http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/blackberry-launches-passport-phone-blend-app-1.2775674

In response to Tianye Guo’s post on “The Come Back of Blackberry”, I would like to create further connections to what she suggested.

I agree with her view on how Blackberry utilizes the strategy of focused differentiation. As mentioned, the smartphone is unique compared to the preexisting smartphones in the market, but I believe this approach also shows how a company can successfully respond to a threat by listening to what their customers has to say, and perhaps repositioning the company from there. A year ago, Blackberry was losing customers to aggressive competitors, but CEO John Chen battled the obstacle with his customer-first repair strategy (CBC). As Chen highlighted, what the company is doing is the right thing to do, as long as the customer likes it (CBC). I believe this strategy puts an emphasis on the importance of value propositions, and how a company can approach business problems by understanding their customer segments, and the problems they would want a company like Blackberry to help them solve. Their new product with the tangible keyboard targets business professionals, which separates Blackberry from the crowd of competitors. Like most smartphones, Blackberry strikes the points of parity, but creates value in their product by creating points of differences, allowing them to be more successful in the industry.

Works Cited

CBC News. “BlackBerry CEO John Chen on his turnaround strategy.” CBCnews.             CBC/Radio Canada, 28 Mar. 2014. Web. 4 Oct. 2014.