How would you assess the attractiveness of the telephone industry in Japan at the time of the launch of i-mode services? What would you conclude from a five forces industry analysis?
The attractiveness of telephone service was in the limelight in the telephone industry due to high quality, attractiveness, differentiation and other associated services. At the launch of i-mode service, the company intended to gain an advantage and enhanced the attraction among the customers. Despite containing the price of ¥35,900 to ¥42,800, which was lower than the previous prices of the internet services. This was a fact that the attractiveness of the telephone could be assessed through the trends of using smart internet devices. Thus, the management of the company enhanced the visibility of the attractive and justified it through i-mode, a wireless smart device. People in Japan seemed curious at that time, as they were assertive to use the remarkable services, being launched by the company. The assessment had also been enhanced through information regarding the booking. Immense people response, over 100 books, and published magazines were the pertinent assessment of the attractiveness.
How did DoCoMo create distinctive value at low cost? How did DoCoMo combine the strengths of the mobile phone and the PC-Internet? How did the value curve of DoCoMo’s i-mode differ from those of the mobile phone and the PC-Internet?
To create distinctive value at low cost, DoCoMo intended to contain the volume to value strategy. The low-cost new mobile data communication service was the main consideration for the company to make the differentiation and produce the results. The combination of the mobile phone and PC internet was exceptional to derive the value and transfer it to an vast range of the customers in Japan. DoCoMo intended to boost and retain the high-speed internet on personal computers. The high-speed internet and customization were the strengths of PC internet. Also, on the other hand, along with customization, the wireless connection reduces the cost of installation and data transfer through wireless devices. The value curve of DoCoMo’s i-mode had been differentiated from that mobile phone and the PC-Internet due to the increase the data transmission quality. Moreover, the value curve was depicted through the services, even without the net.
Where and how did i-mode create new buyer utilities? What is i-mode’s business model?
For making this internet interaction services successful in Japan, the i-mode contained the new buyer utilities. I-mode created the buyer utilities through lacing both official and un-official websites on the menu page. The launch of the different websites was commercial, which provided enormous benefits to the customers. One of the main utilities provided by this service was pooling the customer demands and gathering information from the different service providers. Also, this was observed that the newly established features and the combined billing system for the buyers were the utilities. Interestingly, these utilities were possible due to the pertinent business model. Based on the different customer segments, this service contained some associations to enhance the attractions and let the customers make their decision. The business model was the business to customer and through targeting and segmentation, so the chances of profitability were quite high.
How did NTT DoCoMo make profits out of its i-mode services?
NTT DoCoMo made profits out of i-mode services due to many factors. For Instance, the first consideration of the company was to make the process rapid for users in the country. The first factor was the low-cost consideration for the customers along with the high-quality wireless internet services. Differentiated services and various features boosted the attraction, which increased the revenues. Due to the massive sales and booking in the first year, massive profitability was ensured. To access the network of i-mode, the customer had to pay ¥300 every month. This was a kind of subscription fee, which made the company lucrative in the competitive internet service market. More than 6.7 million subscribers in 2001 were a significant example of the success of the company. The profitability was ensured due to the segmentation and differentiation, as in Japan people seemed responsive at that time.
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