Table of Contents:

1) Expansion - One way for a company to expand is by increasing its share of existing markets. This typically requires actions such as making product or service Improvements…

*Marketing Strategy (7th edition)—A Decision Focused Approach—Orville C. Walker Jr—Page 13

2) Mission Statement- A well-thought mission statement guides an organization’s managers as to which market opportunities to pursue and which fall outside the firm’s strategic domain
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*Marketing Strategy (7th edition)—A Decision Focused Approach—Orville C. Walker Jr—Page 7

3) Sustainable competitive advantage- Is based on company resources, resources that other firms do not have, that take a long time to develop, and that are hard to acquire.

*Marketing Strategy (7th edition)—A Decision Focused Approach—Orville C. Walker Jr—Page 14

4) Diversifying- Firms also seek growth by diversifying their operation. This is typically risker than the various expansion strategies because it often involves learning new operations.

*Marketing Strategy (7th edition)—A Decision Focused Approach—Orville C. Walker Jr—Page 16

5) Customer-focused objectives- As firms emphasize developing and maintaining long-term relationships, customer-focused objectives- such as satisfaction, retention, and loyalty-are being given greater importance.

*Marketing Strategy (7th edition)—A Decision Focused Approach—Orville C. Walker Jr—Page 13

YouTube has been the most popular Internet video site over the past decade, attracting around a billion visitors monthly (Elias 2013). Because of the sites success, advertisers are willing to spend so that their names can be exposed to the vast majority of visitors. Even though YouTube is currently number 1 in the market for online video ads, rivals such as Facebook, AOL and Yahoo have been gaining more audiences at faster rates, while “strengthening their share of video ad dollars”. In addition, companies like Netflix and HBO are posed to be an even “bigger threat” as online users may start spending more time watching original series on those sites and less time on YouTube’s. From these issues, YouTube should introduce paid subscription offerings and original series to the site in order to diminish greater threat from rivaled video platforms. Introducing the choice of paid subscription to YouTube would be a great addition to the site, as it will allow YouTube to make money through a difference sources than just ad dollars. These types of subscriptions can feature ad-free videos and offline video storage on mobile devices, or lower priced subscriptions for “specific categories” (Newton 2015) like music or sports. The introduction to paid subscriptions would also allow creators to put their videos “behind a paywall” (Newton 2015) allowing particular videos to be accessed through paid subscription. Even though most of YouTube’s content has been known for being free, this type of expansion will improve the sites services to both creators and users. Creators will have the opportunity to gain revenue from paid subscriptions- increasing creator loyalty, and users get exactly what they want which is choice. Users can choose for example to pay for an ad free subscription if they dislike the abundance of ads before their chosen video, can choose premium content and further support their favorite creators through paid subscription, or not pay at all and watch content the traditional way. This approach further solidifies YouTube’s mission statement; to “provide fast and easy video access and the ability to share videos frequently” (Sutevski 2012). More importantly, it helps retain audiences, increase growth rates, revenue channels, and diminishes chance of threat from other video platform. YouTube should also take into consideration the creation of their own original series, as original content have been growing in sites such as Netflix, HBO and Amazon. It’s estimated that “U.S adults will spend about 75 minutes a day watching online videos this year” (Shaw 2015). This may seem like an advantage for YouTube, but these minutes spent online by adults may go towards original premium content like “Game of Thrones” or “Orange Is the New Black”. Google Inc., the owner of YouTube, has sustainable competitive advantage that other companies do not have in regards to resources. Diversifying into TV like content could be an effective step that YouTube can afford to take, because they have the resources, market power, and money to do so. In addition, YouTube have big name stars such Prank Vs Prank and Fine Brothers who have millions of subscribers (Jarvey 2015). Partnering with popular creators and “google-owned streaming platforms” (Jarvey 2015) will allow YouTube to make original series that take into account customer-focused objectives. Creating original premium content that stays true to what made popular YouTuber’s successful from the beginning, will allow YouTube Originals to thrive. It will attract and retain users, increase brand awareness, increase revenue and keep users on YouTube’s site rather than on HBO or Netflix.

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"Rivals Are Gaining on YouTube." Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg, n.d. Web. 19 May 2015.

"Teresa Elias | ZAGGblog - Part 20." Teresa Elias | ZAGGblog - Part 20. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2 "YouTube's Paid Subscription Offering Takes Shape - and It's Almost Here." The Verge. N.p., 08

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"YouTube to Fund Original Series From The Fine Brothers, Smosh." The Hollywood Reporter. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2015.

"12 Mission Statements Worth Checking." Entrepreneurship In A Box. N.p., 09 Feb. 2012. Web. 19 May 2015.