D.1 marketing strategy

D.1 marketing strategy

Saudi Aramco segments its markets based on physical location. The segmentation is evidenced by factors such as the company’s affiliates from various parts of the world and its exportation of petroleum and other products to many countries of the world (Aramco, 2017). Those factors, among others, make Saudi Aramco a multinational company. The organization uses continents and countries as its basis for geographical segmentation (Aramco, 2017). That strategy enables the organization to identify the places in which the company can increase its investments and those that it should reduce.

Saudi Aramco also uses the “Positive” market segmentation strategy. The approach involves the identification of the needs of various populations and classifying those with similar needs into the same group (Aramco, 2017). The approach is appropriate for Saudi Aramco sells different products in addition to petroleum. That strategy enables the organization to know how it should relate to different customers depending on their needs. Saudi Aramco also understands the areas that need improvement.

Saudi Aramco uses innovation as the leading way to cater to its market segments. The company looks for new ideas to improve its services in various parts of the world. According to Aramco (2017), Saudi Aramco’s success has been impacted significantly by its innovative culture (Aramco, 2017). That factor has enabled the organization to maintain high performance in the petroleum industry. It also gives promises to the organization and its customers a bright future.

D.2 traditional marketing techniques

Saudi Aramco uses some traditional marketing strategies such as television and radio. The strategies are referred to as traditional because they have accompanied human life for a significantly long time. According to Alexander (2018), television and radio have been the most significant forms of media that add beauty to life (Alexander, 2018). Even with the many changes involving the transition from analog to digital, humans are still using television and radio to acquire information. That is one of the factors that encourage Saudi Aramco and other organizations to continue using the strategies to date. That also shows that companies should not miss using radio and television for marketing purposes despite the many changes in the sector of media (Alexander, 2018). The fact is that a significantly large number of humans still watch TVs and listen to radios. It means that advertisements through the stated strategies reach a significantly large number of people within a short time. Companies which achieve meaningful success through radio and television advertisements use one simple approach. They make the advertisements as attractive as possible in a bid to make people take action after viewing or hearing them (Alexander, 2018). In addition to television and radio, Saudi Aramco uses other traditional strategies such as direct marketing. Many people think that direct marketing died, but the idea can still be used with positive results. Saudi Aramco uses promotional materials such as catalogs, brochures, and other materials for that purpose (Alexander, 2018). The organization increases the chances of success through that method by ensuring that the information contained is useful and effective.

D.3 The competitors

Saudi Aramco has many competitors, including Marathon Petroleum, Shell, Total, ConocoPhillips, ADNOC, Chevron, ExxonMobil, and Lukoil. Saudi Aramco employs many strategies to gain a competitive advantage over most of its competitors (Alexander, 2018). The organization uses significant amounts of resources and time on innovation. Through that strategy, the company has acquired new and more improved technologies for performing most of its operations in various parts of the world. According to Ramady(2018), the most significant factor that makes organizations to be perceived as industry leaders is their ability to employ new ideas into their processes of production and marketing (Ramady, 2018). Based on that idea, Saudi Aramco can be said to be a significant player in the field of petroleum and related products. Saudi Aramco was able to take a substantial share of the petroleum market by introducing its internet portal (Alexander, 2018). That approach indirectly benefits the company’s customers in its various marketing segments. Customers can easily communicate with the company and discuss matters of importance to both the company and its clients. That idea has significantly streamlined problem-solving processes. Saudi Aramco’s culture also significantly promotes its customer services. The company encourages its employees always to be motivated when offering services to their clients (Alexander, 2018). That factor promotes customer satisfaction, something that then increases the chances of achieving customer loyalty in almost all of its marketing segments.

D.4 political instabilities

Saudi Aramco has achieved significant success because of political stability in most of its market segments. However, there have been speculations about future stability in Saudi Arabia. Many political analysts have predicted adverse political events since the Arab uprisings in 2011 (Ramady, 2018). Adverse events in Saudi Arabia are likely to have negative impacts on the company’s overseas markets as well. That is based on the fact that Saudi Arabia is a significant oil producer. Any adverse events that disrupt her activities also cause interruptions in international oil markets.

D.5 Focuses on the positive interest of the market.

The 2019 announcement that Saudi Aramco would go public was expected to have some positive implications on the organization’s performance in almost all its market segments. The company’s production and competitiveness are expected to increase significantly because it will enable potential investors to buy shares (Ramady, 2018). The Kingdom had planned to sell about 2 per cent of the company to private investors. That event was expected to pace the organization’s value at about $1.5 trillion (Ramady, 2018). One challenge associated with that change is that there is very little hope for the rise in demand and prices of oil in the near future. The supply of oil in various parts of the world has been significantly high, a factor that causes the oil prices t remain relatively low.

1. Saudi/South Africa law:

Many laws both in Saudi Arabia and Saudi Aramco’s market segments threaten the company’s activities. Climate change laws appear to be the most significant. Many climate change activists have made comments about the organization’s activities which seem to be environmentally unfriendly. Most of the concerns raised regarding the matter relating to the relationship between the exploitation of fossil fuels and environmental pollution (Ramady, 2018). The climate change activists expect oil companies t show some concern for ecological conservation. Companies such as Shell have made significant steps in the bid to prevent environmental degradation (Alexander, 2018) as a result of the exploitation of oil and related resources. However, Saudi Aramco needs to show more effort in conserving the environment.

References

Alexander, A. (2018). Gauging the unique developmental strategies towards human resource at Saudi Aramco. Human Resource Development International, 21(2), 150-157.

Aramco, S. (2017). Saudi Aramco Annual Review, 2016. Saudi Aramco.

Ramady, M. A. (2018). Saudi Aramco, 2030. Springer.