We Simplify the Internet: Internet Accessability for SMEs

Business strategy analysis

Business goals

• To become a technical partner to business owners in Bahrain by assisting them to improve their revenue collection, increase efficiency and lower costs
• To utilize the internet in helping enhance business operations through an evaluation of individual business needs.
• To help businesses in Bahrain enhance their websites through a provision of the latest updates in technology, extra functionality as well as assisting ease of accessibility of a business on the internet.

Mission statement

The mission statement of WSI Internet Consulting is increasing the growth and profitability of SMEs (Small and Medium Sized) businesses through an enhanced and efficient provision of internet solutions. As a leading provider of internet solutions in the world, WSI Internet Consulting is committed to ensuring that individual business owners have the chance to increase market awareness, increasing the strengths of their brand and improver on their operational efficiencies. The company is also committed to its customers, by ensuring that it listens to and attends to their needs and issues carefully in a bid to seek for proven methods and innovative technology that would e4nsure that these customers succeed online. This way, the company endeavours to remain fully committed to their existing slogan, “We Simplify the Internet”.

Internal and External Environment (SWOT analysis)

SWOT analysis of WSI Internet Consulting

Direct and indirect competitors

Direct competitors

There are a number of companies in Bahrain that will provide direct competition to WSI Internet Consulting, in its quest to enter the Bahrain market

BTN

Since its inception in 1998, BTN (Bahrain TradaNet W. L. L.) has emerged as a leading provider for internet solutions. It is therefore expected that this company shall offer stiff competition to WSI Internet Consulting, in its endeavours to venture into the Bahrain market. For over a decade now, BTN has forged partnerships with such market leaders as Microsoft. In the process, the company has been recognised as an eBusiness solutions partner for Microsoft. Further, the company has forged alliances with GXS and Oracle (BTN Bahrain TradaNet 8). The services that BTN provides hinges on proven technology, in addition to business and technical skills, as provided by leading global; suppliers of technology solutions. Customers that are already using the products and services that BTN offers in Bahrain are also in a position to access cutting-edge and up=-to-date technology from such providers as Oracle and Microsoft, thanks to the successful partnership that the company has with these organisations. Furthermore, this alliance also ensures that the clients to the company are best placed to enjoy reliable services, coupled with sound expertise and technical solutions. If at all WSI Internet Consulting wish to gain a foothold into the internet solutions market in Bahrain and grab a sizeable market share, it is important for the company to formulate strategies hat will enable it to beat its main direct competitor in the market, BTN.

Etisalcom Bahrain Co

This is a company that was started in Bahrain in 2005. The company was licensed to offer its clients global as well as national IT and telcom services. Some of the products on offer for the customers to Etisalcom include website hosting, connectivity, voice and ICT solutions (Etisalcom Bahrain Co par. 3). These products are tailored to meet the needs and requirements of the individual clients. As such, the company endeavours to customize the products on offer so that they are able to meet the needs of clients.

Indirect competitors

Batelco

Batelco (short for Bahrain Telecommunications Company) is regarded as a provider of integrated communication within Bahrain. Due to the success it has managed to achieve in its years of operation, Batelco has managed to combine the skills and expertise of its workforce to become an organization that is revered amongst its peers not just in Bahrain, but also in the whole of the Middle East. Due to the innovativeness that Batelco has embraced, the company has managed to enhance the experiences of its customers from both the consumer and the corporate market (Batelco par. 3). This has been possible because Batelco employs wireless and fixed telecommunications services that are superior to that offered by competitors. This is in line with its vision, which is to ensure that the lifestyles of their customers are enriched, in addition to helping them succeed in their business ventures.

