Company Background and Product Description

Discuss about the Marketing and Entrepreneurship for Telstra.

This report analyses the marketing strategy of Telstra that is a leading telecommunication company in Australia. The report includes background information of the company and detailed description of the products and services of the company. Along with this, it focuses on the target market and marketing strategy of the company. As well, it gives the suggestion that can help Telstra to improve its market share and competitiveness.  

Telstra is a leading telecommunication and media company of Australia that was founded in 1975, by the separation of telecommunication from the postal functions. It was found by the passing of the new telecommunication Act 1975, which established two statutory authorities namely Australian Telecommunications Commission and Australian Postal Commission. Head quarter of company is situated in Melbourne, Australia. In Australian, Market Company provide s17.2 million mobile services, 3.4 million retail fixed broadband services, and 7.0 million fixed voice services to its customers. The present CFO of company is Warwick Bray and CEO is Andy Penn. More than 36000 employees are working in the organization. The origins of the Telstra date back in year 1901 when the commonwealth government established the postmaster general department to manage the all postal services and domestic telephone (Telstra, 2016). For providing the telecommunication services in Australia; Company launched country’s first mobile network that was the Public Automatic Mobile Telephone System.

Apart from this, in the year1993, Australian telecom renamed to Telstra Corporation limited and company started trading as Telstra for international market but still in domestic trading the trade name of company was telecom. Company changed its name in 1995, from telecom to Telstra for domestic market. In 1997, the Australian government sold the 49.9% shares of the company to investors. After this, in year 1999 commonwealth government issued up to 16.6% shares and listed on the Australian stock exchange, New York stock exchange and New Zealand Stock Exchange. Moreover, in November 2006, Commonwealth sold further 31% of its shares in the Company as part of the T3 Share Offer and in year 2007 commonwealth transferred 17% shares to further fund (Telstra, 2016). Furthermore, to participate in the rollout of the Australian government’s national broadband network, company signs a non-binding financial agreement with the NBN co. limited. 

Along with this, Telstra play a significant role in Australian service industry.Company offers the different services to customers like data services, video call services, broadband services, voice call services, and digital television services. Moreover, company also provides the facility of technology solutions to government and business customers. This facility includes the network application services, cloud services, and IP networks services. And for providing internet services via mobile tablets, home broadband, and mobile broadband company uses the ASDL and cables (Telstra, 2016). Along with this, Telstra has  different plans and schemes for providing the telecommunication and data services with the four different tablets like Acer Iconia, Apple ipad, Motorola Xoom and Acer Notbook. Telstra also offer the various telecommunication tools to its customers like mobile and landline phones that create the positive value for the company.        

Target Market

Target market is a market in which a company wants to sells its products and services to. It also refers to a concept that helps the marketer to divide the market into different segments based on geography, demographics, and buying power. Along with this, the target market is a group of consumers and business organizations that like to purchase a company’s services and products. Targeting is a process that selects the market segment through the analyzing the market segment in terms of size of market, accessibility, and attractiveness of the market. The Telstra use the total market strategies in which company targets everyone that can use phone. The target people of the Telstra are business people, students, farm workers, school kids, and people who can afford the phones. The Telstra Company uses the targeting strategy in which company selects the whole service market and focuses on only offerings (Bowles, 2013). Moreover, younger generation of the Australia is tech savvy due to this, company has the different packages and services according to customers’ needs and for the older age group customers company has the simple packages and services.

For influencing, people towards the company, company offers low price services that help the company in attracting the low-income peoples. Apart from this, for providing 4G service company target only males and females customers aged between 18-40 years from higher income group. In addition, for targeting young people’s company launches a customized service in year 2002 that target young people under the age 25. Under this service, company introduces brand communication business according to customers’ needs and expenditure for using the text message services (Walker, 2015). In this regard, Telstra launches a SMS service and to find the fastest users to send the text messages, company organized promotional activities with Sony Ericsson.

Telstra use focused marketing strategy in targeting its market for providing service. It provides quality services to its customers that increased its loyal customers base. To be qualitative, competitive, and leading organization in its focused market, company invest the large amount the market research to be aware of the changing needs and desires of the customer. As well, the research provides the Telstra with sufficient information about the marketing trends, technology advancement, and market condition that helps in reaping the benefit on its focused marketing strategy. It is innovative and creative in its functioning that helps to be different from other in focused market. These all the things aids the Telstra to improve its service quality and competitive position in the Australia (Fletcher and Crawford, 2013). It believes that focus on one market than the whole market because if your satisfied the one market, it will provide equal profitability to the large market.

Marketing Strategy of Telstra

It positions itself as the leading and innovative company in the targeted market that helps it in differentiating itself from its competitors. It uses differentiation strategy in target market to reap the market effectively. It used wireless applications in the Australian market and became the leader in the telecommunication. Because, this technology helps the Telstra in reducing the wastage of resources, traffic, and improves the efficiency of the operation. It provides the broadband service with the higher speed to the Australian person that helps it to dominant in the industry. Therefore, it can be said that Telstra use niche marketing in selecting the target market. It focuses on one market rather than several markets at one time.

