Technologies and technological devices are the most potential and profitable ventures for the contemporary business organizations (Chesbrough, 2006). Thus, more business organizations are entering in this sector offering different technological products and gadgets (Kaur and Abodallahian, 2014). However, one of the key challenges faced by the organizations is the intense competition. With the entry of more organizations and offering of diversified technological products, the market is becoming more competitive. Moreover, another challenge for these organizations is the rapid change and development of the technology in the industry (Bettis and Hitt, 1995).
Singapore is one of the technologically advanced countries in the Asia-Pacific regions. The population is less compare to other countries in this region, but the high purchasing power of the people made this country as one of the potential market for the business organizations (Tremewan, 2016). Moreover, Singapore is one of the early adopter of technologies. Thus, offering of latest gadgets with cutting-edge technology will have a good market in Singapore.
OnePlus 5 mobile is one of the new entrants in the already competitive market of mobile devices. In the initial stage, they have to offer mobile that is rich in features with the latest technologies for differentiation. In the following stages, they need similar products that cater for specific customer segments. Thus, it is important for them to have effective marketing strategies to create a distinctive image in the market (Kim et al. 2012). The marketing mix should be design effectively to have holistic marketing strategy and to stay ahead in the competition. This report will analyze the strategic marketing policies of OnePlus 5 for operating in Singapore. The analysis of their potential competitors as well as the potential customers will be performed and evaluated in this report. Accordingly, recommendations will be provide, adopting these will help them to operate effectively in Singapore market.
According to reports, Singapore is being stated as the world’s largest Smartphone market per capita in the world. According to the research being done by Google, Singapore is having the highest smartphonemarket penetration standing at 85 percent, which is highest in the world (Mumbrella, 2017). Singapore smartphone market will grow further as per projection. Thus, it is a huge opportunity for OnePlus 5 mobiles to offer smartphone in the market of Singapore. With the increase in the alternate use of the mobile phones, the demand for mobile phones will get further increase.
In the Singaporean market, the two top competitors are the Samsung and Apple. These two is having the major market share (Steven, 2015).However, these two companies are offering different operating systems to the customers. While Samsung is offering Google based Android as their operating system, Apple is offering their own IOS to the customers. The market share of the cheaper Chinese handset makers such as Xiaomi, Oppo and Lenovo is increasing considerably (Meier, 2012). These handset makers are using Android as their operating systems; the market share for Android based Smartphone is rising significantly.
Figure 1: Market scenario in Singapore
Source: (Jean-Etienne’s blog 2017)
According to the above figure, Apple is the market leaderwith their IOS operating system(Jean, 2017). It is important to note that the android market share is rising due to the vast amount of android application developers (AndroidPub, 2017). Apple have positioned their products as more niche, expensive and exclusive in the market (Tilson et al., 2012). While, Samsung and other Android based Smartphone makers are more concentrated towards the mass market with their affordable and feature rich models.IOS is not an open operating system as Android, thus, the market potentiality is limited(Marketing in Singapore, 2017). Samsung is the only vendor in Singapore, which is having market presence ranging from budget mobiles to higher end mobiles. On the other hand, the Chinese Smartphone makers are position as cheap and affordable models for the mass market. As shown in the below figure, the market share of android is rapidly increasing as compared to the IOS.
Figure 2: Market share of Mobile operating system
Source: (DUNN 2017)
Smartphone customer behavior in Singapore is favorable due to the alternate uses of the mobile phones. It is being reported that the majority of the Singapore smartphoneuse smartphone to access the internet as it is more portable and affordable (Poushter 2016). In Singapore,the penetration for Smartphone is higher than that of personal computer. It is noted that eight out of every tenSingaporean use more than two connected devices (Mumbrella, 2017). It is been evaluated that a major portion of Singapore population use smartphone for online searching of products before buying. Thus, the most preferential feature of Smartphone for the market of Singapore is the ability of multitasking and multi screening (Jimmy, 2014).
