Jio rocks the market with its STP strategy
Recently
in June, Reliance Jio commenced the commercial sale of LYF Smartphone with Sim
Cards to the regular consumers in India. This was the first time that the
people will be able to use Jio’s high speed 4G network. It becomes important to
point here, that in December 2015, first only the employees of the company were
given access to it, followed by access by 10 referrals made by the employees of
the company.
Who is Reliance Jio ?????
Reliance Jio Infocomm limited (RJIL), founded by Mukesh Ambani in
2007, is a subsidiary of Reliance which is one of the major
telecommunication industries in India. It offers broadband services based
on LTE technology to customers throughout India.
What is STP ?????
STP stands for Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning. This is a
three step marketing strategy such that effective implementation of each step
leads to a step close to a company’s goal. It implies finding the right set of
customers, focusing on them and creating a perception of your brand in their
views which has an positive impact on their loyalty towards your brand.
Segmentation
Different groups of people are present in the market who share
similar views regarding particular brands. Doyle (1994, in Proctor 2000) states
that company must decide on the segment it will focus its activities which is
based on five factors namely segment size, segment profitability, segment growth,
current and potential competitors and the capabilities present in the market.
Jio seems to have made most of this strategy since the 4G network in India has
great potential for growth and profit. It is in its budding phase and therefore
there are chances of making most of it. Besides, the use of Smartphones in the
Indian market has shown a tremendous increase and still continuous so, which
promises great benefits in this sector. India’s 4G market is set for
exponential growth. Smartphone market volumes are projected to be at 326
million by the end of 2016
Targeting
Once, the segment of customers on which focus is to be laid is
found, the next step is how to make that segment buy your products or invest in
your brand. This is called targeting. Once a target market has been determined,
‘your marketing efforts will remain focused on a particular group of people,
ultimately improving your campaign’s success’ (Garberson, 2015). Jio used a
great tactic to target its selected segment.
From
June to July it offers unlimited high speed internet on 4G network and 4500 minutes
for free for three months to those customers who buy LYF Smart phones with come
with a sim card. As in India, there has been problem with online downloads or
other internet related functions due to low speed internet, therefore this
tactic has vast opportunities in this market. However, Jio has set a limit to
the number of customers who will be able to be able to benefit from this offer
in the trial period and plans to provide 4G internet access and services, after
the trial period ends, to those customers who will buy these Smartphones during
trial months. This way it aims at gaining prospective customers.
Positioning
Once market segment to focus on is selected and the tools or
techniques to target this segment have been devised and implemented, the next
part is positioning in the market. Positioning simply means how your brand is
perceived by the customers. Iacobucci states that positioning can be evaluated
via perceptual maps which are graphical depictions of where brands are and
where competitors are in the minds of the customer. Jio positioned its Smartphones based on price and sales. And
the offering of free voice calls minutes and high speed internet, made its
identity different from its competitors and thus it gained more popularity.
According to the Hindu newspaper, it has already served 500,000 customers
already has become third most selling Smartphone in India.
Conclusion:
Reliance Jio’s LYF Mobiles presents a fabulous example of effective
use of the marketing strategy of segmentation, Targeting and Positioning.