International marketing needs and opportunities

It is not in doubt that the internet has played a leading role in as far as the achievement of globalizations is concerned. Nonetheless, in order that the internet may produce the desired results, there is a need to ensure that the company in question charged with the responsibility of providing internet solutions to its customers does so in a professional and efficient manner. Consequently, the marketing needs for internet solutions are very specific, no a global scale. In addition, there has been an increase in the opportunities for business partners who would wish to get involved in the business of providing internet solutions to individuals and companies in the business world. WSI internet Consultants boasts of more than 1500 offices that are strategically located in 87 countries (WSI Internet Consultants par. 2). This is a clear indication that there are diverse customers globally who are in need of the internet solutions that the company provides. As such, WSI is in a position to provide to its customers (most of whom operates SMEs) with cutting-edge technology. Lately, companies desire to enhance the recognition and exposure of their existing and upcoming brands.

The internet has proved to be a useful tool for not just the creating of awareness of the products of a company, along with those of the competition, but is also useful as a marketing avenue. This is because such providers of internet solutions as WSI Internet Consulting are dedicated to delivery the desirable solutions to their customers. Accordingly, they have come up with strategies that are fast, simple, and yet powerful, all of which are intended to enhance business activities for their clients. As a result, businesses end up collecting additional revenues. This is because of the exposure and awareness that they are bale to cerate regarding their products. In addition, such internet solutions also enable businesses to reduce their operating costs, in effect meaning that they remain competitive in the market. Some of the strategies that WSI has managed to embrace include the use of SEO (search engine optimization) tools. This is a tool that enables companies to enhance the search-ability of their company and by extension, its products. Use is made here of certain keywords to boost the ranking of the website. Furthermore, the company also enables its clients to utilize the freely available social media websites, such as FaceBook, YouTube and Twitter. Given that the world has now turned into one global village, location is no longer a limitation for one to access the products and services on offer by a given company. The internet has made it possible for one to access these products from a company located in even the remotest of areas. Seeing that there is a trend for businesses to embrace social marketing, it is important also that WSI Internet Consulting incorporates this strategy, to increase the accessibility of the products and services of their individual customers in various demographics. Internet solutions have therefore proved a useful tool for promotion of sales and events by organizations. Furthermore, there is also an increase in terms of the number of relationships that a business owner can establish with their customers, not to mention higher rates of customer retention. This is because with the internet, a business owner is in a position to update customers about a new product or service for example, instantly.

Direct marketing strategy analysis

Segmentation/Target market

Segmentation is a term used in reference to the activity of classifying organizations for individuals within a given market, and who share similar features regarding the same products or services (Steenkamp and Hofstede 194). For a market segments to be regarded as true, it is important that it meets a number of requirements. To start with, there is a need to ensure that such a segment is distinct, relative to the rest of the segments in the market. In addition, such a segment needs to manifest common needs. Further a market segment needs to respond equally to stimulus within the market. Finally, a market segment should be such that a market intervention would enable its reach-ability. If at all WSI Internet Consulting wishes to realize a successful segmentation within the existing market in Bahrain, there is a need to ensure that the organization attains homogeneity as regards the segment in question. Furthermore, it is important to ensure that heterogeneity is achieved between the different segments. A successful segmentation exercise also demands differentiation, relative to other segments. Moreover, such a segment should be substantial, in addition to being measurable. There is a need also to ensure the accessibility of such segments so created. Finally, WSI Internet Consulting needs to ensure that the target segments it creates are large enough to enable the organization realize profitability out of its core activities.

The target market for WSI Internet Consulting in Bahrain shall be the SMEs (small and medium enterprises) businesses. These are the businesses that are characterized by modest capital investment and have enough technical expertise. Accordingly, these businesses are not in a position to compete on an equal footing with large corporations who have a strong human resource and capital base. WSI Internet Consulting shall therefore seek to improve the overall profitability of these organizations by increasing the awareness of their products and services using internet tools. Furthermore, by advertising via the internet, these SMEs shall reach a larger consumer base at an affordable cost, in effect reducing the amount of money they would have otherwise spent on the conventional forms of advertising. WSI Consulting Group intends to employ various variables of segmentation to reach these SMEs that are located throughout Bahrain. Marketers use five indicators for segmenting markets. Demographic, geographic, social, psychological, and behavioural. Demographic and psychological segmentation are deemed as the most suitable variable for segmenting the market for WSI. This is because the packages and prices on offer by WSI can accommodate the budget of various customers. Under the geographic segmentation, the potential clients for the products and services offered by WSI Internet Consulting shall be done based on the various regions of the country. In this case, those SMEs that have the potential of suing internet solutions from the western part of the country shall be groped together.

