Synopsis A Blackberry is a personal communications device developed, distributed, and serviced by Research in Motion (RIM), a Canadian company headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario. A Blackberry can provide email, text messaging, web browsing, and telephone service. Question 1 Analyze the decision process buyers of a typical push e-mail device go through before purchasing the devices. Buyer’s decision process consists of five stages: need recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision and postpurchase behavior. Buyers will go through to this five decision process before purchasing the push e-mail device.
First and foremost, every buyer will recognized their problem and need. In this case, we found that the problem is a device in mobile phone which can help businessman to make their business easily. This means that in field of business they need a device which can help them to do their daily routine easily such as communicate through the phone, e-mail, getting the latest information and others. At this moment, the employer wants and needs the flexibility of having their employees out in the field with the capacity of receiving e-mails and the ability to send them. In conclusion, they need the push e-mail device to make their job easier.
After the consumer considers their problems and needs, they will go to search the information about it. In this stage, the customer is aroused to search for more information. They can obtain information from any of several sources such as personal sources (family, friends, neighbours, and acquaintances), commercial sources (advertising, salespeople, dealer websites, packing, and displays), and public sources (mass media, consumer rating organizations, and internet searches). For example, the consumers can get information from distributors and retailers. Usually, they will find the nformation about the features, benefits and the style of phone to ensure that it is useful to them.
As more information obtain the buyer awareness and knowledge of the available brands and feature increase. Next, buyers will do evaluation of alternatives. This is the stage of the buyer decision process in which the consumer uses information to evaluate alternative brands in the choice set. There are many competitors among Blackberry and HTC. Consumers will find other alternative based on styling, operating economy, warranty and price. Consumers will compare the characteristics between the different brands of phone.
This step can actually help them to get more information about the product. For example, in the issue of security of the business data, HTC has the backing of Microsoft, which is seen as an advantage. Thus, consumers will evaluating purchase alternatives depends on the individual consumer and the specific buying decision or use careful calculation and logical thinking. Sometimes, consumers make buying decisions on their own, discuss with peers, consumer guides or salespeople for buying advice. The next step is purchase decision. It means that the buyer’s decision about which brand to purchase.
There are two factors which affect the buyer to do decision. The first factor is the attitudes of others. For example, if someone important to say the push e-mail device is important then the chance of buying the devices is higher. The second factor is unexpected situational factors including expected income, expected price and expected product benefit. For example, when the economy of that year is well then the consumers will be more willing to pay at higher price to get it device. Sometimes it also depends on the competitors too. If the close competitor drops its price the consumer will move to the competitor.
The last step is postpurchase behavior. This is the stage of buyer decision process in which the consumers take further action after purchase, based on their satisfaction or dissatisfaction. It has a relationship between consumer’s expectations and the product’s perceived performance. For example, consumer shows satisfaction when the consumer’s expectations higher than the product’s perceived performance. This will help the company to building profitable relationships with consumers to keeping and growing consumer reaping their consumer lifetime value.
So that the customer will helps them to promote their products to others. In this case, Blackberry should promise only what their brands can deliver to ensure that buyers are satisfied. They should ensure the push e-mail device can really helps the consumers to do their daily routine. Thus, the buyer will be a loyal consumer to Blackberry. This will help the Blackberry company maintain in the market for a long time. Question 2 Apply the concept of aspirational groups to the Blackberry brand. Should marketers have boundaries with regard to this concept.
The concept of aspirational groups to the Blackberry brand can be the cultural factors, social factors, personal factors, and psychological factors. Cultural factors exert a broad and deep influence on consumer behavior. The marketer needs to understand the role played by the buyer’s culture, subculture, and social class. The aspirational group may depend on the culture in buying the Blackberry. If the culture is the all the people are using the push email in the business, then the aspirational group will be influence and buy the blackberry. The social class will influence the aspirational group too.
If the social class is higher, then the aspirational groups are afford to buy the Blackberry. However, if the social class is lower, then they cannot afford to buy the device because it is too expensive. The second is the social factors. It also can influence the consumer’s behavior such as the consumer’s small groups, family, and social roles and status. If most of them have high status and play an important role like the manager in a company, then most of the aspirational group will buy a device like the blackberry in order to fulfill their job need. The third factor is the personal factors.
