3 Marketing Lessons From Samsung’s Vulnerability

Recently, there were media reports that Samsung has lost its market leader position in smartphone markets in India and China. Both these countries are believed to be its biggest markets. What makes Samsung’s position in mobile handset market vulnerable?

In India, Micromax and in China, Xiaomi are said to have displaced the market leader. Micromax and Xiaomi are claimed to be beating Samsung at its own game in which it decimated Nokia few years back.

In the utterly crowded and commoditized mobile handset market, such drastic changes are not surprising, unless you talk about tech major Apple. Samsung may dispute the claim or defend its territory for a while, but this is not possible for long. Sooner than later it will have to give in to some competition, which may emerge and ascend rapidly because it has built its brand on the foundation of vulnerability.

What are the marketing lessons one can learn from Samsung’s shaky brand position? Here are three :

1) No single target customer segment

You can own a Samsung smartphone for as low as Rs 1200 or as high as about Rs 50,000. That is a full spectrum of mobile phone users. So, who is a Samsung target customer? Almost everybody.

Due to this large base, Samsung can be attacked by any Tom, Dick, Harry and their cousins. And it will have to spend time, money and energy in defending each of these territories.

Marketing lesson-1:
Have a clear target customer segment and protect it firmly. Sharper the target, the safer it is. Don’t spread yourself too thin so that you can be attacked by anyone.

2) No clear positioning in customer’s mind

If you own an iPhone, the handset says something about you. You understand or appreciate quality, innovation and uniqueness. Also, you can afford a high-end phone.

On the other hand, if you posses a smartphone from Samsung, it does not speaks anything about your taste. You could as well own any other similar ‘looking’ phone.

Marketing lesson-2:
Have a distinct positioning for your brand. Stand for something. Own a distinct position in customer’s mind. Don’t focus on market share alone, instead focus on mind share. And drive that home in the customer’s mind.

3) No uniqueness

A handset by Apple has a unique hardware and software. This makes switching difficult for an iPhone user because he gets a hang of some of its amazing features, services and apps, which other mobile Operating Systems (OS) can’t offer. An Android-based Samsung smartphone can be seamlessly switched to another Android phone without any significant loss of data or user experience.

Marketing lesson-3:
Be unique. Give something that others can’t copy easily. Don’t become easily replaceable.
(Image: Samsung)

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About the author: This article has been contributed by Sanjay Shah.