1 vietnam national university, HANOI
school of business

Nguyen Thu Phuong MARKETING PLAN FOR CERTIFICATE AUTHORITY
SERVICE OF VIETTEL TELECOM master of business administration thesis



Master of business administration thesis

Supervisors: Ph.D Tran Doan Kim

Hanoi – 2011
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CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Error! Bookmark not defined.
ABSTRACT Error! Bookmark not defined.
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CONTENTS i
LIST OF TABLES iv
LIST OF FIGURES iv
INTRODUCTION 1
1. The problem 1
2. Objective 2
3. Scope 2
4. Methods / Approaches 2
5. Short Introduction 3
CHAPTER I 4

4.2.1. Definition 19
4.2.2. Types of Pricing strategies 20
4.3. Distribution 21
ii
4.4. Promotion 23
4.5. People 24
4.6. Process 26
4.7. Physical Evidence 27
5. FINANCIAL FORECAST 27
6. IMPLEMENTATION 28
CHAPTER 2 30
CURRENT MARKETING ACTIVITIES FOR VIETTEL CERTIFICATE AUTHORITY
(VIETTEL-CA) SERVICE 30
I. AN OVERVIEW OF VIETTEL GROUP 30
1. History 30
2. The growth chart 32
3. Organizing structure 34
II. THE INTRODUCTION OF CERTIFICATE AUTHORITY SERVICE
(VIETTEL-CA) 35
1. The description and features of service 35
2. Digital signature applications 36
3. Service features 36
III. MARKET ANALYSIS 37
1. Global CA market 37
2. Forecast about public digital signature market in Vietnam 39
3. Market Demand 41
3.1. Market segmentation 41
3.2. Market size 44
3.3. Market growth 45
4. Competition analysis 48

8.6. Process 66
8.7. Physical evidence 66
9. Evaluation of Marketing activities‘ efficiency 67
CHAPTER 3 69
MARKETING PLAN OF VIETTEL TELECOM COMPANY FOR VIETTEL
CERTIFICATE AUTHORITY SERVICE (VIETTEL – CA) 69
1. The objectives of Marketing 69
2. Target customer 69
3. Positioning 69
4. Marketing strategy 69
4.1. Product 69
4.2. Price 70
4.3. Distribution 70
4.4. Promotion 71
4.4.1. Advertising 71
4.4.1. Sales promotions 71
4.4.1. Public relations & publicity 72
4.5. People 72
4.6. Process 73
4.7. Physical evidence 73
5. Action program 73
5.1. Schedule of marketing plan action 73
5.2. Budget 78
6. Financials 79
6.1. Expense Forecast 79
6.2. Sales Forecast 80
6.3. Income Statement 81
CONCLUSION 82
LIST OF REFERENCES 83
APPENDIX 1: LIST OF INTERVIEWEES 85

Viettel‘s number forecasts of CA service from 2011 to 2015
80
3.5
Viettel‘s Sales forecast of CA service from 2011 to 2015
80
3.6
Viettel‘s Income statement of CA service from 2011 to 2015
81

LIST OF FIGURES

Item
Figure Description
Page
2.1
Revenue of Viettel Company in period from 2000 to 2010
32
2.2
Profit of Viettel Company in period from 2000 to 2010
33
2.3
Human resource of Viettel Company in period from 2000 to 2010
33
2.4
Organization structure of Viettel Telecom
34
2.5
Forecast about global CA market during 2006 – 2012
38
2.6

and most basic public services online at least level 3 to the people and
businesses.
- 50% individual and enterprise tax forms will be declared online
- 90% of customs offices do electronic customers procedures.
- All bidding plan, bidding notices of bidding results, the list of participating
bidders is posted on the national tender; about 20% of package goods
procurement, construction and consultant services using state funds to be
made online.
- 100% of passports issued to citizens of Vietnam serving the immigration as
electronic passports.
- 30% of the records request for a building permit is submitted online.
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It can be seen, in Vietnam, the legal framework and social needs of the e-transaction
grows, enabling the service authentication of e-transactions under development,
which is typical services of digital signature (an effective tool for authentication,
ensuring the safety and integrity of electronic transaction services).
However, people's awareness of these services is limited. Furthermore, the market
has five service providers supply the Certificate Authority is: VNPT, BKAV,
Viettel, FPT, Nacencom. Viettel is the third supplier after VNPT and BKAV.
Therefore, no advantage Viettel pioneers and fierce competition between providers.
So, to solve these problems, Viettel need to boost the marketing activities to
increase understanding of customer service as well as attracting and promoting
customer using Viettel – CA service.
While working at the Center for Business customers, Viettel Telecom, I have been
studying the Viettel Certificate Authority (Viettel – CA) and found these problems
in the process of service development. Thus, I decided to chose the topic
“Marketing Plan for Viettel Certificate Authority (Viettel – CA) service in
Viettel Telecom company” for my thesis.
2. Objective
The thesis attempt to analysis market of Certificate Authority service and current

