澳洲论文代写麦觉理大学:Virgin Media Ireland
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澳洲论文代写麦觉理大学:Virgin Media Ireland
介绍
Virgin Media Ireland位于爱尔兰,被认为是该国最大的数字有线电视提供商。然而,该公司有四项关键业务,其中包括宽带,有线电视,电话和移动业务。Virgin Media Ireland隶属于全球最大的国际有线电视公司Liberty集团旗下。维珍媒体爱尔兰由于其四倍的因素,已经能够在竞争激烈的媒体行业进行战略定位。 提供四种不同服务的能力将吸引消费者选择与一家公司打交道,而不是四家不同的公司(Shichilenge,2013)。维珍媒体爱尔兰除了四重因素之外,还提供业界最好的服务。本报告旨在探索和确定Virgin Media Ireland的战略管理,并对公司运营进行战略分析。
Company Overview
Virgin Media Ireland falls under the telecommunications industry based on the services it provides. The company is recognized in Ireland for providing the fastest internet to its residential users in the country. It is also known for its mobile services that had reached more than one million subscribers in its third quarter. Virgin Media Ireland has been in operation for the past 11 years and over the period the company has experienced exponential growth (Ciara, 2015). The company has more than 800 employees and it is known for providing broadcast television, telephone services, mobile phone, cable television, and broadband internet services. The exponential growth of the company has been attributed to the large investment capital that has been put in place for the company’s development over the past years. Over the last decade, more than €1 Billion has been invested in the company’s operations and has generated average revenue of $468.8 million (Virgin Media inc., n.d).
The four key sectors of the company are significant to Ireland as they are the pillar of development in the technological industry. The company is also known to offer customized services depending on the needs and requirements of its different clients such as organizations, corporations, and other users. The research and development activities of the company have enabled it to stay ahead of its competitors as it is able to identify consumer’s needs and provide them through their services. This is evident in the upgrades that have been taking places in their different services offered. On the broadband services, as of 2010 the company had announced plans for upgrading to 100Mbits/s. This was in meeting the need for faster internet for both business and home users. The upgrade was conducted and currently the company offers 240 Mbits/s to 360Mbits/s to its residential users. The same has been with the television services that they have continuously upgraded since 2007 until their latest launch of set-top boxes. Despite all this, the company still faces stiff competition from other service providers within the industry including Sky Ireland, Vodafone, and Eir.
Competitive Landscape
Based on its varying services the company provides, it has a high number of competitors hence presenting a challenging competitive landscape. Competition is a recommended aspect in the market as it leads to self-regulation as well as better services to the consumers. Virgin Media Ireland Company faces competition from its four key operations from different companies hence the need to strategically position itself to handle the competition effectively. One of the significant competitors of Virgin Media Ireland is Eir Limited. The company is the largest telecommunication operator in the country and has been in operation since 1999. The company provides services such as television, mobile phone, and fixed-line telecommunications. Most of their services are similar to those of Virgin Media Ireland. Being that the company has been in operation in Ireland for a long time, provides it with a competitive edge over Virgin Media Ireland as it understands the market better hence the ability to manipulate it accordingly.
Vodafone is another competitor of Virgin Media Ireland from the mobile phone services provided. Vodafone is regarded as the largest mobile phone operator in the Republic of Ireland based on active subscribers. The company has dominated the mobile phone services in Ireland as from when it was formerly founded in 1986 as Eircell. The high experience in the Irish mobile phone services along with the large customer base provides Vodafone a competitive edge against Virgin Media Ireland that is relatively new to the market and has a small customer base.
Virgin Media faces competition from Sky Ireland which offers the ‘triple play’ services to its consumers; digital TV, phone, and broadband. These are similar services to those offered by Virgin Media Ireland Company hence providing a fair competition in the market. With the two companies targeting the same audience, they have to use different strategies in approaching the market. The only advantage Sky Ireland has over Virgin Media Ireland is based on the fact that it has been in operation since 1998 hence has vast experience on the needs of its consumers.
Virgin Media Ireland faces stiff competition from well established companies that have been in operation for longer periods hence their competitive advantage. However, on the other hand, Virgin Media Ireland has been able to employ its research and development strategy effectively and got to learn the consumer needs within a very short time hence providing accordingly. Based on the fact that it is new in the market, Virgin Media Ireland has the fastest internet in the country hence being used by several businesses that needs reliable and fast internet. Regardless of the competition it faces from every corner, Virgin Media Ireland has continued to develop and promote its operations in a bid to increase its customer base through meeting their needs.
Strategic Analysis
Strategic analysis provides high quality analytical, technical and informative information in regard to the business environment and its operations. There are a number of tools that are used for strategic analysis procedures in which they are able to identify all the aspects that are in relation to the business operations (McDonald, 1996). Among the commonly used tools for strategic analysis include Porter’s five forces and the Ansoff Matrix that will also be used in the analysis of Virgin Media Ireland Company.
