Marketing strategy planning a case study of s telecom company for the period from 2011 to 2016

MEIHO UNIVERSITY Graduate Institute of Business and Management MASTERS THESIS Marketing Strategy Planning - A Case Study of S Telecom Company for the period from 2011 to 2016 In part

MEIHO UNIVERSITY Graduate Institute of Business and Management

MASTERS THESIS

Marketing Strategy Planning

- A Case Study of S Telecom Company for the

period from 2011 to 2016

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Masters of Business Administration

Advisor: Dr Shao-Hsi Chung Co-advisor: Dr Le Cao Thanh Graduate Student: Nguyen Ngoc Tu

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This thesis could not have been done without the inputs and contributions of many people

First of all, I would like to express my greatest appreciation to the Principal Office

of HCMC Industrial University (HUI) as well MEIHO University (MU) for giving me the opportunity to study and research in this program The program gives us opportunity to approach modern management technology and skills which are very useful for our contribution to our country development

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Dr Shao-Hsi Chung for his extraordinary guidance and enormous academic during the course of my study His enthusiasm for science and people has inspired me deeply and I cannot thank him enough for all of his support and guidance

I am very thankful to Dr Le Cao Thanh for his kindness on evaluating my thesis as

a second supervisor and his willingness to help me whenever I need

My thanks go to all Professors in MEIHO University- Taiwan and HUI- Viet Nam for providing help and stimulating a wonderful environment for study and research Thanks go to and all experts for their valuable advice on in some stages of my research Special thanks go to Phan Minh Tuan and my friends for their valuable help and friendship

My deepest thanks go to my daughter and my wife for their unconditional love and encouragement during the entire period of my study

I cannot thank enough my parents-in-law for their love and unconditional support

in all stages of my study and life I am indebted with my parents and my sister and my younger brother for providing enormous moral and financial support

Marketing Strategy Planning - A Case Study of S Telecom Company for the period from 2011 to

2016

ABSTRACT

Marketing is one of the most significant activities for the survival and development

of a business as well as indispensable to the market economy It is considered as a bridge between companies and customers Companies can inform customers directly about its products and services Customers also know useful information and have more buying options so that companies will sell faster and more products

In reality, many companies in Vietnam have not made efficient marketing plans, including the S Telecom Company

For all above mentioned reasons , along with the explosion of marketing activities of competitors and the customers are more and more fastidious, doing search in order to find out an effective marketing strategy to help S Telecom company survive and develop is an urgent task in the current period

The study has both scientific and practical aspects The first aspect is reflected in giving the basic theory in marketing, marketing-mix as well as other factors in the marketing-mix activities Furthermore, the study combines the strategic theory to solve marketing problems Practicality is reflected in the use of marketing and strategic theory, the mathematical tools, the existing resources of the company as well as environmental factors to solve problems in marketing activities business

The results of researchhave been found two most appropriate marketing strategies for S Telecom Company Some suggested solutions for marketing strategy implication should be implemented

Keywords: Marketing, Marketing – mix, Marketing Management, Marketing Strategy,

Marketing Planning, Matrix, External Factors, Internal Factors, S Telecom

Marketing Strategy Planning - A Case Study of S Telecom Company for the period from 2011 to

2016 Contents

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I ABSTRACT II Contents III Tables V Figures VI

Chapter1 Introduction 1

1.1 Background and Motivation 1

1.2 Research Purposes, Objectives and Questions 2

1.3 Research Scope and Limitations 3

1.4 Research Procedure 3

1.5 Definition of Terms 5

1.5.1 Strategy 5

1.5.2 strategic management 6

1.5.3 Strategic planning 6

1.5.4 Marketing 6

1.5.5 Marketing-mix 6

1.5.6 Marketing strategy 6

1.5.7 S telecom 6

Chapter 2 Literature Review 8

2.1 Marketing Strategy 8

2.1.1 Levels of marketing strategy 8

2.1.2 Types of marketing strategy 9

2.2 Marketing Strategy Planning 13

2.2.1 Process of marketing strategy planning 13

2.2.2 Marketing strategy formulation 14

2.2.3 Tools of marketing strategy formulation 36

Chapter 3 Research Methodology 41

3.1 Research Methods 41

3.1.1 In-depth interview 41

3.1.2 Survey 42

3.2 Research Framework 43

3.3 Subjects and Sampling 46

3.3.1 Subjects 46

3.3.2 Sampling 46

3.4 Data collection 47

3.5 Reliability and Validity 48

3.6 Data Analysis 49

3.6.1 Qualitative analysis 49

3.6.2 Quantitative analysis 49

3.7 Summary of Chapter 50

Chapter 4 Research Analysis and Findings 51

4.1 In-depth Interview 51

4.1.1 Experts’ demographics 51

4.1.2 In-depth interview data analysis and results 53

4.2 Survey 55

4.2.1 Respondents’ demographics 55

4.2.2 Validity and Reliability 57

4.2.3 Survey Data Analysis and Results 58

4.3 Determining Possible Alternative Marketing Strategies 61

4.4 Selecting the Most Appropriate Marketing Strategy 64

4.4.1 Intensive growth strategies 64

4.4.2 Integrative growth strategies 66

Chapter 5 Conclusion, Suggestion and Petition 69

5.1 Conclusion 69

5.1.1 The vision, mission, long-term objectives and target market of S telecom 69

5.1.2 The possible marketing strategies for S telecom 70

5.1.3 The most appropriate marketing strategies for S telecom 71

5.2 Some Suggested Solutions for Marketing Strategy Implication 71

5.2.1 Market penetration strategy 71

5.2.2 Backward integration strategy 73

5.3 Petition 74

References 76 Attachment 1-Questionnaire 1 78 Attachment 2-Questionnaire 2 81

Tables

Table 3-1 Summary of Interviewees’ Biography 42

Table 3-2 Response Rate of Survey and In-depth Interview 48

Table 4-1 In-depth interview - Demographic Statistics with Frequency and Percentage 52

Table 4-2 Survey - Demographic Statistics with Frequency and Percentage 56

Table 4-3 Cronbach’s Alpha for Four Factors 58

Table 4-4 One-sample t test Result for Opportunities and Threats 58

Table 4-5 One-sample t test Result for Strengths and Weaknesses 60

Table 4-6 SWOT Matrix 62

Table 4-7 Intensive Growth Strategies 64

Table 4-8 Integrative Growth Strategies 66

Figures

Figure 1-1 Research Process Flow 5

Figure 2-1 The Basic Directions of Development Possibilities 9

Figure 2-2 Three Intensive Growth Strategies: Ansoff’s Product- Market Expansion Grid .10

