Ch. 7- Business Marketing

This can simply be defined as the marketing of goods and services to individuals and organizations for purposes other than personal consumption which is exactly what BlackBerry has done. This blog post is basically summing up all the other post in one (1) giant ball, from BlackBerry being on the right street of Marketing ave and Strategy st. Their marketing strategies have played a huge part in how BlackBerry does business.

BlackBerry has researched their target market, their 4 Ps (place, price, promotion and product) and also used the modern way of getting you product out there, the internet. As I said in the blog post last week that BlackBerry has placed their focus on the younger generation, the internet has been a great outlet to get across to them because they spend about 95% of the time in front of the computer or using the internet on their phones to go on Facebook and Twitter. The internet has played a huge role in getting BlackBerry out there to the public by having the CrackBerry blog, the BlackBerry Channel on Youtube, the BlackBerry Insider Blogs and simply being on Twitter and Facebook. This has put BlackBerry in the race with the other smartphone providers because the internet itself is a competitive place and by giving potential and prospective customers these resources helps BlackBerry to know what’s going on and how people view them.

Once upon a time BlackBerry was behind the crowd when it came on to internet but as time went on they got up with the time and the era and pulled ahead to catch up and surpass the competition. You rarely see anything in the papers anymore and BlackBerry noticed that so majority of information that one wants to know about previous models or even the newest models such as the BlackBerry 9790 can all be found on the internet cause that’s exactly how I found out about that new model before my BlackBerry source even told me. If BlackBerry continues on this way there is absolutely no way they will ever lose out because the internet is the most effective and inexpensive (that don’t mean cheap it’s for nickels and dimes) ways of promoting their products and at the end of the day make money which is their main focus and to provide customers with their wants and needs.

Ch. 8- Segmenting and Target Market

Business Target Market

When BlackBerry started out in 1999, they were catering to one target market: the businessman and businesswoman of corporate America, who needed a device to be connected to their busy schedule and of course their clients. That’s when they made the two way pagers and the other devices that followed immediately after. This worked out pretty well for them for a while, but with the advantages in technology and people’s needs and wants and things became outdated, they knew something was still missing. They didn’t have multiple segments. So in 2003, BlackBerry extended that bridge to add a new target market: good ole fashion regular America which is the bread and butter of the world. These people who are not all “techi” but have busy lives and want to stay connected to every aspect of their lives.

New Target Market Discovered

Since the popularity of social networks such as HI 5 then FaceBook and Twitter, BlackBerry has used this as their light in the dark tunnel to expand their target market especially that most of those users are of that younger generation. This psychographic segmentation allowed BlackBerry to identify with people’s personalities and lifestyles which is always being in contact with friends and family through social networks or even through BlackBerry Messenger, Windows Live Messenger, AOL Messenger or Yahoo Messenger. To stay connected to those businessmen and women, BlackBerry used demographic segmentation because age is actually one of the most important things in target marketing with BlackBerry main target market is between the ages of 25. These types of people are very busy and love the effectiveness of a BlackBerry added to their lives.

In recent years, BlackBerry’s main sales have come from general consumer market, so they have gone from small segments to a multi-segment company and with addition of their BlackBerry PlayBook, and its capabilities they have continued to extend not only their product line but also their target market.

Ch.11- Developing and Managing Products

BlackBerry has the nice way of playing the market with products that aren’t really new products just new modifications and technology with a many of their product line devices. This they have learned to do so well from their competitor Apple, with the so call new “Iphone” product line, which is a modification in the technology example software updates. When a company decides to release a new product, there are so many things that need to be incorporated in its marketing process, to reach from the product table to the customer. This includes research and development (R&D), business analysis and of course the most important of all, testing.

The BlackBerry Torch 9800 is the true definition of new product which was released on August 12, 2010 and exactly a year later on August 12, 2011 they released the BlackBerry 9810 which is the updated version includes a faster processor, and more memory and well as the new BlackBerry OS 7. The BlackBerry Torch 9800 was released to replace the BlackBerry Storm, which an attempt on BlackBerry’s to try and run in the touch screen device market along the top touch screen leaders, Apple  Iphone and the Droid. The BlackBerry Storm however, failed to compete because it did not live up to the normal touch screen device expectation thus introducing the BlackBerry Torch 9800. This gave users the best of both worlds: the love for the QWERTY keyboard and the elegance of the touch screen which unlike its competitors only offer one these features.

BlackBerry Torch 9800

Every product that has ever been made has to go through the birth, life and death situation. The birth is the release or introduction of the product to the market and customers. After the birth of the product, it begins its life where it matures and grows in sales in its early months. Then last but certainly not least is the death of the product which is the decline in sales after probably at least 8 months after the product was born into this harsh market world. Unfortunately, the product seems to die ironically when a new product is born. As a marketer, you have constantly be on your toes, thinking of new strategies to keep the product interest while in its life stage especially when a new product is about to be born. Fortunately for BlackBerry, they go through the same birth, life and death process just like every other company out there so this means that aren’t doing anything wrong, it’s just how the market of products especially phones work.

