Relevant consumption trends
The onset of mobile technology has transformed the way of life of the modern day society. Every person out there wants to communicate. A cell phone is a convenient way to communicate due to its portability as well as cost. The information age has demanded more than just communication in the strict sense.
The consumer wants an opportunity to derive entertainment information access as well as the actual communication itself. The mobile phone companies have adapted to this demand by developing products that meet the average requirements in a satisfactory manner. The cell phone cuts across all the market demands and therefore offers the customer the benefit of a single gadget with several applications.
The cell phone market has been typically subdivided into two main segments. The first is the high end segment that comprises of business persons and the professional class. These customers are the most influential in as far as price is concerned since they have a high level of loyalty to the product as long as they develop a sense of trust for such a product. The second segment is the low end consumer class that is made of the blue collar as well as the personal end users.
The preferences of these customers greatly depend on the individual’s behavior and preference. However the actual purchase is mostly affected by the financial implication of the product purchased. The high end customers are more likely to purchase the more expensive versions of the black berry that have more features that assist them in their daily professional encounters.
Their spending may be motivated by either necessity or actual availability of finances. They are therefore more product-specific. For instance the professionals are more likely to go for a cell phone that has an operating system that will allow them undertake the duties that they would otherwise have waited to get to a computer in order to access such features. The general average annual spending among the first segment is higher than that of the second.
Customers from both segments have an opportunity to access these products from the certified dealers in selected selling points such as malls and supermarkets. There are also numerous specialized dealers who deal in electronic sale that offer the black berry based products. Customers have the option of also purchasing the product online from the various websites such as E-bay.
Online sale has gained credence due to its flexibility convenience and speed as compared to over the counter sale. The products are available on these sites with varying charges depending on the prevailing rates. The most recent statistics suggest that the customers buy more at the end of the month and before festivities. The levels of sales were also very low during cold seasons as most of the customers were indoors.
The preference has been the purchase through online dealers who deliver the product after a given period of time. The percentage of people who ordered the product specifically as a present amounted to 20% of the general consumer base. With these customers the probability of purchasing this product again is quite slim. This would be because they were not actually getting the phone for someone else. They could either be creating an impression on the person or recommending the product.
The other percentage either went through the actual product acquisition model that involves gathering information, evaluation of the product, purchase and post purchase procedures. The market is affected by various variables and there can be no specific conclusive explanation of the current or future trend in the consumer’s behavior. On average however the loyalty of the consumer was motivated by advertisement and word from friends and alternative sources of information.
The black berry has been in the black berry phone specifically the touch 9800 mobile is a market leader that has been created to serve the interests of the consumer form both ends. The all too familiar receptiveness of the device to new applications and the removal of old ones give it a dignified prominence in the specialty.
The black berry company has made several efforts over the years to ensure that their products subscribe to the demands of the modern day consumer. The product has an inbuilt operating system that supports most document formats (Alba and Hutchinson 2000, p 123).
The core proposition of the brand is to ensure that the customer receives quality. The substance of the brand slogan suggests that the product inspires & brings together the essential features of the phone to guarantee the user maximum utility. A review of the product has disclosed the salient features that continuously make the product a market leader (Naercio 2003, pp130-135).
The shape provides a sense of class that is supplemented by the feel of the touch screen that would otherwise be in traditional landscape shape. The keyboard slides from below the screen to allow the user the convenience of reducing and condensing the size of the phone to fit a smaller space and to fit the grasp of the palm.
The screen has an onscreen keyboard that allows the consumer who does not want to use the keyboard to operate the phone. The message writer also has an inbuilt spell checker that allows the user to correct the messages I case they make a mistake. The messaging service also has a predictor service that reduces the time taken typing in the words in the message. It also bars a 12-key alphanumeric keyboard, that allows for the SureType option, which creates a provision for the option of two letters per key.
For convenience the phone offers up to ten different ways of performing of performing one task from the basic text message writing to checking of emails. The phone can be likened to the iphone in as far as the touch screen devises is concerned. However the blackberry 9800 is the antithesis of the complexity of the iphone technology as it provides an unchanging home screen icon selection and an extremely basic user interface button setup that is very easy to understand (Alba and Hutchinson 2000, p 123)
The continuous use of this product allows the consumer to adjust phones accessibility options within and around the phone to fit the prescriptions and requirements that they find fit. The phone offers a sense of maturity for those users who would rather prefer a complicated interface that is best understood by them. This means that the phone provides a sense of pride among peers who may not be able to use the phones features effectively (Naercio 2003, pp130-135).
The brand positioning statement centers on inspiration of the consumer. The product does more than that by securing a complicated safe house of information. The user can zoom in and out of browser pages with the pinch of the finger for better visibility and flexibility in the navigation of the phone.
The phone also comes with the company’s latest operating system software the black Berry 6 OS that has numerous improvements for flexibility and convenience. Criticism may have it that the products resolution is much lower than that of the rival touch screen technologies such as the Samsung galaxy s and the iphone 4. The resolution has been supplemented by the slide manual keyboard and the high zoom potential and magnification
Marketing Strategy recommendations
Need Recognition
The product brand is quite new in the market since it is among the latest inventions and improvements of the black berry technology and has little awareness in its development. The competitor technologies have gained a lot of ground in as far as consumer awareness and therefore leave a great marketing gap.
The recommended strategic approach will be one that incorporates aggressive marketing processes embedded in a marketing campaign that will ensure that the existing customer’s are reminded of the existence of the product. As for the new customers the campaign will create a good background that will convince the consumers of the superiority of the production the market.
