micromax-assgnmnt

8/8/2019 Micromax-Assgnmnt

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Basics of APAssignment 2Micromax Case Study

Submitted By:

ANUBHAV NANDA2009-007A

MICA


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The Next Step

Micromax has had a sustained growth till now. In the times to come, trends will change,

new players will emerge, existing players would strengthen themselves and in these times

Micromax needs a differentiated approach. Innovation being its key proposition, driversfor innovation in the three segments will be -

First time users

These users are the ones for whom a mobile phone is an asset. This is their first

interaction with a mobile phone. Other brands give these consumers a basic phone withthe most basic features of calling and texting and few added generic features like a torch,

alarm etc. To differentiate in this segment, one has to come up with phones that are truly

reliable, trust worthy and easily repairable at low costs. The phones also need to be both

value for money and have an extremely low entry price point.

Some innovations that can be seen in this segment are:

Pencil cell operated mobile phone these phones will have dual power, the

standard LI-ion battery, and a provision to run the phone on pencil cells. These

phones would be very useful in areas of prolonged power shortage, or for peoplewho are almost always on the move.

A very basic mobile phone, that has only fixed dialing provision. This phone can

dial only 9 prefixed numbers, but will be able to receive calls from all numbers.This would be ideal for school kids, whose parents want to stay in touch but not

expose them to the harmful effects of cell phone addiction, and old aged people,

who find using mobile phone a complex task. Extendable antenna based phone this phone would work even in areas that have

very low signal strength. A booster antenna would pick the feeblest of signals and

amplify it.

Target bottom of the pyramid with extremely low cost phone a phone that isavailable at a price point of less than `500 price point. There is a lot of potential at

the bottom of the pyramid. This segments needs and wants are not much different

from others, but they are deprived of mobile phones as the entry price point is notwithin their reach. A sub 500 rupees phone would cater to this large chunk of the

society.

Replacement (value plus)

These segments of consumers want value for money rather than absolute value. They areaware of the brands available and the features the brand provides. They are looking for

greater service, better looking handsets, feature rich, and a no compromise phone. For

them while the core use of the phone is of utmost importance, additional features play a

very important role in the purchase decision. They do not want inexpensive phones;rather they want phones that are in their budget, but offer then highest value for money.


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Some of the innovations that could drive this segment in the future will be

Modular manufactured phones these phones would come with replaceable parts

and as the users wants can replace the jackets which would house the specificfeature. For example as a basic, the phone can only perform tasks of calling and

texting, while Music jacket can be attached to perform music functions, camerajacket for a high end camera on the phone, qwerty jacket to make it a qwertyphone etc.

Standard USB jack on phone For data transfer, a cable is required in all phone,

this phone would have an inbuilt USB jack that can be connected directly to a

computer without the use of any cables.

Large Screen for watching movies at affordable price Large screen phones

mostly come as touchscreen phones. A large segment does not like touchscreen

phones as they can not be operated using one hand, the screen is expensive toreplace, there is a high chance of screen damage. A phone which has a large

screen but still supports a key pad; something where the screen tilts open to reveal

the keypad, or where the keypad closes part of the screen during normal phoneusage.

A trackpad on mobile surfing the net using the keys of a mobile phone becomes

tiresome and cumbersome. A flip open trackpad that functions like a laptop

trackpad can be an interesting addition to the phone.

Upgrade (Innovative products)

This is the segment that is at the top of the pyramid. These users are the ones who

demand the latest technology and want maximum features on their phones. They are tech

savvy and are aware of the latest technology in the world. These users will be the

influencers for all other segments, they are present on all forms of digital media, and theirwords have very high impact. Hence we cannot provide them with a shabby product; the

innovation has to be perfect and should leave no scope for any faults.

Some trends that would drive this segment would be:

OLED screen Mobile phone with OLED screen which would provide excellent

picture quality for the best movie viewing experience

3D screen on Mobiles 3D televisions are the latest fad amongst consumer, theseLCD panels provide a 3D viewing, this on a mobile screen wo

revolutionary

Theatre Experience mobile OLED screen with Yamaha speakers, and additionalbest headphones to provide the ultimate movie experience on mobile phone. The

phone would support avi/mpeg formats and have a huge memory space to store all

your favourite movies

Foldable Screen Screens that open upto atleast 4 times the size of the mobile,thus transforming the mobile into as big as a netbook, and provides all the

features of an internet phone could be the next big thing looking at the huge 3G

wave that is going to hit us very soon.


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It should be complete focussed only on Mobile phones and not look at any other business.

This focus would give it an edge as all other players except Nokia are operating in

multiple product categories. For Micromax as a brand it must look at three things to makeitself the single largest mobile brand in India. It should invest heavily in three things,

apart from the current investments in R&D

1. In Brand

2. In People

3. In Distribution

While every company talks about hiring the best people in the business, its distribution

thats going to decide the longest player in the race. There are two approaches to

achieving high levels of penetration.

Distribution

An online Distribution Channel A specific website, along with the capability to masscustomise mobile phones, on the lines of Dell Computers can be a huge differentiator.

