Essay: Social And Environmental Context For Telstra Consumers In Australia.

Social influences and the environmental context impact product and brand purchase decision at all stages of the consumer purchase decision process. Marketing behaviour is not separate from its context but rather is embedded in the context in which it takes place. This means that the context of marketing behaviour is influenced by and can often influence the behaviour of the actors that take part in such behaviour. To make sense of the concept of context you will explore in this section of the course the different kinds of social and environmental context and the application of context to your case study identified in Assessment 1.

1. Identify the social and environmental context influences that are directly relevant to the consumers of your case study selected in Assessment.

2. Analyse, specific to your case study, how these social influences (culture, social class, reference groups) and other environmental context factors impact on the consumer purchase decision and brand switching process. Note: your analysis must include market/industry and/or survey data to support your analysis.

Social Factors Influencing Buying Behavior

Consumer Behaviour refers to study of individuals along with groups which is associated with the purchase and the disposal of goods along with services. Telstra is the name of the leading telecommunications along with technology company in Australia. It offers various kinds of communication services and it competes in the telecommunications markets (Telstra.com.au., 2018). This report talks about the social along with environmental context that is important for the consumers of Telstra organization within Australia. The report states how the social influences have an effect on the purchase decision of the customer.

The social factors are instrumental in playing an important role and it influences buying decision of the customers. The human beings in the society are the social animals and the people around an individual have a great influence on the behaviour of another individual. The social factors that influence the buying decision of the customers can be said to be reference groups, relatives and the immediate family members. Every individual in the society conceive of other people to be like idols and they follow these people in the society. Co-workers, relatives, neighbours and the seniors at the workplace are the people who form the reference groups of an individual in the society (Nekrasova, Leventsov & Axionova, 2015).  Primary group refers to the individuals who carry out regular interactions with an individual. They can influence the buying decision of the customers because they have used a product or a service before and they have an effect on the decisions that the other people make while buying a product.

Family plays a crucial role and it influences the buying decision of the individuals. The social status that an individual has also has influence on the buying patterns of an individual. The family that an individual has consists of the parents, spouse, grandparents and the relatives. An individual is able to imbibe important things from his parents that becomes a part of culture of an individual (Nekrasova, Leventsov & Axionova, 2016). The Australians in the present age spend $ 37 billion and it has been found that connectivity plays an important role in their lives. It has been found with the help of Suncorp’s Cost of Being Savvy report that the Australians who are of the age group of 18-64 spend average of $ 2465 on that of technology services. The Australians spend a large amount of sum on the digital devices and this has an important influence on the Telstra Organisation in Australia. The biggest expense incurred by the Australians is owing to the fact that they want to connect to internet. The Australians rely heavily on internet and this has been an important reason for the popularity of technology company Telstra in Australia. Research has pointed out to the fact that the Australians spend around 5 hours every day online that amounts upto 68 days within a year. The Australians make use of technology for doing 70 percent of their daily activities that includes the paying of bills along with banking. Technology helps the Australians in keeping themselves updated with the latest news.

Role of Technology in the Lives of Australians

Technology is one of the household expenses and it acts as a vital resource for the Australians. Technology has made the lives of the Australians simple and so they have taken recourse to technology. The Australians cannot live their life without the mobile services or the broadband services (Environment.gov.au., 2018). The Australians believe in the fact that in the event of the people being connected they will be able to enjoy many kinds of opportunity. The mobile network is used by a large section of the Australians and it acts to the advantage of the Australians. The telecommunication industry has experienced enormous growth within Australia and digital communication has changed the world of the Australians. The Australians want to stay connected that can help them in every aspect of their life. The changes have taken place in the economic and the social sphere in Australia and this has led the way for the emergence of telecommunication services in Australia. The Australians believes in working together and making things simple and this can be facilitated with the help of technology along with telecommunication service (Guse, 2016).

Australian culture has been derived mainly from Britain but they are also influenced by geography of that of the Australian continent. Social along with the cultural factors are crucial for the implementation of a marketing strategy of a company. The socio cultural factors in Australia refer to the customs along with lifestyle of people which helps in the characterization of a society. A reference group comprises of the individuals or the groups that influences the opinions along with behaviour of the people (Lovelock & Patterson, 2015).  They act as the role models and the marketers think that the reference groups are crucial as it has an influence on how the consumers interpret the information. The senior people living in Australia are making use of technology. It has been found that 80 percent of the people who are above the age of 65 use the platform of the online medium. The aged people living in Australia hence influence each other in their everyday life. The older Australians are embracing in a positive manner that of modern digital age (Garín-Muñoz et al., 2016).  It has been found with the help of research that one out of the five older Australians do not have access to internet but there exist a large section of Australians who are used to technology.

