Marketing and Communication: PayPal - Case Study Example

Marketing and communication Introduction A niche market is a concept used in marketing in reference to subset of a market. This constitutes a section of the market that finds a particular product or services useful thereby creating an adequate market for the same (Ireland, 2008). Marketers consider the features and gaps within the market niches thereby developing appropriate products and services that seek to meet such. The advent of different technologies has succeeded in globalizing the world thereby promoting international trade. The increase in international trade has created a potential market niche for online payment services thereby resulting in the creation of such companies as PayPal. The company is therefore a perfect example of a service company that employs strategic marketing strategies with the view of increasing its market share. The company employs integrated marketing communication as an effective marketing strategy in order to sustain its growth as discussed below. Subject to the United States sanction list among many other rules and interventions of the United States government, PayPal is an online payment service that offers electronic payment alternatives to cash and checks among other types of physical payments forms (Kidder & Hoffman, 2013). The service permits users to make online money transfers a fundamental feature that sustains the growth of electronic commerce globally, acting as an acquirer, the company charges a fee for processing different payment services for commercial people globally. The company charges a substantial fee depending on the value of the currency. In turn, the company offers safe secure and spontaneous global payments services thereby complementing the features of electronic commerce that rely on the same features. As anticipated, the company has a global presence operating in almost every county in the world. Global presence is an equally important feature in such a market niche since the company’s target market is both large and diverse. In order to sustain such a large demand, the company carries out extensive marketing of its varied services in all the countries globally with the view of raising customers’ awareness on the service. Through effective advertisement, the company informs the target market on the relevance of the service thereby positioning the services strategically in the market thus increasing its market share. Headquartered in California, the United States, PayPal has grown internationally often increasing its revenue annually to US$ 5.6 billion by 2012. Such a remarkable growth of the company portrays the employment of effective marketing strategies that the company’s marketers employ in order to increase the service’s market. Marketing is an important department in every company. It refers to a managerial function mandated with the determination, anticipation and satisfaction of customer demands. The definition implies that the marketing departments are among the most important departments within the organization since it influences the operations of the company. The marketing departments must therefore carry out extensive market researches and analysis with the view of discovering new markets thereby increasing the company’s market share. Through effective market research and analysis, the marketers discover new market needs thereby influencing the company’s services with the view of satisfying such new needs. This way, the company addresses the rising customer demands thereby increasing its profitability. Integrated marketing communication refers to the application of different brand communication strategies across both the new and traditional marketing communication channels. Marketers are intuitive individuals who must often analyze the trending features of the society with the view of understanding the effects of such features on the position of the company. This way, they discover emerging market trends thereby developing products and services that meet such rising needs. Marketing communication is an equally important operation that marketers carry out in order to increase the company’s market share. Marketing communication refers to the process of formulating messages, packaging them effectively then transferring them to the target audience. An effective communication process must reach its target audience and achieve the intentions of the communicator who in this context is the marketers (Kotler, 1997). Marketers must therefore employ strategic media that ensure that the information reaches the target audience. Integrated marketing communication is a contemporary development in marketing that provides marketers with an increased platform for communication. The tool infuses the use of both traditional and the new media in communication a feature that has revolutionized marketing thereby reducing the cost of marketing while increasing the reach of such messages. The traditional media refers to such conventional media as radio, television and newspaper among many others. Prior to the advent of the internet, marketers used the conventional media in communicating their messages to target audience. However, just as anticipated, the media limited the target audience owing to their limiting reach and reliance on electricity, which often secluded some vital publics. The invention of the internet on the other hand revolutionized commerce thereby creating new ways of carrying out business communications and promotions. Contemporary marketers enjoy an assortment of media to use in communicating to their target audience. The subsequent invention of the social media has enhanced marketing communication as marketers maintain dedicated pages through which they interact with their target audiences most of who constitute their target markets (Clow & Baack, 2007). Integrated marketing