BUS620: Managerial Marketing
Verizon Wireless is a great organization that is the epitome of generic marketing strategies and segmentation strategies. Throughout the wireless and communications industry organizations are forced to come up with different marketing strategies in order to bring customers into their network. According to Mullins and Walker there are, “three strategies - or competitive positions – that businesses pursue to gain and maintain competitive advantages in their various products – markets: (1) overall cost leadership; (2) differentiation- building customer perceptions of superior product quality, design, or service; and (3) focus, in which the business avoids direct confrontation with its major competitors by concentrating on narrowly defined market niches.” (Mullins and Walker p 227) Verizon Wireless is always looking for ways to provide their targeted market with nothing but the best. The way the Verizon Wireless organization continues to show the overall cost leadership strategy is by learning from competitors that have made the mistakes and Verizon Wireless has been able to capitalize on them. For example: AT&T released the Apple I-Phone on their network and sure enough AT&T was on top with that product. AT&T had nothing else to fall back on, their service was still not as good as it needed to be, customer service is still not as good as it should be, so Verizon Wireless continued to make sure that they keep their network great, customer service great, and then when the time came made the best of the moment. When Verizon Wireless was given the moment the organization stepped up. Verizon Wireless released the Apple I-Phone and not only did they put it on the largest network which allowed the product to go 4g, but also they enhanced the signal range on the product. Verizon Wireless added an extra antenna, so that their consumers and customers would not go through the dropped calls that they were getting through other competitors. Even with the extras that the organization added to the product Verizon Wireless was able to price their product at the same price as the competitors. This is what makes the Verizon Wireless organization separate from the rest of the organizations in the wireless communications industry, which gives them overall cost leadership. The differentiation strategy that Verizon Wireless organization shows is through their ability to provide customers with a faster network, enhancement of products that other competitors may have, and the superior customer service to back the products in which customers and consumer are purchasing. As mentioned earlier the ability to take an already superior product such as the (Apple I-Phone) and add another antenna to enhance better service is something that separates this organization from others. Also with the launch of LTE, which is the 4g service that Verizon Wireless offers; this has proven that it is quicker and faster in download, upload, and streaming video speeds than any other competitor. Verizon Wireless has the biggest market in 4g and this makes its products perform in more places than other competitors. According to Krenik, B, “ Fourth generation (4g) technology will offer many advancements to the wireless market, including downlink data rates well over 100 megabits per second (Mbps), low latency, very efficient spectrum use and low-cost implementations. With impressive network capabilities, 4g enhancements promise to bring the wireless experience to an entirely new level with impressive user applications, such as sophisticated graphical user interfaces, high-end gaming, high-definition video and high performance imagining.” (Krenik, B p 141 -144) Verizon Wireless also uses differentiation strategies by their amazing commercials which; different methods and metaphors are put into place to entice consumers and allow them to gain perceptions of superior product quality, design, and