An Insight into the Mind of Mobile Phone users – The battle of Needs & Aspirations!

In continuation to my previous post on Pakistan’s handset industry; this article will shed further light on the same industry but highlighting the opposite side of the spectrum .i.e. the mobile phone users. The mindset of our local mobile phone user is very unique & complex. Influences of socio-economic & demographic factors, peer pressures & life style etc are the main driving force through which the consumer ends up owning a particular model for his/her communication needs.

“A professional looking guy is standing nearby you, he is pretty calm & collected but needlessly try to show of his latest PDA, few seconds forward than he pulls out his phone stylus & tap here & there on the screen than put the phone in his pocket while giving a good gaze to all the near by guys boasting a smirking proudly smile“.

I bet many of you have observed incidents like these but have you ever wondered why on earth a decent looking guy in professional attire can ever do this kind of antics.

To further explore this mindset, let’s look closely, the phenomenal growth in mobile penetration have created a very unique socio cultural psyche. just imagine from a 12 year old kiddy to a 60 year old man are all playing with the small communication device known as mobile phone. A rough estimate suggests that in Pakistan the usage span of a new cell phone is mere 3 months (means majority of local users upgrade their cell phone within 3 months time).

Confused, let me throw a simple question. What exactly do you want from your mobile? The 3 top of the mind features which comes instantly should be the core reason for you to owning your current handset; if that isn’t the case than you must have lost the battle to the aspirations which are hiding somewhere underneath your mind.

Sound interesting right, precisely your honest answer is the basic premise of this article. Pondering further on this same concept, I have summed up the Pakistan’s mobile user into 2 main categories (2 basic types of users).

1. Those who are driven by their needs (read 3 core phone functionalities)

2. Those who are driven by their aspirations (Users who can easily suffice their communication requirement through a say Rs. 10k mobile phone but instead they choose to carry a cell phones worth Rs. 40K or more)

In every mobile phone user’s mind there is a battle going around, a battle between their needs & aspirations. Some own phones to suffice their communication needs while some own phones to meet their aspirational urges.

 

Now look at the mobile phone user preference chart while making actual decision, the data is a study & I have used extrapolation for analysis purposes as it enable us to understand the psyche of local consumer. Also take a look at the chart depicting local consumer purchasing pattern.

 

I personally have come across so many professionals/ executives who take their hands on any new business phone which hits the market, to few of them I even asked the question why you are carrying a blackberry/ PDA or a latest Nokia E-series phone…. the only answer I got in reply was we need to check our emails 24/7 & that’s about it (surprisingly no words about PIM, one of the major feature of any business phone since majority of them doesn’t exactly know what this Personal Information Management really stand for). I have even tried to convince majority of them that there are cell phones which can meet your exact requirement in half of the price you want to spend but my efforts always go in vain.

The main reason lies in the consumer mindset (the aspirational value attached to carrying a business phone) since the consumer tend to believe that how he/she will look professional (read top executives) if they are not carrying a BlackBerry or a PDA phone.

And this is not just a local phenomenon, even mobile users of developed countries tend to be manipulated by their desires & aspiration rather looking to their actual communication needs. Hence this battle between needs & aspiration will continue…. how long, i am not too sure…

The state of Pakistan’s Handset Market – An Analysis

Handset market has played the most pivotal role in the overall growth of Pakistan’s telecom industry. For me the handset market has played a kind of un-sung hero role in-comparison with the local Telco’s who have taken much of the limelight in the phenomenal growth of Pakistan’s telecom industry during these 6 years.The 1st H of 2008 was a difficult period for telecom industry in general with plenty of political uncertainty, negative economic indicators, ever rising inflation & unfavorable budget policies played their role in restraining the growth pattern of previous years.

The hardest hit area in this declining growth pattern has been the handset market of Pakistan.
Till Dec, 2007, the growth of handset market was excellent with around 1 Million handsets were being sold on monthly basis. However in July, 2008 the figures came down to 600 K units per month (depicting 40% decline in volume during 6 months). While the picture looks grim, i am pretty sure that volume will start to pick once the clouds of uncertainty settles (positive indicators including decline in inflation & Pak rupee getting strong against $).

Handset Market – Current Scenario

Pakistan’s handset market is primarily a low-end market with majority of volume comes from low-end mobile phones. Another important aspect is that our handset market is extremely price sensitive just like any other handset market of a developing country.

To comprehend the local market dynamics, below is the price segmentation analysis along with the market share each price segment comprised upon.

If we look at how the current market stands with respect to market share of each handset manufacturer, Nokia still has a sizeable lead though their market share has been deteriorating steadily (from 65% in 2006 to 48% at the end of July, 08). The progress of Samsung has been phenomenal from 8% market share in 2006 to the current 30% with indication of further progression in 2009. LG is the second biggest gainer (approx 17% share for a player who has just been active since 2 years) with most of the success came from its 2 successful models LG KG195 & KG270. Sony Ericsson & Motorola represent 2 of the biggest loosers in the handset market with only 5% & 1% share in the total pie.

