Question

CRITICAL WRITING

From the real national/international market, select any publicly listed company (listed in the Stock market). Critically analyze the chosen company based on the following questions.

1.      Conduct a SWOT analysis for your chosen company based on your research.

2.      Examine the 4 P’s of your chosen company based on the information given.

3.      Use the porter’s five forces model to critically analyze the competitive structure of the organization.

Answer 1

I select facebook

a)Facebook remains the leading social media platform in the world. It currently remains the King of Social Media with over 2 billion monthly active users, despite repeated controversies over the last year.Once just a way for college kids to stay in touch, Facebook is now home to profiles from people of all ages. On one side, friends and families share their lives through statuses and comments; on the other side, businesses sell products through Facebook ads and sponsored posts.

b)Brand/company which covers 4Ps (Product, Price, Place, Promotion) and explains the Facebook marketing strategy. The article elaborates the pricing, advertising & distribution strategies used by the company.

Let us start the Facebook Marketing Mix:

Product:
The product strategy and mix in Facebook marketing strategy can be explained as follows:

Facebook as a product is a brand name itself. Almost all the people in the world are connected to Facebook. The family, friends, relatives, co-workers, all can be connected through this intangible asset. Facebook is one such object which you cannot hold in the hand, no pun. The handy connectivity of Facebook has allowed us to connect to the people instantly whenever we want. The product strategy in the marketing mix of Facebook is not only about connectivity through texts. People are allowed to share the photos and their location, and also they can share what’s on their mind by putting up live feeds of what’s happening in and around them. There are major companies which Facebook took over, like the Instagram and the WhatsApp.

Price:
Below is the pricing strategy in Facebook marketing strategy:

Facebook is a social media powerhouse and has become one of the leading advertisers in the world. The price of the product in this market is something which has to be very decisive. The competition in this segment is very high. The price rise in one will make the customers move from one product to the other. This would induce a loss in the customer base and a shift of the customers from one company to the other. Thus fixing the price is one of the major factors of making the company count its presence. Facebook from its inception has set the price free and is continuing to do so. The main revenue of Facebook is through the advertisement that it gets. But the company also made sure that these companies don’t bombard the users with their messages. This is a great work which Facebook did. Being a market leader in social media advertising, the marketing mix pricing strategy is that of a market leader.

Place:
Following is the distribution strategy of Facebook:

Facebook being an online social media service, is accessible everywhere. The places where we find the Facebook is everywhere. It all started in a room of Harvard and slowly through the access of internet the product breached the boundaries of the nations. The Facebook application went viral and people started using it all over the world. We find that the people started using Facebook as it was handy and was available to almost all the people at the click of a button. The app was accessible on the go and people would easily log in to see the news feed. This showed what your connected people are doing, and allows one to see the photos of each and every one. WatsApp, a product of Facebook also, allows you to connect to the different people whose numbers you have and text them or call them up for free.

Promotion:
The promotional and advertising strategy in the Facebook marketing strategy is as follows:

Facebook is a company that is well known through the word of mouth. The promotional strategy in the marketing mix is entirely different from any other global brand. The company has made its footprint in the digital world. With the various features which are available online we find that the promotion of Facebook has been done through the rise of the usage of the net. The movie was also a kind of promotion for Facebook. The other promotion are through the word of mouth and the various kinds of advertisement that they post. They have gone through sale promotion which showed that the way this company increased the market shares. The Facebook platform allows various bloggers and company to promote their product on their site, which in an indirect way is a kind of promotion itself for the company.

C)