Philip Christopher, company president at PCD, LLC
Innovation is the hallmark of the wireless industry and the call for cutting edge solutions - in technology and marketing - has never been more important. While the breadth of consumer demand has been as varied as a dealer’s product line, in the coming year consumers are likely to be more economical about upgrading handsets.
Significant opportunity can be developed through marketing niche products to attract emerging and evolving customer segments such as teens and tweens, specialized business and personal applications. From text devices to water-resistant rugged phones, wireless retailers can cultivate niche markets by selling “the sizzle with the steak.” The devices with the most potential fall within a few main categories: text devices, smart phones and ruggedized devices.
Smart phones are one of the fastest growing classifications of phones within the U.S. PC Magazine predicts that by 2012, 75 percent of all phones sold in the U.S. will be smart phones. By 2015, smart phones will represent as much as 65 percent of all cell phones sold globally. Who needs a smart phone? Not just business people. More and more stay at home parents are using an all-in-one device to communicate with everyone from their child to their child’s teachers and other parents.
Ruggedized devices such as the G’zOne Boulder by Casio are those certified to meet stringent U.S. military specifications for exposure to extreme temperatures, shock, submersion and dust, environments. These devices have enormous appeal to emergency service workers, construction and engineering trades, as well as to those who enjoy an outdoor lifestyle. How do you reach these target markets? Through direct marketing, trade publication advertising and editorial, professional and community networking.
Two trillion text messages are sent daily around the world and texting remains the most profitable value-added service offered by wireless carriers. Nearly 80 percent of parents say they text their children, and while teens and tweens would rather text than talk, the median age of text message users is actually 38 years old. The market is big for specialized text such as T-Mobile’s Sidekick product family, the Verizon Wireless Blitz and the AT&T Quickfire. Being fashionable while being affordable helps to sell text devices to both kids and their parents.
Along with offering a growing variety of niche products comes the importance of consumer education. Retailers can build customer loyalty and cultivate upgrade sales by helping consumers fully utilize the communications features of their phones. Understanding and educating customers is smart selling that builds market share for niche products and adds revenue for retailers.