Marketing Management

This report discusses about Optus along with their various business factors relevant in the current time. In addition, the major stakeholders of Optus will also be discussed and analyzed about their respective trends. The potential target market will also be chosen for Optus and on that basis, the marketing mix elements will be recommended.

Running head: MARKETING MANAGEMENT
Marketing management
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Company profile..........................................................................................................................2
5C analysis of Optus........................................................................................................................3
Company......................................................................................................................................3
Customers....................................................................................................................................5
Collaborators................................................................................................................................5
Competitors..................................................................................................................................6
Context.........................................................................................................................................6
Market research approach of Optus.................................................................................................6
Developing marketing strategy........................................................................................................8
Choice of the target market..........................................................................................................9
Identification of the value proposition.......................................................................................10
Positioning strategy of the target market...................................................................................10
Recommended marketing mix strategies.......................................................................................10
Product.......................................................................................................................................11
Price...........................................................................................................................................11
Place...........................................................................................................................................12
Promotion..................................................................................................................................12
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................12

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Reference.......................................................................................................................................14

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Introduction
In the current business scenario, it is important for the contemporary business
organizations to review their business environmental factors in order to have the maximum
utilization of the available resources. Moreover, in the current competitive state of affairs, it is
also important for the business entities to design their marketing strategies to stay ahead in the
competition (Schmidt, Spann and Zeithammer 2014). This is due to the reason that the more
effective will be the marketing strategies, the more will be the brand exposure and identity
among the target audience along with the higher brand recall. This report will discuss about
Optus along with their various business factors relevant in the current time. In addition, the
major stakeholders of Optus will also be discussed and analyzed about their respective trends.
The potential target market will also be chosen for Optus and on that basis, the marketing mix
elements will be recommended.
Company profile
Optus is the second largest telecommunication company in terms of the market share in
Australia. They are founded in 1981 and later acquired by the Singapore based Singtel in 2001.
Currently, they are operating as the wholly owned subsidiary of Singtel. The mission statement
of Optus stated about the providence of quality and country wide network at affordable cost. This
denotes their competitive advantages over their competitors and the value propositions for the
customers (Hutchins 2016). On the other hand, their vision statement states about achieving the
majority market share in the Oceania region. This denotes their sustainable long term objectives
becoming the largest telecommunication provider in the Australian region. On the basis of the
analysis of the current business operations of Optus, it is identified that they are following

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marketing orientation. This is due to the reason that as per the concept of the marketing
orientation, Optus is changing and rectifying their product strategy on the basis of the change in
the market trend. For instance, the internet and online contents are not the traditional services of
Optus rather they are introduced in the later stage based on the customer trends (MacKay and
Weidlich 2014). This refers to the fact that Optus is a customer centric brand and is following the
marketing orientation. Their services include telephone network, mobile network, internet
facilities and online content services. Thus, they are having diverse service portfolio and catering
to different sets of customers.
5C analysis of Optus
Company
SWOT analysis will be used in determination of the internal factors and competencies of
Optus. The following sections will discuss about each of the elements of SWOT analysis.
Strengths  One of the key strengths of Optus is the countrywide presence of the
network. Being one of the oldest and largest telecommunication brands in
Australia, Optus is having the competitive advantages of having wide
network in the country.
 Diverse service portfolio of Optus is also helping them in enhancing their
sales volume and revenue. This is due to the reason that they are being
able to cater to the different requirements of the customer segments.
 Financial support of Singtel is helping Optus to have the capability of
developing their business and deal with the competition in the market.

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 Brand value can also be considered as their major advantage due to the
reason that Optus is one of the oldest telecommunication firms in
Australia. Thus, their brand value is beneficial in pushing the sales of their
new products in the markets (Bhatti, Abareshi and Pittayachawan 2016).
Weakness  The major weakness of Optus is the limited market presence. This is due
to the reason that currently Optus is present only in Australia. Thus, their
market opportunity and sales revenue is also limited.
 Brand identity of Optus is segregated due to the fact that their presence in
different telecommunication sectors is represented by different subsidiary
brands such as Virgin mobile in mobile network market and Alphawest in
the ICT sector. Thus Optus as a brand is having limited identity (Da
Silveira, Lages and Simoes 2013).
 Optus is trailing behind their major competitors in terms of the internet
contents. However, this area is booming in the current time and they are
losing out a big opportunity.
Opportunity  Tapping the foreign markets especially the developing economies such as
India and China will provide good market opportunities for Optus. This is
due to the reason that these countries are witnessing huge growth in terms
of mobile subscriptions. Moreover, this is will also help Optus in gaining
the global brand identity (Gnizy, Baker and Grinstein 2014).
 Capitalizing more on the 4G internet and upcoming 5G services will help
Optus in offering the latest services to the customers. This will also ensure
the quality services of them over their competitors.

