Google Marketing Plan

Strategic planning Analyzing Google’s strategic planning process Google’s Strategic planning Strategic planning is the process of developing and maintaining a fit between the organization’s goals and capabilities and its changing marketing opportunities. Google’s story is not that different from many startups in the late 1990s. At first, the operation was run out of Page’s dorm room with borrowed and refurbished equipment. The newly incorporated company, funded by angel investors, moved off campus and soon, at the height of the dotcom boom, attracted $25 million in support from two venture capital firms.In 2004 the company went public with a prospectus that proposed the motto â€Å"Don’t Be Evil† and described an auction to determine its opening share price. STEPS IN STRATEGIC PLANNING: STEP ONE: DEFINE THE MISSION Google’s mission: Organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful. STEP TWO: SET OBJ ECTIVES AND GOALS Google’s objectives: Enabling users to search a larger base of information, Google began with the Internet search engine in 1998.They want to make the â€Å"perfect search engine† that â€Å"understands exactly what you mean and gives you back exactly what you want. † At that time, Google need to invest in research and development for a better search engine. So being profitable becomes an objective. Developing tracking mechanisms and new advertising technology, as their main profit was from Internet advertising, they dug deeper in this field and introduced â€Å"AdWords†, a self-service program for creating online ad campaigns in 2000.It help thousands of businesses grow and be successful. This program has become the main profit resources now. Creating patents and intellectual property – will hold the keys to gaining competitive advantages in the market and retaining and recruiting the best human resources Google has grown to offe r products beyond search, but the spirit of the mission remains. From search to Chrome to Gmail—their goal is to make it as easy as possible for you to find the information you need and get the things you need to do done.In 2011, Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, writes about the company's plans for the coming years, saying â€Å"as I think about Google's strategic initiatives in 2011, I realize they're all about mobile. † Thanks to geolocation and the power of the phone's Web browser platform, it's possible to deliver personalized information to users about â€Å"where you are, what you could do there right now, and so forth, and to deliver such a service at scale. † At this point, Google decided to devote most of their energy in the mobile field, as it can provide the customer with useful information very easily.This objective is persistent with Google’s mission. STEP THREE: Designing the Business Portfolio Nearly everything the company does , including buil ding big data centers ,buying optical fiber , promoting free Wi-Fi access ,fighting copyright restrictions , supporting open source software ,and giving away Web services and data , is aimed at reducing the cost and expanding the scope of Internet use . In year 2011, Google began working on a mobile payments service called â€Å"Google money†, in according with the mobile field development objective.Google’s products a) For individual: Google search; Google Chrome; Gmail; Aim to help you find the needed information easily and conveniently and spare more time for yourself, family and friends. b) For companies: Google AdWords: to find prospects; you don’t have to pay until you ad has been clicked. Google Apps: Gmail; Google Calendar; The Cloud Disk; Google document†¦ Help to improve work efficiency. Google Analytics: optimize your website c) For network: Chrome AndroidAnalyzing the current business portfolio (BCG Analysis) Product| Market Share | Market Growt h| Type| Android| High| High | Stars| Browser| Low| High| Question marks| Ads| High| High| Stars| Searching engine| High| Low| Cash cows| Youtube| High| Low| Cash cows| Developing strategies for growth and downsizing Market Penetration: Google is now expanding in different areas especially in American markets by following the penetration strategy and the customers are targeted by the advertisers in different geographical locations.Market Development: Google search in present market is involved in changing the trends just because of the customers need. Google is now enhancing the features of the search engines to become more attractive for the customers. Diversification Strategy: Google has always been investing heavily in internal R&D projects with the aim of â€Å"solving the world’s problems using technology†. It is now much more than a search engine – it is using its massive retained profits to diversify into a wide range of seemingly unrelated industries.STE P FOUR: PLANNING MARKETING AND OTHER FUNCTIONAL STATEGIES Google has sought to employ the power of differentiation to create a competitive advantage —understands exactly what you mean and gives you back exactly what you want Applying concentric diversification focus on the core product of search services the company has also been able to benefit from a competitive advantage in â€Å"faster response times, greater scalability and lower costs† Hence, not only does Google have a high advantage in the differentiation arena, but a cost and speed advantage as well.Google offers generous stock options and provide relaxed working atmosphere to retain the best talent and align employee interests with shareholder interests. (Google provides free lunches every day for employees and encourages participation in the weekly roller hockey games. The company regularly sponsors employee outings such as picnics and skiing trips) WHAT ROLE MARKETING PLAYS IN THIS PROCESS?First, marketing provides a guiding philosophy that suggests that company strategy should revolve around building profitable relationships with important consumer groups. To maximize customers’ benefit, satisfy the latest demand, Google develop the technologies that serve people’s life and work. Second, marketing provides inputs to strategic planners by helping to identify attractive market opportunities and by assessing the firm’s potential to take advantage of them.As the development of mobile equipment, more and more people choose the mobile instead of fixture. Google spend much energy in the mobile equipment these years, marketing lead Google to this development direction Finally, within individual business units, marketing designs strategies for reaching the unit’s objectives. Marketing strategies and programs are developed to support marketing objectives.