Situation Analysis
There is no doubt that Etisalat is the largest communication company in the Middle East with the roots still in many parts of the world. Despite its popularity, competitors have emerged, and now that threatens the progress of the company. Therefore, the major situation that is facing the company is the continuing reduction of customers, which has translated to continued loss of market share. The situation was propelled by the emergence of strong competitors in the communication market, and the company did not anticipate the sudden reduction of customers. The situation at hand is of importance since it will determine the long-term success of the company.
Expanded Planning
Since the establishment of the company, Etisalat had enjoyed periods of the monopoly market. However, monopoly had to change due to the emergence of serious competitors. The goal of any company has been to continue to make the profit for as long as the company exists. Therefore, the company felt threatened, but estimated the competitors might take some time to establish any strength in the market. Customers began to switch allegiance one by one until the company began to feel the impact of the new competitor in the market.
The company has been facing the issue since the competitor proved a big deal in the communication market. The competitor used, modified tactics to win over customers and thus the company has had to fight off and try to hold on to its esteemed customers. The major cause of the situation is the market environment.
The company had set the market environment to be steady and productive, therefore attracting the competitors. Since consumers are curious about new developments in the market, the competitor capitalized on this and, therefore, managed to gain support within a short period of launch. Currently, Etisalat Communication Company has 66% of the market share while the competitors hold 44% of the market share. It is, therefore, a major objective of the Etisalat to try and win over the other customers so as to gain the grip of the communication industry in the UAE.
Consequences of the Situation
The organization’s mission clearly states, “To Extend Peoples’ Reach” that directly relates to the situation at hand. The situation implies the company should do more to extend its services to more people, therefore stabilizing is market share and increases its customer base. The situation seems here to stay since the communication market does not have a barrier of entry.
Therefore, the situation will be here for a very long time. Therefore, the mission of the organization will strive to remain the same because the company will always strive to extend its services to as many people as possible. Over the years, the company has enjoyed the communication market in the UAE. However, after the emergence of the first competitor in 2005, the company has continued to lose a lot of subscribers each year. The company has also found it hard to gain more new subscribers as they did in some years back.
Therefore, the situations call for a quick response and reaction from the company. The duration of the situation is expected to last long, and thus it is an ongoing situation, and the situation is industry-related. When the situation continues to impact on the performance of the company, the mission of the company will no longer make any sense thus the situation will impact negatively on the company mission. The situation that the company is facing is an opportunity. The situation is an opportunity because the organization will have an opportunity to showcase its ability to offer services that are quality and affordable.
Resolution of the Situation
The quality and quantity of the information will affect how the situation will be resolved. The reason being the organization needs enough quality information about the strategy of the competitors so that it can use the information to outwit the completion and resolve the situation. The resolution at hand cannot benefit all the party involved since every party involved is competitors. The situation is very critical to the public relations staff and the top management. Since the organization’s success is determined by how the company relates to the customers. Therefore, the organization is very dedicated to resolving the situation.
Internal Environment
The organization has focused its energy to enhance the communication process. The company has done decades of investment and. Therefore, it has resources. Due to the resources the company ensures the company provides best services in the country. That is explained by the fact that the company still holds the highest percentage of the market share. With an average net profit of $2 billion, the company has shown to have the required resources to conduct the campaign. The organization has shown its support by allocating $500 million towards the campaign.
Performance
The organization offers various communication solutions and services. The company offers internet data services as well as communication services. The quality of the services offered is usually rated by the customers. The customer’s feedback is usually used to gauge the quality of the services offered by the company. If the company offers low-quality services, it is automatic the customers will be affected. Therefore, the customers will be first to complain about the quality.
Those criteria will be used to determine the quality of the services. The quality of the services offered by the organization is commendable. Within the last three years, the organization has managed to procure the best up to date communication equipment. That has enhanced the quality of services offered by the organization. The leadership of the organization is satisfied with the quality of the services; however they are very much concerned with the pace in which the competitors in the market are strategy. The services offered by the company are of high quality and also affordable.
The consumers usually get to enjoy the best quality at the lowest cost. However, the disadvantage of the product is that the competitors have created a negative stereotype towards the organization’s products and services. Despite that, the Etisalat products and services cover every area of the UAE. The company coverage sets the company products apart.
The coverage of the company services is because the company has been in existence in the industry for a long time. The time factor enabled the company to establish the necessary assets to cover all areas of the UAE. The services and products offered by the company have transformed over the years for the better. The services have utilized the new technology and plan to include even other communication products within the next two years.
