Samtel Tele marketing Intern report page 5

Country Portfolio:

Portfolio of WBS comprises Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. Complete country portfolio is given in Appendix B.

·      Coretalk SA

CoreTalk SA was the brain child of Backbone technologies. Backbone Technologies was the first company in SA to incorporate selling airtime from a cell phone, thus getting rid of the risk of carrying stock. Whilst managing this company it was controlling 2000 field agents via cell phone. Due to the enormous costs involved here by contacting so many cell phones, it came up with the idea of the help desk (which is in Coretalk). After many years of honing their applied knowledge of interactive SMS communication, CoreTalk was born. CoreTalk SA has been awarded the rights to distribute the software developed by Backbone technologies in South Africa only.

·      Coretalk Australia Pty Ltd.

The Australian operations of CoreTalk were launched in the first quarter of 2005. CoreTalk Australia is the local distribution arm of Backbone Technologies. It has Australia based management and technical support. Its local operations and support are based in George Street, in the Sydney CBD.

·      Coretalk NZ Limited

Coretalk NZ has been positioning the product mainly for Retailers, Schools and other businesses as a text gateway. Coretalk has been successful in retail environments. Two customers, Brave and Road To Rome, have got tremendous result by using Coretalk for marketing promotion.

·      Coretalk (Thailand) Co. Ltd.

CoreTalk (Thailand) Co. Ltd. is a privately owned, Thailand registered company. Alliance with the leading network operator in Thailand enables the company to provide its clients with a complete communication solution. Moreover high mobile penetration and extensive network coverage in Thailand provides immense opportunity for its business solutions. Product offerings include Communications Manager, Marketing Solutions and Internet connectivity over GPRS[1] (through its partners AIS and Itegno).

CoreTalk has been successfully marketed in various sectors including Education (schools, universities), Real Estate, Marketing Companies, Recruitment (manpower supply, human resources, career placement), Logistics/Freight, Health Care (doctors, dentists, hospitals, veterinary surgeries, blood banks), Hospitality (bars, clubs, restaurants, hotels, cafes), Motor industry (Ford), Industrial Locations (factories), Social/Sport Clubs, Spa/Salon, Financial Institutions, Insurance, Auction Houses, Call Centers, Retail Trading, Security, Construction and even Individuals.

2.10 SWOT Analysis

The SWO analysis of SGTL is presented below:

Strengths

·      Pioneer in introducing the Pre-paid Air-time Recharge offering in Bangladesh, e-Fill, for AKTEL.

·      Have a number of SMS based products that gives flexibility to the customers.

·      Strong financial base supported by corporate finance as well as the revenue from service contract.

·      Access to distribution network (dealer base) of one Mobile phone operator in Bangladesh.

·      Skilled Human Resources.

·      Corporate image as globally pioneer in telecom support service industry.

·      Rich experience and numerous success stories across a wide range of businesses in many countries.

·      Low employee turnover.

·      SGTL and its global partners work with small teams in modular approach. Hence coordination within various departments and with partners is very high.

Weaknesses

·      Provides solutions only over GSM technology, which may become outdated in the near future.

·      Insufficient marketing strategy and lack of a professional marketing team.

·      Lack of consumers’ awareness of the company as well as wireless solutions it markets.

Opportunities

·      Huge demand for telecom support services. The mobile market is still at the growing stage and mass people are still not aware of value added services offered by the mobile phone operators.

·      As the price of rear end equipments is lowering day by day, product price of SGTL also reduces.

·      Will be perceived as premium value for money by the consumers.

·      Bangladeshi SMEs are not using SMS based services but they can enjoy great benefit from it.

Threats

·      The sector is a new and attractive one. There is threat from entry of new competitors.

·      A price war may also come from sharp edged competition among existing competitors, which will ultimately raise a loose-loose scenario.

·      Low priced imported products are entering due to trade liberalization, especially from China and South East Asia.

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