Abstract:

Every organization, whether it is a multinational, private business, government offices, etc.depend on its people. These people working as General Managers must be trained and kept motivated, offered good working environment and must be acknowledged at work.

Telecom industry is growing in Pakistan, with new companies getting license the competition is tough as a result the consumer is getting benefit and enjoying cheap call rates. With a population of 15 million countries, telecom is one of the best revenue generated industry. As voice over IP, web conferencing and online video sessions are becoming popular these companies have bright future ahead.

Telecom International which stands as a prominent name in Telecom industry. In this report we discussed all relevant topics for covering a formal report. This report reviews the marketing of WARID; I give a brief history of the company and tell about the achievements and growths of WARID. It put light on the whole organization specifically its marketing department and the activities ongoing in its marketing department. This report include brief introduction of Warid and its marketing strategies to gain the market share and all its depth analysis which we think should be consider necessary to analysis of such a big company. By our evaluation we have found that WARID Telecom is lacking some activities which are mostly its communication to its customers. At the end of this report i provide implementation of strategies for Warid. .

Page 1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Particulars Introduction Marketing strategy process WARID WARIDs mission, purpose and vision WARID Zem and Zahi Marketing strategies of WARID SWOT Analysis Conclusion & Recommendations References

Page No. 3 4 12 12 14 15 19-20 22 23

Page 2

Marketing Strategy

Introduction:

A marketing strategy is a process that can allow an organization to

concentrate its limited resources on the greatest opportunities to increase sales and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage.
A marketing strategy should be centered on the key concept that customer satisfaction is the main goal, and is most effective when it is an integral component of corporate strategy, defining how the organization will successfully engage customers, prospects, and competitors in the market arena. Corporate strategies, corporate missions, and corporate goals. As the customer constitutes the source of a company's revenue, marketing strategy is closely linked with sales. A key component of marketing strategy is often to keep marketing in line with a company's overarching mission statement. A marketing strategy is a map that gets us and our business where we want to go. It gives us a plan to promote our business, target the right client, and allocate the resources wisely.They say that

Page 3

Trying to grow business without having a plan is just like going on road trip with out a map
A marketing strategy can serve as the foundation of a marketing plan. A marketing plan contains a set of specific actions required to successfully implement a marketing strategy. For example: "Use a low cost product to attract consumers. Once our organization, via our low cost product, has established a relationship with consumers, our organization will sell additional, higher-margin products and services that enhance the consumer's interaction with the low-cost product or service."

Marketing strategy consists of the analysis, strategy development, and implementation activities in: Developing a vision about the market(s) of interest to the organization, selecting market target strategies, setting objectives, and developing, implementing, and managing the marketing program positioning strategies designed to meet the value requirements of the customers in each market target

Marketing Strategy Process:

The marketing strategy analysis, planning, implementation and management process is described below. The strategic situation analysis considers market and competitor analysis, market segmentation, and continuous learning about markets. Designing marketing strategy examines customer targeting and positioning strategies, marketing relationship strategies and planning for new products. Marketing program development consists of product, distribution, price, and promotion strategies designed and implemented to meet the value requirements of targeted buyers. Strategy implementation and management consider organizational design and marketing strategy implementation and control.

Page 4

Stage 1: Strategic Situation Analysis:

Marketing management uses the information provided by the situation analysis to guide the design of a new strategy or change an existing strategy. The situation analysis is conducted on a regular basis after the strategy is under way to evaluate strategy performance and identify needed strategy changes.

1) Market Vision, Structure, and Analysis:

Markets need to be defined so that buyers and competition can be analyzed. For a market to exist, there must be People with particular needs and wants and one or more products that can satisfy buyers needs, and Buyers willing and able to purchase a product that satisfies their needs and wants. A product-market consists of a specific product (or line of related products) that can satisfy a set of needs and wants for the people (or organizations) willing and able to purchase it. The term product is used to indicate either a physical good or an intangible service.

Page 5

Analyzing product-markets and forecasting how they will change in the future are vital to business and marketing planning. Decisions to enter new productmarkets, how to serve existing product-markets, and when to exist in unattractive product-markets are critical strategic choices.

Evaluation of competitors strategies, strengths, limitations and plans is also a key aspect of the situation analysis. It is important to identify both existing and potential competitors. Competitor analysis includes evaluating each key competitor.

