Market Success & Entry Strategy, Research Paper Example

Success is well defined as “the point where opportunity meets preparation”. It is there imperative for the management to clearly define and measure business success. They need to keep themselves updated on the day to day performance of the business and if need be take appropriate correction measures to bring it on coarse of aligning the business goals and objectives with its success. Despite the current “economic winter”, the management of an upcoming business needs to vigorously work and reinvent their strategies as they deploy in the hope of capturing increased revenue and market share. They therefore need to decipher that business magic code that will boost them in kick starting their business enterprise. This will not only assure them an accelerated competitive benefit and advantage but will largely assure them of business survival (Bradley 12).

The top leaders of MINATGAS Group Service Corporation should command most of the company’s startups. This therefore requires them to possess an aura of energy and a contagious spirit of enthusiasm. Unfortunately, this is not the case with many leaders and mostly they operate under the myth of “the product will sell itself”. This is indeed a perfect miss-step that culminates in the business crippling.

The management should therefore be realistic with the planned business objectives. They should free themselves from setting vague and too optimistic goals which only indicate the time horizon while fail to capture what, how, and with whom this objectives for success will be attained. This kind of objectives is not only vague but they do lack meaning and substance.  Business success is synonymous with the statement of clear, unambiguous mission and vision statement. However, crafting too ambitious goals and objectives will often lead to frustration of the marketing and sales team, agitation of the management board and ultimately an unfavorable capital and investment burn rate. There the management should identify goals and objectives with reasonable timelines and milestones that can be matched with the spending and current investment plans (Marder 56).

As a company MINATGAS Group Service Corporation need to evaluate their unique value assessment proposition. As a company that is yearning for success, it needs to understand that it takes more than technical leadership prowess to nurture a sustainable business. They therefore need to value the customer more than the do to other solutions. This will begin with a focused proposition of a single target. The desire to be everything to everyone often results in the inability to execute sand performs effectively and efficiently due to overextension of capital and other resources. This kind of value scheme cannot however be formed in a boardroom or vacuum. There are a number of solicited steps involved. This include having in mind a prospective customer early enough in the development phase of the product, collecting vital customer feedback on problems, sales and marketing strategies and process, and the expected market reaction. Such kind of information is instrumental in honing a suitable business thus boosting returns on sales and marketing investment.

It is shocking to know that may upcoming and emerging companies hardly acknowledge the presence of competition. MINATGAS Group Service Corporation should there not focus so purposely on their products while failing to identify evolving market and business trends or even foresee competitive advancements that may eclipse and obscure their designed value proposition scheme. It is therefore imperative for them to precisely judge the competitive world landscape in order to receive maximum benefits of the existing market window.

Being a vital business sector, petroleum industry is a highly regulated field in terms of standards, processing, transportation, safety and security. As the natural gas industry gets more and more regulated and standardized, MINATGAS Group Service Corporation should be on the fore from to reap from the expected participation benefits. This is in light to the reduced human resources and increased workload (Kotler 45).

Most entrepreneurs’ research ignores the contribution of human resources. They fail to realize the significance of efficient utilization of employees’ motivation, skills and behavior in the realization of business success. To get the best from them, the management needs to craft human resources strategies that involve; employee involvement on decision- making, goal communication personal initiative support and appropriate employee training. Research has also proven that a high human capital in terms of recruitment training and appraisal is paramount for business success.

With the coming of globalization, firms are becoming more and more diverse in terms of their recruitment and working patterns. As a company, MINATGAS Group Service Corporation needs to institute necessary adjustments so as to put into considerations the contentious racial, ethnic and legal implications of their choice in regard to human resource management policies especially in recruitment and training. They need also to respect the anti- discrimination laws existing in Colombia that has been existence for the past 35 years.

In terms of skills and qualifications, there is a significant gradual shift from unskilled apprentice to highly skilled college graduates as industries shift from manual to more automatic managerial atmosphere. In order to realize a competitive qualified it is important to adopt proper recruitment methods through either employment consultant’s agencies. Fit is crucial for them to choose appropriate media to ensure the desire response to a given job vacancy on offer.

Embracing resourceful hiring procedures: it is crucial for any startup company to adopt a creative approach for hiring and firing. They need to borrow expertise from the retired executives and consultants.