communication therefor provides marketers with both the old and the new techniques of marketing communication thereby presenting marketers with a larger target audience. An effective consideration of the features of both the old and traditional media provides marketers with an increased platform for communication as they develop strategic messages that reach their target audience effectively. As a company that prides itself in relying to the internet, PayPal has often portrayed an understanding of strengths and weaknesses of both the new and traditional media in marketing. As discussed earlier, the company has had a rapid growth a feature that portrays the effectiveness of the marketing strategies the marketing team employs. PayPal has had varied marketing campaigns and promotions in different media with the view of increasing it market shares. Through such endeavors, the company discovers new features of the market thereby increasing its market share. Among the features of integrated marketing communication, that the company employs includes organizational cultures, the marketing mix also known as the four Ps, advertising, public relations and promotions among many others that portray the manifestation of both the traditional and new media. Organizational culture refers to the way of doing business within the organization. Different companies formulated effective ways of solving problems and carrying varied activities within the organizations, such statements as the vision and mission of the organization help portray the organization hypothetically thereby guiding the operations of the company in order to achieve such hypothetical targets. PayPal prides itself in offering spontaneous payments services. As discussed earlier, speed is a fundamental feature of e-commerce. The internet has succeeded in globalizing the world thereby making every part accessible spontaneously. The business people therefore required an equally spontaneous payment services in order to enhance the globalization of the world. PayPal therefore strives to offer an effective solution to the problem thereby accruing its own market niche within the society. In achieving its goal, PayPal positions itself as a fast, safe and convenient online payment service provider. The company employs a dedicated team of expert who safeguard the security of its users. Online payment mechanisms present various security concerns a feature that the company understands. The company therefore employs effective cyber security features in order to safeguard the safety of their client’s money. Adherence to such features helps formulate the organizations culture thereby influencing its marketability. As portrayed, PayPal has positioned itself strategically as the most effective online payment service provider that safeguards both the speed vis-à-vis the security concerns that such platforms raise. Using organizational cultures in communication is a strategic way of marketing since it ensures that the company retains all its past clients. Anybody who uses the services of the company becomes satisfied thereby possibly referring his or her friend. The word of mouth marketing remains the most effective way of marketing. PayPal has employed the strategy in ensuring that it satisfies every customer by addressing their varied needs satisfactorily while adhering to the security concerns of online payment. This way, the company has grown to become among the market leaders. The four Ps also known as the marketing mix is a fundamental marketing tool that provides marketers with effective analysis of both their products and the industry thereby influencing them in positioning their products strategically in the market. Among the elements of the mix, include price, product, place and promotion. The four are fundamental in understanding both the product and the market thereby influencing the design of the product in order to safeguard the company profitability. The product in this context refers to the unique online payment service that PayPal offers. The service is strategic since it seeks to provide solution to realistic problems that marketers face in e-commerce. This implies that the service seeks to fill a gap within the society. This way, the company position introduces a product that the society will own since it addresses a problem and a gap within the society. The price on the other hand refers to the fee that PayPal charges for its services. The price is a major marketing feature that influences the profitability of a company. The price should for example be competitive enough to position the company strategically alongside other similar service providers. Several other service providers in the industry compete for the same niche. Competition for the same market makes price an instrumental tool that marketers use in their attempt to win over substantial market shares. PayPal for example charges a fee that varies depending on the local currencies. The fee further varies depending on the value of every transaction. This way, the company diversifies its services with the view of maintaining minimal transaction fees since such is an essential feature that influences its market share. The pace refers to the physical location within which the company operates. PayPal is a global company. The marketers of the company have therefore strived to ensure that the company offers its services in nearly every country of the world. The presence of PayPal in any country makes the service a realistic solution to the rising payment services problem manifest in such societies. This way, the company offers ready solutions to the payment problems that manifest themselves in different societies. PayPal’s global reach is a fundamental competitive advantage against most of its competitors in the same industry. Promotion is an equally important marketing role that ensures that the company raises