Can mobile operators service all customer segments and customer types with one brand – the answer is most definitely no
| Around the world there are a number of mobile operators like Vodafone, Telefonica, Orange and T-Mobile that are trying to service all customer segments across many countries with just one brand. Other operators are using a multiple brand strategy combined with an aggressive MVNO/MVNE strategy to target multiple different customer segments. For many years Strand Consult has recommended that operators ought to offer multiple brands as part of their strategy. As early as back in 2001 we published a number of reports about the Korean mobile market and how KTF were using a multibrand strategy to develop, market and sell products targeted at well-defined customer segments. However, nothing much has happened after KTF launched their multibrand strategy and Telenor launched their discount brand Salto and youth brand Djuice. One of the operators in the Western world that has gained the most experience in this area is KPN, who today offer a wide selection of brands across a number of countries and by using an aggressive MVNO strategy has been able to create great value for the KPN shareholders in the countries where KPN are in business. By examining how this area has developed in the past and how operators around the world are currently behaving, we have identified five strategies that mobile telephony providers are currently following: 1. Operators that have a wide multibrand strategy with multiple own brands and a very aggressive MVNO strategy that welcomes all MVNOs on the network. 2. Operators that are focused on one primary brand combined with a discount brand and with a more or less aggressive MVNO strategy as a supplement. 3. Operators focused on a single brand strategy and a restrictive MVNO strategy where they only work with MVNOs that do not conflict with the operator’s own brand strategy. MVNOs that focus on segments that the operator believes are their primary segments are not welcome on their network. 4. Operators that have a single brand strategy and do not want to cooperate with MVNOs. 5. MVNOs that focus on a multibrand strategy, either via their own brands or by offering other MVNOs access to their MVNE setup One thing is certain, and that is that operators around the world will need to start revising their brand strategy in the near future and we will most probably see an increasing number of operators choosing a multibrand strategy, thereby greatly improving their ability to target individual customer segments. In Strand Consults report – How to Succeed in the Second-Generation MVNO Market – we have described how a number of operators have chosen a multibrand strategy and how they have used this aggressive MVNO strategy and massive acquisitions of MVNOs to place themselves in a unique market position. In practice, the smallest and weakest operators on a number of markets have used a multibrand strategy combined with an aggressive MVNO strategy, to improve their market position and significantly increase their earnings. |
| If you would like to learn more about how operators and MVNOs can achieve success by using a multibrand strategy, you ought to purchase our new report How to Succeed in the Second-Generation MVNO Market, that describes the market dynamics of markets where operators are using a brand strategy that is different from many traditional operators. Send for more information today, purchase your report tomorrow and you can be revising your future mobile strategy in just a few days. How to Succeed in the Second-Generation MVNO Market |
