- Why aggressive consumer pricing on the passport may backfire:
Lets face it, the Passport isn't going to woo the Apple fanboyz away from their gadget-lust and it will not appeal to the masses upon masses of Android conformists. The days of competing in youth consumer markets are over for Blackberry.
Blackberry is marketing the passport to high end niche industries and corporate enterprise. Thus there is more value in establishing the PASSPORT's reputation as a real high tech business device. Its specs and uniqueness already give it an edge. Thus I believe that the corporatocracy would want a product which is recognized as a more expensive option compared to an i-phone. It seems unorthodox business thinking, but something tells me its the right move.
Thoughts? Am I wrong in thinking expensive, is better, from a branding standpoint?09-02-14 01:37 PMLike 12 - Businesses have been trying to save money with BYOD initiatives. Government is trying to reduce costs everywhere. So if your plan is for a few C suite execs from a company to get them and not anyone who actually is seen using the device then that strategy will work. This phone will still be competing with iPhone and high end Android devices for a seat at the table in corporations, and way over pricing will cause many to go with the device with more apps, and a company more healthy backing them IMHO.
Posted with a BlackBerry Z10miketko and sentimentGX4 like this.09-02-14 01:45 PMLike 2 - It's not about pricing expensively, or cheaply... it's about finding the right price.
The Passport has so many challenges to overcome, being so different and being a BlackBerry,.. that it will need a decent grass roots momentum to succeed. I know to you it may seem like a premium device, but to most others it represents an unknown and a risk. Giving it too high a price will quickly take it out of consideration for someone that feels that way.
Posted via CB1009-02-14 01:47 PMLike 10 - If BlackBerry was still considered a premium brand, then sure, why not?
But the brand has taken major hits and now HAS to price aggressively to get devices in people's hands, regardless of corporate or consumer.
They will only restore their brand by getting those devices in people's hands and making sure they work perfectly.
If an iPhone has an issue, it's brushed aside, it will be updated or fixed on the new one.
But BlackBerry doesn't have that ground, it HAS to work. Period. Especially because corporate customers are no fools and are actually starting to listen to their IT department.
IT departments are overwhelmingly starting to advise for iPhone and Android due to being easier to manage, with more extensive documentation.
Years of slow, freezing and non functional BlackBerry devices, along with this new OS that is simply still missing features, and is not catching on has left a sour taste in their mouth.
It's as others have said, BlackBerry is in this situation through their own fault, and whole they have made major strides to fix it, it's still not working.
The extreme case is to just abandon the BlackBerry name and Rebrand,but that's difficult in a firm as established as BlackBerry is.
Posted via CB1009-02-14 01:51 PMLike 3 - I personally found the price of the Q10 too expensive, but I still bought one. I will buy the Passport regardless, as in really really like the look of it and am truly excited to have one. But I honestly think it will have a high price tag.
The Classic will be the cheaper option in my opinion. I think that's the phone that BB expect to appeal to both the business and casual users who want a physical keyboard.09-02-14 01:55 PMLike 0 - I think it should be aggressive in certain markets..
For example.. most of us on cb would buy the phone if we could afford it. Specs alone, it's the phone we've been waiting for.
That being said, I think it should be priced aggressively during release.. maybe..
549 regular price / 399 for pre-order / 449 on launch day.
100 on 2 year (north American) contract on launch day, 199-249 regular contract price.
BlackBerry might be shorting them selves on profit off a single device, but that doesn't matter much if most people who want it can't afford it.
For example.. 200$/1000 devices is the same as 100$/2000 devices
What do you think? Disagree?09-02-14 02:07 PMLike 0 - Why aggressive consumer pricing on the passport may backfire:
Lets face it, the Passport isn't going to woo the Apple fanboyz away from their gadget-lust and it will not appeal to the masses upon masses of Android conformists. The days of competing in youth consumer markets are over for Blackberry.
Blackberry is marketing the passport to high end niche industries and corporate enterprise. Thus there is more value in establishing the PASSPORT's reputation as a real high tech business device. Its specs and uniqueness already give it an edge. Thus I believe that the corporatocracy would want a product which is recognized as a more expensive option compared to an i-phone. It seems unorthodox business thinking, but something tells me its the right move.
Thoughts? Am I wrong in thinking expensive, is better, from a branding standpoint?09-02-14 02:09 PMLike 0 - I would love to agree with you guys, but I feel that a device of this power will be very expensive. This device will only appeal to people who can truly afford it. Many will look at the price tag and find something less expensive.
As far as corporate America many businesses have done away with Blackberry. Especially since BYOD is allowing employers to reduce the cost of managing devices. Employers wont care about glamour for the employees, they only care about productivity. If device X and do the same thing for less than why go with device Z.
