Infinix Smartphone Market Segmentation in Nigeria

Executive Summary

This study is aimed at providing a strategic marketing report to the board of directors of Infinix mobile Nigeria, and in doing so several important analyses has been done.

The first set of analysis performed was market segmentation and market targeting of infinix mobile customers which involved placing customers into certain groups or categories based on common attributes which they may possess after which a particular target was chosen in view of focusing on providing the utmost satisfaction towards that group. `

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The consumer behaviour of the targeted market group was also critically analysed and the result of the analysis showed that the target group purchase behaviour was greatly influenced by factors such as aesthetics, price and features of smartphone brands. In light of the above analysis, a three year marketing objective was proposed with the aid of a SWOT analysis and BCG matrix. An appropriate marketing mix comprising of product, price, place, promotion, people, process and physical evidence was also proposed in view of infinix organisational objective.

Introduction

Infinix mobile is a smartphone manufacturing company based on Hong Kong founded in 2012 by Transsion Holdings. It range of smartphones are designed in France with its research and development centres scattered around china. Infinix smartphones are predominately sold and are available in the Middle East and Africa, including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, and Egypt. Infinix mobile has subsidiaries in over 30 countries, and this report will focus on its overall marketing activities in Nigeria which has the largest customer base of the Infinix smartphones among all subsidiaries. (Wikipediaorg. 2019).

With its Headquarters in Pudong New District, Shanghai, China, the company is currently been led by Benjamin Jiang (CEO), its main aim and objective is to become the leading phone manufacturer in the various areas of operations (Business standard 2019). Some of the applied strategies for achieving this include provision of cheap, cost effective and customised operating system software accompanied with unique and innovative hardware designs.

Key to Infinix’s relative high success rate over a short period of time has been its ability to provide quality smartphones with different software and hardware specifications as well as costs to cater for the needs of a wide range of individuals. Its various smartphone brands include the Infinix’s Hot series, Note series, Zero series and Smart series (Intogeeknet. 2018).

Market segementation and target market analysis of Infinix smartphones in Nigeria

Market segmentation can be said to be a component of market research that seeks to identify targeted groups of consumers with the aim of tailoring products and branding in a way that is attractive to the group. In other words, Market segmentation is a process of aggregating prospective buyers into segments with identical needs and who respond similarly to a marketing action. The aim of market segmentation is to reduce risk to its barest minimum by determining which products have the best chances for gaining a substantial share of a target market and determining the best way to deliver the products to the market (Investopediacom. 2019).

Most of the earlier segmentation methods were based on external considerations such as economic (Kotler, 1986); geographic (Daniels, 1987) and culture (Whitlock, 1987). Recent research studies have shown that these pre-determined bases are inadequate for segmentation without taking into account consumer behaviour (Helsen et al., 1994; Nachum, 1994).

[image: Image result for diagram of market segmentation process]Fig 1

In view of the above findings, a varied segmentation pattern consisting of various segmentation types such as geographic, demographic, behavioural and phycographic parameters will be used in performing market segmentation for Infinix mobile phones.

Market segmentation of infinix mobile phones

Segmentation type

Criteria

Infinix target customer segement

Hot series; hot 4, 4pro,5, 5pro ,6, 6pro,6x, hot 7

Note series; 3,4,5stylus, 5pro

Zero series;

Smart series; smart 2, smart 3, 3x

Geography

Region density

Urban/rural

Urban

Urban/rural

Urban

Demography

• Age
• Gender
• Occupation

18+

Male/female

Students, Employee, Professional

25+

Male/female

Employee, Professionals

16- 25

Male/female

Students, Employee

16-25

Male/female

Students, Employees, Professionals

Behavioural

• Benefit sought
• User status
• Loyalty

Cost effective, convenience, sense of achievement, long lasting battery life, camera quality

First-timers, regular and new potential users

Switchers

Convenience, flexibility, sense of achievement, camera quality, long lasting battery life, unique hardware design

Regular and new potential users

Hard core Brand loyals

Cost effective, long lasting battery life

First-timers, new potential users

Switchers

Cost effective, long lasting battery life, flexibility

First-timers & regular

Swithers

Phycography

• Social class
• Life style

Upper, working & middle class

Mainstreamer

Explorer

Reformer

succeeder

Working class & middle class

Explorer

Reformer

succeeder

Lower & middle class

Mainstreamer

Explorer

middle & upper class

Mainstreamer

Explorer

Reformer

Fig 1 above show the segmentation of Infinix smart phone users in Nigeria based varied segmentation types. The data above also show details of various brands target market with regards to their micro environment as reflected through the customer’s loyalty, life style, occupation etc.