2) Segmenting Markets:
Market segmentation looks at the nature and extent of diversity of buyers needs and wants in a market. It offers an opportunity for an organization to focus in business capabilities on the requirements of one or more groups of buyers. The objective of segmentation is to examine differences in needs and wants and to identify the segments (sub-groups) within the product-market of interest.

3) Continuous Learning about Markets:

One of the major realities of achieving business success today is the necessity of understanding markets and competition. Sensing what is happening and is likely to occur in the future is complicated by competitive threats that may exist beyond traditional industry boundaries. For example, CD-ROMs compete with books.

Stage 2: Designing Market-Driven Strategies:

The strategic situation analysis phase of the marketing strategy process identifies market opportunities, defines market segments, evaluates competition, and assesses the organizations strengths and weaknesses. Market sensing information plays a key role in designing marketing strategy, which includes market targeting and positioning strategies, building marketing relationships, and developing and introducing new products.

Page 6

1) Market Targeting and Strategic Positioning:

Marketing advantage is influenced by several situational factors including industry characteristics, type of firm (e.g., size), extent of differentiation in buyers needs, and the specific competitive advantage(s) of the company designing the marketing strategy. The core issue is deciding how, when, and where to compete, given a firms market and competitive environment. The purpose of the marketing targeting strategy is to select the people (or organizations) that management wishes to serve in the product-market. When buyers needs and wants vary, the market target is usually one or more segments of the product-market. Once the segments are identified and their relative importance to the firm determined, the targeting strategy is selected. The objective is to find the best match between the value requirements of each segment and the organizations distinctive capabilities. The targeting decision is the focal point of marketing strategy since targeting guides the setting of objectives and developing a positioning strategy. The options range from targeting most of the segments to targeting one or few segments in a product-market. The targeting strategy may be influenced by the markets maturity , the diversity of buyers needs and preferences, the firms size compared to competition, corporate resources and priorities, and the volume of sales required to achieve favorable financial results. Deciding the objectives for each market target spells out the results expected by management. Examples of market target objectives are desired levels of sales, market share, customer retention, profit contribution, and customer satisfaction. Marketing objectives may also be set for the entire business unit and for specific marketing activities such as advertising. The marketing program positioning strategy is the combination of product, value-chain, price, and promotion strategies a firm uses to position itself against its key competitors in meeting the needs and wants of the market target, the strategies and tactics used to gain a favorable position are called the marketing mix or the marketing program.

Page 7

2) Marketing Relationship Strategies.

Marketing relationship partners may include end user customers, marketing channel members, suppliers, competitor alliances, and internal teams. The driving force underlying these relationships is that a company may enhance its ability to satisfy customers and cope with a rapidly changing business environment through collaboration of the parties involved. Relationship strategies gained new importance in the last decade as customers became more demanding and competition became more intense. Building long-term relationships with customers and value-chain partners offers companies a way to provide superior customer value. Although building collaborative relationships may not always be the best course of action, this avenue for gaining a competitive edge is increasing in popularity. Strategic partnering has become an important strategic initiative for many well known companies and brands. Many firms outsource the manufacturing of their products. Examples include Motorola cell phones, Calvin Klein jeans, Pepsi beverages, and Nike footwear. Strong relationships with outsourcing partners are vital to the success of these powerful brands. The trend of the 21st century is partnering rather than vertical integration.

3) Planning for New Products:

New products are needed to replace old products because of declining sales and profits. Strategies for developing and positioning new market entries involve all functions of the business. Closely coordinated new-product planning is essential to satisfy customer requirements and produce products with high quality at competitive prices. Newproduct decisions include finding and evaluating ideas, selecting the most promising for development, designing the products, developing marketing programs, use and market testing the products, and introducing them to the market. The new-product planning process starts by identifying gaps in customer satisfaction. The differences between existing product attributes and those desired by customers offer opportunities for new and improved products.

Page 8

Stage 3: Market-Driven Program Development:

Market targeting and positioning strategies for new and existing products guide the choice of strategies for the marketing program components. Product, distribution, price, and promotion strategies are combined to form the positioning strategy selected for each market target.

The marketing program (mix) strategies implement the positioning strategy. The objective is to achieve favorable positioning while allocating financial, human, and production resources to markets, customers, and products as effectively and efficiently as possible.

1) Strategic Brand Management:

Products (goods and services) often are the focal point of positioning strategy, particularly when companies or business adopt organizational approaches emphasizing product or brand management. Product strategy includes: (1) developing plans for new products, (2) managing programs for successful products, and (3) deciding what to do about problem products (e.g., reduce costs or improve the product). Strategic brand management consists of building brand value (equity) and managing the organizations portfolio for overall performance.