Figure 2-3 A Comprehensive Strategic- Management Model 14

Figure 2-4 A Comprehensive Strategy Formulation Frameworks 35

Figure 2-5 The TOWS Matrix 38

Figure 2-6 The Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM) 40

Figure 3-1 A Comprehensive Strategic- Management Model 44

Figure 3-2 A Comprehensive Strategy Formulation Framework 45

Marketing Strategy Planning - A Case Study of S Telecom Company for the

period from 2011 to 2016 Chapter1 Introduction

Chapter 1 present: (1) Background and Motivation, (2) Research Purposes, Objectives and Questions, (3) Research Scope and Limitations, (4) Research Procedure, (5) Definitions of Terms

1.1 Background and Motivation

A business without strategy is like a ship without a rudder, does not know where to

go Marketing is one of the most significant activities for the survival and development of

a business as well as indispensable to the market economy It is considered as a bridge between companies and customers In fact, if a company has good products and services but no attractive marketing activities, the number of customers is also limited, business performance is not high

Thanks to Marketing, companies can inform customers directly about its products and services Customers also know useful information and have more buying options so that companies will sell faster and more products Thus, it is essential for a company to do research on planning and completing marketing activities However, in reality, many companies in Vietnam have not made efficient marketing plans, including the S Telecom Company

S Telecom, the company's CDMA mobile phone was founded in 2003 with the brand S Fone Since entering the market, it has broken the monopoly of the two biggest providers on mobile telecommunications market in Vietnam- MobiFone and Vinaphone and has given users new mobile phone services when applied charging calls 10s (10s-block) and uniform call rates With this new policy, it made Vinaphone and Mobifone change their old business policies This has brought enormous benefits to consumers in using mobile services in Vietnam However, with the Vietnamese government support to develop the telecommunication services and brings benefits to consumers as well as businesses to accelerate economic development, many mobile phone service providers

were established, such as Viettel, VietNam Mobile, Beeline, EVN Telecom and Indochina As the result, S Fone has recently faced more challenges in the mobile telecommunications market Through doing research & conducting surveys, we found that S Fone has not implemented a marketing strategy research Creating and implementing marketing plans should be done immediately The recent research results showed that the perception of products, brand, image, trust of customers & relevant partners of the company are not high Therefore, the loyalty of customers of S Fone brand has been reduced and the company is not attractive much to the customers using its service

For all above mentioned reasons , along with the explosion of marketing activities

of competitors and the customers are more and more fastidious, doing search in order to find out an effective marketing strategy to help S Telecom company survive and develop

is an urgent task in the current period

Moreover, the author has much practical experience over 10 years in business and marketing and deep knowledge in the field of economics and business administration Simultaneously, with the desire to discover new things in science and in reality, the author has chosen the theme:

"Marketing Strategy Planning - A Case Study of S Telecom Company for the period from 2011 to 2016"

The study has both scientific and practical aspects The first aspect is reflected in giving the basic theory in marketing, marketing-mix as well as other factors in the marketing-mix activities Furthermore, the study combines the strategic theory to solve marketing problems Practicality is reflected in the use of marketing and strategic theory, the mathematical tools, the existing resources of the company as well as environmental factors to solve problems in marketing activities business

1.2 Research Purposes, Objectives and Questions

During the developing process, in order to assert their position and win the other competitors in the market, companies should determine appropriate business targets to develop in proper way and gain sustainable achievements in each business stage Normally, the purposes refer to the destination of a long-term developing period, therefore, it could not be measured the time and results accurately Meanwhile objectives refer to the target of each specific stage, it is necessary to determine exactly what a

Fred (2003) defined that the right objectives is very important to the success of every company because they indicate right direction, help assess, create energy, indicate the priority , enable collaboration and provide basis information to conduct effective business plan for the company, stimulate and control business activities effectively The objectives should be challenging, measurable, logical and clear

Therefore, in this study the author aims at planning the most appropriate marketing strategies for S Telecom company business activities

From the research purposes, general research objectives were set up as follows:

(I) Assessing vision, missions, long term objectives and target market of S Telecom Company

(II) Proposing possible Marketing Strategies for S Telecom Company

(III) Selecting the most appropriate Marketing Strategies for S Telecom Company From the planned objectives, collected data and information were used to answer to the following main research questions:

(I) What are S Telecom Company vision, missions, long term objectives and target market?

(II) What are the possible Marketing Strategies for S Telecom Company?

(III) Which are the most appropriate Marketing Strategies for S Telecom Company?

1.3 Research Scope and Limitations

This study focuses on researching the competitiveness in mobile services market in Vietnam in general and marketing activities in S Telecom Company in particular Due to limited time and cost, collecting data is mostly conducted in Ho Chi Minh and Ha Noi City in which has highest population density and the most economic development in the country in the period from September, 2010 to October, 2010

Research offers some solutions to the marketing strategies for S Telecom Company

to 2016 based on objectives which were carried out by the company as an orientation, not detailed marketing plan

1.4 Research Procedure

The research was begun with the determination of the managerial dilemma That is the motivation of the study The managerial dilemma determined in this research came

from the situation of seeking appropriate marketing strategies for S Telecom to exist and develop in an environment with increasing severe competitiveness After that, the research purpose was identified Three research objectives then were formed and concretize with research questions, based on the research purpose The next step, the literature review focused on the concept with an overview of strategy management and marketing management including marketing strategies, marketing strategy planning and real status of external environment and internal environment The establishing the research framework aimed to orientate for study After referring different sources of materials, the pre-test was conducted for questionnaires 2 and 3, relating to the determining influenced factors from the internal environment (strengths-weaknesses), and external environment (opportunities- threats) was developed Expert’s consultancy was involved in designing of the questionnaires to make sure the reliability and validity Pilot test was conducted and used to revise the contents and the amount of the questions in the questionnaires Next was the data collection from the surveys and in-depth interview The following step was analyzing data to answer the research questions Finally, the conclusions and suggestions were made, marking the end of the research process

The basic steps for research methodology were based on:

Figure 1-1 Research Process Flow

1.5 Definition of Terms

1.5.1 Strategy

According to Johnson and Scholes (1999) strategy is orientation and scope of an

organization in a long term in order to gain competitive advantages for organizations, to

adopt the format of its resources in the changing environment, to help meet basic market

needs and expectations of stakeholders According to Porter (1996) strategy is to create a

unique position and value, including differentiation Strategies are the means by which

long term objectives will be achieved (Fred, 2003)