Likewise, the clients form the East, North, South, Coastal and Central parts of Bahrain will be in the same segment. Geographic segmentation has proved a vital process and more so for international business whose brands have a global reach. WSI Internet Consulting would therefore be best placed to implement a geographic segmentation strategy in Bahrain, given that the company has operations in a total of 87 countries. Furthermore, the company has gained international; reputation due to the success of its brands. The profiling of a market on the basis of its geographical segmentation is an important marketing strategy since it enables the identification of the needs and preferences of customers within a given region. Although this variable fails to take into account such other important factors as income, gender and age, nonetheless, geographical segmentation is still capable of having a huge impact on a the success of a business in question, and more so to one that has a global reach.

Intended positioning

The positioning of the products and services that WSI Internet Consulting shall be aimed at the competition in the market, as opposed on positioning with regard to the consumer. Accordingly, the company intends to embrace a number of strategies to ensure that its position becomes successful. WSI Internet Consulting intents to embrace quality/price attributes as a basis for the positioning of the company’s brands. To achieve this, the company intends to utilize newspaper advertisements with a view to creating in the minds of potential clients the image of a brand that that emphasizes more on the quality it offers the consumers, as opposed to placing more emphasis on price. In this case, WSI endeavors to concentrate more on the value that the brand offers to its clients at a price that is quite competitive in the market. There is a need however to ensure that even as price remains a significant consideration in the positioning of a brand, the product on offer needs to match the quality of other brands it competitors within the market, if not offer better quality. When a company offers a superior product in terms of quality, it’s positioning strategy become effective, in comparison with that offered by the competitors.

To be successful in business, there is a need for businesses to be unique in their operations (Wedel and Kamakura 81). This acts as a competitive advantage. WSI shall not be contented with selling of its products to their customers. The company intends to establish a long -term and strong relationship with its costumers. For example, once the company has installed a website for customers, and such a websites later on develops technical problems, the company shall fix it for free. WSI also intends to assist their customers update their websites for free, unlike the competitors who do this at a fee. This shall also be the case with the installation of a backdoor for clients. The intention by WSI is to ensure that it gains loyalty amongst the customers by establishing a long-lasting relationship. WSI wishes to assist small/medium businesses reduce their operating costs and improve on their revenue collection for increased profitability. Building such a reputation is not an easy task, but WSI is committed to ensuring that its customers are happy and satisfied. Moreover, once the company has gained the trust of customers, the company expects to maintain its good reputation and repeat business through word of mouth.

Product analysis

WSI Internet Consulting has established specific internet data technology to enable it create fine web design for our costumers. This detailed web design gives its costumers the satisfaction they yearn for in addition to a good business-like design to help their clients gain costumers themselves. This web design and attraction gives the costumer a unique way to present themselves to the electronic market, and this is an indication of the substantial effort the company has made to come up with a product that suits the needs of the market. The products by WSI are both desirable and unique because a client is in a position to change and update their website at any time, with no extra costs. Nonetheless, the company anticipates certain laws in its quest to deliver a superior product to the market, such as the inability to understand the specific needs of a customer. In addition, the product that WSI will offer could be faced by competition threat from other companies offering similar products in the market.

Nonetheless, WSI shall endeavour to ensure that it offers its customers a product with the right features. In addition, the company intends to constantly develop its product to suit the changing needs of the market. Moreover, the company will always ensure that the functions of the product on offer are able to effectively meet customers’ needs. Accordingly, it will be necessary for WSI to periodically undertake a market analysis to determine the need of the customers. Such a research may also necessitate the need for a brand extension, as a tactical move for the company to match the products offered by competitors. Furthermore, undertaking market research on a periodic basis may also help a company like WSI to reposition its products in the market with the intention of ensuring these are more acceptable to the customers.