Page 9

2) Value-Chain, Price, and Promotion Strategies:

One of the major issues in managing program is deciding how to integrate the components of the mix. Product, distribution, price, and promotion strategies are shaped into a coordinated plan of action. Each component helps to influence buyers in their positioning of products. If the activities of these mix components are not coordinated, the actions may conflict and resources may be wasted. For example, if the advertising messages for a companys brand stress quality and performance, but salesperson emphasize low price, buyers will be confused and brand damage may occur. Market target buyers may be contacted on a direct basis using the firms sales force or by direct marketing contact (e.g., Internet), or instead, through a value-added chain (distribution channel) of marketing intermediaries (e.g., wholesalers, retailers, or dealers). Distribution channels are often used in linking procedures with end user household and business markets. Decisions that need to be made include the type of channel organization to use, the extent of channel management performed by the firm, and the intensity of distribution appropriate for the product or service. The choice of distribution channels influences buyers positioning of the brand. Price also plays an important role in positioning a product or service. Customer reaction to alternative prices, the cost of the product, the prices of the competition and various legal and ethical factors establish the extent of flexibility management has in setting prices. Price strategy involves choosing the role of price in the positioning strategy, including the desired positioning of the product or brand as well as the margins necessary to satisfy and motivate distribution channel participants. Price may be used as an active (visible) component of marketing strategy, or, instead, marketing emphasis may be on other marketing mix components (e.g., product quality). Advertising, sales promotion, the sales force, direct marketing, and public relations help the organization to communicate with its customers, value-chain partners, the public, and other target audiences. These activities make up the promotion strategy, which performs an essential role in communicating the positioning strategy to buyers and other relevant influences. Promotion informs, reminds, and persuades buyers and others who influence the purchasing process.

Page 10

Stage 4: Implementing and Managing Market-Driven Strategy:

Selecting customers to target and the positioning strategy for each target moves marketing strategy development to the action stage. This stage considers designing the marketing organization and implementing and managing the strategy.

1) Designing Effective Market-Driven Organizations:

An effective organization design matches people and work responsibilities in a way that is best for accomplishing the firms marketing strategy. Deciding how to assemble people into organizational units and assign responsibility to the various mix components that make up the marketing strategy are important influences on performance. Organizational structures and processes must be matched to the business and marketing strategies that are developed and implemented. Organizational design needs to be evaluated on a regular basis to assess its adequacy and to identify necessary changes.

2) Strategy Implementation and Control:

Marketing strategy implementation and control consist of: (1) preparing the marketing plan and budget; (2) implementing the plan; and (3) using the plan in managing and controlling the strategy on an ongoing basis. The marketing plan includes details concerning targeting, positioning, and marketing mix activities. The plan spells out what is going to happen over the planning period, who is responsible, how much it will cost, and the expected results (e.g., sales forecasts). Marketing strategy is an ongoing process of making decisions, implementing them, and tracking their effectiveness over time. In terms of its time requirements, strategic evaluation is far more demanding than planning. Evaluation and control are concerned with tracking performance and, when necessary, altering plans to keep performance on track. Evaluation also includes looking for new opportunities and potential threats in the future. It is the concerning link in the strategic marketing planning process. By serving as both the last stage and the first stage (evaluation before taking action) in the planning process, strategic evaluation assures that strategy is an ongoing activit

Page 11

Case Study

INTRODUCTION
Warid Telecom is one of the biggest cellular service providers in Pakistan. Warid is an international company that is joint venture of Abu Dhabi Group and Sing Tel Group. In this joint venture SingTel acquired 30% percent equity stake and remaining acquired by Abu Dhabi Group. This partnership is part of a strategy to support Warid Telecoms continued growth and to enhance its market position. The Dhabi Group is a multinational company based in the UAE, which owns and operates a wide range of business concerns that are spread across 3 different continents. It has a diversified business interest in the institutions that have enjoyed commercial success as a result of its strong financial resources and extensive management expertise. The Abu Dhabi Group's major investments are in the following sectors: Telecommunications Hospitality services Property development Oil exploration and supplies Banking and financial services
Page 12

Automobile industries

WARIDs MISSION and PURPOSE:

