Uber was established in 2009 by Garrett Camp and Travis Kalanick. Garrett Camp is a programmer and a creator of Stumble-Upon. Travis Kalanick is the founder of Red-Swoosh, which he vented in 2007. He wanted to establish mechanisms for trimming down direct transportation charges. Camp found out that shared cost is reasonably low, a significant thought that developed into Uber. The company modified its name from Ubercab to Uber after the Taxicab workers complained. In 2012, Uber was initiated in Chicago, where the residents were allowed to order Uber or Taxi through the mobile app. Thus, Uber can focus on various aspects such as SWOT analysis to develop a marketing plan.
There are various strategies that Uber has implemented to become more competitive. For instance, in the quest for diversity, the company launched UberX, an inexpensive choice deemed to attract customers interested in using economic vehicles (Schaller, 2021). In 2014, Uber Company realized several milestones that include the commencement of UberPool and Uber Eats, a food dispatch system (Villazon et al., 2020). In 2016, Uber Company also sold some shares due to increased competition.
With the Covid 19, the Uber Company initially dismissed many workers and the shutting of several offices. Uber has, however, diversified its operations by taking over the management of the Marin Transit in California. Further, the company introduced the Uber grocery delivery business in North America which preceded its partnership (Cornershop et al., 2020). While the company’s business operations have been hit hard by Covid-19, it partnered with the Walgreens pharmacies to provide free transport to hospitals to the persons affected by Covid-19 in the neglected populations.
The company has given hope to its dismissed employees by announcing that they will likely resume their offices by September 2021. The major competitors for Uber include Lyft, Ola Cab, Taxify, and Cabify (Thelen, 2018). Some of Uber’s strengths include superior transport sharing technology that has increased its operations in many international cities globally. Uber also has wide product recognition, such as its business has increased to several countries. The Company has a dynamic pricing strategy based on the higher the demand, the higher the charges, which has enabled the company to build its trust in customers (Thelen, 2018). The policy has also increased the driver earnings during extreme weather.
However, the company has also faced numerous scandals, including sexual aggravation, which has damaged its reputation. Correspondingly, the company has made substantial losses, with many workers being dismissed before Covid-19 invaded the world, resulting in income loss for its employees. Additionally, the company has faced public criticism for its hiked prices on many occasions, especially during Hurricane Sandy (Thabit & Rawf, 2018). With clients not impressed by the disorganized taxi business in the market, the Uber Company can improve its services founded on responsibility and performance. The company can introduce performance tracking for its drivers while introducing harsh penalties to the workers charged with sexual misconduct. Similarly, Uber has an opportunity to venture into essential services such as ambulances or emergency vehicle services that improve the company’s reputation in public. Uber also should consider increasing its customer base in the areas where it has not. Such countries include Denmark.
Uber Company is facing several threats that include worker retention. The rise in competition from other companies is increasingly making it hard for the company to retain its workers based on better salary rates (Matherne & O’Toole, 2017). Correspondingly, the company’s reputation has further been damaged on the accounts of lawsuits filed by their drivers due to poor payments. Although the grievances have been settled, they were adequate to damage the Uber Company’s reputation.
UberPool is the service that will be marketed to ensure that Uber attracts more users and becomes more competitive. Moreover, the increased pollution will be used as an aspect to encourage UberPool. The four Ps will also be involved in the marketing plan. In this case, services will be introduced to all individuals traveling for short and long distances. UberPool will also be available in all countries with Uber services. Prices will be fair to ensure that more customers are attracted and can afford the UberPool services. Pricing will involve charging customers together to limit the amount that a single customer can pay. The promotion of UberPool will primarily be exercised to guarantee that many people have an idea of the services. In this case, social media platforms such as YouTube and Facebook will promote the services. TV and radio channels will be used to advertise the services and create awareness of the UberPool services.
The use of metrics to determine the success of the plan will be exercised. One of the aspects will involve customer feedback, whereby they will be encouraged to rate UberPool. The reviews will determine whether the strategy has improved the performance of the company. Sales indicators are can determine the success of a particular approach in companies. In this case, the number of UberPool rides will be analyzed to determine whether customers have responded positively to the approach. Net income is another aspect used in evaluating the success of a plan in organizations (Villazon et al., 2020). Therefore, the profits will be examined to ensure that the impacts of UberPool on the company’s revenues are recognized. Sociocultural considerations will also be involved in translating the marketing plan for use in a foreign market. One factor that will be reflected in the plan is the altitudes of individuals to ensure that the marketing strategy attracts more people using the appropriate advertisements. Ethnic values are also sociocultural aspects that will be analyzed to guarantee that the marketing plan does not interfere with other people’s beliefs (Thabit & Rawf, 2018). Religious faiths can also impact the performance of a particular plan. In this case, the plan of all faiths will be respected, whereby adverts will be designed carefully to prevent any form of discrimination based on religion.
To conclude, Uber can develop various ways to ensure that it improves its performance. Moreover, many companies have become a threat to the organization. Thus, Uber should use the SWOT analysis to ensure identifies its strengths and use them to attract more clients. The organization can also minimize its weaknesses and use the opportunities available to increase its revenues. The marketing plan to introduce Uberpool can also be of great significance and can lead to improved services and more profits. Advertisements using social media and TV channels can also be exercised to promote UberPool. Consequently, this marketing plan is vital since it focuses on customer satisfaction and increased revenues, and it should be funded to guarantee that it is successful.
References
Matherne, B. P. & O’Toole, J. (2017). Uber: Aggressive management for growth. The CASE Journal 13(4), 561-586. Web.
Schaller, B. (2021). Can sharing a ride make for less traffic? Evidence from Uber and Lyft and implications for cities.Transport policy, 102(1), 1-10. Web.
Thabit, H. & Rawf, M. (2018). The evaluation of marketing mix elements: A case Study.International journal of social sciences & Education al studies, 4(4). 100-109. Web.
Thelen, K. A. (2018). Regulating Uber: The politics of the platform economy in Europe and the United States.Perspectives on Politics, 16(4), 938-953. Web.
Villazon, C. C., Pinilla, L. S., Olaso, J. R. , Gandarias, N. T. & Lacalle, N. L. (2020). Identification of key performances indicators in project-based organization through the lean-approach.Sustainability, 12(5), 5977. Web.