Marketing Fundamentals For First Industrial Revolution – Uber Case Study

Uber Technologies Inc

The business world of the present times is not only an expanding one but at the same time a very dynamic one. The process of globalization which gained popularity in the wake of the First Industrial Revolution has changed the business world in a significant manner not only in terms of the business environment but at the same time in terms of the business operation process used by the majority of the business enterprises of the present times (Weinstein & Pohlman, 2015). Furthermore, it is also seen that the number of business organizations operating within the cannon of the business world in the present times has also increased in a significant manner thereby making the competition faced by the various business enterprises much more intense than the earlier times (Foxall, 2014). It is a reflection of this particular fact that to cope with this enhanced level of competition within the business world and at the same time to gain a significant amount of competitive leverage over their competitors these organizations often resort to the use of innovative business strategies.

The use of innovative business strategies as well innovative production and promotions means helps the various organizations in a significant manner for the process of their business operations (Marinchak, Forrest & Hoanca, 2018). Furthermore, the diverse kinds of market research have also gained popularity in the recent times and it is generally seen that the various business enterprises are taking the help of these market research to align the products or the services offered by them with the needs as well as the expectations of the customers. Many experts are of the viewpoint that the prospects of any business enterprise and also the products or the services offered by them depends to a large extent on the manner in which they are being to use the business environment in which they are operating (Marinchak, Forrest & Hoanca, 2018). This report will analyze the cab services provided by the company Uber and will also focus on the business environment in which it is operational

Uber Technologies Inc or more commonly called by the name of Uber was founded by Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp in the year 2009 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California (Uber, 2018). The company is known for providing “peer-to-peer ridesharing, taxi cab, food delivery” and other kinds of transportation services to the people from the different parts of the world (Uber, 2018). The company although started in California soon expanded in the other nations of the world and is currently operational in more than 633 cities of the world (Uber, 2018). The name of the company itself meaning “superior or the top most one” and this is the position which the company has been able to attain since the year of its foundation (Uber, 2018). It is with this particular purpose that the company in the recent times has launched its own app system wherein the customers can just log in and get themselves a ride from anywhere and at any time (Uber, 2018). The below given figure is indicative of the financial performance of the company over the years-

Situational Analysis

Figure 1: Uber Net Revenue

Source: Forbes.com, 2018

The people of the world have been used to taking the help of the traditional systems of transportation and this used to create various kinds of problems for them. The cab services provided by the company under discussion here not only solved the transportation related problems faced by the people but at the same time it improved in a significant manner the way through which people used to travel from one place to another (Möller & Parvinen, 2015). The cab services offered by the concerned company are not only affordable but at the same time take into effective consideration the convenience factor of the customers as well. Thus, it can be said that the cab services provided by the concerned company has not only much resolved the transportation problems faced by the people but at the same time has much revolutionized the manner in which people travel from one place to another.

Australia follows the democratic system of government and as a matter of fact has one of the most stable governmental systems of the world. Many experts are of the viewpoint that one of the most basic requirements of the majority of the business enterprises is that the business environment in which they are operating should have a stable political environment (Nordhielm et al., 2014). Furthermore, it is seen that the nation of Australia is free from the various kinds of political troubles which are disturbing the various nations of the world in the present times (Nordhielm et al., 2014). In addition to these, it is also seen that the national government of the nation itself undertakes diverse kinds of initiatives for the promotion of trade. This actually acts as an opportunity for the concerned company as it can utilize these political factors of the nation to improve the prospects of their business in the concerned nation.

Among the various nations of the world which follows the mixed system of economy Australia is one of the largest ones in addition to being the 2^nd largest economy of the world wherein the people hold the largest amount of per capita income (Marinchak, Forrest & Hoanca, 2018). Furthermore, at the same time it is also seen that the economic recession which affected the majority of the nations of the world in an adverse manner had very little impact on the economy of the concerned nation. This actually acts as an opportunity for the concerned company as the company can take the help of the stable economy of the nation for the process of the improvement of their business.

PESTLE Analysis

The Australians are very conscious about their comfort and at the same time they prefer to lead a lavish life which is much facilitated by the wealth that they have (Castro, 2015). In addition to this, the people of the nation also like to travel to different places in cabs and taxis. Therefore, it is expected that the cab services that the concerned company offers will be much appreciated by the people of the nation under discussion here.

The people of Australia are very technologically savvy and they generally like to take the help of the various means of technology for their dispensing of their everyday activities (Castro, 2015). This particular factor acts as an opportunity for the concerned company since it can take the help of this particular factor to offer better quality services to the customers but at the same time they can take the help of the technological advancements of the nation to improve the cabs they use. The launch of the app system has also gained a positive response from the people.

The nation of Australia has various norms or regulations that the organizations needs to follow like the Fair Trade Act, Income Tax regulations and others that the company under discussion here will have to follow for the process of their business nation in the nation (Baker & Saren, 2016). At the same time the company will also have to take the onus to ensure the safety of the customers who are taking the help of the can services offered by the concerned company.

The nation of Australia is a member of the Paris Agreement of 2016 which required the various countries of the world to take diverse kinds of initiatives which will help them to reduce the world pollution by almost 2%. (Marinchak, Forrest & Hoanca, 2018) The company is related to the transport sector and thus it becomes all the more important for them to take into consideration this particular dictum since it is seen that the majority of the pollution of the nation is being caused by them. In addition to this, there are other regulations of the government as well related to environment which the concerned company would have to follow for the process of their business in Australia.

