Yahoo Marketing Strategy

Executive Summary:
The report intends to provide the CEO of Yahoo! Inc with a marketing and financial plan to
turnaround the company. Yahoo! Inc is facing significant threat from rival companies such as
Google, MSN, AOL, Face book etc. The report has provided an overview of the company and
the industry in which it is operating. The industry analysis has been done using porters five
forces analysis. The analysis indicates that Yahoo! Inc is facing a moderate threat of new

entrants. The industry has a moderate level of bargaining power of suppliers. On the other hand,
the buyers have a higher degree of power. Moreover the threat of substitute products is also high.
Yahoo! Inc is facing competition in the domains of search, communication, advertising and
social networking from some major companies as rivals, thus resulting in high threat of
competitors. The report has also analyzed the position of the competitor companies from their
market and financial position. Yahoo is focusing on the target market of people belonging to
different age groups, professions and lifestyle. The marketing and financial plan is based on the
central objective of increasing the market share, sales and revenue of the company. It has been
recommended that in the domain of marketing, the company should focus on developing its
search, communication and media functions to fulfill the individual, professional and social
needs of the people. Moreover, investment in social networking can also be beneficial. Similarly,
the company can establish a stronger position in the market by providing the customers with high
quality services. The financial plan has also indicated that providing the premium quality
services can be used as a source of increasing the sales and revenue as customers would be
willing to pay for a high quality service. Moreover, the need to utilize innovative means of
earning has also been emphasized.

Content

Executive Summary:........................................................................................................................2
Overview of the Organization:........................................................................................................4
Industry Analysis:............................................................................................................................4
Porters Five Forces Model:........................................................................................................5
Threat of New Entrants............................................................................................................5
Bargaining Power of Suppliers................................................................................................5

Bargaining Power of Buyers....................................................................................................6

Threat of Substitute Products...................................................................................................6
Threat of Rivals.......................................................................................................................6
Competitor Analysis:...................................................................................................................6
Market Analysis:..............................................................................................................................8
Target Market:..............................................................................................................................8
Marketing Mix:................................................................................................................................9
Marketing Objectives:.....................................................................................................................9
Recommended Marketing Strategy:..............................................................................................10
Segmentation.............................................................................................................................10
Targeting....................................................................................................................................11
Positioning.................................................................................................................................11
Recommended Marketing Mix..................................................................................................12
Product:..................................................................................................................................12
Price.......................................................................................................................................12
Place.......................................................................................................................................13
Promotion..............................................................................................................................13
Financial Strategy:.........................................................................................................................13
Financial Analysis of Yahoo! Inc:..............................................................................................14
Outline of the future financial strategy of the organizations:................................................17
Organizational Focus:................................................................................................................18
References:....................................................................................................................................20

Overview of the Organization:

Yahoo! Inc was established in 1995 as an organization operating in the domain of digital media.
The advent of World Wide Web (www) has been one of the major factors which played an
integral role in the development of the company as a leading online entity. With the passage of
time, Yahoo! Inc has evolved into a cohesive network of three broad domains, which can be
identified as Communications and Communities; Search and Marketplaces; and Media (Yahoo!
Annual Report, 2011). The company manages its online content in approximately 45 different

languages, thus allowing its services to be used by residents in various countries across the
globe. Currently, Yahoo! Inc is providing services to more than 60 distinct geographical regions
which is regulated by its offices located in 30 different countries across the world. A further
extension in the domain of communication had been evident in the form of the establishment of
Yahoo! Social networking portals such as Meme and acquisition of an Asian based networking
platform Wretch (Yahoo! Annual Report, 2011).
The company has experienced shift in its corporate structure, financial performance and the
future outlook within the past few months. One of the key changes in this regard is the hiring of
Marissa Mayer as the new CEO by the company. The financial performance of the organization
has illustrated an improvement as the net revenue of the company has been noted to increased
(Rushe, 2012). Yahoo! Inc needs to have an exhaustive plan of action in terms of the financial
management of the firm as well as the marketing of its various products and services to gain a
stronger position in the market. This report intends to provide a comprehensive marketing plan
for Yahoo! Inc which can support the company is regaining a significant market position and
handle the competitive rivalry from its competitors such as Google, Inc. Moreover, the report
will also provide a detailed financial plan which can support the company in bringing
improvement in the financial outlook.

