Social Media Presence of Bic - Case Study Example

Social media presence

Executive Summary

This paper analyses presence of Bic in the social media and the failures that are associated with this company. The first section presents a comprehensive situation analysis, followed by an examination of objectives and target audience. The paper also focuses on different social media zones as well as vehicles that can be used to positively influence the performance of the company in them. The later section presents four strategies that are to be used in each zone and are designed to improve the representation of Bic. Finally, the last section provides considerations regarding managing and measuring the success of social media presence of the company.

Situation analysis

To begin with, it may be important to take a look at the internal environment. Thus, Bic is a company that features strong corporate culture. It has access to resources and possesses unique qualities. Given the long history of business operations, one might suggest that it enjoys great expertise in the industry. The major threat to it is the advancement of technology that makes writing with pens redundant. However, the opportunity lies in the fact that many categories of people still use pens on a daily basis, for example, students. The weakness of the company reliance on objects that seem to be outdated; however, the obvious strength is the quality and the price.

Speaking of the external environment, one might apply PESTEL framework. Thus, there are no significant political requirements regarding the industry where Bic is active. At the present moment, the economic conditions are favourable since people have a lot of disposable income. Moreover, there is a long history of appreciation of writing with pens in the society. However, technology should be seen as the major threat since it gradually replaces writing. Companies that produce disposable items, like Bic, must company with various environmental requirements. In addition to that, they should also adhere to legal aspects of the industry.

Objectives

If one considers the main objective of the promotion that is carried out by Bic, one will be able to see that it primarily strive to raise the awareness of the people of the manufacturer of the pens. Throughout life, people own many pens, but they rarely think about the brand. As a result, they may be appreciating Bic products, but they do not know the name of the company.

Moreover, buying stationary is not something that people put a lot of thought into. Therefore, the objective of retail focuses on increasing the sales. One would make no mistake suggesting that competition in the industry is quite intense and the consumers are quite sensitive to price. As a result, Bic has to keep the price of its goods reasonably low so that the competitors do not use it to their advantage. However, if the price is too low, the company will not make any profit. That is why it strives to increase the sales in order to remain profitable.

Engagement of social media may seem to be a viable way to do it. As for the research objectives that are important for the company in question, one should note that they will focus on identifying people who buy pens. On the one hand, some might suggest that this is a rather easy question since everybody buys pens. However, marketing research is interesting in outlining the profile of the group of people that will be most interesting in buying Bic pens. Therefore, it is essential to work out the desired characteristics and conduct the research accordingly so that the company gains a better understanding of its consumers.

Target audience

It would not be an exaggeration to suggest that a product is likely to be more successful if it is targeted at a particular audience. Speaking of the segments that Bic should direct its attention to, one should note that one can hardly come up with any limitations. The peculiarity of a pen as a writing tool lies in the fact that it can be used by literally everyone. In other words, all kinds of people use pens on a daily basis and it is crucial for Bic to make sure that the product is perceived as friendly to every category of people. That is why the target audience will be extremely large. Indeed, one does not need any special knowledge to use a pen other than being able to write. Moreover, age, sex, body mass or religion do not play any role while choosing or using a pen. That is why one would make no mistake suggesting that it would not be logical to target only one of several parts of the population. However, since it is virtually impossible to appeal to every group, marketing should develop comprehensive marketing messages that would focus on different parts of the audience and persuade it to make a purchase.

One should pay a considerable amount of attention to the position of the company in question. Thus, as it has been noted before, Bic may be regarded the founder of pen market; that is why it is generally expected that the company in question will deliver products of the highest quality. However, given the fact that at the present moment it produces many other items and does not limit itself to the production of pens, one should point out that it also tries to appeal to people with the help of pricing. Therefore, the company enjoys a combination of strong image and economy of scale.

Social media zones and vehicles

It would not be a mistake to suggest that social media plays a significant role in the contemporary business world. That is why it should not come as a surprise that scholars are studying this virtual phenomenon as well as the influence that it has on business operations. As a result, four zones and vehicles were identified in social media. The first zone focuses on relationship. The major vehicles, in this case, include a platform that is used by the users to communicate with other users, for example, Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

The second zone that was identified focuses on a different purpose, namely publishing. Indeed, while many people may use technology just for communication, some believe it to be a powerful tool that will spread their message to the world (Tuten & Solomon 2013). At the present moment, it has become extremely easy to write blogs and some bloggers have become quite famous. YouTube may be regarded as one of the most effective vehicles since it is the first choice of many people when they look for video and it has contributed to the emergence of a culture of video bloggers.

