Samsung IDs plan for leading marketshare

When Samsung Telecommunications’ Wireless Terminals division (www.samsungtelecom.com) started in 1997, the company wanted to be a top five wireless manufacturer in five years' time.

Now that Samsung has accomplished that goal, they want more.

According to Pete Skarzynski, Samsung senior vice president of marketing and sales, the manufacturer would like to be considered a top three player in the handset-manufacturing arena. During Samsung’s 2001 Technology Summit in New York, Skarzynski, as well as Muzibul Khan, senior director of product management, and Randy Smith, senior director of marketing and business development, laid out the company’s business, marketing and product plans for 2002.

The company has been holding its own in this downward economy. The manufacturer’s brand equity increased from $5.2 billion in 2000 to $6.4 billion in 2001. According to NPD Intelect (www.npdintelect.com), Samsung products ranked No. 2 in shipment unit shares in 2000 and No. 1 in total value dollar share in 2000.

Samsung’s SCH-3500 also was the top selling phone in North America in 2000. According to Skarzynski, the SCH-3500 broke the rule in retail by not being the cheapest phone available, but still it claimed the No. 1 spot.

“If you make it tangible, people will buy,” he said, adding that customers will pay extra for value-added services.

This year, the company has released seven new phones, including the SPH-N300, a handset that meets the FCC mandate for E-911 capabilities by featuring an embedded GPS chip. Samsung also has delved into the GSM business with the SGH-N105, as well as CDMA handsets. The manufacturer, however, made it clear that it's not in the business to sell to low-end customers.

According to Khan, Samsung has four segment markets it targets the handsets to: migrators, connectors, technopreneurs and infotainers. The technopreneurs and infotainers are the high-end customers, and Smith said that Samsung isn't interested in selling entry-level phones. The company’s marketing scheme is to have a wide range of handsets capable of the latest technology available in a carrier’s store, so when a customer enters the store, the breadth of product available will be Samsung’s.

Samsung is not holding anything back for 2002. Next year’s expected growth includes a full-scale marketing programs with two new carrier partners, Verizon and VoiceStream. The manufacturer also is planning a 12-month product cycle to keep customers going by upgrading handsets, and Skarzynski expects that 75% of handsets will be 1X-ready by the end of 1Q02. However, Khan added that it’s a game between carriers and manufacturers, and the winner will be the carrier that can launch a 1X handset successfully first. Samsung’s 1X handsets, the N350 and N370 are expected to launch in 1Q02. Its GPRS phone, the SGH-Q105, was introduced Nov. 1.

So what will it take to get Samsung into the top three manufacturers list? According to Skarzynski, it will be strategic carrier relationships, a thorough marketing and brand campaign, global platform alliances, the best chipsets, and last, but not least, tangible benefits to consumers with unique handset designs that have a quick time to market.

It’s now a waiting game.