Case Brief
Arabic BlackBerry: Adapting to the Language of the Market is an article that presents the case of a mobile phone maker, namely BlackBerry. The company has been at the forefront in creating mobile phones that have an Arabic language interface as a strategy to enter the Arab World (Armstrong et al. 150). The company has achieved considerable success in the Arab World, especially the UAE. This move is a major success for the company that has been trying to expand its market base from its traditional US and European markets. In its effort of introducing phones that feature the Arabic language, the company has collaborated with key stakeholders in the region such as Etisalat. Its goal is to offer more diversified options and phone applications such as the email, which is a major selling point for the BlackBerry (Armstrong et al. 151).
The company is a pacesetter in the telephony world since it has established products that enable users to type and/or view Arabic websites. Another important highlight of the case is the current trend towards ‘the push email’ on mobile phones. Blackberry and other mobile phone makers have noted this application. Hence, the company is keen on implementing it in response to the market demand, especially in the corporate world. Overall, the case provides important insights into BlackBerry’s efforts towards establishing a market base in the Middle East. It also highlights key emerging technologies such as the push email, which other mobile vendors are also developing.
Stages of Decision Process of Buyers
The consumer is a critical part of a successful market. However, understanding how a consumer thinks before making the final decision to buy or decline a product remains an elusive aspect (Solomon 25). Despite these uncertainties, several approaches have been suggested towards understanding consumer’s decision-making process. The following are the five stages of buyers’ decision process:
Problem Recognition
A buyer’s decision-making process of begins with the presence of a problem that he or she wants to address (Sheth 46). For instance, in the case of BlackBerry, a potential buyer may realise that he or she needs a portable device to send and receive emails. Until such problem is fulfilled, the buyer will not be comfortable.
The Search Process
Once the buyer decides on what is required, he or she must address the problem. The customer then moves to the next step of searching the products or services that will adequately address the identified problem (Kalaycı and Potters 14). In the search process, various tools and approaches are applied (Hawkins and Mothersbaugh 10). For instance, the use of the internet, search engines, or recommendations from friends and families are all important tools and approaches to the search process. A buyer identifies one or many alternatives that can satisfy the given need or address the problem at hand. For instance, in the case of BlackBerry, a buyer may find out that out of the other mobile phone companies, only BlackBerry can offer the applications to support emailing.
Evaluating Alternatives
Once the buyer has identified the possible option for addressing the problem, the next stage involves narrowing down to the best option, depending on other characteristics such as price, design, and ease of use among others (Solomon 23). In this stage, the client decides on the element that he or she wants to focus on when buying the product. For instance, a buyer may probably want a phone, which supports not only the push email technology, but also the input of email messages in the Arabic tongue. In this process, the buyer will find that BlackBerry has such support.
The Selection Stage/Purchase
Once buyers select the best alternative, they can decide on what and/or where they will buy the given product or service (Sashi 253). For instance, as a new product in the market, the buyers’ decision to buy a BlackBerry phone may be based on advertisements or referrals from users who have used the same product.
Post-Purchase Evaluation
After buying a product, the buyer evaluates whether the product is meeting the needs that it was purchased to fulfil (Sashi 254). The evaluation stage is very important since it determines whether the buyer will be loyal to the company or not.
The Concept of an Aspirational Group
Human beings are very social. Other external forces influence them to make important life decisions. The concept of aspiration group is important when it comes to understanding consumer behaviour, especially how clients make decisions that relate to buying or rejecting a product (Hawkins and Mothersbaugh 13). An aspiration group comprises elements with which an individual or a group wants to be associated. Many organisations desire to be pacesetters. They long for establishing a bench against which consumers make decisions that relate to purchasing.
For instance, BlackBerry wants to take the ‘aspirational group’ position by being the first company to introduce Smartphones that have the Arabic language interface and capabilities. Further, by introducing the push email capabilities, the BlackBerry Company will also be taking a good position as an aspiration against which consumers would like to be identified with.
BlackBerry’s Position in the Improvement of the Telephone Bazaar in the Middle East
Companies have a critical responsibility that they have to play within their respective industries. The BlackBerry Company has positioned itself to respond to customer demands. It has set the pace in terms of technologies that are available to consumers on their handsets. Firstly, the introduction of Smartphones that have the Arabic Language interface and capability is a major signal that mobile phone makers need to produce handsets that adapt to specific consumer needs across the world. In this case, the BlackBerry Company has clearly demonstrated that it is possible to make phones that suit the Middle East regions. It is likely that other mobile makers will copy this move in their efforts to win the competition in the region.
The second important role that the company has played is the campaign for the adoption of the push email technology in Smartphones. In this case, as the corporate world moves towards increasing mobility demands, the demand for portable technologies will increase drastically. Further, the ability to create, send, and receive emails in Arabic is also a major technological breakthrough and an important start for the direction that the Smartphone industry is likely to take in the Middle East and across the world. Therefore, the company has acted to show that it is possible to adopt new technologies that suit the consumer needs and demands. At the end, it is evident that Smartphone makers will have to respond to consumer needs to remain competitive in the fast-growing telephone sector.
Works Cited
Armstrong, Gary, Philip Kotler, Llyod Harris, and Nigel Piercy. Principles of marketing. Australia: Pearson, 2014. Print.
Hawkins, Delbert, and David Mothersbaugh. Consumer Behaviour Building Marketing Strategy. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print.
Kalaycı, Kenan, and Jan Potters. “Buyer Confusion and Market Prices.” International Journal of Industrial Organisation 29.1 (2011): 14-22. Print.
Sashi, Michelle. “Customer Engagement, Buyer-Seller Relationships, And Social Media.” Management decision 50.2 (2012): 253-272. Print.
Sheth, Jagdish. Models of Buyer Behaviour: Conceptual, Quantitative, and Empirical. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011. Print.
Solomon, Michael. Consumer Behaviour: Buying, Having, and Being. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2014. Print.