Strengths

Hardware integration with many open source OS and software.

Samsung is focused on producing devices which can be integrated with
most of the software and OS. This gives Samsung products an edge over
Apples (its arch rival) devices, especially as Android and other OS are
gaining market share when iOS and OS X are losing it.
Excellence in engineering and producing hardware parts and consumer
electronics. Samsung is the number 1 by market share in televisions and
mobile phones sales and some of the hardware parts (processors, memory
chips, etc.). This was largely achieved due to excellence in engineering
and both efficient and effective production.
Innovation and design. In 2011, Samsung ranked second on the list of
US top patent assignees. More patents strengthen Samsung position
among its competitors. The firm also won many awards for the design of
its products, proving the superior advanatage over the competitors. It was
the first to introduced dual screen mobiles , 65k TFT/LCD colour phone,
first phone with polyphonic ringtones, phones with rotating lens, thinnest
and lightest note pad etc
Focus on environment. Samsung focuses on producing environment
friendly products that are free from PVC and BFRs (currently only MP3 and
mobile phones). It also develops various recycling programs that are
awarded for their success. Thus, Samsungs focus on environment gives it
an edge over its competitors in the eyes of its customers.
Low production costs. The company has set up its production facilities
in low cost countries. This allows producing goods with low production cost
and benefit Samsung as it can offer lower price and earn higher margins.
Largest share in mobile phones and 2 place in smartphones sales in the
world. Samsung Electronics have achieved large market share in many
products they sell, especially in mobile phones, smartphones,
semiconductors and television sets. Large market share has its advantage,
bargaining power, that Samsung can use to further reduce costs and
demand for better contract conditions.
Ability to market the brand. Samsung is named as top rising brand by
Interbrand and is the 9th most valuable brand with value nearly $33
billion. It has risen by 40% from 2011 to 2012. This was mainly achieved
due to companys ability to market the brand in sporting events and social
contributions.
Samsung enjoys the widest range of product portfolio which includes
Mobile phone, Tablet, TV/Audio/Video, Camera, camcorder, Home
appliance, pc, peripherals, printer, memory cards and other accessories
Samsung enjoys the first mover advantage in terms of introducing
advance features in LCD, refrigerator, Air conditioner etc. It introduced the
worlds smallest MP3 player and Indias first 17 TFT-LCD-TV monitor.
Samsung took advantage of the growing economy of Asian market by
setting up manufacturing plant in India there by reducing logistics and
supply chain costs.

Weaknesses
Patent infringement : Samsung is infringing Apples and some other
firms patents, thus, damaging its reputation and having to pay a huge
amount of money in damages.
Too low profit margin. Samsung Electronics is the largest technology
business in the world in terms of revenues but it has a low gross profit and
net profit margins. Although its smartphones business is quite profitable,
Samsungs profit margin is low due to its semiconductors sales and
aggressive price cuts.
Main competitors are also largest buyers. Apple, Sony, Dell, HP are the
main buyers of Samsung Electronics products as well as the firms main
competitors. Such situation would be favorable to Samsung (if competitors
could not find complementary products and would form a relatively low
share Samsungs revenues) because it could use its bargaining power over
competitors. Due to reverse conditions (competitors can find complements
and they form a relatively high share of firms revenues) Samsung cannot
use its bargaining power over competitors as it can easily lose its
customers and sales.
Lack its own OS and software. Software and OS production has a high
profit margin, can increase integration of companys products and brand
loyalty. Without strong software and OS Samsung is at disadvantage over
its competitors. Samsung is a hardware leader but has too much of
dependence for software from other parties.
Focus on too many products. Samsung Electronics serves 4 different
industries with many different products in them. Samsung is at
disadvantage over its competitors because it loses a focus when
competing in too many industries and too many products.

