Introduction
The smartphone industry as is obviously known, deals with the designing, manufacturing, assembling and selling of mobile phones that have more advanced computing connectivity and capacity, unlike basic feature phones. Smartphones typically come with phone features that have popular consumer devices such as GPS navigation unit, a digital camera, a media player and a personal digital assistant. Because of this, it is a fact that the smartphone industry will also incorporate dealership in smartphone parts, components, technology and software. Because the industry involves heavy investment, it is important that tenable marketing strategies are employed to ward off wastage and losses that would stem from bad choices, stiff competition and the failure to target the needs of the market. The import and manner of making an effective and successful business strategy for the smartphone industry is therefore divulged upon in the ensuing discourse.
Generally, the market is promising because of the prevailing conditions in the market, which is Europe. First, Europe has closely been knit together into a political and economic union that consists of 28 countries. Known as the European Union, this union has developed a single market through the standardization of laws, political systems and economic structures. The laws, systems and structures are binding on all the member states. This means that the smartphone that is to be launched in the market can capitalize on the free movement of goods, capital, services and people to easily make an incursion into the market (Pon and Kenney, 239-61).
Again, the union prides itself of being highly democratically stable. Independent member states have functioning three arms of the government (the executive, legislature and the judiciary) which ensure political stability therein. All the member states of the union participate in a plebiscite to ensure political transition. These provisions ensure that the market is politically stable and guarantee the smartphone industry market (Huang, 16).
The market’s has an elaborate environmental program that is defined by the EU environmental law, the EU’s Sixth Environmental Action Program and the Kyoto Protocol. This means that the industry will have to grapple with elaborate environmental laws, standards and obligation given that it will be producing a considerable amount of e-waste.
The market is socioculturally liberal since the population is largely multicultural. This means that generally, the smartphone industry will not be impeded by cultural inhibitions when entering the market. This will reduce the cost of operation since the need to research on sociocultural preferences and to fine-tune product or brand design to suit cultural preferences will be greatly marginal (Roda & Perry, 64).
The market is greatly industrialized and graced with full-fledged infrastructure. This is especially the case, as is attested by an elaborate transport network (comprising railway lines, comprehensive roads, hundreds of airports and waterways) and communication systems. This is a significantly positive factor since transport and communication are great incentives to any trade.
According to Beken and Balcean, Europe in general and the European Union are graced with an elaborate legal system that is made up of courts of justice, the constitutional acknowledgement of fundamental human and civil rights and legal acts. This means that dealers in a given service can be accorded with fair trial during tort lawsuits (Beken & Balcean, 299-323).
Five Different Potential Customer Segments to be Targeted
In order that participants in the smartphone industry accurately target the market and meet its needs, it will be highly needful that prospective and potential clients are grouped together, according to the similarities they share, in respect to relevant business dimensions.
One of the potential customer segments is profession and career. Participants in the smartphone industry in this case will have to ensure that models are tailor-made to suit the desires and conveniences of different professions and careers. In this case, the smartphone brand will have to consider the needs of businesses, academicians, scientists and corporate employees. Businesspersons can be targeted with full HD 5-inch display, 2 GB RAM, punchy quad-core processors and long battery life. The needs of academicians such as linguists may be accurately met with software that support the international phonetic alphabet, the Furthoc (otherwise known as the Runes alphabet).
The brand in point can equally consider psychographics. Given that Europe is largely liberal, it is helpful for the cause of market penetration to make models that are equipped with entertainment programs such as music players, FM radio, powerful headsets, powerful camera resolution and lenses and the Internet. This will guarantee accurate targeting of travelers, sportspersons and trainers, the youthful, the tech-savvy and lovers of information (Woyke, 99).
The brand can also consider geographical aspects of segmentation. In this case, areas that are far-flung from the capital can be served with product designs that are accompanied with long battery life. This consideration will also factor the reality of linguistic barriers that exist along different geographical locations when doing the packaging. This means that operational manuals and product warranties will have to be presented in language and dialects that are decipherable to the local market.
The brand can also consider behavioral factors when before targeting and penetrating the market. A market that is outgoing, tech-savvy, liberal and literate should be graced with products that are equipped with music players, FM radio, powerful headsets, powerful camera resolution and lenses and the Internet. Markets that are made up of reserved populations and are less developed can be supplied with products that are cheaper. In this case, it will be fitting to serve the market with phones that have basic features. Nonetheless, it will be also important to have expensive products with sophisticated features and software existing alongside the cheaper versions or models to meet the variegated nature of the market and to maintain favorable public relations (Sarah, Graupera and Lundrigan, 39).
Just as Gibbs and others recommend, the same brand can also consider class and the economic stratification of the population or market. Upmarket or high income earning areas can be targeted with more sophisticated and expensive products more than middle and low income earning areas. However, even in this case, the measure should be tampered with variations so as to diffuse the risk that may come with class segmentation. The need for this is informed by the fact that distributing products according to class may defy generalizations: there are rich people who may need less sophisticated products while there are also rich people who may be living in middle or low income earning areas and may therefore be in need of the high profile models. Again, failing to ensure variation in design distribution along class may pass the wrong notion among the low income earning populations (Gibbs, et al, 75).
