Environmenal Analysis for Global Expansion

 Writing up a Memo on Global Expansion

Writing a business memo doesn't have to be as difficult as some make it seem to be... here is an example business memo on a transportation company making a move into the Pakistan market:

Memo

To:	I Drive Transport Executives
From:	Joseph Smith
Date:	July 10, 2016
Re:	External Environment Marketing Report: Lahore, Pakistan

Lahore is the second largest city in Pakistan with a population of over 12 million people. Lahore has over 63 colleges and universities that are sprinkled all over the city. Students from all over the country come to Lahore to get the best education that the country can offer. Being a third world country, a lot of these students cannot afford cars and have to rely on public transport to come from the suburbs to the city centers daily. So an affordable car-sharing business would be a welcomed solution to the problem faced by people in the city every day.

Since Lahore is an educational hub for the country’s young minds, the best marketing solution would be to target this young adults market who are of driving age, but cannot afford personal cars. 95% of the student population doesn’t work and rely on their parents for allowance. So the most important thing would be to price the service right so it’s accessible to the people who need it most.

Lahore is overly congested and heavily polluted city, but the youth is aware of the growing problem and is committed in finding a solution, so marketing should be focused in introducing a service which is not only convenient but is good for the community and will help with traffic congestion as well as cut back in pollution as the electric cars will not produce any harmful fumes. An issue to note here now would be that the concept of electric cars is a novel idea in Pakistan. There are still some areas of the country which doesn’t have any electricity. So convenient charging stations for electric cars would be an issue. Which is easily solvable by the company providing extra charged batteries which they can charge at their own facility center.

Pakistan has been in the news on and off regarding political issues where there have been rallies to fight against the dependency on the Western world. Lahore is considered a very progressive city and the people are well educated and liberal in their thinking in general. However branding the company as a typical “American” business wouldn’t be a wise idea. The best way would be to partner with a local business who can promote it under their banner. That way the company wouldn’t be branded as another foreign company trying to take over the East.

To summarize, expanding I Drive Transport to Pakistan is a very lucrative idea as there is virtually no competition in this field there and there is a huge market ready to take advantage. Some extended research would be required in regards to the location of the main facility and the charging stations. Marketing would have to be through social media primarily as most of the university students are heavy social media users. Some print ads as well as tv spots would be a good idea for expansion as well in the future.

U Drive Transport External Environmental Analysis

World Region:  Country: Pakistan

Major City Center: Lahore

Social External Environmental Factors (Textbook Pages:  45-46    )

Opportunities: Lahore is comparable to Chicago with a busy city center with lots of Schools and Universities centered in the middle of the city. Most of the young students don’t own cars and rely on their parents or public transport for conveyance. So a car sharing service would be extremely helpful for young people to share cars while going to school.

Threats: Pakistani culture stresses on the ability to be self-sufficient and asking for help is considered a weakness. Some people may not like the idea of “borrowing” the car.Some creative branding would be needed to promote it as a way of networking while cutting pollution and traffic congestion in the city.

Resources: http://www.state.gov/e/eb/eppd/csr/index.htm

Demographic External Environmental Factors (Textbook Pages:  47-48    )

Opportunities: Lahore is the second largest city of Pakistan with the population of over 12 million people. Its is one of the largest 30 cities of the world. There are over 63 universities located in a 50 mile radius in the center of Lahore so students from all over Pakistan come to Lahore to study. Traveling from the suburbs to the city center can be a hassle for a lot of young people when they have to rely on public transport specially when its not reliable. So it will be a great opportunity to target this car-sharing service towards students going to the same universities

Threats: There are significantly more male students than female students enrolled in the universities, so the marketing strategies would have to be streamlined for mostly male users.

The U.S. Census International Data Base is located at: http://www.census.gov/population/international/data/idb/informationGateway.php

Economic External Environmental Factors (Textbook Pages: 51-52     )

Opportunities: A lot of university students coming from different cities to Lahore don’t own cars as family incomes are limited and car-purchasing power is low. So car-sharing service would be an excellent idea for these university students to have an option to use the cars on days when they really can’t use public transport.

Threats: The charge for this car-sharing service would have to be comparatively low for the students to be able to afford it as 85% of the university going students don’t work and are supported by their families.

Technological External Environmental Factors (Textbook Pages: 52-54   )

Opportunities: Cellphone usage in Lahore has grown exponentially in the last decade as phone prices have dropped and the companies providing the cellular services have tripled in number and are very affordable. 95% of the university going students own a smart-phone and have access to internet on their phones. So an app for car-sharing would be the best route.

Threats: Although internet connection through wi-fi is common in Lahore, sometimes the signals are slow. So along with smart-phone app, there has to be some marketing with paper pamphlets and easy phone access. U Drive Transport have prided themselves with electric cars to cut back on pollution and dependence on oil, but it’s a novel idea in Pakistan to have electric cars, so charging stations are not going to be readily available.

Political and Legal External Environmental Factors (Textbook Pages: 54-57     )

Opportunities: Pakistan’s political scene goes up and down all the time, so being a politically neutral company is the best way to go. Since car-sharing is a new idea in Lahore, so the rules are very moldable.

Threats: What can be seen an opportunity can also turn out to be a threat ; as even though Lahore is a very progressive city, there can be political drama concerning the West, so keeping a politically neutral stance is of utmost importance.

Resources: The World Factbook

Competitive External Environmental Factors (Textbook Pages:      )

Opportunities: There is virtually zero competition in the car-sharing industry in Lahore right now. The only thing that I found was an app that just launched that connects people through facebook who want to share a ride. They have to use their own cars though. So for people who downt own cars and want to rent cars, there is no option available in Lahore.

Threats: Since there is currently nothing like that, even a hint at a car-sharing service can bring about people who would want to start similar services and create competition. Until the big launch of the company, its better to keep the details hidden.

 

References

Central Intelligence Agency. (2014). The world factbook. Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/ library/publications/the-world-factbook

U.S. Census Bureau. (2013, December). International programs: International data base. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/population/international/ data/idb/informationGateway.php

U.S. Department of State. (2014). Corporate Social Responsibility. Retrieved from http://www.state.gov/e/eb/eppd/csr

U.S. Department of State. (2014). Regions. Retrieved from http://www.state.gov/countries