Category: Blackberry

Introduction

The decision by the UAE to ban Blackberry services has elicited a heated controversy in recent days. This decision has seen many of the local and foreign newspapers and blogs discuss the repercussions of this stance and the culmination of claims and counterclaims on the issue. The aim of this particular study therefore is to explore the positive and negative effects of UAE’s government banning decision of Blackberry service.

In addition, the research paper shall also endeavor to examine the possible consequences of the ban on the use of the Blackberry services on the concerned parties. Further, the research paper shall attempt to explore the counter-arguments on whether the ban is legitimate by seeking to explore if it violates the freedom of speech on an individual. A refutation to this claim shall also be provided.

Effects of not banning the use of Blackberry services

In an attempt to justify its decision in banning the use of Blackberry services, the UAE government has cited the issue of national security as the main concern. In this regard, the UAE government claims that the Blackberry service poses a threat to national security. This is due to the inability of the government to monitor and control the service domestically (Savitz, 2010).

The Telecommunication Regulatory Authority in the UAE has deemed it necessary to ban RIM, along with its associated data transfer processes as applied with the Blackberry services, arguing that the device poses a serious risk to national security (Bentley, 2010).

In this regard, the TRA contends that certain applications of the Blackberry enable individuals to misuse this service, in effect posing serious judicial, social and national security consequences (Constantin, 2010). In addition, since the related data to such Blackberry applications is possibly stored beyond the geographical borders of the UAE territory, what this means is that the related data is also beyond the UAE’s national legislation jurisdiction (Sacco, 2010).

The authorities in the United Arab Emirates are greatly concerned about a possible misuse of the security features of the BlackBerry Smartphone by criminals and terrorists so as to assist them to accomplish their heinous acts. These concerns by the UAE government have been labeled as legitimate by some analysts and the U.S government as well (Schreck, 2010).

There are some specific incidents that promoted the UAE government to institute a ban on the use of the Blackberry services. First, there was the recent assassination of Hamas officials by Israeli agents. In addition, there were reports of some youths who had organized peaceful protests by use of the Blackberry service.

On the issue of whether the UAE government is justified in banning the use of certain applications of the Blackberry services, it is important to note that the government has a moral duty to protect its citizens from nay potential harm that may be occasioned by the use of this device.

For example, the use of the Blackberry to plot to kill citizens of the UAE is enough justification for the government to ban the use of the service because the first priority of the government is in protecting the lives of its citizens. There is the need for the UAE government to identify lasting and sustainable solutions to overcoming this problem, as opposed to banning the use of the Blackberry services.

On the other hand, banning the use of certain applications of Blackberry services is tantamount to a violation of individual privacy. In as much as the issue of national security may be a real concern, however, potential terrorists for example, will still find other avenues for accomplishing their heinous acts, with or without a banning of the Blackberry services.

Consequences to concerned parties

While interviewing the human resource manager of a renowned company in the UAE, Siraj Wahab, a journalist with the Arab News, indicates that there is more to the banning on the use of the BlackBerry services, other than just the issue of security threat. In this regard, the human resource manager has attributed the ban on the high rate at which the telecommunication companies in the UAE have been losing revenue veer since the introduction of the BlackBerry services into the country.

As such, the telecommunication companies are involved in the ban (Wahab, 2010). The loss in the revenue has been occasioned by the fact that an increasingly higher number of people in the UAE now prefer to make use of the Blackberry for purposes of communication. As Wahab (2010) reports, similar sentiments have also been echoed by other users of the blackberry service in the UAE.

For example, there is a high rate in the use of the BlackBerry Messenger, another feature that is “in the eye of the storm” (Wahab, 2010). Thanks to the use of the BlackBerry, an increasingly higher number of mobile users in the UAE have managed to drastically reduce their hitherto massive phone bills. This is because one does not pay for The BlackBerry Messenger service as it is free.

This could therefore be a major concern to the mobile phone users because if the recent trends in the uptake in the use of BlackBerry by individuals in the UAE are anything to go by, then the revenues for the telecommunication companies can only plummet further. Besides the free messaging services, subscribers of the blackberry Smartphone also benefits from an additional service of sending pictures using the phone-enabled messenger feature free of charge.

Before the advent of the BlackBerry, these would often be sent via MMS, a service that was very expensive. Accordingly, the cost-effectiveness associated with the use of the BlackBerry in comparison with the ordinary mobile phone has effectively resulted in its gaining massive popularity. In addition, the middle calls in the UAE can also afford the BlackBerry.

RIM (Research In motion), the Canadian-based company that manufacturers the BalckBerry smartphones, will also be greatly affected by the decision by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority in the UAE to ban the use of BalckBerry services. As such, this move is bound to hinder the overseas expansion prospects of the company (DiPaola & Miller, 2010).

This move shall thus impact greatly on the growth prospects of RIM, considering that at the moment, Dubai, the business hub of the Middle East, is in the UAE. Following the an announcement that the BalckBerry services would be banned in the UAE, the RIM shares trading at the Nasdaq Stock Market in New York shed 55 cents at the close of trading on October 11, 2010, to trade at $ 56.98.

Numerous multinational companies are also located in Dubai, in the UAE. A majority of these corporations normally ship bulky goods at the hulking seaport in the UAE, often regarded as one of the busiest seaports within the MENA region (Schreck, 2010). Abu Dhabi is recognized globally as a leading producer of crude oil and hence, it there is an increased use of the Blackberry Smartphone by the oil traders and investors because of their high security when use to send data.

As such, a ban on the BlackBerry service “could have had a negative impact on their economy (Schreck, 2010), and in order to avert such a negative impact on the economy, there is the need for the TRA and RIM, the manufacturers of the BlackBerry Smartphone, to quickly reach a compromise over this stalemate.

Besides the threat to national security that has occasioned the imposing of a ban on the use of the BlackBerry in the UAE, there is the need also to take into account the economic viability of the UAE that is at stake, in case the ban takes root.

Even as the nearly 500,000 BlackBerry users in the UAE may eventually have no choice but to learnt the hard way on how to handle the ban, on the other hand, we also need to take into account how the almost 100,000 visitors who either stop or pass through the Emirates everyday will handle the slow-down in the capability with which they may now conduct business, as well as the sudden gap in receiving email and other services (Schreck, 2010).

A ban on the use of the BlackBerry in the UAE may in fact put a real dent in the ability of the country to compete competitively in the global market. Although this move may not actually extinguish the crucial role played by the Emirates as a travel and commercial hub in the Middle East, however, it may result in some individuals opting to take their business and travel operations elsewhere (Schreck, 2010).

The decision to halt e-mail, BlackBerry’s Messengers and web-browsing services shall also greatly affect foreign visitors and business travelers to the UAE, and this may translate into reduced revenue for the various sectors affected. As such, the need to safeguard the security of the UAE citizens may in the end come at the price of a compromise economy.

The UAE government through the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority intends to control the ongoing telecommunications but its efforts to control the use of the BlackBerry have been thwarted since the management of the data for this particular Smartphone is normally done offshore, meaning that its control is beyond the legal jurisdiction of the UAE.

Accordingly, the only viable solution that the government has is to ban the use of the services because of its inability to control it. The implication of the government’s decision to impose this ban means that the telecommunication market in the AUE, currently valued at $ 8.2 billion (30 billion dirham) would effectively lose a “few thousand” dirham (DiPaola & Miller, 2010), meaning that the market has no choice but to seek for alternative services to supplement the impending loss in revenue.

The ban on the use of the BlackBerry service will also affect the many subscribers to this service. Some of the subscribers already have a yearlong contract with the company that supplies this Smartphone and by canceling the service they stand to lose as much as 3,000 dirham, in addition to the initial investment used to purchase the phone (IHS Global Insight, 2010).

For a majority of the BlackBerry owners in the UAE, this particular Smartphone has become their “office, laptop, and home “(IHS Global Insight, 2010). The convenience and versatility of the BlackBerry is especially suitable for business owners in the UAE, as well as the many investors and foreign tourists in Dubai and the UAE. In the MENA region, the take-up rate for the BlackBerry has been very high and there are more than 500,000 users in the United Arab Emirates alone (IHS Global Insight, 2010).

Consequently, the medium term impact of this ban on the market conditions in the UAE is that if a resolution is not reached fast, then the BlackBerry users may have no choice but to opt to switch to one of the several mobile data handsets in the market, and this means lost business for the distributors of the Blackberry Smartphone, as well as RIM, the manufacturers of the BlackBerry Smartphone.

Another significant concern that is worth of exploration is that in the event that other regulators within the Mena Region also opts to impose the ban on the use of the BlackBerry Smartphone in their jurisdiction, this has the potential to greatly impact on the future services of the BlackBerry in the MENA Countries, and eventually spilling over to the UAE, with serious economic consequences.

Etisalat maintains that those BlackBerry users who have bought both their sim cards and devices in the UAE will still have the opportunity to enjoy roaming services even outside the UAE. On the other hand, those customers using a U.K. sim card and wish to roam internationally while in the UAE shall not be able to enjoy this service once the ban has been effected (Karrar-Lewsley, 2010).

The decision to ban roaming services by the UAE may impact negatively on the international mobile operators, to a certain extent. Roaming only constitutes one of the several sources of revenues for the mobile operators. The extent to which the ban on the roaming services may impact on the revenues of the mobile service providers will depend on the number of subscribers to this service travelling to the UAE.

As one of the representatives from Etisalat noted while speaking to Karrar-Lewsley, a reporters with the Dubai-based Dow Jones Newswires, “Generally speaking, total roaming revenue contributes about 5% of mobile operator revenue; the contribution of any operator’s BlackBerry specific roaming charges in the U.A.E. will be minimal” (Karrar-Lewsley, 2010).

Concession to the opposition argument

Banning decision of the Blackberry service violates the freedom of press

Advocates of free speech are opposed to the decision by the TRA to impose a ban on the use of the BlackBerry applications in the UAE. In this regard, these free-speech advocates are concerned that this crackdown offers a well-situated excuse to impose tighter control on information flow (Schreck, 2010).

The authorities in the United Arab Emirates have already instituted measures aimed at censoring the internet. In addition, the TRA has also blocked various internet sites that enable users to access for example, pornographic sites, or other sites that the TRA feels that they pose a danger or are offensive to the viewers.

Even as the UAE government still maintains that national sovereignty and security concerns enables it to establish rules that may enable the regulation of commerce, however, Non Governmental Organizations and American officials alike are really concerned about the violation of human rights due to the ban on the use of the BlackBerry service (Cheng, 2010).

While issuing the ban threat, the TRA issued a statement to the effect that at the moment, BlackBerry services enables the subscribers to “commit violations without being subject to legal accountability,” (Lebovich, 2010).

