Marketing Plan

Executive summery

Omantel is a leading telecommunication company in Oman. The recent trend in the

telecommunication sector induces the Omantel to investigate the feasibility of diversification

strategy. Thus firm intended to diversify its operation in to entertainment sector via

launching a brand Omantel TV. This brand will satisfy the entertainment needs of the

residence of Oman while protecting and promoting the cultural value of Oman. Omantel's

philosophy in dealing with there customers is that they always listen to them to know and feel

their views and ideas, and seek full transparency to meet there promises to achieve all their

aspirations and needs.

After the merge between omantel and omanmobile and in her new dress, omantel remaining

providing her different customers with full wide range of integrated communications

solutions. Because Omantel is one of tributaries companies of the national economy it keeps

playing very important role in the national economy since 1970.

Entertainment industry in Oman is highly competitive and regulated by the government.

Taking this challenge Omantel TV indented to archive its marketing objectives of becoming

the market leader in five year time while providing satisfactory return to the share holders.

This paper elaborates the marketing plan of Omantel TV and its implementation.

Table of Contents

1. Situation analysis

2. Business environment of Omantel

3. Industry analysis

4. Marketing Objectives

5. Marketing strategies

6. Implementation

7. Evaluation and Recommendations

8. Recommendation

9. References

Situation analysis

Introduction-marketing plan

According to Regis McKenna (2002) the growth of competition during last few decades has

resulted in a much greater emphasis on formal planning for marketing. During this era the

marketing concept has been evolved. During 19th century business was focused on increasing

the production and believed that whatever the quantity produced can be sold. Subsequently

these ideas have changed in to sales concept where firms believe that by using sophisticated

selling techniques any volume of goods can be sold. Even this approached failed and the

concept of marketing has been evolved.

Marketing is the management process of identifying the customer need and satisfy those

needs profitably (CIM-UK).In order to carry out this marketing activity successfully the

marketing planning is vital since planning is the pivotal activity in the management process

and marketing also a management process.

Formal marketing plans have been drafted for long term and take in the general direction

which the company and its various departments are heading towards. This plan will be

presides and derived based on the corporate planning of the company. To support these

strategic plans more detailed plans are developed to cover the shorter term and the activities

which are necessary on a day-to-day basis.

This marketing plan has been developed with the intention of elaborating the proposed

marketing activity on launching a new product called “Omantel TV” to the Oman market.

Company profile and product portfolios

Omantel which has the intention to launch “Omantel TV” is the key player in the

telecommunication industry in Oman. 2009 statistics revealed that 53% of the market share in

the main telecommunication solution sector is with Omantel. It offers wide range of

telecommunication solution in Oman and it is listed in Muscat Securities Market.

Omantel operate with the vision of “Together, we build a totally connected community

through innovation”. This vision has been further elaborated by its mission statement which

covers the following main elements.

Fulfill all communication needs of our customers.

Attract and develop talent in a team-oriented environment.

Deliver profitable growth to our shareholders

Source :http://www.omantel.om/OmanWebLib/AboutUs/CompanyOverview.aspx?

LinkID=5&MenuId=572

Omantel has been providing the following services to the customers in Oman.

Connecting people through the mobile and fixed line telephone services

Providing internet services (broad band)

Data transfer services

Proposed new product

Omantel will be launching a new product called “Omantel TV”. This will be a TV

entertainment package which comprise of large number of international, regional and local

TV channels to satisfy the various entertainment need of the customers. This product will be

sold as follows

Set up box which will work as decoder

A dish

Smart card

Customer will have a make an initial investment for the setup box and dish. Customer will

have to pay monthly subscription for the service and it can be paid on monthly or annual

basis.

Product options

Silver

Gold

Platinum

This classification is based on market segmentation which will be discussed later in this

report in detail.

Business environment of Omantel

Omantel was having the monopoly status in the market since 2004 for the mobile connection.

Due to deregulation policy of the government it lost it monopoly status and competition

started. Firm continue to enjoy monopoly status in fixed line phone since 2010 until the main

competitor launched the fixed line phones. The present marketing environment has become

highly competitive and Omantel lose its competitive position due to state of the art

technology adopted by the competitors.

In order to sustain the profitability it is vital that firm need to diversify it is product portfolio.

This marketing plan elaborates its diversification in to entertainment industry which is

directly linked with communication.

