Motorola's market is the mobile phone market. They introduce mobile phones to fulfill the needs and wants of their target market every year. In the past, Motorola was criticized for their marketing segmentation woes since they were only focused to sell their products in the U.S. However, the new management of Motorola has re-positioned itself in the diverse mobile market to fulfill the needs and wants of both emerging, and established markets. It is evident from their new devices as the new Moto G was targeted at emerging markets such as, Chile, Peru and Brazil, while slightly expensive Moto X was targeted at established markets like U.S, including Europe, and Australia.This method of segmenting the market is known as geographic segmentation. It allows them to identify group of customers with similar needs and wants, and also the buying patterns of these markets. Eventually, it delivers a marketing mix that caters to specific needs and wants of the segment.
This method of market segmentation has worked in favor of Motorola in the last few years. It is mainly due to segmenting the market according to the criteria of successful segmentation.
1. Substantiality - They have utilized it to their advantage in order to sell their low budget Moto G effectively in emerging markets. When they announced the phone, they decided to release it in countries like Brazil, Chile, Peru, and India. I was startled by this because they did not include China to that list, which apparently has a boosting market for smartphones. Later, I found out the reason behind it when I read an article about Moto G. Chinese government has blocked Google play services which is essential for android phones. Since Moto G runs Android based software the consumers in China is most likely to buy a home based brand instead of the Moto G because of the lack of features due to the missing Google play services. Therefore, they have capitalized in other emerging markets excluding China.
2. Identifiability and Measurability - These markets that I mentioned before are being identified as emerging markets, because of the rising demand for products, such as smartphones, tablets and computers. The low price point of Moto G it attracts a lot of customers in these markets, since it matches their limited buying ability. It may be the reason why Motorola decided to market their products in these emerging markets.
3. Accessibility - This is common factor for all markets, because it is vital to reach the customers with special needs in any market. For example, Europe and U.S.A both have a high population of senior citizens. Finding solutions for accessibllity is less tedious for a company like Motorola because they have the ability to add features for their products without changing the product completely. They have added accessibility features such as, enlarge fonts, magnification gestures, talk back features that makes those devices easy to use for senior citizens as well as for disabled.
4. Responsiveness - This is evident by Motorola's pricing strategy for their leading products. Even though, they targeted the Moto X for established markets, they priced it at a low point compared to its competitors. At the same time, Moto G was also a low budget phone that has a price difference of $150 in comparison to Moto X. Most of all, the prices are globally similar. This method of pricing agrees with the fact that it is not necessary to heavily increase the price depending on the market segment, unless that segmented market responds to a marketing mix differently than other segments.
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