Digi Telecommunications: Malaysia’s Largest Mobile And Internet Service Provider

Analysis of Marketing Position

Discuss about the Digi Telecommunication Largest Mobile And Net Service.

Digi Telecommunications is one of the largest mobile and internet service providers in Malaysia with a customer base of around 11.7 million (digi.com.my 2018). A large number of user friendly products and services help the customers to remain connected to the world and also makes Digi Telecommunications one of the most trusted connectivity service providers in Malaysia. However, the company focuses on the future growth and development in order to provide better service to the customers and has the ambition to be one of the most favourite and trusted choice of the Malaysians in the years to come. This development is on the basis of the company’s vision of making a more digitally empowered society by providing a strong connectivity service to the customers. This can help to create a better and more developed society in the future. Digi Telecommunications is a part of the global communications leader, Telenor group of Norway which also believes in a progressive marketing strategy to bring forward more sustainable and competitive business environment and build a better and progressive society in the long run (telenor.com 2018). The purpose of this discussion is to look into the current market position of the products of the Digi Telecommunications using Marketing models such as Market Positioning and marketing Mix. These can help to develop market strategies for the future. It is important to understand these strategies for a company with more than 22 years of experience in the Telecommunications market and which earns a revenue of more than RM 5.91 billion (digi.com.my 2018). An analysis of the projected market strategies can help in the better understanding of the probable success of the strategies and how they can be implemented for a successful future. A marketing communication plan is also to be prepared to highlight the recommendations that are to be required for the success of the strategies.

 

Source: Self-developed

The above chart represents the market position of the most popular products of the Digi Telecommunications. There are different companies exited in Malaysian market. Maxis is also one of the reputed company in Malaysia and they have good market culture also to make some effective business positioning in Malaysia. After that Celcom has 9.45 million subscribers ate the end of 2017. They are trying to establish their position in competitive market. The proposal of low price and maintaining a high quality is thus one of the best strategic movement initiated by the company. On the other hand, Digi has implemented some innovative market planning like 4G+ or 4G LTE-A, and these are quite effective in terms of establishing the market for Digi.

Marketing Mix

The red marked dot represents 4G LTE-A, the most advanced technology that Digi Communication offers to its customers. It provides an enriched call quality with high speed internet. However, being a quality product, its cost is also high as of now. 4G LTE-A provided by Digi currently holds a 55% market share in the Telecommunications market (digi.com.my 2018). The high speed broadband is one of the most popular products of the Digi Telecommunications and it covers a network of more than 8000 km (digi.com.my 2018). The service guarantees a high quality service at a moderately higher price value. Maxis on the other has home internet connection and have the highest no. of varieties in channelling, thus this is one of the better market that the company has and service standards is also high in price and have the connection.

Celcom is low in price but a formidable quality has delivered in that case. The market share of the company is not good but the appropriate aspect for levelling Maxis or Digi is the concern aspect for them. The innovation of Celcom is not good and that also reflected from their customer base. There are less number of customers rather than Digi and the customer base is not relevant as per the quality.

U-mobile is the last competitor and they have implemented low pricing strategy for the market development of the company. The company is dealing with low price as the technological advancement is there along with the product relevancy. The traditional things are the main concern in that case and there are some many challenges faced by the company in recent past, their position in business market is become low.

Source: Self-developed

The above chart represents the Marketing Mix module that is required for determining market positioning strategy of different products of the Digi Telecommunications by considering the different factors such as the people, products, place and promotion.

Price

Value pricing have been initiated by Digi and this is one of the pricing strategy that uses for the marketing coopetition process. Service competition is the major aspect in that case and they are not concerned with the pricing strategy, rather they have improve their product quality so that best price can obtain form the customers. The focus is on the higher range of price and that is the reason distribution and marketing is there for the price evaluating issue.

Marketing Objectives

Products

The popular products that the company can work upon to promote in the future are the advanced digital communication services such as the 4G LTE-A, 4G LTE, VoWiFi and VoLTE. These products are the most advanced services and can help the company achieve a good position in the market with better service and an affordable price.

Place

The company should promote the products not only in the local urban market but also in the rural market. Presently, the premium service are present only in the urban market. However, to achieve a market leadership status, the company should spread out even to the rural areas and create a market dominance and have an upper hand over the competitors.