I believe that these figures might be shocking for some people, since in Pakistan most of the guys still think Sony Ericsson is the second major player in the Pakistan’s handset market which isn’t correct any more… As I mentioned earlier Pakistan is primarily a low end market with approx 63%-65% volume generates from phones worth less than 3k & if you look into SE local product portfolio you will not find a single SE model in this price range, strangely enough their majority of portfolio compete in a price segment (High-end) which is just a mere 5% of the total handset market.

Motorola is just vanishing in Pakistan, the disaster of their F-3 model started a vicious slide from which they never recovered with the future seems more bleak.

The Koreans are playing their cards really well with the success of both Samsung & LG they are really flying high. Especially the success of Samsung is very impressive with a very strong portfolio (the most balance portfolio in the industry covering all price segments with good products). This success in Pakistan has come down from the global success Samsung Mobile has been enjoying from the start of 2007. Their flagship model SGH C-160 targeting the low-end category is making waves in the most lucrative (volume vise) price segment in Pakistan’s handset market. With more emphasis on R&D & product development the future looks bright for this giant conglomerate.

LG has also succeeded really well through getting direct benefit from the absence of any substantial products by SE. But the question mark on the product quality is hurting the brand to grow exponentially; I believe that they need to work very hard in building their brand image (development of high perceived value through High-end Flagship model) as LG still have very low brand image in comparison with the competition.

What to say about Nokia, the global leader in the world is still the player to beat in Pakistan’s handset market with the resounding success of Nokia 1200 & 1208, this global giant has so much to offer in-terms of quality products. In Pakistan, Nokia plays a major role in 3 main price categories (Low-end, Low Mid & High) which comprised upon 82% of the total market.

Is Pakistan a difficult market to develop Brand Loyalty or Are we missing a Point?

I was commenting on one of a local telecom blog on the current advertising onslaught by our local telco’s & there, I saw a comment on the very common notion of “Pakistan an extremely difficult market to establish any brand loyalty”. As being part of the same industry, I asked myself that does this impression hold true or is this just a result of marketer’s myopic view towards their customers.

Every country & each culture has its own unique set of traits but a consumer is after all a consumer (Since every human in this world is looking for a better solution to make their life better or move one step further in the rat race called life).

Brand loyalty is not an isolated panacea; it comes through the right use of segmentation, innovation, pricing, product management, distribution & promotion but than again these strstegies have been adopted by marketers from ages but brand loyalty has been remained illusive so far.

Mobilink, Pakistan’s No. 1 cellular operator has always taken pride in having the most loyal subscriber base in Pakistan, but at present the same company is loosing more customers compare to any other operator along with the lowest growth rate registered by any other operator in the month of July, 2008.

In the year 2005, Mr. Chekitan Dev and Mr. Don Schultz proposed a model called SIVA (Solution, Information, Value & Access). This model was part of a broader marketing concept called Customer centric approach. This marketing model depicted demand side of marketing in contrast to the widely popular supply side marketing model 4 P’s (Product, Price, Place & Promotion).

What our telecom industry is suffering in particular & other sectors in general is too much emphasis on supply side of marketing with majority of planning weight placed upon promotional side. Think, what if you are bombarded with a solution you don’t required, you would get annoyed right… 

A Customer - In midst of Brand Jungle

To further highlight this particular point, I will give you my personal example. Some days back I came across a TV commercial of an orange Juice by Sun Sip, initially I started to like that TVC due to its catchy jingle & vibrant art direction, what happened next is that the brand gone so over bored with the TV commercial that (you can watch this ad being played thousand times covering almost all cable networks) I started to being irritated not just by the commercial but by the brand itself. So what’s the point on burning so much marketing $ if you are ended up with a very discontent customer.

In the new age marketing, your customer is literally a King & your brand is your baby. Being the brand custodian the marketer objective would be to create an environment where the king start to like the baby (or ideally start to love the baby).

As Love is an emotional feeling & you can’t love somone if you don’t have an emotional bonding to that person. Therefore to persuade the customer to love your brand you need to develop a relationship based upon emotional bonding between your brand & the customer (which must be in personally relevant way) & this is eaxctly where we are missing the point. Hence what I realized is that there is nothing wrong in the mindset of Pakistani customer’s for not being generally loyal to any particular brand rather it’s a case of short-sighted strategies of our marketers.

Windows Mobile – The Real deal in Pakistan’s Handset market!

The Days gone by when PDA’s (read Win Mo Mobile phones) were only meant for geeks & Techies, since than PDA’s have come to an age of unattractive looking communication devices to a fashion/ professional accessory .As the data consumption by local consumer is increasing (following the footsteps of their global counterparts) along with all kind of new data services being introduced by telecos. This scenario has now led to a sudden surge in demand for handheld devices to fulfill customer’s both (professional & style) requirement in a single mobile device.

Currently the local smart phone market entails 3 major players (OS/ platform plus devices). The Nokia smart phones (primarily its e-series with Symbian OS), RIM with its BlackBerry devices/ services & the Microsoft Windows Mobile enable devices (aka PDA’s) approx 80% of which manufactured by High Tech Corporation – HTC).

