The Company and the Product
Comforn is one of the telecommunication firms specializing in the production of high technological electronic products, computer hardware, and software. The firm’s products include personal computers, media devices, mobile communication, and portable-digital music players. Within the mobile communications category, the firm will be launching into the foreign market variety of android Smartphones that has significantly hit the world Smartphones market.
Currently, the Smartphone market share is valued at approximately five billion dollars with Comforn products claiming 1.6 billion dollars, second after the Samsung products. The Smartphones market is expected to grow in the next five years approximately increasing at a rate of 0.55% annually. Comforn market share is robust with expected growth of 1.67% annually.
Comforn brands are highly welcomed by majority of young generation particularly those between the ages of 16-40 years. The firm has adopted social media marketing as the major strategy to reach the target market. However, the market is highly competitive with similar products being introduced into the market by the competitors.
There are varieties of Smartphones that the Comforn will be introducing into the market. The innovative capabilities of the firm have enabled the development and manufacture of new Smartphones, offering varied choices for customers. Moreover, the firm Smartphones’ auxiliary functions have been improved to suit the customer needs and bring convenience, a mixture of value and quality.
Intense competition in the industry requires that the firm enhance the product differentiation through design, timeliness, affordability, form, conformance quality, durability and style. Most importantly, the firm has succeeded in becoming pacesetter in the provision of Smartphones in terms of both application and design.
The innovative and well-designed Smartphones fitted with the latest software such as the android continue to appeal and satisfy the customers’ needs. In essence, the firm has achieved the competitive advantage through the application of its technological knowhow (Cole, 2013).
The Smartphones the firm will be introducing into the foreign market is integrated with a built in Digital Light Projection (DLP) projector to add up to the flexible screens of most Smartphones. In addition, the Smartphone’s flexible paper-thin screens have Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) that enhances its ability to be folded and unfolded.
The screens is highly advanced and capable of being used on both sides at the same time. In other words, the advanced screen has multiple usages on either side, which differentiates the firm’s smartphones from the competitors. Besides, the phone’s camera has the ability to project live images of required information. Additionally, the Smartphones have a technology generated visual and sound sensory input to enhance what the user can perceive through the senses.
Additionally, the phone’s 3D screen christened ‘Third Eye’ provides a display that is sharper than what the human eye can perceive. The Smartphones also have additional features on low-energy Bluetooth device that is wearable on the wrist and can monitor the health fitness of the bearer. The unique features of the firm’s smartphones differentiate the products from the competitors and contribute to additional competitive advantage particularly in the Indian market where the firm is targeting.
Target Market
Studies indicate increasing trends in the Smartphone applications within emerging economies. The use of the mobile devices has also increased among the younger generation. The firm will take advantage of these inclinations to introduce new Smartphones in the target market and create a global brand for its new products (Kotler & Armstrong, 2013). Therefore, the target market for the Smartphones will mainly consist of young people of between the ages eighteen and forty. The market will consist of individuals who are young, outgoing and full of life.
In addition, Comforn will utilize premium tactics to appeal to specific consumer division thereby augmenting the volume of sales. Studies show that males represent approximately sixty-five percent of Smartphones consumers while females accounts for the remaining proportion (Kotler & Armstrong, 2013).
Most importantly, the young populace between the ages of twenty-four to thirty-four years forms the bulk of the Smartphones market since the age bracket accounts for twenty-four percent of entire mobile devices application. On the other hand, individuals between the ages of forty-five to fifty-four years account for approximately sixteen percent. Moreover, individuals of over fifty-five years consume estimated twenty-one percent.
Young women populace especially between the ages of twenty-four to thirty-five will also be major market target due to their elastic reactions to new changes in the product features. Additionally, Comforn will target high-income earners since the richest individuals spend two times more on Smartphones compared with poorest individuals.
Specifically, higher income earners account for approximately thirty percent of users of mobile devices compared to the fifteen percent consumed by the less income earners worldwide. In essence, Comforn will target individuals whose incomes range between $5000 and above.
