Smartphones
The smartphone and tablet market continue to produce impressive growth and will persist in doing so over the next two years. The market should then transition from the growth stage to the maturity stage. During this stage, the key to success will be industry players ' ability to differentiate their products from the competition and capture profit via margin expansion in a setting of production and manufacturing adaptations.1It seems as if Smartphones are already in the beginning stages of Product Maturity, with new phones being released almost every month, all offering something unique to their counterparts. As the sales of Smartphone are at an initial growth during the early parts of Maturity, companies should evaluate the next step of their marketing strategies by researching surveys of what their consumers are saying. Who buys their product, where they live or what their consumer use the phones for. Since Smartphones are becoming a commodity and competitors have all jumped the bandwagon, the companies should instead figure ways that would separate their product from every others’. If Samsung or Apple, the two leading Smartphone companies, ceased all new technology and rather redesigned and refocused their product, it may extend their products cycle. By promoting a “new sophisticated look”, consumers are lead to believe that they must have it, simply because it looks different. Also, when touching base on the research companies would be doing to refine their images, they should separate each phone by who or what their clients are. Create a phone for the teenagers who prefer music and video streaming functions, business individuals who rely on their phones for schedules or apps that help them do their jobs or one for the individual who simply just wants a phone, nothing special. By reaching out to their markets a creating a phone just for them, companies will be able to keep innovation in sight, while also extending
Cited: 1. John Kennedy, Decline of the IPod explained, Silicon Republic (2011) URL: http://siliconrepublic.com/digital-life/item/22924-decline-of-the-ipod-explain 2. Ben Harris, iPods--a surrogate coach for junior and sub elite athletes, Australian College of Physical Education (ACPE) (2010) URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21068686