Conclusions & suggestion

Consult With Experts

Data collection

In-depth interview with questionnaire 1

1.5.2 strategic management

Strategic management can be defined as the art and science of formulating, implementing, and evaluating cross-functional decisions that enable an organization to achieve its objectives (Fred, 2003)

1.5.3 Strategic planning

Strategic planning refers only to strategy formulation Strategy formulation includes developing a vision and mission, identifying an organization's external opportunities and threats, determining internal strengths and weaknesses, establishing long-term objectives, generating alternative strategies, and choosing particular strategies

to pursue (Fred, 2003)

1.5.4 Marketing

Marketing can be described as the process of defining, anticipating, creating, and fulfilling customer's need and wants for products and service (Fred, 2003) Marketing deals with identifying and meeting human and social needs One of shortest definitions of marketing is "meeting needs profitably" ( Philip & Kevin, 2006)

1.5.5 Marketing-mix

Marketing-mix has been defined as the set of marketing tools the firm uses to pursue its marketing objectives McCarthy classified these tools into four broad group, which he called the four Ps of marketing: product, price, place and promotion (Philip & Kevin, 2006)

1.5.6 Marketing strategy

Strategic Marketing is one of the functional strategies Marketing Strategy is a process, conveys the business objectives and strategies of an organization to activities in the business market Marketing Strategy of an organization is that is related to the development and implementation of marketing-mix (4P or 7P) (Doan, 2010)

1.5.7 S telecom

This is a cooperation project between SPT and SLD Co., Ltd (now called SK Telecom Vietnam), under the form of Business Cooperation Contract to provide

nationwide mobile telephony services, fixed-wireless telephony services and other value added services using CDMA 2000-1x and CDMA 2000-1x EVDO REV O) technology

S Telecom presently has about over 1,400 well- qualified staffs, its structural organization of S Fone Vietnam mobile telecom services company includes

- Exclusive broad

- The functional broads:

+ Strategies & service broad: Human Management Department , Administration and Legal Department , Construction and investment department & shopping, Planning and strategies Department

+ Mobile Network broad: Technical operation and Management Department, Technology and network development Department , Investment and Development Department

+ Financial & Accounting broad: Accounting Department, Financial Department

+ Marketing broad: Marketing Department, Sales Department, Customer Care

Department, Value Added Services Department , Roaming Department, Tariffs

Department, Marketing business Department

+ I/T Centre: Equipment and Technology Department,

Four Mobile Telecom Services Centers: Mobile Telecom Services Center I, Mobile

Telecom Services Center II, Mobile Telecom Services Center III, Mobile Telecom Services Center IV

(3) Setting of sales and distribution network and supply of mobile phones

Brand name of CDMA Mobile Phone Centre: S Fone

Chapter 2 Literature Review

The purpose of this chapter is to provide to the researcher and reader some basic research contents and the theories used for the research framework The chapter 2 was structured with two sections of reviewing:

(1) Marketing Strategy: Definitions of Marketing Strategy, Levels of marketing

strategy and Types of marketing strategy

(2) Marketing Strategy Planning: Process of Marketing Strategy Planning, Marketing Strategy Formulation, Tools of Marketing Strategy Formulation

2.1 Marketing Strategy

Strategic Marketing is one of the functional strategies Marketing Strategy is a process, conveys the business objectives and strategies of an organization to activities in the business market Marketing Strategy of an organization is that is related to the development and implementation of marketing-mix (4P or 7P) (Van, 2010) Marketing strategy is the marketing logic by which the business unit hopes to achieve its marketing objectives It includes specific strategies to target markets, Marketing mix and Marketing budgets (Philip, 2003)

The marketing should detail the market segments on which the company will focus These segments differ in their needs and wants, responses to marketing and profitability

It is wise for the company that makes its effort into those market segments it can best serve from a competitive point of view It should develop a marketing strategy for each targeted segment (Philip, 2003)

2.1.1 Levels of marketing strategy

According to Philip & Kevin, 2006, to understand marketing management, we must understand strategic planning Most large companies consist of four organizational levels: the corporate level, the division level, the business level, and the product level Corporate headquarters is responsible for designing a corporate strategic plan to guide the whole enterprise; it makes decisions on the amount of resources to allocate to each division, as well as on which businesses to start or eliminate Each division establishes a plan covering the allocation of funds to each business unit within the division Each business unit develops a strategic plan to carry that business unit into a profitable future Finally,

each product level (product line, brand) within a business unit develops a marketing plan for achieving its objectives in its product market

2.1.2 Types of marketing strategy

(i) Growth Strategies of Company

According to Philip (2003), development strategies can be built based on the results

of the analysis conducted at three levels.: at the first level, discover the possibility that companies can take advantage of the current scale of operations (the ability to develop intensive growth), at the second level, find out capabilities integrated with other elements

of the marketing system (the ability to develop integrative growth) and at level three, discover the ability to open branches outside (the ability to develop wide-diversification growth) Figure 2-1 introduces the possibility of development in these three specific directions

Intensive growth Integrative growth Diversification growth Market penetration Backward integration Concentric diversification Market development Forward integration Horizontal diversification Product development Horizontal integration Conglomerate diversification

Figure 2-1 The Basic Directions of Development Possibilities

(Source: Philip, 2003)

(i-1) Intensive Growth

Corporate management’s first course of action should be a review of opportunities for improving existing businesses Ansoff proposed a useful framework for detecting new intensive growth opportunities called a “product-market expansion grid”(Figure 2-2) The company first considers whether it could gain more market share with its current products in their current markets (Market penetration strategy) Next considers whether it can find or develop new markets for current products (Market development strategy) Then it considers whether it can develop new products of potential interest to its current markets (Product development strategy) Later it will also review opportunities to develop new products for new markets (Diversification strategy) (Philip & Kevin, 2006)

Figure 2-2 Three Intensive Growth Strategies: Ansoff’s Product- Market Expansion Grid

(Source: Philip & Kevin, 2006)

(i-2) Integrative growth

A business’s sales and profits may be increased through backward, forward or horizontal integration within its industry (Philip & Kevin, 2006)

(i-3) Diversification growth

Diversification growth makes sense when good opportunities can be found outside the present businesses A good opportunity is one in which the industry is highly attractive and the company has the right mix of business strengths to be successful Several types of diversification are possible First, the company could seek new products that have technological or marketing synergies with existing product lines, even though the new products themselves may appeal to a different group of customers (concentric strategy) Second, the company might search for new products that could appeal to current customers even though the new products are technologically unrelated to its current product line (horizontal strategy) Finally, the company might seek new businesses that have no relationship to its current technology, products, or markets (conglomerate strategy)