Industry Analysis:
The industry analysis will provide an evaluation of the current position of the industry in terms
of the porters five forces framework. The information arising out of the application of porters
model will be used to identify the outlook of the industry. To be more specific, the industry
analysis will help in determining a marketing strategy that can be deemed as suitable for Yahoo!
Inc under the given external environment. Moreover, competitor analysis will be conducted in
detail to identify the position of the rival companies and devise a marketing strategy that can help
Yahoo! Inc in establishing a competitive position in the market.

Porters Five Forces Model:

Threat of New Entrants

Threat of new entrants in the domain of establishing a website on the internet seems to be
moderate; however the vast product line upheld by Yahoo! Inc is one of the strengths of the firm.
New entrants will require investment in hardware and software to regulate the various functions
of the website and establish a strong web presence. Along with that the new companies will also
be required to hire employees with related experience and expertise. These areas can be managed
with relative ease, but the constant up gradation of technology makes it a rapidly transforming
industry. For instance, the increased number of users seeking online connectivity through
iPhones and tablets instead of PCs has brought changes in the technological infrastructure of the
company.
Bargaining Power of Suppliers
The bargaining power of suppliers in case of the industry in which Yahoo! Inc is operating in can
be seen as moderate. Since the operations of the company are based on internet, there is low
degree of involvement of traditional suppliers. However, the products of Yahoo! Inc are
dependent upon the input of the employees; therefore the human capital can be seen as the
supplier for the company. The maintenance of services offered by Yahoo! Inc is based on the
continuous management of the various products such as News, Messenger, Yahoo communities
etc. In order to ensure that these products are effectively functioning, the company needs skilled
employees. The personnel as supplier of these products have an influence on the organization to
some extent, but the leverage they have is limited.

Bargaining Power of Buyers

The individuals using Yahoo for the purpose of communication, search and advertising have a
high degree of bargaining power, thus establishing an affluent position on the external
environment of the company. The customers have alternative options available which offer
similar services to the people, thus the industry in which Yahoo! Inc is operating in is marked by
a significant power of buyers. For instance, advertisers can shift to rival companies such as
Facebook or Google for the purpose of displaying their advertising or marketing content on the
internet. Therefore, Yahoo! Inc is operating in an industry where buyers have a higher degree of
leverage on the organization.

Threat of Substitute Products

The internet industry has no direct substitute products, but there are competitors who are offering
similar services as Yahoo! Inc, thus customers can opt for the alternatives. The users may switch
on other modes of communication, shifting from Yahoo e-mail or Yahoo messenger to the
communication portals offered by Google, MSN or Facebook. Similarly, the sharing of content
such as personal pictures can be done through MSN, or Facebook, thus reducing the number of
users of Flickr. Considering this situation, it can be stated that the threat of substitute products is
high.
Threat of Rivals
Threat of rivals is also high as there are some major companies operating in the industry. A few
of the rivals are Microsoft (MSN), AOL and Google. Yahoo is facing stiff competition from the
search function of Google. MSN and Google also create competitive rivalry in the domain of
communication, and people tend to use their email services as well. Moreover, within the sphere
of social networking, Yahoo! Inc has to deal with well established and eminent networking sites
such as Face book, Twitter, LinkedIn etc. An in-depth speculation indicates that each product
category in which Yahoo! Inc is operating in, the company is facing competition from major
firms.

