By Tanya Ellis, Gleaner Writer"MIPHONE NEVER abandoned the Jamaican market, instead we have been like mushroom plants growing quietly in the shadows, until we are ready to reveal our level of maturity."
These powerful words were spoken yesterday by David Palmer, senior vice-president of commercial operations at MiPhone. He was guest speaker at a luncheon hosted by Kiwanis Club of Kingston at the Hilton Kingston Hotel, New Kingston.
"We must find our niche market and master it, through innovation and technology before we try to become dominant in other areas," said Mr. Palmer in his bid to maintain consistency in his level of expertise.
Mr. Palmer argues that one way of doing this is to ensure that MiPhone maintains the competitive advantage of being technologically ahead of its main rivals. He went on to name Digicel as the main competitor, but was quick to reiterate that at the moment they remain four towers ahead of the competition.
The company prides itself on selling some of the best quality handsets at the most competitive prices. A lot of emphasis was also placed on the benefits of using MiPhone, especially within the business environment, since they consider themselves to have the most competitive package offers and very good coverage nationwide.
WILL REACH TARGET AUDIENCE
Mr. Palmer agrees that the company is operating within a certain niche at the moment, but accepts that with time and continued growth they will eventually reach all members of their target audience.
One other area that MiPhone will be looking at to gain competitive advantage will be the area of innovations. In addition to the introduction of Mi top-up, which allows credit cards holders to be able to top up their mobile phones wherever they are, Mr. Palmer promises that by the end of August 2004, debit card holders will also be able to make top-up payments directly to their handsets without the inconvenience of having to make buy top up at payment points.
"The main objective of MiPhone is to establish itself as the premier Jamaican wireless voice and data provider with the best customer care, the most advanced features and services, and the highest quality network. We intend to achieve this by providing value-added products and services to our customers and by creating an environment in which all employees are valued," said Mr. Palmer of the strategy he will be using to achieve the company's corporate objectives.
