Introduction
Nowadays, the taxi industry has been considerably improved and varied. There are many interesting options on how to satisfy customers, offer appropriate services, and gain a number of financial and organizational benefits. Though there may be certain challenges and mistakes in a decision-making process, taxi companies try to solve the problems in a short period of time and make sure employees and customers are satisfied with the conditions offered.
Uber is one of the well-known taxi companies around the whole globe. Its services can be offered in a number of the American cities, as well as in the European cities such as Rome, Minsk, Lisbon, Turin, etc. Uber is the company that offers a good work for drivers and high-quality services for passengers.
However, like any developing or developed company, Uber can be under a threat of some financial instabilities or organizational challenges. The current paper aims at analyzing Uber’s current and potential future business issues, the factors that define the success of the company or may challenge it in different countries. In fact, the analysis of the Uber’s financial perspectives is a good chance to understand different aspects of the international market and define the most appropriate solutions.
Current Business Issues
Uber is a young company. It was founded in 2009 by the Americans, Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp (About Uber, 2015). However, during the last five years, the company has survived a number of conflicts, discussions, and evaluations. The current business issues are based on the experience gained from 2009 till today.
Being introduced as a private taxi company, Uber expanded its services from a city to a city. In 2012, Uber became an international company and offered its services for the citizens of Paris. Nowadays, Uber is available to people in 58 countries of different continents. The citizens of more than 300 cities worldwide are able to use the Uber’s services any time they need.
The company is valued at about $50 billion (Higson, 2015). These indicators may tell a lot about the current situation of the company and make some predictions about its possible development. On the one hand, it is evident that customers are satisfied with the possibilities to have more convenient as the company’s founders can open new departments in different parts of the world.
On the other hand, the information that can be found online proves that Uber faces a lot of challenges with other international and local taxi companies (Cheok, 2015). For example, French and Russian representatives admitted that Uber could not offer its services to the citizens without appropriate licenses.
In Germany, Belgium, and Spain, Uber has to solve many legal problems (Cheok, 2015). The Taiwan government identified the services of Uber as illegal. In fact, the current business affairs of the company under consideration are not as good and satisfactory as they are expected.
As a sprawling logistics company, Uber has already achieved a lot in the taxi industry (McAlone, 2015). Despite numerous misunderstandings and the necessity to prove its appropriateness and correctness, Uber has survived. Its current situation has good prospects. Its founders admit the justification of the attempts made during the last six years. Now, they enjoy and use the benefits Uber offers.
Potential Future Business Issues
Sometimes, it is hard to realize what to expect from such companies like Uber that have been developed within a short period of time and become successful at the international level. The evaluation of its potential future business issues is unpredictable. Still, it is possible to offer several ideas.
For example, one of its co-founders, Kalanick believes that Uber has all chances to spread its services in the way it can be more effective to be the Uber’s passenger than to own a car (Shontell, 2015). In fact, the prospects described by the owners of the company and the abilities help to realize that the future of the company can be successful.
It is possible to provide people with taxi services for affordable prices around the whole world. Even the point that some people want to travel without drivers does not create a problem for the company. Kalanick thinks about the possibility to provide people with taxi services without chauffeurs (Shontell, 2015).
It is expected that people learn more about Uber and want to have such services available in their towns. It is possible for the company to think about the possibility to offer its services in small towns. The access to the Internet is possible in villages nowadays. That is why it should not cause a problem for a person to register and become a passenger of Uber within a short period of time. Still, the business issues that can be developed in the nearest future are connected with the possibility to have more countries and towns being involved.
It is also possible to have more benefits due to the possibility to offer diverse services of various qualities. Passengers with various incomes can use Uber. Another potential issue is the cooperation with huge international companies. The question of comfortable and appropriate transportation rises in a number of companies. Business people want to be sure in the services they order. That is why Uber can offer taxi for people as well as cargo transportation around the whole world.