A number of opponents to this ban are now up in arm, using the UAE government of attempting to censor the BlackBerry Smartphone simply because the features of this service does not allows the government to easily monitor them. On this ground, the ban could be seen as nothing more than a violation of the freedom of speech on the part of the BlackBerry users.

Following the issuance of a warning in July 2010 by TRA that the BlackBerry Smartphone is a threat to national security, the UAE government has received accusations from Reporters Without Borders that it was viewing BlackBerry services “as an obstacle to its goal of reinforcing censorship, filtering and surveillance” (Lebovich, 2010).

In addition, the group also maintained that a block or ban on the use of the BlackBerry services could in fact be” a serious mistake and utterly inconsistent on the part of a country that aspires to be a technological leader in the Arab world” (Lebovich, 2010).

Refutation

Some terrorist organizations take advantage of the security features of the BlackBerry to plan and execute terrorist attacks without being detected, and this is therefore a compromise on the national security of the UAE.

Since RIM respects the privacy and security needs of consumers and corporations alike, it does not therefore disclose confidential information regarding the individual who subscribe to the BlackBerry service (DiPaola & Miller, 2010). In addition, we also need to appreciate the fact that the UAE is now a multicultural society and this calls for the monitoring of telecommunication services to that the citizens may live in a peaceful and safe environment.

Conclusion

The decision by the UAE government to ban the BlackBerry service has been faced with both negative as well as positive effects on the various concerned parties including subscribers, corporations, and the UAE economy as well.

As a result, this decision to ban the use of the BlackBerry Smartphone has generated a controversy among opponents and proponents alike, as they attempt to argue for its legitimacy (or lack of) However, the UAE government has its logical justifications in imposing this ban, arguing that the BlackBerry features enables terrorists to conduct heinous acts undetected, and hence a threat to national security, a position that has also been regarded as legitimate by the U.S government.

Considering that the UAE is an economic hub in the MENA region, the ban could have serious economic and social repercussions on the country. In addition, the ban would also result in reduced revenues for the manufacturers of the BlackBerry Smartphone and the companies involved in its distribution in the UAE.

It is important that the TRA in the UAE and RIM, the manufacturer of the BlackBerry Smartphone, reach a compromise regarding this issue and avert a potential economic and social crisis that could be occasioned by the ban.

Reference List

Bentley, L. (2010). Citing National Security, UAE Bans Some BlackBerry Services. Web.

Cheng, J. (2010). Black Berry bans violate “right of free use,” says Clinton. Web.

Constantin, L. (2010). United Arab Emirates views BlackBerry as national security threat. Web.

IHS Global Insight (2010). Black Berry Users Consider Consequences of Service Termination. Web.

Karrar-Lewsley, T. (2010). Regulator: Black Berry Ban Will Affect Roaming Users. Web.

Lebovich, A. (2010). The UAE’s Blackberry Showdown. The Washington Note. Web.

Sacco, A. (2010). Black Berry Security: UAE Calls BlackBerry a National Security Risk. Web.

Savitz, E. (2010). A better BlackBerry: nothing less, nothing more. Web.

Schreck, A. (2010). UAE, BlackBerry resolve dispute, averting ban. Denver Post. Web.

Wahab, S. (2010). BlackBerry ban talk gives users the blues Arab News. Web.

Perform Imaging and Profiling

Imaging is the process through which a replica of the digital device contents is made. This process makes it possible for analysis to be made on a copy instead of the original therefore protecting the original from changes. The SDK utility which dumps the flash RAM contents into a file is used to take the image from the file system.

The Program Loader software which is used to perform inspection causes a reset every time it is run. This reset may necessitate a file system cleanup which means that getting a partition table may cause changes in the file system and corrupt data. These undesirable results can be avoided by using the batch command which groups all command switches into a single access therefore preventing multiple resets.

Acquiring the Information

If the BlackBerry device is presented to the investigator with power off, he should leave it off until it has been examined. If the device is powered, the investigator should turn the wireless communications off but leave the device on for a number of reasons:

• To begin with, the BlackBerry device is only completely off is power is removed for an extended period of time or if the device is in data storage mode. When the GUI is used to turn off the unit, only the display, keyboard and radio are turned off.
• In its off state, items on the queue may be pushed to the unit before the radio is turned off
• Lastly, the device may have a program installed which accepts remote commands via e-mail. Such commands may allow a remote attacker to delete or alter information.

In case the device is password protected, the password should be obtained and the investigator should avoid making attempts to guess the password since too many failed attempts may cause the memory to be wiped. In case password cannot be obtained, the hardware should be accessed directly.

Hidden Data in BlackBerry Devices

It is possible to hide data on Blackberry devices by use of hidden databases, partition gaps, and obfuscated data. Some custom written databases do not show icons in the Ribbon GUI but tools such as the Rim Walker can be used to identify such databases.

Once identified, it is possible to view the databases through the savefs command. Hidden data can be stored in the gap between the Operating System and Files partitions.

The alloc command in the Program Loader can be used to view the partition table and the savefs and loadfs commands can be used to view space between partitions. Data that is stored at the end of the file system space is saved even after device reset and it can be viewed with the savefs command. However, the data cannot be modified.

Acquire Log Information

The log-gathering procedure requires that an image be taken and then wiped from the record of logs of the device. This makes this procedure a violation of standard forensic methods which require data to be left intact and unmodified. The investigator should access the logs on the original device before making use of the SDK tool. Hidden controls such as mobitex2 Radio Status, Device Status, Battery Status, and Free Mem should be used to review logs as opposed to using the standard UI.

Mobitex2 Radio Status is a control which provides access to four logs. Radio Status which shows the state of radio functions. Roam & radio records base and roam information. The log wraps at 16 entries and loses information in the event of a reset. Transmit/receive: this lot records transmissions and receptions, gateway MAN addresses, type and size of the data transmitted. It also keeps date stamps for every transmission from network and device. Profile string records interaction with the last utilized radio tower.

Shortcut keys can be used to access the radio status: Blackberry: Func+Cap+R

Simulator: Ctrl+Shift+R

Device Status function provides information on; memory allocation, port status, file system allocation, and CPU WatchPuppy. Detailed information can be obtained by selecting a line in the device Status.

Shortcut keys can be used to access Device Status:

Blackberry: Func+cap+B (or V)

Simulator: Ctrl+Shift+B (or V)

Battery status gives information on the battery type, load, status and the temperature.

Free Mem function provides detailed information on memory allocation in the device

Comm Port function provides the port status

File System gives the basic values for free space and handles. However, the number of handles found in SDK guides is limited.

CPU WatchPuppy logs an entry whenever applications make use of the CPU over a predetermined threshold. The function terminates processes that do not release the CPU.

Change To function logs the last items synchronized via wireless calendaring and gives access to debugging information.

Halt & Reset function makes the unit to reread the file system and it may lead to file system cleanup. The data that is marked as deleted in the cleanup process will be permanently deleted.

Program Loader

This is a command-line tool used for imaging and analysis and it contains the following commands:

savefs: This command writes a hex dump of the flash RAM to FILESYS.DMP in the directory where the Program Loader is. The file size is equal to the flash RAM available in the device. The file can be viewed through a hex editor. The investigator should rename and write-protect the file since the Program Loader will overwrite FILESYS.DMP when it is run with savefs. The investigator should also create a hash of the file to prove integrity later in the investigation.

dir: this command provides a list of applications that are on the device. It also specifies their memory location. It is a useful command when trying to emulate the original device on a PC. An investigator should highlight any nonstandard or missing applications.

ver: This command gives a list of the applications available on the device and their version numbers. This function is useful when trying to emulate the device on a PC. As with the dir command, the investigator should take note of nonstandard and/or missing applications.

map: this command displays detailed flash RAM and SRAM maps.

alloc: this command shows a partition table that lists the breakpoints between application memory and file system memory. The investigator should look out for unused sectors and the difference between the end of the file area and the start of the OS and applications area as this could reveal the existence of hidden data between the partitions.

batch [filename]: This command groups previous commands into a single communication session. Al commands can be grouped together except the savefs and loadfs options which should be performed independently. An image should be made with savefs before any other operation is undertaken. In case passwords are required, the Wpassword switch can be used on the command line or as the fist line in the batch file.

Review the Information

Information can be reviewed using the hex dump in two ways

• A manual review of the hex files can be undertaken using a hex editor. This will enable access to the whole file system including deleted records
• Alternatively, the hex file can be loaded into the BlackBerry SDK Simulator for review. The SDK can decode dates on expired records.

Simulator

The BlackBerry SDK Simulator emulates a real handheld BlackBerry in operation with the exception that it is controlled on a PC. One does not need to handle the original unit so as to load dump files into the simulator.

The simulator can be used by following these steps

1. Rename the FILESYS.DMP file
2. When the program loads, the file will be loaded provided the DMP file is n the same folder as the simulator and all simulator options are set to match. The file should not be in read-only mode since it will be overwritten to match the last state of the simulator.
3. The simulator should be configured to match the network and model of the investigated device
4. The simulator should be set to prompt for applications and then load the applications from the SDK inventory.
5. Click Control and then Start Simulation to run the simulator.
6. The command: OSLoader.exe OsPgrMb.dll/sl is used to connect the simulator to the PC’s serial port.

Checklist for Protecting Stored Data

• Ensure password authentication is mandatory by using the customizable IT policies of the Blackberry Enterprise Server
• Increase protection against unauthorized parties by removing staging area between the server and the BlackBerry device where data is decrypted and collected before sending it to the BlackBerry.
• Clean up BlackBerry devices’ memory periodically
• Protect messages that are stored on the server
• Encrypt the application password and the memory of the BlackBerry device
• Data stored by the user on a locked BlackBerry Device should be protected.
• Limit password authentication attempts to 10
• Use Advanced Encryption Standard technology to secure sensitive passwords on the BlackBerry device.

Introduction

New Smartphone technology made it possible for consumers to send e-mail while, at the same time, make phone calls. There are several convenient phone features incorporated within BlackBerry which reinforces its quality within international market. Such features include unique mobile operating system as well as appealing appearance. In addition, the phone has inbuilt sensors connected to the physical QWERTY keyboard, such uniqueness provides convenience to consumers in terms of usage (Kotler, 2006).

Blackberry’s buyer decision making process for shifting to the new smartphone technology and key factors leading to their success within the market

BlackBerry’s demand within international market increased owing to its features supporting mobile computing services making it capable of speeding up internet processes. The gadget’s entertainment technology system also added to its success within international market including despite lacking desktop capabilities. Provision of internet Protocol-based network within the smart phones enabled users to access internet-based applications.