(ii) Business Unit Strategy (SBU)

According to Philip & Kevin (2006), Michael has proposed three generic strategies that provide a good starting point for strategic thinking: overall cost leadership, differentiation, and focus

New Products

Current Products

Current

Markets

New

Markets

(ii-1) Overall Cost Leadership

The business works hard to achieve the lowest production and distribution costs so that it can price lower than its competitors and win a large market share Firms pursuing this strategy must be good at engineering, purchasing, manufacturing, and physical distribution They need less skill in marketing The problem with this strategy is that other firms will usually compete with still lower costs and hurt the firm that rested its whole future on cost

(ii-2) Differentiation

The business concentrates on achieving superior performance in an important customer benefit area valued by a large part of the market The firm cultivates those strengths that will contribute to the intended differentiation Thus the firm seeking quality leadership

(ii-3) Focus

The business focuses on one or more narrow market segments The firm gets to know these segments intimately and pursues either cost leadership or differentiation within the target segment

(iii) Competitive Strategies

According to Phillip & Kevin (2006), competitive marketing strategies include: competitive strategies for market leaders, market-challenger strategies, market- follower strategies, market-nicher strategies

(iii-1) Competitive Strategies for Market Leaders

Many industries contain one firm that is acknowledged market leader This firm has the largest market share in the relevant product market, and usually leads the other firms

in price changes, new product introductions, distribution coverage, and promotional intensity….Remaining number one calls for action in three fonts First, the firm must find ways to expand total market demand Second, the firm must protect its current market share through good defensive and offensive actions Third, the firm can try to increase its market share, even if market size remain constant

Expanding the Total Market

The dominant firm normally gains the most when the total market expands The market leader should look for new customers or more usage from existing customers

Defending Market Share

While trying to expand total market size, the dominant firm must continuously defends its current business What can the market leader do to defend its terrain? The most constructive response is continuous innovation The leader leads the industry in developing new product and customer services, distribution effectiveness, and cost cutting It keeps increasing its competitive strength and value to customers

Expand Market Share

Market leaders can improve their profitability by increasing their market share Gaining increased share in the served market, however, does not automatically produce higher profits- especially for labor intensive service companies that may not experience many economies of scale Much depends on the company’s strategy

(iii-2) Market-Challenger Strategies

Many market challengers have gained ground or even overtaken the leader A market challenger must first define its strategic objective Most aim to increase market share The challenger must decide whom to attack: the market leader, small local and regional firms It includes five attack strategies: frontal, flank, encirclement, bypass, and guerilla attacks

(iii-3) Market- Follower Strategies

A market follower must known how to hold current customers and win a fair share

of new customers Each follower tries to bring distinctive advantages to its target market- location, services, financing Because the follower is often a major target of attack by challengers, it must keep its manufacturing costs low and its product quality and services high Four broad strategies can be distinguished:

Counterfeiter

The counterfeiter duplicates the leader’s product and package and sells it on the black market or through disreputable dealers

Cloner

The cloner emulates the leader’s products, name, and packaging, with slight variations

Imitator

The imitator copies some things from leader but maintains differentiation in terms

of packaging, advertising, pricing or location

Adapter

The adapter takes the leader’s products and adapts or improves them The adapter may choose to sell to different markets, but often the adapter grows into the future challenger

(iii-4) Market-Nicher Strategies

An alternative to being a follower in a large market is to be a leader in a small market, or niche Smaller firms normally avoid competing with larger firms by targeting small markets of little or no interest to the larger firms Even large, profitable firms use niching strategies for some of their business units or companies Why is niching so profitable? The main reason is that the market nicher ends up knowing the target customers so well that it meets their needs better than other firms selling to this niche casually As a result, the nicher can change a substantial price over cost The nicher achieves high margin, whereas the mass marketer achieves high volume Nicher have three tasks: creating niches, expanding niches, and protecting niches

2.2 Marketing Strategy Planning

The strategic marketing plan lays out the target markets and the value proposition that will be offered, based on an analysis of the best market opportunities (Philip & Kevin, 2006)

2.2.1 Process of marketing strategy planning

The framework illustrated in Figure 2-3 is a widely accepted, comprehensive model

of the strategic management process This model does not guarantee success, but it does represent a clear and practical approach for formulating, implementing, and evaluating strategies

Strategic Marketing is a functional strategy It fits in the strategic planning of a business so it can be built in the process of planning the overall marketing strategies of the company

Due to limitation of this project is only to construct the marketing strategy and therefore the process of planning marketing strategy will focus on strategy formulation

Figure 2-3 A Comprehensive Strategic- Management Model

(Source: Fred, 2003)

2.2.2 Marketing strategy formulation

Strategy formulation includes developing a vision and mission, identifying an organization’s external opportunities and threats, determining internal strengths and weaknesses, establishing long term objectives, generating alternative strategies, and choosing particular strategies to pursue Strategy formulation issues include deciding what new businesses to enter, what business to abandon, how to allocate resources, whether to expand operations or diversify, whether to enter international markets,

Establish Long-term Objectives

Generate Evaluate, and Select strategies

Implement Strategies management Issues

Implement Strategies- Marketing, Finance, Accounting, R&D, MIS issues Perform

Strategy Implementation

Strategy Evaluation

whether to merge or form a joint venture, and how to avoid a hostile takeover Sometimes, strategy formulation can be called as strategic planning (Fred, 2003)

2.2.2.1 Vision

Many organizations today develop a vision statement that answers the question,

“ What do we want to become?” Developing a vision statement is often considered the first step in strategic planning, preceding even development of a mission statement Many vision statements are single sentence (Fred, 2003) According to James and Jerry (1996), the structure of the vision statement often consist of two main parts: Core ideology and Envisioned future Core ideology are basic and sustainable regulars and methodology of

an organization and the reasons for that organization to be survived

S Telecom's vision is to become one of the best mobile communication service providers in Vietnam by integrating services, communications, entertainment Together with brand philosophy of continuous development that considers innovation and creativity as the motivation, and the harmony between people as the premise, the core values of S Fone culture will create a comprehensive perfect whole in term of ideology

foundation for an enterprise (http//:www.s fone.com.vn)

