Marketing manager essay writing help online: OSIM International Ltd & its marketing
Q?? Write an essay on OSIM International Ltd & its marketing??
Solution the essay proposes is:
1. Introduction
1.1About OSIM International Ltd.
OSIM International Ltd. is as well known global brand leader in Singapore in branded healthy lifestyle products like neck and shoulder massager, foot massager, massage chair, and slimming belt. The OSIM Company is a leading brand management as well as niche marketing company, which is mainly focussed on customer. Today the company boasts of very wide point-of-sales networks (OSIM Ltd., 2010) which has outlets in more than 371 cities and more than33 countries in various countries like Asia, Middle East, North America, United Kingdom, Australia and Africa.
1.2 Corporate Profile, Mission, Vision and Goals of OSIM International
The motto of OSIM which rules the company is “Inspiring Life”. The company was originally founded by Ron Sim in1980 in Singapore (OSIM Ltd., 2010). Starting as a small electrical and household appliance company with small start-up capital and later on it shifted its focus to healthy lifestyle products when it witnessed great development. Thus it developed its outlets in Malaysia and Indonesia too (SINGAPORE’S OSIM INT’L ANNOUNCES ACTRESS GONG LI AS NEW FACE, 2002).
Their vision is to be the global leader in the category of healthy lifestyle products and mission is to challenge the worthy spirit of its customers. Their main goal is to bring in the healthy lifestyle into the lives of their customers (Osim plans to open 25 more outlets, 2003) (OSIM’s `Four Focus’ concept, 2003).
2. External Environmental Analysis
In this case the main focus of the discussion is the external environment of OSIM International in Hong Kong. For doing the external environmental analysis PEST Analysis and Porter’s Five Forces has been used.
2.1PESTLE Analysis
It is mainly used during the planning stage for international expansion as this is an effective analytical tool which helps specifying the factors and the implications towards which OSIM International will react at certain stages to the changes in its influencing environment in direct manner (Blair and Hitchcock, 2001).
2.1.1 Political Factors
The political factors which are covered include taxation policy, social welfare policies, government stability and foreign trade regulations (Davies and Lam, 2001). The Hong Kong market is found to be considerably liberalised due to governmental policies. They adhere to the principles laid out by World Trade Organisation which can be seen in its policies for trade. Thus the companies like OSIM which come from other member states are allowed to start business in the state. The other policies and laws also allow encourage entry of OSIM and investments in the Hong Kong markets.
2.1.2 Economic Environment
Hong Kong caters to a wide array of customers because it is one of the deemed commercial destination in Asia. It gets further complicated because in Hong Kong there are both local as well as foreign buyers (Kam-Yee and Kim-Ming, 2006).Many consumers arrive from the Mainland and tourists arrive due to its main attraction the Disneyland.
2.1.3 Socio-Cultural Environment
Research studies have delivered results that Hong Kong has very low uncertainty avoidance factor. This suggests that the buying behaviour is found to be very impulsive (Chan et al 1999). Adding on to this finding is another fact that the consumers in Hong Kong depict high level of very long-term orientation. Therefore companies like OSIM International which plan to operate in Hong Kong markets need to consider strong brand loyalty as critical factor (Chan et al 1999). Thus the customers opt for products which are of high quality and interesting at the same time. In the same concern the companies should ensure that they have strong customer relationship management.
2.1.4 Technological Environment
The Hong Kong consumer have strong flair for the products which are innovative as they are very tech savvy and (Koo, Lee and Ngan, 2003). Therefore the company will have to deal with a mix of consumers who are very confident of their technological skills. OSIM too offers its consumers highly innovative and advanced products which paves a way for its customers to achieve healthy lifestyle in very innovative manner. The above discussions have also shown that the company is committed towards integration of latest technology in their lifestyle products which is evident from their stationary bikes and iconic chairs.
2.2 Porter’s Five Forces
A very advanced and effectual tool to find the attractiveness of Hog Kong market while considering its international expansion in Hong Kong is, Porter’s Five Forces Model (Sherman and Black, 2006). Thus the microenvironment analysis of Hong Kong is being done to find whether Hong Kong Market is appealing for OSIM International or not.
2.2.1 Supplier Power
The products which will be sold in Hong Kong by OSIM International arrive from its production base that is Singapore. Thus the operations in the Hong Kong do not deal much with the suppliers because the finished products arrive from the headquarters in Singapore only. But the operations in Hong Kong do need labour and other services like the merchandise delivery from the warehouse to the stores. Thus OSIM International needs to bargain with such companies which deliver such kind of services. Moreover such kinds of services are interchangeable and indistinguishable in the market, so the supplier power is found to be much lesser in this case and the strength is very less regarding the bargaining power of suppliers.
2.2.2 Intensity of Rivalry
There is no direct competitor for OSIM International in Hog Kong specially there is no such organisation with similar product line or competing in the same market like that of OSIM. But still the company will have to deal with several competitors which are operational against the markets directly of the four major operational areas of OSIM. Thus OSIM will have really very tough time to handle and deal with so many competitors. Moreover some of the competitors are found to have more firm grasp on the Hong Kong market and in the areas like home gym equipments and dietary supplements.
