Oct
28
The Cell Phone Market
Posted by: coltonfoster | October 28, 2010 | Leave a Comment
Being in the market for a new phone, I have had the chance to research a number of different Canadian cellphone carriers and compare their various offerings. Following the lecture today where we talked about the Product Life Cycle and whether markets are introducing products, growing, mature or declining; I thought about these companies that I have been looking at. Specifically I have viewed the offerings from Fido, Rogers, Bell and Telus which I would consider to be the main carriers for Canada. While needs for different types of phones are growing, the overall market for cell phones in general seems to be mature. This means that the four carriers must differentiate their service enough to detract from the market share of a competitor. “The pie isn’t getting any bigger, so you have to steal from someone else” as it was put today. Looking at all of the carriers, if you want a smartphone with a basic data plan, the minimum you are looking at spending is $40-50. Overall, I did not find one company’s pricing strategy to be that much better than the others. Therefore I believe that three factors go into what makes a cell phone provider great. The first is customer service; many people experience difficulties with their phone or their bill, so it is important to have employees that care about your predicament and do everything they can to assist you. The second is reception; some carriers have bad reputations for dropping calls all over the place, and people value the fact that they can trust their phone to make calls. Third is selection; I believe that with a three-year phone agreement, consumers want a phone that they like, and most smartphones (with the exception of the iPhone and Blackberries) only come on one carrier exclusively. This allows them to market that phone extensively, like Bell’s Samsung Galaxy Vibrant or Telus’ HTC Desire. Although all of these evaluative criteria are helpful, in the end everything is subjective and it really comes down to what carrier you’ve heard is best and which phone you like the most. As long as each company continues to secure top of the line phones exclusively to their plans, it essentially evens the playing field and makes word-of-mouth and marketing the most important factors in differentiation.