Such cases include Wi-Fi networks providing services through visitor fees instead of old technology based on provider-lock in users. Smartphone’s Wi-Fi system has the capability of using all available internet browsers for the purposes of accessing various applications such as websites and search engines. The phone’s ability to provide Google Maps directions as well as rich HTML email client enables its services to be preferred by most customers (Kotler, 2006).

Despite all these features, shifting to new smartphone technology was prompted by a number of buyer decision programs. For example, BlackBerry runs on a 3G network device making the technology quite different from that of iPhone not applicable within technologically advanced regions such as Japan and Korea since it operates only on Cingular network (Egan, 2007).

Factors affecting a consumer’s behavior as related to the case and reasons as to why people shifted from BlackBerry to iPhone.

Social factors include people’s status, reference groups, social class and personal factors such as lifestyle and perception all affect consumer purchasing behavior. The iPhone technology distinguishes itself from other competitor companies based on the user interface application where they use multi-touch screen (Kotler, 2006).

Consumers relate this to social class whereby iPhone represents a more convenient phone easily utilized for office purposes compared to BlackBerry. Many application programs make the phone be associated with multi-tasking hence only suitable for those with intensive business schedules. Such attraction is based onphone softwaregranting the ability of incorporating all application programs hence allowing convenient user interactions.

Despite its functionality appeal to most buyers, prices seem higher than that of Blackberry phones making the phone to be associated with upper social class. Ability of the phone to provide simplified lifestyle makes it a suitable referral for most consumers compared to other technologies within the market. For example, within student’s set-up, they are always willing to make comparisons concerning three important dimensions within modern society and these include technology, management as well as humanity (Kotler, 2006).

Recommendations to change the business buying process of the company

Various challenges are experienced within the market which at times acts as barrier towards fair global competition. RIM should consider developing various market channels and structures used by current managers. Local as well as international consumer needs, should be considered based on appropriate paradigms.

Incorporation of system flow paradigm is of important use within the global market since it involves restructuring of the supply chain management strategies. For the success of designed marketing strategies supply flow should incorporate efficient communication mix between customers and suppliers, the case of BlackBerry requires direct business transactions between manufacturers and customers.

Divergent views on categorization of products involve application of different opinions and perceptions of consumers concerning particular goods. BlackBerry phones should be assorted based on satisfaction of the diversified global needs and demand. This calls for building of relationship paradigm down the supply chain capable of harmonizing activities of various players from manufacturers through to consumers (Kotler, 2006).

There is a need of incorporating value equation for the purposes of ensuring that RIM Company is positioned in a way capable of delivering value-added products. This acts as reliable adviser since RIM marketing team is capable of retrieving vital information from consumers in a dependable manner.

Value equation on BlackBerry should incorporate prices equivalent to benefits obtained from the product. Establishment of short-term goals and actions would generally assist in making right choices on marketing principles. Such strategies should be tested before application so as to establish the level of effectiveness based on company objectives.

RIM Company’s knowledge on current customers would assist in unveiling consumers’ preferences as well as buying patterns. This enables easy access to potential customers within various regions. The art of differentiating markets provides companies with easy decisions on identifying purchasing power alongside customer needs which ultimately defines product qualities (Kotler, 2006).

Major influences on business buyer behavior and their importance on Blackberry’s case

Major influences on consumer buyer behavior include cultural, social, personal and psychological. It is important for BlackBerry to understand major impacts for the purposes of developing marketing mix strategies capable of appealing to the preferences of intended target market.

Resulting purchase decision is basically influenced by cultural, social, personal as well as psychological characteristics. Nature of the modelssold to consumers determines the level of outside influences of others especially on purchase decisions. Built-in functions involving personal digital assistant provides horse power capable of running complex software applications.

Smartphone streamlining applications on internet and third generation communications network is in line with current innovative needs of the world population. Users require phones which would enable them handle almost all daily activities in their hands. Understanding of major influences on business buyer behavior would enable RIM to adopt new ways of keeping pace with constant changes within the IT environment.

Consumers taste is currently being transformed from hardware to software calling for new survival techniques. It would enhance consolidations of appropriate manufacturing, operating systems and content market in the marketing processes.

Majority of customers using iPhone are considered early users of iPods due to Cingular technology. The kind of unique look and feel of iPhone’s operating system adds to its strength, the kind of phone sensors working with the multi-touch screen helps in creating large and loyal consumer base.

The possibility of using Mac OS applications for desktop with iPhone makes the product to have more referrals within the market. The company intensifieduse of international communication mix especially through the internet which is majorly applied by most consumers, hence saving the company on operating costs (Kotler, 2006). Application of BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) ensures that communication through emails between phones is easier than before.

Describe in details the four major steps in designing a customer-driven marketing strategy for BlackBerry.

Phone market is considered a highly competitive business environment calling for focused strategies capable of edging out existing competition. RIM geared their technology towards satisfying consumer needs and preferences. The four steps include identifying target market, meeting consumer needs, building loyalty and using customer feedbacks.

In identifying target market, BlackBerry manufacturing company should use intensive market research in the process of identifying the various demographic characteristics within the consumer base. BlackBerry phone should be designed to suite occupation and income capability levels. Knowledge concerning occupation would enable incorporation of distinctive qualities capable of matching the intended social class (Kotler, 2006).

Customer-driven marketing strategy should also focus on meeting consumer needs. In such a case, consumers prefer multipurpose phone capable of providing various applications to the convenience of customers. BlackBerry had the capability of using 3G network, making it possible for consumers to use it within all regions contrary to iPhones technology. There is great need for office convenient phones with capability of providing internet options to consumers(Michelle, 2009).

Then, there is the process of building brand loyalty based on the kind of services received from the company. This leads to repeat sales and, at the same time, possibilities of referral business operations. In this case, the phone’s ability to act as information center and entertainment device makes consumers prefer using the technology as opposed to the traditional design.

Customers’ feedback is used in this case for making various changes and improvements focused on meeting future customer needs. In this case, customers required presentable and smart looking phones.

This helps in encouraging existing customers to spread good news concerning new applications. Such customers should be rewarded through discounts or granted free merchandise at the same time contest can be used for the purposes of rewarding customers capable of sending most referrals within defined amount of time (Michelle, 2009).

Reference List

Egan, J 2007, Marketing Communications, Thomson Learning, London.

Kotler, P 2006, Marketing Management-Analysis, Planning, Implementation & Control, Prentice Hall, London.

Michelle, W 2009, Issues in Informing Science and Information Technology, Victoria University, Melbourne.

Introduction

The disparities and dynamism existing in the current technologic advances have initiated complex reproaches in marketing technics. One company that has experienced adverse changes and challenges is Research in Motion Limited (RIM). It is a company that trades as Blackberry in Canada.

This does not imply that the company pays particulate attention to Canada alone. Instead, the company exploits the market throughout the globe to diversify and populate its products. RIM (trading as Blackberry) was found by Mike Lazardis in 1984. In 1984, the advances and dispersions of technology were inferior to the present computational progress. It is, therefore, apparent that Blackberry faced copious adjustment to fit into the complemented markets.

Complementation implies that there were new and advanced products introduced to compete with Blackberry. An analysis is vital to determine the aspects characterizing such companies. Apparently, I will provide a report analyzing these aspects and evaluating whether Blackberry could overcome its current standing in the market. Consequently, the essay will evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that surround Blackberry Company alongside strategies of solving issues.

Swot Analysis

Strengths

Reputation is a key strength that blackberry has initiated by introducing secure devices. The products produced by Blackberry were competitive and satisfying to the customers. Satisfaction is a fundamental attribute that allows customers to gain interests about products and services. Blackberry Pearl 8100 was a quality and secure phone that attracted consumers worldwide.

The product retained a sense of quality in relation to the earlier products. Therefore, the company became advanced and qualified to receive customer loyalty for subsequent devices. Additionally, competition was rare to the company because there were few companies providing similar products. Consumers did not have the chances to compare Blackberry products with other devices. This allowed people to perceive a sense of reputation and quality.

The brand created a substantial loyal number of customers from business contractors and corporates. The loyalty prevented some customers from using other brands. In 1^st December 2012, a rise of blackberry users had risen to seventy nine million.

This rise was attributed to the customers’ loyalty that facilitated information dispersion amongst close individuals. According to Hooley (2008), customer satisfaction allows dispersion of positive attributes of a commodity. Hooley’s stipulation proves intricate in blackberry advances and success.

Another unexceptional aspect involves the level of brand recognition. There was a quality perception and high cost that allowed the recognition of blackberry devices. In fact, it is apparent that RIM limited has changed the trade name due to the high recognition of the blackberry devices. They identified that the brand name had dispersed more widely than the company’s name. Consequently, the company trades its products as Blackberry today.

Blackberry has been an award winning company. This attribute has made significant contributions in strengthening the company. It has proved to be worthwhile and competitive from these award. Chaston (2009) identified that leading companies attain high customer rating and credible feedbacks. Additionally, winning provides a perspective that facilitates Blackberry selection by customers when deciding about the best devices.

Weaknesses

However, there are other factors that weaken the potentials of Blackberry success. It has been identified that the company lost loyalty from non-corporate customers. This arose due to the intriguing characteristic of the devices in comparison to Apple iPhone and Google Android. These products brought a huge gap that deprived the populating qualities of blackberry. For instance, these devices could accommodate many applications and multitask.

Additionally, the products had a lower price than the closest blackberry that was present. The new product gained access to the market and deteriorated the initial achievements of RIM. In fact, the company had enjoyed an uncompetitive market. Therefore, it did not initiate new strategies to prevent loss of market. This allowed the companies to investigate and determine the ways of killing blackberry in the market.

Apple iPhone was termed as the blackberry killer because it managed to provide better and quality devices that were incomparable to blackberry devices. The cost and requirement for blackberry created a perception that the devices were made for professionals. Affordability was, therefore, a great hit on the success of blackberry. It was vital to allow customers understand that blackberry was universal and easy for all people to operate.

Also, the cost should have been regulated for the target market to afford the product and spread information about its incredible features. The dependency of RIM on the government and corporation participates in weakening the company. For instance, if several corporations withdrew from a contract, the remedies would be huge losses due to capital or profits expected from the contract. The techniques applied by the risen companies were substantive and independent.

Apple iPhone was not only marketed through corporation contracts, but also through individual consignments. Therefore, their prices were not modified to retrieve profits for third party contractors. Research and development of blackberry was bounded by restriction of part by part innovative product release. Products were released to satisfy an aspect that customers requested improvement.

Otherwise, the company could not introduce all advances together without studying customers’ behaviors and attitudes. The target was to produce new devices with high features from a product released initially from the company. RIM expected that customers would value the arising products in relation to the inferior products produced initially. However, they did not pay attention to the freeness of marketing and market entry.