Competitor Analysis:
Competitor analysis will serve as an effective tool for identifying the varied strengths and
weaknesses of the competitors of Yahoo! Inc. This information can be further utilized for
developing a marketing strategy that can support the firm in gaining a competitive position. As
mentioned in the previous section, Yahoo! Inc is facing significant competitive rivalry from the
other organization offering similar products and services to the clientele. A few of the
competitors of Yahoo are Google, AOL, Microsoft (MSN) which are deemed as posing a direct
competition to the firm within the sphere of internet related functions.
Google is listed as one of the leading competitors of Yahoo! Inc as both of these companies are
engaged in gaining the attention of the target market which is an avid user of the internet tools.
The company has been operating in the market at a significantly strong position, offering the
internet users with easy to use and effective search portals. The search function of Google is
deemed as more effective than Yahoo! Incs Bing. The US search engine market is

predominantly taken over by Google as it search engine had a massive share of more than 66%
while Bing depicted a comparatively lower share as evident through the ratio of 15% only
(Goodwin, 2012). An opportunity for Yahoo! Bing can be seen in the form of the recent
strengthening position of the company in UK, as the search share of its key rival Google has
declined (Arthur, 2012).
Within the domain of communication, MSN is also offering similar services that allow people to
connect with others via exchange of emails, or messenger. The position of Microsoft in the
competitive sphere becomes more intricate as the search engine of Yahoo! is being supported by
Microsoft. Despite this collaboration, these two firms are competitors in the industry. AOL is
also a competitor for Yahoo; however, the competitive rivalry is nominal in comparison to the
pressure imposed by Google.
Apart from search function, Yahoo! offers a compiled platform that can be utilized for accessing
a multitude of functions such as online shopping, gaining information about current events etc.
Google doesnt offer such a cohesive platform of various internet activities, therefore providing
some leverage to Yahoo! Inc. However, the advertising tactics adopted by Google through the
use of its social networking websites such as YouTube and Twitter has provided Google a
competitive position in the industry. Moreover, Google AdSense and DoubleClick Ad Exchange
are also posing significant competition to Yahoo advertising. On a more traditional front, the
conventional means of advertising can also be regarded as competitors within the advertising
domain, as online companies such as Yahoo Inc and the conventional electronic and print
medium compete for gaining the attention of the same market segment.
Another serious threat exists is the form of a leading social networking website, Facebook that is
attracting a large number of users and advertisers, thus having implications for the future outlook
of Yahoo! Inc. From the advertisements displayed on cellular phones, Facebook has been able to
gain a massive amount of $150 million (Sengupta, 2012). Along with that, the company is also
fulfilling the role of offering the users with a communication platform. Since Yahoo! Inc is
dealing with the international market, the competition is also enhanced by the presence of local
networking, communication, sales and marketing entities.

Market Analysis:
The market analysis will provide a detailed overview of the segmentation of the target market,
the current trends, the needs and preference of the target market etc.

Target Market:
The target market of the company is focusing on various age groups ranging from young users to
adults. Some of the products of Yahoo! Inc are equally appealing to the people of different age
groups such as e-mail as a mode of communication. Nevertheless, the other products have a
more clearly specific target market such as Yahoo Finance is aiming to provide information the
people involved in corporate activities, investors, company stakeholders, financial analysts etc.
Similarly, Yahoo answers will have more appeal for students engaged in academic activities.
Therefore, the products of Yahoo! Inc are difficult to associate with one specific target market.
The socio economic status plays a minimal role in determining the target market of Yahoo! Inc.
People who do not own personal computers are still using internet, through cafes, thus those
individuals are also a part of the target market. Yahoo! Inc also caters to the needs of the
advertisers who want to conduct marketing of their products and services via using online
portals. As far as the cultural background and geographic location of the users is concerned,
Yahoo is targeting the users of internet all across the globe, via its international presence in 60
countries. Another defining feature of Yahoo! Inc is that it has expanded its customer base by
offering the services in up to 45 languages, which is facilitated by the development of local web
platforms for Asian, European and other nations (Yahoo! Annual Report, 2011).
The basic idea is to target the people who use internet, belonging different age groups, having
varied areas of interest, related to a wide array of cultural backgrounds. The usage of internet can
determine the time spent on online activities and the purpose of indulging in the internet based
activities. Yahoo! Inc is trying to provide its users with a multipurpose platform where they can
not only communicate with the significant others, but also seek up to date information about
current events and gain insight about the current situation of the marketplace etc. Considering the
earlier discussion it can be stated that the target market of Yahoo! Inc can be divided into three
specific groups, individual users, corporate users and third party affiliates.

