Will You Be Next? The iPhone Fad and How to Join in the Mix

            The three major cellular phone carriers AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon want your business now more than ever before! The new 5G data availability with four new options for mobile devices, coupled with the release of the new iPhone 12, are all factors in the new pitch war between the competitors. There is now a race to capture you as their new customer to have you leave the other guy. The questions I ask are: Will the offers and specials be enough to have you second guess being poached from your current carrier? Will your current carrier provide a better counteroffer? You are the deciding factor to help build their market-share. You have the power to stimulate possibly the biggest growth they have seen thus far in this challenging year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The networks are different for the first time,” said Cliff Maldonado, principal analyst at Bay Street Research. “5G is the perfect time to justify switching carriers.” (FitzGerald & Higgins, 2020).

            Mr. Maldonado feels that each network presents its own uniqueness to consumers in which they can use their buying power. You most likely already own a mobile device. In addition, you probably own an Apple product as well. If you are not an Apple consumer, the goal of the new marketing strategy for Apple is to entice you to become an Apple user. It took me a while to become an Apple consumer however when my employer used this product as a manager, I had no choice at the time. After using the product for three years, I was then presented with an option to combine my personal device with work. I took the option but to ensure my phone functioned to the standard needed for work demands, I became an Apple consumer as well. There is no way I will return to Android after using this device.

            With the launch of the new ad campaigns to grab your attention, the decision could be tough. Will you make the change? Will Verizon really be able to deliver the speed as promised by the device and 5G service? Investors in the 5G network expansion believe that this will be a great time to gain a return on their investment with the new iPhone 12 introductions. AT&T has offered free iPhone for new and current customers who decide to sign up for unlimited data plans (FitzGerald & Higgins, 2020). iPhone customers are very loyal to the brand, according to consumer research conducted in 2018 (Rozaq & Soni, 2018). In this research article, it was clear that because of consistency of the product consumers would remain loyal to the brand overall. The level of satisfaction with Apple products is high. In a 2015 article Patrick Seitz wrote that there would be a surge of a switch of Samsung users to Apple users (Seitz, 2015).

            If you are not an iPhone consumer, will you decide to make the switch and buy into all the offers for this new iPhone 12? If you are an Apple consumer, will you upgrade to one of the new iPhone 12 offered devices this year? Only you know why you will make the choice, and hopefully it will be what is best for you and not just because it is a new fad to follow.

  Fauzi, A., & Harsono, S. (2018). THE EFFECT OF BRAND IMAGE AND SERVICE

QUALITY ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION AND LOYALTY OF IPHONE USERS IN SURABAYA. Russian Journal of Agricultural and Socio-Economic Sciences, 79(7), 261–269. https://doi.org/10.18551/rjoas.2018-07.28

FitzGerald, D., & Higgins, T. (2020, October 17). New 5G iPhones Kick Off Poaching Season

for Carriers. The Wallstreet Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-5g-iphones-kick-off-poaching-season-for-carriers-11602943200?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=1

  Seitz, P. (2015, June 29). Apple iPhone demand, brand loyalty remain strong. Investor’s

Business Daily.