Promotion

The company should take up digital marketing strategies for promotion besides the conventional marketing strategies in order reach out to a large number of people in a considerable short period of time. In the digitally advanced society, digital marketing is one of most effective promotional tool.

Specific	Measurable	Achievable	Relevant	Time-bound
To achieve a 30% sales growth for the products such as 4G LTE-A, 4G LTE, VoWiFi, VoLTE	The growth of 10% in the sales of the products has to be measured in a yearly basis. A yearly report can highlight the target that has been achieved in comparison to the target set. This type of analysis for a period of three years can help in understanding and calculating the growth rate of the company. This will help Digi Communication to enhance and develop the strategies required for the growth and increasing the market shares in the subsequent years.	The present market share of the products and services mentioned has to be kept in consideration while setting the goal for the upcoming years. A step by step analysis and a sustainable target is to be set every year to achieve the complete target at the end of three years. Management of resources and other marketing techniques are very important on a yearly basis to achieve the goals set at the end of three years. This will open the doors to take up more ambitious projects at the end of the time period.	The objective set for the time period of three years is very much relevant considering the advanced development in the digital communications technology. Keeping in mind the ambition of the company to be one of the most trusted and favourite choice of the customers, it is inevitable for the company to develop a robust marketing plan to gain the maximum market shares in the years to come.	The projected time period for the objective set is 3 years.

Specific	Measurable	Achievable	Relevant	Time-bound
To reach out to a larger customer base in both urban and rural sector	A larger customer base is the key to achieve a higher market growth. Hence, a market share of 3% is required to be achieved at the end of 3 years. A yearly monitoring is to be required to measure at least 1% growth in order to achieve the projected growth at the end of every year.	The present customer base is to be considered and the layout plan is to be set accordingly to reach out to the potential markets in the projected period of time. A yearly plan is to be set to target certain markets at the minimum rate of 1%. This can help to achieve the target at the end of the three years. A complete plan of identifying the markets yearly and setting plans to reach out to the target customers is required for the plan to be carried out. A clear planning of the target customers and their affordability is also to be kept in mind while carrying out the objective.	Achievement in considerable growth in the market share and customer base is essential for the development of the company in the future. The objective of spreading to diverse markets is very much relevant keeping in mind the competitive structure of the market. The increase of the customer base and presence in the diverse markets can help in the growth of the awareness among the customers which is beneficial for the company.	The time-period set for the 3% growth in the market share is 3 years. This short time period is set as this will help the company measure its output on an experimental basis.

Specific	Measurable	Achievable	Relevant	Time-bound
To develop a digital promotional strategy to reach out to a large number of people.	The promotional activities and its success accordingly can be analysed by comparing the Return of Investment. It is essential to understand the profit gained from the investment made in order to make sustainable promotional strategy. Over expenses can lead to the loss of the company which can hinder growth and development.	The promotional activities will be carried out on different social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The social plays a very important part of the daily life of the people and hence it will be easier to reach out to a larger number of customers via the social media platforms. Moreover, the costing of the social media promotion is also considerably low than other promotional strategies and can help the company achieve a sustainable growth and development in the chosen period of time.	Social media platforms are highly popular these days. Their popularity is bound to increase in the coming days and more people are attracted towards them daily. A strong presence in the social media will help the company increase its awareness among the customers. This will help the company increase its sales and expanding its customer base.	The time period set for the robust social media promotion is 3 years. An active promotion can make increase the brand value of the company in this period of time.