One of the key issues being identify from the above analysis is the saturation of the Smartphone market in Singapore. It is being earlier discuss that the penetration rate of smartphone users in Singapore is 85% (Tseng et al., 2014). The majority of Singaporean already havesmartphone; this limits the market potentiality for the new entrant like OnePlus 5. Another issue being identify is the wide market penetration of the cheap handset makers. This posesthreat for OnePlus 5 due to the reason that, the economies of scale will be less if they have to position their products as cheaper and affordable (Wang et al., 2012). However, there are various opportunities also for OnePlus 5 being identify. One of the key opportunities is the huge potential Singapore in providing technology advance phone with distinct features. As discussed earlier, Singaporean are comfortable and updated with the latest technologies and thus, it is will be easy for OnePlus 5 to offer latest gadgets in the market.
To determine the segmentation, targeting and positioning statement of OnePlus 5, segmentation, targeting and positioning model (STP)is use. According to this model, the first step is to segmenting the market according to various determinants such as size, demographic and psychographic. OnePlus 5 will also divide the target market into these segments (Wedel and Kamakura, 2012). Being one of the most prominent developed countries, Singapore is having high per capita income. In addition, Singapore smartphone market penetration is more than 85 percent. Thus, the target segment size will be the complete potential market of Singapore.
According to the demographic segmentation, the target age group for OnePlus 5 will be 20 to 45 ranging from early teenage to the late adults. This age group will be the target segment due to the reason that, technological gadgets are more popular among them. They are more comfortable and acceptable to the new technologies. Moreover, this age group will have diversified requirements due to the reason that, corporate jobs, business and social lifestyles will have most influence on them (Hamka et al., 2014). Both the male and female will be segmented due to the reason that, both the genders in Singaporean market are having equal market penetration in Smartphone market.
In the initial stage, OnePlus 5 will target the customer segment having higher disposable income. This is due to the reason that, as discussed earlier, Chinese Smartphone brands are operating in less economies of scale. Thus,it will be difficult for OnePlus 5 to operate in the lower endmarket (Cecere et al., 2015). Moreover, in the higher end market, competition is less comprising only Samsung and Apple. Thus, they will target the higher end market by introducing flagships devices with the top graded features. This will also help them to gain the goodwill and reputation in the market.
According to the geographic segmentation, in the initial stage, the target market will be the Singapore. The complete Singaporean market will be included as target segment due to the reason that the geographical area of Singapore is small. In the later stage, entering in the global market will be initiatedepending on the performance on the Singaporean market (Hassan and Craft, 2012).
The targeted age groups will be mainly job seekers, corporate and executives. Thus, they will have diversified requirement from their mobile devices. In order to cater to the higher end customers, OnePlus 5 will need to concentrate towards the aesthetic and social value of their products (Park and Jang, 2014). People having the requirement of frequent multitasking will be segment along with their need for a mobile device, which will help them to enhance their social standard and status.
According to the STP, the next step after segmenting the market is targeting the market. Targeting refers to the initiation of various activities to effectively attract the segmented market in order to enhance the sales. The targeting strategies will be initiate with the help of involvement of Porter’s generic strategies (Tanwar, 2013). According to Porter’s generic strategies, the first step is niche marketing. This refers to the marketing of the products to the customers having specific requirements only. By catering to the higher end customers, niche marketing will be beneficial for OnePlus 5. It will enable them to design their marketing activities according to the requirement and preference pattern of their target customers.
The next dimension is the mass marketing by having cost leadership. This will help them to reduce and regulate the production cost and offer their products in the market in the low cost segment as well (Tanwar, 2013). However this strategy will not be initiated by OnePlus 5 due to the reason that, they will cater only to the higher end customers in the initial stage. In the following years, they may start to cater to the mass market when they will attain the economies of scale and have achieve branding for themselves.
