Smartphone Market in New Zealand.

The use of smart phones has become a new trend among many people around the world. In this essay New Zealand will be our region of focus. The New Zealand smart phone market has grown over the years with 30 percent of the nation’s population using smart phones and with Horizon research statistics within the next five years the population using smart phones will rise by 20 percent. But that is just a general overview, through intense calculations; the population assumed to be using these kinds of phones is close to fifty percent of the population. Out of the 4.5 million phones in the market eight hundred thousand consist of smart phones categorised as follows; two hundred and fifty thousand are iPhones/ iPad, one hundred and fifty thousand are Android Phones, the rest of the four hundred thousand being blackberry, widows and Nokia N series (Safko, 2012). The country is considered the second highest smart phone using nation in the world. The market segmentation strategy used by the selling firms in New Zealand is the dividing of the population in terms of age, income, occupation and location. Statistics also show that the range between the age that uses smart phones is 25-34 years and that the use of smart phones declines as age increases (Safko, 2012). This indicates that the largest percentage of the population that uses smart phones are the young adults and middle aged people who are mostly working and earn an average income of a hundred thousand to a hundred and fifty thousand dollars per annum. The major advantage of this product is that is supports thousands of applications have better look and design and has a large memory capacity; to some extent it is seen as a sense of class owning one. The purpose of this discussion is to study the how smart phone companies achieve their goals paying particular attention to factors such as, market segmentation, specific value offered and the competitive edge they have; this will be illustrated through statistical data available online and observations made.

Market segmentation is a marketing strategy that is used to disintegrate the market into different consumer groups all with the same common need, then coming up with ways to satisfy their common needs and desires through advertisement and delivering the products the consumers want (Pickton, 2001). Companies that sell smart phones in New Zealand decided to segment their market into four categories, based on the age of the population, the income level, the occupation and finally the location of the population. Many of the jobs in the world today demand use of information technology and use of internet. Communication is a key thing a business or any organization or individual cannot do without. Through the providence of a phone that holds large amounts of information and applications that support easy communication with easy internet access capabilities, the firms are able to deliver a device that satisfies the wants of the working customers who need a phone with all those features so as to conduct their daily business.

From statistics, most people using smart phones are aged between 25 and 34 (Safko, 2012); generally this is the working population of New Zealand. The firms have also decided to use age as a way to segment their smart phone market. The range given constitutes of young people with the basic knowledge about Information Technology. This age too constitutes of people who are already working, hence they have the necessary income to be able to purchase the product. Firms have strategized to target this age group since if they are working they require a device which can support various applications that can be used in making their work easier, as well as to enable effective communication via email, whatsapp, and other social networks which only smart phones can support. This age group is also the earning portion of the population, so they can afford to purchase the phones. Statistics indicate that close to forty four percent of the working population that use smart phones are found within this age range. Hence the companies have been able to achieve their goals by targeting this age group and satisfying their wants.

Getting to know the average income of your market share as a company is very essential so as to enable the marketers to determine if the value and price of the smart phones is relevant to the income the market segment earns. In New Zealand around and above sixty percent of the working population are average income earners; so the smart phone companies have been able to attain their goal by selling a quality, portable and efficient gadget to people who can afford it.

The basic function of mobile phone is to call and send short messages, but in the word today use of mobile phones for internet access has increased. In New Zealand Horizon statistics indicate that, twenty seven percent of the mobile using population use it to access the internet spending more than five hours a day online. Forty two percent of these internet users use smart phones to download applications and to do researches; it can be assumed then that forty two percent (Safko, 2012) of the mobile phone users use smart phones to access the internet and the rate at which these types of phones are being used is growing from none in 2007 to eight percent by year 2012 (Safko, 2012). Internet is in conjunction to location, firms target and segment their market according to regions with good network and internet coverage hence with good internet access people can purchase the phones; this way they are able to attain their goals.

Competitive edge in a company refers to the things a company does or the strategies it holds that make it outstanding and have a better chance of attracting more customers compared to other companies that sell the same product (Marshall, 1996). What gives New Zealand smart phones a competitive advantage over other phone companies. Through targeting the young population which includes people aged 18 and 24 who also, apart from the majority 25-34 range, use smart phones (Safko, 2012); the companies know that people around this age are swiftly changing from using other kinds of phones to smart phones. However this age group does not earn hence making them price sensitive; through lowering the prices of smart phones to a considerable price has given the firms a competitive edge since besides the quality and exciting features that smart phones have, they are now affordable. Technology is on the rise and people need to embrace it; with a smart phone which can hold over a thousand applications which provides the user with educational, business and entertainment services, almost as having a mini computer in your pocket, people will most likely get attracted to it. This gives the companies a competitive edge over other phone companies because they have quality features. Based on gender and the different tastes people have, smart phone companies have tried to come up with different varieties, such as HTC, Nokia, Samsung and Blackberry each with its own unique features and different designs all to suit the consumers’ needs. Businessmen, engineers and I.T specialists require a portable gadget that would help them in their line of duty; firms have considered this hence giving them the competitive edge over other companies.

Firms also have used quality and effective advertisement in order to give customers information about the products, how they are and how much they go for. Through advertising firms are able to promote their products and this increases sales and attracts more and more customers giving them the advantage over other competitors hence maximizing their chances of achieving their objectives (Morgan, 2005).

Firms have also created a good and user friendly customer firm relationship. Through customer relationship management, most firms are able to build a good relationship between themselves and the customers; attracting more customers and maintaining those that they have already acquired. Smart phone firms have improved their customer firm relationship by bringing the product and the firm close to the customer making both services and product easy for the customer to access. Through 24/7 customer care services and through websites customers can consult and gain information about their product of desire (Safko, 2012). Through building such a healthy relationship companies are able to attract customers since they feel comfortable with ready information availability. Through quality and variety products, effective advertisement and fair pricing firms in New Zealand have been able to grow outstandingly in the phone market.

Value proposition is another method used in marketing of smart phones so as to have the competitive edge. Value proposition is the promise that companies give to the consumers of the value that the phones will have to them and the belief that the customers will receive that the same value provided to them (Ferrell, 1999) . Value proposition is widely used to enhance a company’s market share. This is done mostly when introducing new products into the market. It increases the chances to grab a large market share at the beginning of the product introduction or increase the market share of an existing product. Developing of a value proposition is a process that involves a review and analysis of some factors. These include; benefits, cost and value that the organisation can deliver to its customers, potential customers and other groups affiliated to the company both internal and external. The New Zealand companies promise to offer products which meet the consumer’s needs. For example when introducing a new product, firms advertise and give information about the product, inclusive of the agreement is a two year warrant on the product. This tends to enable the customer to put trust on the company’s product.

New Zealand’s smart phone company is constantly rising and reaching the levels of other foreign countries such as America. Through competitive advantage, market segmentation and value proposition they have been able to rise and take over the phone market in the nation; which is part of achieving their goals.

References

Safko, L. (2012). The social media bible: tactics, tools, & strategies for business success (3rd ed.). Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley.

Pickton, D. (2001). Integrated marketing communications. Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall.

Marshall, K. P. (1996). Marketing information systems: creating competitive advantage in the information age. Danvers, Mass.: Boyd & Fraser.

Ferrell, O. (1999). Marketing strategy. Fort Worth, TX: Dryden Press.

Morgan, M. J., & Summers, J. (2005).Sports marketing. Southbank, Vic.: Thomson.