Marketing Mix:
The organizations involved in providing services to the customers uses the elements of marketing
mix to develop a framework, which can be used to effectively reach the target market. The
marketing mix of Yahoo! Inc has been elaborated in the following section.

Marketing Objectives:
The marketing objectives of Yahoo! Inc have been presented as follows:

To increase the market share of Yahoo! Inc in the next five years. The current position of
the market share is in need of improvement as the rival firms such as Google hold a
greater ratio of market share. The marketing plan intends to support Yahoo1 Inc in

enhancement of the market share, within a time frame of five years.

To enhance the usage of Yahoo services in the various countries of the world. The users
which have been associated with Yahoo have shifted to using alternative services. The
marketing plan intends to gain the attention of those users, and possibly influence their

decision making in favour of the company.

To establish a positive brand image of the company across the globe. The management
plans to focus on a marketing strategy that allows the company to establish a distinctive
brand image in the market. Furthermore, the target market would also find Yahoo services
to be more appealing if the firm has a positive brand image, therefore the marketing plan

has taken this objective into consideration.

To promote the usage of Yahoo! Inc as a means of communication, social networking,

shopping, sales, and advertising.

To establish a financially stronger position of the company in the next five years. The
financial outlook of the company has declined in comparison to its rival companies;
therefore the marketing plan is also focusing on the use of marketing tactics as a means of

increasing the revenue and financial stability of the company in the next five years.
To enhance customer loyalty through using the various marketing tactics that can allow
the customers in developing enhanced level of positive association with the company.
This will allow Yahoo! Inc to maintain a significant ratio of market share.

Recommended Marketing Strategy:

Segmentation
Within the sphere of segmentation, Yahoo! Inc has been focusing on a wide range of customers,
belonging to different demographic stratum. The demographic characteristics can be broadly
divided into age, gender, socio economic status, culture and life style.
Age & Gender
The services and products offered by Yahoo! cater to the needs of youth to adults, thus
illustrating the coverage of the need of various age groups. Moreover, Yahoo! Inc products and
services are utilized by both males and females. The company needs to segregate the needs of
males and females in terms of the usage of its different services and market those services
accordingly. For instance, if the males are more responsive to the feature of advertising, then
females can be more interested in the feature of online shopping. The increasing number of users
of social networking websites can be used as a target for attainment of the marketing objectives.
Socio Economic Status
Internet is being used by people belonging to different socio economic backgrounds. One of the
areas where Yahoo! Inc can benefit is to establish itself in the area of social networking.
Individuals as well as businesses are utilizing the social networking websites as a means of
connecting with others. Small, medium and large scale companies as well have set up pages on
networking websites such as Face book. A similar leverage can be obtained by Yahoo! Inc by
focusing on the corporate and individual users of its social networking portals.
Life Style
Yahoo! Inc is providing its products and services to people with different life styles, having
distinguished needs of the usage of internet. The company needs to identify the segments of the
market that are avid users of its services and invest in using those segments as a basis of
enhancing the market share. Apart from that, the conventional user can also be included in the
marketing plan, as these individuals tend to use the basic functions provided by Yahoo! Inc such
as email.

Targeting
As discussed previously, Yahoo! Inc needs to identify the different needs of its customers, based
on their age, gender and degree of use of internet based on their life style. Instead of including
new services and features, the company needs to provide the customers with the features that
they need. Social networking is an area which is full of potential for growth. Wretch can be used
as a means of targeting youth, adults, commercial and non commercial users of the website in
Asian region. With the passage of time, the website can be made available to other regions in the
world as well, with its success highly dependent on the support from market tactics.

