BlackBerry is a cybersecurity and tech Canadian multinational company. The tech brand discontinued its mobile services, smartphones, and other devices due to heavy losses and mismanagement. The smartphone brand became comfortable with the success and growth and it was left behind in the competition and the other competitive brands swallowed BlackBerry up. Today, we’ll discuss BlackBerry leadership failure; historical background, and top mistakes of the leadership of BlackBerry.
Historical Background of BlackBerry
BlackBerry achieved a market leadership position in the late 1999 and early 2000s. People wanted to buy the smartphone with the iconic keyboard button pad; it was the style that only the rich and successful business class could afford.
However, all other mobile phone manufacturing companies were copying the design and style of BlackBerry with the full miniature-sized keypad. But the BlackBerry had earned a strong over 50% market share and a very loyal database of customers. It was the time when the tech company had achieved all the success with a strong network of supply chain and distribution.
The performance, sales, and growth of BlackBerry started declining in 2012. Competitive brands like the iPhone and Samsung managed to increase their market share with their full tough-screen smartphone devices.
Finally, in 2016, BlackBerry stopped all the operations and production of smartphone and mobile phone devices. The tech brand shifted its focus to its strong suit of cybersecurity and software development to keep its business operations running. The company had a market share of approximately 0.0% in 2016.
BlackBerry Leadership Failure
Let’s discuss the BlackBerry leadership failure; some of the wrong steps of BlackBerry are as follows;
Underestimating Competition
Apple, Google, and Samsung were the underdogs at that time and they had a very limited market share. Everyone was talking about BlackBerry and they all wanted the smartphones of BlackBerry including customers, partners, carriers, and distributors.
When the interviewer asked the question to the co-founder of BlackBerry about Apple’s first iPhone in 2007. He said that the smartphones of iPhones are nowhere near a threat and competitor to the brand. However, he further said that once you start using the mobile device BlackBerry, then you become its user for a lifetime; you don’t have to change such a marginalized offer.
Those small brands became the billion-dollar brand a decade later; Google, Samsung, and Apple swallowed the market share of the tech company. When BlackBerry stopped innovation and creativity; other competitors went further in technological innovation and became the market leader.
Over-confident Leadership
The interviews of the leadership of BlackBerry like Mike Lazaridis and Balsillie showed that they were over-confident with the brand’s positioning. In fact, their comments about the competitive brand showed their arrogant behavior. The growth and success of any company are heavily reliant on the attitude and behavior of the leadership; Lazaridis and Balsillie started the company and they were the reason for its fall.
By the time, BlackBerry introduced a new OS and other major changes, the customer market had moved on from the company and they didn’t care about BlackBerry anymore.
Not Attracting New Customers
It is significant that companies should hold on to the loyal database of customers while targeting new customers. BlackBerry was holding on to the old-school loyal customers and the new users were going towards Google, Apple, and Samsung. Instead of increasing the market share, BlackBerry was overly focusing on the already existing users. However, when the company failed to innovate new products and devices, they failed to attract new customers.
Holding On to the Failed Practices
When Google launched the Android system and Apple launched iOS, then it immediately attracted the attention of customers. BlackBerry tried to change its operating system, but it wasn’t moving in the right direction. Just like Nokia had chosen Windows OS over Android the time proved that they were wrong. It is because both iOS and Android became the market leaders, and the OS of BlackBerry became obsolete.
Not Following the Market Trends
Along with software updates, the hardware of BlackBerry was becoming outdated. The touch screen smartphones were trending and they earned a huge popularity, and BlackBerry ignored the growing customer market trends. Instead, BlackBerry was still producing and developing touchpad button keyboard phones.
However, the company was releasing new BlackBerry models with small design and style changes; but they were nowhere closer to the latest technology of iOS and Android. By the time, BlackBerry fixed its mistake, it became the follower of the latest technology rather than an innovator.
Conclusion: Leadership Failure of BlackBerry | What Went Wrong With BlackBerry |Wrong Step of BlackBerry’s Leadership
After an in-depth study of BlackBerry leadership failure; we have realized that BlackBerry is the world’s leading cybersecurity and tech company. If you are learning about the BlackBerry mobile phone failure; then you should keep in mind the abovementioned wrong steps and decisions of the company’s leadership, historical background, and elements.
Ahsan is an accomplished researcher and has a deep insight in worldly life affairs. He goes Live 3 days a week on various social media platforms. Other than research writing, he’s a very interesting person.