A buyer’s decisions are also influenced by personal characteristics, such as the buyer’s age and life cycle stage, occupation, economic situation, lifestyle, and personality and self-concept. If most of the aspirational group are blue-collar worker, then most of them are unable to buy this device. Oppositely, if most of them are white collar worker, they can afford to buy the Blackberry because their income is much higher and more stable. Economic situation will affect the product choice, for example if the economic is in good condition, most of the aspirational group will more able to buy the Blackberry.
The fouth factors is pcychological factors. A person’s buying choices are influenced by four major psychological factors that is motivation, perception, learning.. and beliefs and attitudes. If the aspirational group have the motivation, they will buy the device. This is because a motive is a need that is sufficiently pressing to direct the person to seek satisfaction. The marketer should have boundaries with regard to this concept in order to identify their market. In this way, the device that is the Blackberry can become popular and many people will buy it.
If the marketer regard to this concept, the marketer will know what the aspirational group’s wants and also the needs. Besides that, the marketer will realize the consumer buying behavior. By this way, they can know what market should they must target on the product of the Blackberry. Question 3 Explain both positive and negative consumer attitudes toward a brand like Blackberry might develop. How might someone’s attitude toward Blackberry change? • ATTITUDE- describes a person’s relatively consistent evaluations, feelings, and tendencies toward and object and idea. Attitudes put people into a frame of mind of liking or disliking things, of moving toward or away from them. Positive consumer attitudes toward Blackberry : Blackberry is works on the principle that rather than pulling e-mails at intervals on a mobile handset, the technology actually allows the e-mail to be pushed. In other words each and every e-mail is delivered instantaneously and individually to handset. The phenomena are that everyone wants to connect all of the time. It is convenience that is attached to it. Users don’t want to carry around laptop – the biggest thing that a device like a Blackberry offers is freedom to move.
So, it might be positive consumer attitude towards Blackberry because they can easily receive a new high-tech device. Moreover, consumer will feel within this Blackberry technology the information is available anytime, anywhere, and workforce is always connected. Example: nasir aijaz a senior manager at Emetics Mobile Solutions (EMC) who was a key player in the distribution of the Blackberry in the Middle East explained:” The Blackberry add-ons can connect to CRM system or even GPRS system. Recently I saw an airline booing and confirmation systems on Blackberry.
You can book ticket or cancel, or amend them, and it will tell you about cancellation and delays to your flights. These add-ons functions becoming very important. ” Negative consumer attitudes toward Blackberry: Marketing the handsets and the push e-mail in the middle east has not been as effective as it could be. This is the example of negative customer attitudes. Although it is popular, it has not achieved the market penetration of the US or Europe yet. The consumer said that the devices are very expensive. The other key issues is security and the fact that sensitive data could be lost or stolen by other company.
Moreover, the replacement costs would be prohibitive if the consumer were lost or stolen this has certainly held back many business fro making investment. So , it will become negatives attitudes about the evaluations of Blackberry . How might someone’s attitude toward Blackberry change? Attitudes are difficult to change. A person’s attitudes fit into a pattern, and to change one attitude may require difficult adjustments in man others. Thus, the Blackberry Company should usually fit its devices into existing attitudes rather than attempt to changes attitudes.
The adoption of push email is the step in improving the mobility and communications between businesses in the Middle East. The consumer attitudes might be change because there are many evaluations made by Blackberry that full filling need and wants. For example, in the Middle East, the devices allow Arabic customers to compose Arabic e-mail and browse Arabic websites. Moreover, its allow consumer to input Arabic text into the PIM (Personal Information Management). All of this kind of technologies had change consumer attitudes towards Blackberry.
Questions 4 What role does the Blackberry appear to be playing in the development of the mobile handset market in the Middle East? It consists of smart phones integrated with software that enables access to a variety of data and communication services. Blackberry smart phones allow you to stay in touch with everything that matters to you while you’re on the go. Email, phone, maps, organizer, applications, games, the Internet and more. Some smart phones even include a media player and/or camera so you really have everything you need in one stylish device.
The Blackberry solution supports leading enterprise email platforms and can be customized to meet the needs of one person or an entire enterprise, to any scale, in any industry. The adoption of push email is the step in improving the mobility and communications between businesses in the Middle East. The consumer attitudes might be change because there are many evaluations made by Blackberry that full filling need and wants. For example, in the Middle East, the devices allow Arabic customers to compose Arabic e-mail and browse Arabic websites. Moreover, its allow consumer to input Arabic text into the PIM (Personal Information Management).
