Marketing: Using SOSTAC Framework for Effective Marketing Strategy

This guide explores the use of the SOSTAC framework in marketing strategy, focusing on Sky Group's expansion in Australia. Learn about situation analysis, objectives, strategies, tactics, and action plans for effective marketing. Discover how to raise funds, improve operations, recruit talented people, acquire resources, and target new customers.

Marketing

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Situation analysis.........................................................................................................................1
Objectives....................................................................................................................................2
Strategies......................................................................................................................................2
Tactics..........................................................................................................................................3
Action...........................................................................................................................................4
Control.........................................................................................................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Marketing refers to the tactics as well as strategies which can be used by an organization
to penetrate the market effectively and ensure that its products and services are able to reach the
customers in the right manner (Järvinen and Taiminen, 2016). This will ensure that the level of
profitability can be enhanced in the correct manner. For analysing the marketing strategy of a
company the use of SOSTAC framework can be made. It is a framework which identifies the
ways through which companies are able to do marketing of their products and services. This
presentation is based on Sky Group. It is a British Company which deals in media and
telecommunications and is present in many countries in the world. It is considering the
expansion of its operations in Australia so that it can target the achievement of higher-level of
profits. This presentation will analyse the way this company makes the use of SOSTAC
framework to effectively deal with marketing of its products and services.
MAIN BODY
Situation analysis
The Situation analysis can be performed by making the use of PEST framework (Kannan,
2017). As Sky Group is considering moving operations to Australia it needs to make the use of
this framework. The analysis of this framework in the context of Sky Group is as follows-
Political factors- Australia is a country which has a stable political situation and thus
gives an opportunity to the companies to expand business and earn higher-level of profits. Sky
Group therefore has to ensure that it presents its products and services appropriately here in front
of the customers.
Economic factors- In Australia the economic situations are good as it is a developed
country which offers plenty of opportunities to the companies for the purpose of doing business.
Thus this booming economy of the country offers opportunity to the Sky Group for dealing
effectively and offering their products and services to the customers.
Social factors- Australia's people have various types of needs and requirements and thus
ensure that they present these requirements in a proper manner. Thus in this way Sky Group will
be able to work according to them and provide its products and services to the people.
Technological factors- In Australia, the people are quite fond of new technology. Thus
Sky Group has an opportunity of making its services better and presenting it in front of the
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customers effectively and efficiently. They must ensure that they provide products and services
according to the new technology.
Objectives
While expanding its business in Australia, the focus of Sky Group will be on the
following objectives-
 Raising funds- For expanding business in Australia, Sky Group will be required to make
sure that sufficient funds are raised by it to enter into the country (Katsikeas and et.al.,
2016). For this purpose it will be required to raise funds. Thus it has to aim to get funds
from different sources of finance. This is a Specific objective of the company which it
has to fulfil.
 Making the operations better- For expanding the operations in Australia, Sky Group
will be required to target making the operations better. For this purpose, it needs to make
the use of various operational strategies. Thus it will set quantitative targets so that they
can be attained in the future. This is a Measurable objective of the company.
 Recruiting talented people in the company- Expansion of the business in Australia will
require the company to identify the talented people who can take its business to new
heights in a new market. For this purpose, Sky Group will be required to recruit talented
people in the company who are quite skilful. This is an Attainable objective of the
company.
 Acquiring new resources- Expanding the business in Australia will require the company
to acquire new resources. Sky Group therefore has to ensure that it can acquire new
resources which will help its business in Australia. This is a Relevant objective for the
company.
 Targeting new customers- In Australia, the focus of Sky Group has to be on targeting of
new customers. Therefore in this way the company has to be creative and innovative in
its strategies. This is a Time-Based objective for the company.
Strategies
For the purpose of framing a strategy the focus of Sky Group has to be on using the
following model-
Porter's generic strategies-
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This is a model through which the strategy is the best for the company for acquiring a
competitive advantage in the market is applied (Kotler and et.al., 2017). For Sky Group the
following strategies are available to be used-
Cost leadership- In Australia this strategy can be used by the company as the country
has high competition and the reduction in the prices is a way through which competitive
advantage can be gained.
Differentiation- The firm can make the use of this strategy in Australia by differentiating
the products which it has from the competition. In this way targeting of competition can be done
effectively and efficiently.
Cost Focus- This is a strategy which can be used by the organization in Australia by
specifically finding out markets where costs can be reduced. Thus in this way it will be able to
ensure that it focuses on enhancing its level of profits.
