Marketing Management

SEC Electronics Company

Case Study analysis
CLN Group 5

Gillette Indonesia | CLN Case

Study | – Group 5
1 Executive Summary
The aim of this report is to provide an analysis of the Samsung Electronics Company’s (SEC)
current marketing strategy; a review of it initiative to reposition its brand to end-users and
channel partners; and, the implications the current strategy will have on its ambition to
become a top-tier global company. The Company’s New Management Initiative (Quelch &
Harrington 2004, p. 541) to remake Samsung as a global business leader includes the
following key factors:

a) Marketing is a key ingredient to SEC’s corporate turnaround strategy and is essential

in building the SEC brand globally (Quelch & Harrington 2004, p. 546);

b) Although SEC has developed a culture that claims to intimately understand its
customers’ needs, consumer research shows that the Company is seen as aloof, devoid
of personality or image, unable to tap into consumers’ emotional experiences, lacking
visibility, and, without a clear vision (Quelch & Harrington 2004, p. 561); and,

c) SEC is facing serious internal management challenges in agreeing on the future

market strategy, budget allocation, and how to segment, target and position its
products and branding (Quelch & Harrington 2004, p. 559).

CLN5 concludes that SEC will not be able to achieve a top ten global brand ranking unless
the internal differences within the Company’s line managers and senior management over
future marketing initiatives are understood, resolved and endorsed at all levels. A failure to do
so will seriously undermine future product innovation and development.

Further, SEC’s singular focus on digital hardware innovation at the expense of propriety
software and content offerings to its customers which have a higher profit margin and drive
technology development (Porter, 1980), represents a considerable threat to the Company’s
goal and a potential decline in profits and shareholder value.

It is, therefore, recommended that SEC continue with developing its existing global brand and
customer loyalty initiatives to foster repeat purchases; utilise effective pricing strategies that
create premium price sensitivity (Rowley, 2005); and, establish key marketing metrics to
measure and demonstrate success.

This report also recommends SEC develop the capability to produce propriety software and
content to realise the benefits of showcasing Samsung’s hardware capabilities, realise the
potentially higher profit margins and increase branding visibility of its products.

Finally, CLN5 recommends that SEC explore further opportunities for realising the benefits
of comparative advantage by reviewing the organisational structure; identifying centres of
excellence; and, building the resource capability in the regional areas to facilitate an
interdependent network of specialised operations.
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