I believe if they overprice this it will be a step back for Blackberry. They have made a minimal stride in market share as it is.himeshshah likes this.09-02-14 02:21 PMLike 1 - With phones like the OnePlus One coming to the market (with GS5-like specs for $299), how can anyone afford to price a phone highly anymore? Surely BlackBerry can't.
Posted via CB10SBrowne823 likes this.09-02-14 02:36 PMLike 1 - Blackberry needs to try to win more people over to their side instead of push them away. They have done plenty of damage to their image. Just look at the Playbook.himeshshah likes this.09-02-14 02:45 PMLike 1
- Every time a new BB10 device comes out, BlackBerry prices them to match flagship prices from brands such as Apple and Samsung.
Every time, there are a group of people who believe this is the right thing to do because BlackBerry must establish itself as a "premium" brand.
It failed for the Z10.
It failed for the Q10.
It failed for the Z30.
BlackBerry Z3 was priced (reasonably) aggressively, and (according to Chen) is actually doing well.
They say that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome each time lol.
Not saying anyone here is insane though. Just that we've been down this road before. Let's try something different for a BlackBerry flagship shall we? Just once. Just for the heck of it09-02-14 03:06 PMLike 9 -
- Yeah, even though the Z3 was priced aggressively as a lower spec device, I think that the Passport will need to be just as aggressively priced in its tier of devices. They can't charge 699 for it, they just can't. Is it worth that price? Most definitely, but they have to ensure they get them into as many hands as possible. Especially since with the lack of US Carrier support most of us will be finding a way to just buy one outright.himeshshah likes this.09-02-14 03:19 PMLike 1
- Example to above. If Blackberry pegs sell price based on cost say that the passport costs more to make. Most phones easily go for $599 so let's say $750 for the passport. Let's do an example based on the limitations of this graph. Assume 40% margin (blackberry's margin is closer to 46%) and offering a 15% discount (599 to 750 is actually 20%)
You would need to increase sales by 60% (more like 75% if using $599 discounted, $750 list, 46% margin) before making any additional profit.
Not a good business decision in a niche market. People who want a cheaper phone can by Q10, Z10, Z30 and Z3.09-02-14 03:22 PMLike 0 - Businesses have been trying to save money with BYOD initiatives. Government is trying to reduce costs everywhere. So if your plan is for a few C suite execs from a company to get them and not anyone who actually is seen using the device then that strategy will work. This phone will still be competing with iPhone and high end Android devices for a seat at the table in corporations, and way over pricing will cause many to go with the device with more apps, and a company more healthy backing them IMHO.
Posted with a BlackBerry Z10himeshshah likes this.09-02-14 03:22 PMLike 1 - Yeah, even though the Z3 was priced aggressively as a lower spec device, I think that the Passport will need to be just as aggressively priced in its tier of devices. They can't charge 699 for it, they just can't. Is it worth that price? Most definitely, but they have to ensure they get them into as many hands as possible. Especially since with the lack of US Carrier support most of us will be finding a way to just buy one outright.09-02-14 03:24 PMLike 0
- 100% spot on. Business and governments are budget conscious and they think very carefully about pricing. Even though you don't think you are competing with Apple or Samsung, you are. Price it well and enterprise will buy more units. It is that simple. Pricing needs to be aggressive to get Blackberry back in the game.bambinoitaliano likes this.09-02-14 03:26 PMLike 1
- Yeah, even though the Z3 was priced aggressively as a lower spec device, I think that the Passport will need to be just as aggressively priced in its tier of devices. They can't charge 699 for it, they just can't. Is it worth that price? Most definitely, but they have to ensure they get them into as many hands as possible. Especially since with the lack of US Carrier support most of us will be finding a way to just buy one outright.nah.uhh and himeshshah like this.09-02-14 03:27 PMLike 2
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That's not good.09-02-14 03:30 PMLike 0 -
It failed for the Z10.
It failed for the Q10.
It failed for the Z30.
BlackBerry Z3 was priced (reasonably) aggressively, and (according to Chen) is actually doing well.
They say that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome each time lol.09-02-14 03:31 PMLike 4 - It would kill blackberry's stock. Companies run off of margin, not sales. Blackberry only needs 10 million phones for blackberry to consider the hardware business a success. This is based on high margin. If you change this to a much lower sale price just to sell you can sell significantly more phones and still make less money.
That's not good.
Blackberry shouldn't worrying about hardware margins. They make their money on BES and other enterprise services. Get the dam phone into people's hand so that developers start to support the ecosystem. Do you really think selling a small handful of phones at high margins will have any impact on the company or its reputation? No. End of Story.nah.uhh likes this.09-02-14 03:41 PMLike 1 - I agree. BlackBerry needs volume at this stage in the game not mark up. $100 on a data plus plan and $200 on a data light plan from the Canadian Carriers.himeshshah likes this.09-02-14 03:45 PMLike 1
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Don't price Passport aggressively!
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