Stand-alone mobile phones continue to be in high demand despite stiff competition from hand-held gadgets with state-of-the-art features invading shelf-space and catching consumer fancy. Using sales strategies with clinical precision, mobile phone makers are ensuring that markets for both the segments remain, and thrive.
Leading mobile companies like Nokia, Samsung, LG and Sony Ericsson share a lot in common when they strategise and determine target users. It?s not easy, though, as market needs could at times be unfathomable. Segmentation is a tough task, especially at a time when there is a perceptible surge in lifestyle aspirations. The market is categorised according to age groups, professions and also low, medium and high-income category customers. There are phones that have multiple features like mega pixel cameras, e-mail facility, downloading, MP3 players, high-storage capacity, conference call facility, blue tooth and synchronisers and plenty of others for the corporate executives. And then there are phones with just the basic facility ? they ensure you can make calls at affordable rates.
Nokia India?s marketing director Devinder Kishore explains why different kinds of mobile phones need to be manufactured in a market on a canter. ?In September 2006, Nokia undertook the industry?s largest and most comprehensive research, polling 77,000 consumers covering a total of 26 countries to understand the needs and drives for mobility for different segments of the market,? says Kishore. In step with the findings, Nokia divided its products into ?live?, ?connect?, ?achieve? and ?explore? categories as it felt there was room for all. Of course, the parameters vary. The ?live? sets feature design and style that customers climbing the lifestyle scale are willing to buy, no matter the price. On the other, ?connect? has features like e-mails and voice call facilities. This product is all about staying connected in a smart way. ?Achieve? caters to the needs of on-the-move business executives who need facilities like e-mails, a calendar, contact lists and web-browsing. Then there?s ?explore? which combines style and high-tech facilities. The vaunted N-series is a good example of ?explore?. These handsets have complete multimedia devices like snap, records, and browse, and also help share content online.
Refusing to be outstripped by rivals is Samsung. Ruchika Batra, the company?s general manager, says, ?We have several categories of mobile phones that serve the purpose of all types of customers.? Samsung manufactures basic phones to high-end products to be in sync with diverse customer demands. It offers business phones with e-mail facilities, blue tooth, high-storage capacity, Internet surfing and a downloading facility. Creating a niche rather unobtrusively are phones with music and entertainment features.
The multimedia phones combine music and imaging with a xenon flash facility for customers who are keen on photography. The entry-level phones are also manufactured for those who watch their budgets to buy sets with just basic functions. And the design-oriented customers find the ?metal series? useful, manufactured as they are specifically for users in metros and big cities.
Another player, LG, has similar goals. LG business group head (GSM) Anil Arora says all mobile phones have their markets. Basic-level phones are pocket-friendly and are in demand among first-time users. So does the value-segment phone with a combination of features. LG, too, has mobile phones that feature many of the latest technologies like touch screen and Internet browsing. The young corporate executive, who would want style, is the buyer of these phones.
Needs are myriad and marketing strategies, as diverse. Mobile phone makers are also targeting teenagers, offering music download facilities. ?I consider myself to be a connoisseur and love listening to classical music. Despite having a high-tech mobile with music storage facility, I would buy an i-pod which gives mw better sound-effects,? says a business professional in Delhi.
Jockeying for space, mobile phone manufacturers are working overtime these days to bring newer phone features to a market that offers elbow room to everyone. It?s just a question of how one grabs a yard when offered an inch, and with what.