Z10 Marketing Plan

Executive Summary Research in Motion changed its brand name to BlackBerry, early this year. In line with its endeavor to offer solutions to challenges facing global communication industry, the company has come up with BlackBerry Z10, which is a Smartphone that is capable of executing work and personal applications. The product relies on the company’s key competence, which is corporate security.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Z10 Marketing Plan specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More BlackBerry Z10 guarantees the commercial quarter and professionals of their information security. Besides, it allows users to multi-task. The major economic challenge that affects the company is economic variations across the globe. Moreover, the increased use of BlackBerry Smartphones by antisocial individuals might affect the sales of BlackBerry Z10. BlackBerry uses promotional and differentiation strategies to increase its sales volume. Company analysis Mission and goals Research in Motion (RIM) was the company that created BlackBerry brand. Early this year, the company changed its name to BlackBerry. BlackBerry’s mission and goal are, â€Å"to provide solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market, including the software that allows the BlackBerry Smartphone to provide mobile access to email, applications, media and the internet† (Sampson, 2011, p. 6). To achieve the mission and goal, the company has continued manufacturing and building on its present products. Currently, the company has come up with BlackBerry Z10, which is a Smartphone that accommodates both work and personal applications, helping users to switch from â€Å"their personal space to work space with a simple flick of the finger† (Sampson, 2011, p. 12). All these are in line with the company’s mission and goal, which is to offer answers to challenges that face global mobile communication market. Product markets and portfolio Sampson asserts, â€Å"Smartphones are still a niche market, though there is huge scope for expansion† (2011, p. 9). BlackBerry is the second biggest company with respect to sales of Smartphone. In 2011, the company had over seventy million customers across the globe. BlackBerry focuses mainly on the Indian market. The company, together with Nokia dominates the market.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Currently, BlackBerry serves 15 percent of the Indian market share. The company concentrates on selling its products to the high-end urban market. Indian society is highly differentiated. Therefore, demand for BlackBerry’s products varies in the market. High demand for BlackBerry Z10 and other products in the commercial sector and colleges makes the company focus on the two market segments. BlackBerry’s market can be largely split into two segments; the rural and town markets. The two markets vary significantly with respect to demands, requirements, fiscal orientation, and inevitability of the customers. In 2011, the company’s total revenue was $3.4 billion (Sharma et al., 2012). BlackBerry offers solutions to numerous functionalities, which range from instant messaging, e-mails, intranet applications, voice, to internet browsing. Its portfolio includes, â€Å"software development tools, BlackBerry wireless solution, the BlackBerry wireless handheld product line, and other software and hardware† (Sharma et al., 2012, p. 17). The company’s product line includes Smartphone, business software, BlackBerry ®, tablet, PlayBookTM and accessories. Its products and services are in high demand across the globe. Core competencies Hoang argues, â€Å"BlackBerry’s future does not lie on its capacity to tackle its rivals head-on. Instead, the company needs to focus on its core competences, namely the blackberry backend and corporate security† (2012, para. 1). The manufacture of BlackBerry Z10 affirms the company’s core competence in guaranteeing corporate security. Through the Smartphone, the company is capable of providing security solutions to institutions that are in dire need of secure business communication. The company has experienced personnel, who are able to develop firewall that guarantees secure transition from work to personal applications when using BlackBerry Z10. This implies that BlackBerry enjoys unparalleled data security capabilities as its core competence (Hoang, 2012). Strengths and weaknesses Many users commend BlackBerry Company for its development of BlackBerry Z10. This latest model of Smartphone has numerous strengths compared to its earlier models. One of the strengths of BlackBerry Z10 is its capacity to systematize calendar and message information (Howitt, 2013).Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Z10 Marketing Plan specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The phone allows users to amalgamate their text messages, e-mails, and social messages under a single folder. Besides, one is capable of accessing all the messages promptly. Indeed, the phone allows users to access crucial and tailored information efficiently. Another strength of BlackBerry Z10 lies on its touch keyboard. BlackBerry Z10 has a well organized and easy to use keyboard. Besides, the phone has predictive text mode, which enhances typing speed and accuracy. BlackBerry Z10’s hardware is capable of handling the latest operating system. Consequently, one is capable of opening numerous applications without challenges (Howitt, 2013). Despite the numerous strengths, BlackBerry Z10 has a number of weaknesses. The phone does not have a hard button that helps users to switch from an application to the home screen. Consequently, it takes long to switch from an application to the home scree n as one has to swipe continually. Another weakness of this Smartphone is that it gives users a lot of problems when multitasking. The absence of a hard button makes it hard for users to switch from one application to another (Howitt, 2013). Marketing environment PEST environment Political BlackBerry enjoys a steady political environment in the United States’ market, which helps it to increase its market share. A recent study by Nielsen revealed that the introduction of BlackBerry Z10 into the American market gave the company a competitive edge (Reed, 2010). However, BlackBerry encounters challenges in Indian, Chinese, and United Arab Emirates’ markets where consumers doubt security capabilities of the Smartphone. Economic Economic features influence the mobile phone industry since consumers purchase phones based on income. The recent economic crisis posed a major threat to the introduction of BlackBerry Z10. Today, consumers have to be sure that the price of a Smartph one equals its capabilities (Reed, 2010).Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Besides, variations in exchange rates across the globe are likely to affect the price of BlackBerry Z10, making it either competitive or extremely expensive. Social Social aspects like lifestyle, education, and cultural values affect the sales of BlackBerry products. The company makes substantial sales during the holidays. One of the social aspects that are likely to affect the sales of BlackBerry Z10 is the increased use of BlackBerry Smartphones by antisocial individuals. This might affect the company’s sales performance in religiously receptive countries (Reed, 2010). Technology Technological changes affect BlackBerry products significantly. However, introduction of BlackBerry Z10 into the market is likely to help the company to increase its sales volume as the technology used to manufacture the Smartphone is environmental conscious (Reed, 2010). Key competitors Nokia and Apple companies are the key competitors in the Smartphone market. The two companies focus on urban mar ket where demand for Smartphones is high. Many consumers have confidence and are loyal to Nokia and Apple companies. Hence, the companies are guaranteed of a steady market. Nokia is renowned for excellent customer services, which has made it dominate the market for decades. The major weakness of the two competitors is that they do not have Smartphones that can handle contemporary business applications (Sharma et al., 2012). Hence, many consumers are turning to BlackBerry Z10, which has numerous functionalities and supports contemporary applications. Customer environment Presently, BlackBerry serves a differentiated market that is made up of two segments; urban and rural segment. The urban segment comprises of professionals and businesspersons who make their purchasing decisions depending on the value of the product. Individuals in this market segment purchase a product after they are sure that it will add value to their businesses or careers (Sharma et al., 2012). On the other hand, BlackBerry serves the rural market segment that comprises of customers, who make decisions based on affordability, battery life, connectivity, and network expansion of the Smartphone. Consequently, BlackBerry has a potential market growth in the urban segment, especially with the introduction of BlackBerry Z10, which meets the majority of their needs. Product and marketing strategy One of the marketing strategies that BlackBerry uses to position its BlackBerry Z10 Smartphone is product differentiation. The Smartphone has BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) functionality, which differentiate it from others (Sharma et al., 2012). BlackBerry Messenger is software that allows users to send and receive instantaneous messages. The company uses this functionality to target the high-end urban market segment, which demands a Smartphone capable of reducing the time they take to communicate with business associates or clients. BlackBerry uses factors like demands, customer needs, and financial orienta tion to segment its market. Marketing mix BlackBerry applies the 4Ps marketing mix to enhance its competitiveness in the global market. The company focuses on product functionalities as one of its brand positioning strategy when developing BlackBerry Z10. The company has also increased the number of applications that the Smartphone supports (Hein, 2009). Therefore, consumers can now use BlackBerry Z10 to execute numerous applications efficiently. BlackBerry Z10 uses, â€Å"Hub and Balance features as its key differentiators from other devices† (Wagner, 2013, para. 6). BlackBerry uses varied pricing mechanisms to capture different market segments. To cater for all customers, the company has Smartphones, which vary in functionalities and prices. Many customers shy away from purchasing Apple brands due to price. They prefer BlackBerry because it sets its prices based on the features and value of the product. The main target group for BlackBerry Z10 comprises of professionals and businesspersons who are not price sensitive (Wagner, 2013). Hence, BlackBerry is at liberty to set its price at a level that corresponds to the capabilities of the gadget. BlackBerry runs numerous advertisement programs to promote its products. Recently, the company launched a â€Å"keyboard challenge† advertisement that seeks to portray BlackBerry Z10 as the Smartphone with the best keyboard in the market (Wagner, 2013). Besides, it liaises with its business associates in promoting Smartphones. For instance, the company, in collaboration with CellOne lowered the price of BlackBerry Z10 from $599 to $399 as one of its promotional strategies. Besides, the company allows its clients to trade their old BlackBerry Smartphones with Z10 at lower charges. To reach many customers, BlackBerry Company liaises with numerous distributors (Wagner, 2013). For example, the company works with Mainline (a mobile phone distributor firm) to distribute its BlackBerry Z10. Mainline helps the com pany to get dealers who supply the Smartphone to local outlets, thus helping the company to reach remote customers. References Hein, K. (2009). Phones top list of most-trusted brands. Sales Marketing Management, 161(6), 34-46. Hoang, A. (2012). Blackberry 10 proves RIMM’s core competence. Web. Howitt, C. (2013). BlackBerry returns to profitability, plans marketing boost. Web. Reed, B. (2010). BlackBerry will win. Network World, 27(2), 24-27. Sampson, N. (2011). Strategic audit of Research in Motion. Web. Sharma, A., Rizvi, H., Girdhar, D. Rana, D. (2012). Comprehensive research analysis of Research in Motion (RIM). Web. Wagner, A. (2013). BlackBerry to promote Z10 by rolling out new takeover ads. Web. This report on Z10 Marketing Plan was written and submitted by user Cayson Nolan to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.