Competitors

The following companies are the major competitors of Omantel in the existing market.

Omani Qatari Telecommunications Company SAOC (Nawras)

FRiENDi mobile

Sudatel Telecommunications Group Ltd.

The new market for entertainment sector has the following competitor brands

Showtime

Pehla

Arabsat

Nile sat

Business environment analysis

The environment of any business can be divided in to two categories which are internal

environmental and external environment. Internal environment analysis enables the firm to

identify its strengths and weakness and external environment help to identify the

opportunities and threats. External environment of the business can be analysed based on

PEST analysis.

Political and legal environment

Following factors in the political and legal environment of Omantel has been analyzed.

Current and potential legislation at sultanate of Oman and international legislations

and proposed changes in both.

Trading policies of the government related to communication and mass media.

Pressure groups activities and their power in the local market which influence the

telecommunication and media sector

Oman government has been working in order to encourage free competition in the market. As

a part of this process Oman government has deregulated many industries in Oman including

telecommunication sector. This has enhanced the competition in the industry and compels the

firm to initiate different strategy.

Economic environment

Economic environment has high influence on the business operation and launching of new

product. Following economic environment factors have been evaluated prior to launching the

new product in the market.

Local and international economic trends

Policies of government taxation and subsidies for industries operating in Oman

Market conditions and status of the business cycles

Inflation and interest rates

Recovering international and local economic trend in the international economic environment

has created positive changes in the business environment in Oman. Increased government

expenditure has boosted the disposable income of the people and created economic boom.

Social and cultural environment

The following factors in the social and cultural environment have a direct impact on the

marketing activity.

Demographics such as age, sex and its impact on the social trends

Consumer attitudes and opinions and its impact on consumer buying patterns

Advertising and publicity and its impact on cultural values of Oman

Technological environment

Latest development in the technology has created new opportunities in the

telecommunications sector and mass media sector. This includes the influence of satellite

technology in communication and advertising.

Industry analysis

Completion in the Industry can be analysed using the Michele Porters five factor analysis.

(Michael E. Porter 1980), Michele Porter identify the following factors in the competitive

environment

Bargain power of customers

Bargain power of supplies

Rivalry among the existing firms

Threat of potential entrance

Threat of Substitution product

Bargain power of customers

Since the customers have many option for TV programmes the bargaining power of

customers are high. Omantel should consider this aspect and ensure that the customers are

provided with value added services and satisfied.

Bargain power of supplies

Only few high popular TV channel providers operate in the Middle East region, especially in

Arabic language. This includes “Al-Jazeera” for news and sports and “Rotaana” for movies

and Music. The supplies may demand a premium price for the service provided by them.

Rivalry among the existing firms

Rivalry among the existing firm will be high since many firms in the market targeting the

limited number of customers.

Threat of potential entrance

This industry need high capital investment and large amount of rent need to be paid for

allocation of space in the broadcasting satellites. Thus the threat of potential entry will be

less.

Threats Substitution product

Entrainment industry has large amount of substitute product. People may shift to internet as

an alternative for TV entertainment. This may restrain the market for entertainment products

such as Omantel TV.

Finding on the business environment can be summarized in to SWOT analysis. This SWOT

analysis has been used in the process of developing the marketing plant for Omantel TV.

Strengths

Reputed brand name as Omantel.

Well trained and fully equipped group

of employees.

Access to the state of the Art

technology.

Strong financial backup from

Omantel.

Weakness

Bureaucratic culture and autocratic

leadership within the organization

Resistance to change

Not adoptive to the rapid changes in

the business environment.

Opportunities

Growing demand for entertainment

product

Increase in the population

Threats

Competition from unauthorised

dealers and difficulty on restricting

the unauthorised service provision.

Local competition

Development in internet TV

Note

Factors in the internal environment of the business ( not shaded )

Factors in the external environment of the business (shaded) which are taken from external

environment analysis.

Marketing Objectives

Marketing objectives for the new product has been derived from the corporate objective of

the firm. Corporate objective of Omantel is to archive 12 % growth in profitability every year

which will help to provide better shareholder value.

Based on this corporate objective following marketing objectives have been developed

Achieve 25% of the market share within first five year operation. At the end of first

year firm needs to achieve 5% market share.

Achieve 8 Million sales revenue during the first year of operation

Become the market leader in the sector within 10 years.