Opportunities
Growing Indias smartphone market. Indias smartphone market is
one of the least penetrated among Asia/Pacific countries. Samsung has a
strong presence in Indias market and could use this opportunity to expand
its sales.
Growing mobile advertising industry. The company could develop
advertising platform for its mobile devices and significantly benefit from
this lucrative market.
Growing demand for quality application processors. Samsung is one of the
key manufacturers of application processors for smartphones and tablets.
The growing demand for these products requires more best quality
application processors that only Samsung provide.
Growth of tablets market. Tablets market is expected to grow in double
digits over the next few years. Samsung business has a strong position in
tablets market and could expand it by introducing newer, better quality
tablet models, such as its current galaxy line.
Obtaining patents through acquisitions. The key to Samsungs
competitive advantage is the large portfolio of patents. Patents can be

discovered by engaging in costly R&D or through acquisitions of other

firms.
The Indian youth population is growing and mobile phone sales is
expected to increase due to lesser call rates

Threats
Saturated
smartphone
markets
in
developed
countries.
Smartphones market in the developed economies is saturated and the
sales will not be growing at a high rate.
Rapid technological change. The serious threat that Samsung and the
other tech companies are facing is a rapid technological change.
Companies are under the pressure to release the new products faster and
faster. The one that cannot keep up with the competition soon fails. This is
especially hard when the business wants to introduce something new,
innovative and successful.
Declining margins on hardware production. Samsung is the second largest
semiconductors producer where the profit margins are very thin, thus
weakening the whole company's figures.
Breached patents. Samsung Electronics has many patents which are
often used by its many competitors. Such situation makes it hard to find
out which companies benefit from Samsungs technology but do not pay
for the rights to use it.
Apples iTV launch. Apples iTV is the next big lunch from Apple, which
may hurt Samsungs TV sales.
Price wars. Samsung has a very low gross margin on many of its products
and is already selling some of them with significant price cuts.
Competitors could follow price cutting strategy too and induce price wars,
which would erode Samsungs profit margin to 0%!
Retail Chains like Bigbazaar sell consumer electronics and home appliance
in low cost strategy which are procured in bulks from foreign market
Online stores which sell a wide range of products are giving better deals as
they dont incur cost in distribution channel

SURF EXCEL
Segmentation
Surf Excel entered an already existing and growing market. It must have been
easier for them to look into databases, primary and secondary, to categorize
their customer segments in order to reach out to them effectively.
There are two very important segmentation variables that must be considered to
identify the customer: Demographic and Psychographic segmentation
Demographic segmentation: Helps identify who the customer is

Age: 30-45 years

Family size: Married, not more than two children, youngest child under 6 or
over

Gender: Female

Income: Upper middle and above

Occupation: Housewife, senior executive or self-employed professional

Education: Graduate and above

Psychographic segmentation: Helps identify why the customer would

purchase your brand

SEC: As mentioned earlier, A1/A2

Activities: Working mom, who balances her work and family, is a manager
who knows how to delegate jobs

Interests: Regularly updates herself on current news, avid TV watcher

Opinions: Is a modern mother who is an enabler than a leader, who is

driven by quality and performance

Targeting
In the urban markets, Surf Excel follows a mix of Single-segment concentration
to focus on the customer that has been identified as the Surf Excel Mom.
However, certain aspects of product specialization strategies are also followed
for certain variants such as the Surf Excel Matic for specific kinds of products
users, in this case households with a washing machine.
Positioning
Positioning In marketing, creating an image of the companys brand in the eyes
of the consumer is positioning. Now, this image has to be such that the
consumer connects with the product immediately. A product can be positioned
on two platforms, the consumer and the competitor. When positioning is on the
customer oriented, the advertising campaigns and messages are targeted at the
consumers. These advertisements propound the benefits that a consumer will
get on using the product. On the other hand, when positioning is done on the
basis of competitors, the advertisement campaigns try to say that their product
is better than that of the competitors. Initial Positioning Surf Excel was initially
positioned as a detergent that washes whitest. The positioning was done to make
the product stand apart from other detergents. The image that they wanted to
create was that of tough stain removal. Repositioning With the competition in the
detergent industry increasing with the entry of products like Ariel and Tide from
Proctor & Gamble, Surf Excel was underwent a change in its image. Their war cry
now was Daag Acche Hain or dirt is good. This was done keeping in mind that a
major part of dirty laundry comprises of childrens clothes. Surf Excel says that
you go play in dirt and well be there to take care of the stains.