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CHAPTER I
AN OVERVIEW OF MARKETING PLAN
I. Definition of marketing plan
1. Definition
Following the information from Michael Baker [8], Marketing plan is defined: ―A
marketing plan is a written document that details the necessary actions to achieve
one or more marketing objectives. It can be for a product or service, a brand, or a
product line. Marketing plans cover between one and five years.
A marketing plan may be part of an overall business plan. Solid marketing strategy
is the foundation of a well-written marketing plan. While a marketing plan contains
a list of actions, a marketing plan without a sound strategic foundation is of little
use.‖
In other information source by David Parmerlee [11]: ―A marketing plan contains
information about your company and its products, marketing objectives and
strategies, as well as how you will measure the success of your marketing
activities‖.
It describes all the marketing activities you'll perform during a specified time period
(usually one year). You'll also include any background information and research
results you used to select those marketing activities. Finally, you'll document the
costs associated with your planned marketing activities as well as the measurements
you'll use to determine success.
Most often, a marketing plan is a component of a business plan. A business plan
basically states how you plan to run your company–what your goals are, how much

II. MARKETING PLAN
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
While the business plan‘s executive summary is the first thing the readers of your
business plan see, it should be the last part of the business plan you write.
The purpose of the executive summary of the business plan is to provide your
readers with an overview of the business plan. Think of it as an introduction to your
business. Therefore, the marketing plan‘s executive summary will include
summaries of:
 A description of company, including products and/or services
 Mission statement
 Business‘s management
 The market and customer
 Marketing and sales
 Competition
 Business‘s operations
 Financial projections and plans
The executive summary will end with a summary statement, a ―last kick at the can‖
sentence or two designed to persuade the readers of your business plan that your
business is a winner.
2. SITUATION ANALYSIS
2.1. Market analysis
―The goal of a market analysis is to determine the attractiveness of a market and to
understand its evolving opportunities and threats as they relate to the strengths and
weaknesses of the firm.‖
David A. Aaker outlined the following dimensions of a market analysis [3]:
 Market size (current and future)
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 Market growth rate
 Market profitability
 Market trends

The key success factors are those elements that are necessary in order for the firm to
achieve its marketing objectives. A few examples of such factors include:
 Access to essential unique resources
 Ability to achieve economies of scale
 Access to distribution channels
 Technological progress
It is important to consider that key success factors may change over time, especially
as the product progresses through its life cycle.
2.2. Competitor analysis
In formulating business strategy, managers must consider the strategies of the firm's
competitors. While in highly fragmented commodity industries the moves of any
single competitor may be less important, in concentrated industries competitor
analysis becomes a vital part of strategic planning.
Competitor analysis has two primary activities, 1) obtaining information about
important competitors, and 2) using that information to predict competitor behavior.
The goal of competitor analysis is to understand:
 with which competitors to compete,
 competitors' strategies and planned actions,
 how competitors might react to a firm's actions,
 how to influence competitor behavior to the firm's own advantage.
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Casual knowledge about competitors usually is insufficient in competitor analysis.
Rather, competitors should be analyzed systematically; using organized competitor
intelligence gathering to compile a wide array of information so that well-informed
strategy decisions can be made.
Competitor Analysis Framework
Michael Porter presented a framework for analyzing competitors [14]. This
framework is based on the following four key aspects of a competitor:
 Competitor's objectives
 Competitor's assumptions

from a lower labor cost. The characteristics of an organization that can be strength,
as listed above, can also be a weakness if the company does not do them well.
2.3.3. Opportunities
Opportunities provide the organization with a chance to improve its performance
and its competitive advantage. Some opportunities may be anticipated, others arise
unexpectedly. Opportunities may arise when there are niches for new products or
services, or when these products and services can be offered at different times and
in different locations. For instance, the increased use of the Internet has provided
numerous opportunities for companies to expand their product sales.
2.3.4. Threats
Threats can be an individual, group, or organization outside the company that aims
to reduce the level of the company's performance. Every company faces threats in
its environment. Often the more successful companies have stronger threats,
because there is a desire on the part of other companies to take some of that success
for their own. Threats may come from new products or services from other
companies that aim to take away a company's competitive advantage. Threats may
also come from government regulation or even consumer groups.
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3. MARKETING STRATEGY
Following Michael Baker [8], A marketing strategy is a process that can allow an
organization to concentrate its limited resources on the greatest opportunities to
increase sales and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. A marketing
strategy should be centered on the key concept that customer satisfaction is the main
goal.
3.1. Marketing Objectives
Marketing objectives should be based on understanding company‘s strengths and
weaknesses, and the business environment you operate in. They should also be
linked to company‘s overall business strategy.
Objectives should always be SMART:
- Specific - for example, you might set an objective of getting ten new

