Marketing – Master of Management 78-614 Odette School of Business, University of Windsor Write-up Title of case: Virgin Mobile USA: Pricing for the Very First Time Key person and his / her position in the organization: Dan Schulman, CEO of Virgin Mobile USA Key issue or decision that must be made: The key issue for Virgin Mobile USA is to select a pricing strategy that will both attract and retrain subscribers. Basic facts of the case: Virgin is a U.K-based company led by Sir Richard Branson and is one of the three most recognized brands in Britain. The company has a vast history of brand extensions – one of which is their launch of a wireless phone service in the USA. Dan Schulman has been appointed CEO of the Virgin …show more content…
In order to avoid these risks it’s important for the company to advertise its product correctly and re-defining why pre-paid, contract free mobile service is better then what the competition has to offer. Also by offering the customer services and features he/she may want and are unique to Virgin Mobile, the company will be able to create customer loyalty and the churn rate will stay manageable. What do you expect to happen as a result of implementing your decision? It is anticipated that by implementing the decisions as suggested the company will be able to adequately enter the US mobile phone service market by targeting the youth market and sufficiently attract and sustain new subscribers. Short Cycle Key person and his / her position in the organization: Dan Schulman, CEO, Virgin Mobile USA Key issue: The key issue for Virgin Mobile USA is to select a pricing strategy that will both attract and retrain subscribers. Sub issues: 1. What age group should be Virgin Mobile’s target market? 2. What unique features could be added in order to attract this age group? 3. What channel strategy should be used to get their product to their target market? 4. How should their product be advertised in order to appeal to their specific target
The generation of talking face-to-face is slowly fading away, and the technology era is going to keep on growing. One of the most widely used technology services known today is the cellular phone industry. According to the Pew Research Center’s website, 90% of American adults own a cell phone. Of that 90%, the smartphone ownership is at 64% (2013). Verizon Wireless, along with the other major carriers, T-Mobile, Sprint, and AT&T, have taken this data and comprised a growing industry where competition arises from all angles. These companies have battled one another on pricing, plans, and customer service for many years in order to stay on top. Unfortunately, these are major factors in whether or not a customer will choose the particular company over another.
8. Threat of New Entrants: “There are a number of low-cost carriers (LCCs) in the domestic market and the Company competes with LCCs over a very large part of its network.”
The industry I’ve selected is the cellular phone service industry. This industry’s market structure is an oligopoly, meaning that a few large firms control the market. Four main firms, T-Mobile, AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon dominate the cell phone service industry. Although the four firms compete against one another, they typically avoid price competition in order to avoid price wars that decrease profits for all. Instead, they use other tactics, such as advertising and improved customer service to gain a higher demand in the market. Price wars occur due to the interdependence of firms involved in an oligopolistic market structure. A decision made by one firm to increase or decrease prices will lead to a fluctuation of the demand curve for the
The purpose of this report was to provide a strategic evaluation of the company Virgin Australia. The report begins by conducting a strategic analysis of Virgin, including an analysis of the external environment and an internal analysis of competitive strengths and weaknesses. The report then identifies the strategic direction and objectives of Virgin Australia, including the vision, mission, strategic objectives and stakeholders of the company. The report moves on to explore strategic choices of Virgin Australia by identifying the key broad business level and
Solution. Virgin Mobile USA needs to evaluate their suppliers of the mobile phones to ensure these devices are both physically appealing and have the capacity for the services that would be used
Virgin Mobile targets the 14 to 24-year-olds market. The case lays out three pricing options. Which option would you choose and why?
Virgin Mobile, a MVNO is planning to launch its services in USA. It’s target is underserved Demographics of 15-29 years as this age group is underserved by the regular telecom operators due to their low credit score ( Under 18 demographic cannot go for contract). They are planning to launch their product with service offerings that focuses on value added services.
Perhaps one of the most difficult managerial decisions in the 21st century is the decision to make a decision. Analysis paralysis, endless meetings, and corporate structure have made it painstakingly difficult to come to any real conclusions. So when the Chief Financial Officer, Bruce Berman, of Bloomindale’s was tasked with decision to implement ProfitLogic’s Pricing Optimization (PO) system, he called upon Daniel Gabbay, an analyst in the finance division, to make sense of the numbers and guide his decision making process. Berman was considering implementing a PO system to quantify the markdown
In today’s telecommunication market there is a lot of competition by industry giants such as Sprint,
Being in the service sector it is important for Virgin Atlantic to study its marketing mix as it works as an efficient tool, while building up marketing plans. It comprises of the seven P’s which are as follows.
Virgin Atlantic is clearly the cash cow of the Virgin Empire but we have undertaken a
Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Group has been a household name in the United Kingdom for over twenty years. He is well respected in the business world. He is the founder of the Virgin Group, which is known for many different things such as cell phones, record labels, airlines and many more. “Branson is also known for his unique character and leadership styles, one who is not afraid to take risks, and believes that people are the foundation to his company's success. If I were to first characterize his leadership style I would say he is definitely a democratic leader. He truly feels that getting other peoples input and listening to what
The wireless industry is extremely competitive and customers are looking to make the best bang for their buck. This is why Cricket Wireless also has an adaptive culture. “Leaders and followers in adaptive cultures care about customers and the internal alignment of people with processes to meet external demands. They value quick and decisive responses, risk taking, creativity, and innovation, while keeping the best interests and integrity of the organization in mind” (Weiss, 2015). My company has proven to take risks and at times, we drop the prices of phones to meet customer demands before the competition does. Wireless carriers lose out on money with new customers, which is the risk they take by lowering the price of handsets. If new customers receive great service and they enjoy their experience, then they are more likely to continue service with our organization. The company will then make a profit off of
Virgin Mobile needs not only an effective but profitable pricing strategy that will set the company apart from the competition. With goals to have 1 million total subscribers by the end of the first year and 3 million by year 4, Virgin Mobile has some high expectations with a limited budget. As a company, Virgin Mobile wants to implement a pricing strategy that will attract and retain customers, especially in a target market that has been underserved in the past.
The most important inputs are craft and technology, aviation fuel, and skilled labour. Due to the reasons of political and economic, the fuel price is subjected to fluctuate. Also, the technology suppliers and craft suppliers are very limited and Virgin brands solely relies upon the supplier for them to supply very fast and aircraft that is well designed and fast. Boeing and Airbus are the two leading manufacturing aircraft that supply Virgin. The Virgin Group is constantly being technologically developed by suppliers with its touchscreen seat back entertainment, Wi-Fi accessibility, health club maintenance, cutting edge smart phones, and new space