awareness on its products besides persuading customer loyalty. PayPal has formulated effective promotional campaigns that did not only raise awareness but sought to improve the use of the service globally. The company has for example collaborated with Visa and master card, some of the leading payment service providers to enhance the efficiency of the product. With the two, users can easily transfer money from their respective bank accounts thereby facilitating online transactions through the platform (Ireland, 2008). Online marketing also known as, internet marketing is a new marketing feature that just as explained earlier has revolutionized marketing. This refers to the use of the internet in marketing. Marketers currently use different features of the internet to market their products and services thereby increasing the awareness on their products and services. PayPal, a company that relies entirely on the internet uses strategic online features in marketing its services. The company for example has a dedicated website that services as its online platform but also markets its products. The company uses the website to address fundamental operational features often outlining and explaining its services and introducing its offers among many others. The website thus services as the company’s primary online marketing platform. Besides the website, the company has numerous social network accounts through which it maintains dedicated interaction with its customers thereby exchanging ideas while increasing the awareness on it products. The company for example has dedicated Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts through which it interacts with its target audience thereby introducing new offers and soliciting for their opinions with the view of improving their profitability. The interactivity that the different social networks provide makes such networks appropriate for carrying out effective marketing researches. The networks provide marketers with unparalleled accesses to the customers who therefore give their views on the features that can readily improve the quality of services the company offer (Lotz, 2007). The company additionally, PayPal advertises its products on numerous other websites on the internet that offer varied types of e-commerce. The company for example acquired e-bay, an online trading platform thereby capitalizing on the customers of the company. By collaborating with such companies as amazon.com, the company as increased its market share since it provides such companies with the services they want. PayPal therefore runs adverts on the websites of the amazon.com website besides many other travel and tours company that permit their clients to book for services online. Placing strategic adverts on such websites makes it possible for the users of such website to recognize the solution that the company offers to their varied payments problems thereby prompting them to use the service a feature that increases the company’s market share. Other forms of online marketing techniques that PayPal employs include search engine optimization and search engine marketing. The two refer to the different search engines on the internet. Such search engines as Google and Bing among many other readily link a user to the official PayPal website from where they carry out their varied interactions. Search engine marketing on the other hand refers to the placement of strategic adverts on the user interface of varied search engines on the internet. Every new user of the internet searches for links through the varied search engines, PayPal therefore places strategic adverts on such search engines a move the increases the visibility of the company on the internet. This way, the company increases its awareness on the internet thus striving to increase its market share. Public relations is a new marketing feature that compounds integrated marketing communication. Additionally, it contributes to the development of organizational cultures. PayPal has dedicated customer service desk that receives and addresses concerns of the users of the market. The customer care service is among the preliminary public relations officers whose primary role is to represent the company favorably to the customers. Additionally, the company has public relations officers who strive to infuse the operations of the company to the requirements of the company this way; the officers strive to improve the company’s reputation in the society. PayPal has dedicated public relations officer coupled with the customer care desk who respond to customers concerns from varied platforms including the social media, telephone conversations and via emails. In a summary, integrated marketing communication is a fundamental contemporary marketing tool that provides marketers with varied marketing elements all of which strive to increase a company’s profitability. The use of the tool relies on varied media including both the traditional and new media. PayPal, an online payment service provider has perfected the use of the marketing communication in order to foster its growth as analyzed above. the company employs strategic traditional media such as television, newspaper and radios besides several other features of the internet that enhance its presence in the market thus profitability. References Clow, K. & Baack, D. E. (2007). Integrated Advertising, Promotion, and Marketing Communications. New York: Prentice Hall. Ireland, H. (2008). Understanding Business Strategy. New York: Free Press. Kidder, D. & Hoffman, R. (2013). The Startup Playbook: Secrets of the Fastest Growing Start Ups from the founding Entrepreneurs. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books. Kotler, P. (1997). Marketing Management. New York: Prentice-Hall, Inc. Lotz, A. D. (2007). The Television Will Be Revolutionized. New York, NY: New York University Press. Read More