Google Analysis

Google's mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful. As a first step to fulfilling that mission, Google's founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin developed a new approach to online search that took root in a Stanford University dorm room and quickly spread to information seekers around the globe. Google is now widely recognized as the world's largest search engine -- an easy-to-use free service that usually returns relevant results in a fraction of a second. The key to Google’s success has always been its underlying technology called PageRank--a unique algorithm formula originally developed by Page and Brin that sorts results according to their perceived importance. From the case analysis, “Google, Searching for Success On the Web” I will be addressing the issue on why I agree with Google’s strategy of expanding its product mix to include services other than just search capabilities (Focused in Qualitative Evaluation).

Consumer Expectations:

The expectations of consumer is simple-- “The perfect search engine,” says Google co-founder Larry Page, “would understand exactly what you mean and give back exactly what you want.” Given the state of search technology today, that's a far-reaching vision requiring research, development, and innovation.

The three components of the marketing concepts apply to Google are customer orientation, coordinated marketing activities, and organizational objectives. In customer orientation, Google’s value of good customer relationship management (CRM) sets a new standard in a way other companies attempt to mimic. From its inception, Google focuses on providing the best user experience possible. The growth in customer relationship has come not through TV ad campaigns, but through buzz marketing. And by always placing the interests of the user first, Google has built the most loyal audience on the web.

In coordinated marketing activities, total quality management (TQM) of Google persistently pursue innovation and push the limits of existing technology to provide a fast, accurate and easy-to-use search service accessible from anywhere. The engineers turns their attention to integrating new databases, such as adding a phone number and address lookup as well as business directory. Other efforts requires a bit more creativity, like adding the ability to search billions of images and to view pages that were originally created as PDF files. For wireless users, Google developed a unique way to translate HTML formatted files into a format that could be read by mobile devices. Quality improvement continues for Google’s researchers each and everyday into ways to bring all the world’s information to users seeking answers.

In organizational objectives, Google’s way of measuring performance metrics is like none other. In the same way Google puts users first when it comes to online service, Google Inc. puts employees first when it comes to daily life in the Googleplex headquarters. There is an emphasis on team achievements and pride in individual accomplishments that contribute to the company's overall success. Ideas are traded, tested, and put into practice. Thus, recognizing to put a dollar value on their brand and determining the lifetime value of a customer.

To exemplify the societal marketing concept, for-profit firms like Google provides free search services to a number of academic institutions around the world without having to pay licensing fee. While many online publishers, like Washingtonpost.com, and other companies such as Procter & Gamble and Boeing, pays for the privilege of doing so.

Market Size and Trends: (See attached graph)

Company Strengths and Weakness (SWOT analysis):

What is Google good at doing?--everything! Not only do they implement on all aspects of marketing concepts, but they make money without doing evil. Google is a business. The revenue derives from offering its search technology to companies and from the sale of advertising displayed on Google and on all the other sites. In mid-2000, Google introduced AdWords, an advertising program that allows online business to place ads next to related search results. This technology institutes a usage-based pricing model that charges advertisers based on the numbers of “hits” their ads receive, making it affordable for small and large businesses-- integral role in Google�s ability to turn a profit in 2001.

Let’s look at some weakness or make Google better! It’s obvious to note that there are improvement that has been made to Google since its expansion in the product mix. But, consider those with disabilities, how can one utilize any of these improvements? Let’s go further back to the basic: how can one simply “Google” when the user is incapable of using the keyboard? Are the engineers at Google working on a voice connection tool? It certainly will be a whole new venture of technology