The paper aims at providing an analysis of the current segmentation, market position, and target strategy of HUAWEI Mate 20. It is a smartphone that is co-engineered with Leica. The HUAWEI product can be described as visual art that has embraced craftsmanship and technology (Huawei 2018). The product’s vibrant display accentuates its beauty and creates a relationship between aesthetics and innovation. The powerful engine incorporated in the product generates a new definition of intelligence. The Mate series has a definitive iconic square that combines one flash and Leica Triple Camera, which is advancement from the previous simple camera design. The product’s screen-to-body ratio is remarkable and supports a full screen with distinct striking colours and seamless clarity. The HUAWEI Mate 20 has a specialised glass texture, which is anti-fingerprint and anti-slip. The product comes in four colours, which are black, twilight, midnight blue, and emerald green (Stein 2018).
The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is the product’s main competitor. HUAWEI Mate 20 has a triple rear camera with the main camera having a resolution of 40 megapixels and the 20-megapixel secondary camera compared to the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, which has a rear dual camera with a resolution of 12 megapixels main and secondary camera. The HUAWEI has a third camera that has a resolution of 8 megapixels with a laser and phase detection autofocus and optical image stabilisation while the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 does not have that. The HUAWEI Mate 20 has a higher battery capacity of 4200mAh compared to Samsung’s Galaxy Note 9 battery capacity of 4000mAh. It has a higher screen-to-body ratio of 87.78% than its competitor the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, which has a ratio of 83.51% (Phone Arena 2018).
Target Market Segmentation
The target market for the HUAWEI Mate 20 is the millennial generation who love gaming (Orlowski 2018). The market segment is divided into four sections, which include the demographic, geographical, psychographic, and behavioural segmentation. HUAWEI Technologies Company Limited has used demographic segmentation to get the right consumers for the HUAWEI Mate 20. The variables applicable in the segmentation for the product are age and income. The product targets young mobile phone users between the age of 18 years and 35 years who make up the largest population of smartphone users. The product aims at penetrating the young adult population that is focused on digital media and online content verticals. Due to the product’s advanced features and pricing the target customers are within the high-income bracket who have the capacity of spending approximately 900 euros on the phone (Weinstein 2018).
The geographic segmentation describes the geographical location for the product’s target customers. The company has a presence in around 170 countries covering eight regions, which include the Asia Pacific, China, America, and Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). The product has been launched in all the 170 countries. Psychographic segmentation divides the market according to the consumer’s personality traits, interests, values, and lifestyle. Based on psychographic segmentation, the product targets the fashion-oriented population that wants to keep up with the latest technological trend in the smartphone industry. The HUAWEI Mate 20 has some of the most advanced technical features such as the triple camera. Behavioural segmentation divides the population based on usage, knowledge, and response to the product. It targets the gaming population who require powerful engines and advanced technologies and operating systems. HUAWEI Mate 20 is equipped with a highly flexible central processing unit that allows the allocation of optimal resources to heavy and medium tasks for increased efficiency and performance while enhancing its battery life (Meyers 2018).
Product Positioning Map and Marketing Mix
Figure 1: HUAWEI Mate 20 Positioning Map (Vizard 2018)
The product positioning map illustrates the consumer perception of the HUAWEI Mate 20 smartphone based on the product performance, features, style or design, and durability. The product positioning map aims at differentiating the product from its competitors and provides a visual representation of the market needs that help in the product’s positioning strategy (Vizard 2018). The HUAWEI Mate 20 positioning map consists of style and design with the product having a vibrant display that is aesthetic with distinct colours and seamless clarity and a high screen-to-body ratio. The specialised features such as the triple camera with high resolution creates a competitive advantage for HUAWEI Mate 20 (Belton 2018). The battery life of the product is 4200mAh, which is ideal for power users and is higher than its competitors.
The marketing mix of Huawei Technologies Company Limited analyses the product by covering the 4Ps, which include product, place, price, and promotion. The company has two units, which include consumer products and business solutions, and they create products that target different consumers. The consumer products segment includes mobile phones such as HUAWEI Mate 20, PC, and tablets (Bhasin 2018). Huawei uses the competitive pricing strategy for its products because of the high number of competitors in the market and the high consumer bargaining power. The company is located in more than 170 countries in the four regions, and it has built approximately 1500 networks and serves a third of the world’s population. With the vast product presence, the company has a strong and extensive distribution network that deals directly with the consumers. Huawei Technologies utilises the Omni channel to promote its products and is also involved in promotional activities on mainstream media and social media (Mba Skool.com 2018).
References
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Bhasin, H., 2018. Marketing Mix of Huawei – Huawei Marketing Mix. [Online] Available at: https://www.marketing91.com/marketing-mix-huawei/ Accessed on 19 December 2018.
Huawei, 2018. HUAWEI Mate 20. [Online] Available at: https://consumer.huawei.com/en/support/phones/mate20/ Accessed on 19 December 2018.
Phone Arena, 2018. Comparing Huawei Mate 20 and Samsung Galaxy Note 9. [Online] Available at: https://www.phonearena.com/phones/compare/Huawei-Mate-20-Pro,Samsung-Galaxy-Note-9/phones/10989,10857 Accessed on 19 December 2018.
Myers, J. H., 2018. Segmentation and positioning for strategic marketing decisions. Chicago: American Marketing Association.
Orlowski, A., September 4, 2018. Huawei Mate 20 Lite: A business mobe aimed at millennials? Er, OK then. [Online] Available at: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/09/04/huawei_mate_20_lite/ Accessed on 19 December 2018.
Stein, S., October 21, 2018. Huawei Mate 20 Pro is outrageously innovative.
[Online] Available at: https://www.cnet.com/reviews/huawei-mate-20-pro-preview/ Accessed on 19 December 2018.
Weinstein, A., 2018. Market segmentation: Using demographics, psychographics, and other niche marketing techniques to predict and model customer behaviour. Chicago: Probus Pub.
Vizard, S., 2018. Huawei has the products, now it needs the brand to match. [Online] Available at: https://www.marketingweek.com/2018/10/17/huawei-mate-20-smartphone/ Accessed on 19 December 2018
Mba Skool.com., 2018. Huawei Marketing Mix (4Ps) Strategy. [Online] Available at: https://www.mbaskool.com/marketing-mix/products/17121-huawei.html Accessed on 19 December 2018