Our aim is to be perceived not only as a telecommunication operator of voice services, but also as a universal provider of comprehensive communications services for both residential and business customers. Warid's corporate identity seeks to reflect the changes in telecom sector in relation to helping customers keep pace with rapidly changing technology in the field of communication, through maximum network coverage and clear connectivity that we have committed to provide

WARIDs VISION:
Be a part of largest post paid cellular base in Pakistan and to become the leader in national communications arena with a strong international presence Warid Telecom started its operation in May 2005 from Pakistan. Warid Telecom International LLC, purchased a license for operating a nationwide mobile telephony network, (WLL) and long distance international (LDI) for $291 million US dollars. Within 80 days of launch Warid attracted more than 1 million users. Currently the network has around 7.6 million subscribers. In Warid business strategy four things are: Competitiveness :differentiated in value added aspects Cost Leadership: by providing less price service/product Rapid Response of company :when need identify they response to it Customer care by providing quality service: The pre-paid segment is branded and marketed as Zem Pre-Paid. Zahi-Post-paid and Zem Pre-paid user enjoy various value added services (VAS), such as SMS, MMS, GPRS, 64K SIM and a host of other features. However International Roaming is only available to its Zahi (post-paid) users.

Page 13

WARIDs NEW LOOK:

An evolution that strengthens the Warid identity while keeping the customers in focus Use of a more contemporary font & style to give a more approachable image This new logo encompasses the expanding reach of Warid not just in Pakistan but in an international footprint With our strengthened GPRS/EDGE network we would empower our customers to create their own life style networks

Warid telecom is introducing two types of product in all over the Pakistan1. Zem Prepaid 2. Zahi Post Paid

Zem Prepaid:
Zem is a prepaid connection provided by Warid telecom. Under this connection Under this customer obtain a digital SIM and transfer this SIM to his name.

connect6ion there is no need of any security or payment of line rent. The customers purchase prepaid scratch cards and load it into its Warid SIM at any time during a period of one year. The customers of Zem connections are free to load balances at any time and amount of their own choice.

Zahi:
Zahi is a post-paid connection provided by the Warid telecom. In this connection, the customer has to pay line rent plus the charges of call every month. In this connection

Page 14

customer is billed every month. In this connection Warid, telecom has four further categories Silver Gold Diamond Platinum

Marketing Strategies of Warid

Warid Telecom has divided its segmentation and strategy division into five segments on the basis of their characteristics. Markets consist of buyers and buyers differ in one or more ways. They may differ in their wants, resources, locations, buying attitudes and buying practices. The core concept behind companies using marketing segmentation concept is to divide large homogeneous markets into smaller segments that can be reached effectively and efficiently with products and services that satisfy needs, wants, desires and trends of certain segment. Characteristics that govern segmentation and strategy development in Telecom industry Specifically mobile services according to a certain segment are Age Educational background Gender Income National, regional or other geographical areas of origin Social class Religion Culture Behaviors Population

Page 15

 Tele density in area to be segmented So according to these above mentioned factors Warid divide its marketing strategy into five segments which are Postpaid Segment Masses Segment Female Segment Youth Segment Corporate Segment

Postpaid Segment:
Postpaid Segment is the one which includes individuals with good income and usage more than that of prepaid customers. Postpaid customers Pay bill at the end of month depending on the service used. Pay specific amount in line rent every month, no matter they use service or not. Enjoy better range of value added services than prepaid customers. Postpaid Segmentation Section designs marketing activities to better satisfy the needs of Postpaid consumers.

Masses Segment:
Masses Segment is the biggest segments involving most no of people. Masses segmentation section develops marketing ideas and activities to perform, so that masses customers enjoy maximum benefits. Consumers from masses segments use relatively less. Masses customers Pay before using the service. Enjoy basic and VAS services Have less brand loyalty in most cases.

Page 16

 Ready to switch to other mobile services in case of cheaper services

Female Segment:
Importance of role of females cannot be overlooked in this modern era. Thats why Warid Telecom has also developed females segment as a separate segment. The role of Female segmentation section is to develop ideas that would entertain female population in Pakistan. Currently ongoing Zem Baton ke committee Campaign promoted by Bushra Ansari is such an example.

Youth Segment:
Youth drives a nation; similarly, youth is taken by cellular companies as a segment which can drive other segments as well and affect trends of customers of other segments too. If the youth is targeted in better way, lot of customers can be gained. Warid Floodlight Tape Ball tournament for youth segment is one of such examples.

