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Product Innovation and Management
Product and target market
In this report, we have three classes of products for review: telecommunication services, phone devices, and accessories. Each of these broad product categories has its own characteristics and individual trends within each age group and target market. The target demographic for these products is the baby boomers age group. The baby boomers demographic refer to the people born between the years 1945 and 1960.
This is a ready target market for such products since they have the disposable income to afford such commodities, they are present in social media, tech savvy, make purchases to improve their lives, they buy goods for both themselves and others, and are responsive to hipster advertising approaches (Patel, 2017). As such they are a perfect market for the products of choice and can conveniently respond to marketing and make purchases.
Markets – what does the competitive landscape for your product look like?
Main product segments
The main product segments for this analysis are telecommunications services, phone devices, and phone accessories. For further analysis, the focus of this report shall be the various features, competition, and trends in the three market segments identified above.
The main reason for this selection of these segments is that they have a great potential for growth in the target market of baby boomers (Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Australia Ltd, 2014). In this regard, therefore, the expected growth, as well as the habits and characteristics of the baby boomers present a great combination for the product of telephone devices.
Product Innovation and Management
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The target market for the chosen products is baby boomers. It is among the most attractive consumer segments for the choice product of telephone devices. The demographics of the chosen market allow for the potential consumers to purchase the products often. For instance, baby boomers are known to love technology and they will invest in the products repeatedly (Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Australia Ltd, 2014, p. 6).
Additionally, the baby boomers will invest in not only themselves but also others. The main beneficiaries of their investments are the generations X, Y, and Z, who are mainly their children and grandchildren through the gifting of mobile phones (Patel, 2017; Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Australia Ltd, 2014, p. 7).
The trend in the telephone market in Australia has been one depicting a dwindling use of feature phones and telephone booths. The decline of such telephone devices has, however, resulted in the sharp increase in the uptake of smartphones (Market Line Advantage, 2017). Such trends have led to spectacular growth records, where the value of the mobile industry was at $3,405.9 million in 2016.
However, after the explosive growth over the past few years, the industry is expected to grow at a decreasing rate. Industry estimates place the growth rate at -1.9% for 2021 (Market Line Advantage, 2017). However, customer desires and expectations that directly target the baby boomers could shift this trend. A growth of features and innovations that the baby boomers find helpful could offshoot the expected decline in growth trend in a different direction.
Product Innovation and Management
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Major competitors and their products
Within the mobile smartphone and other related devices segment, there is a notion of an increased competition. However, trends and market data show that there are four major competitors in the mobile devices industry: Apple, Sony, Microsoft, and Samsung (Market Line Advantage, 2017). However, for the target market of baby boomers, they are more inclined towards the use of Samsung products as opposed to the preference for Apple phones as in the case for the millennials (Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Australia Ltd, 2014).
Trends in the types of products being developed and launched
Trends in the phone devices segment. Over the years, trends in the mobile devices industry are coming together to prove a unified theme for the mobile devices in the industry. For the most part, for example, there is an increase in the screen size as well as the processing power and memory capacity of the mobile devices. As such, there is an increase in the efficiency of such devices across the market.
With the increase in efficiency, performance, and computing power of the smartphones, there is a trend to take over jobs previously held by other devices. The target market of baby boomers is identified as being responsive to products that make their lives easier (Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Australia Ltd, 2014, pp. 8 – 9). As such, these trends of the developing devices should help in marketing the products to the target market.
Product Innovation and Management
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Trends in the telecommunication services segment
The telecommunications services segment of the industry is comprised of both the wireless and the fixed line telecommunications market. As such, the industry volume, operations, and trends are determined by the combination of subscribers to both the fixed line telephones and mobile telephone services (Market Line Advantage Australia, 2017). Various trends are observed in both the fixed line and wireless product variants, as well as in the telecommunications services industry segment.
Among the key trends includes the changeover between the two main products. In this regard, there is a noticeable change, where the number of subscribers to the fixed line telecommunications services has been dwindling over the years. Concurrently, the number of users subscribed to the wireless mobile networks have been increasing over the same period (Market Line Advantage Australia, 2017).
