ENHANCING THE MARKETING ACTIVITIES OF PNAT TRADING & SERVICES CO LTD

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION & TRAINING UNIVERSITEÙ LIBRE DE BRUXELLES HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY SOLVAY BUSINESS SCHOOL MBMM PROGRAM Lý Lan Phương ENHANCING THE MARKETING ACTIVITIES OF PNAT TRADING & SERVICES CO LTD Final Project Master in Business & Marketing Management Ho Chi Minh City 2007 PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com MINISTRY OF EDUCATION & TRAINING UNIVERSITEÙ LIBRE DE BRUXELLES HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY SOLVAY BUSINESS SCHOOL MBMM PROGRAM Lý Lan Phương ENHANCING THE MARKETING ACTIVITIES OF PNAT TRADING & SERVICES CO LTD Final Project Master in Business & Marketing Management Project Tutor: Traàn Xuân Kiêm Doctor in Business Administration Ho Chi Minh City 2007 PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com ii Student Declaration I hereby certify that the attached assignment is my own work Materials drawn from other sources has been acknowledged according to specific requirements for referencing Ho Chi Minh City, 25th May, 2007 Ly Lan Phuong PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com iii Acknowledgments The author wishes to express sincere appreciation to Dr Trần Xuân Kiêm for his guidance in the preparation and writing of this final project report Special thanks to Mr Nguyễn Văn Tâm, IT Director of PNAT Trading & Services Co Ltd., for his valuable input and feedback, and also to the management and staff of PNAT, the members of the Postgraduate Office of Open University HCMC and Solvay Business School for their assistance and encouragement in making this project a reality PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com iv Remarks from Project Tutor PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com v Executive Summary PNAT Trading & Services Co Ltd (hereinafter to be called PNAT) is a familyowned business specializing in trading and servicing Informatics (IT) products and office equipment It is a newly set-up company (one year old), but has made a good reputation for quality goods and services at competitive price Currently, PNAT has an insignificant market share (less than per cent), and it seeks to expand its customer reach and win a better market share in the IT market in Hochiminh City Marketing Objectives PNAT has managed to have a gross sales of USD 64,369 for its first year 2006, with a small loss of USD 1,889 due to high set-up costs for company infrastructure Nevertheless, PNAT has developed a long-term relationship with local and international companies Now PNAT intends to expand its sales of IT products and services, focusing on international and local SBs1, and heavy home-users of IT Its goal is to increase gross sales by 20 per cent in the year 2008 and incrementally in the subsequent years Products or Services PNAT has signed contracts with large manufacturing companies and authorized distributors in Vietnam such as IBM, ASUS, HP, and FTP to distribute their products to SBs on order, at a margin of 5% The pricing structure of PNAT is Small Businesses PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com vi competitively lower than its competitors, and PNAT further differentiates itself by giving free-of-charge after-sales services Together with the sales of products, PNAT carries out maintenance and trouble-shooting services to these SBs whenever there is a need Now, as the market environment has been increasingly changed at a fast pace since Vietnam joined the World Trade Organization in 2006, PNAT plans to meet the new demands of the market, and aggressively embark on sales of IT products and services Resources Needed PNAT is a newly set-up company, with low financial strength and manpower resources To increase sales of IT products and services, it plans to boost eMarketing and eCommerce, as this can save costs and increase marketing efficiency PNAT has the management expertise to accomplish this plan, and being an IT service company, PNAT does not need to hire outside consultants to develop its website and bring to full operation All that is required will be about USD 1,800 to redesign and develop the website, and IT specialists to take turns in monitoring the website Marketing Matrix Components PNAT has the benefit of beginning online marketing with its loyal customers, who are well established companies2 PNAT hopes to expand communication links with its current customers and attract new customers who are local and international SBs, and heavy home-users of IT products and services The Please refer to 1.4.3: List of Loyal Customers PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com vii objectives of PNAT’s online marketing is brand and image building, and a wider reach of customers, for increase in sales Projected Outcomes It is expected that the brand of PNAT and its quality services and goods will be better known and utilized, so that its gross sales can be increased by 20% (about USD 76,800) in the first year (2008), and for the subsequent years, by 30% It is also expected that, thanks to its online marketing, PNAT will have better understanding of the customer’s ‘unsatisfied demands’, and to satisfy these demands with a USP3 in a way that no other competitors can manage to achieve, to increase barriers to entry for its competitors, and achieve a sustainable competitive edge Unique Selling Proposal PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Student Declaration ii Acknowledgments iii Remarks from Project Tutor