The last dimension of this model is the differentiated marketing. According to this strategy, OnePlus 5 will provide distinctive products in the market to create a unique image in the market and to stay ahead in the competition (Toften and Hammervoll, 2013). This strategy need to be initiate,asOnePlus 5 will face the challenge of Apple and Samsung in the higher end market. Thus, they have to create their products to provide more customer value as compare to their competitors in order to have competitiveness edge (Tanwar, 2013). Creation of distinctive image in the market is important due to the reason that, Apple and Samsung already have loyal customer. Thus, offering the same products similar to them will not help OnePlus 5 to attract customers in the Singaporean market. OnePlus 5 will use the Google based android operating system due to the reason that, IOS is only limited for the Apple products and androidhave larger customer portfolio with more facilities for customer convenience(Kaura et al., 2015). One important factor that need to be consider by OnePlus 5 is to enhance the customer experience of their products. This is due to the reason that Samsung and other cheaper vendors are also using android as their operating systems and thus, it is important for OnePlus 5 to tweak the software in order to create distinctive customer experience (Hussain and Mkpojiogu, 2015).
Having discussed about the target, segments and target market strategies for OnePlus 5, the target market profile can be summarized (Riefler et al., 2012). The target customer profile for OnePlus 5 will be young and affluent professional ranging between the age group of 20 to 45 looking for rich user experience from their Smartphone along with having the requirement of multitasking. The target customer will also consider their mobile device as their status symbol and is believer of aesthetic value.
OnePlus 5is to be position as smart,luxurious and productive mobile device for the young and affluent professionals.
Figure 3:Brand positioning map for OnePlus 5
Source: Author’s creation
As stated in the above brand-positioning map, theOnePlus 5 will be position as a device, which will enhance the value proposition of the customers by offering smooth, seamless multitasking and innovative features along with status symbol with its aesthetic value (Moller 2013). Thus, OnePlus 5 is being position in such a way that, it will create a distinctive image in the market. This is due to the reason that, Apple is knownto support multitasking but is limited to users of the IOS only. On the other hand, some of the Samsung model are economical and using android system, which is more user friendly, but their phone is infamous for software lagging. Moreover, Apple is providing status symbol but Samsung is providing mixed signals due to it wide range of mobile devices. The ability for OnePlus 5 to offer smooth multitasking experience along with status symbol and aesthetic value is critical. This will help them to create distinctive image in the market of Singapore (Akpoyomare et al., 2013).
The positioning statement of OnePlus 5 will be to provide seamless user experience along with providing the required aesthetic value, standard and quality preferred by the higher end customers. Moreover, it will provide the latest and updated software and technologies periodically to enhance the customer convenience and to update their customers along with the technology development. The key is to be “The One” in the market place where it will be a lifestyle product like apple but operating on android platform.
Product
OnePlus 5 will be position as a higher end mobile device targeted for the affluent and top of the pyramid customer segment. The market scenario of mobile devices is influence by the brand value and brand awareness. Thus, it is important for OnePlus 5 to create brand awareness among the potential customers before targeting the market. The product need to be make available in different variants in terms of specifications and color. This will help in catering to the diversified requirement of the different customers (Parlakturk, 2012). Availability of the phone in different specification will help the customers to choose according to their needs. Some customer may choose for their domestic use and just for status symbol. They will choose the lower specification model. On the other hand, customers opting for rigorous and professional uses will go for higher specification model. This will help OnePlus 5to target to more customers.
The packaging of the product need to be given enough attention due to the reason that, for the higher end customers, the whole packaging of the product is also one of the key determinants of positive customer behavior. Thus, the packaging materials and design should be according to the taste and preference pattern of the target customers (Klimchuk and Krasovec, 2013). It is recommend that, the package material be make with the recycled plastic and paper. This will help OnePlus 5 to create ethical and responsible brand awareness and customers will want to be associated with them. Eventually it will help to gain competitive advantage and distinctive image in the market.
Another key determinant for positive customer behavior of electronic gadget market is the after sales service. Electronic devices are prone to electronic glitches; effective management of this issue will help the organization to prevent the origination of the dissatisfaction among the customers. Thus, after sales service should beeffective and efficient in order to maintain the existing customer along with creating positive word of mouth in the market (Kurata and Nam, 2013). Online facilityis be provided to the customers forfiling of the complaints, free pick and drop facility is necessary. This will enhance the customer loyalty and satisfaction among the existing customers. The more effective the after sales service of OnePlus 5, the more competitive advantages will be gain by OnePlus 5with the help of generation of the positive word of mouth.
