Sirius Xm Radio

Table of Contents

Situation Analysis……………………………………………………………………1

        Company Analysis…………………………………………………………1

        External Analysis…………………………………………………………..2

        Marketing Plan Objectives…………………………………………………4

        Opportunities to Explore…………………………………………………..4

Marketing Strategy Plan……………………………………………………………..7

Marketing Information Requirements………………………………………………12

Implementation and Control……………………………………………….………..13

Appendix I: Profit/Loss Statement…………………………………………………15

Appendix II: Sensitivity Analysis…………………………………………………...16

SiriusXM MyRadio

Final Marketing Plan- Team 4

Situation Analysis[pic 2]

Company Analysis

Company Mission and Positioning:

SiriusXM’s mission statement reads as follows: “With SiriusXM, listeners will enjoy the clearest, hottest, hippest and most provocative radio entertainment, seamlessly across the country. Wherever they live, whenever they want, in any style they can imagine- blues, classical, Tejano, rock, oldies, jazz, R&B, country, gospel, news or talk. SiriusXM Satellite Radio will provide the quality programming, choice and convenience that today's consumers demand.” This tells us that SiriusXM strives to provide a variety of programming to suit every possible need/customer taste. Additionally, satellite radio is commercial-free and always accessible, a fact that makes SiriusXM more appealing than FM radio.

Sirius has partnered with a variety of auto manufacturers, rental car services and airlines, like JetBlue, in order to reach the maximum possible audience. These partnerships have helped them to achieve wide market penetration, because now many cars are equipped with satellite radio receivers, thereby making them potential customers. Because SiriusXM’s mission statement clearly states that they have a variety of programming in order to suit every possible consumer taste, they have not specified a target market. In other words, they have “positioned” themselves as a ‘jack-of-all-trades’ company, one that should appeal to everyone. Thus, they have not made a firm brand position. The objective defined in their mission statement indicates that SiriusXM’s top priority is customer satisfaction: giving the most options in radio programming to their customers and reaching their customers in a variety of ways

Strengths and Weaknesses:

SiriusXM’s strengths are apparent from looking at revenue growth. Their revenue growth has slightly outpaced the industry average of 9.1%, rising by 10.1% over the course of one year. As of October 2014, SiriusXM’s return on equity (Net Income / Shareholder’s Equity) exceeded its ROE from the same quarter one year prior, exceeding that of the industry average. As of October, 2014, net operating cash flow has increased to $340.68 million or by 24.74% when compared to the same quarter last year, exceeding the industry average cash flow growth rate of 7.45%. Other strengths of SiriusXM can be seen when examining the service that they provide. They have partnerships with many automobile corporations to be pre-programmed into cars. This gives them an advantage because they are highly visible to customers since they are automatically given the option to purchase SiriusXM once they buy a new car. Another strength is that they dominate the market, but are not considered a monopoly because of other online music streaming companies that can be considered their competition. Not being considered a monopoly can be considered a strength because they are not as highly regulated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as they would be had they been considered a monopoly. The service that they provide is commercial-free, which is a huge strength because this is a big appeal to many and it has given them a large fan base. Because of the nature of the service, SiriusXM can be accessed anywhere in the nation and is reliable, which further appeals to their consumers.

One of SiriusXM’s weaknesses are its stagnant earnings per share from the most recent quarter as of October 2014, but for the two years before that there was a declining pattern of earnings per share.  Though the gross profit margin, as of October 2014, was high at 62.02%, this was a decrease from the same period the previous year. In other words, although SiriusXM is still generating profits, their earnings are decreasing and if this patter of weakness continues it will mean trouble for the firm. Another weakness is that the net profit margin of 11.58% trails the industry average. SiriusXM’s weaknesses from the marketing perspective are that its audience is skewed towards older generations, demonstrating that they need to improve their marketing strategy for the younger generations that they are still providing content for. Another weakness is that it is not as easy to listen to SiriusXM online or through a mobile device as is Pandora or Spotify. SiriusXM’s cost is also higher than other music-streaming methods.

External Analysis 

Context: A major cultural force affecting the market for SiriusXM is the fact that most entertainment and/or information is sought by consumers either through cable TV or online. Radio is no longer the main provider of information or entertainment it once was, because other media outlets have replaced it. Economic forces at play include effects from the 2008 financial crisis that still affect the purchasing of non-essential goods. It is also still affecting the economic structure of the United States. Technological forces are also a huge influence on the satellite radio market. For example, cloud technology is changing how entertainment, like music, is accessed. The Internet is increasingly available to consumers, so more people have the opportunity to listen to online radio.