Positioning
Yahoo! Inc needs to rejuvenate its position in the market by staying focused on providing the
customers with high quality products and services fulfilling the personal, social and professional
needs. The company has portrayed itself as providing the customers with a collection of media
related products and services, therefore the customers continue to view it in the same
perspective. The changes in the external industry need to be proactively handled, by positioning
the company as an entity that has the capability of fulfilling the personal and professional
requirements of the customers. The rival companies have been able to establish within few
selected domains, gaining adequate leverage in the market. Yahoo! Inc needs to develop a
focused position in the market to respond to the competitive rivalry. For instance, the social
networking front can be addressed through investing in the development of Wretch, and
establishment of Meme. Within the domain of online advertising as well, Yahoo needs to engage
in a more rigorous marketing strategy. One of the reasons why the launch of Meme has not
received considerable amount of attention is the lack of marketing activities and novel ideas
(McGee, 2012). This flaw can be overcome by positioning the company more effectively within
the social networking sphere. Furthermore, the use of new ideas can also support the success of
Yahoo! Meme.

Recommended Marketing Mix

The recommended marketing mix of Yahoo! Inc will include the elements of product, price,
place and promotion. These elements will be analyzed in terms of the current marketing mix
adopted by the company and the alterations that are needed to align it effectively with the
aforementioned marketing objectives.

Product:
Yahoo! Inc is offering a wide variety of online products to its customers ranging from providing
them access to the latest information about the current events around the world, to the
opportunity to view entertainment related content such as videos. The wide range of products
allows the company to reach out to the different segments of target market. The company has
also made additions in its spectrum of services by including the social networking websites such
as Meme and Wretch. Meme has not been as successful as the other social networking portals
such as Face book which is the leading rival of Yahoo! Inc. The management can utilize Wretch
as a means of entering in the social networking domain in Asia, as the website has been quite
successful in the region.
Price
The company charges a fee from the customers who use its advertising portal for displaying the
advertisement. It also charges the businesses engaged in electronic commerce activities via its
platform. Moreover, the owners of domain names, web hosting services are also required to
make payments to the company. Yahoo! can offer its customers discounted price for a limited
duration. Another pricing tactic that can be considered by the company is to target the loyal
business customers who have been affiliated with the company for more than 10 years. These
customers can be offered a discounted price on the purchase of new services. Furthermore, they
can also be given discount in the annual fee being paid for the services. Yahoo can also launch
different packages for the customers, offering them average to premium quality services with
varied charges for the membership.
Place
As far as the element of place is concerned, the company can utilize its online presence for the
purpose of marketing its services. For instance the launch of Meme can be displayed on Yahoo
web page, thus providing the company with an effective means of disseminating the information
to the users.

Promotion
The company can use a variety of tools for promoting its products and services, ranging from
electronic medium of communication to the display ads on billboards. The company can also use
events related to Information Technology to promote its products and services. The home page of
Yahoo! Inc can also serve as an effective means of targeting the market and promoting the
various products and services. As mentioned previously, the service of social networking can
also be promoted through the Yahoo! Inc home page.

Financial Strategy:
The financial strategy of an organization is based on its strategic goals in order to achieve its
objectives. The organizations develop a strategy that is aligned with their objectives and goals
(Priester, & Jincheng, 2010). These goals of a financial strategy can be understood in relation to
simple formula however the in-depth understanding of the financial strategy can only be
understood as an integration of all the factors and variables affecting the overall performance.
The formula for financial strategy is as following.
ROE = Return on Equity = (Sales / Assets) x (NIAT / Sales) x (Assets / Equity) = (NIAT /
Equity) (Priester, & Jincheng, 2010). The replacement of the existing CFO of Yahoo Inc has
clarified the vision of new CEO in order to ensure that the organization follows a comprehensive
growth strategy in terms of its financials.

