Longer queues are not an unusual
sight in India. But standing in queue to get a mobile sim card is something
crazy. For the past few weeks people of India have gone crazy about one single
brand/product Relaince Jio. The Mukesh Ambani owned telco Reliance Jio Infocomm
commercially rolled out its 4G services last month with free voice along with
data service. New product launches are not common to any market. But then why
this hysteria? Even the queue was similar to what we can see during Apple
iPhone launches.
To begin with, one must analyze
consumer behaviour. Consumers tend to follow their peers when it comes to
purchases. Hence when my friends buy, I will also buy. Another interesting fact
is that India can't evade queues. In fact it is a part of our culture. In the
same India, you can see people upright in queues in front of ration shops. What
is common in both the cases is that the product is subsidized. Jio understood
this consumer instinct and subsequently they sold all the sim cards for free.
It can also be concluded based on past experiences that if some facility is
enjoyed for some period, people are inclined to use it even if it is for a charge.
A serious issue is that for a subsidized product quality is never a concern and
hence consumer will easily switch brand when dissatisfied.
As a brand Jio had an initial
success in differentiating their brand. By relating it with ‘Digital India’
they tried to position it as the most authentic player in the market. Despite
the fact that they entered late, they operate as a challenger in the market.
The pricing is indeed aggressive that enables them to penetrate into the
market. The customer acquisition is in faster pace now. The segmentation is
largely behavioural while psychographic is also used.
So far the play went on as per
the script, but can the brand sustain its mojo?
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