Segmenting mobile phone users

We could call it the problem of the middle. When a company is listening a little bit too much to what consumers say, and when it wants to minimise the risk to its operations, it targets the majority of the consumers. Those, that say, with an overwhelmingly high percentage, they want this feature and that feature. Those that buy their product.

What happens than, however, is that the company loses out on the edges of the market - in groups that might be the future driver of their growth or those that simply have a different desire.

Look at mobile phones. Over the years they became smaller and smaller - and so did the numbers. Tough for those that are older and actually need a bigger screen, larger letters, bigger numbers. When there is a phone that is suitable for those elder users, it is ugly or not really well-designed.

While things might look a bit different. "Handset manufacturers need to start understanding what consumers want in a very segmented way, so that they provide someone with a handset that they feel is designed for them as an individual rather than as part of a broad group." Or simply said - they need to look at their research with a different cap on their head.

(By Asia Business Consulting)