Segmentation Positioning and Target Markets - Assignment Example

Marketing planning University Student Id Course Date Executive summary This report is aimed at improving the market position of Uber-Company in the market. The objectives of improving the market position of Uber are provided in the report. The various objectives that can help the company achieved an increase in its market position despite the competition are explored. The relevance of the objectives set is evaluated using SMART analysis to ensure that the objectives are in line with the issues that are facing the company. Uber has been competing well in the market, but there is an increase in the level of competition due to the many market players that are entering the industry. This report helps in looking for the best solution that can help Uber maintain its market share despite the increase in the innovative firms in the industry. The report also explores the marketing mix of Uber using the 7Ps to assess the market position of the company. The product, promotion, price, place, people, physical evidence, process, and people are the 7Ps elements that are explored to how they can help in achieving the set objectives. Table of Contents Executive summary 2 Introduction 3 Marketing objectives 3 Measuring the objectives using the SMART criteria 4 Segmentation, positioning and target markets 6 Marketing mix 7 Conclusion 9 10 References 10 Introduction The major issue facing Uber is to maintain its market share. This is because the competitors are developing a very innovative product that is becoming competitive in the market. The products of the rivals in the market are direct substitutes of Uber products hence the need to come up with the most appropriate strategy that can help in maintaining its market share (Isaac, 2014). Therefore, coming up with the strategies that can assist in retaining the customers of Uber can be important in maintaining the company market share. The fact that the competitors are continuously developing innovative products is a threat to the market position of Uber hence the need for an immediate action to ensure the customers are retained. Marketing objectives The increasing number of competitors who are offering similar products with those of Uber poses a threat to the market position of Uber. As a result, there is the need to come up with the most appropriate solution that can help Uber maintain its market share in the industry. The objective is to make Uber competitive and unique in the market to help in maintaining its market share despite the increase in the number of competitors entering the market. This can include identifying reasons for the decline in the market share to suggest the possible solutions that can help Uber in retaining its market position. The major marketing objectives that can help in improving the market position of the company include improving the competitiveness of the company products and making the products unique (Bilton, 2012). The first objective which is improving the competitiveness of the company products can be crucial in retaining the company market share as Uber will be in a better position to retain its customers despite the increase in the competitors. The competitive level can be improved by adopting strategies that can compete better in the industry like adopting competitive pricing strategy and engaging customers in the product development process. The second objective which is making the company products unique in the market can assist in eliminating the increased possibilities of substitution. This can be possible through developing new and innovative product features that are not in the products of the competitors. Measuring the objectives using the SMART criteria Objective 1: to improve the competitiveness of the products by 40% within a period of 8 months. Specific: It is focused on improving the level of competitiveness of its products in the market to ensure it can retain its market share in the industry hence the objective is specific. Measurable: this objective can be measured as the company is expected to experience a 40% improvement in its competitiveness after eight months. Achievable: Uber has experienced and highly qualified marketers who are in a position to work towards achieving the set objective. Besides, the company has the necessary resources for use in the process of implementing the objective. Relevant: taxi industry has been experiencing an increase in competition as many firms are venturing into the industry with innovative products. Therefore, this objective is relevant as it will help Uber retain its market position in the industry. Time-bound: the set objective is expected to be achieved after eight months. The taxi industry is competitive as many firms are entering the industry with innovative products hence posing a threat to the market share of Uber. Therefore, improving the product competitiveness can be important in making sure that the company can retain its market share. Objective 2: to achieve a 30% product differentiation with a period of seven months. Specific: it is primarily aimed at making the products different in the industry to eliminate the close substitutes for the company products. Measurable: the objective can be measured as it is aiming at attaining 30% product differentiation hence the company can be aware the far it is to achieve the set objective. Achievable: Uber can be able to achieve a 30% product differentiation within the period of seven months as it has the necessary resources. For instance, it has the necessary technology that can help in achieving the set objective. Relevant: differentiating the company products is relevant to Uber as many firms offering similar product are entering the industry. Therefore, this objective is relevant as it will help Uber eliminate the close substitutes. Time-bound: the time set for the objective to be achieved eight months. The product differentiation strategy is likely to help Uber in coming up with unique product features that will help the company in achieving competitive advantages. Through developing unique product features Uber will be in a position to eliminate the possible close substitutes. Segmentation, positioning and target markets The market will be segmented on the income of the targeted customers where the pricing strategy will be discriminatory. The discriminatory pricing strategy is important in making sure that the products of the company are affordable by different customers hence able to compete well in the market. Segmenting the market is important in helping Uber meet the needs of the customers better in the market through offering products that can be in a position to respond to diverse needs of the customers (Barro, 2014). Besides, through segmenting the market Uber can be in a position to serve the market better by making its products affordable to different customers as the market will be segmented based on the level of income. The segments