Above marketing objectives have been set based on the available resources in the

organization. Omantel can utilise its country wide sales and service outlets to sell the setup

box and dish. It can use its authorised agent who sells prepaid card to sell the smart cards.

Thus firm will not incur much additional cost on launching this product. Further it can use the

technical division on the Omantel (who presently install fixed line phones) to assist the

installation of dish and setup box. Additional training need to be provided to the technical

staff to make then equipped with the required skills.

Target Market and market segmentation

Omantel has identified its target market as the residence of Oman who prefers the TV

entertainment. Following traits of the target market can be identified based on the secondary

research conducted.

Consumer taste in target market is rapidly changing. The entertainment what consumer

expects is highly dynamic. Thus Omantel has to keep a very close eye on the changing

consumer taste and change its channel portfolios according to the changes in the consumer

taste.

Marketing strategies

Marketing strategies are developed considering the four marketing mix elements which are

product, price, place and promotion. These marketing strategies are directly linked to the

marketing objectives and marketing environment analysis (SWOT).

Figure: 1 self developed

Market segmentation

According to Dunbar, L. and Melcolm (2004) Market segmentation is identifying a group of

customers who has homogeneous needs which can be distinguish from others. Omantel can

segment the market as follows and develop product according to the special requirement of

that market:

Marketing plan

Income based segmentation

Consumers who obtain high income will be one market segment who is ready to pay high

price for premium channels. Second group will be the customers who obtain middle level

income and third category will be the customer who will get the lower level income. Based

on the different in the income the product can be classified as;

Silver: This package comprise of limited number of channels. This is targeted towered the

lower income people.

Gold: this package will have considerably large number of channels but will not get access to

expensive premium channels

Platinum: this package is target to the high income people and they will get access to all the

channels including expensive channels.

Alternatively firm can segment the market based on the psychology of the customers. Some

special package can be modified targeting the sports lovers.

Democratic factors play a vital role in segmenting the market. Family units comprising of

small kids and young adults and may demand different combination of channels in the

package what they demand.

Product

Product which will be launched by Omantel will have main three categories:

Silver package

Gold package

Platinum package

These three products are developed considering the identical need of three different segments

of markets as mentioned above. Each package has been modified based on the consumer

needs. For example the platinum package includes TV channels which promote luxury life

style and products.

Price

There are two main possible pricing strategies available for Omantel.

Penetration pricing strategy

Market skimming pricing strategy

Penetration pricing strategy:

Market-penetration pricing is used where prices start low to drive higher sales volume from

price-sensitive customers and produce productivity gains. Through penetration pricing

strategy firms will be able to achieve its market share maximization objective. (Armstrong C,

1988)

Market skimming pricing strategy

Market-skimming pricing strategy can be used where prices start high and are slowly lowered

over time to maximize profits from less price-sensitive customers. This is more applicable for

the companies which come out with innovative technology and new products.

Omantel will be following the penetration pricing strategy for Omantel TV. It will sell its

product with low profit margin. Compare to other competitors in the market the packages

sold by Omantel TV will be cheaper. Firm will achieve its target profits and sales targets

through high volume of sales not through high sales prices.

This strategy is more appropriate because Omantel TV has a marketing objective to achieving

25% market share within five year time. An effective strategy should always facilitate the

firm to achieve its objectives.

Place

The main objective of the “Place” is to make the product or service available to the arm reach

of the customers. Omantel TV will achieve this objective by make use of its selling outlets

located throughout the country for sales of mobile and fixed line telephones. Omantel TV

will make use of these outlets to sell the decoders and dish antennas. Installation services will

be provided by technicians who are working for fixing land line telephones.

Currently Omantel has countywide agent who will sell the pre paid Omantel cards for mobile

telephones. Same agents can be used by Omantel TV to sell its smart cards and annual

subscription card to the customers. Customers can purchase or activate their smart cards from

these agents as per their requirement (monthly or annual payments)

Omantel TV will be able to establish countywide distribution network without additional

cost. This approach also helps to utilise the excess capacity of the labour force in the

technical division of the Omantel fixed line section.

Promotion

Firm has two alternative strategy for promotion which are push and pull.

Push and Pull strategy

According to Kottler P (1988) pull strategy involves the seller using advertising and

promotion to persuade consumers to ask intermediaries for the product, thus inducing the

intermediaries to order it. Pull strategy is appropriate when there is high brand loyalty and

high involvement in the category, when people perceive differences between brands, and

when people choose the brand before they go to dealer to purchase. A push strategy involves

the manufacturer using its sales force and trade promotion money to induce intermediaries to

carry, promote, and sell the product to end users.

