Introduction
The era of globalization creates many opportunities and threats to the companies that operate worldwide, and Meeras is one of them. Nonetheless, apart from focusing on the international trends, the companyâs focus on the UAE target market helped Meeras remain competitive in the market and have outstanding financial performance. Consequently, the primary goal of this paper is to conduct marketing analysis of the company while paying attention to its external and internal environment, financial performance, controls, and recommendations.
Situation Analysis
External Environment
The current economic environment and the need to continue the growth of the industry, hospitality, and urban segments in the United Arab Emirates can be discovered as favorable for Meerasâ real estate. Nonetheless, the governmental authorities have to pay critical attention to the quality of the products and ensure the safety of the buildings and locations to the citizens and visitors of the country. Complying with the safety codes and construction guidelines is essential for Meeras when operating in this segment. Consequently, the company has to pay vehement attention to the quality control procedures, as any malpractice may have a negative impact on Meerasâ brand image and reputation.
Corporate Review
The present mission and vision of the company explain its leading positions in the real estate segment. In this instance, the mission statement reflects the need to occupy a significant share of the market and focus on continuous enhancement of the most prosperous spheres in the UAE. Meanwhile, its vision attempts not only to improve the financial performance of the company but also pay vehement attention to the development of the leading industries of the country while driving innovation with the help of private and public companies.
Product Portfolio Analysis
Meeras specializes in different segments including healthcare and hospitality. Thus, the real estate is the central area of operations selected for the analysis of the paper. One of the enterpriseâs central goals is to manage and sell buildings and locations in the most popular and well-known places of Dubai. Bluewaters Island, La Mer, and City Walk are only several projects of Meeras. Underlying the importance of commitment, high quality, and enthusiasm explains Meerasâ leadership in the real estate market in the United Arab Emirates. In this case, one cannot underestimate the fact that the company can expand the provided services and discover new opportunities.
Review of the Rivalry
Despite having leading positions in the market, the competition in the real estate industry continues to intensify, as favorable conditions attract more and more companies to this area. Meeras has to face the rivalry of the real-estate companies with extended years of operations such as Continental Real Estate and Rocky Real Estate. This finding indicates that the current real estate market is highly occupied by the experienced companies, and Meeras should consider refining marketing campaigns to survive and encourage active investment of the private companies and entities in its properties.
Table 1 indicates that sufficient knowledge of the UAE culture, ability to meet the expectations of the customers, high quality, diversified product lines, and strong support of the local entities help Meeras become a successful leader of the industry with the outstanding financial liquidity. These components help the company maintain its financial performance at the sufficient level and contribute to a high recognition of Meeras nationally by gaining the support of authorities and local businesses.
Nevertheless, this SWOT revealed that one of the major weaknesses is the limited geographical coverage with the emphasis on the United Arab Emirates solely. This drawback emphasizes the need to expand the recognition of the brand since the local market will eventually stop its growth and will not fulfill the demands of the company. As for the product, the firm has to continue meeting the expectations and needs of the customers. Reflecting these aspects in its marketing campaigns will help attract new investors and explain high price levels for services and real estate.
The disadvantages indicated above can be discovered as the opportunities for the major competitors of the company. For example, apart from having a competent team of professionals and sufficient knowledge of the Arabic business culture, Continental Real Estate has extended years of operations that help the agency have a well-develop customer base. This feature allows the company build trusting relationships with its clients and have large market shares.
However, Table 2 also portrays that Continental Real Estate has similar issues with its marketing strategy like Meeras. For example, its limited focus of operations and geographical coverage may also have an adverse impact on the revenues of this real estate firm. The similarities in strengths give Meeras a possibility not only to expand its areas of sales but also devote attention to the international recognition and strengthen its corporate image. On the contrary, Rocky Real Estate took advantage of the real estate trends and weaknesses of the competitors (see Table 3). In this case, focusing on the international target markets is one of the benefits of the agency while prioritizing the customer-centered approach.6 This marketing strategy clearly boosts its financial prosperity and expands its possibilities in the market in the recent future.