This implies that there were no strategies initiated to make policies about innovation releases to the market. This, therefore, aroused a significant weakness to the company. Also, leadership and losses influenced the performances of the company. The company lost income when customers shifted to alternative smartphones. This led to suspension of employee that facilitated covering of losses experienced. It triggered subsequent losing events that lowered production and income squarely.

Opportunities

Opportunities available for blackberry exploitation are substantive. Growth of information technology involving the use of social media, study sites, online books, and mass media among others have participated in creating opportunities for mobile devices (Evans, 2012). These developments have motivated many people into buying the devices produced by Blackberry Company.

Many app markets have been developed to facilitate the introduction and uses of blackberry devices. These are exemplified by Google play store and android market. Consequently, there is an increase of product sales arising from the substantial facilitation of mobile devices globally.

IT advances create credible grounds for opportunities because people are enlightened about the use of mobile devices. Concurrently, there is a significant expansion of the target market for these devices. Additionally, the government has increased demand for these devices. Developing countries forms credible sites where market for blackberry can be initiated.

This would allow RIM to form the marketing bases and create trust from customers. The blackberry 10 contains unique features that cannot be seen in other smart phones. In addition, the device incorporated a touch screen and a keyboard. It is, therefore, apparent that individuals could prefer the phone for its advanced complementation and broadened appeal. Rising in an environment without adverse competition was an integral attribute to facilitate development.

Threats

Growth of technology has brought about some factors that threaten Blackberry in the market. First, competition from a rising market of devices, especially smartphones, has reduced the loyalty of customers to Blackberry. This comes with critical price adjustments and advertisement costs to facilitate continued company recognition in the market.

Other initiatives arose to encourage inventions of the devices in a free manner. Consequently, the forces that could prevent free entry to the market are no longer present. Additionally, it is vital to realize that the company had failed to create a solid customer base. It was, therefore, prone to prior changes and lack of stabilization after the first company introduced competition.

The chances provided to the company by the government will be opening for other companies starting from 2014. Consequently, it is possible that Blackberry will lose contractors to other companies. This was a major income sector for the company. Its deterioration and loss will pose intolerable challenges to the market. These will include less profits that cannot sustain the workforce of the company. The stipulation of Chao (2007) alleged that unsustainability of business progress leads to strategic losing events.

For instance, less income could lead to suction of some worker. The workforce reduction leads to reduction of production rates and inactivity. Chao described that the processes lead total failure of a business. However, Leiw (2009) noted that strategic management of employees could prevent this disintegration. For instance, salaries could be reduced to fit all workers. Therefore, there would be no workforce reduction arising due to firing or suspensions. The leadership of RIM posed a threat to the success of Blackberry Company.

This company was not successful on finding App manufacturers. This became a source of threat because few companies had not managed to secure applications manufacturer. Native applications would have specialized the uses and features of blackberry. Additionally, they would have made the use of blackberry selective and unique. The users would have attained integration of using blackberry to prevent changes and allow loyalty. The company leaders alleged that carriers refuted sale on Z10 phone model.

Therefore, this phone referred to as blackberry sprint was not marketed appropriately. Lawsuits have inconvenienced the progresses of blackberry by incurring charges and fines to the company. Consequently, lawsuit is another threat that blackberry must consider during its business activities. An instance of these Blackberry loses includes the payment of eight dollars for every device sold through infringing technology in the United States. The payment totaled to one hundred and forty seven million dollars.

Overcoming Current Market Challenges

The market of blackberry is depreciating everyday due to the rising companies to compete. The founder of Blackberry Company reassigned recently (28^th March 2013) for unspecified reasons. The loyalty that had dispersed throughout the globe about blackberry is no longer significant. The workforce have been reduced to a sustainable level.

This implies that less people will be involved in marketing their products throughout the globe. Shares reduced due to the lowering and risky investments. In fact, the shares had reduced to lower than fourteen dollars. This is a lower value when compared to share of above one hundred and forty dollar in the year 2008. These fluctuations led to market depreciation and high product prices.

Strategic analysis depicts that Blackberry Company does not compete well with others companies. The complaints made concerned the rigidity of the company and its aspects of detecting changes in the market. For instance, blackberry is slow in covering threats posed by other companies. Probably, direct and convincing strategies should be initiated to respond fast to these aspects.

Competition regarding the introduction of Apple iPhone and Google Android was treacherous on the marketing strategies of blackberry. Since these launches were commenced, the company did not compliment the market by providing alternate products. There ought to be strategies arousing the competition growth. For instance, RIM should have launched competitive smartphones one month after iPhones were introduced. Software services require advanced and abrupt updating to the features that bold users require.

Strategic launching of products to facilitate information dissemination throughout the globe could be vital. Marketing is an attribute that competitors consider squarely because it is a key factor in attracting customers. Complaints have been made that RIM continuously ships products late than other companies. In some instances, the products are incomplete and inferior to the competing devices.

Probably, fast and efficient execution of products could solve the issues relating to these complaints. Studying the market would be vital to determine the best devices that would exceed the features presented by other companies. Investors are compliment facilitators of the market. Failure to address issues raised by the investors have initiated loss of investments from the company.

RIM have not managed to provide reliable product guidance requested by investors. It is apparent that the governance of RIM does not take active roles in making organizational decisions. Most companies meet and discuss issues relating to the success of their products. When RIM exempts this part, the resultant attributes are loss of customers and poor marketing strategies. This, in turn, leads to failure due to lack of strategic attributes.

There is a reduced rate of advertisements for RIM’s products. RIM must consider all marketing strategies vital in its sales. Otherwise, the complimenting products will be recognized more than its products. This implies that people will be more conversant with other devices than blackberry. However, the company have initiated strategies to facilitate product preferences.

For instance, some blackberry users can access internet without paying directly to their servers. Consequently, customers would like to enjoy this unique character. Initiations of other products are blocking the desires to operate blackberry devices. The adaptation of blackberry into the market is being mitigated slowly. Probably, if Blackberry does not curb this influence, the disparity will be huge and untreatable. Other companies will have dominated the market to prevent minor innovators from expanding.

Acceptance of mobile apps that are not unique to blackberry would solve issue exhibited by application inventors. This is because the markets of mobile apps are raising exponentially in time.

Changes of the initial phone model into simplistic models would convenience customers. For instance, the devices could be made lighter, smaller and more compact than the prevailing models to facilitate customer satisfaction. This could be retrieved by studying the competing products, their capabilities, advantages and disadvantages. Satisfying products would be introduced when the complimenting companies have not addressed the problematic issues.

Finally, the outstanding aspect of blackberry regarding the GPS security services should be applied hugely. This is because many people recognize this service. Phones theft cases cannot apply to GPS enabled mobile devices. Therefore, due to the rising issues of theft, customers are in dire need to secure their devices with a promising company.

Conclusion

The developments made through information technology are beyond reproach. Furthermore, the developments are integrating on daily basis towards high levels of establishment and service provision. Ideally, there are no limits that could be described in relation to these developments. Consumers cannot tell what will be innovated tomorrow. It is, therefore, apparent that IT developments are substantially indeterminate.

Does developments in IT rely on chances? Are there targets that innovators aim to achieve? Are they close to achieving them? There are copious questions that have not been answered up to today. The developments are arousing sequential questions. However, the point remains that we are going to wait for the next innovation. Probably, the innovation will set the highest achievable developments in information and computer technology.

Hopefully, blackberry will establish its initial bases and the level of organization prospects to compete and make this utmost innovation. However, making this innovation requires it to address the issues discussed in the previous topic. Otherwise, the company might remain grounded by other competing companies. Retrieval of the initial integrity and motivational ideas are potential stands in arousing the prosperity and advancement of Research in Motion.

References

Chao, S. (2007). Advancing quality improvement research: challenges, opportunities-workshop summary. Washington: National Academies Press.

Chaston, I. (2009). New Marketing Strategies: Evolving Flexible Processes to Fit Market Circumstance. London: Sage Publications.

Evans, D. (2012). Social media marketing an hour a day. Indianapolis: Wiley.

Hooley, G. (2008). Marketing Strategy and Competitive Positioning. Harlow: FT Prentice Hall.

Liew, J. (2009). Employee training: a study of education and training department in various corporations. Sydney: General Books.

Over the years RIM’s Blackberry brand has been a powerful contender in the IT industry. It was one of the pioneers which drove the smart phone revolution in 2007 but as per our research we found out that while Blackberry’s revenue and gross profit have been improving between the years 2007 to 2011, the rate at which they have been increasing has been deteriorating. There are many factors to consider in the stagnation of the company’s growth.

These can be attributed to the world economy with financial crisis at bay, aggressive competitors such as Apple, Android and Windows consuming the Blackberry market and/ or problems with regards to the saturation of the market with an abundant number of players in the industry. In terms of net marketing contributions, our findings show that year on year percentage change has been decreasing.

Packaging the company’s sales, marketing and administration cost over the given years of 2007 to 2011 under the “marketing cost”, column we have observed that the 2011 marketing cost is two times that of 2010 which is more or less a 50% increase while revenue for 2011 has only increased by 33%.

Such occurrence may had been a result of the growing number of aggressive competitors of Blackberry namely Apple’s iPhone series, Google’s massive android franchises and Microsoft’s Windows Mobile smart phones to name a few. According to Iain Mackenzie of BBC New “For at least a decade, besuited city types spent every spare minute twirling their way through corporate emails and pecking out responses.

But then the iPhone arrived, after spending a year or so turning the consumer market upside down, it went after the office inbox” (Mackenzie, 2011). When the iPhone was first released in 2007, Apple improved its iOS’s exchange server compatibility and provided additional security which not only attracted graphic designers and artists whom are the target market of Apple as a company but also captured Blackberry’s middle-aged gentlemen from the finance departments market.

Along came Google’s Android which collaborated with other brands such as HTC, Samsung, LG and other mobile phones to house its operating system. With Android’s wide budget range it captured most of the markets of the smart phone industry from the high end ones to the lower end consumers. Lastly Microsoft’s Windows Mobile phones constant innovation and marketing has won a fair share of loyal followers in the corporate scene.

With these growing competitors RIM had been having difficulties addressing concerns with regards to Blackberry’s competiveness. Another theory of Blackberry’s declining sales can be attributed to the recent problems encountered by its marketing department. On October 2011, the Blackberry service in its largest markets had been disrupted causing its users to have problems accessing data services.

According to RIM the service problem was caused by a core switch failure within its infrastructure and the backup switch which was designed to carry over the functions of the system failed to perform resulting to a large backlog of data (Dipaola & Miller 2010). The data crash has affected the company’s brand image and positioning which also lead its users to question RIM’s capability in providing good service and products.