Financial Analysis of Yahoo! Inc:

The current financial analysis of the yahoo Inc is based on the latest financial information
available about the company through credible sources such as annual report and company
financial profile. The organizations financial performance cannot be categorized as promising as
the company is not significantly growing. The financial indicators of the company specify that
the organization requires a major turnaround not only in terms of financial performance but in
other aspects of business operations as well. The new CEO of the organization is determined to
achieve these objectives through diligent shift in the company policy, enhanced focus on
technology and building significant contracts with other suppliers. The table 1 given below
shows the income statement of Yahoo! Inc, indicating the changes in the financial position of the
company from fiscal year 2009 to 2011.

Table 1: Income Statement of Yahoo Inc:

Period Ending

Dec 30, 2011

Dec 30, 2010

Dec 30, 2009

Total Revenue

4, 984, 199

6, 324, 651

6, 460, 315

Cost of Revenue

1, 502, 650

2, 627, 545

2, 871, 746

Gross Profit

3, 481, 549

3,697,106

3,588,569

Operating Expenses
Research Development

1, 005, 090

1, 082,176

1, 210, 168

Selling General and Administrative

1, 618, 106

1, 752, 823

1,825, 702

Non Recurring

24, 420

57, 957

126, 901

Others

33, 592

31, 626

39, 106

2, 681 , 208

2, 924, 582

3, 201 ,877

800,341

772,524

386,692

Total Operating Expenses

Operating Income or Loss

Income from Continuing Operations

Total Other Income/Expenses Net

27, 175

297, 869

187, 528

827, 516

1, 070, 393

574, 220

Income Before Tax

827, 516

1, 070, 393

574, 220

Income Tax Expense

241, 767

221, 523

219, 321

Earnings Before Interest And Taxes

Interest Expense

Minority Interest

(13, 842)

Net Income From Continuing Ops

(12, 965)

(7,2 97)

1, 048, 827

1, 231, 663

597, 992

Discontinued Operations

Extraordinary Items

Effect Of Accounting Changes

Other Items

1, 048, 827

1, 231, 663

597, 992

1, 048, 827

1, 231 ,663

597, 992

Non-recurring Events

Net Income
Preferred Stock And Other Adjustments

Net Income Applicable To Common Shares

Source: Income Statement (2012)

The net income of the company is $1, 231, 663 in the year 2010 whereas it decreased up to $1,
048, 827 in the year 2012 which is significantly lower than the previous years income. It is a
matter of concern for the shareholders of the organization. The revenue of the enterprise has
fallen from $6, 324, 651in the year 2010 to $4, 984,199 in the year 2011. The concerns regarding
the falling revenue generation are seriously taken by the company. It requires diversification and
focusing on the current revenue base.
The comparison with the competitors is also significant in order to identify any overall trend of
the market failure or external reasons for the revenue decline. The major competitors of Yahoo!
Inc can be named as Google, AOL, and MSN. The difference between the financial position of
Yahoo and its competitors is evident from table 2 given below.
Table 2: Direct Competitor Comparison:
Direct Competitor Comparison

Market
Cap:
Employees:

YHOO

AOL

GOOG

PVT1

Industry

22.39B

3.06B

220.39B

N/A

188.76M

14,100

5,660

53,546

N/A

408.00

-0.01

0.00

0.45

N/A

0.20

4.96B

2.17B

47.54B

N/A

114.20M

0.69

0.28

0.60

N/A

0.59

1.32B

447.80M

15.85B

N/A

9.22M

Qtrly Rev
Growth
(yoy):
Revenue
(ttm):
Gross
Margin
(ttm):
EBITDA

(ttm):
Operating
Margin

0.16

0.12

0.28

N/A

0.05

3.97B

1.04B

10.56B

N/A

N/A

EPS (ttm):

3.25

10.63

31.91

N/A

0.03

P/E (ttm):

5.83

3.44

21.02

N/A

24.89

1.48

0.03

1.25

N/A

1.08

4.51

1.41

4.64

N/A

2.30

(ttm):
Net Income
(ttm):

PEG (5 yr
expected):
P/S (ttm):

Source: Competitors (2012)

