcome market challenges in Turkey.

Vodafone has to compete with numerous other firms in the industry. In UK, the main competitors are O2 and EE. The two have an established business presence in the country and their strategic approaches have the capability of changing consumer decisions. In the Northern Turkish market, Vodafone Turkey competes with KK Turkcell. KK Turkcell has been the leading telecommunication provider in Turkey and the main competitor of Telsim. The company wins customers’ tastes through three key strategic options namely: communication, distribution, and pricing. Also, it has invested more on product development through a strong research and development team that ensures customers get superior products and services at all times. However, Vodafone Turkey has been keen on introducing strategic movements to overcome rivalry from KK Turkcell by coming up with new strategies to win the Northern Turkey market competition. Vodafone annual report (2019) revealed the company continues to promote organizational accomplishments by bringing on board new avenues to address competition issues.

References List

Smith, M. (2020, Feb. 05) ‘Vodafone Qatar: Transformation in the telecommunications supply chain’, Supply Chain. https://www.supplychaindigital.com/company/vodafone-qatar-transformation-telecommunications-supply-chain [Accessed: February 27, 2021].