To summarize, SWOT analyses of three market leaders show that the competition in the real estate market is stiff. All players have a clear impact on changing trends and preferences of the customers. This market segment will continue its growth, as the governmental authorities tend to focus on the innovation-driven economy with a high emphasis on safety and quality. As a consequence, this trend will lead to the increasing intensity of the competition since more and more companies will be attracted to this industry. To remain competitive in the market, Meeras should reflect its values in the mission statement and prioritize global marketing strategy.
Issues and Opportunities
The assessment conducted above shows that underestimating the actions of the competitors may be a potential cause of the loss of the market share. Considering the main rivals will help avoid the difficulties imposed by the global environment and make the pathway to the worldwide popularity easier. In this instance, the company should not only provision the upcoming trends but also elaborate its brand image. Creating a unique blend of strategies to address the needs of local markets and the international audience will be one of the approaches to change the current situation. This method will help take advantage of the weaknesses of one of the major competitors and affect the real estate industry in the desired way.
International orientation of Rocky Real Estate clearly attracts representatives of different countries to invest in the development of the local infrastructure while increasing the percentage of international customers. Consequently, another suitable strategy is to reconsider its focus on the specific target audience. Relying on the global marketing campaign will reveal novel possibilities to Meeras and grab the attention of public and private investors worldwide. Meeras should consider this opportunity as highly important and reflect customer orientation in its marketing campaign.
Marketing Strategy
Product
A new marketing approach can be discovered with the help of the marketing mix, as these aspects are highly important to consider when re-designing a strategy. Speaking of the product, as it was mentioned earlier, the company has to maintain the existent range of services but also take into account different consumer trends and opportunities for the development of new lines. Nonetheless, their selection has to comply with the needs of the potential clients, who are foreign and national investors. A new offering has to combine a unique blend of products and services that will help satisfy and cater the needs of different consumer groups simultaneously (national and international customers). Reviewing this stage is highly important, as it will help select the right place, price, and promotion components.
Place
Based on the analysis of a new product range, it is necessary to develop an international brand image that will interest customers from different countries and attract additional investment. To ensure reaching this successful outcome, Meeras has to consider designing the well-developed marketing network. In this instance, the company has to create a sufficient framework that will cover the best marketing concepts from the sphere of IT and traditional methods.
In the first place, the company has to take advantage of the international TV channels such as Bloomberg. This approach can be discovered as the most suitable one since the target audience of this TV channel covers not only business and finance enthusiasts but also people, who are interested in exploring new opportunities for investment. Using this marketing instrument will encourage immediate reaction of the target audience worldwide and increase companyâs recognition.
In turn, the company has to discover an opportunity to take advantage of the social media networks. It is one of the tools that will spread the information about the company rather fast. Having interesting and persuasive content in social media such as Facebook and Twitter will help tell more about the products, companyâs goals, and achievements. At the same time, making an interactive website with the user-friendly interface will help explain the objectives of Meeras and underline the need for financial investment. To ensure high-quality content, the management of the company has to pay vehement attention to monitoring and complying with industrial trends. Consequently, taking advantage of IT and hiring new professionals will help the company reach its marketing goals.
Price
The company can maintain its prices at a high level. Nonetheless, it has to provide a rationale to its customers. In this case, it has to convince them that the services are of high quality, and the mission statement complies with their perceived expectations. Being unable to fulfill the existent Meerasâ vision will lead to the downward shift in demand.
Promotion
As it was mentioned earlier, the company has to design a relevant value proposition that will satisfy the needs of national and international investors. In this instance, the enterprise has to consider the preferences and expectations of each consumer group and contact them with the help of IT, direct conversations, and other traditional marketing methods. Profiling clients and investors will help select the most effective marketing instruments. Taking an active approach will increase investment into Meerasâ properties and enhance the financial stability of the company and the region. Lastly, the firm cannot underestimate the need for its actions to comply with the mission statement since it will help meet the perceived expectations of the customers.
