Market and competition

Markets are often affected by external factors. This is certainly the case with the telecommunications industry which has undergone a rapid transformation over previous decades – and will continue to do so in the future. There are three key factors which have contributed to change in the telecommunications marketplace:

Technology

In an information society such as Australia, access to information is live, online and mobile. Technology has radically changed the way people can consume information.

Communities are no longer formed around geographical location but rather around common interests such as sports, music and entertainment. You only have to visit social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Bebo to see the enormous choice of online communities.

As a result of this change, people now seek choice, convenience, control and mobility of the information they consume.

Competition

An increase in competition has meant that there are now in excess of five hundred competitors in the Australian market all vying for the technology dollar. This means that the volume of products and services available to consumers is also on the rise.

Product penetration

Many Australians are now connected to Internet, mobile and home phone services. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, in January 2008 91.4 percent of Australian households have a home phone service connected while 48.5 percent of Australian households have a broadband service connected. There are a total of 17,040,103 mobile services in Australia.

With so much competition out there, it is essential for Telstra to have a solid understanding of its customers' needs and to be able to service their requirements.

Telstra therefore aims to differentiate themselves from their competitors by knowing their customers and understanding their needs better than ever before and better than any of its competitors.

Once they understand their customer's needs, it is essential that Telstra communicates the features and benefits of their products and services to existing and potential customers. This is done through a comprehensive marketing plan.