Factors for Uber’s Success in International Markets
The concepts of international marketing help to understand what skills should be developed, clarify what knowledge is necessary to work effectively, and make the decisions that can define the success of companies under analysis (Doole & Lowe, 2008). The factors that account for a success of the company in international markets can be defined on the basis of the company’s strengths and opportunities. In other words, a part of the SWOT analysis of Uber should be done.
The main Uber’s strength is its recognized brand. Many people from different countries have already known about the services offered by the company. They are eager to use them. Such recognition is the most crucial factor for future success. The possibility to create and follow the standards of service is another powerful aspect of international marketing.
Besides, there are not many competitors in the taxi industry on the international level. There are such organizations as Sidecar, Lyft, or Haxi that can compete with Uber. Still, its low-price policy is the strength that can hardly be overcome.
The list of benefits and opportunities for the company can be continued by its high investment ratings. People of different countries are eager to invest in the development of the company and earn benefits within a short period of time. As soon as financial support is clarified, it is possible to talk about the development of the services.
There are many old and young people, who want to know that even transportation services are credible when they try to get to a hospital, bank, or store. Uber has all chances to meet the needs and expectations of different people using its international popularity and credibility. A specially developed app help to find the necessary services within a short period and with few efforts spent.
Challenges to Expand Business in Other Countries
The challenges that can be dangerous for Uber while developing business in other countries can be identified with the help of another part of the SWOT analysis where weakness and threats can be clarified. For example, some cities and towns can discover that the company has faced a number of legal challenges. Some counties even call the company illegal. That is why the challenges of the past can become the challenges of the future.
At the same time, it is possible to admit the fact that the company has already solved many similar questions, and the success of the company is the best evidence of the quality of services offered. Besides, it is also necessary to underline the role of competitors in the taxi industry. It is not very difficult to create a company with the same services and challenge Uber. However, such factor as the company’s brand and reputation should help to cope with this challenge.
Finally, the business model of the company is not as perfect as it should be. Drivers work independently using the base offered by Uber. Not many drivers can have a high salary. Even the ethical aspects of the cooperation between Uber and its drivers are not clear. Drivers’ dissatisfaction is the threat that should be considered by the company and solved in a short period. Uber’s managers should not put the gained reputation in the first place. They have to pay more attention to the internal problems and concerns of the drivers.
As soon as Uber starts improving the internal challenges, the external challenges that can be identified while expanding business in various countries can be solved.
Conclusion
In general, the example offered by Uber can be used by many developing companies. Nowadays, it is not a difficult task to create an organization and introduce some new, unusual services. However, it is always challenging to gain a good reputation, prove the quality of the services, and create appropriate working conditions.
Uber is the company with a complicated history. Still, its founders had made something that was impossible: they survived sabotages, strikes, and discontents of the governments of different countries around the whole world. The necessity to provide people with good services at affordable prices is urgent nowadays. Not all people are able to use the quality they want. Uber opens new perspectives and possibilities.
However, its attempts to cooperate with big cities only are not enough to become one of the best. It is necessary to make more improvements and encourage changes. Drivers are eager to work at different places. Uber can provide drivers with jobs and citizens with transportation services. The factors for success and challenges discussed in the current paper show that Uber as all chances to succeed in international marketing. The only thing that the company has to do is to continue developing and thinking about its employees.
References
About Uber. (2015). Uber. Web.
Cheok, D. (2015). The current state of Uber’s global challenges, mapped. Bloomberg Business. Web.
Doole, I. & Lowe, R. (2008). International marketing strategy: Analysis, development and implementation. London, UK: Cengage Learning EMEA.
Higson, C. (2015). The value of Uber. Forbes. Web.
McAlone, N. (2015). Here’s how Uber got its start and grew to become the most valuable startup in the world. Business Insider. Web.
Shontell, A. (2015). Uber CEO explains his company’s highly ambitious goal to end car ownership in the world. Business Insider. Web.