In spite of the fact that originally no one could expect that social media can be used to make money, today a significant part of commerce is carried out with the help of this platform. Needless to say, that Facebook which is one of the most successful companies makes its fortune with the help of providing companies with an opportunity to reach people and promote its products. In addition to that, some services have become so successful that they have a significant influence on business (Kleine-Kalmer 2016). Consider the role that TripAdvisor plays in the hospitality industry.

Finally, one cannot omit the last zone which is entertainment. It would not be a mistake to suggest that other than communicating, publishing, and buying or selling, people are interesting in playing in the social media (Motion, Heath & Leitch 2015). A good example is Second Life: this service literally helps people to experience life in a different community as well as re-invent themselves. Since buying and selling goods is an irreplaceable element of life, it is quite obvious that it is also featured in such games. In other words, when people seek entertainment that is provided by the social media, they do not want to omit any aspect of real life.

Strategy for social zones and vehicles

The presence of Bic in the social media can be improved if the company uses suitable strategies for every zone and relies on the suitable vehicles. For example, one might recall the scandal that emerged in Facebook when the company congratulated women on Women's day, but the words that it used were discriminatory (Davies 2015). So, it is recommended that Bic carries on relying on Facebook as its major vehicle in relationship zone, but it changes its strategy is more thought through and pays more attention to materials that it posts. Thus, Facebook should become the platform that contributes to its popularity and reinforces loyalty, not creates scandals.

Speaking of the publishing zone, one should point out that YouTube may be regarded as the natural choice in this case. Indeed, the creation of viral video is extremely popular today and viral marketing has appeared to be quite effective. That is why Bic is expected to create a series of small and entertaining advertisements that have the potential to become viral videos. Keeping in mind that a pen is something that most people tend to overlook, they might be interested in entertaining advertisements that focus on this everyday item.

The zone of commerce should be emphasised by Bic since it holds a considerable amount of potential for the company. It is quite possible that if the latter is able to create an attractive image of its product and make the process of purchase easy, the revenue generated by online sales will increase. In other words, pens may be considered to be an outdated item, but if the company that sells them has a strong presence in social media, then this will make them up-to-date. In other words, Bic should carefully consider the advantages that social media possesses and use it as to revitalise awareness and demand.

Finally, one should consider the importance of entertainment. It is obvious that direct marketing in such platforms will not be suitable since people tend to play games in order to escape some negative aspects of reality. However, it is possible that Bic may create zones where users and interact or create a quest that people will fulfill. In this case, the promotion of the product will become entertaining and the positive emotions that people will feel will be projected on the product as well. In addition to that, Bic can create small games that will be distributed in the social media free of charge, this way reaching the potential consumers.

Managing and measure the success

The strategies that were proposed in the paragraphs above are designed to contribute to the success of it in the social media. However, it is also up to the company to make sure that it is able to implement them properly. Thus, it is crucial to make sure that all the post that are made are designed in a way that would engage the potential customers and convince them to buy products. It is also important that every phrase and every picture is verified so that no scandals occur when posts will be misinterpreted. Speaking of measuring the success, one should point out that there are two major ways to do it. The first and the most obvious one is monitoring of sales. If they go up after strategies for social media are implemented, then it is obvious that they have a positive impact on the organisation. On the other hand, the activity in the social media may also serve as an indication. For example, Bic should monitor the number of sharing, reposts, likes, and other aspects of the activity of the users.

Conclusion

Having examined all the points that were mentioned in the paragraphs above, one is able to come to the following conclusion: at the present moment presence of Bic in the social media is poor. However, this can be improved if the company addresses every zone with a proper vehicle and strategy. Thus, it is important to approach relationship zone with the help of Facebook and more carefully designed posts that would engage the audience. The publishing zone should feature an emphasis on YouTube and entertaining content that may become viral. All this will contribute to the commercial success of the company. Bic should also approach entertainment zone through free games that it can create.