regions
Demographic Segmentation
Some demographic segmentation variables include:
 Age
 Gender
 Family size
 Family lifecycle
 Generation: baby-boomers, Generation X, etc.
 Income
 Occupation
 Education
 Ethnicity
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 Nationality
 Religion
 Social class
Many of these variables have standard categories for their values. For example,
family lifecycle often is expressed as bachelor, married with no children (DINKS:
Double Income, No Kids), full-nest, empty-nest, or solitary survivor. Some of these
categories have several stages, for example, full-nest I, II, or III depending on the
age of the children.
Psychographic Segmentation
Psychographic segmentation groups customers according to their lifestyle.
Activities, interests, and opinions (AIO) surveys are one tool for measuring
lifestyle. Some psychographic variables include:
 Activities
 Interests
 Opinions
 Attitudes
 Values

Company Type
Business customers can be classified according to type as follows:
 Company size
 Industry
 Decision making unit
 Purchase Criteria
Behavioral Characteristics
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In industrial markets, patterns of purchase behavior can be a basis for segmentation.
Such behavioral characteristics may include:
 Usage rate
 Buying status: potential, first-time, regular, etc.
 Purchase procedure: sealed bids, negotiations, etc.
3.3. Positioning
Following Philip Kotler [14], After a company has decided which market segments
to enter, it must decide what 'position' it wants to occupy in those segments. A
product's position is the place the product occupies in consumers' minds. If a
product were perceived to be exactly like another product on the market, consumers
would have no reason to buy it. Market positioning gives a product a clear,
distinctive and desirable place in the minds of target consumers compared with
competing products. Marketers plan positions that distinguish their products from
competing brands and give them the greatest strategic advantage in their target
markets.
In positioning its product, the company first identifies possible competitive
advantages upon which to build the position. To gain competitive advantage, the
company must offer greater value to chosen target segments, either by charging
lower prices than competitors or by offering more benefits to justify higher prices.
However, if the company positions the product as offering greater value, it must
deliver greater value. Effective positioning begins with actually differentiating the
company's marketing offer so that it gives consumers more value than is offered by

provide to consumers.
- Actual product: The product planner must next build an actual product around
the core product. Actual products may have as many as five characteristics: a
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quality level, features, styling, a brand name and packaging. Its name, parts,
styling, features, packaging and other attributes have all been combined
carefully to deliver the core benefit - a convenient, high-quality way to capture
important moments. The strategy at this level involves organizations branding,
adding features and benefits to ensure that their product offers a differential
advantage from their competitors.
- Augmented product: Finally, the product planner must build an augmented
product around the core and actual products by offering additional consumer
services and benefits.
Therefore, a product is more than a simple set of tangible features. Consumers tend
to see products as complex bundles of benefits that satisfy their needs. When
developing products, marketers must first identify the core consumer needs that the
product will satisfy, then design the actual product and finally find ways to augment
it in order to create the bundle of benefits that will best satisfy consumers.
4.1.2. Product strategy
When placing a product within a market many factors and decisions have to be
taken into consideration. These include:
- Product quality:
Quality is one of the marketer's major positioning tools. Quality has two
dimensions- level and consistency. In developing a product, the marketer must first
choose a quality level that will support the product's position in the target market.
Here, product quality stands for the ability of a product to perform its functions; it
includes the product's overall durability, reliability, precision, ease of operation and
repair, and other valued attributes. Although some of these attributes can be
measured objectively, from a marketing point of view, quality should be measured
in terms of buyers' perceptions. Companies rarely try to offer the highest possible

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integrated design with their corporate culture. So design can be one of the most
powerful competitive weapons in a company's marketing arsenal.
As competition intensifies, design will offer one of the most potent tools for
differentiating and positioning products of all kinds. Good design can attract
attention, improve product performance, cut production costs and give the product a
strong competitive advantage in the target market.
- Product branding
One of the most important decisions a marketing manager can make is about
branding. Brands have the power of instant sales; they convey a message of
confidence, quality and reliability to their target market. Branding has become a
central issue in product strategy. On the one hand, developing branded product
requires a great deal of long-term marketing investment, especially for advertising,
promotion and packaging. A brand is a name, term, sign, symbol, design or a
combination of these, which is used to identify the goods or services of one seller or
group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors. Thus a brand
identifies the maker or supplier of a product.
A brand can deliver up to four levels of meaning:
 Attributes: A brand first brings to mind certain product attributes.
 Benefits: Customers do not buy attributes, they buy benefits. Therefore,
attributes must be translated into functional and emotional benefits.
 Values: A brand also says something about the buyers' values.
 Personality: A brand also projects a personality.
4.2. Pricing
4.2.1. Definition
Pricing is one of the most important elements of the marketing mix, as it is the only
mix, which generates a turnover for the organization. Pricing is difficult and must
reflect supply and demand relationship. Pricing a product too high or too low could