BlackBerry Holiday Plans

BlackBerry Wallpaper 2011

AT&T BlackBerry Holiday Promo

BlackBerry® Curve (TM) 3G

 

$0.01

Requires a minimum data service starting at $15/month. 2 year contract & new activation required.

BlackBerry® Torch (TM) 9810

 

» More colors available

$49.99

Requires a minimum data service starting at $15/month. 2 year contract & new activation required.

BlackBerry® Torch(TM) 9860

 

$99.99

Requires a minimum data service starting at $15/month. 2 year contract & new activation required.

BlackBerry® Bold (TM) 9900

 

$199.99

Requires a minimum data service starting at $15/month. 2 year contract & new activation required.

Ch. 16- Integrated Marketing Communications

BlackBerry is a company that is the mere beckon in the darkness of the integrated marketing communication (IMC) area. They have done a remarkable job at using something so unique where it satisfies both the company to make sales and the customers. Introducing the 4 P’s vs. 4 C’s.

§  Not PRODUCT, but CONSUMER

BlackBerry has understood what the consumers' wants and needs are. Times have changed and you can no longer sell whatever you can make. BlackBerry’s product characteristics have to match the specifics of what someone wants to buy. And part of what the consumer is buying is the personal "buying experience."

§  Not PRICE, but COST

BlackBerry has understood the consumer's cost to satisfy the want or need. BlackBerry’s product price may be only one part of the consumer's cost structure. Often it is the cost of time to drive somewhere, the cost of conscience of what you buy, and the cost of guilt for not treating the kids, the investment a consumer is willing to make to avoid risk.

§  Not PLACE, but CONVENIENCE

BlackBerry has thought about the convenience of the buying experience and then relates that to a delivery mechanism. They have considered all possible definitions of "convenience" as it relates to satisfying the consumer's wants and needs. This may include aspects of the physical or virtual location, access ease, transaction service time, and hours of availability.

§  Not PROMOTION, but COMMUNICATION

Communicate, many mediums working together to present a unified message with a feedback mechanism to make the communication two-way. BlackBerry was sure to include an understanding of non-traditional mediums, such as word of mouth and how it can influence your position in the consumer's mind. How many ways can a customer hear (or see) the same message through the course of the day, each message reinforcing the earlier images? For BlackBerry that answer is many times because you see in crowd for example 5 out of 10 people has a BlackBerry.

BlackBerry has put their promotion opportunity analysis to the test and has used them to establish communication objectives and make sure all these objectives are met:

§  Develop brand awareness

§  Increase category demand

§  Change customer belief or attitude

§  Enhance purchase actions

§  Encourage repeat purchases

§  Enhance firm image

§  Increase market share

§  Increase sales

§  Reinforce purchase decisions

All of the above, over the years BlackBerry has done just this but the biggest by far of all these is to change customers belief or attitude towards the product. This is because they want customers to see the product as more than a “suits” product and more as an everyday “jeans and tshirt” product. BlackBerry has done a perfect job by not closing or narrowing their communication door but they have in fact widened the doors by using several platforms to make customers aware, and know that BlackBerry is here to stay!!!

^{BlackBerry has used 4 of the 5 basic tools of integrated marketing communications which are:-}

1. Advertising: 
This tool can get your messages to large audiences efficiently through such avenues as radio, TV, Magazines, Newspapers, Internet, Billboards and other mobile technological communication devices. This method can efficiently reach a large number of consumers, although the costs may be somewhat expensive.

2. Sales Promotion: 
This tool is used through coupons, contests, samples, premiums, demonstrations, displays or incentives. It is used to accelerate short-term sales, by building brand awareness and encouraging repeat buying.

3. Public Relations: 
This integrated marketing communications tool is initiated through public appearances, news/press releases or event sponsorships, to build trust and goodwill by presenting the product, company or person in a positive light.

4. Direct Marketing: 
This tool will utilized email, mail, catalogs, encourage direct responses to radio and TV, in order to reach targeted audiences to increase sales and test new products and alternate marketing tactics. The video below will reinforce just that. 

Ch. 10- Product Concept

When you think of this generation, you think of technology as being the most important thing to them, more so their cell phones. In the past 10 or so year to present, cell phones have taken over our daily lives as being the one thing we can’t live without. Back in the days it wasn’t so much of a necessity to own one because they were seen as phones for people on the go, but things and times have most definitely changed.

BlackBerry, made some important decisions when it came to their product line because they had to evolve as the market did. BlackBerry products are the root of all their wealth because without the products BlackBerry wouldn’t have reached thus far in the market. Their product has to be able to perform the way the marketers say it should or even better than that and it has to reach that level of expectation of the customer because at the end of the day it’s up to the customer to buy that product based on if their expectations were met or not. This company has done a fantastic job in making sure those expectations and performance are met on a higher level and they continue to do so as they introduce new products and add to their lineup of devices.