Market Entry Analysis

Specific Strategies

Factors to consider while analyzing the market entry:

• The company’s level of internationalization
• The success of its internationalization efforts and the lessons learnt from past experiences
• The levels of emphasis that need the company need to put
• Criteria for identifying market

Specific Business Strategies

Joint Venture

This is a common entity formed between two or more distinct parties to undertake a common economic activity. This is preceded by a common agreement by the joining parties to share the equity contribution as well as expenses and revenues. This also includes the management and control of the created enterprise. Unlike a strategic alliance, joint venture leads to actual equity stake between the joining parties is a more rigid organization.

This form of strategy is common in gas and oil industry involving corporation between foreign and local companies thus creating a viable business enterprise. The parties are able to compliment their skills and also offer an external foreign company a local geographical presence. It is important for MINATGAS Group Service Corporation to form a joint venture with an international natural gas dealing company such as Shell/Bp. This will enable MINATGAS Group Service Corporation to build the much needed company strengths as well spreading its risks and costs. As a startup company, MINATGAS Group Service Corporation can acquire the much needed financial resources in order for it to stay economically afloat. The company will also be able to access the customers and new technology from a suitable partner. As a new company, MINATGAS Group Service Corporation will be able to derive the much needed innovative and inventive managerial practices.

Such a business strategy will be helpful in that it will inject structural evolution into the oil and gas industry not only to the MINATGAS Group Service Corporation by also to the general gas industry of Colombia and the entire Latin region. In the international market, such alliance will create tougher competitive units that will effective blur the oil and gas industry boundaries.  Joint venture can be a rather flexible alliance as it can be dissolved if the expected benefits of the venture are either met or not me within the timeframe set. Also it can be dissolved if the market conditions take drastic shift into what was not expected (Young 12).

Management Contract

This is a venture arrangement where the operational and management control of an enterprise is vested through a contract to a separate firm enterprise which there deal width the necessary operational and management function for a fee. This not only involves the giving out of the working ethics, but also involves the sharing of the contracted company’s technical and operational knowledge in the production facility, personnel and human resource management as well as marketing, training and accounting services (Baker 23).

If adopted management contract will inject into MINATGAS Group Service Corporation the desired economy of scale and brand recognition. This method is very much appropriate in that the Colombian population lack necessary technical and managerial skills required for effective and efficient running of MINATGAS Group Service Corporation. This is very effective in that it not only yield higher returns to the company but involves less risk. This is indeed a perfect strategy since the local population and the government will feel that they still own the company although most of the senior management posts will be held by foreigners.

Franchising

This is a business strategy practice of making use of another business’s (franchisor) model in trading. This includes the use of trademarks, production techniques and tangible products for a fraction of the gross sales and a loyalty charge. MINATGAS Group Service Corporation can engage itself in order for it to expand its venture investment capital. Usually the carefully designed products of a well established franchisor, the gas company can enjoy profits equivalent to selling their products and at a minimal expense and risk (Anttonen 3).

With the adoption of such plan the company can be except from the loads of legal considerations such as permits and license required when starting off a new company. However it will not enjoy the much desired freedom of control of its operations such as hiring and maintaining their desired employees. This form of business strategies generally lasts for between five and thirty years and if terminated or cancelled prior to its due date there are serious effects especially for the franchisee (Anttonen 11).

Basing from the above analysis it is easy to conclude that the best business strategy is for MINATGAS Group Service Corporation to enter into a joint venture with a well established natural gas company.

Work Cited

Anttonen, N., Mika T, Ilan A. (2005), “The International Business Environments of Franchising in Russia,” Academy of Marketing Science Review, (5), 1-18.

Baker, Michael The Strategic Marketing Plan Audit 2008.

Bradley, Nigel. Marketing Research. Tools and Techniques. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2007.

KickStart Alliance. The Seven Critical Success Factors for Launching & Driving a Successful Business. 16 Sept. 2000. 13 Dec. 2009             <http://www.kickstartall.com/documents/7_csfs.pdf>.

Kotler, Philip and Armstrong, Principles of Marketing Pearson, Prentice Hall, New Jersey, 2007.

Laermer, Richard, Punk Marketing, New York: Harper Collins, 2007.

Marder, Eric The Laws of Choice—Predicting Customer Behavior Edmonton, Free Press division of Simon and Schuster, 1999.

Young, Charles E, The Advertising Handbook, Ideas in Flight, Seattle, WA, 2005.