Samsung Student Number: 25145657 Product Samsung serves as one of the top manufactures of mobile phones with smartphones such as Samsung Galaxy series, tablets, wearables, accessories and more forming a large proportion of the brands portfolio (MBA Skool Team, 2021). Samsung puts a large amount of spending towards research and development to make sure they produce top quality products for their customers to enjoy. A part of their product strategy is offering a large variety of products within different product lines displaying Samsung’s diversity. Reasons for Samsung’s strong reputation is their high-quality SSD, Portable SSD, Memory cards, USB Flash drives, etc (MBA Skool Team, 2021). which they offer. Samsung is therefore seen as a leader and innovator when it comes to products. Price Samsung is a market leader when it comes to smartphones and a dominant player (MBA Skool Team, 2021). One of the reasons they maintain this position is through their two pricing strategies. Samsung uses a competition-based strategy and a price skimming strategy. Samsung uses a competition strategy to fight off competition in the market. The competition is relentless, so it is important for Samsung to keep their market position (MBA Skool Team, 2021). When it comes to the price skimming strategy, Samsung uses this method when they release a new smartphone with newer features and capabilities by making the price a little bit higher than others (Shastri, 2023). They also will lower the price of their smartphone whenever a competitor releases a smartphone with the same or even better features to ensure they do not lose their share of the market (Shastri, 2023). Place Samsung sells their products directly to the retailers and service dealers, who are then fully responsible for the corporate sales. Retailers who deal technology will often have to offer (MBA Skool Team, 2021). Samsung products due the brands known popularity and reputation. The distribution serves as a one of Samsung’s strong points. Samsung also distributes its products using a single distribution company in a particular location that further distributes the products to other locations (MBA Skool Team, 2021). Promotion In the eyes of Samsung, advertising as a way of promoting the brand, is the best way to attract potential customers and put the brand in a strong position (MBA Skool Team, 2021). For Samsung, promotion is a key component for the marketing mix. Samsung uses many forms of media such as print media, digital media, and social media to market their products. Samsung also found a way to take advantage of the large and growing following of celebrities to promote their brand by offering the chance to be ambassadors of the Samsung brand (Shastri, 2023). This method has proven to be quite prolific. Samsung will even collaborate the launch of their new smartphones with celebrities in the form of exclusive packaging, features, colours, or designs (Shastri, 2023). This helps raises sales significantly and improves the brands image and popularity. Samsung also made improvements to their websites making it more convenient for their consumer to use (Shastri, 2023). Samsung also makes use of different forms of promotional including being a major sponsor for large events, sporting teams and more. Samsung will also offer special discounts during national events (MBA Skool Team, 2021). Strengths and weaknesses Strengths One of Samsung’s many strengths is their distribution policy. They make use of one singular distribution company who in a certain location who then distributes the products to other locations where they are sold. Samsung’s product differentiation at prices is also a strength for the brand. Samsung offers many different models at every price range for example, the Samsung Galaxy series has a phone in almost every price range (MBA Skool Team, 2021). Samsung is also one of top manufacturers of mobile phones as they put heavy investment into the research and development of their smartphones. Samsung has strong brand awareness. Samsung Galaxy smartphones are one of the most popular product lines. The brands popularity provides Samsung its strong reputation. Samsung place lots of attention towards advertising which has provided their brand with brilliant advertising in many forms of media (MBA Skool Team, 2021). Weaknesses Samsung faces lots of competition which forces them to use very aggressive types of investment even for marginal market share growth. Samsung’s brand image has been harmfully affected by previous legal troubles, lawsuits, and environmental agencies (MBA Skool Team, 2021). Table 4: strengths and weaknesses of Samsung smartphones STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES Strong distribution network Aggressive investment for minimal growth Amazing advertising Strong competition Product differentiation Poor image due to previous legal troubles Strong brand awareness Leading manufacturer Popular Key success factors Weight Apple Score Total Samsung Score Total Nokia Score Affordability Product quality Skills and expertise of staff Financial strength Brand image Innovativeness Marketing Distribution network Customer service Production quality Revenue Competitive advantage Availability Location Market share TOTAL 0,06 0,12 2 4 0,12 0,48 3 4 0,18 0,48 0,08 0,09 0,05 0,06 0,08 0,07 0,06 0,06 0,07 0,07 0,05 0,04 0,04 1 4 5 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 3 4 4 0,32 0,45 0,25 0,24 0,32 0,28 0,24 0,24 0,28 0,35 0,15 0,16 0,16 4,04 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 0,32 0,36 0,2 0,24 0,32 0,28 0,24 0,24 0,28 0,28 0,2 0,16 0,16 3,94 After conducting a key success factor (KSF) analysis it was determined that Apple had the highest KSF score and is therefore the market leader in the smartphone industry. This result was unsurprising and expected as Apple smartphones are the clear favourite in this industry, but Samsung was a close second. The brand with the lowest KSF score was Motorola. REFERENCE LIST MBA Skool Team, 2021. Samsung Marketing Strategy & Marketing Mix (4Ps). [Online] Available at: https://www.mbaskool.com/marketing-mix/products/16860- samsung.html [Accessed 29 April 2023]. Shastri, A., 2023. Extensive Marketing Mix of Samsung – 4Ps with Full Explanations. [Online] Available at: https://iide.co/case-studies/marketing-mix-of- samsung/#4_Promotion_Strategy_of_Samsung [Accessed 1 May 2023].
