Power Point

Major environmental forces that created an opportunity.

The major environmental factors that led created opportunity for the company are economy (economics), need of a good cab service (social), and consumer trends (competition). We are living in the digital world and introduction of internet has changed the way we see everything, it has changed the way people interact with each other, the way people do business and internet and developing technology in this field has made everything better that it already was.

The introduction of smart phones turned out to be a better change in the life style of people. It has made everything easier for them, and it is no surprise that smart phones changed the way people book cabs and the way they travel.

The last environmental factor that benefitted company was consumer trend and their comfort. It was very easy to book taxi from anywhere and anytime. You are stuck in rain or you are carrying heavy luggage just few clicks and swipe taxi is at your gate. This unique idea made the company a success. People followed the trend and they chose to travel in style rather waiting for the cab.

Change in purchasing pattern of people

It was first released in San Francisco and later it was live in New York City, Paris, London and many other big cities. After some days it expanded in Africa and Asia. Every country and city UBER was launched it changed the way people travel, it turned out as a trend and people followed it like anything. It is easy to book cab it is easy to make payment, there is no negotiation required and no bargaining is there with the UBER driver. It turned out to be a big advantage for female passengers who generally have trouble looking for cabs and taxis. Best thing is people can access cabs from anywhere and anytime they don’t need to wait for them and look for them if they live in remote areas. Apart from it has been a boon to many countries which doesn’t have any structured cab servicing and cab providing company.

Environmental trends

Social

There is no difference in the service that is provided in New York or Beijing. It is a very smart way for getting cab services, it not only increases the amount of jobs in the world but also helps in the development of that particular country. It adapts it services based on the environment and other factors varying from country to country. Like in many South Asian countries, UBER has introduced UBER cash for the consumer who are not willing to pay online, or who prefer to pay by cash.

Technological

They are using the latest technology and are helping technology work for the greater good of human kind. The app is totally based on smart phones whether it is android smart phones or I phones. People just have to enter their pick up location via GPS technology they can track their route and track their taxi driver who is supposed to pick them.

Competitive

They are getting very good competition from other companies, like Ola cabs in India and merger of two different cab providing service companies to in china. Apart from it grab taxi in South East Asia and LYFT in United States. They are providing many different services to expand their share in the market, like coupons and free rides to attract customer. They pay a good amount of fee to their drivers to get more and more people work for them. They are regularly expanding their share not only in a country but in the whole world and are quite successful in doing this so far.

Regulatory

Most important thing that makes UBER successful is online payment, drivers just pick you up and drop you to the destination. They will not ask money they will not negotiate for fares they will not charge extra from you, but in some countries UBER cash has been introduced but there also you cannot negotiate the fares. Other thing is UBER drivers don’t ask for tips, you don’t tip them, they are safe and UBER has developed a symbol of trust and security among the consumers. It is a major concern for the female travelers especially who live in tense neighborhoods.

Economics

It is good for the economy of the country it boosts up the company by providing employment and making life easier for the citizens of the country. The money provided by UBER to their driver is quite good and local cab drivers are turning to UBER for the employment. So far both the consumers and drivers are quite satisfied from the services that are provided by the UBER.

Trends

People follow it as a trend and now they are regularly becoming an addict to the UBER service, it is so famous among the people because of it is easy to use and ease of payment, no chance of getting away from the fraud. They have made great name for them and there are many new companies that are following the same trend and it is called as uberfication.

Differentiation strategy

UBER faces challenges from different cab service providers in different countries whether it be didi dache and kuaidi dache (merged into didi kuaidi) in China. Another competition is Ola cabs in India. Uber competitors Lyft (United States), Didi Kuaidi (China), Ola Cabs (India), and GrabTaxi (South-East Asia) (all of which have Softbank as an investor) announce a global technology and service alliance. This is widely seen as an attempt by the companies to keep Uber at bay. With the exception of Lyft (which is the runner-up to Uber in the United States), all the other companies in the partnership are market leaders in their respective regions of focus. To get over increasing competition UBER has developed many new services like UBERRUSH, it is a courier service using bicycle messengers to deliver packages. Later it announced UBERPOOL, which let riders share rides based on proximity. It has also announced test for a corner store, which allows customers to order basic items. Later it launched UBERCARGO, which allows people to transport packages via UBER drivers. It started in hong kong.

Not only new ideas and services but it has also worked in terms of research and opened robotics research facility to build self driving cars.

Analysis of GEEK Squad case study

After the analysis of GEEK Squad case study, we can learn that it only needs an idea to develop it into a business. But ideas are not going to turn into business themselves. You have to work hard and in an organized way to convert them into successful trend. Not only GEEK Squad but we can see the example of UBER which is not a very big company that is known worldwide.

Recommendations for the GEEK Squad

They should improvise their GEEK allocation system, and should try to fix problem in the same day. They can introduce a rating based on the knowledge and expertise of the GEEK which will help customer choose the right person that they think is best for the job.

References