Last October 2011, social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook have shown customers’ complaints, disappointments and anger towards Blackberry’s services (Dvorak & Weinberg 2011). Lastly, the departure of top executives and senior managers had lead to its shareholders’ belief that RIM’s unusual management structure hinders the company growth. Jaguar Financial which owns 8% of RIM is urging other shareholders to replace co-founders, Mie Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie from their roles as CEO and chairman of the company (Kelion 2011).

The internal conflict between the shareholders and the management team has caused RIM a conflicting vision on how it will proceed in Blackberry’s future which presents as a weakness to its competitors with an unstable support system. Observing the revenue breakdown of RIM for the financial year end of March 2011, 80% of the RIM’s revenue came from sales of devices while only 16% came from services.

A SWOT analysis on the company shows that the strength of RIM lies in its own capability in producing and manufacturing its own operating system (software) and mobile device (hardware). An additional bonus for Blackberry’s customers is the services it provides which is an advantage for its resellers’ because the latter can charge end-users monthly subscriptions.

Currently there are about 50 million Blackberry Messenger (BBM) users around the globe thus the company still has its existing market at the same time third-party developers can create applications for Blackberry. Branding wise it is still the preferred choice of corporate users.

Weaknesses of the Blackberry brand and smart phone are the bad press release it had conveyed through the service outrage last October 2011; the smart phones themselves are pricy and only cater to corporate users. Blackberry is perceived by many as a device for business people thus ordinary consumers may not relate to its features.

It has lags behind with its apps and web browsing experience which are impressively provided by the new Apple, Android and Windows phones and its revenue sources are not diversified. Blackberry is missing out on a potential source of revenue by the absence of a strong app store.

Analysing such strengths and weaknesses opportunities such as Blackberry’s potential in extending its software development to third party companies and its expansion in developing countries can broaden its market provided that it needs to address cost issues as the customers in the said countries are price sensitive.

Threats such as competitors’ branding and pricing might consume RIM’s market share and restrictions from conservative governments (UAE, India, etc.) on security network access may limit its expansion. The poor economic climate brought about by the global financial crisis and recession together with threats of patent lawsuits may challenge its global marketing expansion.

Blackberry lacks diversity in its product base compared to its previous smart phone generations. It failed to constitute innovation in its music and app stores which gives Apple and Google a competitive advantage. The operating systems of Blackberry, which can be provided on other phones present a challenge in terms of where to place it.

On one hand it would increase the number of subscriptions and potential customers for app stores but at the same time it might lead to brand dilution. Analysing the PESTEL of the matter, in the political scene issues on security network may arise especially in the countries of UAE, India and China.

On the economic scene, problems of exchange rate fluctuation affect the brand’s prices deeming them too expensive for the markets of developing countries. This occurrence will slow down the growth of Blackberry in its new markets. Socially smart phones are the trend nowadays with the popularization of social media networks and demand for instant communication may boost RIM’s sales.

Technology wise the impact of 4G, instant messaging and growing demand of apps can be taken advantage of the company in riding the wave. Finally patent infringement lawsuits may post as a threat to the company especially in its venture in new markets.

Overall RIM needs to innovate in order for it to be competitive in the market and win back its market shares. Apple’s iPhone has been gaining much attention with its innovation over the years. Its revenue has been increasing at a faster rate than Blackberry. (Dilger 2011). Blackberry needs to develop a strong app market to catch up with its competitor’s innovations.

Reference

Dilger D., “Apple’s Rivals Battle for iOS Scraps as app Market Sales Grow to $2.2 Billion.”, 2011. Web.

Dipaola, A. and Miller, H., “Blackberry Challenges May Spread as Governments, RIM Collide”, Bloomberg, 2010. Web.

Dvorak P. and Weinberg, S., “Misfires in Marketing at Blackberry”, The Wall Street Journal. Web.

Kelion L., “Black Days for Blackberry as Outage Adss to RIM’s Woes.”, BBC News Technology. Web.

Mackenzie, I., “Will Blackberry crumble?”, BBC News Technology. Web.

Executive Summary

Research in Motion changed its brand name to BlackBerry, early this year. In line with its endeavor to offer solutions to challenges facing global communication industry, the company has come up with BlackBerry Z10, which is a Smartphone that is capable of executing work and personal applications. The product relies on the company’s key competence, which is corporate security.

BlackBerry Z10 guarantees the commercial quarter and professionals of their information security. Besides, it allows users to multi-task. The major economic challenge that affects the company is economic variations across the globe.

Moreover, the increased use of BlackBerry Smartphones by antisocial individuals might affect the sales of BlackBerry Z10. BlackBerry uses promotional and differentiation strategies to increase its sales volume.

Company analysis

Mission and goals

Research in Motion (RIM) was the company that created BlackBerry brand. Early this year, the company changed its name to BlackBerry. BlackBerry’s mission and goal are, “to provide solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market, including the software that allows the BlackBerry Smartphone to provide mobile access to email, applications, media and the internet” (Sampson, 2011, p. 6).

To achieve the mission and goal, the company has continued manufacturing and building on its present products.

Currently, the company has come up with BlackBerry Z10, which is a Smartphone that accommodates both work and personal applications, helping users to switch from “their personal space to work space with a simple flick of the finger” (Sampson, 2011, p. 12). All these are in line with the company’s mission and goal, which is to offer answers to challenges that face global mobile communication market.

Product markets and portfolio

Sampson asserts, “Smartphones are still a niche market, though there is huge scope for expansion” (2011, p. 9). BlackBerry is the second biggest company with respect to sales of Smartphone. In 2011, the company had over seventy million customers across the globe. BlackBerry focuses mainly on the Indian market. The company, together with Nokia dominates the market.

Currently, BlackBerry serves 15 percent of the Indian market share. The company concentrates on selling its products to the high-end urban market. Indian society is highly differentiated. Therefore, demand for BlackBerry’s products varies in the market. High demand for BlackBerry Z10 and other products in the commercial sector and colleges makes the company focus on the two market segments.

BlackBerry’s market can be largely split into two segments; the rural and town markets. The two markets vary significantly with respect to demands, requirements, fiscal orientation, and inevitability of the customers. In 2011, the company’s total revenue was $3.4 billion (Sharma et al., 2012).

BlackBerry offers solutions to numerous functionalities, which range from instant messaging, e-mails, intranet applications, voice, to internet browsing. Its portfolio includes, “software development tools, BlackBerry wireless solution, the BlackBerry wireless handheld product line, and other software and hardware” (Sharma et al., 2012, p. 17).

The company’s product line includes Smartphone, business software, BlackBerry®, tablet, PlayBook^TM and accessories. Its products and services are in high demand across the globe.

Core competencies

Hoang argues, “BlackBerry’s future does not lie on its capacity to tackle its rivals head-on. Instead, the company needs to focus on its core competences, namely the blackberry backend and corporate security” (2012, para. 1). The manufacture of BlackBerry Z10 affirms the company’s core competence in guaranteeing corporate security.

Through the Smartphone, the company is capable of providing security solutions to institutions that are in dire need of secure business communication. The company has experienced personnel, who are able to develop firewall that guarantees secure transition from work to personal applications when using BlackBerry Z10. This implies that BlackBerry enjoys unparalleled data security capabilities as its core competence (Hoang, 2012).

Strengths and weaknesses

Many users commend BlackBerry Company for its development of BlackBerry Z10. This latest model of Smartphone has numerous strengths compared to its earlier models. One of the strengths of BlackBerry Z10 is its capacity to systematize calendar and message information (Howitt, 2013).

The phone allows users to amalgamate their text messages, e-mails, and social messages under a single folder. Besides, one is capable of accessing all the messages promptly. Indeed, the phone allows users to access crucial and tailored information efficiently.

Another strength of BlackBerry Z10 lies on its touch keyboard. BlackBerry Z10 has a well organized and easy to use keyboard. Besides, the phone has predictive text mode, which enhances typing speed and accuracy. BlackBerry Z10’s hardware is capable of handling the latest operating system. Consequently, one is capable of opening numerous applications without challenges (Howitt, 2013).

Despite the numerous strengths, BlackBerry Z10 has a number of weaknesses. The phone does not have a hard button that helps users to switch from an application to the home screen.

Consequently, it takes long to switch from an application to the home screen as one has to swipe continually. Another weakness of this Smartphone is that it gives users a lot of problems when multitasking. The absence of a hard button makes it hard for users to switch from one application to another (Howitt, 2013).

Marketing environment

PEST environment

Political

BlackBerry enjoys a steady political environment in the United States’ market, which helps it to increase its market share. A recent study by Nielsen revealed that the introduction of BlackBerry Z10 into the American market gave the company a competitive edge (Reed, 2010).

However, BlackBerry encounters challenges in Indian, Chinese, and United Arab Emirates’ markets where consumers doubt security capabilities of the Smartphone.

Economic

Economic features influence the mobile phone industry since consumers purchase phones based on income. The recent economic crisis posed a major threat to the introduction of BlackBerry Z10. Today, consumers have to be sure that the price of a Smartphone equals its capabilities (Reed, 2010).

Besides, variations in exchange rates across the globe are likely to affect the price of BlackBerry Z10, making it either competitive or extremely expensive.

Social

Social aspects like lifestyle, education, and cultural values affect the sales of BlackBerry products. The company makes substantial sales during the holidays. One of the social aspects that are likely to affect the sales of BlackBerry Z10 is the increased use of BlackBerry Smartphones by antisocial individuals. This might affect the company’s sales performance in religiously receptive countries (Reed, 2010).

Technology

Technological changes affect BlackBerry products significantly. However, introduction of BlackBerry Z10 into the market is likely to help the company to increase its sales volume as the technology used to manufacture the Smartphone is environmental conscious (Reed, 2010).

Key competitors

Nokia and Apple companies are the key competitors in the Smartphone market. The two companies focus on urban market where demand for Smartphones is high. Many consumers have confidence and are loyal to Nokia and Apple companies. Hence, the companies are guaranteed of a steady market. Nokia is renowned for excellent customer services, which has made it dominate the market for decades.

The major weakness of the two competitors is that they do not have Smartphones that can handle contemporary business applications (Sharma et al., 2012). Hence, many consumers are turning to BlackBerry Z10, which has numerous functionalities and supports contemporary applications.

Customer environment

Presently, BlackBerry serves a differentiated market that is made up of two segments; urban and rural segment. The urban segment comprises of professionals and businesspersons who make their purchasing decisions depending on the value of the product. Individuals in this market segment purchase a product after they are sure that it will add value to their businesses or careers (Sharma et al., 2012).