Surf Excel is considered to be a trusted and premium brand because of its unique
association.
Marketing Strategies
Unilever is positioning their product in the best of their customer satisfaction
which also differentiate from their competitors. They are creating environment
for people to have a life easychance. As regarding the image there is message
for the peoples to avoid on the occasions to restrict when kids are in situation of
doing something extra ordinary.
They are also positioning as considering the fact of Strongs competition .So they
are also focusing different type of facilities. Management is developed following
marketing strategies for upcoming year:

Target Market:
Mainly housewives but the things have to be seen in context. Pakistans middle
income group comprises about 35million consumers. But Surf Excel is not just
targeting the middle income category. With the broadest socio-economic
footprint amongst consumer goods competitors, Surf Excel is also looking at
lower income market as well as the higher income bracket with different sets of
products.

Advertising
If we analyze the commercials aired on TV or Radio or via print media we will
notice that most of the communication is done by the help of children through
tagline dirt is good. The philosophy behind this is the children are the best
influencers for the deciders. The children with this eye catching phrase try to
influence the decision of their parents (mainly mother) who are the deciders.
Surf Excel will keep continuing its advertising campaign dirt is good and
educate parents through new attractive commercials to support the positioning
strategy.
Size
Surf Excel is available in different quantities which are as follows
25g, 50sg, 115g, 500g, 1kg and 2kg.
Surf Excel is planned to introduce some other quantities in bag in the market.

Price

Price is simply the cost plus profit of the firm. There are many competitors in the
market. As their products are highly quality .so usually they charge high prices.
So the Management has considered about the competitive price while selecting
new price and schemes.
Prices are set by taking into consideration

What Customer believes for high price & high quality?

There price are high. because they believes in zero defects.

They charge different prices to registered and unregistered retailers.

Prices are set by taking into consideration the size, type of product.

Discounts
A quantity discount is price reduction to those who buy large volumes. This is
given to increase company sales. So Unilever is deciding to allow 1% discount to
distributors & whole sellers on purchase of Surf Excel of worth Rs 800.

PROMOTIONS:
Sales Promotion is increased by 10%this year.
Sales Force in Surf Excel is divided into 3 types: General Trade (general stores,
Kiryana stores, Medical and General Stores), Local modern trade (super stores
such as Aghaz, Naheed, D-Mart), and International Modern trade (Large houses
such as Makro.
Outdoor Media Agency is appointed for the advertising campaigns via billboard
and signboards.
These OMA classify different regions under Strata, ranging from 1 to 6. Strata 1
include cities like Karachi and Lahore, Strata 2 includes cities with comparatively
less density and so on. They may select sites as per the following example:
Strata 1 would have 60% advertising sites.
Strata 2 would have 20% advertising sites.
Strata 3 would have 20% advertising sites.
They may book the site either for 30, 60 or 90 days depending upon the nature
of the product,budget of the campaign, and rent of the site selected. The most
effective advertising site in Pakistan is Shahrah-e-Faisal. The effective billboard
which is displayed on the left of the driver and is at a height of 40 to 50 feet,
with an exception of flyovers, bridges, and high altitudes road.

Locations
As on the basis of Surf Excel Unilever is focused on all areas through which it is
possible to
cover different classes needs.

PACKAGING:
Surf Excel, mainly Unilever has new Phenomena. It consults all 3 trade models
(General trade,Local modern trade, and International modern trade) while
designing packaging for Surf Excel. Packaging should be to create impulsive
desires, and it should stand out among its competitors. It is where Product
development team and marketers come into action in furnishing packaging
standards for all its product ranges.

Inventory
As Unilever products are convenience product. So they are decided to maintain
their position strong as contains the inventories in huge amounts. Through which
it will be possible to facilitate the market on times as placing it after every two
days.

Personal selling
Order takers:
Unilever has employees who perform the activity of order taking from different
areas to facilitate the retailers. There usually one day company performs the
activity of order taking and very next day they deliver the Surf Excel to the
destination.
Stalls:
Company will arrange their stalls in the exhibition at which the products are
displayed.
Management is planned to allocate same expenditure budget for marketing
research as current year.

SWOT Analysis