By: Joe Pantalone
After reading an article from Forbes Magazine, it is apparent that HTC is gearing up for the release of their new premium phone, the HTC 02. However, it is striking that HTC still has not recovered from its previous flop. HTC reported losses of $252 million on $1.042 billion in sales. These estimates were attributed to their lack of evolving products.
Customers are always searching for the next best thing. With HTC, they have never truly seemed to grasp this concept. In an industry led by Apple and Samsung, it must be hard for them to break through. With a product strategy of appealing to low, middle, and high class people, hoping to catch a consumer’s eye, their approach does not seem to be working. HTC is a player in the smartphone industry, but it is hard to differentiate their phones. Their products seem to lack a distinct competitive advantage.
When consumers think of smartphones, it seems like the battle is between Apple and Samsung. Both have strong advertising campaigns and consumers know that the quality of their products is good. Apple is widely diverse, offering products that enhance the smartphone experience. Samsung, on the other hand, rivals Apple with their screen display and note capabilities.
So what is it that HTC brings to the table? Consumers have often been disappointed by the plastic that is used in the construction of HTC phones. In their opinion, it indicates that they are not producing the highest quality product. As well as producing “low quality” products, HTC seems to blend in with the other companies. They possess the same bells and whistles that the others do, but are not promoting their product as efficiently as competitors in their field.
If they want to avoid flopping again, they must first try to find a way to climb out of the shadows of Apple and Samsung. This may take a lot of work, but their product strategy will play a major role in making it happen. HTC needs to search for a niche or come up with what consumers believe to be the next big idea. Their goal should be to beat their competition to the punch and make a big splash. If they can develop a product so new and intuitive it might just be the start they need to become an industry leader.
There have been rumors that HTC would like to establish themselves in the fitness and watch category. Again, this does not create separation from their rivals. It just keeps them barely up to par. However, rumblings have also stated that the company has been experimenting with virtual reality to expand their portfolio. If this was the case, HTC would have something that has never been done before in the smartphone world. They would truly be an industry leader in that category.
The problem that arises now is will they get a positive response from this idea. What role does virtual reality have in the smartphone world? Is it something that can be used on a regular basis? Is this idea something that can boost HTC to the forefront? All these questions will have to wait to be answered. It seems like it is a risk HTC is willing to take. We can only hope it is not so outlandish that they distance themselves once more from the top.
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Marketing Discussions 
If phone are lacking competitive advantage they should advertise more on what make HTC great!
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The smartphone market is one of the most challenging to compete in because of strong brands such as Apple and Samsung. This has created a major problem for HTC. HTC needs to do something to differntiate themselves from these two brands. I agree with the article that HTC should have a category in which they specialize. This may not be smartphones because of the major competition within the industry. However, by highlighting a new product such as a watch or a category such as fitness could help the company immensely. HTC needs to move the concentration to another technological device and category in order to have a competitive edge. HTC also is considering the implementation of virtual reality which has never been done in the smartphone world. This could be a major gamble for the company if something goes wrong and people do not want to leave their current smartphone carriers. I believe the company should focus more on expanding their line and becoming well known for an innovative product that is not necessarily a smartphone.
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I agree with this particular article. HTC, as a company, has been drowning in a very competitive field when attempting to compete with innovative competitors like Apple and Samsung. HTC, as the article mentions, has had previous product flops in the past, which has deferred consumers away from this product line. I’m hoping that these various flops have allowed HTC to truly learn from their mistakes, however, with this new product they’re about to launch, to me at least, it seems as though they haven’t taken a strong enough look into their past. They emphasize a great deal that they (as a company) want to deliver a cutting edge product, and they also want to offer their consumers something that competitors haven’t offered them yet, in order to better differentiate themselves. In theory, this sounds like a phenomenal, cure-all to their current issue, however, as we’ve seen in the past with HTC, their products fail in terms of originality and success. Although they’ve made their attempts, HTC still has yet to produce a product that is one of a kind. In regard to their most recent product, a virtual reality element sounds promising, but before they launch this full throttle, I believe they should open up the development of this idea to the general public. Allowing the potential consumer to get a sneak peak (just a glimpse to avoid competition issues) of what it is they want to do with the concept of virtual reality could potentially generate consumer interest. Once interest is created, I think the focus should then be to convince consumers as to why virtual reality technology is a desirable and needed feature for a smartphone to have.
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I don’t think that HTC can actually beat the competition, but I do believe they can improve their product in order to get out of this rut. HTC does need to search for a niche, or something that can at least set them apart. This company will need to take a risk in order to catch the eye of the public.
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I do agree that HTC has fallen into the shadows of their big competitors Apple and Samsung, but it is going to be very difficult to try to beat those two rivals. Apple and Samsung have many consumers that are already loyal to their brand and will only buy their products. I think in order to at least compete with Apple and Samsung they are going to have to gain brand loyalty and come out with a product and campaign that people will enjoy more than their competitors. This might help getting their name a little bigger but it will take awhile to actually beat their competitors.
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I do agree that HTC has fallen into the shadows of their big competitors Apple and Samsung, but it is going to be very difficult to try to beat those two rivals. Apple and Samsung have many consumers that are already loyal to their brand and will only buy their products. I think in order to at least compete with Apple and Samsung they are going to have to gain brand loyalty and come out with a product and campaign that people will enjoy more than their competitors. This might help getting their name a little bigger but it will take awhile to actually beat their competitors.
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I also believe that HTC has lost it’s competitive edge in battling for space in this market with big names like Apple and Samsung. I don’t see HTC having much success in this marketplace unless they produce a type of technology that is so new and innovating it can draw attention. Even if they were to successfully do that, I feel that most loyal customers to Apple and Samsung would simply wait until each respective company was able to produce the new technology. From my personal experience, most people are loyal to their phone’s brand. Most are not willing to switch once they pick one.
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I don’t think that there is much HTC can do in order to beat competitors like Apple and Samsung. Perhaps their best option would be to focus on niche marketing that could help address consumers that may have unsatisfied needs. HTC could potentially focus smartphones that could cater towards business people in a way that Apple and Samsung currently do not.
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With competition like Apple and Samsung, I do not see a way that HTC can compete in this market. Overall, they have had flops, their technology is not on par with their competition, and there is simply too much brand loyalty between consumers of Apple and Samsung products to even think that they have a shot with taking market share from them. Apple and Samsung produce arguable some of the best phones on the market each with their own strengths and styles that other phones cannot compete against.
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I think all of the comments are correct. It will be very hard for HTC to compete in the market because of the uphill battle they are facing. A niche market may be a good idea to try but it is also risky. In this day and age in the smartphone industry people are sticking with what they know works best. In this case it seems to not be siding with HTC. Major improvements need to be made in order to be relevant in the field.
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Realistically, I think its time for HTC to throw in the towel on smartphones. Apple and Samsung are two superpowers which this brand simply cannot compete with. There only shot at remaining a viable corporation would be to divert there efforts into another electronic platform, such as watch as mentioned before. However, I cant see a struggling company like HTC come out of the woodwork with a new and revolutionary product which Apple or even Samsung hasn’t patented first.
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