Differentiation Focus- In this strategy, the company can focus on finding out markets in
Australia where differentiation in the products can be made. Therefore in this manner it will be
able to ensure that it differentiates its services in a better way in the country without problems
and issues.
Justification- The strategy of Cost leadership should be used in Australia by Sky Group
because by reducing its prices it will be in a better position to face its competitors thereby
attaining competitive advantage in the market.
Tactics
The following tactics will be adopted by Sky Group in Australia in order to succeed
against its competitors-
Product- In terms of Product, Sky Group will make its media technologies better so that
the strategic placement of its products can be done effectively and efficiently in Australia. For
this the focus of the company will be on adding new features in products and services and
making them look attractive in front of the customers so that they prefer them over other
companies.
Price- In terms of Price, Sky Group will make the use of penetrative pricing strategy so
that it is able to effectively penetrate the market with its products and services. The market of
Australia is competitive in nature and thus in this way this strategy will be highly useful for the
company. This will allow it to gain a strategic advantage over the competitors.
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Place- In the terms of Place, Sky Group will select Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne and
Sydney as its potential locations where its business will be based. In this way it will be able to
identify the potential opportunities through which expansion of profits can be done.
Action
For expanding the business in Australia, Sky Group will be required to use certain actions
so that the maximum use of potential business opportunities in the country can be made
(Moorman and Day, 2016). The following Action plan will be framed for this purpose-
Activity 1- Identifying the potential markets in Australia.
Department in action- Operations Department
Time frame- 04/03/2021-11/03/2021
Actions to be taken- The Operations department will identify the potential markets in
Australia where it can succeed. Therefore these must be the markets where it will be able to
enhance the profits.
Activity 2- Identifying the sources of finance.
Department in action- Finance Department
Time frame- 12/03/2021- 19/03/2021
Actions to be taken- The Finance Department will identify the potential sources through
which the funds will be obtained. These sources must therefore be useful so that the company
does not faces problems and issues in the market of Australia.
Activity 3- Conducting of market research
Department in action- Marketing Department
Time frame- 20/03/2021-31/03/2021
Actions to be taken- The Marketing Department will assess the market of Australia to
identify the strategic opportunities which are present so that their use can be made in order to
attain the goals and objectives.
Activity 4- Recruiting new people
Department in action- HR Department
Time frame- 01/04/2021- 05/04/2021
Actions to be taken- The HR Department will identify the job opportunities which are
available with in Australia so that it is able to make their use and thus ensure the attainment of
goals and objectives.
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Activity 5- Launching new products and services
Department in action- Sales Department
Time frame- 06/04/2021-10/04/2021
Actions to be taken- The Sales Department will launch the new products and services of
the company in Australia thereby ensuring that the company is able to give competition to its
competitors in the country.
Control
The data for measuring performance against the objectives which have been set will be
gathered from the following sources-
 Research about the potential sources of funds- The financial requirements of Sky
Group in Australia will be assessed through a thorough research about the potential
sources of funds. Thus in this way data for Raising funds objective of the company can
be obtained.
 Research about operational requirements- The operations requirements of Sky Group
in Australia can be made through a research about the potential usage of operational
resources. Therefore in this way the data for Making the operations better objective of the
company can be obtained.
 Researching about requirements of job- The HR department of Sky Group can
research about the potential requirements of job in a company. Therefore in this way the
company can make sure that these requirements can be identified through obtaining this
data. In this way Recruiting talented people in the company objective can be met.
 Searching about the resource requirements- The Operations department of Sky Group
can search about the resource requirements of the company. Thus in this way the
company will be able to ensure that these requirements are met. In this way Acquiring
new resources objective can be met.
 Market research- Through the Market research Sky Group will be able to make sure that
a thorough search about the customer needs and requirements. Therefore in this way the
company will be able to ensure that its Targeting new customers objective can be met.
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CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that Marketing is an activity through which
the customers can be targeted. The use of SOSTAC framework can be made in the organizations
so that they are able to frame a specific strategy for the marketing of their products and services
in a specific country's market to earn higher-level of profits.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Atwal, G. and Williams, A., 2017. Luxury brand marketing–the experience is everything!. I
Advances in luxury brand management (pp. 43-57). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Harmeling, C. M. and et.al., 2017. Toward a theory of customer engagement marketing. Journal
of the Academy of marketing science. 45(3). pp.312-335.
Järvinen, J. and Taiminen, H., 2016. Harnessing marketing automation for B2B content
marketing. Industrial Marketing Management. 54. pp.164-175.
Kannan, P. K., 2017. Digital marketing: A framework, review and research agenda. International
Journal of Research in Marketing. 34(1). pp.22-45.
Katsikeas, C. S. and et.al., 2016. Assessing performance outcomes in marketing. Journal of
Marketing. 80(2). pp.1-20.
Kotler, P. and et.al., 2017. Marketing for hospitality and tourism.
Moorman, C. and Day, G. S., 2016. Organizing for marketing excellence. Journal of Marketing.
80(6). pp.6-35.
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