3. What recommendations would you make to their senior marketing executives going forward? What should they be sure to do with their marketing?

The recommendation I would make:

First of all, Samsung should pursue the investment in technology and innovation. This strategy will help the company to keep and increase its position and as one of the barrier against the heated competition. However, they also need to find more diverse employees from other industries such as interior designing, fashion, education, waste management and luxury wine. Because these people will be able to provide out of the box idea such as how people use the luxury life style, social responsibility, new trend and the places that help Samsung improve its brand’s look.

Besides this strategy, it should use other strategy such as Corporate Social Responsibility, environment and community sharing events and education and sport sponsor. These activities will help to differentiate the company in a sense that  we are not only the leading electronic corporation but also the entity that  values the power of community living for now and future. We stay here for the sustainability of every one.  Another aggressive strategy I would recommend is to improve the Logo and theme of the company. Since the logo had been last for many decades with minimal change, it hardly changed some consumers’ perception. They may still think Samsung is a budgeting brand and conventional technology. We need to change their view toward the company’s brands.

 Marketing team should evaluate the performance of each product category if it is in the way that the company want to be and if Samsung can take more market share. This can be achieved by making marketing survey, brand evaluation and if possible tracking the profit margin in response to the investment and marketing effort that Samsung has put. Then, the team should decide if it should sell or keep specific kinds of products so that it won’t divert the brand position. Furthermore, by doing so, it will help the company to grow further and know how to get more market shares. Marketing campaign should be made customizable i.e. it suits to the customers’ preference in its strategic region.

Lastly, it should network more with other high tech sectors, industries and companies. This strategy also helps Samsung to gain more awareness, company’s strength and stand point, perception, and assessment to more technology,  the technology that it may not be able to invest in house. If the idea of some company really unseen and highly potential, Samsung should grasp the opportunity by purchasing the idea and buying that company. Lastly, Samsung should create tech-idea and business competitions that can be joined by many talents around the world to explore more aggressive and young idea s.

They should be sure to do with their marketing are:

As you all know that Samsung  is one of the most respected and successful global brands. It has gained a reputation among the customers worldwide. Many popular TV commercials are offered by this company. Nevertheless Samsung has some helplessness. As the consumer market continues to increase, Smsung is now facing a much stiffer competition in the world market, which has initiated a very good possibility that Samsung falls short of surviving in the market and sure that Samsung is very ensure of quality to use. As a market leader, this company should put in some changes in their marketing strategy.(by. TONHA YIM=5317193016)

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2.Where is Samsung vulnerable? What should they watch out for?

Samsung vulnerable are:

Samsung’s weaknesses such as a lack of innovation, a fear driven culture and weak smart phones. While Sony became a household name through innovations such as the transistor radio and the Walkman, Samsung’s strength lies in disciplined manufacturing and playing catch up. They called for more tolerance, diversity, communication and creativity. All are traditional weak areas. They might be weak when it comes to the consumer devices they produce, but when you look at their R&D you see that their strength lies in scientific development, not in stylish consumer products.

Developing a Samsung is not an innovative path to wander down and Samsung management knows this though some of their PR people have spouted any number of notions in the past. Having a piece of most cool digital products is better than owning one thing out right that soaks up much marketing effort, R&D and all the angst and fiscal responsibility that goes with keeping a consumer product on the edge of a buying public’s tongue.

Weak pricing power, oversupply, and an unfavorable exchange rate were among the reasons given for unfavorable figures when Samsung Electronics released its first quarter earnings report.

Although Samsung focuses innovation but it is not proactive to introducing new products, it waits to attack the competitors. It also lacks in product differentiation. Samsung caters mass market instead of niche market so for this purpose it sets low prices of products and low price products seem as low quality products, so Samsung products perceive as low quality as compared to competitors’ products. Most of the Samsung products are not user friendly which is a hurdle for Samsung to make it market leader.

They should watch out for:

In this first case we deal with a relatively simple mode of segmentation analysis. The most
productive way of analyzing the market for watches turns out to be segmentation by value. This approach discloses three distinct segments, each representing a different value attributed to watches by each of three different groups of consumers:

1. People who want to pay the lowest possible price for any watch that works reasonably
well. If the watch fails after six months or a year, they will throw it out and replace it.
2. People who value watches for their long life, good workmanship, good material, and good
styling. They are willing to pay for these product qualities.

3. People who look not only for useful product features but also for meaningful emotional
qualities. The most important consideration in this segment is that the watch should suitably
symbolize an important occasion. Consequently, fine styling, a well-known brand name, therecommendation of the jeweler, and a gold or diamond case are highly valued.Approximately the buyers bought for lowest price 

 Approximately bought for durability and general product quality
 Approximately bought watches as symbols of some important occasion

Defining and quantifying such segments is helpful in marketing planning especially if a
watch company's product happens to appeal mostly to one segment or if the line straddles the three segments, failing to appeal effectively to any. Without such an understanding, the demographic characteristics of the market are most confusing. It turns out, for example, that the most expensive watches are being bought by people with both the highest and the lowest incomes. On the other hand, some upper income consumers are no longer buying costly watches, but are buying cheap.(By.TONHA YIM)

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1.What have been the key success factors for Samsung?

