BlackBerry and Their China Strategy

By: Zain Nabi  |   March 1st, 2013   |   O Canada, Smartphones

While different reports continue to suggest that BlackBerry is eyeing the smartphone market in China to promote and sell its new devices, many experts have raised serious doubts on the ability of the Canadian-based company to gain success in the country.

 

In order for BlackBerry to succeed in China, which is the largest market as far as number of people using smartphones is concerned, the company has to adopt an altered strategy, much more different to the one it has adopted for markets like the U.S., U.K. and Canada. This is because the dynamics of this market are entirely different.

 

There is a need to note that even before the launch of its new smartphone devices, BlackBerry did not have a huge customer base in China. So in order for BlackBerry to succeed in the country, it has to think of the market as an entirely new area to explore; the area where people are already using smartphones and are pretty much satisfied with what they are getting.

 

In such a case BlackBerry will have to offer something different and entertaining for the audience in China. Although BlackBerry has drifted away from the tag of being a business-oriented smartphone by introducing a number of apps and providing a better user experience for non-business entities, a widely speculated perception still calls the smartphone as a device for businessmen and  other corporate users.

 

This is one of the main challenges for BlackBerry: to present and market itself as a brand suitable for the needs of every user. It should be noted that smartphone users in China prefer devices that offer more entertainment, social networking and other soft features.

 

The next challenge for BlackBerry will be the cost of the new devices. Although the problem related to cost is shared by Apple as well, the latter would not be hurt as much as the former if the sales got affected. In China, high-end devices would hardly work and that is why BlackBerry will need to lower its cost to penetrate in the market. If it is able to provide subsidy, which is going to hurt the company financially, BlackBerry might be able to expand its consumer base in China. So BlackBerry has to make some tough calls with respect to its entry in the China market.

 

Source: People’s Daily Online