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Threat  Emergence of new competitors in the market will further pose challenge
for Optus in managing their market share. Entry of the global brands will
reduce the brand recall for Optus.
 With the rapid change and evolution of the technologies in the
telecommunication sector, it is challenging for Optus in coping up with
the change and stay ahead in the competition (Chen and Zhao 2014).
Customers
The target customers of Optus include both corporate and domestic clients. Within the
corporate clients, government and other business entities are included. They are taking internet
and telephone connections from Optus. On the other hand, domestic clients are the end
customers. Behavior of the corporate clients of Optus is more organized over the domestic
customers. This is due to the reason that business with the corporate customers is done on the
basis of contractual manner while domestic customers and floating in nature with having lower
brand loyalty. Thus, higher level of brand loyalty is expected from the corporate clients of Optus
while the domestic customers are more aligned towards getting the benefits.
Collaborators
Effectiveness of the partners and collaborators is important for the successful business
operation. In the case of the Optus, the major collaborators for them are the suppliers. They are
sourcing mobile network equipment from Huawei, Nortel and Nokia while the antennas are
sourced from Argus, Andrews and RFS. On the other hand, the retail partners of Optus are the
telecommunication retail brands present across the world. Thus, it can be concluded that

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collaborators are evident in the business process of Optus from their backward process to the
forward process. In terms of the forward process, the customer service is outsourced to
Concentrix.
Competitors
The major competitors for Optus are the Telstra, Global Speech Networks, Maxis, TM
and Digi. These all are the existing competitors for Optus but the chances of entry of new
competitors are moderate. This is due to the reason there are number of telecommunication
brands such as Airtel from India are willing to tap the Australian market and they are having
required capability. However, on the other hand, the new entrants will face the challenge of
matching the economies of scale of the existing operators and operating across the country.
Context
In terms of the legal factors, changes of amendments in the regulations and standards for
the telecommunication will affect Optus. For instance, changes in the cost structure of spectrum
will have adverse impact on Optus. In addition, capping of the service cost will also reduce the
profit margin of Optus. In terms of the political factors, approach of the government towards
foreign investment in the telecommunication sector will determine the extent of competition for
Optus. Moreover, the political relationships of Australia with other countries will determine the
foreign business of Optus. In terms of technological factors, the major challenge for Optus is to
cope up with the evolution in technologies. With the rapid development of internet broadband
through 3G, 4G and now 5G, it is setting difficult for Optus to change their infrastructure
accordingly.
Market research approach of Optus

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It is identified that physical and virtual touch points of Optus are the major sources of
gaining customer data. Physical touch points of Optus are the retail shops and the virtual touch
points are the social media handles where the customers can communicate directly. In this case,
the trend and preference of the customers is detected from the feedback received through the
touch points. In addition, the views of the customers are also detected in terms of the newly
launched and existing services. On the basis of these feedbacks, the product and service strategy
of Optus is designed and thus the want of customers are fully satisfied. Information regarding the
competitors is majorly gathered from the market reports and survey (Khodakarami and Chan
2014). These reports state the overall market conditions along with individual positioning of each
of the brands in the market. Thus, comparison of this data is helping Optus in identifying their
areas of improvement over their competitors. Performance analysis of Optus with that of their
competitors is also helping them to identify the major threat from them. However, in this case,
the customer feedback is also beneficial due to the reason that the views and preferences of the
customers towards a certain brand can be identified (Merlo, Eisingerich and Auh 2014).
Determination of the change in the business context is also getting benefited from the
customer feedback management of Optus. This is due to the reason that change in the preference
pattern of the customers denotes the change in the market trend. This is coupled with the
government forecasting reports and data released annually. Analysis of these reports and
measuring the changes in the preference pattern of the customers is helping Optus to identify the
change in the business context (Radojevic, Stanisic and Stanic 2015). Lastly, it should also be
noted that Optus is having effective supplier relationship management. This is helping them to
have the frequent updates about the role of collaborators play in the process. Moreover, the
relationship management with the suppliers is also helping Optus to identify the change in their

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role and activities. Thus, it can be concluded that qualitative data is majorly being leveraged by
Optus in their market research and intelligence analysis process over the quantitative data. This
is beneficial in the considering the changes in the trends in the market.
Developing marketing strategy
The core element of developing a marketing strategy is developing the potential target
segments for the business and identifying their preferences. The following section will discuss
about the potential target segment based on different perspectives.
Demographic segmentation Customers between the age group of 18 and 60 are considered as
the target segment for Optus. This is due to the reason that mobile
connectivity and internet services are popular across ages.
Moreover, the diverse service portfolio of Optus will also be able
to meet the different requirements of the customers across ages. In
terms of the gender, both the male and female customers are
targeted (Hamka et al. 2014). In terms of the income level,
customers across different price levels are being targeted due to
the reason that Optus is having the their services in different price
points.
Geographic segmentation As discussed in the earlier sections, Optus is having their presence
across Australia. Thus, all the locations are being targeted. This is
beneficial for them in catering the maximum number of customers
in Australia.
Behavioral segmentation Loyal customers are the core target group due to the reason that