Corporate Segment:
Corporate segment is niche segment which can be source of great revenue for organization. Corporate Segmentation section develops idea that can provide maximum support and facilities to their most profitable segment. Ongoing Black Berry Campaign is one of its examples. Corporate segments are provided with Best possible VAS Better rates Security and Network Solutions Corporate Series for employees

Page 17

Product Positioning:
Warid positioned itself around simplicity and subtlety, and attracted subscribers more through word of mouth about its service quality than with advertising. Unfortunately, Warid wasnt able to capitalize on its great start, and hasnt been able to position itself as a premium brand in the industry; rather, its attempt to characterize itself as a service provider that offers the best rates has led Warid to be associated with cheap affordability. Warid consider itself at its growth stage and it has 18% of market share and it can be next adoption for youth.

Pricing Strategy:
When warid starts it offering more value and quality rather than reducing the pricing of its products and its uses both demand-pull and demand-push strategies for penetrating the market. Its innovative strategies like 1 second billing and 30 second billing are the strategies to capture the large share of market. Now warid focus on reducing the prices of its products to increase the market share of telecom industry. As now there is always good mouth for warid thus warid can increase its market by reducing the prices of its products.

Quality and Value

Reduction in Prices

Great Market Share

Page 18

SWOT Analysis
In order to find what are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats faced by Warid Telecom International. The SWOT Analysis of Warid Telecom is given below.

Strengths of Warid:
Superior product quality for customers Better customer relationship than competitors Extra features and services Committed and efficient staff Strong financial base Products innovations ongoing Good reputation among customers Good packages according to the target market Management is rational and understanding the situation Low price as compared to quality provided

Weaknesses of Warid:
Less time in market as compared to major competitors Less coverage as compared to major competitors Less experienced employees than competitors Not able to capitalize on start

Page 19

Opportunities for Warid:

A developing market Mergers, joint ventures or strategic alliances Could develop new products Extension to overseas Decline of major competitors Technologically better environment New launches More customers after prelaunch

Threats for Warid

Emerging companies in market Unstable political conditions New companies in market High public expectations Low prices of competing brands

Page 20

Business Strategy Of WARID:

Business Strategy focuses on three things which are Cost leadership Differentiation Segmentation

Cost Leadership:
Cost leadership of Warid is applied by offering lowest cost packages to its customers at minimum possible level; they have attracted 7.5 million customers because of this strategy. Now they are trying to get more profit after investing a lot they cant low prices further.

Differentiation:
Differentiation by Warid implemented by showing cultural integration as it is owned by UAE group so people are more valuing it as Muslims. Warid is offering special discounts offers on calls of Arab states. This aspect differentiates Warid from other companies. It has provided billing updating system which is not given by any other company.

Segmentation:
Market Segmentation (Focused) by Warid by catering needs of people. Hay created image by tag line we care for everybody they will provide best quality service. They given post paid packages for middle class Zem and for elite business class they introduce Zehi.Thats showing division of market by Warid into distinct parts.

Page 21

Conclusion and Recommendations:

So far looking at the Warid strategies, we have come to conclusion that:

To survive in the long run Warid is doing strategic partnership with Nokia and Ericson. Its like that they cant manage their network by their own. It seems they cant do research of market so they are taking help from international companies that are already functioning in the Pakistan.

Warid is increasing its customer base, but not considering quality of their network. So it will create problems for them in the future. Customer complaints are not fulfilled by the Warid. There is no rapid response to the need of the customers. Warid is not very successful globallyWarid is now unable to continue its cost leadership strategy. It cant
Page 22

low its prices any more. At the operational point Warid is not good. It seems it is going to be sold. So in the long run it is difficult for the Warid to survive. Changing of its corporate slogan gave the idea that it is not any more customer oriented company. Sales representatives target all the untapped markets and niches, by using WARIDs current products. Revenue objectivity should be given high attention, and it should increase by 40% every year (for the next 2 years.) Product line should be extended by offering new service for the customers. Warid is lacking in communication with its customers so it should focus on this activity. More Regional Departmentalization should be there for detailed marketing analysis. There should be decentralization decision making and employee should be encouraged for their opinions. More budget and resources should be allocated to advertisement and sales promotion. Role of R&D should be increased to help Target markets most effectively To get knowledge about consumers table and preference as.

Reference:
Companys website - www.waridtel.com.pk Company Annual Reports Magazine Business Economist Google.com Economic survey of Pakistan PTA Reports Wikipedia.com

Page 23

Page 24