Can Bphone stand on a tough smartphone market?

Does the Bphone 2 sell well, stay in the smartphone market or die? TheLEADER has addressed this question with technology experts, management specialists, marketing professionals and has received a number of opinions.

TheLEADER would like to extract comments from entrepreneurs, experts on Bphone 2

“Bphone 2 seems to go between two bullets.”

(A businessman Ly Quy Trung, founder of the pioneering Asean franchise brand Pho 24 in Vietnam)

Consumers may put money into buying a product for some reasons but to keep using it and then introducing it to others is another story.

The "Made in Vietnam" smartphone Bphone 2 was born in the difficult context. There are Iphone, Samsung, HTC, Sony on the top and in the one side, there are outbreaks from Chinese smartphone brands such as Oppo, Huawei, Vivo.

Specifically, the Bphone 2 has middle price level, which is cheaper than the big brands but more expensive than the Chinese ones. This is a dangerous strategy in marketing, not high and not low - like going between two bullets!

Quality must be superior. Otherwise, it must be cheap. "Made-in-any country" does not matter! It is a reality in the competitive world of the flat world.

In short, Bphone 2 is not cheap, does not have superior quality and now is lying in the dangerous position.

“There is no special thing in Bphone 2.”

(Mr. Nguyen Thang, President of Valuelnvest, former President of Herbalife Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia)

In my heart, I really want Vietnamese businesses to succeed but in the Bphone 2’s story, it is very difficult because Bphone 2 has no difference.

Where does the difference come from? It may come from product, delivery or service. The Bphone 2 is only based on the Mobile World's JSC sales system, a traditional distribution channel.

On marketing, Bphone 2 is advertised on TV, which is the fastest way to waste money. So does the Bphone really have enough budget to follow that marketing strategy? Advertising is effective only when it has a high enough frequency.

What is the specific competitive strategy of the Bphone 2? That difference must be communicated to the public, to the consumer and must be expressed in a very short sentence.

The Bphone 2 offers "valuable" slogan. It seems to be a bit ambiguous. The word "valuable" is concise and unclear.

Bphone 2 may hit the buyer's mood with the message "made in Vietnam", which can make buyers buy. However, when the customers experience it and they do not agree with the promise, it will be hard for people to experience it again in the future.

Choose the right customers and solve their 'pain'

(Mr. Dinh Duy Linh, CEO of Post and Telecommunication Training Center II, Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technology - member of VNPT)

There is unstable future of Bphone 2.

Firstly, it is difficult to advertise Bphone 2. The "valuable" concept is very ambiguous to the customers. Personally, I think only a few companies have reached the "peak" level which makes customers desperate to get their products like iPhone or Blackberry. 

Most companies try to identify where the target customer is by price or quality and choose the right way to communicate. However, in case of Bphone, Quang will have to spend a lot of money and effort to build an unclear picture and sometimes, it maybe negative (negative bomb).

Secondly, because of trying to do many good things, Bphone 2 will have a higher price than the competition. The "better" things of the Bphone 2 are not what any customers need. 

That means the customers are paying more for what they receive. This is taboo in business. In this case, Quang is experiencing double damages (higher costs and negative images in the customer's mind).