4. 4
Product Goals
Compete with existing tablet based devices in the market.
A tablet friendly and with features for both consumer and corporate
segments of the market.
Attempt to bring up mobile devices to the level of desktop computers.
(According to co-CEO Mike Lazaridis)
6. 6
Target Segments
Demographics
Geographic
locations
USA, Canada
Industry Consumer Corporate
Application
Web browsing, social networking,
reading e-book/magazine,
playing games, listening to
music, watching videos, emails,
create/ edit files general use
work, specific use work
Emails, interactive portable platform
for payments, sales support,
customer presentations, web
browsing, audio video conferencing,
interactive menus, digital signatures
Common Psychographics
Needs √√√ √√√
Price Sensitivity √√√ √√√
FUR Sensitivity √√ √√
Quality √√√ √√√
No of Customers √√ √√√
Current Demand √√ √√√
Demand Growth √√ √√
No of Competitors √√√ √√
8. 8
4 P’s Analysis for Consumer Market
Product Features :-
•Games, Adobe flash support, GPS,
Orientation Sensor, higher battery life
•7" - 1024x600 LCD touch screen
•Weight :-0.9 lbs(130 x 194 x10)mm
•Multitasking support, Powerful, portable
•MP3, AAC and WMA audio & HD video
•1080p HDMI output
•HD cameras for video conferencing and
video capture (3MP front and 5MP rear)
•1 GB RAM, Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n)
•Emails & BB Messengers via BB Bridge
using Blackberry smartphone
•QNX Platform as OS
Targeted Purpose :-
Entertainment, Learning, Audio/Video Chat,
Social Media
General Price list
16 GB - $499
32 GB - $599
64 GB - $699
Discounts :- e.g. Seasonal
discounts, retailer discounts
Product Price
Indirectly via Retailers e.g. Best
Buy- Staples… etc.
No Blackberry Exclusive
Showroom
Pathway
9. 9
4 P’s Analysis for Consumer Market
• No Commercial Advertisements
• Only advertisements on the company’s website
Promotions
11. 11
4 P’s Analysis for Enterprise Market
Product Features :-
•Emails & BB Messengers via BB Bridge using
Blackberry smartphone, higher battery life
•7" - 1024x600 LCD touch screen
•Weight :-0.9 lbs(130 x 194 x10)mm
•Multitasking support, Powerful, portable
•MP3, AAC and WMA audio & HD video
•1080p HDMI output
•HD cameras for video conferencing and video
capture (3MP front and 5MP rear)
•1 GB RAM, Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n)
•Games, Adobe flash support, GPS,
Orientation Sensor
•QNX Platform as OS
Targeted Purpose :-
•Audio/Video Conferencing, Sales Support,
Customer Presentation, Interactive Menus,
Digital Signatures
General price list
No Data Available (however less
price than that of consumer market
because of bulk purchase & brand
reputation)
Directly Via Sales force (Used
Existing Customer Base)
Product Price
Pathway
12. 12
4 P’s Analysis for Enterprise Market
• No industry-specific conferences, No trade shows, magazines advertisements…
etc. Only a few Press coverage
• Only advertisement on the company’s website
Promotions
13. 13
Compelling Value Proposition
Consumer
• Superior Quality and
Reliability
• Multitasking
• USB Port Feature
• Higher Battery Life
• Adobe Flash Support
• Security
• Front and Back Camera
with Higher Resolution
• Multiple Tools for
Business
• Push Technology
Enterprise
• Smaller tablet than
others
• Multitasking
• USB Port Feature
• HD Video & Music
• Adobe Flash Support
• Security (for some
specific consumers)
• Front and Back Camera
with Better Resolution
• Games availability
14. 14
Product Positioning by Segment
High priceLow price
Consumer
Enterprise
COMPETITION (Low)
COMPETITION (High)
16. 16
Outcomes
Negative Outcomes of
Product Launch Decisions
• Email, Messenger Dependency
on Blackberry Bridge and BB
smartphones
• Low number of available
applications due to newly
acquired QNX platform.
