On September 24, Blackberry launched a new smartphone device called the Passport in an attempt to rebuild the company that lost its market share by failing to adapt. In Sean Silcoff’s article, “Passport to success? Blackberry pins revival hopes on new device”, it is mentioned that BlackBerry accounted for merely 0.5 per cent of the 301 million smartphones sold globally in the second quarter of 2014, a humbling fall from 13 per cent in 2011. These statistics clearly indicate a company which has lost its edge in the global markets but the Passport may just turn things around.
In the book, Positioning: The Battle for your Mind, Al Ries and Jack Trout state that “When there is a clear market leader in the mind of the consumer, it can be nearly impossible to displace the leader”. Blackberry has lost its general customer audience and is therefore focusing on a segmented group of customers: business professionals. The smartphone, a squared-shaped device with a QWERTY keyboard and long battery life is the right mix for the targeted segmented group. However, the Passport is only about $50 cheaper than the leading iOS and Android devices,which may not be so effective in making original users to switch-back to Blackberry.
If Blackberry is to enjoy the market share it possessed three years ago, it must not only reduce the price of the product, but must also continually come out with new and more innovative devices to keep pace with the ever changing electronic market.
Citations:-
1. Sean Silcoff (September 25, 2014) “Passport to success? Blackberry pins revival hopes on new device” The Globe and Mail.
<http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/passport-sales-bode-well-for-blackberry-analyst-says/article20838923/>