TECNO Phantom V Fold, Product Positioning and 700k for Nigerian Consumers
Let's talk about how a brand moved from producing 25k phones to producing 700k phones in the same market and what could it be why the phone is not gaining acceptance?
I stumbled on a post this week on a professional WhatsApp group where a friend asked a question about a brand I used to work with- TECNO.
It was a moment of reflection and teaching as I read the following responses. While it doesn’t reflect in totality the market speak, it actually counted for some inquiry into some marketing questions that I aim to demystify in this article.
Market Positioning
According to CFI, Market Positioning refers to the ability to influence consumer perception regarding a brand or product relative to competitors. The objective of market positioning is to establish the image or identity of a brand or product so that consumers perceive it in a certain way.
If we break this down, whatever you call a brand in your mind results from the brand’s market positioning. I was raised in a society where we believed that Taiwanese products, Japanese products, and Binatone products were THE BEST, in a society where ALABUKUN worked for virtually everything you could think of and it was the cheapest solution to it. These brands have positioned themselves as XYZ and it definitely affected how consumers interacted with them.
When TECNO got into the Nigerian market, its positional play was to produce phones that were accessible to all and sundry, so much so that when it started producing smartphones, a similar positional play was witnessed and you’d see this in the various products lines that the Chinese-origin brand has. Here comes the Phantom product line which debuted with Phantom 5; this was a line seemingly designed to position the brand as not just for the “all and sundry” cum mass market but actually for those who want to traditionally use a Samsung/iPhone and also with some good disposable income, with a price début at 70,000 Naira.
This product line has had several other products released as well up to the focus of this article- the Phantom Z fold which retails at around 700,000 Naira.
Circling back to the conversation which sparked this conversation, has the Phantom line and the TECNO brand positioned themselves to produce a smartphone that’s worth 700,000 Naira in today’s market?
For the TECNO brand, I would understand the reluctance to part away with that amount for a product from the brand in relation to competitors like Oppo, Xiaomi, OnePlus, Google Pixel and others in the same category. However, for a brand that has invested in international partnerships with the likes of Manchester City, Captain America etc, you would think that it’s positioning in the minds of Nigerians would have been elevated to the point where Nigerians won’t think a 700k product isn’t outrageous. Albeit, these tactics haven’t yielded exactly a change in how the brand is positioned in the minds of Nigerians. So what could be the cause of this? For a brand that used to produce devices below $100 at 25,000 Naira, now the brand is producing a smartphone costing around $1,700 at 700,000 Naira.
If you assess the 4 Ps of marketing which were deployed for the last Phantom device, you’d be left wondering if indeed these Ps were reflective of the kind of reception this device is getting in the market from its intended target consumers.
If you factor in the purchasing power parity of Nigerians and how TECNO has been largely successful in the market, you’d realise why many would be angst towards purchasing a smartphone of that price from the brand.
It is clear that TECNO needs to properly position its Phantom series as indeed a smartphone in competition with other devices in its range in terms of pricing in its largest market, Nigeria if it intends to make the device successful in terms of volume and value.
As of today, both the brand and its Phantom series clearly aren’t positioned as a 700k smartphone or smartphone-producing company.
PS: I shared this article with Damilosky who also works in marketing and his first comment was, “People asked me why I spent >200k on a TECNO phone”.
So I ask, would you buy a TECNO 700k phone and If you would, under what conditions would it be?
Moving from producing 25k phones to producing 700k phones is a significant increase in production capacity for any brand. Such an increase in production can be due to several factors, such as improved manufacturing processes, expanded production facilities, increased demand for the product, or a combination of these factors.
However, if the phone is not gaining acceptance in the market despite the increased production capacity, there could be several reasons for this.
One possible reason could be that the brand is not effectively marketing the phone to its target audience. Even with a high production capacity, if people are not aware of the product's features and benefits or do not perceive it as valuable, they may not be interested in purchasing it. Thus, it is essential for the brand to develop an effective marketing strategy that showcases the phone's unique selling points and highlights its value proposition to potential customers.
Another reason could be that the phone is not competitive enough in the market. With so many smartphones available in the market, the brand needs to ensure that its phone stands out and offers features and functionality that are better than or at least comparable to other phones in the same price range. If the phone does not offer anything new or innovative, customers may choose to buy a different phone instead.
Additionally, the brand needs to consider the importance of customer service and after-sales support. Customers want to know that they can rely on the brand to provide prompt and effective support if they encounter any issues with the phone. If the brand does not prioritize customer service, customers may feel less confident in purchasing the phone, even if it offers impressive features.
In summary, the reasons why a phone may not be gaining acceptance in the market despite increased production capacity could be due to ineffective marketing, lack of competitiveness, and inadequate customer service and after-sales support. The brand needs to address these issues to improve the phone's acceptance and ensure its success in the market.
I think the reasons why one shouldn't spend that much on that device are myriad imho and I'll list a few.
1. First generation tech are usually plagued with issues and for a phone form factor that is already really complex to build I can only imagine the hiccups this version might have.
2. for a 600k+ phone, one would expect software support for at least 2-3years one area in which the brand is notoriously bad at.
3. mobile phone photography has gone beyond just cramming a high megapixel count sensor unto a phone and computational photography has really been the company's strong suite. They've always insisted on higher megapixel counts as a USP - this is a software related feature though and that can in theory be fixed (if they do decide to). the question here is why would anyone want to buy a phone that expensive with a mid image output?
In Tecno's defence though, foldable phones are still over the $1k mark so the pricing is kinda justifiable. As to if it is worth it though...
I would really want to see what their second generation foldable would look like.