Place/distribution Analysis

The product on offer by WSI Internet Consulting will be launched on the internet for easy accessibility by the desired customers. This ease with which the customers can access the product will ensure that there are able to locate the services by the company easily, regardless of their location. However, the physical location of the company shall be in Manama, Bahrain. Given that Manama is the capital city of Bahrain, customers shall be best placed to locate the company with relative ease. Many of the small and medium enterprises WSI targets are also more likely to be found here. Therefore, the companies can benefit from the expertise that WSI Internet Consulting has to offer in terms of web design management. However, the disadvantage to this location is that it will be crowded with other companies and other competitors, which will make it hard for our company to compete. Nonetheless, the unique product and services that WSI Internet Consulting shall offer will act as a competitive advantage for the company in the market.

Pricing analysis

There are various factors that determine the price of a product. Some of these include competition, market share product identity, material costs and the perceived value by the customers regarding the product (McDonald and Dunbar 44). The strategy that WSI intends to employ in pricing of its products is one of low price. The intention here is to capture a large market share from the competition. Accordingly, WSI intends to benefit from large sales volume at an affordable cost, as opposed to premium prices. Besides being cheaper, the pricing strategy that WSI wishes to implement shall also be value-based. In this case, the set price shall be determined by the effective value that a customer is bound to obtain out of using the product by WSI, in comparison to the products on offer by the competitors. This is also a unique method of pricing by WSI for its products, given that many of the existing competitors in the market either employ target return pricing (that is, setting the price of their products in such a way that they hope to attaint a certain target of the investment they have made towards the product), or cost-plus pricing.

In the latter technique, marketers usually set a given price to their products based on the cost of production, and then include to this cost a given amount of profit margin. Based on this strategy, the product that an individual customer may desire could be customised in such a way that its price shall bear a reflection of the perceived value by a customer in question to that particular product. Through the use of this method of pricing, WSI hopes to ultimately become more profitable and competitive in comparison with the other players in the market who are currently using other simpler methods of pricing. Furthermore, it is also a strategy to win loyal customers; because a customer shall be paying the price that they genuinely feel that the product is worth. One of the advantages of this pricing strategy is that WSI, as a new entrant into the Bahrain market, will benefit from customers of their products from the existing organisations already offering internet solutions. In addition, WSI may also capture new customers who have been locked out from the market by the high prices on offer by competitors because they cannot afford them. A disadvantage of this strategy is that the company may fail to recoup its initial investment if it cannot attract a large customer base.

Promotion analysis

Promotion is a strategy that enables business owners to communicate with their customers. Through promotion, customers are able to acquire valuable information that helps them in arrive at informed purchase decisions of a given service of product (Kimuli 4). It is important that a company creates awareness of the available or existing products top its target group. When the promotion exercise is successful, companies are in a position to spread the cost that they incur over far more superior output. Promotion enables existing and potential customer to know the products and services that a company offers (Hughes 109). As one of the 4P’s in the marketing mix, promotion, when undertaken in the right way, can be valuable in determining the profitability or success of an organisation. Advertising is one of the most important elements of promotion and communication.

When WSI is introduced in Bahrain, the management shall be committed to ensuring that people understand their messages. In addition, the company will be aimed at paying lees for the promotion of their product, but with the intention of getting more. To do so, WSI intends to use different ways of communication. For example, WSI shall use newspaper and magazine advertising in order to reach as many clients as possible. Furthermore, the company shall also send brochures via mail of the products on offer to potential customers. This will be aimed at creating awareness amongst the SMEs’ business owners regarding the existence of WSI Internet Consultants, along with the various internet solutions products that the company offers its customers to help them improve their profitability levels by using a website that is professionally designed. A sales department is also considered as a communication element. In this regard, WSI will have a team of sales men/women, who will go to the different companies demonstrating to them how a professionally-designed website can improve their business operations. With a website in place, and with the world having turned into a global village, businesses can now market their products and services to a larger customer base cheaply.