Telecommunications Market in Australia

The average Australians have nuclear family and the extended families live in a separate manner. There has been increase in relation to divorce in Australia and remarriages take place in Australia that has been instrumental in increasing the gap in the lives of the Australians (Izogo, 2017).  The average Australians live separately from their relatives and this has necessitated the need for the rise in telecommunications services in Australia.

It can be seen from the above table that the average number of the people per household has decreased from that of the earlier years. This has been owing to many Australians going outside their country for their education along with their professional accomplishments.

Individualism is an element that is highly valued by the Australians and the Australians encourage the members of the family to have an independent life. The Australians want their family members to follow the personal aspirations and this makes the children pursue their dreams and go out to live abroad in the foreign lands. The children are taught to think about themselves as being ‘unique’ in the process of growing up (Izogo, 2015).  The people living in Australia have to be self-reliant and they are thought of to be responsible for the choices. Extended families play an important role in the lives of the Australians. They add to the support network of the Australians and they provide the financial support for the Australians. The parents make strategic choices about the education of the children so that they can have a secure future.

The Australians think about themselves to be egalitarian and everyone is provided with the opportunity to choose for a path in life. A large part of the Australians are established affluent and emergent affluent. There are two categories in the middle class- mobile middle and the established middle class. The affluent people in Australia have high level of income and they have strong social connection. The affluent people have strong networks and this can be carried out with the help of telecommunications services in Australia (Quach, Thaichon & Jebarajakirthy, 2016).  The educational level of the middle class and the affluent Australians are very high and this can be carried out with the help of telecommunication services within Australia. Established affluent class represents the Australians that are newly emerging who have been able to amass a lot of wealth. It has been found that both the partners in marriage have high prestige occupation that provides them with a distinct position in the society. The emerging affluent class on the other hand does not have the high savings but they have occupations that have high amount of prestige (Leckie, Nyadzayo & Johnson, 2016).  They work very hard pertaining to their education and this helps them in getting into good educational institution. It helps them in getting a good job and attain an influential business occupation.

The people belonging to the mobile middle class have good qualifications in relation to education and the parents of these class of children makes sure of the fcat that they get good education that can help them in earning well in their life. The household income of these group of people is higher as compared to the middle classes in Australia (Izogo, 2016).  The people who are from the established middle class follow in the footsteps of their parents and they do not have too much of property or that of wealth.

The social factors refer to factors which are prevalent within the society where the consumer lives. The society has different individuals and their behaviour along with preferences are different. The varied behaviours have an influence on personal preferences of that of other set of the individuals. The social factors in Australia provide environment that gives opportunity to the individual of developing their personality and acquiring the values.

The older people living in Australia are adept at the use of technology and this has an impact on the buying decision of the customers in Australia. The senior people living in Australia are digitally connected and those aged people in Australia who are highly educated are comfortable with the use of technology (Quach, Jebarajakirthy & Thaichon, 2016).  The older people in Australia being comfortable with technology have created the path for the use of telecommunication services in Australia. The Australians are embracing the using of the mobile technology and it has been found that the number of people who make use of smart phones has increased in the present age.

It can be said from the above table that the number of people who make use of the mobile phone has increased at a rapid pace in the present age. This bears testimony to the fact that the Australians are comfortable with the use of telecommunications and this an effect on the growth of Telstra Organization in Australia (Gunawardane, 2015).  The people in Australia take resourse to telecommunication so that they can stay in contact with each other.

The people in Australia have extended families and so by taking recourse to telecommunications they can maintain communication with the people who live far way from them. The Australians are very busy in their everyday life and hence they cannot go out to meet their family or their relatives on daily basis (Bhatti, Abareshi & Pittayachawan, 2016).  This can be stated to be a reason for the growth of Telstra Organization within Australia. The culture of a society has an effect on the culture that prevails in an organization. The Shared beliefs along with attitudes that population has is instrumental in playing an important role on that of the marketers at that of Telstra Corporation Limited. The Australians have entrepreneurial spirit and they are imbibed with the instinct of trying out new things. The Australian society values the element of entrepreneurship and this has paved the way for the growth of Telstra Organization in Australia. The people in Australia are conscious about the environment and this has an influence on that of buying decisions of the customer (Islam et al., 2016).  Telstra organization in Australia plays an important role in helping the customers along with the society to adapt to the aspect of technological changes. The Environment Strategy of Telstra makes use of technology that can help in addressing the challenges of the environment and the company also helps the suppliers along with the community for serving the environment.

The Environment Strategy of Telstra of the year 2014 was instrumental in providing a foundation that helped them in managing the risks related to the environment. The company plays an important role in managing the aspect of environment footprint and it encourages the aspect of innovation in relation to digital products along with services (Bhatti, Abareshi & Pittayachawan, 2016).  The company provides environmental solutions that help them in protecting along with improving the environment. The National Environment Law in Australia has made it an offence for a person to take action that would have bad consequences for the environment. This law plays an important role in protecting world heritage properties along with national heritage places. Telstra Organization abides by the various environmental laws and this has impact on the purchasing decision of the customers (D'Alessandro et al., 2015).  This has effect on the customers of Telstra organization in Australia and has impact on that of brand switching process.

