Report on Vodafone’s success strategy in Europe

Following the Schumann declaration (1950) the European Economic Community (EEC) or Common Market, of six nations was established by the Treaty of Rome in 1957. Since this time, the number of member states has increased to fifteen, and successive treaties have gradually strengthened the degree of co-operation between the member states. The European Union in its current form was established by the 1993 Maastricht Treaty.

Being the world's second largest market, trading with the EU gives Vodafone the opportunity to increase profits. In their first 15 years, they have become the largest company in Europe by market capitalization and the largest telecommunications company of its kind globally. Vodafone have a customer base of over 100 million and interests in network operators across 28 countries.

The best possible market for UK businesses is the EU market, as it has many similarities such as similar life styles etc. Vodafone trades with 13 of the 15 member states of the EU. As Vodafone is a service used for communication, it can easily be expanded as communication is needed in every part of the world. Another reason for trading with the EU is that it consists of economically advanced countries such as France, which possess large businesses that are in need of efficient communication services such as Vodafone.

[...] The EU assists these countries in taking on EU laws, and provides a range of financial assistance to improve their infrastructure and economy. What are the official languages of the European Union? On 15 April 1958, the Council laid down that the official languages of the Member States should be both the official languages of the Community and the working languages of the Community institution. Every Member State's official language is an official language of the EU. As several Member States share the same official language this means there are 11 official languages. [...]

[...] It benefited Vodafone and other businesses in the following ways: Businesses were able to sell their services across Europe without having to pay any taxes. Vodafone employees could be transferred to different countries without encountering any problems. Capital could be transferred to countries without having to pay taxes. At this time, the law of comparative costs was planned. It has been built and expanded as the European Union has been formulated. David Ricardo (1772- 1823), in his theory of comparative costs suggested that countries will specialize and trade in goods and services in which they have a comparative advantage. [...]

[...] It can continue to do so by advertising on television, newspapers, bill boards and various other ways in Europe. It can sponsor sports teams, charities, concerts in the countries it operates in to make people more aware of its presence. Concentrate on the needs of customers One of the ways to keep ahead of competition is by knowing what customers want. Gaining customers is not the real achievement, it is keeping them. In order to know what the customers want, surveys can be done via post or telephone. [...]