• Objective 1:The first objective identified as to achieve an increase of 30% sales in the time period of 3 years is important. In order to achieve this sales growth it is important to identify the key products for promotion of the brand and also can increase the brand value of Digi Communication. The key products are 4G LTE-A, 4G LTE, VoWifi and VoLTE. These are premium services which provides high quality digital communication experience to the customers (Hudson 2013). Providing these products at an affordable rate can help the company increase their sales at a considerable rate over the years. However, it is ambitious to make a long three year plan at one time. A step by step process which requires a yearly planning for the next three years can help to develop the increase in the sales of the product. Moreover, it is required to identify which products to promote in which areas. All products might not be popular in every area and it might change with regional requirements and the taste of the people. This type of systematic planning over the next three years and a monitoring of the achievements will help to increase the sales of the company by 30% in the next three years. The company should take a yearly strategy to monitor the growth and development in the sales of the discussed products and accordingly enhance the growth and development for a period of three years. At the end of three years a detailed analysis of the three years report can help to understand how much the company has achieved and what more recommendations are to be applied for more growth. A longer time period, for example 5 years will be too long to determine the growth. A shorter time period will also help to determine newer strategies according to the market demands.
• Objective 2: The second objective identified is the increase of market share or customer base. This is the key objective for the increase in the sales and henceforth, the development and growth of the company. Presently, the premium services of the company are only present in the urban markets with an insignificant presence nationwide. It is essential to have a nationwide market presence to increase the sales of the premium products of the company (Taghizadeh et al. 2014). The company needs to focus on the rural market in the next three years and create a strong presence in the rural market. This will create their brand awareness there and increase their sales in those markets. A three years’ marketing plan is chosen for these objective as it requires a considerable time to explore the different markets (Dogan and Gokovali 2012). Each market has its own requirement and has its own taste. If a shorter period of time is taken then it would create a confusion for the proper planning of marketing strategies for each market. In the three years the company will focus on different markets individually and plan accordingly on how to promote the products in the particular market or how to create awareness according to the taste of the particular market. This will help the company achieve a sustainable growth in the three years’ time in a completely systematic and planned manner.
• Objective 3:The third and final objective that has been identified is the development of a digital marketing strategy to promote the business and the products in the different markets and increase the sales of the products accordingly. In the age of advanced technology and the dominance of social media it will be wise of the company to develop a digital marketing strategy using social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the robust marketing of the products in the different markets (Ryan 2016). A three year time period is a considerable tie to monitor the Return on Investment so as to measure the profits earned by the company after undertaking these promotions (Kumar and Mirchandani 2012). Moreover, it can help the company understand whether it has been able to appeal to its target market in the given period of time. This will help the company to plan the future strategies accordingly.

Source: Self-developed

Problem Definition: The key objective identified in the market communication plan is to increase the sales of Digi Telecommunications.

Analysis: It is essential to identify the key products on which Digi can work upon to increase the sales. The key products identified in the above discussion are 4G LTE-A, 4G LTE, VoWiFi and VoLTE. These are the premium services provided by Digi and promises a high quality satisfactory result for the customers. However, it is seen that these premium services comes with a higher price tag and are mostly limited to the urban areas of the company with 4G LTE-A having only a 55% market share in the telecommunications market (Osman et al. 2012).

Strategy: The potential markets on which Digi can explore in the future are the rural markets along with the urban markets. This expansion will help in increasing the sales of Digi Telecommunications and also increase its customer base at a considerable rate. Moreover, it also fulfils the company’s vision of being the most favourable choice for the people of Malaysia.

Tactics: The tactics that can be used for the growth and development of the sales of the services provided by Digi Communication are decrease of price and a strong digital promotion. In order to spread out to a diverse market that includes the rural market, Digi Communications require to decrease the prices of their premium products. These can help more people afford these services and ultimately lead to the increase in sales of the company. The company can also use a robust digital marketing on social platforms to promote the brand awareness among the people and increase its presence among the larger section of the population. Social media plays a strong influence in the people’s mind and hence digital marketing is very important as a marketing strategy (Tiago and Veríssimo 2014).

Analysing Marketing Objectives

Action: Digi Communications will take up a three years plan in order to achieve a considerable growth. The planning has to be done on the yearly basis, so that a constant monitoring can be done on the achievement and it can be understood how much has been achieved in a year and how much remains to be done in the coming time period. Moreover the proper execution of the digital marketing has to be done with the changing taste of the people at different times. This will lead to a better appeal among the people and spread the brand awareness more effectively.

Conclusion:

The above discussion highlights the different marketing strategies according to the requirements of the customers. The conclusion can be hence drawn from the discussion, that the sales of Digi Telecommunications can be increased in different markets if proper promotional activities are undertaken. Moreover, a proper planning systematically and a step by step process measuring the achievements on a yearly basis can help the development and growth of the company at a considerable rate at the end of the three years.

Reference:

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Osman, M.A., Talib, A.Z., Sanusi, Z.A., Shiang-Yen, T. and Alwi, A.S., 2012. A Study of the Trend of Smartphone and its Usage Behavior in Malaysia. International Journal of New Computer Architectures and their Applications (IJNCAA), 2(1), pp.274-285.

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