2.2.2.2 Mission

Mission statements are “enduring statements of purpose that distinguish one business from other similar firms A mission statement identifies the scope of a firm’s operations in product and market terms” It addresses the basic question that faces all strategists: “What is our business?” A clear mission statement describes the values and priorities of an organization (Fred, 2003) To define its mission, a company should address Peter Drucker’s classic questions: What is our business? Who is the customer? What is of value to the customer? What is our business be? The statement guides geographically dispersed employees to work independently and yet collectively toward

realizing the organization’s goals (Philip & Kevin, 2006) The mission of S Telecom as following:

According to website http//: www.s fone.com.vn, missions of S Telecom's are: provide nationwide mobile telephony services

(1) Popularize CDMA technology (Code Division Multiple Access) in Vietnam: supply nationwide various postal and telecommunication services using CDMA technology (2) Consider customers core factor for success: wishing to bring in the most diversified services, no other aims than to make customers happy and satisfied with services

(3) Attract and develop human resources: create a professional, dynamic and creative working environment to help S-Fone develop stability and bring high profits for the contribution

(4) Develop sustainably with partners: cooperate with the spirit of equality with other business partners to the same general direction to success

(5) Build community: To contribute and participate actively in social activities to make society better and better

2.2.2.3 Long-term objectives

Objectives can be defined as specific results that an organization seeks to achieve

in pursuing its basic mission Long term means more than one year Objectives are essential for organizational success because they state direction; aid in evaluation; create synergy; reveal priorities; focus coordination; and provide a basic for effective planning, organizing, motivating, and controlling activities Objectives should be challenging, measurable, consistent, reasonable, and clear In a multidimensional firm, objectives should be established for the overall company and for each division (Fred, 2003) The Long-term Objectives of S Telecom as following: In the future, the objectives of S Fone company is to become one of the best mobile phone network operators (infrastructure)

in Vietnam (on digital information technology), dominating the first position on all indicators of credibility, reliability, the number of subscribers and growth rate S-Fone will bring its customers pride and trust because they can access and use the most

advanced technology in communications with the reasonable cost (http//:www.s

fone.com.vn)

2.2.2.4 External environment

The purpose of an external audit is to develop a finite list of opportunities that could benefit a firm and threats that should be avoided As the term finite suggests, the external audit is not aimed at developing exhaustive list of very possible factor that could influence the business; rather, it is aimed at identifying key variables that offer actionable responses Firm should be able to respond either offensively or defensively to the factor

by formulating strategies that take advantage of external opportunities or that minimize the impact of potential threats (Fred, 2003)

According to Philip (2003), the marketing environment offers both opportunities and threats (see Figue 2-5) Company's marketing environment consists of the factors and

forces outside marketing that affect marketing management's ability to develop and maintain successful transactions with its target customers The marketing environment consists of a microenvironment and a macro environmen The macro environment consists of the larger societal forces that affect the whole microenvironment demographic, economic, natural, technological, political and cultural forces We look first at the company's microenvironment

These actors include other company departments, suppliers, marketing intermediaries, customers, competitors and various publics

(1) Demographic Environment

The main demographic force that marketers monitor is population, because people make up markets Marketers are keenly interested in the size and growth rate of population in cities, regions, and nations; age distribution and ethnic mix, educational levels; household patterns; and regional characteristics and movements

(1-1) Worldwide Population Growth: the world population is showing explosive

growth; It totaled 6.1 billion in 2000 and will exceed 7.9 billion by the year 2025 The population explosion has been source of major concern Unchecked population growth and consumption could eventually result in insufficient food supply, depletion of key minerals, overcrowding, pollution, and an overall deterioration in the quality of life Explosive population growth has major implications for business A growing population does not mean growing markets unless these markets have sufficient purchasing power Nonetheless, companies that carefully analyze their markets can find major opportunities (Philip & Kevin, 2006)

(1-2) Population Age Mix: National populations vary in their age mix A population can

be subdivided into six age groups: preschool, school age children, teens, young adults age

25 to 40, middle aged adults age 40 to 65, and older adults age 65 and up For marketers, the most populous age groups shape the marketing environment

(1-3) Ethnic and Other Markets: Countries also vary in ethnic and racial makeup

Ethnic groups have certain specific wants and buying habits Marketers must be careful not to over generalize about ethnic groups Within each ethnic group are consumers who are quite different from each other

(1-4) Educational Groups: The population in any society falls into five educational

groups: illiterates, high school dropouts, high school diplomas, college degrees, and professional degrees More and more countries have realized that their property not only depend on natural sources but in force sources

(1-5) Household Patterns: The “traditional household” consists of husband, wife, and

children (and sometimes grandparents) Yet, in the United States today, one out of eight households is “diverse” or “nontraditional”, and includes single live alones, adult live together of one or both sexes, single parent families, childless married couples,…marrying without the intention to have children Each group has a distinctive set of needs and buying habits Marketers must increasingly consider the special needs of nontraditional households, because they are now growing more rapidly than traditional households

(1-6) Geographical Shifts in Population: This is a period of great migratory movements

between and within countries Forward looking companies and entrepreneurs are taking advantage of the growth in immigrant populations and marketing their wares specifically

to these new members of population Within countries, population movement also occurs

as people migrate from rural to urban areas, and then to suburban areas… Location makes a difference in goods and service preferences

(1-7) Viet Nam’s Demographic Environment: When it comes to mobile information

and internet services, Vietnam is considered a market of great potential thanks to its young population It now has 86.5 million people, with more than 50 per cent under the age of 25 These youngsters must be researched carefully by all telecom service providers before they attempt to introduce something new in the market This abundant human resource is valuable for the development of the country As the rate of migration from rural to urban areas is high The current urban population accounts for 29.6% of the total national population The main reason causing the urban population increasing rapidly is due to the expansion of the labor market that has affected a number of migrants The result of the survey shows that only less than 4 million people go to school, accounting for less 5.0% of the population from the age 5 (source: http://vneconomy.vn/) With a

telecommunications services is high Therefore, Vietnam is one of the most attractive markets for mobile telecommunications service suppliers

Nowadays, services of mobile information are expanding significantly and becoming one of an important factor for Vietnamese citizens in their life

(2) Economic Environment

Market require purchasing power as well as people The available purchasing power in an economy depends on current income, prices, savings, debt, and credit availability Marketers must pay careful attention to trends affecting purchasing power because they can have a strong impact on business, especially for companies whose products are geared to high income and price sensitive consumers