On the other hand, BlackBerry serves the rural market segment that comprises of customers, who make decisions based on affordability, battery life, connectivity, and network expansion of the Smartphone. Consequently, BlackBerry has a potential market growth in the urban segment, especially with the introduction of BlackBerry Z10, which meets the majority of their needs.

Product and marketing strategy

One of the marketing strategies that BlackBerry uses to position its BlackBerry Z10 Smartphone is product differentiation. The Smartphone has BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) functionality, which differentiate it from others (Sharma et al., 2012). BlackBerry Messenger is software that allows users to send and receive instantaneous messages.

The company uses this functionality to target the high-end urban market segment, which demands a Smartphone capable of reducing the time they take to communicate with business associates or clients. BlackBerry uses factors like demands, customer needs, and financial orientation to segment its market.

Marketing mix

BlackBerry applies the 4Ps marketing mix to enhance its competitiveness in the global market. The company focuses on product functionalities as one of its brand positioning strategy when developing BlackBerry Z10. The company has also increased the number of applications that the Smartphone supports (Hein, 2009).

Therefore, consumers can now use BlackBerry Z10 to execute numerous applications efficiently. BlackBerry Z10 uses, “Hub and Balance features as its key differentiators from other devices” (Wagner, 2013, para. 6).

BlackBerry uses varied pricing mechanisms to capture different market segments. To cater for all customers, the company has Smartphones, which vary in functionalities and prices. Many customers shy away from purchasing Apple brands due to price.

They prefer BlackBerry because it sets its prices based on the features and value of the product. The main target group for BlackBerry Z10 comprises of professionals and businesspersons who are not price sensitive (Wagner, 2013). Hence, BlackBerry is at liberty to set its price at a level that corresponds to the capabilities of the gadget.

BlackBerry runs numerous advertisement programs to promote its products. Recently, the company launched a “keyboard challenge” advertisement that seeks to portray BlackBerry Z10 as the Smartphone with the best keyboard in the market (Wagner, 2013). Besides, it liaises with its business associates in promoting Smartphones.

For instance, the company, in collaboration with CellOne lowered the price of BlackBerry Z10 from $599 to $399 as one of its promotional strategies. Besides, the company allows its clients to trade their old BlackBerry Smartphones with Z10 at lower charges.

To reach many customers, BlackBerry Company liaises with numerous distributors (Wagner, 2013). For example, the company works with Mainline (a mobile phone distributor firm) to distribute its BlackBerry Z10. Mainline helps the company to get dealers who supply the Smartphone to local outlets, thus helping the company to reach remote customers.

References

Hein, K. (2009). Phones top list of most-trusted brands. Sales & Marketing Management, 161(6), 34-46.

Hoang, A. (2012). Blackberry 10 proves RIMM’s core competence. Web.

Howitt, C. (2013). BlackBerry returns to profitability, plans marketing boost. Web.

Reed, B. (2010). BlackBerry will win. Network World, 27(2), 24-27.

Sampson, N. (2011). Strategic audit of Research in Motion. Web.

Sharma, A., Rizvi, H., Girdhar, D. & Rana, D. (2012). Comprehensive research analysis of Research in Motion (RIM). Web.

Wagner, A. (2013). BlackBerry to promote Z10 by rolling out new takeover ads. Web.

Abstract

Sales of BlackBerry have declined significantly owing to a number of factors. These factors are poor execution of planned operations, technical delays, such as certification, distribution, and logistics, increased user fees, and failure to keep abreast with technological development.

To overcome these factors, BlackBerry should formulate effective and practical strategies, foresee technical challenges and plan on how to overcome them, reduce user fees, and keep abreast with technological advancements. To enhance understanding of factors that BlackBerry faces, future research should examine how brand identity, quality of products, and operations influence sales and marketing.

Data Analysis

Poor execution is a factor that led to the decline in sales of BlackBerry in the smartphone industry. In January 2013, BlackBerry unveiled its innovative products, Z10 and Q10, which are smartphones that operate on the platform of the BB10 operating system. Owing to their uniqueness and attractiveness, BlackBerry was optimistic that these products would penetrate the competitive markets of smartphone industry.

From the outset of design and innovation, these products had a competitive advantage in the smartphone industry. During the launch event, Thorsten Heins, then BlackBerry chief executive officer cited execution as a challenge in the sale of BlackBerry 10 smartphones. Lewis (2013) argues that BlackBerry has a history of product delay due to poor execution of marketing strategies and distribution of smartphones across the globe.

Hamilton (2013) supports the argument that BlackBerry has a history of product delay because it delayed the launch of BlackBerry 10 smartphones. Analysis of the global markets and even in Manhattan, where the product launch event occurred, indicates that Samsung Galaxies and Apple iPhones dominate.

Therefore, poor execution led to product delays, which hindered BlackBerry from marketing and selling its products in the smartphone industry. Delay in technical certification is a factor that contributed to the decline in sales of BlackBerry in the smartphone industry. Despite the fact that BlackBerry launched its new products, it failed to obtain technical clearance from the United States carriers.

In essence, the products did not penetrate the smartphone markets in the United States in time for customers to buy and use them. During the launch event, Thorsten Heins stated that loyal and potential customers in the United States had to wait for some months for Z10 and Q10 smartphones to reach their markets (Lewis, 2013).

In the competitive smartphone industry, delay in product distribution is a huge setback because it gives competitors an upper hand to penetrate the market and expand their market share. The outcome was that BlackBerry did not only lost loyal customers, but also potential customers, hence, decreasing its sales significantly. Financial reports show that BlackBerry registered a loss of $965 million during the second quarter of the year 2013, which compelled it to sack 4,500 employees (Lewis, 2013).

Such a loss indicates that delay in technical certification contributed significantly to decline in sales of BlackBerry. The change of name from Research in Motion to BlackBerry is a factor that contributed to the decline of sales because it increased user fees. To enhance its global reputation, Research in Motion decided to adopt the name BlackBerry because it was an iconic name, which gave it a new brand and made it have a single global identity for marketing purposes (Black Berry, 2013).

However, in spite of having a new brand and marketing identity, BlackBerry lost millions of loyal customers. Austen (2012) argues that millions of customers defected to Samsung and Apple smartphones because Research in Motion charged high user fees. The increased user fees made customers to shift their loyalty to alternative products in the markets, which are cheaper than BlackBerry 10 products.

In a bid to reverse the trends of customers, Thorsten Heins planned to reduce user fees because they accounted for 36% of total revenues that Research in Motion generated (Austen, 2012). Although BlackBerry managed to reduce user fees significantly, it was too late to prevent its loyal customers from shifting to alternative products in the smartphone industry.

Failure to keep abreast with technological advancement is a major factor that contributed to a massive decline in sales. BlackBerry did not envision that smartphone industry would revolutionize information technology. According to Gustin (2013), BlackBerry became a conservative mobile phone company because it insisted on producing smartphones with physical keyboards, while most users preferred virtual keyboards due to versatile navigation.

As BlackBerry focused on physical keyboards, Apple and Google generated smartphones with virtual keyboards, and thus, keeping abreast with the interests of customers and versatility of the technology. Whereas Apple and Google focused on generating smartphones with virtual keyboards and powerful operating systems, which act as powerful mobile computers, Blackberry conserved its operating system and physical keyboard.

Eventually, customers realized the innovative technological features of Apple and Google smartphones and shifted their loyalty from BlackBerry to them. Gustin (2013) argues that though BlackBerry eventually produced smartphones with touchscreen, it did not match that of Apple and Google because it looked like a poor imitation. In this view, failure to keep abreast with technological advancements in features of smartphones made BlackBerry to lose considerable market share and experience a massive decline in sales.

Conclusion

Analysis of BlackBerry shows that its sales declined considerably owing to a number of factors. These factors have made BlackBerry to incur huge losses and sack thousands of employees.

From the case study, it is evident that poor execution, technical delays, high user fees, and failure to keep abreast with technology are major factors that contributed to decline in sales. In this view, BlackBerry needs to mitigate these factors and ensure that they do not have a negative impact on sales.

Recommendations

Given that poor execution contributed to the decline in sales, BlackBerry should formulate effective and practical strategies, which enable it to execute its plans in time. From the case study, it is evident that BlackBerry lost millions of customers owing to lack of effective strategies to market and supply chain to distribute its products.

In this view, to ease the execution of marketing and sale of products, BlackBerry should own a robust supply chain. Therefore, to augment sales in the competitive markets of smartphones, BlackBerry should have robust strategies and supply chain, which are not only effective, but also practical, for the management to executive operations.

BlackBerry should foresee technical issues that would prevent it from marketing and selling its novel products globally and plan to overcome them. Analysis of the case study indicates that technical issues contributed to the decline in sales of BlackBerry. To overcome the technical issue of delayed certification, BlackBerry should submit its products in time to avoid detrimental delay.

Moreover, BlackBerry should ensure that it submit the appropriate version of products to expedite clearance and certification processes. Timely submission of quality products is essential because a slight delay gives competitors an upper hand in the smartphone industry.

To attract and retain customers, BlackBerry should reduce user fees that it charges. BlackBerry charges higher user fees than Apple and Google, and thus, making customers to prefer affordable products and services. In this view, BlackBerry should ensure that its user fees are the lowest in the smartphone industry for it to attract and retain a considerable number of customers.

Moreover, since a significant number of people are in the middle class economically, BlackBerry should design affordable products for it to target extensive market and increase sales. BlackBerry should undertake extensive market research so that it can understand tastes and preferences of customers in the smartphone industry.

The case study clearly indicates that BlackBerry overlooked tastes and preferences of customers when it remained conservative in innovation, while Apple and Google adopted innovative technologies, such as touchscreen and versatile Internet technologies. Hence, BlackBerry should keep abreast with technological advancements for it to remain competitive in the smartphone industry.

Future Research Direction

To enhance understanding of the smartphone industry, future research should focus on establishing the influence of brand identity and quality of products on sales. Brand identity and quality of products are two major factors, which influence sales in the smartphone industry.

In the case of BlackBerry, future research should examine how BlackBerry 10 smartphones and their features contributed to the decline in sales of BlackBerry. Moreover, future research should study the role of operations in sales and marketing. In essence, the study should establish how operations contributed to decline in sales of BlackBerry in the smartphone industry.

References

Austen, I. (2012). Black Berry loses million customers in a quarter: One million users left during most recent quarter; revenue fell 48%. Web.

Black Berry. (2013). Research in Motion Changes Its Name to Black Berry: Company adopts globally recognized brand, consolidates to single brand identity. Web.

Gustin, S. (2013). The fatal mistake that doomed Black Berry. Web.