The key success factors for Samsung as follows:            

1. / Samsung LCD’s success factors during past 10 years are analyzed. In order to maintain the Global Top position, we must maintain

-Capability of Market Creation

-Technology Innovation

-Capital Power

2. / LCD industry is entering the Second Round with higher entry level. Only those who can afford the change can survive the new competition in the second round.

3. / Samsung LCD will maintain 1 position in post-LCD business through extensive R&D in AMOLED.

Since its founding in 1938, SAMSUNG has maintained a mission statement that responds both to its own change, and to new developments in the world: Economic contribution to the nation, Priority to human resources, Pursuit of rationalism. Each slogan represents significant moments in SAMSUNG’s history, reflecting different stages of the company's growth from a domestic industrial leader into a global consumer electronics powerhouse.

In many evident said that: 1990's, SAMSUNG transformed its mission statement to keep pace with its growing global operations, rapid changes in the world economy, and escalating competition from well established rivals.

SAMSUNG management philosophy represents its strong determination to contribute directly to the prosperity of people all over the world. The talent, creativity and dedication of SAMSUNG people are key factors to its efforts, and the strides they've made in technology offer endless possibilities to achieve higher standards of living everywhere.

SAMSUNG management believes that the success of SAMSUNG contributions to society and to the mutual prosperity of people across national boundaries truly depends on how they manage their company. SAMSUNG goal is to create the future with its customers.

So it is doubly welcome to hear Samsung Electronics Co. has developed the world's first 60-nanometer, 8-gigabit NAND flash memory chip and 80-nanometer, 2-gigabit DDR2 DRAM chip. It demonstrated once again Korea's technological prowess as a global IT power. Samsung's latest feat is especially meaningful, as the company not just sharply upgraded the memory chip technology but solidified Korea's control of the world market. The technology is all but revolutionary: a small memory card applied by 60-nano, 8-Gb NAND flashes can store 1.02 million pages of a newspaper, 16 hours of movies and 4000 MP3 music files. It surpasses Intel Corp., the world's leading semiconductor maker, which remains at the 65-nano level. The 80-nano, 2-Gb DDR2 DRAM chips have also upset the prevailing industry view, by expanding the capacity through just designing and processing technologies.

Behind Samsung's success is keen insight into the industry's future direction and bold investment in manpower and technology, which should serve as a role model for other Korean businesses.

One of the fastest growing profit and innovation centers of the global technology giant. Today, Samsung is the world's second largest semiconductor company behind Intel Corp, with over a third of the company’s $US56.7 billion global revenues (2005) generated by the semiconductor business.

The Korean powerhouse, showing no signs of slowing down, currently holds #1 global market share in 3 major memory products DRAM, SRAM and NAND Flash, and Samsung’s Semiconductor Business is pleased to be enjoying an era of unprecedented growth in this important technology area.

Samsung’s efforts to develop its human resources and attract the world’s smartest innovators, inventors and designers are fundamental to our success in creating the next technology.

Samsung attracts and retains some of the brightest and smartest in the global technology industry, offering opportunities for international growth, development and education of its staff in 120 offices across 57 countries through international work placements, scholarships and postgraduate study opportunities.

From its inception as small export business in Taegu, Korean, and Samsung has grown to become one of the world’s leading electronics companies, specializing in digital appliances and media, Semiconductors, memory, and system integration. Today Samsung innovative and top quality products and processes are world recognized.  This timeline captures the major Milestones in Samsung history; showing how the company expanded its product lines and reach, grew its revenue and market share, and has followed its mission of marketing life better for consumers around world.

A company’s success is measured not only by business achievements, but also by how well its serves its community, protects our planet’s resources, and makes a difference in people’s lives. Samsung embraces its responsibility to contribute as a good citizen, taking action around the world to foster a better society, protect and improve the environment, and strengthen our communities.

Samsung is comprised of companies that are setting new standards in a wide range of business, from electronics to financial services, from chemicals and heavy industries to trade and services. They share a commitment to creating innovative, high quality products and services that are relied on every day by millions of people and businesses around the world.

Creativity, collaboration and excellence are the hallmarks of leadership at Samsung. By attracting the world’s most talented managers and continuously evolving our company’s culture to support them, and improve the everyday lives of our customers.(BY.TONHA YIM)

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3. What the recommendations would you make to senior marketing executives going forward? What should the company be sure to do with its marketing?

