Competition in the cell phone market

CASE STUDIES (40 marks)

Competition in the cell phone market. The Apple’s iPhone 7 arrived at a retail price $900. Much has been said about its design, the absent headphone socket, and the fact that it is now waterproof, but is it actually any good? The iPhone 7 uses Apple’s A10 Fusion processor, which has four processing cores split into two pairs. One is a high-performance pair the other is an energy efficient pair.

The iPhone 7 seems slightly faster than the iPhone 6S in general use. Some things, such as photo processing are also faster. It plays games without issue and is capable of dealing with pretty much everything you could throw at it. ‘iOS’ 10 also feels faster, which helps the phone feel faster. Battery life is poor. Tests show that iPhone 7 has worse battery life than the iPhone 6S. ‘iPhone’ 7 will be remembered for removing the headphone jack and using wireless earphones. So if consumers do not like the I-phone 7 its wireless headphones and lower battery life, they can still purchase the I-phone 6 for $634.

Samsung S7 was available for a $904. It is water resistant with the latest android operating system and a decent battery life. If consumers wanted a slightly cheaper android they can buy the older Samsung S6 for $760. Blackberry’s latest phone, the DTEK50, is also fully android and retailed at $429.

Purchasing a new phone is complicated by the need for a service provider and the wide range of plans that are offered. It can be quite an invest purchasing new phones.

1. List the 3 levels of consumer involvement in purchasing a product. (3 marks)

2. Which level of involvement will a consumer be engaging in when they are purchasing the new i-phone? Give reasons for your choice. (2 marks)

3. What are the stages in the consumer ‘decision making’ process? (5 marks)

4. Describe what is happening in stage one of consumer ‘decision making’ process? (1 mark) Explain how Apple would seek to influence a customer in stage one (give some examples)?(2 marks)

5. What is an evoked set? Create a list of the evoked set for an Apple I-phone customer. (4 marks)

6. Complete the positioning map for the Apple, Samsung and Blackberry products. (4 marks)

7. Complete a SWOT analysis of Apple. (6 marks) (define what SWOT means & give one appropriate example of each)

S__________________ W_____________

O________________ T____________________

8. When Apple developed the new I-watch, that could be used as an accessory for their I-phones, what strategy were they pursuing? (1 mark)

9. List and explain 3 different types of competitive advantage a company can pursue. (3 marks)

10. Which competitive advantage strategy is Apple trying to achieve with its I-phone? Explain your choice. (1 mark)

11. Give 2 reasons why it is better for a company like Apple to engage in primary research, rather than use secondary research. (2 marks)

12. Give 2 drawbacks of primary research. (2 marks)