Target marketing and Infinix mobile target market analysis

Target marketing refers to the identification of a group of buyers sharing common needs or traits that a company decides to serve (Kotler, Armstrong, & Starr, 1991), it forms the basic driving force of an organisation success. The target market serves as a focal point within a marketing plan which determines other important factors for the product, such as distribution, price, and promotion efforts; as a matter of fact the target market also determines significant factors about the product itself (Investopediacom. 2019). say for instance, the kind of customers been targeted may influence the kind of specifications and design incorporated into various products such as phones, cars and even perishable products like milk etc.

Target market analysis

From the table of data above it is clear that Infinix mobile cater for a large range of customer targets via its various brands of smartphones, to better understand its target market, an analysis of the various target market component will be carried out with regards to the who, what, when, where and why factors associated to its current and potential customer base.

Who are the potential customers? Infinix mobile target customers range from late teen (16+) to the very old as long as they can operate its various devices! Some of its brands targeting the younger target market include the Infinix Zero and Smart series, and this is due to the fact that they are made specifically to meet the immediate needs of millennials who are majorly students, more connected socially and are drivers of socio-cultural and technological changes. The slightly older and more mature target segment tends to be brand loyalists, professionals, explorers and in most cases working class customers who go for brands which gives a mixture of sense of belonging and overall high advanced functionality and quality.

What is the motivational factor? The major motivational factor influencing customers stems from the fact that infinix smartphones generally tend to have a larger battery life combined with dual network sim carrier slots which is viewed as a big bonus in a country like Nigeria where power supply and cellular network can be quite erratic. Other motivational factors also stems from the fact that infinix smartphone incorporates innovative designs and technology to its devices that can rival more established smartphones like iPhone and Samsung which are far more expensive for the average Nigerian.

When do customers purchase the product? Fortunately, the infinix mobile brands are available all year round. Although latest versions of each brand are released sequentially one after the other, customers can purchase the smartphones at any time.

Where can the smartphones be purchased? Been flexible in its business models, give infinix customers the ability to purchase it’s smartphone from any mobile retail outlets across the country as well as online.

Why does this target markets choose infinix? This is primarily due to a combination of factors such as affordability, durability, flexibility and simplicity which the infinix mobile brands offer to a higher degree of satisfaction compared to other competitors.

Consumer behaviour of Infinix smartphones targeted customers

It is an obvious fact that no marketer can truly satisfy the entire needs or wants of any particular individual or population (Mawoli & Abdulsalam, 2012). Therefore for a business firm to achieve maximum profit there has to be greater focus on a particular target market in order to better serve their needs. In light of this, this report will focus on young adults between the age of 18 and 30 as the target market customers of infinix smartphones this is because when it comes to the average age of a Nigerian citizen, the country is relatively young. The median age of the country is actually 18.4 years of age (Worldpopulationreviewcom. 2019), and with this comes greater opportunity to exploit due to the natural tendency of this group to be more open minded to change and wiliness to explore.

Consumer behaviour involves studying how consumer buys, what they buy, when they buy and why they buy. Consumer buying behaviour is influenced by two major factors; these factors are individual factors which include but not limited to demographics, consumer Knowledge, perception, learning, motivation, personality, beliefs, attitudes and life styles and environmental factors such as culture, social class, reference group, family and household (Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, 2006). Kotler and Armstrong (2010) recognize five stages of consumer decision process, which include need recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision, and post-purchase behaviour. In view of this it must be noted that every individual do have varied and quite unlimited demands and satisfactory needs.

In the case of Nigeria, the demand for smartphones especially among young adults between the age of 18 and 30 is increasing drastically (Okoye, 2013). In Nigeria, smartphones are majorly used to access social media platforms or applications and the larger percentage of the users are young adults (Blessobi, 2012). Also, Nigeria has the second fastest Smartphone market penetrations in Africa after South Africa (Osuagwu, 2014). Several theoretical models have been proposed and applied over the years with the aim of understanding the consumer behaviour towards smartphone purchases by young adults and one of such study done in Malaysia by Chow, Chen, Yeow and Wang (2012), conceptualized that product features, brand name, price and social influences are the determining factors of Smartphone purchasing behaviour among young adults.

Fig 2: Model of smartphone purchase behaviour adapted from Chow, M.M.; Chen, L.H; Yeow, J.A. & Wong, P.W. (2012)

A similar but slightly varied model was proposed and applied by Adeola and Chioma (2016) for studying customer behaviour among young adults in Nigeria universities. They conceptualised that the purchase behaviour of young adults depends on five factors namely features, price, brand, social influence and aesthetics.

Fig 3 adapted from Adeola and Chioma (2016)

The result of the study done by Adeola and Chioma (2016) showed that smartphone features, price and aesthetics where strong determinant influencing the purchase behaviour of university students (young adults) in Nigeria, while social influences and brand name were not tangible factors that could persuade them to by a particular kind of smartphone. In view of the above findings with regards to the target market of Infinix in Nigeria, adopting a customised marketing mix which leverages on its smartphone features, price and aesthetics will be crucial in gaining more market share in Nigeria, thereby expediting Infinix’s objective of been the top smartphone provider in the country.

