Swot Analysis Rim
The following is the SWOT analysis for Blackberry Smartphone, a tool for auditing the organization and its’ environment and used to evaluate the strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats of the device, which provides a better understanding about its position in the marketplace, where it stands, and where it needs to move forward to see what its future predicaments will have for them. As you can see below, the growing/expansion market share of Blackberry is able to capture, its current strengths outweigh its weaknesses.
In order for Blackberry’s opportunities to outweigh their threats, they must make sure that their competitors do not excel in areas in which they are lacking and meet the level of security. The main question we should ask ourselves is will Blackberry set the challenge in order to begin taking more market share for its competitors and produce products that will appeal to a broader target market by upgrading their interfaces and applications to the level that their security has. Blackberry has several strengths including high brand awareness because it is a very recognizable brand with consumers.
The company is known to have a good reputation for value for money and convenience because the costs of their products are worth the value the consumer receives. Blackberry does have a strong market position in the mobile market in comparison to its competitors. Blackberry also has the advantage of having the best e-mail and/or diversity device combination-organizer, internet, mp3 player, GPS, and social networks built into their products. The company is also leading in Smartphone technology because they have strong product depth.
Blackberry has durable products because they have a high capacity battery, a built-in QWERTY keyboard, stylish/powerful features, and a unique operating system. Although Blackberry has its strengths, the company also has its weaknesses such as having its products used and/or created more toward business professionals than general consumers; their lack of compatibility-not making decisions in a timely manner. There is also the possibility that Blackberry is in the mature phase. There also patent problems that they encounter.
Their products lack web service and also have a problem with application-long loading time and do not turn on/restart quickly which makes it frustrating for its consumers that like for their phones to be faster. Blackberry’s products also have a lack of size and/or products because they don’t have as much variety as its competitors. Blackberry also lacks in social networking because it doesn’t provide any entertainment for other individuals and/or the younger generation, which is an entire consumer market that would be beneficial to Blackberry if they’re able to address this issue.
There is also the problem of having a high cost of ownership which makes blackberry devices quite expensive. RIM has not created a new marketing strategy for its products that are closing the technological gap. Blackberry has the opportunity to expand its profits by further expanding into North America and into International markets and taking advantage of the availability of markets for new technology. The company can also consider entering into partnerships with large growing corporations.
Blackberry’s customer loyalty and brand loyalty allow for assurance in producing new products because they know that its consumers will loyal in purchasing those products as well. They need to take advantage of the industry’s explosive growth so that they can grow alongside the industry’s demand for its products. The company can increase its growth rate and its power within the industry by expanding its target market by creating new appealing phones that include a variety of features that will attract new customers other than the business professionals that it currently appeals to.
Blackberry can also take an opportunity by reaching out to iTunes to try and create software that will be compatible with its products since that is something that a lot of consumers would really enjoy, and also by creating great products that include advanced technology. Blackberry faces some threats from the Apple iPhone, HTC, HP, Sony Ericsson, and Sony smartphones because they constantly have new products entering the market, they are strong within the industry, and this increased competition may cause demand for products Blackberry’s products to decrease.
These competitors also have a greater p in technology and products which may cause consumers to see Blackberry as outdated when it comes to Smartphone technology. The economy also plays a role in Blackberry because some consumers are unable to afford the company’s products and can therefore decrease its demand. They also face the problem of having a large demand for a niche product which may cause a lack of innovation when it comes to creating new products and having those products become successful.
Since Blackberry is a reputable brand it has become the target of competition and has created price wars with third parties that make similar phones to the Blackberry and then sell those products at lower prices.
