Entering a new market is both an interesting and a stressful affair. One needs a careful research of the market that they want to venture in before deciding on investing their resources in the market. Therefore, both external and internal factors that affect a business environment need to be considered. On the internal factors that affect business, marketing strategies and new market entry strategies need to be considered and weighed. Entering a new market, especially international market, requires proper planning known as international marketing. The American Marketing Association defines worldwide marketing as “multinational process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organisational objectives” (Cross, Belich, and Rudelius, 2015). For one to invest in the Serbian banking market are required to analyse the trends in the market and the marketing strategies required to launch their products.
The Serbian market has various opportunities for financial services. Despite the fact that it is competitive, there are opportunities in the existing market in that the existing organisations do not fully satisfy the market. These opportunities are illustrated by the fact that there are only 30 banks in the country of over 7 million people. Also, opportunities exist in the untapped possibilities. The world market is changing as a result of technological advancements (Adcock, 2001: 120). These technological advancements affect various sectors including the banking industry. Mobile and online banking is a new opportunity which is as a result of technological advancement. In Serbia, few people use mobile banking services and this is a service that Telenor can target. Telenor should launch a mobile banking service company Serbia. There is numerous potential of growth in the mobile banking because of the changing technology. New technologies begin every day and knowing what the next technology will be is impossible. However, by launching a mobile banking service industry, the firm will be presented with a blue sea of opportunities for growth.
Telenor should not launch a full-service bank, but it should instead supplement its services with other existing banks with their own branded customer interface. By so doing, the firm will avoid the problem of acquiring banking licenses from the government and the resulting administrative burden. Also, the business and their range of services will become flexible since the company will be operating under the name of the existing local banks. These banks have unlimited opportunities which can benefit the organisation (Adcock, 2001: 120). Telenor will thus not need a banking license as the operations will be done by the local banks. The local banks will become their partners, and it will be the responsibility of the local banks to acquire the needed licenses. The partnership is better than receiving banking regulations as a result of going solo. By partnering with the existing banks, the organisation will find itself an already established customer network. They will only be needed to supplement the services offered by these banks hence fewer risks involved.
The Telenor mobile banking services will be provided to the consumers by opening dedicated bank branches. These branches will solely be responsible for handling the concerns of the consumers, and they will have tellers, bank managers, and ATMs. Also, a mobile banking desk will be available to cater for consumers who do mobile banking. The bank branches will be opened in conjunction with their local bank partners; this is whereby they will create a third company together by pulling the resources and expertise of the local banks with those of Telenor.
The advantage of using bank branches to offer services is that it caters for both the consumers who do not use mobile banking services as well as those that do. Therefore, their customer base will be increased by this level of flexibility. Telenor should also open banks throughout the country to bring the services to the people. This will improve their competitiveness and give them a competitive edge over their competitors. By covering both the local and urban areas, the company will ensure that both the customers banking from home and those banking in the urban centres are sorted (Hassan, Craft, and Kortam, 2003: 446-462). Their services will be devolved such that people do not have to travel long distances for banking services which will not only increase their market share but also build a good reputation with the public.
Targeting or rather, determining the target market is always the second stage aftermarket segmentation. Market segmentation is the process of identifying the strategies of entering the market (Cross, Belich, and Rudelius, 2015: 535). The segmentation involves separating the customer bases into small segments and the deciding the ones to target; this can be one segment or a series of them. It is the responsibility of the marketing manager to establish a target market that gives or assures an elite competitive edge for their company. According to studies by Czinkota and Ronkainen (1990: 17-19), target marketing task is divided into two integral parts which include actual determination of target market and management of the target market by using the marketing mix elements.
Option one requires the marketers to think global while still acting locally. To accurately determine and target its customer base, Telenor must take the cultural and societal beliefs and behaviours of its potential customers into account. Also, their attitudes, customer values, and needs of the customers should be considered (Argwal, and Ramaswami, 1992: 20). The second option involves decentralisation. This option requires the company to devolve its resources all over the country; this involves targeting both the people in the urban centres as well as those in the rural areas. The benefits that Telenor will get from devolving its resources include the fact that it will address both the needs of the local people and those of the urban populations. Also, the urban communities might be congested, and therefore, the firm would benefit by decentralisation in that it will find less competition in the less targeted rural population while still competing in the urban areas. However, for a new company like Telenor, prioritisation is vital for survival in a new market.
There are various targets that the organisation can focus on its mobile banking services. Out of the many existing targets and their opportunities, the firm should target both segment 3 and 6. These sections represented Telenor with various opportunities as they contain innovative and employed people. They both like to invest and have no problem borrowing money for either consumption or investment purposes. For example, segment 3 contained urban people who are employed and have varying ages and liked using mobile phones and the internet. Assuming the primary advertising or promotional strategies will be the web; by the use of social media and the internet, targeting this market gives the firm an easy way to reach their customers (Özsomer, and Prussia, 2000: 30). Since the primary services offered concern mobile phones and the internet, this segment or market target provide the perfect opportunity for the internet of things.
Segment 6 are also employed and living in the more developed urban areas. Life in the cities means that technology is advanced which fits with the job specification of Telenor Company. This group of people own Smartphones and like to invest and borrow. The behaviours of these two market segments can offer Telenor lots of interest if they offer the consumers loans. They are high-income earners which mean that the probability of default is very low. Regardless, the firm should not ignore the rural people as they are the highest population in Serbia. Despite the fact that only a few of them are working and a few use mobile banking, proper promotions and marketing can change this area into a vast market. Therefore, the organisation should invest more with the urban working class but still decentralise their efforts to suit the rural population.
The final process of launching a new company is branding. Since this organisation is stable the Serbian market with its loyal customers, the firm can use the Telenor name. This has both advantages and disadvantages. The company has been known only to offer telecommunication services but not banking services. Navratil was right to worry that the reputation of the company might jeopardise the new services provided because the consumers might assume that it lacks banking expertise. Coming with a new name would also disadvantage the firm in that it will be like introducing a new company to the market altogether (Tauber, 1981: 36-41). Therefore, it is wise to consider both the advantages and disadvantages of using the Telenor name while branding the business and then compare which outweigh the other.
The advantages of using Telenor include that the customers will be able to trust the organisation since it relates with a well-known firm. Therefore, they will be comfortable to invest in it that they would if it were a new firm. Another benefit of using a conventional name is that it will bring about customer loyalty (Davis, Desai, and Francis, 2000: 239-258). Telenor, being a successful brand, brings an aspect of customer loyalty as it brings awareness. Telenor customers can relate the excellent services offered by the new company. The Telenor name will market the banking services company which builds knowledge and existence of new services. Also, when marketing its telecommunication products and services, the Telenor Company will also be able to advertise the new mobile banking services. A lot of money which would otherwise be used for creating a new name and brand will be saved from using the Telenor name.
The disadvantages of using the Telenor name include the fact that the firm might have a bad reputation with some potential consumers which will affect the status of the new organisation. Also, using Telenor names limits corporate identity as the firm will not be able to position its brands and services too distant with those of the original company. Also, low products offered by the parent company will affect the reputation of the new company (Martincus, and Carballo, 2010: 437-467). Another disadvantage is that activities of the new organisation can fail and it would tarnish the reputation of the original Telenor organisation. The fact the products will be tied together with the Telenor products means that their performance will also be linked to the status of the Telenor Company.
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