with clients who have a high disposable income will have high prices while those with low-income customers offered low prices. This will be geared towards improving the competitiveness of Uber in the taxi industry by making its services affordable. Besides, the market will be segmented based on the geographical regions. The services for different geographical regions will be aligned with the needs of the customers in that market segment. This will help in meeting the needs of the customers better in the market as different regions have their needs that are unique from others. Also, the competitors in different geographical areas have different tactics they use hence the company has to make its services unique in each market segment (Rayle, et al., 2016). The geographical segmentation is important in the process of making the company products unique as Uber can easily develop strategies that can make its products unique in the market through market research. The company can research the gap existing in the different segments hence adequately meeting the needs of the clients in the segment. Marketing mix Products/services: Uber has been offering online services in the taxi industry where customers can the company anytime using the online application. However, other firms with online platforms are entering the market causing competition that is threatening the market share of Uber. The company has to develop more innovative strategies geared towards making the products unique in the market through coming up with new product features (Rogers, 2015). Uber will offer services that are unique to achieve the product differentiation objective. It is through the uniqueness of its services that competition can be managed hence retaining its market share. Place: Uber services are present in different regions globally where it has been offering online taxi services. The company has managed to penetrate in different cities around the globe where it has managed to gain trust with customers. Many clients of Uber consider its services convenient as compared to the traditional taxi services. However, Uber need to develop extend its services in the regions that other online taxi firms have not ventured like in the growing towns to differentiate its services. Price: the company prices are calculated based on parameters like waiting time and distance. However, Uber alters its prices in the process of luring more riders and making its services competitive than those offered by the traditional taxi (Rogers, 2015). The company needs to segment its pricing strategy depending on the income of the targeted customers to improve its competitiveness and meet the needs of the low-income customers. Promotion: Uber offers several incentives to its riders like discounts and referral bonus in terms of a free-ride or even cash backs. Also, the drivers are provided with some incentives that motivate them to be committed when discharging their obligations. The incentives to drivers are mainly based on the daily completed rides (Cusumano, 2015). However, Uber management needs to develop the necessary strategies that can address the frequent demonstration of the drivers that harm the company reputation hence making the company competitive. Physical evidence: the services of Uber ensure connection with the physical world. For instance, it has a website that keeps the customers updated about the social events taking part in different regions. The physical evidence has been geared towards making the company competitive in the industry. The website of Uber ensures that international events are communicated to accommodate riders from all corners of the world hence helping in achieving the competitive objective (Cusumano, 2015). Besides, the uniqueness of the company products can be felt by its ability to offer international information on its website that is not offered by other firms in the industry. People: Uber will come up with an experienced team to help achieve the set objectives. The team will be responsible for formulating the necessary strategies that will help in achieving the set objectives. Besides, it is the team that will ensure support from the key stakeholders of the company for success implementation of strategies that will help in achieving the set objectives (Rempel, 2014). For instance, the company competitiveness and differentiation objective can be achieved through coming up with a team that has the necessary skills to help in the implementation process. However, Uber need to invest in training the team responsible for the implementation process to ensure that they have competitive skills and expertise. Process: the Uber processes used in delivering services to the customers will be improved with the aim of making the company competitive. The competitiveness objective of the company will be achieved through developing processes that can enhance service delivery (Cramer and Krueger, 2016). It is the improvement in the service delivery that the company will ensure high-quality services to its customers. Besides, the service differentiation strategy of Uber will be achieved through coming up with unique processes in delivering services to the riders. Conclusion The marketing plan was primarily discussing two objectives. The first objective is the competitiveness objective where Uber will be aiming at making its services competitive in the taxi industry. This objective will be achieved through developing the necessary strategies that can make the company services able to meet the needs of the riders better. The second objective is the differentiation strategy which is designed to make the products unique in the industry through developing new product features. Through innovation, the company will be in a better position to differentiate its products from those of the competitors aiming at satisfying the needs of the customers better. Uber will make use of the marketing mix to achieve its set objectives. References Barro, J. (2014). Under pressure from Uber, taxi medallion prices are plummeting. The New York Times. Bilton, N. (2012). Disruptions: Taxi supply and demand, priced by the mile. The New York Times, Jan, 8. Cramer, J., & Krueger, A. B. (2016). Disruptive change in the taxi business: The case of Uber. The American Economic Review, 106(5), 177-182. Cusumano, M. A. (2015). How traditional firms must compete in the sharing economy. Communications of the ACM, 58(1), 32-34. Isaac, E. (2014). Disruptive Innovation: Risk-Shifting and Precarity in the Age of Uber. Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy BRIE Working Paper, 7. Rayle, L., Dai, D., Chan, N., Cervero, R., & Shaheen, S. (2016). Just a better taxi? A survey-based comparison of taxis, transit, and ridesourcing services in San Francisco. Transport Policy, 45, 168-178. Rempel, J. (2014). A Review of Uber, the Growing Alternative to Traditional Taxi Service. Rogers, B. (2015). The social costs of Uber. U. Chi. L. Rev. Dialogue, 82, 85. Read More