Financial Projections
Risk Management
Controlling and monitoring risks can be considered as one of the strategies that will ensure the rapid achievement of the objectives. The company has to consider changes in the external and internal environments on a regular basis. To minimize the percentage of the occurrence of the risks, Meeras has to conduct a continuous analysis of the competitors and have additional strategies that will allow it to be flexible. Additionally, to avoid the risks concerning costs, the company has to introduce the system of the resource allocation based on the needs and contribution of the projects to the performance of the firm. Significant projects have to be prioritized while only the needs required for survival have to be satisfied for the small ones. Finally, the company has to have the additional budget for managing risks and covering the unexpected losses.
Monitoring Instruments
Apart from the risk management, Meeras has to introduce various control procedures that will contribute to the effective allocation of the financial resources and ensure that the company is able to reach its objectives. In the first place, setting metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to evaluate the progress and growth of the company has to be introduced. Any changes will be reported to the management of the firm, as it will help adjust the strategy to reach the desired goals. Simultaneously, the company has to evaluate the actions of the competitors, changes in the customer preferences, and new trends. These aspects have to be considered of paramount importance, as, otherwise, the company may lose its market shares in the intensified rivalry. In turn, they will help the enterprise distribute its financial resources effectively while gaining benefits and setting the benchmarks to compare its results to the competitors and define the areas for improvement.
Implementation Controls
Cost-and-Benefit Analysis
To ensure the ability to reach the goals mentioned above, it is critical to introduce controls that will not only help measure the effectiveness of the marketing campaign but also Meerasâ financial performance. Cost-benefit analysis is one of the instruments that will help evaluate costs and the acquired benefits from implementing a particular activity. It will be one of the tools to assess the effectiveness of the selected marketing instruments and alternative possibilities and distribute financial resources efficiently.
Key Performance Indicators
As it was mentioned earlier, controlling performance is one of the objectives that has to be considered. In this instance, introducing the sufficient metrics will help monitor changes in the particular spheres and help adjust the strategy and make it more flexible. There are many KPIs and monitoring instruments that will help the company to reach its financial and marketing goals. For example, the percentage of website visits and interactions on the social media and the number of successful calls are only some measures that can indicate positive or negative changes in performance. Alternatively, ROI (Return on Investment) and Gross Profit Margin can also depict the effectiveness of the marketing campaigns from the financial angle.
Benchmarking
This tool is highly important for the company since it will define its positions among the rival firms. In this instance, the measures of the KPIs and metrics will be compared with the average industrial performance. This approach will define the aspects that have to be improved to redesign the strategy.
Conclusions and Recommendations
In the end, the era of globalization and information technology has a clear impact on the companies worldwide, and Meeras is one of them. Despite being one of the leaders of the market in the real estate segment, the company has many challenges to overcome. For example, its competitors have extended years of operations and global recognition. These characteristics define their competitive advantages and make them important players in the real estate market in the United Arab Emirates. Consequently, apart from ensuring high quality of the services, the company has to pay attention to the actions of the rival firms and changes in the industrial trends. It will help the enterprise remain competitive in the market, attract more investors, and continue growing.
To ensure its positions in the market, Meeras should focus on designing a universal image for international and national investors. Consequently, relying on the features of global marketing is one of the recommendations. Using various marketing tools such as direct communication, TV advertisements, and social media marketing can help the company reach its desired objectives. Lastly, applying a relevant set of the managerial techniques will help distribute the resources effectively and comply with the industrial KPIs.
Bibliography
Gbadamosi, A., Bathgate, I. & Nwakwo, S., Principles of marketing: a value-based approach, Palgrave McMillan, London, 2013.
Government of Dubai, âBuilding publicationsâ, Government of Dubai, 2017. Web.
Meeras, âReal estate’, Meeras, 2016. Web.
Meeras, âVision & mission’, Meeras, 2016. Web.
Meeras, ‘Welcome to Meeras’, Meeras, 2017. Web.
Rocky Real Estate, âCompany profile’, Rocky Real Estate, 2016. Web.