Hamilton, O. (2013). BlackBerry Timeline. Web.

Lewis, M. (2013). BlackBerry One Year Later. Web.

Introduction

The necessity of expanding market share of a business drives innovations. In this light, innovations ensure that a company develops new products that maintain their customer’s preference to the company. In addition, innovations enable the company to produce unique goods that please their clients. Therefore, the company becomes competitive than their competitors.

Moreover, companies that are innovative ensure that they curb and eliminate the problems of poor quality. For example, the field of technology uses innovations as a way of solving the technological problems for their products. In this case, they seek to discover new technology that is more efficient than the previous one. However, the companies must protect their innovations against infringement.

The companies should ensure that they own their innovations and deter other companies from using them. In this light, they seek to remain unique and outstanding. This paper will focus on the BlackBerry Company has protected its innovations.

The paper seeks to determine how the BlackBerry Company has used the theory of protecting innovations in its organizations. Particularly, it will consider the use of trademarks, patents and trade secrets. Also, it will focus on the enforcement of laws against companies that infringe their innovations.

Trademarks

The trademarks are registered through the legal channels of government. Once they are registered, they guard and secure the international rights of ownership. The BlackBerry Company has used the trademarks widely. The company’s trademarks are registered with the US government. In this case, it has registered about forty one trademarks within its organization.

They range from software trademarks, storefront, devices, smartphones trademarks and others. Some of these trademarks include BBM, BlackBerry, Data Flow, BlackBerry Bold, and Data Smart among others. The trademark must indicate that it is registered on legal terms of the government system. In this light, the company has given some guidelines that direct the use of their trademarks.

The guidelines apply for all marks that appear in the trademarks list. They restrict the use of BlackBerry trademarks by any individual or company without a formal authorization from BlackBerry. In addition, they provide that a company should not use a mark that is similar to the company’s trademarks. In this light, they seek to prevent product dilution. Product dilution is the use of a mark that is similar to the original one.

As a result, the use of a similar trademark sets the company at an advantage of using the popularity of the original company. In addition, the customers who cannot afford the original product find for a similar product from other companies. This ensures that they get satisfaction at a lower price than the original one. Therefore, this guideline has ensured that the company protects its products against dilution.

However, they have allowed the use of their trademarks in various situations. First, a person can use the BlackBerry trademarks when referring to some statements that are true to their product or services. In this case, they have allowed individuals and companies to use the trademarks for making statements that are true to the product only. Therefore, they protect their products by restricting false allegations.

Therefore, they ensure that the credibility of their products is maintained and sustained. Otherwise, some people would compromise the credibility of the company. Secondly, they allow the use of their trademarks while showing compatibility. In this light, they allow individuals and companies to use their trademarks while showing that their products are compatible with the BlackBerry product.

For example, a software company can refer to the Blackberry’s product showing that their software can operate on a BlackBerry device. In this case, the compatibility is a positive contribution to the company. Therefore, allowing the use of the trademarks on this situation protect and support their business prosperity. However, the reference should not portray a sense of force sponsorship or endorsement by the company.

This guideline ensures that the companies competing with the referrer do not deviate from the BlackBerry Company. This forms another point of protection of their innovations. It ensures that their innovations are not only protected against infringement but also against unnecessary biases.

Lastly, the BlackBerry Company has provided that their trademarks should be used as adjectives only. Then, the trademarks should be followed by an appropriate generic name. For example, BlackBerry Smartphone or the BlackBerry Enterprise Server. This helps in suggesting that the company has many innovations that originate from the BlackBerry Company.

In addition, the trademarks must be presented in the right and exact specifications that the company has provided. The spelling and spacing should be made in the right specifications. None of the marks should be altered for any reason. This ensures that the company remains unique to the market and specific to the customers. This shows that the company has used the trademarks widely.

Patents

Patents refers to the legal rights provided by the government to the innovator allowing them to sell and distributetheir products. In this light, the government restricts any other company or individuals from distributing the company’s products and innovations without the authorization of the original company.

The BlackBerry Company has a detailed patent rights. In this case, the company has registered for patents on all its products they have made originally. These include their software, devices, applications and smartphones. In this light, their patents rights provide that the company can sue a company for selling their products without their permission.

Under the patent rights, the company has submitted the list of their inventions. Therefore, the government acknowledges the products that company own. This allows the company to have the legal power over their products.

Among many, the government has offered crucial patents to the company. First, the government offered a multi patent to the company on the innovation of more efficient cell phones and electronic devices that enhance communication. This patent was given on the basis of producing the BlackBerry smartphones and tablets. It aimed at protecting the distribution of the company’s electronic devices.

Secondly, it was awarded the patent concerning the program that aimed at reducing cyber-attacks and bullying on the social networks. In this light, the company has developed a new system of controlling cyber bullying. This system cannot be distributed by any other company or individuals without the company’s permission. This patent has helped the company on protecting their innovation concerning this system.

Another patent offered to the company was the storage of fingerprints on the BlackBerry touchscreen. This was an original invention by the BlackBerry Company which is patented under their company.

In addition, the company has a patent that protects reserves their rights of owning a system which seeks to sell and distribute digital writings and contents. Lastly, the BlackBerry Company has been given a patent on their system that converts text to audio. It allows their users to convert textual information to audio format for listening.

Trade Secrets

According to protection innovations, trade secrets refers to the information that a company does not disclose to other statutes and stakeholders. The BlackBerry Company has various trade secrets that aim at protecting their innovations and discoveries.

For example, the company has restricted the access of local servers that host the company’s services. This ensures that most of the trade information remains confidential to the company. As a result, they conceal their innovations strategies that can be used to produce a similar product. As a result, the company will maintain the originality of their products and the capability to improve the technology.

In this light, the ability to improve the products is a crucial factor in the solvency of a company. If the company allows the access of information, other companies can improve the technology and reduce the marketability of the original product. Therefore, BlackBerry Company ensures that it retains the ability to improve their products.

Conclusion

In this paper, the theory of innovation protection has been applied to the BlackBerry Company. In this light, the paper has focused on the three most significant pillars of the theory. These pillars include the use of trademarks, patents and trade secrets.

It has portrayed the manner in which the company has applied each of the factors in their organizational strategies. In addition, it has formed the framework of protecting innovations in the future. As a result, it is an all-inclusive and a satisfactory application of the theory.

Introduction

Research in Motion (RIM) is a software as well as a telephony hardware manufacturing firm that is operating in the telecommunications industry that was started in 1984 with the main aim of developing both software and hardware applications for mobile communication. Over the years, RIM has grown to become one of the world’s biggest handset manufacturers with the brand blackberry.

The Blackberry handset has been popular since its launch in the American market because of its unique applications like having a high memory and storage capabilities that allowed for massive storage in its music player. Also, the blackberry handset could support the 3G connection allowing the handset to have high speeds in terms of internet connectivity.

These applications served its business clientele very well in terms of e-mail access and uploading of data (Research in Motion Ltd, para3). The blackberry smartphone, which is the modified version of the first blackberry handset, although having gone through tremendous changes in design, has been RIM’s best innovation in terms of sales and also subscriber base.

This paper will seek to establish reasons for the significant increase in the sales of the blackberry handset in the Middle East. The paper will also try to highlight the effects of the RIM retailers in these Middle East countries in terms of the market base, sales and consumer response to the product and also to the RIM systems of sales in their country. The finding of this paper will be based upon the survey of the RIM retailers that will encompass between 18-30 retail outlets.

Problem Analysis

In the past few years, the market paradigm has undergone through dramatic upsets that have been occasioned by the economic recession that has hit the American and European economies in the recent past. The effect of this has resulted in a slow demand for goods, increased production costs, and a fall in share prices for the listed trading companies.

These factors have led some of these companies to venture from their traditional market into unfamiliar territories like the Asian market, which has a promising untapped potential. RIM is one of those companies that have sought to establish itself in the Asian market as the most preferred handset provider in the region.

Market Strategy

RIM came up with a strategy in which to target some Asian markets through the launching of retail stores that operated within the countries cities; one of those cities targeted was Beijing, Qatar, and Indonesia. The strategy was designed to increase the sale of the product. One of the market strategies in which RIM capitalized on was the fact that blackberry as a brand had done exemplary well taking around 52% of the American market share.

In itself, the brand was popular with the wider majority of the user being the business client. This was in contrast to RIM’s main competitor, iPhone, whose majority clients were the youth. The retailers adopt a strategy of advertising the blackberry smartphone as being cool and classy.

This line of advertisement sought to appeal to the youth and also to the business clientele. However, advertising alone would not yield the desired results. RIM came up with a system where the retail stores would be strategically situated to be able to attract more clients (Ho Para 3-4).

Analysis of the Marketing Strategies

Thus, the retail shops were situated within the cities of the Asian countries and put up infamous and busy streets. The retail shops were divided into a series of segments, but which worked harmoniously towards achieving similar goals. This segment included a sales department, a technical department that was tasked with repairing and maintaining the handsets in case of any malfunctions.

The last department was tasked with the management of the retail shops. The above system in the retail shop ensured that the clients got the best services and also could consult the RIM technician in case their handsets had developed any problem. These customer services ensured that the clients got value for their money.

Other marketing strategy employed by RIM to boost its sales in the Asian market was to ensure that within the retail centers, the ratio of employees to clients was high to ensure that the clients were better served, especially during the onset of the launch of the retail centers, which was characterized by massive long lines of clients wanting to purchase the smartphones. This strategy was also aided by RIM diversifying its product and services.

The RIM company also decided to launch its latest product in the Asian market, the RIM Playbook tablet had hit the American and European market with an impact, and according to some analyst, the playbook tablet had done well compared to the RIM latest blackberry handset. RIM hoped to replicate the success of the playbook in the Asian market. The strategy employed by RIM in this connection relied heavily on having an efficient customization strategy and also coming up with unique designs for its products.

This method had proved to be successful in the Korean markets. Customization of the Blackberry smartphones and the Playbook tablet from the conventional twelve keys on the keyboard to twenty-four allowed for the Asian hand set carriers to be able to communicate in their language. RIM also embarked on launching a short messenger service for the local enabling most of their clients to be able to send and receive short text messages in their local language (Market Research Report Para 6).

Environment Analysis

Although the above strategy worked towards increasing the sales of the blackberry smartphone handsets, it is crucial to mention that the Asian markets posed a challenge in terms of the social, religious, and political aspects.

Political challenges

Some markets like the UAE had burned the use of blackberry in their countries due to both political and religious matters. In most of these Asian markets, there is a narrow line between politics and religion, meaning that the access to the internet is limited and highly regulated by the state and so the blackberry smartphone could not be effective to the business clientele who had no access to the internet.

