BlackBerry has been in a steady decline since Apple and Samsung took over its market share. This marketing plan outlines how BlackBerry can reposition itself in the smartphone market. The mission statement shows the direction the company aims to take currently and its standing today. The external marketing audit includes a PESTLE and market analysis to gauge the business environment the company faces.
The internal marketing audit exhibits the company’s financial standing and the effectiveness of its marketing mix. Additionally its marketing strategy and structure are identified in hopes of understanding the internal changes that need to be made in order to launch the new product.
A SWOT analysis is conducted to identify …show more content…
External Marketing Audit
A PESTLE analysis is used to evaluate the external business environment an organisation faces (Abdullah and Shamsher, 2011). The underlying purpose of a PESTLE is for the company to find a strategy that works considering its capabilities and the industry environment to be able to react to changes as they occur (Gupta, 2013). It is important to conduct a PESTLE for BlackBerry because the success of the product can be better predicted if the climate it will enter is understood.
3.1 PESTLE Analysis
Political/Legal
The legislation passed in countries the company operates in is an important factor to consider. Laws pertaining to factors such as employment, competition and privacy would affect operations. Countries such as China, India and the United Arab Emirates have raised concerns in regard to the security features that BlackBerry devices have. This is because governments cannot monitor communications among users of the devices (John, 2010). This affects the company’s ability to deliver a complete unrestricted product in some …show more content…
Because this affects the smartphone industry as a whole, it may possibly damage BlackBerrys brand image as well.
BlackBerrys unwillingness to change led Samsung and apple to become market leaders in the smartphone industry. Because of this the younger generations have a perception of the company’s products as being outdated. A study showed that college students with BlackBerrys viewed their phones as less technologically advanced when compared to the iPhone and felt a financial stigma attached to users of the brand (Firmin et al., 2012). This perception may affect the willingness of some potential customers to buy the new product.
Technological
Smartphone technology has advanced rapidly in the span of 20 years starting in the 1990s (Page, 2013). The rate of technological change can mean that if companies do not adapt they will fail. This is why it is important for BlackBerry to keep up with technological advancements when developing a new