Waste management is an important aspect in the present age and Telstra organization within Australia takes into account the aspect of waste management by taking certain actions that can reduce harm on the environment. Telstra organization plays a crucial role in managing the aspect of carbon emissions and the target of the company is to reduce the emissions of carbon by that of 50 % by the end of the year 2020 (Statista.com, 2018). The company supports the renewable energy sector in Australia and they invest in techniques that are efficient in terms of energy that has effect on the buying decision of the consumers. The company takes care of the fact that the risks pertaining to climate change are minimiozed that has an effect on that of brand switching process. Telstra organization plays an integral role in facilitating that of low carbon energy by reducing the carbon emissions of the customers (Quach, Jebarajakirthy & Thaichon, 2016).   The company makes use of technology that plays an important role in addressing the challenges of the environment. The company is also involved in the reusing of 60 tonnes of that of old mobile phones that helps in reducing the waste that is disposed to that of landfills. The company makes use of sustainable design practice that helps in the preservation of the environment. The packaging of the company is sustainable that has impact on purchasing decision of consumers of Telstra organization in Australia.

4p’s of Telstra

Product

Telstra can simplify the product offerings and eliminate the pain points of the customers that can play an important role in enhancing the marketing strategies in relation to the company. Telstra can take recourse to digital experiences that can provide better experience to the consumers of Telstra organization in Australia. Telstra can be prepared for the market dynamic and the company should take care of the fact that they do not act in a precipitous manner.

The company can establish that of standalone infrastructure business that can help in driving the performance of the organization (Izogo, 2016).   Telstra can focus on reducing the number of employees along with the number of contractors that can have a positive effect on the performance of the organisation.

  The company can plan on removing one out of the four executives and that of middle management roles that can play an important role in flattening structure. It can help in relation to pricing of the services at Telstra. The company will create a smaller and a knowledge-based market that can help the company in dealing with the aspect of rapid change in the company.

The company can spend on the aspect of network investment that can help the company in building capability in relation to software. The company can take recourse to 5G service that can play an important role in increasing the popularity of the organisation in the market (Leckie, Nyadzayo & Johnson, 2016).  The company can make use of digitisation program that can help in delivering new technology stack for the customers along with small business. Telstra can launch the peace of the mind data that can make the cost of data charge convenient for the customers.

• Telstra organization can offer best digital solution that can help the organization in making profits by taking the advantage of targeting. Telstra can offer the customers curated along with simplified product portfolio that can greatly act to the benefit of the company in Australia. The company can emphasize on the aspect of digital-first model that would be supported by the help of software-based platforms which can be useful in relation to targeting of the brand. (Garín-Muñoz et al., 2016). This can play an important role in bolstering the strength of Telstra and can help the company in pushing into mid-market which can increase the market share of the company. Telstra organization can build new technology stack for that of the enterprise customers that can help in successfully carrying out these changes. Telstra can make use of natural momentum that can help in migrating the customers to that of new product suite. It can be useful in rationalising the aspect of old applications along with services.

• Telstra should focus on both the male along with the female gender in the society. The female gender in the society is fond of designs and Telstra can make mobiles on the basis of their choice. Telstra can offer service to the high achiever groups who want to make use of the latest techniques. Telstra should focus on both the low usage customer and that of the people who spend a large amount of money. Telstra can implement the Telstra Global Business Services and move to agile ways of the working that can help Telstra organization in leading the Australian market. Telstra can make investment in around 1500 new roles that can help in building the capabilities of the company for that of the future. The company can make shift to that of new engineering capabilities that can be useful for the company. Telstra can arrange a transitions program for the employees who are leaving Telstra that can help these people in getting outplacement support that can help in the marketing of the company. The company should provide support that can help them in improving their skill set so that they can prove to be effective in the dynamic environment of Australia.

Conclusion

Consumer Behaviour is indicative of study of the individuals and the groups in relation to buying of a product. Telstra organization is instrumental in providing the communication services and it competes in that of telecommunications market within Australia. The aged people living in Australia know to handle technology and this has effect on purchasing decision of Australian consumers. The senior people in Australia are educated and hence they can handle the usage of technology that has ensured the success of Telstra organization. Australians spend a lot of money on digital devices and this has greatly influenced Telstra organization in Australia. Telstra manages the environmental footprint and it inspires innovation pertaining to digital services within Australia. Environmental solutions are provided by the company that plays an important role in improving environment. Telstra organization can take recourse to standalone infrastructure model of business that can be instrumental in driving the organizational performance of the company. The company can give rise to knowledge-based market that can help the company to deal with rapid change taking place in the Australian environment.

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