Also, for the youth, lack of internet meant that they could not access the social sites rendering the blackberry smartphone not to be as effective as it should have been. In addition to the UAE market, other markets within Asia posed quite a challenge like the Korean market, where there are stringent government policies in terms of products standards.

However, these shortcomings were resolved, and RIM was given the right to sell its products. The government also eased its stringent regulation on internet connectivity, a measure that boosted the RIM market base.

Environment challenges

About environmental factors, some of the markets offered an adequate work environment about cheap manpower. For instance, markets like China offered a convenient environment in terms of infrastructure, manpower, and also a ready and vibrant market for RIM products.

However, some Asian markets like the UAE lacked the required expertise about manpower and thus required expatriates had to be deployed in these regions, increasing the cost of operations for RIM Company. It is crucial to mention that markets like Bangkok offered relief for RIM industries as the environment was conducive in all aspects, causing RIM launch to start with a bang.

Social-cultural challenges

Although RIM was able to get integrated into the Asian market without any trouble in terms of government policy after they were made flexible, there were a lot of problems about culture. Unlike their previous markets where RIM had its operations in an environment where there was a lot of awareness in terms of handset applications and manipulation which allowed for handset carriers in this western market to base the demand of the smartphone on design and application manipulation.

This determined the competition of different smartphones. However, the Asian market required RIM to conduct a sensitization advertisement for it new market which meant that most handset buyers bought the blackberry handset just for its brand rather than which type of handset had the best applications rendering some handsets to become dead stock (Palo 14).

In addition to this the issue of superiority in culture also posed a challenge with some Asian countries opting to advocate and use their manufactured handset rather than using brands that did not belong to their countries, this notion was hard to dispel although through vigorous sensitization in terms of brand quality, ease of the blackberry applications and availability of replaceable components of the smartphone made it easy to sell the product.

Economic factors

In terms of economic spheres, RIM sought to establish a prepaid service for its business clientele through its retailers in the Middle East. This strategy had proved successful in the Indonesian market. The strategy was estimated to boost the blackberry services in the Middle East, having in mind that these new markets were becoming economic herbs in the world market platform.

It is also crucial to mention that by the time RIM was venturing into the Asian Pan-Pacific markets, the smartphone industry in the developed market had transitioned from the point of view where blackberry was perceived as a company as opposed to being consumer driven by the product.

It is prudent to mention that the Asian markets like Qatar, UAE, and Bangkok were emerging new economies that had proved to major players in the Asian continent has increased investment in both business and sporting, making them economically viable.

Legal aspect

In most Asian countries, RIM companies experienced a lot of legal huddles, although, they were managed in time. Some of the countries that offered legal challenges were China and the UAE. In China, the legal tussle that presented itself was that of products being subjected to meet some local requirements about quality.

This was precipitated by the fact that China is also a handset manufacturer for different companies through off-shoring arrangements, and thus, it was interested in protecting her interests. In UAE, the legal tussle was about cultural and religious issues and also having a lot of bureaucracies about western investment.

Technological Aspect

The Asian markets provided a significant technological contribution for the RIM company in areas of innovation like coming up with a twelve key touch screen keyboard that allowed for the Asian clients to type in their languages. Also, the Korean and Chinese markets become blackberry manufacturing countries in terms of their smartphone inputs and other applications. The RIM playbook tablet added a new touch in the Asian market in terms of technology, especially with the youth who found it to be quite handy in the social sphere.

Competition

RIM has faced a lot of competition from other handset manufacturer like the iPhone, Nokia, Ericsson, and Samsung, who have also developed their smartphone in almost the same way in terms of application. These developers have also entered into the Asian market causing the competition to go a notch higher thus success in the Asian market will be based on developing new and innovative applications, new designs for the smartphone and also maintaining a higher customer service to retain their Asian customers.

Customer analysis

The response regarding customer analysis varied within the different Asian markets, some markets started with a bang in terms of sell volumes of the smartphone and the playbook tablet, while others stated slowly with regards to sells volumes only to pick up later. It is crucial to mention under normal evaluation the customer response has been positive and improving due to the customer friendly measures that the RIM retailers have undertaken to improve customer service delivery.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the RIM retailers in the Middle East market developed quite sound strategies which had proved to be quite successful in other Asian markets. The strategies ensured improved customer service, which translated to improved sales of the RIM product.

Works Cited

Ho, Victoria. RIM seeks consumers in Asia’s emerging markets. ZDNet Asia. 2010. Web.

Market Research Report. RIM’s Asian Market Entry Strategy: Analyzing Success Factors for Smartphone and Tablet Markets in Asia. 2010. Web.

Palo, Alto. Asia Pacific to become the largest smart phone market by 2012: – Symbian will remain dominant, but the OHA, RIM and Apple will grow strongly. 2010. Canalys. Web.

Research in Motion Ltd. Company Histories & Profiles. Funding Universe. 2003. Web.

Case Brief

Arabic BlackBerry: Adapting to the Language of the Market is an article that presents the case of a mobile phone maker, namely BlackBerry. The company has been at the forefront in creating mobile phones that have an Arabic language interface as a strategy to enter the Arab World (Armstrong et al. 150). The company has achieved considerable success in the Arab World, especially the UAE. This move is a major success for the company that has been trying to expand its market base from its traditional US and European markets. In its effort of introducing phones that feature the Arabic language, the company has collaborated with key stakeholders in the region such as Etisalat. Its goal is to offer more diversified options and phone applications such as the email, which is a major selling point for the BlackBerry (Armstrong et al. 151).

The company is a pacesetter in the telephony world since it has established products that enable users to type and/or view Arabic websites. Another important highlight of the case is the current trend towards ‘the push email’ on mobile phones. Blackberry and other mobile phone makers have noted this application. Hence, the company is keen on implementing it in response to the market demand, especially in the corporate world. Overall, the case provides important insights into BlackBerry’s efforts towards establishing a market base in the Middle East. It also highlights key emerging technologies such as the push email, which other mobile vendors are also developing.

Stages of Decision Process of Buyers

The consumer is a critical part of a successful market. However, understanding how a consumer thinks before making the final decision to buy or decline a product remains an elusive aspect (Solomon 25). Despite these uncertainties, several approaches have been suggested towards understanding consumer’s decision-making process. The following are the five stages of buyers’ decision process:

Problem Recognition

A buyer’s decision-making process of begins with the presence of a problem that he or she wants to address (Sheth 46). For instance, in the case of BlackBerry, a potential buyer may realise that he or she needs a portable device to send and receive emails. Until such problem is fulfilled, the buyer will not be comfortable.

The Search Process

Once the buyer decides on what is required, he or she must address the problem. The customer then moves to the next step of searching the products or services that will adequately address the identified problem (Kalaycı and Potters 14). In the search process, various tools and approaches are applied (Hawkins and Mothersbaugh 10). For instance, the use of the internet, search engines, or recommendations from friends and families are all important tools and approaches to the search process. A buyer identifies one or many alternatives that can satisfy the given need or address the problem at hand. For instance, in the case of BlackBerry, a buyer may find out that out of the other mobile phone companies, only BlackBerry can offer the applications to support emailing.

Evaluating Alternatives

Once the buyer has identified the possible option for addressing the problem, the next stage involves narrowing down to the best option, depending on other characteristics such as price, design, and ease of use among others (Solomon 23). In this stage, the client decides on the element that he or she wants to focus on when buying the product. For instance, a buyer may probably want a phone, which supports not only the push email technology, but also the input of email messages in the Arabic tongue. In this process, the buyer will find that BlackBerry has such support.

The Selection Stage/Purchase

Once buyers select the best alternative, they can decide on what and/or where they will buy the given product or service (Sashi 253). For instance, as a new product in the market, the buyers’ decision to buy a BlackBerry phone may be based on advertisements or referrals from users who have used the same product.

Post-Purchase Evaluation

After buying a product, the buyer evaluates whether the product is meeting the needs that it was purchased to fulfil (Sashi 254). The evaluation stage is very important since it determines whether the buyer will be loyal to the company or not.

The Concept of an Aspirational Group

Human beings are very social. Other external forces influence them to make important life decisions. The concept of aspiration group is important when it comes to understanding consumer behaviour, especially how clients make decisions that relate to buying or rejecting a product (Hawkins and Mothersbaugh 13). An aspiration group comprises elements with which an individual or a group wants to be associated. Many organisations desire to be pacesetters. They long for establishing a bench against which consumers make decisions that relate to purchasing.

For instance, BlackBerry wants to take the ‘aspirational group’ position by being the first company to introduce Smartphones that have the Arabic language interface and capabilities. Further, by introducing the push email capabilities, the BlackBerry Company will also be taking a good position as an aspiration against which consumers would like to be identified with.

BlackBerry’s Position in the Improvement of the Telephone Bazaar in the Middle East

Companies have a critical responsibility that they have to play within their respective industries. The BlackBerry Company has positioned itself to respond to customer demands. It has set the pace in terms of technologies that are available to consumers on their handsets. Firstly, the introduction of Smartphones that have the Arabic Language interface and capability is a major signal that mobile phone makers need to produce handsets that adapt to specific consumer needs across the world. In this case, the BlackBerry Company has clearly demonstrated that it is possible to make phones that suit the Middle East regions. It is likely that other mobile makers will copy this move in their efforts to win the competition in the region.

The second important role that the company has played is the campaign for the adoption of the push email technology in Smartphones. In this case, as the corporate world moves towards increasing mobility demands, the demand for portable technologies will increase drastically. Further, the ability to create, send, and receive emails in Arabic is also a major technological breakthrough and an important start for the direction that the Smartphone industry is likely to take in the Middle East and across the world. Therefore, the company has acted to show that it is possible to adopt new technologies that suit the consumer needs and demands. At the end, it is evident that Smartphone makers will have to respond to consumer needs to remain competitive in the fast-growing telephone sector.

Works Cited

Armstrong, Gary, Philip Kotler, Llyod Harris, and Nigel Piercy. Principles of marketing. Australia: Pearson, 2014. Print.

Hawkins, Delbert, and David Mothersbaugh. Consumer Behaviour Building Marketing Strategy. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print.

Kalaycı, Kenan, and Jan Potters. “Buyer Confusion and Market Prices.” International Journal of Industrial Organisation 29.1 (2011): 14-22. Print.

Sashi, Michelle. “Customer Engagement, Buyer-Seller Relationships, And Social Media.” Management decision 50.2 (2012): 253-272. Print.

Sheth, Jagdish. Models of Buyer Behaviour: Conceptual, Quantitative, and Empirical. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011. Print.

Solomon, Michael. Consumer Behaviour: Buying, Having, and Being. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2014. Print.