Marketing essay

read intro below

Develop an international marketing plan for an existing company (refer to the live case study on “

Revamping the business of a telecom multinational in an Eastern Mediterranean market

”). You will draw on key concepts from the lectures, assigned readings, and additional academic references to do this task. A comprehensive outline of key components of a marketing plan is provided in Appendix 1. Appendix 2 includes guidance on the word count.

Appendix 2: Guidance on the marketing plan word count Section Word Count (approximately)

1. Executive summary 90

2. Table of contents No limit

3. Introduction 100

4. Methodology 100

5. Situational analysis 600

6. SWOT analysis 400

7. Objectives 150

8. Recommended marketing strategy 410

9. Marketing mix strategies and tactics 600

10. Planning budget 250

11. Implementation and control 300

12. References No limit

13. Appendices No limit

You need to finish the 6-8 parts (1000words+) references requirement, about 10 resources.

Based on what my teammate wrote, continue writing for this paper.

Case

Revamping the business of a telecom multinational in an Eastern Mediterranean market

Vodafone is a telecommunications company providing mobile and fixed network services to consumers and businesses across more than 65 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America and Oceania. With global headquarters in the UK, Vodafone manages operating companies in 21 markets. In the rest of its footprint, Vodafone Group does not hold an equity stake and relies on agreements with other network operators which may use Vodafone’s brand and commercialise some of the products and services of the multinational. As part of their global expansion strategy, by the end of 2005 Vodafone Group entered the Turkish market by acquiring Telsim, the second biggest mobile operator in Turkey. In a matter of months, the company was rebranded as Vodafone Turkey while a comprehensive plan started to facilitate the integration of the new subsidiary into Vodafone Group and exploit the multiple opportunities of commercial and operational synergies. By 2009 the process of integration was mostly concluded, and the Turkish subsidiary was growing faster and performing better than their local competitors. However, this process of integration had overlooked the former business unit that Telsim had been operating in Northern Cyprus for about 15 years and which had been running as an independent company since Vodafone’s takeover. The island of Cyprus, located in the Eastern Mediterranean, south of Turkey, southeast of Greece and west of Syria, is de facto partitioned into two different states: the Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). The Republic of Cyprus, a member of the European Union since 2004, has a population of 1.2m (mostly Greek Cypriots) and controls the southern part of the island. On the other hand, the TRNC is a de facto state, mostly independent from Turkey(The TRNC is only recognized as an independent state by Turkey, while the rest of the international community considers this territory to be a part of the Republic of Cyprus occupied by Turkey. This is the cause of multiple practical problems. For example, all the international trade between the TRNC and the rest of the world must be done through Turkey, as all the ports and airports in the state are officially closed to international traffic of goods and passengers. This creates a strong dependence of the TRNC from Turkey, which exerts a significant influence in Northern Cyprus economy and politics.) , which occupied the northeastern region of Cyprus in 1974 following different episodes of violence between the Greek and Turkish communities after the independence of the island from the United Kingdom.

Northern Cyprus has an official population of over 300k, of which roughly 80% are native Turkish Cypriots and 20% settlers from Turkey (older, more traditional, and predominantly living in rural areas). On top of them, Turkey maintains a stable military force of around 40k troops who in most cases spend around 12 months in the country. Other relevant but unaccounted communities include around 55k international university students (of which 35k from Turkey), unqualified foreign workers (in the range of the tens of thousands according to unofficial sources, mostly from Ukraine and other Eastern Europe countries) and around 5-10k high-income expats (mostly from UK and Russia). KKTC Telsim had been the first mobile operator to be set up in Northern Cyprus. For several years, the company operated as a monopoly, until a second operator (KK Turkcell, a subsidiary of Turkcell, the incumbent mobile operator and main competitor of Telsim in Turkey) was authorised by the national telecom regulator. Since its launch in 1999, KK Turkcell applied an aggressive commercial strategy (particularly in terms of pricing, communication and distribution), leveraged on strong brand investment and superior customer service, and rapidly took the lead of the market both in total subscribers and revenue and built a loyal customer base among all marketing segments. Ten years later, KKTC Telsim held less than 35% of the total market, with significantly higher churn and lower ARPU (average revenue per user) than its competitor. Although the company had managed to stabilise churn and obtained a moderate success competing in certain consumer segments (e.g. students and foreign workers), the lower level of investment in marketing and customer service in the previous years was taking its toll. By the end of 2009, the overall performance of Telsim’s former subsidiary in Northern Cyprus was poor, its market share was steadily declining, the distribution network was perceived to be collapsing and the business projections for the coming years risked to negatively impact the valuation of Vodafone Turkey (the owner of KKTC Telsim). A decisive reaction was necessary. Vodafone was ready to make a reasonable investment in the market to turnaround the situation, but several factors conditioned the possible solutions. The particular structure of the consumer market was completely different than in other countries in the region. The political, legal and cultural context of Northern Cyprus and its significance for Turkey and Greece (two major markets for the strategy of Vodafone Group in the region) was also unique and had to be carefully considered for both corporate and marketing decisions. A few years ago, Vodafone had also signed a partnership agreement with the incumbent operator in the Republic of Cyprus, Cyta, which granted exclusive use of the Vodafone brand in the whole territory of the island of Cyprus. Finally, the IT and network infrastructure would require the execution of major works to improve customer service, network coverage and the deployment of certain new services. It was clear that to obtain the desired results, this time it was not going to be enough to just extend the marketing strategy that Vodafone had already applied with success in Turkey and other countries in the region.

Group

Report

International Marketing Plan for

KKTC Telsim

in Northern Cyprus, Turkey

1

.0 Executive Summary

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

2.0 Introduction

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.

3.0 Methodology

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.

4.0 Situational Analysis
4.1 Internal Environment

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.

4.2 Market Audit

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.

4.3 Competitor Analysis

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

Niaz, H.M. and Garcia-Medina, I. (2018) ‘Vodafone: The relationship between brand image and online marketing strategies’, IROCAMM, 1(1), pp. 7-31. Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.12795/IROCAMM.2018.i1.01

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].

Vodafone Group PLC. (2021) ‘About us’, Vodafone.

https://www.vodafone.com/about

. [Accessed; February 27, 2021].

Vodafone Group PLC. (2019) ‘Annual Report 2019’, Vodafone.

http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/IROL/77/77862/annual-reports/annual_report19/downloads/Vodafone-strategic-report-2019

. [Accessed: February 27, 2021].

Vodafone Group PLC. (2013) ‘Vodafone Group annual report, 2013,’ Business Review. http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/IROL/77/77862/annual-reports/annual_report13/downloads/business_review . [Accessed: February 27, 2021].

1

1

Group Report

International Marketing Plan for
KKTC Telsim
in Northern Cyprus, Turkey