iv Executive Summary v Marketing Objectives v Products or Services v Resources Needed vi Marketing Matrix Components vi Projected Outcomes vii TABLE OF CONTENTS viii LIST OF FIGURES x FOREWORD 1 Background Research Objectives & Scope Research Method 3.1 Method of Information-gathering 3.2 Method of Analysis and Synthesis Project Outline CHAPTER 1: MARKETING ACTIVITIES OF PNAT 1.1 INTRODUCTION TO PNAT 1.1.1 History of Establishment of PNAT 1.1.2 Organization Structure of PNAT 1.1.3 Company Performance 1.2 PRODUCT OF PNAT 1.3 PRICING 1.3.1 Products 1.3.2 Services 1.4 DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS AND MERCHANDISING 1.4 PROMOTION ACTIVITIES PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com ix 1.4.1 Telemarketing 1.4.2 Email Marketing 1.4.3 eCommerce 1.4.4 Other Promotion Activities 10 CHAPTER 2: SITUATION ANALYSIS 11 2.1 MARKET ANALYSIS 11 2.1.1 Changes in the Competitive Environment 11 2.1.2 Changes in the Sociocultural, Political and Legal Environment 11 2.2 COMPETITOR ANALYSIS 13 2.2.1 Competitor Matrix 13 2.2.2 Analysis of key competitors of PNAT 13 2.3 TARGET ANALYSIS 15 2.4 SWOT ANALYSIS 15 2.4.1 Strengths 15 2.4.2 Weaknesses 16 2.4.3 Opportunities 17 2.4.4 Threats 17 CHAPTER 3: ENHANCING MARKETING ACTIVITIES OF PNAT 18 3.1 OPERATING PHILOSOPHY & MISSION STATEMENT 18 3.2 ANALYSIS AND PROPOSAL FOR STRATEGY 19 3.3 RECOMMENDATIONS 19 CONCLUSION 25 BIBLIOGRAPHY 26 Books/Articles: 26 Websites: 26 APPENDICES PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com 10 Figure 9: List of Loyal Customers of PNAT List of Loyal Customers 3M Worldwide Vietnam (Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Co.) PriceWaterHouseCoopers Vietnam Auditing Company SASCO Air Services Company, Tan Son Nhat Airport Clipsal-Vtec Vietnam JV Company CDMA – SFone Mobile Phone Center Chan My Design & Construction Company ICD Joint-Stock Construction Company HCMC Commercial Services Joint Stock Company (CISTRA) AtlasCopco Vietnam Company 10 Fluid Power & Control Vietnam, Industrial Park Vietnam-Singapore 11 D.I Vietnam Design Company, Linh Trung Export Processing Zone 12 Technopia Vietnam Company, Bien Hoa Industrial Park 13 Vinh Co Office Equipment Company 14 Notary Public Office No 15 Phu Quoc Vocational Training Center, Phu Quoc, Kien Giang Province PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com 11 Figure 10: Website of Phuong Nhut IT Services (no English version)33 Homepage Introduction Services Products Good Webs Send Mail Contact us CUSTOMER FEEDABCK ON TECHNICAL STAFF 33 The English words are translated from the original Vietnamese version PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com 12 Figure 11: Phong Vu Website displaying IT products PRODUCTS PROMOTION PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com 13 Figure 12: Phong Vu Website displaying Product Price and Promotion Note: Phong Vu’s promotion is for volume discounts, bundling pricing (buying of IT packages), and free gifts from authorized distributors PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com 14 Figure 13: PNAT website with wordy advertising of its services and expertise Services Professional Networking - Application - Technology is a point team that helps customers solve complicated challenges in implementing large solutions, complex, and business critical IT development and integration programs PNAT provides cost-effective high-quality enterprise-level solutions for most complex IT challenges of customers Our goal is cost reduction but double profit Our Experience PNAT provides solutions to challenging IT problems by combining its deep technology expertise, architecture solutions capability, and extensive program management skills Our team has significant experience in delivering large scale and complex solutions using delivery processes that drive efficiencies PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com 15 Figure 14: PNAT’s “Desired Targeting” vs “As Is Targeting” “AS IS” TARGET “DESIRED” TARGET Heavy IT Home-users Local & International Companies Local & International Companies, focus on SBs (Small Businesses) Government Bodies Figure 15: Good example from DataDoctors’ Website of “Free Help Center” PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com 16 Figure 16: PNAT’s enhanced website with more focused services COMPUTER SERVICE AND REPAIR PNAT Computer Services can handle your toughest computer problems! Bring your computer to our experienced technical services staff to us We are EXPERTS in Computer Repair DATA RECOVERY AND PROTECTION Has your hard drive crashed? Our knowledgeable Data Recovery Lab has vast experience recovering data from all types of media We also provide several prevention and data backup solutions to safe guard your valuable data BUSINESS NETWORKING AND SERVICES Our experienced staff specializes in business networking and services for Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000 & XP! Free consultations available! IN-HOME SERVICE Complete home design & installation Share that high-speed Internet connection anywhere in the house, safely! Figure 17: PNAT’s enhanced website promoting Free Weekly Newsletter Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter full of tips & tricks: Your Email Address: Subscribe Unsubscribe Click here to change your address PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com 17 Figure 18: Good example of ‘Data Recovery & Data Backup’ (by DataDoctors) PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com 18 Figure 19: Good example of ‘In-home Network Services’ by DataDoctors PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com 19 Figure 20: Good Example of Computer Metrics (for PNAT to adapt) PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com Figure 21: SWOT vs KSFs of PNAT Importance (1-10) KSF Which elements should be developed to increase KSF? Strengths of Company Weaknesses of Company • Timely, clear, interesting and reliable information to customers on products and services • Good website, frequently updated • PNAT is IT competent, with good experiences in website design and monitoring • PNAT’s website • Reliability of products sold, at competitive cost • Website to compare costs with other competitors • PNAT products are sold at lower price than its competitors by 2%, & PNAT has access to information of pricing and quality of products • PNAT does not display • Reliability of regular maintenance at site • IT Specialists to be qualified and frequently updated with new developments • PNAT IT Specialist are qualified, reliable, and loyal • PNAT has low number of PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com currently is not informative & not completed Only product sections are displayed, not services competitor pricing on website IT Specialists who are experienced (>5 years) Importance (1-10) KSF Which elements should be developed to increase KSF? Strengths of Company Weaknesses of Company • Reliable and Timely response to customer requests (PNAT trouble-shoots the problem within hours, or free temporarily replacement with its product.) • There should be some dedicated & qualified IT specialists to respond timely to customer needs and be able to trouble shoot within hours • PNAT has an online section for customer’s queries, and PNAT Director is ITconversant and online with customers whenever possible • There is no dedicated IT • High customer satisfaction of products and services • Website to be informative and interesting, with additional features to promote stickiness (e.g news/events, games & music downloads) • PNAT has current happenings on IT, with English version, enabling transactions with international companies & staff • Too many current Promotions for holiday seasons, when customers receive their bonuses • PNAT has been giving this to key customers, but low amount • PNAT does not have • Promotional gifts to customers with purchases higher than USD 2,000 • PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com specialist to handle this PNAT Director is too busy at times to this happenings, blocking view of products & services • Too low visits to website • Website incompleted fidelity program schemes and equivalents Importance (1-10) 10 34 KSF Which elements should be developed to increase KSF? Strengths of Company Weaknesses of Company • Commissions to decision makers of companies • To allot an amount in annual budget for this • PNAT has been giving this to key customers, but in low amount • PNAT has low financial • Wide reach of products and services • To develop eMarketing & eCommerce • PNAT Director has been doing this marketing role, offline • PNAT Director devotes • Develop relationship marketing with frequent visits to existing customers to update new products or services • Periodic marketing plans, with customer loyalty as one of the KPIs34 for assessing effectiveness • PNAT Director makes visits to existing customers on call • PNAT Director does not • Develop relationship with frequent visits to new customers to advertise new products or services • Aggressive marketing, with customer purchase as one of the KPIs for effectiveness • PNAT Director has good interpersonal skills for developing new customers • PNAT Director does not Key Performance Indicators PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com strength (with a low margin of 5%) to maintain this in the longterm only 25% for this activity, with no delegation to staff have much time to this have much time to this DESIGNING AN E-MARKETING PLAN FOR PNAT Proposed Marketing activities for different Levers across Stages of Customer Relationship Figure 22: eMarketing Plan for PNAT STAGES COMMUNICATION AWARENESS • Monthly PNAT newsletters EXPLORATORY • (GoogleVN or • Strategic alliances with popular YahooVN) websites (GoogleVN, YahooVN, games online, jobsearch websites, Banner ads • Customer Services via online newspapers, education constant dialogues websites, etc.) to display PNAT with updates, emails banner ads • Co-branded sites with partners FPT/IBM/HP/… • PNAT sponsored links with GoogleVN or YahooVN PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com COMMITMENT • Community of PNAT users DISSOLUTION • Suspending members from the community STAGES COMMUNITY AWARENESS EXPLORATORY COMMITMENT Increase equity DISSOLUTION Spot departing • Outline benefits clearly and early • Efficient site structure for ‘PNAT Club Membership’ • Show everyone building (increase members early individual attention rewards) and find solutions Recognize to prevent dissolution • Anticipate and readily answer • • • questions and concerns, quickly (welcoming emails, establishing sense of trust (via guides for novices, individual FAQs) chat conversations for contribution and new members) participation process fair and Develop members efficient • Establish a call for action and further exploration • Begin process of • • Make leaving Seek and listen equity creation (leadership (member points and opportunity, closely to loyalty programs) community roles, feedback guides) • • Allow ‘returning members’ PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com