(2-1) Income Distribution: Nations vary greatly in level and distribution of income and

industrial structure In a global economy, marketers need to pay attention to the shifting income distribution in countries around the world, particularly countries where affluence levels are rising Marketers often distinguish countries with five different income distribution patterns: (1)very low incomes; (2)mostly low incomes; (3)very low, very high

incomes; (4)low, medium, high incomes; (5)and mostly medium incomes

(2-2) Savings, Debt, and Credit Available: Consumer expenditures are affected by

savings, debt, and credit availability

(2-3) Viet Nam’s Economic Environment

After the global financial crisis, the world’s economy has been recovered gradually and Vietnam has, too According to the statistics of Vietnam Ministry of Finance, the combined GDP in 2009 was 5.2% and CPI was 6.88% This showed the recovery of the economy However, residents still have difficulties in finance and, thus, they will spend economically This is a big opportunity for a cheap mobile network service like S Fone because consumers will change from expensive suppliers to use cheaper ones

More and more foreign firms are willing to invest in Vietnam while expanding their business According to the survey of Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) in 2010, Vietnam was ranked sixth among the list of world’s economies that Japanese companies want to expand t business within the following three years, increasing one level comparing as previous period Vietnam was also ranked 5th among the list of

economies that the Japanese partners expand their research and development (R & D), increasing one level comparing as previous period (The Vietnamese News Agency, 2010) At the 16 th meeting of Industry and Trade of Vietnam – Taiwan in Ho Chi Minh city on August 10th, 2009 held the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Association of International Economic Cooperation Taiwan (CIECA) ,Taiwan was identified as the biggest investor in Vietnam Up to 2009 Taiwan invested more than $ 21 billion into Vietnam The head representative of Economic and Cultural Taipei in Hanoi said: "Investment Environment in Vietnam is increasingly improving for the better synchronization and nature Foreign investors are identified that Vietnam will be an attractive investment destination in the future and also a good place for business

development and cooperation "(http://vietnamnet.vn/)

All above are good evidences for the economic environment in Vietnam by foreign investors said Thus, in the near future not only telecommunications but also many other sectors in Vietnam will be accelerated

(3) Political-Legal Environment

Marketing decisions are strongly affected by developments in the political and legal environment This environment composed of laws, government agencies, and pressure groups that influence and limit various organizations and individuals Sometimes these laws also create new opportunities for business

(3-1) Increase in Business Legislation: Business Legislation has three main purposes: to

protect companies from unfair competition, to protect customers from unfair business practices, and to protect the interests of society from unbridled business behavior A major purpose of business legislation and enforcement is to charge businesses with the social cost created by their products or production processes….Although each new law may have a legitimate rationale; it may have the unintended effect of shaping initiative and retarding economic growth Marketers must have a good working knowledge of the major laws protecting competition, consumers, and society

(3-2) Growth of Special Interest Groups: The number and power of special interest

groups have increased over the past three decades Political action committees (PACs) lobby government officials and pressure business executives to pay more attention to consumers’ rights, women’s rights, senior citizens’ rights, minority rights, and gay rights

Many companies have established public affairs departments to deal with these groups and issue Clearly, new laws and growing numbers of pressure groups have put more restraints on marketers Marketers have to clear their plans with the company’s legal, public relations, public affairs, and consumer affairs departments

(3-3) Viet Nam’s Political-Legal Environment

Vietnam has been developing with the changing of legal framework more and more opened and clearly, furthermore, official reform was carried out to make it better and better Vietnam joined in WTO in 2006, officially in 2007 Vietnam's commitments were

to open services market in which the sensitive sectors such as insurance,

telecommunications.These commitments have been implemented

(http://vietbao.vn/Kinh-te) This is not only a lucky opportunity for telecommunications companies to cooperate

with foreign companies to take advantage of their human resources for development but

a threat of small telecommunications companies in the country

On July 1st, 2010, the regulation tightened for promotion in the telecommunications sector of the Ministry of Information and Communications in effect, made the big service providers have fair competition with the smaller suppliers or new suppliers to join the industry Next time, according to the electronic portal to the

Government of Vietnam (http://www.chinhphu.vn/, http://www.vnep.org.vn/), the

Ministry of Information and Communications is draft decree detailing and guiding the implementation of some important laws Telecommunications issued to the Government Some noteworthy as the contents: (1) the value of the promotional material for a product, telecommunication service shall not exceed 50% of the value before the promotion, (2) must register, notify State agencies competent to make promotions, (3) business is not dominant issue of telecommunications service charges lower prices, (4) allowing foreign investment telecommunications business in the form of joint ventures but does not exceed 20% So, with the administration of the State, the competitive environment in the telecommunications sector in the coming period would be fair, more transparent

(4) Technological Environment

One of the most dramatic forces shaping people’s lives is technology The economy’s growth rate is affected by how many major new technologies are discovered Unfortunately, technological discoveries do not arise evenly through time New technology also creates major long run consequences that are not always foreseeable The

marketers should monitor the following trends in technology: the pace of change, the opportunities for innovation, varying R&D budgets, and increased regulation

(4-1) Accelerating Pace of Change: Many of today’s common products were not

available 40 years ago An increasing number of ideas are being worked on, and the time between the appearance of new ideas and their successful implementation is all but disappearing So is the time between introduction and peak production Ninety percent of all the scientist who ever lived are alive today, and technology feeds upon itself

(4-2) Unlimited Opportunities for Innovation: Scientists today are working on a

startling range of new technologies that will revolutionize products and production

processes

(4-3) Varying R&D budgets: Many companies are content to put their money into

copying competitors’ products and making minor feature and style improvements….More research directed toward major breakthroughs is being conducted by consortiums of

companies rather than by single companies

(4-4) Increased regulation of Technological Change: As products become more

complex, the public needs to be assured of its safety Consequently, government agencies’ powers to investigate and ban potentially unsafe products have been expanded

(4-5) Viet nam’s Technological Environment: The world’s technology is developing

more and more Vietnam is in the process of development and benefited from this advanced technology In mobile telecommunications industry has been much influenced

by the world’s technology New technologies develop rapidly but they will be outdated quickly CDMA technology of S Fone's is widely used around the world In recent years,

S Fone has provided nationwide mobile telephony services, fixed-wireless telephony services and other value added services using CDMA 2000-1x and CDMA 2000-1x EVDO REV O) technology,music-demand VOD / MOD and special Mobile Internet services are introduced to the subscriber has made breakthroughs in the telecommunications market in which rivals compete using 2G GSM technology can not However, GSM has evolved from 2G to 3G technology for large capacity voice, data