The campaign will utilize all avenues of access to customers such as Facebook,Twitter and YouTube by creating a commanding presence in both in visual and audio reviews and advertisements(Alba and Hutchinson 2000, p 123). The campaign will also incorporate the assistance of the various media houses through promotions that will allow the listeners to acquire a sample of the product. The campaign will also maintain a high level of presence in print media in journals and daily newspapers across the world market.
Information Search
The products evaluation information will be highly accessible from the output social network sources that will create a database for the effectiveness of the marketing campaign. The comments that will be received on the social networks such as Twitter and Facebook will be used to evaluate the brand strategy as well as the future market campaign.
The information available fro these reactions as to the negative and positive aspects of the products will be used to reengineer the products outlook to suit the tastes and preferences in as far as color and shape is concerned. (Dipak and Naufel 1999, pp131-137)
The reactions of the retailers and distributors will also be taken into account. The online sales reactions on the product as well as the reactions of those who acquire the product over the counter will also be taken into consideration in the formulation of future strategies.
Evaluation
Inadvertently the consumer is going to weigh the opportunity cost of forgoing the other competitor products such as the Samsung galaxies or the iphone 4. Such a consumer will be looking to acquire a product that allows them to use the touch screen technology in the most flexible way.
The blackberry 9800 will have an unmatched advantage over all these products because of the additional features that accrue to the phone that are availed by the additional keyboard that allows more convenience and flexibility. As it is the product has a very affordable price quotation that is not likely to change even as the effects of the recession continues to take its toll on the economies around the world (Naercio 2003,pp130-135).
For the first few years the product will maintain a stable price that will only vary depending on the mode that the consumer chooses in the purchase since each sales channels has different cost implications. Once the product gains enough market confidence the company will then transfer the prevailing market condition implications to the consumers. The consumer will also be thinking of the resolution of the phone as opposed to the competitors provisions of the same feature.
They will however be impressed by the flexibility of the product as far as magnification is concerned. The product will supplements the need for a high resolution with the resolution potential that is inbuilt in the product. The product also has a much lesser price compared to the competitor products and will therefore take advantage of the economic recession conditions by stabilizing its price to allow the consumer to acquire it. (Dipak and Naufel 1999, pp131-137)
Purchase
The product will be mostly marketed among the young generation. This implies that the main clientele will fall within the age bracket of between 18 and 40 years. There is a very high likelihood that two thirds of these individuals have access to the internet or are at least aware of the online modes of purchase. The marketing strategy will therefore ensure that each online selling point has a stock of this product. The online stores will also offer a discount for every two phones that are purchased in one go.
The products will also be available in the various phone sale points that have worldwide coverage. Examples of these stores within the UK include the UK Car phone Warehouse, dial a phone and mobiles .co.uk. These are known to offer satisfactory services in as far as the delivery of goods is concerned. The product marketing strategy will also partner with the relevant marketing partners in the various countries to facilitate the availability of this product to the customer at affordable prices.
The initial price of the product has been £414.99. This has been quite high for the low end consumer. On the other hand it would be quite hard to maintain a lower price in the face of the prevailing economic conditions. This price however will be reduced by up to £7 to create a promotion price of £407 that will be used as a mechanism of attracting customers.
The evidence from the existing market trends indicate that personalized sales and marketing promotion attempts were more effective than all other methods of advertising. The customer is more likely to purchase a product after such a product has been explained to them on a person to person basis. Those who accessed the retail selling points from the online sellers required to be convinced by sales representatives in order to acquire the product. (Dipak and Naufel 1999, pp131-137)
Post Purchase
The consumer upon acquiring the product did not bother to send feedback. This was the case especially with off the counter sales. However those who acquire the product from an online source were keen enough to leave a comment or two concerning the effectiveness of the product and the areas that were in need of improvement.
The product has a year’s warranty and therefore the response from the consumers who returned product that had few defects were contented with the corrections made. The third member of the group upon acquiring the products and sending them to his aunt discovered that one of them had a mechanical problem. Upon returning the product the product was satisfactorily repaired (Alba and Hutchinson 2000, p 123).
Conclusion
The existing variables have a positive and negative effect on the marketing mix adopted for the delivery of this product to the market. As it were the price has a great bearing on the demand of the product. If it is too high then the low end consumers have little chance at acquiring the product.
On the other hand if the product is priced lower than the competitor’s prices the market impression is that the product is of an inferior quality and should not be taken seriously. The product in seeks to venture into an already saturated market that is flooded with similar counterfeit cheap products. It is therefore important that the consumer understands the value that comes with the new product.
The product however will take advantage of the already established brand name black berry to maintain a high profile for the consumer who wishes to acquire the product in future. The pricing strategy that will be used to review the products price takes into consideration the prevailing market situation and gives credence to the consumer’s interest. This ensures that the consumers strain in the harsh economic times is supplemented adequately and in a proper and timely manner.
References
Alba, J. W., and Wesley, H. (2000) Knowledge Calibration: What Consumer Know and
What They Think They Know. Journal of Consumer Research, 27, p123
Dipak, J.C., and Vilcassim, N. J. (1999) Pricing Patterns of Cellular Phones and Phonecalls: A Segment-Level Analysis. Market science, 45(2) p131-137
Naercio, M. (2003) Is the Consumer Sector Competitive in the U.K.? A Test Using Household-Level Demand Elasticities and Firm-Level Price Equations. Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, 23(3) pp130-135A