Target Segment Goal
The goal of the target segment is to ensure that the needs of the market are accurately met. This is because segmentation helps the brand identify the dynamics that shape the needs of the segments of the market. The crux of the matter herein is that the market is a conglomeration of unique sub-populations that are shaped along class, race, religious and socio-cultural hues. In this case, by designing the brand that suits the needs of all the sub-populations of the market, the needs of the entire market will have been accurately targeted.
It is also through market segmentation that the brand wards off the dangers of losses that may be incurred from a low volume of sales. This is because, when the market is accurately targeted through market segmentation, the needs of all the substrata that make up the market are met. This will ensure that the purchasing power of clients from all the income earning brackets is sufficiently and accurately targeted.
The new Microsoft Windows CE- enabled phone model fits the five segmentations above because it encapsulates all the features above. The prices are to vary in accordance to the capacity of the models. For instance, medium level capacity models and high capacity level models of the new Microsoft Windows CE- enabled phone model are to be fit with additional features such as scratch-and-break resistant gorilla screen protector and automatic antiglare. Higher prices are to be encountered as one selects products from low to high capacity levels.
Positioning, Branding and the Marketing Mix
Product and Service Strategy
The product that is to be introduced into the market is the one that is Microsoft Windows CE- enabled. The product and service strategy that will be used in this case is the integrated product-service strategy. This involves, making the product of worth that is commensurate with the software and hardware that it is selling. In this case, product service will directly and indirectly contribute to the profit of the organization since they leverage and induce the sales of tangible products.
Placement and Distribution Strategy
The placement and distribution strategy of the firm are to take the form here below.
Product designer manufacturer designer factory cross-docking retailers and pick-up points consumers designer
In the case above, the firm that is launching the new product is to ensure that it is distributed in all the major cities that are in the member state of the European Union. In the process above, the product design starts at the head office. The design of the new Microsoft Windows CE- enabled phone model is then availed to the company’s head office for appraisal.
The newly manufactured model is then returned to the company’s designer for confirmation purposes. It is after the confirmations, that the factory will subsequently release the new product or design for transportation to the rest of the retailing outlets, throughout Europe. Clients will then pick up or purchase the finished product from the retailing outlets before they give the company their feedback. This feedback from the clients is then to be integrated into the firm’s designer, management and manufacturing plant and thereby serving as an acknowledgement consumers’ feedback. This will therefore make the firm’s Distribution Strategy and supply chain an endless and cyclic chain (Magretta, 11).
Promotion and Communication
The measure above is also to be complemented with the use of advertising via electronic media. This will involve the use of television advertising, especially during prime time when viewership will be optimal. This will portend having the organization buy a slot during news since it is at this time that viewership is at its climax. This step is to be followed up with the use of billboards along the major highways (David, 66).
In order to speed up potential and prospective client’s knowledge on the entrance of the Microsoft Windows CE- enabled phone model in the market, the firm will also use creative sales and promotion strategies for the same ends. This will have the company selling the first batch in the market at a subsidized rate. Charity draws may also be used to this end. As the knowledge on the presence of the new product in the market widens, the firm my then begin to sell the new design or product at its normal price.
The entire market is to be targeted. This means that the distribution of the product into the market will not be strictly premised upon class distributions in the society. This is because, as was previously noted, there are rich people who may need less sophisticated products while there are also rich people who may be living in middle or low income earning areas and may therefore be in need of the high profile models. Similarly, the failure to ensure variation in design distribution along social class may subject the brand and the new design to negative publicity, especially among the low income earning populations (Sulekha, 17).
Pricing
As previously stated, the pricing strategy that is to be used is penetration pricing. This will have the organization or firm set low prices for the new Microsoft Windows CE- enabled phone model as it enters the market for the first time. This is an artifice to have the new product increase its market share and sales. Once the firm or the new product has captured the desired market share, the price of the Microsoft Windows CE- enabled phone model may be adjusted upwards to their normal prices.
The firm will also use high and low cost strategy. As the demand for the Microsoft Windows CE- enabled phone model approaches and reaches its peak, the prices of the commodity can be charged highly. As the popularity and demand for the Microsoft Windows CE- enabled phone model wanes, the prices are to be lowered so as to exit it effectively from the market.
Objective
The main intention of the firm is to enter the EU market with smartphones. The smartphones that are to be introduced into the market are in two categories. The first category is nearly identical with what is in the market and is therefore not unique in the market. The second category is a unique design that is to be used as an artifice to gaining a competitive edge in the market and curving a niche in the market. The new design is the new Microsoft Windows CE- enabled phone model.
Competition
The firm is to use high and low cost strategy and penetration pricing as a competitive strategy. Penetration pricing will guarantee the successful entrance into the market while high and low cost strategy will ensure the dominance, staying power and successful exist of the Microsoft Windows CE- enabled phone model out of the market.
Executive Summary
The main intention of the firm is to enter the EU market and to consolidate its stay therein. The strategy involves serving the variegated and relatively liberal market with regular types of phones and a sleek and classic model, the new Microsoft Windows CE- enabled phone. The new Microsoft Windows CE- enabled phone is to be introduced in the market through penetration pricing. To inform potential and prospective clients of the entrance of the new Microsoft Windows CE- enabled phone in the market, print and electronic media are to be used for advertising.
Works Cited
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