Today, three factors are driving the continuous evolution of the global mobile phone landscape.
ACCELERATION OF 4G NETWORK COVERAGE
GREATER SMARTPHONE AVAILABILITY AND AFFORDABILITY
CHANGING CHANNEL DYNAMICS
In today’s era of customer-centricity, marketers are at pains to create distinct versions of their products for each customer segment. However, if seen from another angle, smartphone OEMs could greatly ease off from this and even perform better by reducing the number of stock keeping units (SKU) across their product portfolio, and considering making one device for all the target segments.
Accenture research shows that when the product portfolio of a tier-2 OEM is made up of global devices and fewer SKUs, the company typically will experience a 2.5x return on investment (ROI).
Our research has found that, if an OEM can better address the core needs of users, it will help enhance the attractiveness of their devices from customers and carriers. This is especially effective in highly fragmented markets like China, where both sales volumes and average selling price (ASP) are expected to increase.
The breakthrough battle for tier-2 and tier-3 mobile brands has started. Local OEMs are facing both tremendous opportunities and formidable challenges. Success hinges on whether they can deploy the right strategies that are centered upon customer experience and ride on the latest technological trends of the mobile industry.