Proposed marketing objectives

The marketing objective of any firm usually set out what a business wants to achieve from its marketing activities. This calls for consistency with regards to the overall aims and objectives of the business. To better relate this, a SWOT and BCG analysis will be done to identify the major objectives which Infinix should pursue for its proposed three year marketing objectives.

Infinix SWOT analysis

STRENGHT

WEAKNESS

OPPORTUNITY

THREATS

• Trusted brand
• Relative high marker share
• Long lasting battery life
• Dual network sim slots
• Customised android operating system
• Cheap and affordable
• Wide range of brands and specification
• Innovative but simple designs
• Durability of products
• Flexibility of device due to android OS
• Still considered inferior to more established brands like iPhone and Samsung
• Its customised operating system may pose challenges to first time users and new potential customers
• Smaller storage capacity of its ROM & RAM
• Diverse brands may be a conundrum for buyers with little knowledge brand specs
• Operating in a society which are predominately switchers
• Diversification of brands specs
• Partnership with network carries
• More innovative designs unique to brands
• Opening of specialised retail outlets
• Customisation of own messaging platform like the iPhone’s facetime and BBM
• Threats from competitors with similar brands
• Treats from new market entries which could reduce infinix’s market share
• Change in laws which could raise cost of phones, since they are produced and assembled outside Nigeria
• Harsh economic situations may affect purchasing power of customers.

BCG Portfolio analysis of infinix smartphones

Star

Note series

Problem child

Smart series

Cash cow

Hot series

Dog

Zero series

Star = high market share & high growth rate

Cash cow = high market share & low growth rate

Problem child = low market share & high growth rate

Dog = low market share & low growth rate

The SWOT analysis and BTG matrix was used because they both serve as a quick means to evaluate the internal (strength & weakness), external (opportunities & threats) and overall brand portfolio of Infinix smartphones with the aim of identifying major objective to be pursued. In view of the above findings, the following three year marketing objective is been proposed to the board of directors of infinix Nigeria.

Time frame (months)

Marketing objective

Justification

0 - 6

Establishing consumer brand loyalty

Aimed at retaining and attracting new potential customers

6 - 18

Increase customer service outlets nationwide

Aimed at establishing customers relationship, which can be beneficial in acquiring loyal customer base and sourcing for information from customers on future changes which may be needed to gain greater customer satisfaction

18 - 36

Increase market share of Smart series brand while divesting the Zero series

Aimed at investing resources on the Smart series, in view of increasing its market share while eliminating any business investment which may pose hindrances to infinix organisational objectives.

Critical examination of proposed Infinix mobile marketing mix

Marketing mix elements serves as means to an end; they pave way for marketing managers to achieve organizational goals and objectives through proper planning (Mohammad. 2015). McCarthy and Perreault (1987) defined marketing mix as those controllable variables deployed by organisations to satisfy target market. A major disagreement in literature regarding what consists of the controllable variables as pointed by Rafiq and Ahmed (1995) has till to this day remained a topic for debate. Booms and Bitner (1981) extended the 4Ps marketing mix to include process, physical evidence and people, to reflect service industry. With regards to this study, a critical examination of the proposed, marketing mix comprising of product, price, place, promotion, people, process and physical evidence will be done.

Product: Infinix product range is majorly designed to appeal to young adults, due to the ever growing size of this group of targets in Nigeria, it will be wise to make infinix brand with features which distinguish it from other competitors while give the customers a sense of value, some of the proposed strategies could include incorporation of social media and messaging platforms unique to its brands or a consumer-product service rating systems.

Price: Price plays an important factor in shaping the perception of a product in the eyes of consumers, and at such its makes it paramount to adjust the price of infinix brands to reflect is existing consumer perception. This could be done by increasing the price of its Hot series due to the well-developed trust customers seems to have hence is evolution into a cash cow and reduction in price of the Smart series since has a relative lower market share.

Place: With regards to the very competitive nature of the smartphone market, Infinix mobile will have to embark on an intensive distribution model which could be via opening of more distribution stores and online distribution and sales platform.

Promotion: With the aim of boosting its various brands recognition and sales it will be recommended to infinix to pursue diversified advertising platforms such as television, radio, print media and internet advertising. With regards to its Smart series, more sale promotion should be done while public relations through sponsorship deals, exhibition and seminars.

People: Satisfaction of customer’s needs, do depends on having the right people for the job, and in order to archive this infinix will need to hire and provide adequate training people for running its customers service and support desk.

Process: With the aim of reducing cost and maximising profit, it is been proposed that infinix do embark on enhancing its distribution channels via methods which are time and cost effective (e.g. e-marketing & online advertising).

Physical evidence: In an ever evolving market where more and more potential customers rely on physical evidence before buying a particular product, it is been proposed that infinix advertising should be based on its unique aesthetics features and service environment.

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