Another observable trend in the telecommunications services is the increase in the quality of services. Over the years, there has been a significant increase in the efficiency and capabilities of the telecommunications sector in the country and globe as well. The milestones achieved by the telecoms companies are mainly attributed to the growth in technology that supports their operations and service delivery to the increasing number of subscribers (el-Darwiche, Péladeau, Rupp, & Groene, 2017).
The growth in the service delivery is as a result of modernization of infrastructure and the improvement of technical skills among staff. In addition, the involvement of multiple firms in the business has increased the competition in the industry. As a result, the involved companies have to stay on top of their game to ensure they have a competitive edge over the other players.
Product Innovation and Management
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Looking into the future, experts place continued competition, and involvement in related industries as among the key trends to be observed in 2018 onwards. PWC Australia predicts the intensification of the competition by the telecoms companies operating in the country. In addition, there is supposed to be an improvement in the technology to enable better access to services such as a broadband network.
There is also an expectation to see the involvement in various sectors such as e-commerce and government to citizen services (PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting (Australia) Pty Limited, 2018). Given these predicted trends, the telecommunications sector is expected to experience exponential growth in the foreseeable future, unlike the other comparable products and segments.
Trends in the phone accessories segment
The exponential growth of the mobile phone accessories market is directly related to the rise and growth of the usage of mobile phones. In this regard, most of the trends in the phone accessories are directly related to the growth in the mobile phone market, as well as the growth in technology. A case in point is the growth in the demand for quality headphones to accessorize the capability of modern smartphones as music players (Allied Market Research, 2016).
Such demand led to shifts in the manufacturing processes, where most mobile phone companies bundle earphones together with the phones. However, some consumers require more superior services to accessorize the music and instead purchase alternative headphones by more prominent companies with established products.
Product Innovation and Management
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Another mobile phone accessory case where the trend is connected with the trends in the mobile telephone industry is the mobile phone cases industry. In the recent past, there have been numerous companies that have been established, whose sole concentration is on the research and development of mobile phone cases.
Such companies are using the latest technology in a bid to improve both the design and functionality of the cases (Allied Market Research, 2016; Market Line Advantage, 2017). In this regard, the business of the mobile phone cases is one that is expected to grow, either in tandem with the mobile phones or by a greater margin given the high demand for multiple smartphone cases by numerous individual users.
References
Allied Market Research. (2016, October 3). Mobile Phone Accessories Market to Reach $107.3 Billion by 2022, Globally. Retrieved from PR News Wire: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mobile-phone-accessories-market-to-reach-1073-billion-by-2022-globally—allied-market-research-595639141.html
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Australia Ltd. (2014). Mobile Consumer Survey 2014: The Australian Cut – Revolution and Evolution. Retrieved from Deloitte Australia Ltd: http://landing.deloitte.com.au/rs/deloitteaus/images/Deloitte_Mobile_Consumer_Survey_2014.pdf
el-Darwiche, B., Péladeau, P., Rupp, C., & Groene, F. (2017). 2017 Telecommunications Trends: Aspiring to digital simplicity and clarity in strategic identity. Retrieved from PWC Strategy&: https://www.strategyand.pwc.com/media/file/2017-Telecommunications-Trends.pdf
Market Line Advantage. (2017, March 28). Australia – Mobile Phones. Retrieved from Market Line Advantage: http://advantage.marketline.com.ezproxy.lib.rmit.edu.au/Product?ptype=Industries&pid=MLIP2324-0002
Market Line Advantage Australia. (2017, July 19). MarketLine Industry Profile: Telecommunication Services in Australia. Retrieved from Market Line Advantage Australia: http://advantage.marketline.com.ezproxy.lib.rmit.edu.au/Product?pid=MLIP2416-
Patel, N. (2017, April 26). Forget Millennials. 7 Reasons Why Baby Boomers Are the Ideal Target Market. Retrieved from Quick Sprout: https://www.quicksprout.com/2017/04/26/forget-millennials-7-reasons-why-baby-boomers-are-the-ideal-target-market/
PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting (Australia) Pty Limited. (2018, February). Five trends for Australian telecoms in 2018. Retrieved from PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting (Australia) Pty Limited: https://www.pwc.com.au/publications/pdf/five-trends-australian-telecoms-2018.pdf
Product Innovation and Management
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