2.2.3 Threat of Substitutes
There are numerous substitutes of OSIM products in Hog Kong. For example the ubiquitous Chinese medicine can always replace the dietary supplements which are being offered by the company. In the same manner instead of buying a home gym equipment people can prefer to go for membership in gym. IN the same way the iconic massage chairs buying can be replaced by visiting the spas and saunas etc. where the consumer gets same kinds of services and healthy lifestyle. Therefore OSIM products have numerous substitutes. But one good point which OSIM products have is safety, cost effectiveness and better standard and quality products from OSIM. Therefore the threat of substitutes is not very high; however the company should be well prepared and should not disregard them completely.
2.2.4 Buyer Power
The company might face problem in marketing their product because the kind of products which are offered by OSIM to the public. The major products which are being offered by OSIM are fancy chairs, treadmills and dietary suplment6s which are considered to be luxurious items thus the buyers possess all the buying power in the market. The decision making is totally in the hands of buyer whether they want to spend their hard-earned money in buying these fancy items or not. Therefore it’s difficult for the company to create a need for their product and finally buy their product. Thus convincing the customer will be a task more difficult than proving that their product is better than OSIM’s competitor’s products. It is a challenge for OSIM to prove to the customers that their products are value for money.
2.2.5 Threat of New Entrants
Since the market of Hong Kong is much liberalised, so any competitor or new entrant who wants to enter into the market either directly or indirectly against OSIM International is very much capable enough. But the new entrants need to understand that OSIM is already entrenched in the market. It is already been considered synonymous to the products which it sells. Therefore it is found that the new entrants in Hong Kong markets are rather weak.
3. Internal Environmental Analysis
The understanding of just external environment is not enough to be successful for expansion in international market, it is highly imperative to be aware of the internal environment too.
3.1 SWOT Analysis
For internal environment analysis we use SWOT as an effective tool which helps in examination of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats present for OSIM International (Bielski, 2006).
3.1.1 Strengths
The OSIM International Ltd. is already as well established and known brand name in the industry. The reason being the kind of demand they have created for their products along with the niche they have formed for their products in the market Thus The Company has already cleaved on the actual nuances in the market.
3.1.3 Weaknesses
The weakness of the company is the nature of products being offered by it to its consumers. First of all these products are non-commodities and secondly all its products are essentially very costly or pricey too. The buying decision of these products is being affected by the cost of the products for the consumers.
3.1.3 Opportunities
The company should realise the fact that the Kong markets is emerging market which promotes healthy living culture along with a lifestyle which is hale and hearty too. Therefore the company should expect a large a larger market for its products. In order to cover much wider range of Hong Kong markets the company should create new products which are not only competitively priced but also accessible too. The company should also try to look for tie-ups with the gyms and fitness centres which are very popular in Hong Kong. This will help in expansion of company’s network and will also help in earning allies based upon these establishments.
3.1.4 Threats
Due to limited possibility of development the market of Hong Kong seems to be stagnant and there is hardly any possibility of expansion of sales in due course. The major threat which the company will have to face is the major fact that the value of the money of consumer in Hong Kong has gone up recently. This is because of the major changes in the exchange rates due to the unstable international markets which generated erratic conditions.
4.Potential Marketing Issues
Some of the potential marketing Issues which OSIM might have to face in Hong Kong firstly it will have to keep on striving to improve over the years because of continuously changing tastes of the customers. The consumer demands governs the sales at OSIM and thus it will be affected by the changing tastes of its customers. Therefore the marketing strategy needs to be changed with changing taste of the consumers.
Another marketing issue which OSIM will have to face is its vulnerability to the economic cycle’s downturns. The demand will be reduced during the times of economic downturns for the OSIM’s healthy lifestyle products. It might also face the threat of being very highly vulnerable to terror activities and health epidemics which will affect the sales as well as economic growth of OSIM.
5.Proposed International Marketing Strategy
The proposed International Marketing Strategy which OSIM should follow is product differentiation Strategy to emerge as leader in the home healthcare products market in Hong Kong. The differentiation strategy will help the consumer to identify the features which makes OSIM different from other brands.
6.Branding Strategy for OSIM
The brand should be promoted as not just technologically advanced healthy lifestyle product rather it should also be promoted as environment friendly way for achieving better health at home. It needs to develop sustainable business strategy because its products are very much technologically advanced. The brand should be promoted more through technology and worldwide web using social media platforms like Twitter, Face book etc. to create brand awareness which will go along with the brand image of OSIM products too.
7.Conclusion
The international venturing plan of OSIM into the Hong Kong markets is very interesting because it has realised the need for its products in the market. The company also has a niche market in the segment. The company needs to be flexible enough to deal with the demands posed by the external environments. This is only possible if a proper balance is being created between the internal and external environments.
On the whole the company can strongly plan an expansion into the Hong Kong markets and should be prepared to cater or handle the situation where its performance might fall because of several threats and weaknesses the company has, like the new entrants can freely pose competition to the company. Moreover the consumer can easily choose substitutes for OSIM products from the market. But these threats can be overcome by OSIM and it should plan an international venture into Hong Kong markets.
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