Omantel will be using the pull strategy to sell its product. In the SWOT analysis it was

identified that company has well reputed brand name. Omantel TV intended to utilise this

brand name and channel all its advertising effort to above the line advertising campaigns in

mass Medias to promote Omantel TV.

The objective of this promotional activity is to support the firm to achieve its marketing

objective.

Advertising objectives:

Increase the customer awareness of the product by 50% within a Year

Increase the sales by 25% every three month

High price package

Low price package

Standard package Custom design package

Pehla Show times

FTA channels- Arab sat and Nile sat

CNB network

“xxx”

Promotional activity of Omantel TV will be as follows

Comprehensive TV advising schedules in popular local TV channels

Mobile phone advertising to the Omantel GSM subscribers ( text messages)

Radio advertising

Adverting in the popular magazines

fix hording in the main high ways

Positioning map

Figure 2: self developed

Above positioning map shows that Omantel TV will be positioned as a service provider with

custom design packages as per the need of diverse group of customers and sold in the market

at relatively lower price.

Implementation

This marketing plan will have four main stages

I. Market research and test marketing

II. Product launch

III. Post launch evaluation

IV. Post launch controls

Following chart explain the detail implementation of this marketing plan

Task Action By whom When

Market research

and test marketing

Carry out market research in

order to identify the changing

need of the customers and their

perception

Test market the product in small

geographical aria.

This activity is

carried out by the

research and

development

department of

Omantel

Before

31/3/11

Product launch Carry out pre launch advertising

to the Omantel TV brand

Product launch

Comprehensive advertising

This activity will

be carried out by

the marketing

department

Before

30/5/11

Post launch

evaluation

Compare with the set target with the

actual outcomes of the brand

(financial and non financial evaluation )

Marketing

department and

accounts

department

30/9/11

Post launch

control

If the actual result deviates from the

planed result adversely then identify the

reasons for the deviation and take

corrective action.

Plan for the next year considering the

inputs from the current year.

Marketing

department

31/12/11

Table 1

Gantt chart for implementation

Jan Feb March Apri

l

May June July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Market

research

and test

marketing

Product

launch

Post

launch

evaluation

Post

launch

controls

Table 2

Evaluation and Recommendations

Success of any marketing plan depends on how effectively that plan has been evaluated and

controlled. Effectiveness of this marketing plan will be evaluated based on the following

criteria:

Comparison of the monthly wise planned sales revenue with actual sales revenue

This criterion for evaluation is used to measure the performance of the organization in terms

of sales revenue.

Comparison of monthly target profit with the actual profits

This criterion is used to evaluate how effectively organizational resources are utilised to

achieve profitability.

Comparison of target unit sold with the actual unit sold

This will help to evaluate the effectiveness of the sales force and marking tools

Correlation between advertising expenditure and sales revenue

This criterion will be used to measure the effectiveness of the advertising tools used.

Recommendation

If the firm identifies considerable variance in sales revenue it has to revise its marketing plan.

Omantel TV needs to have a contingent plan to overcome the unpredictable event taking

place in the business environment.

If the firms actual profit levels does not match with the target profits then firm need to

identify the reason for this variance. This can be due to low level of revenue or may be due to

high expenses. Based on the fact indentified through research firm should take corrective

action.

If the firm does not identify a positive correlation between advertising expenses and sales

revenue then the advertising approach is not appropriate. Omantel need to identify a

alternative advertising approach

References

Mercer D, 1996, marketing, 2ed edition, Black well, USA

Kotler, P. and Armstrong C, 1988, Marketing: An Introduction, Prentice-Hall,

Englewood Cliffs,NJ,

Dunbar, L. and Melcolm (2004) Market segmentation: how to do it, Oxford, UK.

Regis McKenna (2002), Total Access: Giving Customers What They Want in an

Anytime, Anywhere World, Harvard Business School Press, USA

Michael E. Porter (1980), Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries

and Competitors, New York: Free Press.

Theodore Levit (1980), Marketing Success through Differentiation of Anything,

Harvard Business Review (January–February), pp. 83–91

http://www.omantel.om/OmanWebLib/AboutUs/CompanyOverview.aspx?

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Marketing Plan

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