Smartphones top $1000 price point

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Smartphones revolutionized the world and it wasn’t long after the first smartphone was released that everyone wanted one of their own. For years, smartphone manufacturers were able to capitalize on unmet demand but as the product-market reached maturity and demand became saturated, manufacturers needed to find ways to entice users to upgrade in order to protect their new revenue stream.

The classic approach in technology is to release new versions of products. If a manufacturer delivers enough added value with the new release, existing consumers will be willing to buy the new product to replace their old one. But how much is necessary to entice consumers to upgrade? That answer is dependent on several factors that influence consumer buying behavior. These influences are reviewed in detail in Chapter 5 – Final Consumers and Their Buying Behavior.

This article, “Your Next Phone Will Probably Cost $1000“, talks about the latest generation of smartphones to hit the market and the various influences that will determine their success or failure. In particular, the article notes that this is the first generation of products to pass the $1000 price barrier.  The article suggests that surpassing that psychologically significant price barrier may slow adoption of the new line of phones.

Ask your students how many have purchased or intend to purchase one of these new phones, when they purchased (or intend to purchase), and why they chose to upgrade.  This can lead to a good discussion regarding all of the influences that impact that purchasing decision. Some will choose to buy primarily because of psychological social needs – the desire for status or acceptance from peers.  Others will apply a more economic assessment.  Those individuals may justify the purchase based on faster performance, larger screen sizes, new features, etc.  A full discussion of the various factors that influence consumer purchasing behavior is covered in Chapter 5 – Final Customers and Their Buying Behavior.

This conversation can also apply when covering the adoption curve discussed in Chapter 13. In any given classroom you’re likely to have students that can be classified as members of the early adopters and early majority segments of the adoption curve but you may also have members of other segments.  Asking students from each group how they make decisions about when to buy can really help illustrate the differences between segments.

What’s Now? Chapter 5 – Millennials Consume Health Care Services Different from Previous Generations

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healthcare2According to “Here’s how millennials could change health care” (USA Today, February 7, 2016) the health care needs of millennials differ from those of the generations that precede them (generation X. baby boomers, and senior citizens – see chapter 3 for discussion of different generations).

Review the influences on the consumer decision process in chapter 5 (see Exhibit 5-2). From reading the article or drawing on personal observations, identify how at least one factor in each category (economic needs, psychological variables, social influences, culture and ethnicity, and purchase situation) could influences how a millennial consumer choose and consumes health care. 

Apple Advertising Over 40 Years

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Many of our students love Apple products and the brand in general. It usually ranks in the top 2-3 most frequently mentioned when I survey my students to share their favorite brands. Our textbooks use an Apple case study to open chapter 5 (Consumer Behavior). Over the last 40 years, Apple has produced some truly memorable advertising. Some have called the Apple 1984 Super Bowl commercial the greatest ad ever. I personally like the “Think Different” campaign and enjoy using it to demonstrate differentiation and positioning. Over at The Next Web you can find “The 40-year evolution of Apple ads” (April 5, 2016). It offers some commentary sprinkled between 12 ads from over the years. Most of the ads are from the last decade.

These ads could be shown to demonstrate how Apple’s strategy has evolved over the years — or a few could be shown to introduce chapter 5 and foster a discussion of this chapter opener. The ads could also be used to show how the personal computer market evolved (product life cycle) or as examples of advertising when that is covered in class. The video below provides a look at Apple’s history in 40 seconds.

 

 

Mercedes Benz’s driverless car prototype

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The driverless car is a reality. This video might be fun to drop into a lecture on the external market environment — to stimulate a discussion of technology. What markets will the driverless car influence? How will it change law enforcement? What about bars and restaurants — which may have more demand as people can stay out and drink without having to drive home? There are predictions that driverless cars will have many fewer accidents? What are the implications for the automobile insurance industry? What about demand in hospital emergency rooms?

These discussions will help students see the need to monitor technological changes that may not immediately appear to impact their business. The emergence of the driverless car (which now seems inevitable) will impact many different product-markets. There might also be a discussion of consumer behavior (some consumers may love this idea, it may be a challenge for others) or the product life cycle (how do you introduce this product to the market) or new product development (the role of prototypes).

The video shows Mercedes Benz’s driverless car prototype.

Emerging “Two-Tier Economy” Changes Product-Markets

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bmwm4The economic recovery in the United States has not been the same across the income spectrum. While the wealthiest 5% are doing quite well, those in the traditional “middle class” have not seen similar gains. This Wall Street Journal article “How a Two-Tier Economy Is Reshaping the U.S. Marketplace” (January 29 2015, non-subscribers click here) points out that those at the top 5% of the income scale spent an inflation adjusted 12% more from 2009 to 2012. During that same time period, the bottom 95% spent 1% less. It also reports the top 5% now account for 30% of all spending — up from 23% just twenty years earlier. The article details some of the implications for sellers of cars, houses, and beer. Hint, apparently that $64,000 BMW M4 (see inset photo) is a hot seller.

Similar income distribution exists in China — and this has influenced the smartphone market there. Another Wall Street Journal article “In Smartphone Market, It’s Luxury or Rock Bottom” (February 1, non-subscribers click here) which describes the Chinese market, where Apple’s iPhone stands alone as a “luxury” and brands like Xiaomi (at on third the price of an iPhone with similar technical specs) dominate the low end.

This story has implications for when you cover segmentation and targeting (many of these firms are now targeting premium or budget — not the middle any longer) or consumer behavior.