Structure
The purpose of the organization is to enhance the communication with all people. When communication is enhanced, then the vision of the company is attained. The vision of the Company is to enable the people of the world to keep in touch regardless of the distance and locality. Therefore, the strategic business plan of the organization is to have as many people as possible subscribed to the company services. When that is achieved the vision of the company is attained. The public relations campaign is aimed at convincing more people to be subscribed to the company services.
The aim of the company is to maintain the loyal customers as well as attain new ones. The organization, therefore, has provided the campaign with the communication resources that include dedicated personality, budget, time, and equipment. The resources will increase each year since the situation is long term. The public relations staff holds a prestigious role in the company decision-making process. This is because they provide insight on how the customer should relate to the company as well as improve the image of the company.
Internal Impediments
The internal environment is supportive since the success of the company will affect positively the internal affairs of the company. The only impediment towards the campaign is that some of the board members do not agree with the process. Some of them have claimed that the process is a waste of money. However, after being informed about the benefits of the public relations, they agreed to give a go and allow the process to continue.
Public Perception
The company is well known across the country. That is evident by the fact that the company is the most popular communication company in the whole of UAE and also it has branches and partnerships across the world. The company has a good reputation as one of the pioneers of the modern communication industry in the UAE.
The company products are visible in many areas since the comp [any covers all areas of the UAE. The company product is also widespread and is utilized by the majority of people in the country. It is estimated that 60% of the mobile phone users enjoy the services of the company. The product is perceived as of quality and reliable since the network coverage is wider than most of its competitors and also the customer care providers are very efficient.
The public perception of the company, product can be termed as slightly correct since for the past ten years the company has experienced slow growth, and it has been losing some of its subscribers. The company communicated about the situation, and the decision was made to develop the strategy to prevent the mass exodus. The company decided to lower its prices as well as improve the quality of its services. The reputation has remained or slightly dropped in the past three years. The organization is not satisfied with the situation, and that is the reason the company has approved the public relations campaign.
External Environment
The main competitor of the company is du Company. The company was founded ten years ago but has continued to gain market share at a faster rate. The du Company has conducted very vigorous public relation program and this might affect the effectiveness of the Etisalat public relation program.
The external environment is very competitive, and that can be proved by the fact the du Company was formed the just decade ago and has immensely managed to occupy an outstanding 44% of the market share (Kolachi, & Akan,2014, p. 160). The du Company entered the market at the time people in the UAE had no other option regarding communication services.
The company used that fact to their advantage and, as a result, managed to gain more subscribers within a short time. The only factor that the competitor has an advantage over the Etisalat Company is the fact that the company utilizes the strategies set by the Etisalat. Du Company usually waits for the company to set a bar and then tries to lower the bar. That can be seen in the price war that has widely affected the communication industry in the UAE.
The communication industry has continuously grown over the years. That can be seen by the number of subscribers who subscribe to any of the services in the industry. Despite that Etisalat Company products and services is widely spread and known to nearly all of the subscribers. Some statistics state that every new subscriber starts with Etisalat. Therefore, the major aim of the public relations campaign is to strive to maintain these subscribers and also attract new customers.
Public Analysis
Ordinary people are major customers of the company services. The company has employed the services of the public figures to help in the public relations campaign. Some of these people are celebrity models, musicians, actors, and many other public individuals in the country. People from all social classes enjoy the services of the company. The reason being the services is affordable for all classes. However, the middle-income society is the major consumers of the services.
Therefore, they are the company’s primary customers. The secondary consumers consist of organizations such as schools, institutions, and businesses. The past three years have seen the dramatic twist in the customer trend. That has been attributed to the aggressive nature of the competitor. Despite that, the company has managed to attract the wide range of business people to offer its services. Some of the institutions that offer the company’s products and services are the banks, supermarkets, malls, and small shops.
The company has made deals and collaborations with many other players in the industry. Therefore, the products and services are a wide and very detailed. There are other groups in the industry that has enabled the organization to attain its goals. Some of the organizations are the media groups who have continuous support the organization’s strategies. The rich people in the country have shown that their decision can significantly affect the outcome of the organization. They can do this by sponsoring the promotion campaigns of the competitors.
The key public relations program coordinators are a musician, actor, a footballer, and media celebrity. The chosen public relations coordinators are conversant with the issue at hand. All the chosen public relations coordinators are very supportive on the issue, and they share the same ideology as the company. Each of the coordinators has characteristics that will relate to the general public.
The musician will bring along his or her influence in the public relation. The musician has an age limit of below thirty years. That will enable him or her to capture the youths who are the majority. The actor, as well as the media personality, will have the same traits as the musician. All will communicate by use of their profession. The footballer will relate the services offered about football. The same will apply to all other public relations coordinators. The company will benefit immensely since it will be able to capture more following from the followers of the key public relations coordinators.