The constant development of newer, slicker designs and features are all related to the evolving needs of customers. If everyone remembers, when BlackBerry started out making their devices, the wheel to scroll up and down the screen was at the side, and then they made devices with the trackball which changed everything. This was because no other company had even thought of using a TrackBall on a device but there was a downside to it. The TrackBall features to navigate on the screen wasn’t as durable as they thought it would be and customers made complains such as it falls out or that it keeps sticking. So after that, they found a new way to solve that issue, introducing the all new TrackPad.

BlackBerry PlayBook

On April 19, 2011 BlackBerry made another addition to the family, the BlackBerry PlayBook, the world’s first professional-grade tablet. The BlackBerry PlayBook tablet combines the features you need with a powerful, ultra-portable design. With a 7" LCD display and weighing less than a pound, it's small enough to take anywhere. And with true multitasking, two cameras with HD video recording, a long-lasting battery and access to the whole Internet—no exceptions because you use the internet right from your BlackBerry phone and don’t have to worry about WiFi or paying for a separate internet service from a carrier. The way one can do this is by downloading this app called BlackBerry Bridge which allows a person to link everything from their phone to their BlackBerry PlayBook, even guess what their BBM contacts. They can even see on their tablet when they are getting a call right there on the screen plus as a huge bonus you can even BBM from it even if you turn the BlackBerry off and go back to your phone, you are still about to see the conversation.

So October 23, 2011, Apple came out with this thing called ICloud not knowing that this area has already been tapped into by who? BlackBerry of course! So sorry Apple you were a little too late.

Ch. 18- Sales Promotion and Personal Selling

According to my source, BlackBerry as a company isn’t the one that does different promotions for their product, it’s the carriers. The carriers are the ones who mainly do package deals which will help to sell the device. BlackBerry however, is the one who gives the pricing of the device and the carriers make their own promotions based on the device itself. In 2009 BlackBerry kicked iPhone to the Curve literally when BlackBerry announced their selling promotion of the Blackberry Curve. The Curve was a huge winner for two main reasons. One was Verizon’s “Buy one get one free promotion” for the Blackberry Curve, which pushed it over the top. The second reason was that the Curve was available for all the four major carriers while of course the iPhone was only exclusive to AT&T. The aggressive promotion for the Curve also didn’t fail because of its lightweight, inexpensive and thin characteristics which make BlackBerry a popular phone.

In recent years BlackBerry is finding new ways to promote their product based on the current or potential customers because different sale promotions appeal to different buyers. Their promotion strategy is always being on their toes about their competitors’ customer approach and making sure their promotions appeal better to draw customers to say “Yes I want a BlackBerry.”  The fact that BlackBerry phones are so inexpensive is what makes it a big seller. I just looked at AT&T website and for you to get a BlackBerry Torch whether it is the 9800 or 9810 guess how much it cost? Just $29.99 or $49.99 respectively with their 2yr contract while the iPhone 4 8GB is $99.99 and iPhone 4S 16GB is $199.99 with a 2yr contract. Now tell me if I see something like that which should be my obvious choice? A BlackBerry most definitely which is exactly why I choose that plus the fact that I can talk to most people via BBM is just the icing on top of the cake.

Mail-in-rebates are also a part of BlackBerry offers. These rebates are given after the purchase is made and a valid sales receipt (which is proof of purchase) is handed to the customer he or she will then submit it to the rebate department which is listed on the receipt. Offers like these bring a sense of comfort to the customers because their purchase of the device is good given the company’s quality, reputation and of course price which is the main reason why customers shop.

Ch. 17- Advertising and Public Relations

BlackBerry has been very creative and innovative in their company’s approach to advertise their product to consumers. The slogans such as: “Be Bold. BlackBerry” and their main one of recent years “Love what you do BlackBerry” has shot  through the roof and has made a huge impact for them. This is something that I believe their advertising department did a brilliant job with creating this slogan. Seeing that you only have a few second to catch someone’s eyes and ears and get their interest for product and the brand BlackBerry has spent millions putting its advertising and marketing campaigns making sure that they do just that, capture your attention in just a few seconds.

BlackBerry I guess did their research and found out that there has to be another way to market the brand other than just putting out regular ads. So BlackBerry did a very smart thing so they can advertise their brand to a larger audience. What better way to do than to sponsor one of the biggest music groups in the world, The Black Eyed Peas. In 2010 BlackBerry sponsored The Black Eyed Peas the E.N.D tour and they made a very creative way for consumers to check out some making of videos and tour footage as well a tour tickets and date info through Dipdive Player. By using this popular music group they have tapped into another way to market the brand through of course entertainment. This is the biggest way if you want to market this product because customers are into music and by using this widely popular group they were able to do just that.

Will.i.am BlackBerry Concert

BlackBerry has also been made its mark in movies and on tv shows such as Keeping up the Kardashians and used by celebs use as Rihanna, Reese Witherspoon, Britney Spears and so many others. Some may call this free advertising because celebs are seen with them but there is no such thing. Celebs’ using BlackBerry and people seeing them with it just makes some people want to get this phone because their favorite celebs have them. This helps potential customers to see the brand, BlackBerry as more of a personal phone rather than a business phone. 

Rihanna

Stacy Keibler at BlackBerry Bold launch