Company Case 2
Samsung: A Strategic Plan for Success
Synopsis
In less than two decades, Samsung has gone from a little-known copycat consumer
electronics brand to the largest consumer electronics company in the world by a wide
margin. It accomplished this by setting lofty goals and by creating a culture of
innovation. Samsung didn’t just think outside the box. It broke the box wide open by
bringing outsiders in and sending insiders abroad, resulting in one of the freshest thinking
work forces. With an investment budget that far exceeds the competition, these folks are
charged with creating products that it calls “lifestyle works of art”—products that must
pass a “Wow!” test during market testing. As a result, Samsung is near the top of almost
every consumer electronics category. And more than just big, Samsung is recognized
worldwide as one of the most innovative companies.
Teaching Objectives
The teaching objectives for this case are to:
1. Introduce students to the concepts of business and marketing strategy.
2. Highlight the difference between a mission statement and a market-oriented
mission statement.
3. Establish the role of goals and objectives in marketing strategy.
4. Help students understand the importance of the business portfolio in growing a
business.
5. Introduce the marketing mix as a core concept of marketing.
Discussion Questions
1. How was Samsung able to go from a copycat brand to an innovation
leader?
Samsung had a visionary leader. Lee Kun-hee, Fortune’s CEO of the decade, was
2. In recent years, how has Samsung achieved its goals in markets where it had
little presence, such as smartphones?
Samsung has been able to penetrate markets with its strategy of creating “Wow!”
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Part 1: Defining Marketing and the Marketing Process
3. What challenges does Samsung face with such a diverse product portfolio?
What benefits?
The primary benefit of a diverse product portfolio is not suffering downturns in
any one product category. When a company has all its eggs in one or few baskets,
Concerning challenges, the complexities created by multiple product lines require
4. Is Samsung’s current and future strategy customer focused? Why or why not?
There is a fair amount of evidence in this case to support a strong
customer-centered marketing strategy on Samsung’s part. The case points out
5. Will Samsung be successful in achieving its goal of becoming a leader in the
Internet of Things market?
It would be easy to say yes. However, any response to this question must
recognize the complexities of this market. It is not a product line, like
On the other hand, it seems that based on market needs, it is only a matter of
Teaching Suggestions
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Chapter 1: Marketing: Creating and Capturing Customer Value
To illustrate just how dynamic consumer electronics markets are, create a list of the most
popular consumer electronics products with the help of students. Once a list has been
generated, ask students to consider just how long each product has been around (or at
least how long they have been around in their current form). For products like
smartphones or tablets, the product lines do not go back very far. Provide some pictures
of early models up through today to illustrate just how drastically this product has
evolved. Consider TVs. What is state of the art? Less than ten years ago, most people still
had the CRT type of TVs in their homes. Now, most have flat screen high-definition
models. And those models are rapidly changing (from plasma to LCD to LED to the
ultra-smart models of today). After discussing this case, ask students to suggest what they
think the hot products will be in 10 years.
This case was developed for use with Chapter 2. This case also works well with the
product development chapter (Chapter 8).
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