The Indian mobile phone revolution is incomplete without the mention of local handset companies, which are responsible in a big way for taking feature-rich phones to the masses. Companies such as Micromax, Lava, Lemon Mobiles, Karbonn etc. India’s mobile handset as a whole has grown by 15% to Rs. 33171 crores. Top 10 manufacturers have contributed Rs. 23603 crores or 70% of the total revenues.
Top 10 mobile handset manufacturers by revenues in 2010-11:
Manufacturer | Revenues in crores (INR) |
Nokia | 12,929 |
Samsung | 5,720 |
Micromax | 2,289 |
RIM | 1,950 |
LG | 1,210 |
G’Five | 1,326 |
Karbonn | 1,004 |
Spice | 920 |
Maxx Mobiles | 745 |
Sony Ericsson | 690 |
So, the time when only Nokia, Samsung (International player) ruled the market has gone, now they are finding it hard to compete in the continuously growing dynamic market. And on the other hand the new Indian manufacturer like Micromax, Karbonn, Spice, Maxx mobiles are eating up the share of the market at the quick pace reporting robust sales.
Marketing strategies opted by Indian handset manufacturers:
Low Price: The simplest market winning strategy is to offer the latest technologies at comparatively lower price. The general behavior of Indian consumer show that, they prefer less known brand to a big player provided they carry the latest technology at lower price. The Indian handset manufacturer utilizes this strategy to their best. The aspiring and primitives are enticed by brands which provide value for money offering and also have rich mobile experience.
Multiple Sim Slots: The steep growth of local mobile phones is almost entirely on the back of so-called dual-sim phones (even triple-sim), which allowed thrifty consumers to have two numbers on single device and effectively exploit plunging tariffs in a cut-throat mobile services market. In India, mobile plans are mostly prepaid and, thanks to an ongoing price war, among the cheapest in the world and getting cheaper. Consumers constantly shop for deals and often wind up with three or more accounts—nearly 100 million Indians have multiple cell numbers, estimates investment bank Macquarie. To switch among numbers, cell phone owners used to have to swap SIM cards, which is eliminated with multiple sim phones.
Research and Development: In the global scenario companies spend billions of dollars in their research and development and it is no hidden fact that overall performance of tech companies is directly correlated to their R&D investment.
With a well-defined product vision and an R&D set-up to support it, Indian handset manufacturer successfully generated innovative handsets that can revolutionize the telecom consumer space. Due to thorough understanding of the Indian market as well as consumers local manufacturer are coming up with innovative handsets to compete in the market. Local companies are flooding the Indian market with multiple options aimed at different consumer segments. Some of them are:-
ü Single click access to popular social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.
ü Low priced phone with QWERTY keypad.
ü Low priced phone with touch screen
ü The 30 day standby battery life on mobile sets was a big success especially in the rural areas where power failures are common.
ü Handsets with switching networks option (GSM-CDMA)
ü Mobile handsets with 3D motion gaming technology – this has been targeted at the youth taking into account the growing gaming culture.
Branding: Branding is to differentiate from other sellers. Local manufacturer uses the all possible medium to advertise their products like:
ü Many brands sponsor big sports events like I.P.L, IIFA, Cricket World Cup to attract youths.
ü Use print media and Social networking site.
ü Use catchy advertisements by showcasing celebrities as Akshay Kumar is brand ambassador of micromax.
To sum it up local manufacturers have won the initial battle by registering their brand on the on the minds of consumer but they still have a long way to go, they have to gain the trust of consumer by providing innovative products with superior quality and at competitive price.
Written by : Ankur Bhalla
MBA TM (I)
SITM
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