Telstra is using product differentiation and market penetration strategy to gain the competitive advantage and attracting more customers. Product differentiation strategy helps the Telstra in distinguishing its products and services from its competitors. This strategy helps in attracting number of customers and creating brand image. Apart from this, market penetration strategy is also used by Telstra that helps the company in new product development and market expansion. This strategy attracts more customers towards the company. Apart from this, for influencing the customer’s company and achieving the marketing objectives; company is using the marketing mix strategy (Telstra, 2016). This includes the different marketing variables such as product, price, place, promotion, which is discussed below:

Product: A product and service is an item that satisfies the needs and wants of the customers, which may be in service and/or physical form. Telstra offers the telecommunication services to its customers. In this regard, the company offers the data services, video call services, broadband services, voice call services, and digital television services. These services help the customers in solving the communication problems. Telstra provides home broadband, mobile broadband and mobile tablets services separately under the internet service. It uses the cables and ADSL to provide the data service to the customers (CAMERON, 2013).Data service can be provided with the post paid as well as prepaid option. Apart from this, Telstra has four tablets with various plans and schemes, which are Apple iPad, Acer Notbook, Motorola Xoom, and Acer Iconia.

Price: Telstra Company offers a variety of services to its customers and price of its services are set based on offered services. Therefore, price of Telstra services in Australia is higher than its competitors, which means the company is providing high-quality services to its customers and company is less willing to participate in price wars. Along with this, company offers the home broadband plan on the cheapest prices that is Big Pond Elite 5GB Liberty. Moreover, for the attracting the customer’s company uses the penetration pricing strategy to new product and services. Price of Telstra depends on its services. It varies according to the validity and type of the service (Branson and Sugo, 2016). Price for the landline varies from price of the mobile phone and internet services. Internet service price also varies on the post paid and pre paid option. It provides liberty of 5GB data with home broadband services.

Place: Place is an important element of the business growth that includes a physical place where company can sell its products and services. In this aspect, Telstra has 58 Data centres, 400,000 Km of SUBSEA Cable and more than 360 retail stores across Australia. This helps Telstra in attracting customers that increase profitability of the company. Along with this, it provides the fastest broadband service in Australia and 3G and 4G services are spread in whole Australia. This helps the company in attracting the customers and satisfying their needs and wants. 3G services of the Telstra are widely spread in whole Australia that is enjoyed by around 99% Australian people (Parimaladevi, 2014). Telstra own various stores throughout the Australia. It is planning to build up its stores in the main cities of the other countries.

Promotion: Telstra adopts various types of promotional and advertising strategies that help the company to capture whole telecom service market in Australia. In this regard, company uses the personal selling, sales promotion, and advertising strategies, which influence the customers towards the company’s services. Along with this, company offers discount on bundle packages in order to get price benefit and for attracting new customer’s company has various contests. Moreover, company promotes its products and services through providing the value added services. Therefore, Telstra uses the loyalty programs such as rewards and discount coupons. Apart from this, Telstra organizes contests in the dense area that helps it in captivating the new customers (CAMERON, 2013). It is organizing an event namely Telstra Credit Me2u in which two lucky winner will be selected and conferred with iPhone 4s 32GB. It also promotes itself by providing the customers with free devices when they sign up for the services of Telstra.

Conclusion and Recommendation:

From above analysis, it can be concluded that Telstra is a leading telecommunication and Media Company of Australia. Telstra offers a wide range of telecom products and services. Along with this, for providing the internet Service Company uses the cables and ASDL. These products and services create positive value for the company. From above discussion, it also can be summarized that for providing the product and services company use the Focused target market strategy that helps in targeting the every people that can use phones. Moreover, the main target market of Telstra is youth generation that can use different offered services. Apart from this, Telstra uses the product differentiation and market penetration strategy. The company also offers the discount on bundle packages.

Telstra should develop its 4G services as well as 3G services that can increases its market share and profitability. It can provide smoother and faster experience to its customers. Company should also focus on offering more options in mobile plans in order to achieving the business goals and objectives. Apart from this, the price of the Telstra is higher than its competitors therefore; company should focus on the pricing strategy. It can attract the number of customers. Moreover, company needs to build vending machines and kiosks that help customers to add credit and pay bill. In order to attract new users, company can also sign agreement with other companies that offers more services and options to the consumers.

References: 

Bowles, M. (2013) The critical role of e-skills in raising NBN adoption and Australia’s competitiveness in the global Digital Economy. Telecommunications Journal of Australia, 63(1), 10-1.        

Branson, S. and Sugo, R. (2016). A next generation wholesaler’s view of the NBN: How retail service providers can succeed in an NBN world. Australian Journal of Telecommunications and the Digital Economy, 4(2), 82.

Fletcher, R. and Crawford, H. (2013) International marketing: an Asia-Pacific perspective. AU: Pearson Higher Education .
Walker, O. (2015) Marketing Strategy: A Decision-Based Approach, Third Edition. AU: McGraw-Hill Education Australia.

Parimaladevi, P. (2014) Green Marketing Myopia. International Journal of Management Research, 2(6), 81-90.

Telstra (2016) Our Plans, Products& Services. [Online]. Available at: https://www.telstra.com.au/contact-us/products-services (Accessed: 09 October 2016).

Telstra (2016) The Telstra story. [Online]. Available at: https://www.telstra.com.au/abouttelstra/company-overview/history/telstra-story/  (Accessed: 09 October 2016).

Telstra (2016) The way we work – Telstra Business Principles. [Online]. Available at: https://www.telstra.com.au/abouttelstra/download/document/Telstra-Business-Principles.pdf  (Accessed: 09 October 2016).
CAMERON, N. (2013) Telstra’s four Ps of marketing analytics. [Online]. Available at: https://www.cmo.com.au/article/532593/telstra_four_ps_marketing_analytics/ (Accessed: 09 October 2016).