CDMA technology gap The 3G technology applications must be approved by the Vietnamese State for factors related to the band Band infrastructure is particularly important for telephone service and mobile data; bandwidth is a limited resource and license to use certain frequency bands for a limited service in several exploited to ensure the development, management and avoidance of jamming signals and affect national security Therefore, the Vietnamese State to strictly manage licensing using 3G technology On 02.04.2009, the Ministry of Information and Communications has officially announced the names of four providers of telecommunications services are admitted 3G: Viettel, VinaPhone, MobiFone and ultimately a partnership between EVN

Telecom and Hanoi Telecom (http://vnexpress.net) There are now three providers Viettel,

VinaPhone, MobiFone application development, this is a threat, challenge for S Fone

(5) Natural Environment

The deterioration of the natural environment is major global concern In many world cities, air and water pollution have reached dangerous levels There is great concern about “greenhouse gases” in the atmosphere due to the burning of fossil fuels; about the depletion of the ozone layer due to certain chemical; and about growing shortages of water Marketers need to be aware of the threats and opportunities associated with four trends in the natural environment: the shortage of raw materials, especially water; the increased cost of energy; increased pollution levels; and the changing role of governments

(5-1) Shortage of Raw Materials: The earth’s raw materials consist of the infinite, the

finite renewable, and the finite nonrenewable Infinite resources, such as air and water, are becoming a problem Water shortages are already o political issue, and the danger is

no longer long term Finite renewable resources, such as forest and food, must be used wisely Forestry companies are required to reforest timberlands in order to protect the soil and to ensure sufficient wood to meet future demand Because the amount of arable land

is fixed and urban areas are constantly encroaching on farmland, food supply can also be

a major problem Finite nonrenewable resources oil, coal, platinum, zinc, silver will pose

a serious problem as the point of depletion approaches Firms making products that require these increasingly scarce minerals face substantial cost increases Firms engaged

in research and developments have an excellent opportunity to develop substitute materials

(5-2) Increased Energy Costs: One finite nonrenewable resource, oil, has created serious

problems for the world economy

(5-3) Anti Pollution Pressures: Some industrial activity will inevitably damage the

natural environment A large market has been created for pollution control solutions, such

as scrubbers, recycling centers, and landfill systems

(5-4) Changing Role of Governments: Governments vary in their concern and efforts to

promote a clean environment

(5-5) Viet Nam’s Natural Environment: Depletion of natural resources, shortage of raw

materials and environmental pollution are actually happening in Vietnam The shortage of raw material causes the costs of production increasing substantially This impacts directly on the lives of residents, and also cause the inflation and thus the demand of goods consumption declines a lot Mobile telecommunications sector is also influenced significantly from the natural environment; this requires providers to calculate a reasonable cost Besides, Vietnam government has forced businesses that take responsibility for environment; this creates more pressure on suppliers

(6) Social-Cultural Environment

Purchasing power is directed toward certain goods and services and away from others according to people’s tastes and preferences Society shapes the beliefs, values, and norms that largely define these tastes and preferences People absorb, almost unconsciously, a worldview that defines theirs relationships to themselves, to others, to organizations, to society, to nature, and to the universe

(6-1) High Persistence of Core Cultural Values: The people living in a particular

society hold many core beliefs and values that tend to persist Believing in the institution

of marriage is a core belief; believing that people ought to get married early is a secondary belief Marketers have some chance of changing secondary values but little chance of changing core values

(6-2) Existence of Subcultures: Each society contains subcultures, groups with shared

values emerging from their special life experiences or circumstances Member of

subcultures shared common belief, preferences, and behaviors To the extent that subcultures groups exhibit different wants and consumption behavior, marketers can

choose particular subcultures as target markets

(6-3) Shifts of Secondary Cultural values through time: Although core values are

fairly persistent, cultural swings do take place

(6-4) Viet Nam’s Social-Cultural Environment: Vietnam is one country in the

Southeast Asian region which has a long life and special tradition culture Since 1990s, Vietnam has opened and integrated with all countries in the world, therefore, the Western culture and American culture have arrived in Vietnam with great influence on the youth With a young and dynamic population structure effected by this new culture, the youth in Vietnam today like to use new technologies, new fashion etc and love to express themselves than previous generations It is an opportunity for the many business scopes such as fashion, industry, telecommunications and tourism e.t.c.Thus, S Fone need to understand Vietnamese culture, especially young people, to be able to conquer and satisfy their needs best

(7) Marketing Intermediaries

(7-1) Marketing Intermediaries: helping the company to promote, sell and distribute its

goods to final buyers They include resellers, physical distribution firms, marketing services agencies and financial intermediaries

(7-2) Resellers: The individuals and organisations that buy goods and services to resell at

a profit They are distribution channel firms that help the company find customers or make sales to them

(7-3) Physical distribution firms: Warehouse, transportation and other firms that help a

company to stock and move goods from their points of origin to their destinations

Physical distribution firms help the company to stock and move goods fromtheir points of origin to their destinations Working with warehouse and transportation firms, a company must determine the best ways to store and ship goods, balancing such factors as cost, delivery, speed and safety

(7-4) Marketing services agencies: are marketing research firms, advertising agencies,

media firms, marketing consulting firms and other service providers that help a company

to target and promote its products to the right markets When the company decides to use one of these agencies, it must choose carefully because the firms vary in creativity, quality, service and price The company has to review the performance of these firms regularly and consider replacing those that no longer perform well

(7-5) Financial intermediaries: consist of banks, credit companies, insurance companies

and other businesses that help finance transactions or insure against the risks associated eusith the buying and selling of goods The company's marketing performance can be seriously affected by rising credit costs and limited credit For this reason, the company has to develop strong relationships with the most important financial institutions

(7-6) S Telecom’s Marketing Intermediaries: They include resellers, marketing

services and financial intermediaries agencies Company's resellers called indirect channels, including more than 700 nationwide distribution agents, accounting for 93.5% revenues of the company per month Company's marketing services agencies include professional companies on market research, advertising and communications such as AC Neilson, TNS, Saatchi & Saatchi, Ogivy & Mather Company's financial intermediaries include banks, great insurance companies in Vietnam such as Vietcombank, AAA They support for S Fone’s business activities very effectively In general, S Telecom's Marketing Intermediaries are very professional and have long-term relationships with company

(8) Suppliers

Firms and individuals that provide the resources needed by the company and its competitors to produce goods and services Marketing managers must also monitor the price trends of their key inputs Rising supply costs may force price increases that can harm the company's sales volume Supplier developments can seriously affect marketing Marketing managers must watch supply availability - supply shortages or delays, labour strikes and other events can cost sales in the short run and damage customer satisfaction

in the long run

S Telecom’s Suppliers

The company's suppliers include companies providing the SIM card, scratch card as VTC firms, consulting companies and advertising and the companies providing handsets such as Samsung, LG, Nokia, Sky These companies only provide a limited samples CDMA handset because the number of suppliers using CDMA network is less than the GSM networks suppliers However, in general, S Telecom's suppliers are fairly well and

