In a bid to improve its fortunes in a highly competitive smartphone segment, BlackBerry is embarking on a three-pronged strategy in the Indian market.
This includes moving beyond devices into services, remodelling its retail structure and re-positioning products for specific market segments.
Marketing strategy
Elaborating on the strategy, BlackBerry India’s new Managing Director Sunil Lalvani told
BlackBerry had recently launched Z10, its first device based on the new BB10 platform even as other models such as Curve and Bold are running on the older platform. While the BB10 is being positioned at the high end of the smartphone market, the older models are being targeted at the affordable category.
For example, BlackBerry is now offering the Curve on an EMI scheme for Rs 799 a month. In addition, it has partnered with three telecom companies including Vodafone, Idea Cellular and Aircel to offer 1 GB data plan for Rs 129 instead of Rs 299 earlier.
But the company lost momentum on its flagship Z10 device after its TV advertising campaign that failed to catch the consumers’ attention and the sudden exit of the earlier country head Sunil Dutt.
Lalvani wants to turn things around. For starters, the TV advertising has been pulled out and the plan has been remodelled to print advertising that talks about the key features of the new phones.
Focus on sales
BlackBerry is also focussing on improving the point of sales experience by training the demonstrators at retail outlets. “We are training sales executives at 5,000 stores across 250 cities in phases. The aim is to show off the differentiation that BB10 brings,” said Lalvani.
The other big challenge for the handset maker is the stiff competition from Samsung and Apple. Both these brands have been aggressive in pricing their products. Samsung, for instance, priced the Galaxy S4 at Rs 41,499 at launch compared to Rs 43,490 for BlackBerry Z10.
But Lalvani said that he won’t play the pricing game. “Market is going through aggressive price war but the key thing is that BB10 is the latest operating system so we want to keep it premium,” he said.
Loyalty scheme
BlackBerry is rolling out a loyalty scheme wherein existing users will be allowed to upgrade to the new BB10 device platform at a discounted price. Going forward, the company wants to move beyond the devices and offer services and software.
As part of this shift in strategy, the company will offer BlackBerry Messenger on Android and Apple devices. Globally, there are 61 million Messenger users but they are currently locked to a BlackBerry device.
By opening up to other platforms, the Canadian firm is hoping to generate revenue from non-BlackBerry users. “We will be launching BBM channels that can be managed by corporates and big brands to build their own community across smartphone platforms. That can lead to services revenue,” said Lalvani.
The company has begun beta trials of the channels in India before launching it in the next couple of months.