This model can be used only for the Upgrade segment, as the buyer needs to be net

savvy. Through the website the features can be well explained, the user can experiencethe product and then purchase it through a channel that is absolutely reliable. The other

aspect would be to tie up with one of the existing technology product companies like

Eveready. This would enable the company to use the existing distribution channels ofthese established products and reach almost 100% of the country. Mobile phones have

become an everyday thing for a lot of people, and it has reached rural India too. Here the

difficulty lies in establishing shops at each village and thus villagers depend largely onfeeder towns. On the other hand Eveready batteries and torches are sold in the kiranashops at these villages. Micromax mobiles can also be sold at such shops, albeit only

select models those are rural specific. The Indian market for mobile phones, in addition to

its base of 170 million subscribers, is also one of the most cost-effective in the world.Call rates in India are among the lowest anywhere -- making a mobile phone call costs

two cents in India, compared with about four cents in China. The market also has

tremendous growth potential. So far, most of the growth has been penetration-led, whichmeans placing devices in consumers' hands. The bulk of the growth going forward will be

replacement-led, where consumers come back for more. This is the segment that

Micromax should direct its resources towards.


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BRAND SALIENCE:-

Historically, brand salience has been considered synonymous with the brand being top

of mind (mentioned first) when the product category is used to cue retrieval frommemory. But this also means that there is value in distinguishing salience from the

factors of awareness and attitude by conceptualizing brand salience as the brandspropensity to be noticed or come to mind in buying situations. Brand salience is a

reflection of the quantity and quality of the network of memory structures buyers holdabout the brands.

Before delving deep into Micromaxs current brand salience, it is important to analyse the

journey so far. One of Micromaxs greatest successes has been a feature that allowsphones to handle multiple accounts. In India, mobile plans are mostly prepaid and, thanks

to an ongoing price war, among the cheapest in the world and getting cheaper.

Consumers constantly shop for deals and often wind up with three or more accountsnearly 100 million Indians have multiple cell numbers, estimates investment bank

Macquarie. Hence it is important that certain key features be highly featured and

publicized in the promotions done by Micromax.

TOP-OF-THE-MND-RECALL

In order to achieve the ultimate emotional benefit, it is first required to ingrain theproduct benefits like the first mobile to have a dual-sim technology. This in turn is

directly linked to the functional benefits that a micromax mobile provides. In this

cluttered mobile market, it is important to Functionally differentiate oneself from otherbrands. Hence through following two IMC micromax stands to gain enormous eyeball

attention:-

a. Mall Activation

b. Tech-reviews on Major techie-sites (and hence a linkage to personal blogging!)Micromaxs brand destination is to be the ultimate innovative brand for the masses.

Hence, a major campaign covering all big and small malls in cities like Indore, Bhopal,

Agra etc, is required. Customers tend to place more weight on a products intangibleattributes when deciding what they like. But they place more weight on its tangible

attributes when theyre choosing what to buy." Hence mall activations would serve as the

perfect place for people to touch, feel and play around with its unique features and clearlyestablish Micromaxs core proposition in the TGs mind. To engage the customers even

more, Micromax could give each visitor a unique Number and this number would have to

be verified by Micromax priority dealers, which would in turn give them the discountpercentage against each Mobile that they buy. Basically, this would ensure that a visitor

is converted into a customer and not just left mid-way by just visiting a mall and not

taking his purchase decision further.

Hence, Brand micromax will make sure that the curiosity about mobiles,prcies,models etc is till kept alive and even the customers step out of the mall,

they do not forget it as just another brand activation exercise but keep themselves in loop

by going forward to the priority dealer and claiming his discounts on the unique numberprovided .


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BRAND PREFERENCE

Tech reviewers

Online world has given power to everyone. Today anyone who has access to the net can

become a writer. Most people write about their experiences, and other read about theseexperiences, but then very few read corporate blogs. This means while personal blogs

find many takers, corporate dont. What needs to be done is to higher blog writers who

review each Micromax phone and write independent blogs on the phone, these could beboth positive and negative, but as a company we would try to keep the negatives to the

minimum. These blogs would be an authentic source of information for the brand. Tech

Gurus like programs on cell phones Cell Guru Etc. are also a big driver in converting alead to a sale. These programs need to be monitored and ensured that our products are not

bad mouthed, and in case a product is not liked, it should be immediately replaced with a

new and better product. More over at the point of purchase, our trained salesperson will

be appointed who would give the consumers the best information possible.

Service Centre

Serviceability is the most important factor when people purchase an electronic gadget.This is more so with a relatively new brand. Nokia Care outlets are available across

almost all cities, and to match a similar feat is a herculean task. An alternative solution is

dial a service. Every time your phone needs a repair, u can call a toll free number andregister your complaint. A service engineer would be at your preferred location and repair

your phone. This service would be chargeable after the guarantee period.

Product placement in Movies and tele-shows:-

With current spate of celebrity endorsers under its kitty, Akshay Kumar and TwinkleKhanna, one step further extension would be to place micromax mobiles in upcoming

movies and show the lead protagonists using it off and on, with pride. This has been done

in the past by Airtel in 3idiots and airtel leveraged it quiet well. For a product like

Micromax mobile, which wants to appeal to the masses, this will be the easiest and themost effective source of communication, with celebrities using the product and spreading

awareness and generating aspirational value too. Akshay Kumar is currently one of the

most successful actors with a series of hits behind him, and he is here to stay for the nextfew years. He is also the brand ambassador for Micromax. Branding Micromax in his

films will be beneficial for the brand. However, his carrying a Micromax or naming the

brand will have very little recall; instead the brand has to be built into the story. When thebrand is a part of the story it is recalled for ever, e.g the Wilson ball in Castaway or

Fedex in Castaway. This could be done as showing Akshay Kumar as an employee at

Micromax, or he being the salesman at one of the Micromax showrooms, or showing a

movie in which cell phone plays a very critical role and the movie has numerous closeups of a Micromax mobile.

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