There are various competitors of the company under discussion here in the nation of Australia like Ola, Shofer, DiDi and others (www.cnet.com, 2018). It is significant to note that most of these competitors offer the same kind of services to the customers and that too within the same price range. The figure given below provide a brief competitor analysis of the various competitors of the company Uber in Australia-

The analysis clearly indicates that the concerned company provides a wide range of services to the customers which are not provided by other competitors of the company in the nation of Australia. In addition to this, the concerned company at the same time charges a lower level of price from the customers for the services that they offer to them in comparison to the ones provided by the others. It is a reflection of this particular fact that the services provided by Uber are much more appreciated than the ones provided by the other companies.

An analysis of the various customers of the company as per the customer analysis template would reveal the following facts-

SWOT Analysis 

The company under discussion here takes the help of the concepts of Customized marketing and also concentrated targeting for the targeting of the customers (Kumar, Lahiri & Dogan, 2018). For example, using the help of the concept of customized marketing it designs the services offered by it as per the demands of a particular section of the society (Kumar, Lahiri & Dogan, 2018). The concept of concentrated targeting also helps the concerned company to focus on a particular section of the population rather than on the entire population (Kumar, Lahiri & Dogan, 2018). The company under discussion here has the target customer base which belongs to the working class, students and others who need to travel on a regular basis. Thus, the major people who take the help of the services offered by the company generally belong to the 24-54 years of age bracket (Uber, 2018).

For the purpose of positioning the company under discussion here follows the concept of “high quality low cost” (Uber, 2018). The use of this particular strategy not only helps the concerned organization to not only reach out to a much larger customer base but at the same to earn the loyalty as well as the satisfaction of the customers as well.

The company takes the help of various kinds of CSR activities and policies for the improvement of its brand image (Smith, 2016). In addition to this, the company at the same time takes the help of diverse kinds of electronic media promotional means to reach out to the customers in a much effective manner (Libert, Wind & Fenley, 2014). Furthermore, the launch as well as the use of the online app has also improved the prospects of the company in a significant manner (Srnicek, 2017). These in short are some of the main reasons for the positive brand image that the company enjoys.

The company under discussion here for the purpose of pricing takes the help of the concept of cost leadership (Uber, 2018). It is significant to note that through the effective use of this particular strategy the concerned company offers high quality services to the customers of the nation at very affordable prices (Cannon & Summers, 2014). The use of this particular strategy has not only helped the concerned company to attain a significant amount of competitive leverage over its competitors but at the same time has helped it to enhance its customer base in a significant manner.

There are “three levels of products”, namely, core product, the actual product and finally the augmented product (Srnicek, 2017). The core product in the case of Uber can be said to be the original idea behind the cab services designed by the concerned company (Teece, 2018). The actual product can be said to be the cab services offered by the concerned company to the users of their services (Teece, 2018). Finally, the augmented product can be seen as the cab services as experienced by the customers (Teece, 2018). It is significant to note that there is a gulf between the actual services designed by the company and the one which is being received by the customers in practice. The service offered by the concerned company belongs to the genre of the customer oriented services which has been specifically designed taking into view the demands and the expectations of the customers. The company offers a wide width of services to the customers starting from single cab to shared ones (Srnicek, 2017). The major service line which the service provided by the company has are the affordable cab single or shared cab services offered by them (Srnicek, 2017). Finally, the service has only two line depths, namely, the solo ones and the shared ones (Srnicek, 2017).

The company has various cab drivers who are associated with them and it is through them that the service is being provided to the customers. Thus, it can be said that for the process of the marketing channel distribution there are only these cab drivers who are between the customers and the actual company (Aghazadeh, 2015). For the purpose of distribution coverage strategy the company takes the help of the mass coverage strategy which helps them to reach out to a large number of customers and also to cater to their needs and demands in the most effective manner (Kerr & Patti, 2015).

For the purpose of promotion the concerned company takes the help of modern forms of promotion like the electronic media, social media tools and others (Gummesson, Mele & Polese, 2016). Furthermore, the process of personal selling is also used by the company since it is seen that the company itself allocates different kinds of customers to the cab drivers (Gummesson, Mele & Polese, 2016). The sales promotion is basically done through the various social media tools and other electronic media (Baker & Saren, 2016). The public relations are managed through the various CSR activities and also through the public relationship management team of the company (Baker & Saren, 2016). The company also indulges in various kinds of direct marketing actions and this is being manifested in the various promotional events organized by the company. Digital advertisement is one of the major forms of advertisements used by the company. Finally, the company has placed its services at such a level wherein all the people of the nation would be able to take the help of.

The best way to analyze the effectiveness of the marketing strategies used by the company is the annual profit made by the company. Furthermore, the steady increase in the revenue of the company clearly indicates that the marketing strategies used by the company are effective.

Conclusion

The changing nature of the business world had made it necessary for the business organizations to undertake a detailed analysis of the business environment. These analyses often provide valuable information to the companies which can be used by them for the designing of their marketing and product strategies. In this particular context, the various market research also become important since they provide valuable information to the companies. Furthermore, at the same time it has become also important for the companies to align the products or the services offered by them as per the expectations and the demands of the customers. It is significant to note that the effective consideration of all these factors has helped many business organizations to gain success in the recent times as becomes evident from the success gained by the company Uber and the cab services provided by them in Australia and the other nations of the world.

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