As the recommendation to the marketing executives, we would ask them to become more aggressive and creative in making change and operate with other relating divisions to launch the promotion or marketing strategies that work together.

 Those strategies can be :

1.     Give special promotion to sell out he outdated products

2.     Make the marketing survey regarding the current consumer’s preference towards Sony’s product versus other competitor’s and analyzing the result

3.     Ask marketing executives from Music, Digital Music Players, and Gadget businesses to meet and discuss how to overcome the piracy problems

4.     Redesign the web and work with Music division of how to create pricing strategy for music download

5.     Buy and/or partner with other leading hardware and web development business to search more innovation and creative idea for launching new products.(BY. TONHA YIM)

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2. Where is Sony vulnerable? What should it watch out for?

What Sony is vulnerable to is the inside problems. It becomes slow in launching new product innovation. In today business, if we cannot walk ahead and stand still, it is equivalent as we walk backward. By doing nothing besides promoting the existing products, it is wasting the company’s resources such as money and time. It is conservative in producing the new thing which means it is opening the door for the competitors to come in. And these reasons make the Apple and Palm Computing to win the consumers and take away the company’s market shares. Others from Japan, Korea, Taiwan and China are appearing in front of Sony to punch the out dated products from retail stores.

Being conservative is a clear thing to failure but the company still has another big internal problem, the breakup of corporate loyalty. The problem in sales of insurance division is seen as the inception of the management issues. The top management did not make agreeable negotiation with division’s CEO and thus the bad story leaked to the public. Even worse, divisions such as music, movie and gadget businesses are walking away from each other and do not see the direction that they can go in the same direction for the best of Sony. Music division takes the reason like the piracy to prevent the loading of music in digital music player. So, why don’t they come up with win-win strategy that allows consumers to enjoy varieties of music while allowing the Music company to make profit? Does the CEO of Sony not know the problem or he just does not have the ability to integrate these divisions together?

The third bad thing is the incompetency of marketing department. The one coming up with new product idea should be from marketing, not R&D. Marketer should know what the needs are and inform R&D. But, what they are doing is just focus only on promotions, which pulls down the company’s position and the leader in technology. In such situations, they are losing 2 out of the 3 pillars of the founders, being creative in product innovation and creative in product planning and operation. But, they are just not creative enough.

While Sony is having 3 main internal problems, competitors just come in and immediately take up Sony’s market shares. They are faster, more creative, offer more economic products and newer to the customers. The result is Sony’s big drop in sales and profitability. If the problems are still unsolved, what more are the further losses of customers especially in entertaining electronic device and downloading, the prolong problem of corporate loyalty, as well as more intense competitions beyond entertainment.

So, they should look for the new management strategies to solve the internal problems as mentioned earlier and these can be achieved by redesigning of how each division can work together, how marketing should work with R&D, and how to be more aggressive to get back the market’s shares in today business.(YIM TO NHA)

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1. What have been the key success factors for Sony?

Sony Case Studies

Sony is one of the most successful Japanese companies that has built the brand through innovation and outstanding quality. Just like Toyota, Sony has worldwide brand recognition; people often pay premium for Sony brand which ranges from computers to entertaining tools and devices. Since 1957, the time that the company introduced first pocket-sized radio transistor to the world, it has been continuously come up with a unique idea of how to be the first mover in making life much more enjoyable and valuable. During the leadership of Akio Morita, Sony reached many remarkable achievements both in term of product development and marketing communication. Furthermore, the acquisitions of CBS in 1988 and Columbia Pictures in 1989 have helped to advance the position of the company as one of the leading media and entertaining industry. They add the synergy since they are in the relating businesses that can add value to each other, just like Columbia Pictures using the sound and music produced from CBS and sound devices from Sony.

With market and sales expansion, the products have reached million customers and hundred million dollars for profits. The success is also contributed by the effective marketing. Long before the sales drop in 2005, marketing was seen as the main driver of the company to communicate between the company and the customers.

With long standing in the market and the ability to raise funds both locally and internationally, Sony can win other rivalries in the market technically and financially. Technically, it has long experiences and tactics in inventing the hardware and software. Financially, it can raise funds in large amount from borrowing or shares issuing from local and foreign investors to support for the production, expansion and other project finances.

Sony has a lot of products to entertain the world. Home entertaining, photograph professionals, communication electronics, media and digital devices are all offered by the company. In each of product category, Sony brand always ranges among the best sellers and trusted quality.

Moreover, its factories in strategic locations such as in Japan, US, and Asia are the best locations that can attract talents and the locations that people believe to be the best place to buy the product. The development of the production process and development into large scale can be quickly developed and adopted. They have ready developed structure, supply chain, logistics and highly trained human resources.

Above are all the factors that lead Sony to be one of the successful conglomerates in the world.(BY.TONHA YIM)

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