Pricing strategy
Pricing is another strategy, which will help OnePlus 5 to gain competitive advantages. OnePlus 5target customers belonging to the top of the pyramid. Thus, premium-pricing strategy need to be deploy. There will be multiple benefits of premium pricing for OnePlus 5 (Novy, 2013). One of the key benefits will be the generation of more capital from the market in the initial stage. If the branding activities are being done effectively, then it is been recommended that price skimming strategy should be initiateddue to the fact that customers will not hesitate to pay more as long as the buzz regarding the new product remains in the market. Initiation of the premium pricing will help them effectively target the higher end customers; the more premium pricing will promoted, the product will gather the more exclusivity, which is important to target the higher end customers.
Premium pricing will help OnePlus 5 to enhance the brand value and statussymbolas being associated with the higher-end products. In the later stage, premium pricing will need to be gradually reduce according to the stage in the product life cycle. Gradual reduction of the pricing will help OnePlus 5 to target mass market with the help of the reputation being gathered by them from operating in the niche market.
Effective promotional strategies will enableOnePlus 5 to effectively target the customers along with enhancing the brand awareness in the market. It is recommend that OnePlus 5 should initiate omnichannel marketing strategy in order to cater to more customers along with determining the change in the taste and preference pattern of the customers (Frazer and Stiehler, 2014). Omnichannel marketing is a multichannel sales approach that seeks to offer seamless experience regardless through online (PC, Tablet, mobile) or through physical store and telephone. One of the key promotional strategies will be initiation of the promotional activities through electronic medium. Electronic medium haswide and huge market penetration and promoting the brand with the help of electronic media will help OnePlus 5 to reach out to more number of customers. However, selection of the proper medium is important, higher end customers can be attracted through the initiation of some specific medium such as news channel.
Another strategy will be online marketing using the social media and pay per click advertisement. Using of social media will help OnePlus 5 to effectively determine the requirement and taste pattern of the customer and accordingly offering the products in the market. In addition, initiation of the social media will also help them to market their product through directly communicating with the potential customers (Erdogmus and Cicek, 2012). It will also help them to cater to huge number of customers due to the heavy market penetration of social media in Singapore. Initiation of the marketing activities through the concept of pay per click will help to increase the brand awareness among the customers. They can consider employing celebrities to be their brand ambassadors as the fans like to be associated with them.
For distribution strategy, it is recommend that OnePlus 5 should implement omnichannel policy in order to provide the products in every channel possible along with enhancing the customer convenience. In the case of the traditional distribution strategy, it is recommendthat they should promote intensive distribution strategy (Rushton et al., 2014). Intensive distribution strategy will help to retail their products only from their authorized outlets. This will help to control the forward integration and change it according to the customer preference pattern. Moreover, intensive distribution strategy help to maintain the exclusiveness of their product by not having their product available in all retail stores.
Another effective distribution strategy will be the online market place. It is recommend thatOnePlus 5should initiate online marketplace in their official website. This will help the potential customers to choose their product at their own convenience and ordering it online (D’avanzo et al., 2013). Thus, it will help OnePlus 5 to reduce the retailing cost along with enhancing the customer convenience.
Conclusion
Thus, it is concluded that, entering in the market of Singapore with higher end mobile device is having huge opportunity for OnePlus 5. The analysis done on the market potentiality of Singapore showed that, the economy and customer preference in the market of Singapore is favorable and positive of the higher end smartphone. It is being identified that, higher end smartphone market in Singapore is having only Apple and Samsung and thus there are various gaps than can be effectively tapped by OnePlus 5. In accordance to the market scenario of OnePlus 5, an ideal marketing mix is being recommended in this report. It is expected that, the effective implementation of the discussed marketing mix will help them to tap the opportunity in the Singaporean market.
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