• Software issues (no native email
and calendar applications- third
party email and calendar
applications were supported)
• No 3G without tethering
• Less attractive to consumer
segments due to poor
advertising/ commercials
Wrong Executive Decisions
• Product launched in hurry to
combat competitors market
• Outage of BlackBerry customer
services across the globe
• Lack of product innovation for
different segments
• Negative brand reputation
because of employee layoffs,
decreasing shares and
previously failed smart phone
products
17. 17
Marketing Strategy Comparison - Best
Practices
The target market
is known to the
company, and the
segment knows the
product
The target segment
is not known to the
company, but the
segment knows the
product
The target segment
is not known to the
company, and the
segment does not
know the product
Product exists in
company, just a
modification
C1
Difficulty = 5/10
C2
Difficulty = 7/10
C3
Difficulty = 8/10
Product is new to
the company, and
they’re a follower
C4
Difficulty = 7/10
C5
Difficulty = 8/10
C6
Difficulty = 9/10
Product is new to
the company, and
they’re a pioneer
C7
N/A
C8
N/A
C9
Difficulty = 10/10
18. 18
Marketing Strategy Comparison cntd..
Areas Best Practice Blackberry Strategies
Segmentation
Analysis
• Slice down segment precisely
• Target one segment initially then expand
market
• No clear-cut customer segment / target
decision. Tried satisfying needs of each
segment simultaniously with one product.
Promotions • consumer domain- heavy advertising and
promotions of all kinds
• Industrial domain- sales force, industry-
specific conferences, trade shows,
magazines, & press coverage.
• Lack of offers & promotions
• untimely / delayed advertisement
• false promises (announced to give free
Tablet to customer having Adobe Air).
• Is name “PlayBook” suitable?
Product • Product - efficient, reliable, simple &
satisfy the want/need of the segment.
• Must exceed some threshold features
• Provide excellent customer support
• Playbook had some better features as
compared to competitors however as a
“follower” product was still “unfinished”
Pathway • Direct channel sales is best (if possible)
• Use own sales rep to provide lots of sales
support
• No certified direct outlets - used retailers.
• Not much effort to convey product value to
enterprise/govt market
Price • Inline to positioning /price sensitivity of
the segment against competitor
• Give benefits from adopting the product
• Starting from $499. Special offers for
Enterprise Market
Positioning • Market leader for both consumer and
enterprise market?
19. 19
Lessons Learnt & Additions to Best Practies
Identify your specific initial target segment – pick the segment which has the
highest need or the greatest pain, hence would realize the maximum value.
Conduct a thorough marketing research before designing a product.
Create a better marketing strategy for launch, growth and survival wrt 4P’s.
Product should be competitive and not lacking of applications and updates.
Promotion has very high and positive impact on consumers so effective
promotion is crucial aspect for product success.
Be innovative by following the best practices.
Provide better customer and technical support atleast until the time product
matures in the market.
A “finished” product should be launched, and the launch should not be in hurry.
Back-up slide
Star indicates that the Company decrease the price of PlayBook to increase the sales.
Press coverage (only specific to product specification very less frequent)
Lack of innovation for different segments (consumer- fancy, fashionable and entertaintment focused)
Segmentation Analysis
PlayBook had no clear-cut customer segment decision. BB targeted
Big Segments for a “relative new Product “ category instead of focusing on a single layered market
Positioning
At the time of launch of PlayBook , Blackberry tried to position itself as the market leader for both consumer and enterprise market. Although they were not the pioneers in the tablet product, and from their previous experience as a smartphone company, they had a better hold in the enterprise market.
Product
As PlayBook was a “follower” product, BlackBerry should have learnt from mistakes of their competitors and come up with a product better and more reliable, however PlayBook was tagged as “unfinished” (less apps, tethering requirement, dependency on BB bridge etc).
Promotions
Lack of offers and promotions as compared to the market leaders.
Untimely/delayed advertisement and false promises.
Name “PlayBook” is a suitable fit for BlackBerry’s consumer segment. It could have some professional name for targetted enterprise segments such as “Berrybook” or “Smartberry”… etc.
Because there was dependancy on BlackBerry phone, a bundle offer such as tablet and smartphone together at a reduced price could help to increase sales.
No personality attachment.
Pathway
No certified direct outlets compared to the market leaders (eg. Apple Store) instead they preferred a marketing strategy and used retailers. (eg. Best Buy, Staples)
http://www.bbin.in/2011/07/blackberry-playbook-becomes-%E2%80%9Cfirst-tablet-certified-for-deployment-within-u-s-federal-government%E2%80%9D/
US govt gave underlying opportunity for tablets but Blackberry didn’t focus much.
Price
The price for the PlayBook was set similar to the market leader without having much hold on the consumer market. (iPad-$550 vs PlayBook-$499). However for enterprise market it was fine going with the offered less price.
