Product Mix
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is one of the most successful companies in the world. It offers high-quality technological products of different type and purpose. The corporation is known as a B2C type of company offering different personal electronic appliances to the customers. However, it is an active participant in a B2B sphere. Samsung Knox offers a diversified range of products to the business entities and governmental organizations.
Samsung Knox offers both hardware and software IT products that are used in the Samsung appliances. Samsung Knox products provide additional securing and solutions for the Samsung electronic products (Samsung Knox, n.d.). The company offers such beneficial technological products for the enterprises as Device Management, Asset protection, App Management, Network Management, Container Only Mode, Sensitive Data Protection, Enterprise Billing, etc (Insight, 2017). Such products give an opportunity to increase the level of effectiveness and automation in the business sphere.
Analysing the product mix, it is important to view the Samsung Knox product offerings within the three layers of product marketing technique. The core product of Samsung Knox is the benefits that the companies gain from using the hardware and software products. The main benefits of Samsung Knox are IT security, data protection, effective use of technologies, automotive management opportunities, information synchronization, and etc (Pickup, 2017). The company offers the following core products as “containerization with workspace, government-grade security for your enterprise, logging, and analytics, robust VPN connectivity, granular control, and management” (Samsung Knox, n.d.). That is why the implementation of Samsung Knox can become a competitive advantage for private and state enterprises.
As for the actual product of Samsung Knox, it is a technological application, software, and hardware equipment that are actually installed at the enterprises. The actual product is bought by the companies in order to gain the benefits of a core product. At the same time, considering the fact that Samsung Knox is an innovative product, the third layer of it plays a critically important role for the successful B2B development. The augmented product of Samsung Knox is a pre- and after-sales services offered to the companies that buy Samsung Knox. Considering the fact that the corporation values its brand name, it provides the guarantee of the IT products offered to other business entities. Thus, the Samsung Knox’s product mix is rather effective. It includes all three beneficial layers of products in order to ensure success B2B cooperation.
Service Strategy
There is no doubt that the services strategy is very important for the companies to implement in order to remain competitive in the market with high industry rivalry. Samsung competes with Apple, Huawei, Sony, etc (Lopez, 2017). One of the tools to acquire additional competitive advantages on the market is an implementation of an effective service strategy. Considering that the number of IT companies that offer similar products grows, the customers become more demanding. They expect to receive not only high-quality products but qualified pre- and after-sales services.
First of all, the company provides pre-sales information in order to give an opportunity for the companies to study and analyze the products of Samsung Knox. What is more, there are Samsung Knox managers that provide qualified consultation about the software and hardware products offered. What is more, the consultants can analyze the internal characteristics of the target B2B buyer in order to offer the most effective set of IT products.
It is also important to emphasize the fact that Samsung Knox provides different types of after-sales services. The managers of Samsung Knox provide online diagnostics and consultations concerning the use and implementation of IT product. In addition, in case the programs or applications broke, the Samsung Knox managers are obliged to solve the problem fast and for free. Thus, the profound pre- and after-sales services range create additional competitive advantage for Samsung Knox in the market.
Pricing Strategy
Obviously, high-tech products are rather valued by the business customers. High technologies’ sphere is one of the most expensive. That is why usually high-tech companies use the values-based pricing strategy. They settle the price level according to the brand perception of the customers. In such a case, the prices are settled with a high-profit margin. The Samsung brand is not an exception. It uses the values-based pricing strategy as well. It meets the profits expectations and positioning strategy of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. However, considering the high level of competition in the market, Samsung Knox needed to decrease the price level in order to remain competitive in the market (Hamblen, 2014). The corporation uses the competitive pricing strategy in the B2B market (Lovering, 2018). Samsung Knox offers the high-tech products with the price level that is approximately the same or slightly less than Apple, Inc. and other competitors offer.
Thus, the use of a competitive pricing strategy with the value-based pricing strategy creates an effect of synergy for Samsung Knox. From one side, the combination of strategies gives an opportunity to earn a high level of profitability because the price structure includes a high-profit margin. At the same time, such a pricing strategy provides equal competition conditions with other market participants. What is more, Samsung settles slightly cheaper prices than Apple, Inc. does. Consequently, the number of business entities that buy Samsung Knox products increases. Thus, the used pricing strategy ensures high profitability level on the B2B market due to high-profit margin and large sales amount.
- Insight. (March 17, 2017). Samsung KNOX: A Serious Security Solution. Retrieved from https://www.insight.com/en_US/learn/content/167237277-samsung-knox-a-serious-security-solution.html
- Hamblen, M. (September 18, 2014). Samsung Drops Knox Prices and Introduces Knox User Portal. Computer World. Retrieved from https://www.computerworld.com/article/2686154/samsung-drops-knox-prices-and-introduces-knox-user-portal.html
- Lopez, M. (March 29, 2017). Samsung Aims To Steal Apple’s Business Customers With New Devices And Partnerships. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/maribellopez/2017/03/29/samsung-aims-to-steal-apples-business-customers-with-new-devices-and-partnerships/#2407c687c5f2
- Lovering, C. (June 26, 2018). Competitive Pricing Strategy. Small Business Chron. Retrieved from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/competitive-pricing-strategy-59220.html
Pickup, O. (August 18, 2017). What does the future look like for Smartphone security? - The Telegraph. Retrieved from https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/open-economy/future-of-smartphone-security/
- Samsung Knox. (n.d.). Comprehensive mobile security and management. Retrieved from https://www.samsungknox.com/en/solutions/it-solutions/knox-platform-for-enterprise#benefits