WSI is convinced that this is the best way to promote their product. The company is not just concerned about making a profit; it also intends to ensure that the businesses of their clients’ do better and become more successful. Many of the businessmen in Bahrain are fond of reading newspapers and magazines, which is why the company has seen it fit to use these as a channel for advertising to reach the target market. One of the differences between WSI and its competitors is that the company stays in rough with its customers. In addition, WSI place emphasis the establishment of long-term customer relationships, such as calling a client after purchasing a product to enquire on the how the product purchased is performing, and to convince the client that he/she made the right choice. This is a form of reducing cognitive dissonance. One disadvantage of advertising in a newspaper is the low quality of paper and ink. The disadvantage of sending someone to a company to meet sales person is a bad way to explain the product to the final customer, because sales people are to busy to explain the idea. Therefore, the customer will leave without gaining information regarding the product.

Ethical issues and social responsibilities

Business ethics are defined as the standards and principles that business organisations use to differentiate between what is deemed acceptable conduct on the one hand and unacceptable conduct on the other hand. Competitors, customers, interest groups, government regulators as well as the public are all charged with the responsibility of determining business ethics (Harris and Hartman 87). This is in addition to the moral value and principles of individuals in such businesses. A majority of the social advocates and consumers are convinced that businesses should not merely make profits; they need to take into account the social repercussions of the different activities that they undertake. Whereas business ethics emphasize on the decisions of a work group or an individual that society considers as either wrong or right, on the other hand, social responsibility is viewed from a wider context. Accordingly, social responsibility takes into account the impact that the activity of a business in question has on an entire society (Harris and Hartman 87). Regarding ethical issues, one of the problems that could face WSI is that of doing business online. This is because the government in Bahrain, just like the governments of other countries, has not managed to entirely monitor online business operations. As a result, there is the possibility that some businesses could exploit their employees by failing to offer the necessary remunerations. For this reason, many would-be employees for WSI may already harbour negative perceptions regarding the company in question, in effect leading to a loss of potential employees.

The good news is that a majority of these companies, WSI included, are fully aware that in the absence of business ethics, they cannot succeed, in the long-term. Making of quick and a cheap buck is only a temporary strategy. It is important therefore that WSI endeavours to establish its own policing mechanism, in addition to providing its customers with fraud protection tools, as a form of business ethics.

On the issue of social responsibilities, it is important that WSI is in a position to give back to the society as a form of appreciation for carrying out its business operations in their midst. Towards this end, WSI intends to support charitable organisations within its areas of operations. Accordingly, the company intends to set aside a given percentage of the profits it makes to gives to charitable organisations to support their cause. This money would find use in assisting for example, the less-privileged members of the society, by affording them access to quality health care and education facilities.

Work cited

Batelco. Bahrain Telecommunications Company. 2009. Web.

BTN. Bahrain TradaNet W. L. L. 2007. Web.

Etisalcom Bahrain Co. 2009. Web.

Harris, Jeff, and Hartman, Sandra. Organizational Behavior. London: Routledge, 2001.

Hughes, Mark. Buzzmarketing: Get People To Talk About Your Stuff. New York: Penguin/Portfolio, 2005.

Kimuli, Barlon. The concept of the marketing mix. Presentation on marketing management, 1(2006): 2-7.

Kotler, Philip, and Keller, Lane. Marketing Management. New York: Prentice Hall, 2005

McDonald, Malcolm and Dunbar, Ian. Market Segmentation: How to do it, how to profit from it. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2004.

Steenkamp, JBEM, and Hofstede, Ter. International market segmentation: issues and perspective. Intern. J. of Market Research, 19(2002): 185-213

Wedel, Michel and Wagner Kamakura, Wagner. Market Segmentation: Conceptual and Methodological Foundations. Amsterdam: Kluwer, 2000.

WSI Internet Consultants (2009). WSI: web design, web development and web promotion services. Web.