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they will continuously renew the subscription. In addition, the
customers seeking the quality connection services and countrywide
network are also the target customers for Optus (Sell, Mezei and
Walden 2014).
Psychographic
segmentation
Customers with having the preferences for the indigenous brands
will be targeted and Optus is Australian born brand. in addition,
customers with having the preferences for the value for money
services will also be targeted. This is due to the reason that
services of Optus are not premium and they value for money
propositions (Sandy, Gosling and Durant 2013).
Choice of the target market
Among the potential target segments identified in the above table, it is identified that
customers between the age groups of 25 and 35 from the tier I cities and seeking for maximum
benefits will be the suitable and ideal target customer segments for Optus. This is due to the
reason that customers between the age group of 25 and 35 are having the maximum preferences
of the online services and in the current telecommunication industry; profitability is more from
the online services and not from the basic telephone connectivity (Lam et al. 2013). Thus, this
age group will be targeted. In addition, this age group is the heavy user of the telecommunication
network and thus the business level will be high for Optus. Customers from the tier I cities are
targeted because their lifestyle is related with the telecommunication services in more extensive
manner. Hence, the acceptability of their services will be more in these locations.

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Identification of the value proposition
The most suitable value proposition for the identified target market of Optus will be
internet based services. This is due to the reason that currently, the profitability from the
telephone connectivity is much lower than that from the internet services. Thus, offering the
telephonic network services to the customers as a different proposition will not create any added
value for them (Toytari and Rajala 2015). Hence, it is recommended that based on the trends of
the identified target segment, Optus should offer internet based services and the telephone
connectivity should be provided as complimentary. This will enhance the value proposition for
the customers. In addition, it should also be noted that offering the voice connectivity will
increase the attractiveness of the services of Optus.
Positioning strategy of the target market
As per current trend of the identified target market, it is recommended that Optus should
have positioning based on features and facilities. This is due to the reason that Optus is
competing in the mass market with number of competitors operating in the same segment.
Moreover, point of differences is also low between the competing brands (Maarit Jalkala and
Keränen 2014). Thus, the added features to be offered with the services of Optus should be used
as the positioning factor. The positioning statement of Optus will be “gain speed with nothing”.
This positioning statement denotes that service difference of Optus along with the value
proposition for the customers. “Gaining speed” refers to the high quality of internet services for
the customers and “nothing” denotes the low cost of services. Hence, this will be effective in
targeting the identified customer base.
Recommended marketing mix strategies

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Product
It is recommended that core product level for the offered services of Optus should be
same as their competitors. The actual product level should be differentiated with the competitors.
This will include the speed of the internet service, quality and wide network. This will increase
value proposition for the customers. In terms of the augmented product level, the customer
services should be focused. This is due to the reason that managing the customer grievances is
one of the major determinants in determining the customer satisfaction (Hecker and Ganter
2013). Thus, with this recommended product strategy, Optus will be able to provide enhanced
value proposition to the customers. It is also recommended that market adaptable approach
should be initiated by Optus in case of their foreign market operation. This is due to the reason
that foreign markets will not have the same sets of market trend as Australia. With the help of the
market adaptable product approach, Optus will be able to design their product levels according to
the local market trends.
Price
It is recommended that Optus should follow market penetration pricing strategy in their
business operation. With the help of the market penetration pricing strategy, the end price of the
services of Optus will be competitive and will attract the major market segments. In addition, it
should also be noted that market penetration pricing will ensure the value for money proposition
for the customers. However, in this case, the profitability will be low and thus the sales volume
should be maintained higher (Ingenbleek, Frambach and Verhallen 2013). Flexibility should also
be maintained in the determination of the pricing strategy. This is due to the reason that

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economic condition of the market is rapidly changing and pricing structure should also be
aligned with that of the market conditions.
Place
It is recommended that extensive distribution and traditional channel should be followed
by Optus due to the reason that they are operating in the mass market segments. With the help of
the extensive distribution system, the services of Optus can be accessed from the larger number
of touch points and larger areas can be covered. In addition, traditional channels partners in the
distribution process will also help in the gaining the expertise of the retailers and other
intermediaries in providing services to the customers (Chen, Fang and Wen 2013). However, in
this case also, the average profit margin will be restricted due to the presence of the
intermediaries. On the other hand, the quality of the customer service process will get enhanced
with the help of the traditional channel.
Promotion
Omni Channel promotional activities are being recommended that it will involve both the
online and offline mediums in reaching out to the customers. With the help of the Omni Channel
promotional activities, different customer segments can be targeted. For instance, younger
segments can be targeted by means of online mediums while the older generations can be
targeted with the mediums (Manser Payne, Peltier and Barger 2017). The message to be
communicated will be comparative in nature. This is due to the reason that promotional activities
should enable the customers to compared among the different alternatives and selecting the best
one.
Conclusion

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This report concludes that Optus is having the relevance of various stakeholders in their
business operation. It is identified that suppliers and the retailers are having major influence in
the business of Optus. It is identified that they are facing the threat of increasing competition in
the market and thus it is important for them to review their existing marketing strategies. On this
basis, the potential target market for them is identified along with the value proposition. This
report recommended an effective marketing mix strategy including its four major elements. Each
of these elements is recommended on the basis of the existing business approach of Optus. This
will help Optus to gain the market leadership status in the Australian region along with tapping
the potential foreign markets.

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