Why Windows Mobile?

The local smart phone segment is now evolving to the next level .i.e. innovative data services, business automation through handheld devices, business process enhancement (for corporate & SME’s) & advance level of connectivity.

With Win Mo enable devices, it provides one of the best data services capabilities with more open platform/OS in-comparison with current competition,

Win Mo devices like HTC are equipped with the most advance level of connectivity in Pakistan. As with the introduction of 3G in some where in 2nd Q of 2009, these devices would also enable even cellular operators to offer consumers a wider range of advance services i.e. Wide area voice telephony, Video calls & Broadband wireless data, all in a mobile environment.

At present with the current exciting crop of new Win MO devices lining up, never before Windows Mobile looked this sharp, nor has it been as feature-loaded. The Pakistan’s handset market is all set to be enthralled by the likes of HTC Touch Diamond, Touch Pro & Samsung Omnia in months to come.

HTC TOUCH Diamond Snatches “Europe’s Best Smart Phone Award”

HTC Touch Diamond arguably one of the most stylish Win Mo device in a long long time has recently awarded as the best smart phone in Europe by European Imaging & Sound Association in its recent EISA Awards 2008/2009. According to the EISA jury..

“Here’s a device that is certain to attract undivided attention from gadget connoisseurs everywhere. The Touch Diamond’s glossy, shiny case contains an operating system based on Windows Mobile v6.1 Pro, enhanced with a new 3D TouchFlo interface. Images on the 2.8-inch VGA touch-screen are very sharp and clear, making the Touch Diamond a refreshing and rewarding device to use. No user will want for anything in terms of functions, since HTC has included a 3.2 Megapixel camera, 4GB of internal memory, an FM radio and GPS navigation. Connectivity options include HSDPA, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and USB. By achieving such slick looks and performance, the Touch Diamond is a clear winner.”

As Diamond is one of my personal foavorite mobile device, i hope that this will be the first of many more awards this year for one of the most visually stunning smart phone ever..

Experiential Marketing – An avenue ready to unfold…

Nespresso coffee-classy example of what it means to be “experiential"

 Cut 1:

You entered into one of city’s high traffic mall & saw lot of stalls of leading brands. You visited couple of stalls of your interest & listened to the brand promoters briefing long list of brand’s features & benefits, you listened for a while than moved around did your stuff & went home without even remembering a single brand message the brand marketers ought to achieve.

Cut 2:

A family is glued in-front of their TV screen & is deeply indulged in watching their favorite daily soap suddenly a commercial break comes up… press of a remote button, they are now enjoying one of their favorite reality show.
These above scenarios should look familiar aren’t they? As the world of marketing has changed so are our enlightened and empowered consumers – the new prosumer – who no longer responds to being assaulted by one-thing-fits-all, branded media messages.

The Dilemma:

As a marketing practitioner, I always felt that the traditional “features-and-benefits” based marketing generally result in people avoiding messages wherever possible & by any means possible. The current obsessive uses of mass media without connecting the brand message to intending audience have led marketers to a large pool of switchers rather a group of loyal customers. This phenomenon is particularly inflicted upon our highly advertised local telecom industry with every player wanting to out done each other with heavy usage of mass media with out trying to establish messages which are personally relevant, memorable, sensory, emotional and meaningful to their target audience.
In today’s market place where consumers have changed dramatically, and are over exposed with all kind of brand messages, the new age marketers now need to look at how to reach these customers & how best to win their loyalty.

The savior:

This new challenge faced by brand marketers through out the world have paved ways from traditional product centric marketing to an alternative marketing methodology widely referred to as “Experiential Marketing”.

There are around 100 plus different definitions of experiential marketing available & as like the concept of experiential marketing itself, here I will not try to limit this boundless marketing methodology to any one particular definition. To simply put, experiential marketing is a more holistic approach to the customer/ brand relationship through opening up new points of connection with customers – their senses, hearts and if you do it just right, their souls.

Experiential marketing defines the future of marketing since we now live in an increasingly consumer controlled market place, from the way people personalize their music they will listen to the type of TV program they want to see & the delivery system that bring them that program.

E.M in Practice:

Now if you take a look at our local banking sector. Each bank offers similar products & services. How can these brands connect with customers, and ensure they understand what makes one company better than another.
One of the leading bank have chosen to simply say “Caring Bank”, as from experiential marketing perspective the better choice was to show that they care by allowing customers to experience it for themselves by appealing both their rational & emotional side so the customer would be able to relate the experience with the brand message hence a personalize brand relation could develop.

Many marketers believed that experiential marketing can only be used in live marketing scenario. But such is the beauty of this methodology that even a highly static medium such as print can be highly experiential if done strategically.

The Footnote:

As experiential marketing name suggest the possibilities are limitless. This beautiful world of philosophy, artistry & psychology is ready to transform the world of marketing in years to come. Interesting times indeed….