Goals and Objectives
The main goal of the company is to enhance the communication beyond the physical location. Therefore, the goal; strive to increase its customer base so that it can achieve the company goal. The organization’s goal does not in any way contradict the issue that the organization is facing.
The goal is viable because with the vigorous campaign the company can reach out to many customers in the market (Bergmann, Kopmann, Steidl, & Wolf, 2014, p. 240). The goal of the company does not have any of the ethical issues. The aim of the campaign is to enable the product and services from the company to continue to occupy the top position in the consumer ratings.
Objectives
The company has two major objectives. The first objective is to provide quality services and products to all its subscribers at low cost. The second objective is to promote the product and services to the entire area of the UAE. Therefore, all objectives of each public relations coordinator are linked to the objectives above.
- To have an effect on awareness, action, acceptance of the product in the whole of UAE. (Musician)
- To have an effect on awareness, action, acceptance of the quality of the product and services. (Footballer)
- To have an effect on awareness, action, acceptance of efficiency of products. (Media personality)
All the objectives of each public relations coordinator are linked with the mission and vision of the company. Each of the objectives is measurable and attainable. These objectives are bound to last for some time until the company notices significant changes.
Action and Relations Initiatives
The proactive strategies that will be adopted in the program will be to start a promotional campaign in all the media entities such as social media, print media, and electronic media rigorously. The reactive strategies for the campaign would involve physical campaign where the consumers will be contacted individually (Okeke, Oghenetega, & Ugulu, 2014, p. 12).
These strategies have been used in the past with a lot of successes; however, the campaign will use these strategies in details. It is appropriate for the campaign to utilize the following organizational performance, audience participation, alliances, sponsorships, and activism. The campaign will also find it appropriate for news, transparent communication, and public relations.
Designing Effective Communication
The message for the campaign will be administered by the public relations coordinators. They include a musician, actor, and a footballer. Each of the individuals is popular among the public (Szabo, 2014, p. 52). Therefore, they can easily relate to the masses. Each of the individual wills portrays their messages through their profession, thus increasing the level of charisma in each of them.
The main message in the public relations campaign is to provide the quality services to the people and be the best in the industry. The message includes both emotional and rational appeal and also involves both the verbal and non-verbal communication. The message provides more than two points that are clear, contain power words, and maintain the ethical language.
Interpersonal Communication and Involvement
The campaign uses the communication technique that touches directly the lives of the people. The tactic will help the organization to relate to the customers. The campaign will utilize the door to door technique as well as the use gathering in schools and any public gathering and road shows, special events like sports, and fundraising.
Organisation Media Tactics
The campaign will use the media platform such as radio, newspaper, journals, and magazine. The campaign will also use the social media such as Facebook, twitter, and Instagram. Therefore, the campaign will use all the media, both audio and visual, as well as print media. The company will use this platform to conduct extensive advertising and promotion.
Evaluating the Strategic Plan
The company will measure the effectiveness of the plan by utilizing the feedback mechanism and the sales results. This information will obtain before-after study, as well as after the only study. The research on the effectiveness will utilize the methodology such as interviewing people and conducting surveys. The evaluation of output is more convenient since the management will only look at the gains during the campaign.
Message dissemination, cost analysis, advertising equivalent all assesses the outcome of the campaign and the amount spent on the program. The final evaluation will be given to the board of directors who are the top managers. The report will then be analyzed, and the management will decide on the implementation criteria. The managers will assess the importance of the program regarding organization profitability, image, cost, ethical and social consideration, timely, and actionable.
Reference
Bergmann, T., Kopmann, A., Steidl, M., & Wolf, J. (2014). A virtual reality visit in a large scale research facility for particle physics education and public relation. INTED2014 Proceedings, 2830-2838.
Kolachi, N., & Akan, O. (2014). HRD Role in Organizational Development (A Case of Corporate Thinking at ETISALAT, UAE). International Business Research, 7(8), p160.
Okeke, I. E., Oghenetega, L. U., & Ugulu, L. (2014). Public Relation Skills of University Librarians in South-East Geo-Political Zone of Nigeria. New Media and Mass Communication, 30, 8-12.
Szabo, L. V. (2014). THE TIMIŞOARA SYNDROME AND THE PANAMA INVASION: COMMUNICATION, PUBLIC RELATION AND THE SENSITIVE ISSUE OF THE DEATH TOLL. Professional Communication and Translation Studies, (7), 45 52.