Specifically, most consumers need mobile devices that are cheaper and with advanced features. In fact, the firm will be providing the products with features aimed to satisfy the needs of the customers (Kotler & Armstrong, 2013). Besides, the firm will be offering flexible pricing strategy that takes into account the needs of the target market. the flexibilities in prices is critical particularly in developing economies where the majority are within the middle and low-income earners.
Pricing Mix Strategies
As expected, the quality and value addition attract high prices. However, the prices of the Smartphones’ prices are middle-high with some gargets targeting high-end customers while others are made for low and middle incomers. The high-quality low-prices strategy will be applied particularly to outperform the competitors (Kotler & Armstrong, 2013).
In addition, the product and pricing strategy will be aimed at widening the spectrum of customers the firm is targeting. While the firm will initially target customers with high-income level, with the entry of more competitors, it will be forced to widen its scope and capture middle and low-income clientele.
The pricing strategy is aimed at attracting and retaining customers (Kotler & Armstrong, 2013). Besides, the actions in the pricing strategies are aimed at increasing the competitiveness of the product. In particular, the price discrimination in terms of place and class or the target market is aimed at increasing the products’ competitiveness as well as widening the customer base (Kotler & Armstrong, 2013). In other words, the pricing strategies are aimed at increasing the market share as well as profit margins.
The Distribution Strategies
The major aim of the distribution or placing strategy is to ensure that the products reach the customers at the right time and place. For the Smartphones to reach the customers at the right place and time, the firm will utilize the most convenient, fast and less expensive distribution channel (Cole, 2013). Moreover, prior shipment arrangement for overseas markets will be made available, easier and cheaper to increase the movement of the products.
In particular, the firm will increase the number of stores by opening new stores in strategic places where customers can be served conveniently. In addition, the number of retail outlets will also be increased to ensure that most of the customers are reached (Kotler & Armstrong, 2013). Significantly, the firm would increase its online stores to ensure that online buyers can easily get the products.
Significantly, the firm will adopt the business to customer distribution channel in order to directly deal with its customers. Direct interaction with the customers will be critical in knowing the customer needs, which leads to the development of the suitable products that suit the market expectations (Kotler & Armstrong, 2013).
Moreover, the direct sales of the Smartphones will lead to the expanded market share. However, the firm’s stores both physical and online will be limited in terms of expected market share. Therefore, the firm would expand its distribution stores to reach all manner of customers. Generally, the objectives of the distribution strategies are to increase the availability of the products to the customers. in addition, the distribution strategies are aimed at increasing the market share and position the Smartphones into the market.
The Promotion Strategies
The company will be most active in its promotional undertakings. The aim of the promotional strategy is to enable the Smartphones brand become a worldwide recognizable logo. In the promotional strategy, the firm will utilize various basic techniques to reach the customers. The promotion techniques the firm will be utilizing include advertising, public relations, personal selling and sales promotions (Cole, 2013).
However, the firm will majorly utilize innovative advertising to attract and inform the customers about the product both in mass and digital media. The firm will be investing in both mainstream and social media advertising to increase awareness of the products to many customers.
Besides social media, the brand awareness will also be improved through innovative advertising in mass media particularly in television and technology magazines (Kotler & Armstrong, 2013). The products will also be advertised in the company websites as well as the sites of collaborative companies. The major objective of advertising is to increase brand awareness of the company products to the target users.
Besides, the firm will use corporate social responsibility to appeal to many people as a method of maintaining its public relations. The success of the firm on public relations improves the goodwill and attracts the public attention (Cole, 2013).
Further, the firm will provide special offers as a good way to stimulate and retain its customer’s loyalty. Besides, the firm will extensively apply personal selling. The firms store sales representatives that are fully trained on the product information will be responsible for the provision of excellent customer services.
Essentially, the main objectives of the promotional strategies are to increase brand awareness of the products to the target users as well as to attract and inform its customers about the product (Kotler & Armstrong, 2013). Moreover, the promotional strategies are aimed at making the product appealing to many people and attract the public attention. In addition, the promotional strategies are aimed at stimulating and retaining the customer loyalty.
References
Cole, A. (2013). The implications of consumer behavior for marketing: A case study of social class. Munich: GRIN Verlag.
Kotler, P. & Armstrong, G. (2013). Principles of marketing. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.