S Telecom has always maintained good relations as well as developed with them

to assess the impact strategic actions would have on competitors, and (3) to identify potential moves that a competitor might make that would endanger a firm’s position in the market (Fred, 2003)

S Telecom’s Competitors

The battle between mobile network operators are becoming more and more competitive

when the "market share pie" has been broken and no longer is "easy sticky" as before In mobile telecommunications services market in Vietnam, there are seven service providers such as: Viettel, VinaPhone, MobiFone, S Fone, EVN Telecom, Beeline and VietNam

mobile (http://xahoithongtin.com.vn) Based on size, market share and activities in during

the last time, researcher found that the main competitors of S Fone are Viettel, VinaPhone, MobiFone, and Beeline In particular, three major competitors account for three quarters

of market share and has launched 3G network are : Viettel (about 40 million subscribers),

VinaPhone & MobiFone (about 60 million subscribers) (http://news.goonline.vn.)

Beeline: Being the joint venture established in 8th July 2008 under the cooperation

agreement between Vietnam’s GTEL Corporation & VimpelCom Being the new comer in

Vietnamese market, Beeline has gained some achievements in Vietnam: two months after reaching it had 1 million subscribers This establishment was initiated from the Principal Agreement to establish a mobile telecommunications joint venture in Vietnam under the name of GTEL Mobile signed with Vimpelcom Corporation GTEL Mobile is not only a business enterprise purely but also the international combination aiming to bring Vietnamese people a new trend and style in telecommunications industry Up to now, Beeline has been only the first international venture in Vietnam market It is considered one of the great advantages of Beeline than some other mobile networks Beeline has earlier announced low and competitive price plan than the others With such charges,

Beeline mobile network is cheapest price on the market today (http://www6.vnmedia.vn)

The target customers are young, high school students and students Beeline has made enormous advertising campaigns in order to stimulate these groups to use its services However, it is said that Beeline does not have catchy phone numbers and just uses 2G GSM technology , not applies various value added services and ,currently, Beeline

services are only available in 50 cities/60 provinces countrywide

Viettel (Viettel Mobile): set up by SIGELCO, former organization of Military Telecom

Corporation (Viettel) The establishment of Viettel marked an important point in Vietnam telecom market, attracting a large number of subscribers in which a half of them were gained from its competitiors like Vinaphone, MobiFone and S Fone (AC Nielsen) Understanding the difficulties of the coverage of the competitors, to have a competitive advantage, Viettel has prepared very carefully for the opening- day with the coverage achieved 62/64 provinces, and two months later launched the 64/64 provinces With good infrastructure, wide network coverage to all remote areas, good call quality and low cost calls and simple registration procedures are big advantages for Viettel As the result, it has developed much more than S fone Using GSM technology, but Viettel has also applied 3G network with the highest score Officially it launched services in Cambodia and Laos with brand name Metfone and Unitel in 2009

Mobifone: Vietnam Mobile Telecom Services Company - VMS, a state-owned company

under Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Corporation, was founded in April 16th

1993, VMS has become the first GMS 900/1800 mobile telephony services provider in the brand name MobiFone, marking the beginning momentum of the mobile telephony industry in Vietnam MobiFone specializes in building, developing network and providing mobile telephony The company has also invested a lot for advertising activities,

building brand name and promotion MobiFone is usually the best network quality criteria

in Vietnam, compared with other providers In addition, MobiFone is the first and exclusive mobile telephony services provider in Vietnam which is selected as of the best mobile operator in three consecutive years (from 2005-2008) in the Vietnam Mobile Awards Ceremony organized by E-chip Mobile Magazine, Especially in 2009, MobiFone was honored to receive the Excellent Operator 2008 granted by Vietnam Ministry of

Information and Communications (http://vneconomy.vn/)

Vinaphone: a state-owned company under Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications

(VNPT), was established in 1996 and owned the best telecommunications infrastructure

in the 90s It is one of the highest reputation mobile telecommunication companies in the market Like other providers- Viettel and MobiFone, Vinaphone provided 3G services, just one month after it received the licence from the Ministry of Information and Communications Vinaphone's target customer is adults Vinaphone has good quality of coverage, large distribution networks However, for a long time, it has not paid much attention to advertising, promotion or brand building Only when its rivals had big promotion campaigns, spent much money on advertising and share a large of market Since then Vinaphone has changed but also has many limitations (Ogilvi & Mather)

(10) Publics

Any group that has an actual or potential interest in or impact on a company's ability to achieve its objectives Types of pulics are:

(10-1) Financial publics: Financial publics influence the company's ability to obtain

funds Banks, investment houses and stockholders are the principal financial publics

(10-2) Media publics: Media publics are those that carry news, features andeditorial

opinion They include newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations,

(10-3) Government public: Management must take government developments into

account Marketers must often consult the company's lawyers on issues of product safety, truth-in-advertising , environmental and social responsibility and other matters

(10-4) Citizen action publics: A company's marketing decisions may be questioned by

consumer organizations, environmental groups, minority groups and other pressure groups Its public relations department can help it stay in touch with consumer and citizen groups

(10-5) Local publics: Every company has local publics, such as neighbourhood residents

and community organizations Large companies usually appoint a community-relations officer to deal with the community, attend meetings, answer questions and contribute to worthwhile causes

(10-6) General public: A company needs to be concerned about the general public's

attitude towards its products and activities The public's image of the company affects its buying Thus, many large corporations invest huge sums of money to promote and build a healthy corporate image

(10-7) S Telecom’s publics: Except for not still having a good relation with the

government because of lacking qualified personnel to do this, other public’s relations of the company are rather quite well S Fone company, for example , combined with the charity organizations, help the poor, have programs to help poor students and so

on Creating new workplaces in the local market, S Fone takes care about the employees’ working conditions as well as provide them with excellent carrier and professional growth opportunities The company also has a very good relationship with the media such as newspapers, radio, television, the relationship is expressed through the S Telecom and media units always stand together in the chapter charitable projects, press conferences, news

(11) Customers

Customers are the main service objects of a company and factors to create a market.Thus, The company must study its customer market closely.There are six types of customer market

(11-1) Consumers: consist of individuals and households that buy goods and services for

personal consumption