The company has relatively stable ratio of gross margin as compared to Google whereas the
quarterly revenue growth represented in negative explains that the organization is losing its
existing share in the market. It is not a favorable condition to facilitate future growth prospective.
The efforts of the company to turnaround the situation present in 2011 in particular can be
regarded as a move in the correct direction, and changes in the strategy are inevitable to achieve
its targets of growth and finical stability.
Outline of the future financial strategy of the organizations:
The financial analysis of Yahoo! Inc provided an overview of the current financial position of the
company, thus establishing a baseline for the future financial strategy of the firm. The major
objectives of the financial strategy for Yahoo are stated below. The efficient management of
financial resources is important in order to facilitate the process of growth and increase in
shareholders confidence in the company.
The advice for the future CEO contains a set of clear financial objectives in order to satisfy the
needs of the shareholders, employees, and the management. Yahoo! Inc should adopt the basic

principles for future growth in streamlining the current practices and future objectives for the
organization. The financial objectives have been identified as follows:
Objective 1:
Achieve long-term financial security and match resources with Yahoo Incs strategic objectives.
Objective 2:
Develop productive capacity to meet current and future growth and resource objectives through
the economic, efficient and effective deployment of resources.
Objective 3:
Plan and control the financing of organizational development and ensure investment returns are
optimized.
Objective 4:
Provide a consistent basis for evaluating strategic alternatives and developing effective financial
planning and risk management.
Objective 5:
Integrate and harmonize financial and other corporate strategies.

Organizational Focus:
Yahoo! Inc is not regarded as a key player in search and social content provider. The
management should reinvent its original strength in terms of creating a robust search engine in
order to compete with its rival Google. The development should be focused on the core
businesses of the company. It should also reenergize its research and development team and
establish goals related to its primary financial strengths.
Risk Management:
The organization should develop a radical strategy for risk assessment and business operations.
The issues related to growth are related to development of a strategy which primarily focuses on
emerging technologies and the key target areas. The financial strategy should incorporate the

need of research and development related to the emerging technologies and its services updating
according to the current market requirements.
Revenue Generation:
The revenue generation for Yahoo! Inc should be focused on finding innovative ways of creating
earning opportunities. It can be for instance attained through the use of premier email accounts,
online gaming, and job listings. These sectors along with other services provided by the company
can be charged from the users and offering them better quality that rival companies. It should
also maintain a market orientated approach for generating revenues. Moreover, the CEO can
initiate the creation of subscription based services in order to create customer base that are
willing to pay for the high quality services which will assist the organization in broadening the
customer base.
Acquisitions and Partnerships:
Acquisitions and partnerships are important in order to gain momentum and take advantage of
the resources of other organizations. The sharing of expertise and knowledge allows the
organizations to develop a stronger base which is essential for creating competitive advantage.
The business strategy based on acquiring other organizations will require availability of funds
and effective financial management. However partnerships can also benefit Yahoo! Inc through
supporting the extended efforts for renewal of the revenues and financial growth.
Business units:
The increased amount of business units are also causing the organization to indulge in large
amount of activities as well as causing the additional resources directed towards offering the
services. The business divisions should be analyzed and either merged with existing divisions or
the services not generating required amount of revenues should be replaced with subscription
based services. It is also advised that the organization reduces the number of business divisions
while concentrating on creating value for its clients in offering renewed services.
The financial strategy for the turnaround of Yahoo! Inc should be based on the strategic
objectives and goals of the organization. It is essential for the CEO to update the financial policy
and business strategy for creating sustainable value for the consumers, employees and other

stakeholders. The objectives explained earlier should be considered while formulating a

progressive and growth orientated financial strategy. The management should also consider
minimizing the business units and introducing subscription based services. The additional
revenue generation should also be considered through efficient product development,
partnerships and acquisitions.

References:

Arthur, C. (2012). Google's search share dips as Bing's rises: set your alarm for February 2016.
The Guardian. Retrieved from
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/nov/06/google-bing-uk-search-share
Beckford, J. (2010). Quality: a critical introduction. USA: Routledge.
Competitors (2012). Yahoo! Inc. Retrieved from: http://finance.yahoo.com/q/co?
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