The Ansoff Matrix
The Ansoff Matrix is used by business to determine the market growth and as well as product development of various companies in operation. The analysis is categorized based on whether the products developed are new or existing and whether the market is new or existing. Based on these categories, the company will be able to perform an analysis that will help in better performance in the product and market segments (Meldrum, & McDonald, 1995). Virgin Media Ireland Company products offered exist in the market the same with the market that is on existence. Therefore, the strategic analysis of the company will be carried out based on existing products and existing market.
Existing products and Existing Market
Virgin Media Ireland provides mobile phone, cable television, broadband, and telephone services that are already in the Ireland market. The analysis of existing products involves two phases; market penetration, and market development.
Market Penetration
The market penetration involves a strategy where the business focuses on selling existing products in an existing market. Based on the existing market and products, the company will use less resource in research as the information is readily available from their competitors. The objective of the market penetration is to promote the products to the consumers (Cardozo, 1993). This can be achieved through extensive sales promotion, competitive pricing strategies, and advertising. Virgin Media Ireland Company had used the market penetration strategy through the introduction of loyalty schemes especially on its mobile phone service users. The subscribers of Virgin Media Ireland mobile phone services are often rewarded based on their usage of their services.
Market Development
Virgin Media is an international telecommunication company that provides similar services to other nations around the world. Therefore, the introduction of the services to the Ireland market is categorized as market development. This strategy is more risky than market penetration as it involves doing business in unfamiliar territory hence the outcomes are usually unpredictable. The strategy however has an advantage due to the application of the gained experience in the other markets in the new market (Reed, & Luffman, 1986). The market development strategy is applied in cases where the business wants to increase the customer base.
Product Development
Product development strategy is used by companies that are introducing a new concept in an existing market and product. The Virgin Media Ireland applied this strategy by introducing faster internet in Ireland. Ireland had internet services before the entrance of Virgin Media however it was not fast. When the company entered the market, it realized that there was the need for a faster internet hence developed their internet services to be the fastest in the country. This is an effective strategy especially when targeting a specific group of consumers who need fast and reliable internet for their operations.
The Porter’s Five Force Analysis
The Porter’s Five Forces analysis is used in assessing the competitive power in a business operation. The analysis identifies advantages and how to use them and also points out weaknesses and how to improve them hence avoiding wrong decision making. The analysis is divided into five categories each assessing the five aspects of a business operation (Dobbs, 2014). The model will be used in assessing Virgin Media Ireland Company.
1. Supplier Power
In assessing the supplier power in Virgin Media Ireland, a look at their products is necessary. Based on their services, it is important to note that their supplier is the government that offers the broadcasting rights and controls a number of their operations that are regulated and provided by the government. There are no other suppliers hence giving the supplier more power over the company and this can impact negatively on the operation of the business.
2. Buyer Power
The buyer power in relation to the services offered by Virgin Media Ireland is high. This is based on the low numbers of the customer base of the services provided. This has a negative impact on the business as it gives the buyer more power to influence the prices and may bring them considerably down hence making the business to suffer losses. The company should develop a strategy that is aimed at increasing the buyers of their services hence lowering their power.
3. Competitive Rivalry
Virgin Media faces stiff competition from more established services providers in the country. The advantage that the company has is the fact that it has diversified its services hence reducing the power of the competitors. Therefore, this gives it the chance to balance off the competition of the different services hence reducing its power.
4. Threat of Substitution
Virgin Media Ireland Company has tackled the issue of threat substitution by providing the consumers with unique products that can not be easily substituted. This therefore reduces the power of threat of substitution hence allowing the company in positioning itself in the market more effectively. Some of their unique products include fast internet services, TV set-top boxes that support HD and can record up to 4 programs as one is watching the fifth program. This unique essence provides the company with higher power over the consumers.
5. Threat of New Entry
Telecommunication industry is one of the hardest industries to enter based on the government regulation and being the supplier of the necessary tools and provisions. This is evidenced by the few companies in the industry as higher costs are also accompanied in the entry. These reasons hence reduces the power of threats of new entry hence places Virgin Media Ireland in a better position to protect its position in the market (Porter, 2008).
Analysis and Conclusion
Virgin Media Ireland Company entered the Ireland market of telecommunication in 2005 and over the years it has been able to establish itself in the competitive market. The company development was based on high investment capital that saw the company providing four separate services to its consumers. The quadruple approach has both its limitations and benefits and the company has managed to exploit the benefits and minimize the challenges. The Ansoff Matrix offers an analysis of the company’s operation in relation to its products and the market in which they exist. The Porter’s Five Forces model was used to analyze the competitive power of the company as well as identify some of the possible weaknesses and strengths of the company positioning in the market. Based on the analysis performed, Virgin Media Ireland is performing fairly based on the fact that it is new in the market while some of its competitors have been in the industry for several decades. The development of products has enabled it stay relevant in the industry through introduction of new products and loyalty strategy for its consumers.
Cardozo, R. N. (1993).Product-market strategies and new business growth (No. 182). Strategic Management Research Center, University of Minnesota.
Ciara O’Brien (2015). Virgin Media Ireland says Subscribers rose to 1.1 Million in Third Quarter. The Irish Times. Business. Retrieved from http://www.irishtimes.com/business/media-and-marketing/virgin-media-ireland-says-subscribers-rose-to-1-1m-in-third-quarter-1.2419645
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