Samsung is one of the largest electronics companies in the world. The firm’s brand is recognized in many parts of the world and this has strengthened the value of its products in various global markets. In the mid 1990’s, several management initiatives helped the firm to improve the value of its products in the market. The firm’s management positioned it as a global brand which helped the firm to build a strong corporate image.
During that period, the firm had more than 10 popular products in the market which had strong customer loyalty in different markets. The firm’s rise as a global brand was made easy after it had withstood the Asian financial crisis of 1997.
It managed to turn around its operations which helped it register positive results in less than five years (Khanna, Song and Lee 142). This paper will discuss how Samsung can improve its performance in the market.
Samsung needs to come up with more competitive strategies to help it deal with the changing market environment. The technology industry is experiencing a lot of changes, which require Samsung to develop new strategies to maintain its competitive edge in the market. Samsung has managed to become one of the largest mobile device manufacturers in the world, surpassing Nokia and other firms.
This is because of its focus on high –end smart phones which have superior technological functions compared to substitute models manufactured by its competitors. The firm needs to look at ways of extending its influence into other markets.
This is because U.S. and European markets have been projected to experience a slump in consumption patterns in the near future (Khanna, Song and Lee 142). The firm needs to formulate new ways of increasing the value of its products in the market to overcome high competition from low priced substitutes.
The firm lacks a strong recognized brand which can be compared to Sony’s Walkman or Microsoft’s Windows. The firm’s recent focus on smart phones and L.E.D. television sets has made it stand out as a learning organization, which is ready to take a leading position in the technology industry.
The firm needs to develop a long term value proposition in the market by developing an easily recognizable brand to help it strengthen its market position. Samsung needs to capitalize on emotions of its global customers by giving them a signature product which is capable of making them appreciate other products, manufactured by the firm (Khanna, Song and Lee 143).
A strong and easy to recognize brand will have a positive effect on other products which are manufactured by the firm. This will increase the value attached to them by consumers thereby making them more competitive in the market.
Some products which are released by the firm into the market have achieved a mature life cycle within a very short time. This puts more pressure on the firm to release newer versions of similar products into the market.
It is necessary for the firm to put in place measures that can help it take advantage of opportunities in lower segments of the market; since the upper income market segments will continue to experience slow growth in revenues. It is projected that the middle and low segments will continue to expand and this will open up potential opportunities for profitability in the firm.
The firm needs to reinvent itself to capture lucrative global markets to help it experience more success in its operations (Khanna, Song and Lee 145). It also needs to embrace cross cultural management strategies to help it maintain a competitive edge in different global markets.
Samsung has a diversified business portfolio and this has made it easy for the firm’s management to implement several innovative practices in its operations. It managed to compete favorably against Japanese companies by shifting away from analog to digital technologies in the late 1990’s.
Therefore, the firm needs to maintain its strength in manufacturing by building strategic alliances with other global firms, to help it strengthen its value proposition in the market. These strategic alliances will be crucial in helping the firm improve the quality of relationships it has with its customers.
Samsung needs to take note of the business environment it operates in. Samsung needs to ensure that its operations satisfy different market needs which are served by its wide product range (Khanna, Song and Lee 146).This will help the firm to understand different consumer segments and their needs.
The firm’s processes are highly innovative and this has helped the firm to introduce revolutionary concepts into the market. The firm has a good product mix and it needs to extend the market’s attention to other high quality products which it manufactures. A lot of interest in the firm’s products in the market is focused on its mobile devices and L.E.D television products.
The firm produces high quality washing machines, refrigerators, microwaves and other household products, which have the ability to bring in more revenues if they are marketed well. The firm needs to increase its market share in household appliances because these products have a longer life cycle in the market compared to mobile devices and L.E.D TV’s.
The market for home appliances is not as competitive as other market segments which the firm operates in (Khanna, Song and Lee 147). It needs to market these products in selected markets more aggressively to improve its performance in the market.
Samsung can use various management models to improve its performance in the market. The firm needs to adopt Management By Objectives model to improve its internal and external business processes. The MBO model will help Samsung’s management to focus on goals which are easy to achieve to help the firm improve its financial results.
The firm’s management needs to track issues that have an impact on its survival in the market, to come up with radical proposals which address them. The MBO approach gives the firm a chance to formulate strategic plans and performance indicators, which help to monitor its operations in the market (Bradley 81).
The MBO model will enable the firm’s management to analyze results of various product categories it sells in the market, to assess their value to its operations.
The firm also needs to carry out a value proposition analysis for its target markets and consumer segments. This will help the firm’s management to analyze what motivates specific consumers to purchase its products and the value they get from using these products.
The firm needs to come up with new production systems to help it achieve long term organizational goals (Bradley 79). The value proposition analysis should take note of resources, which the firm has set aside to help it achieve its long term goals.
Works Cited
Bradley, Nigel. Marketing Research: Tools and Techniques. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007. Print.
Khanna, Tarun, Jaeyong Song, and Kyungmook Lee. “The Paradox of Samsung’s Rise.” Harvard Business Review (July- August 2011): 142-147. Web.