Strategic Marketing Verizon operates under a marketing orientation. The product/service offering of Verizon does not differ all that much from that of its competitors. Thus, Verizon is in a position where it must use marketing to increase its sales. Close attention is paid to things like pricing and distribution -- for example what Verizon's service areas are and where they place their stores -- because those are things that attract customers. The Verizon brand is another focal point for this marketing orientation, and it is important that the company builds a stronger brand reputation and higher brand visibility than its competitors. It is difficult to differentiate between the major providers in telecom, so there is a high level of marketing emphasis in order to help Verizon do just this.

Verizon offers a number of different plans for its customers. The Verizon service is fairly generic, but the company does alter how it packages the service, and this is particularly with respect to pricing. Verizon seeks to package its pricing -- the combination of features that come at a certain price -- in a way that best meets consumer needs, and is also competitive with the plans that are offered by the competition. One of the offerings that the company has is called Verizon Edge. What this...

They get discounts on their service plans for being a part of this. The Verizon Edge plan is intended to create a higher degree of brand loyalty. What happens is that people will typically buy a new device, and get a new plan to go along with it, because the cost of the device is tied to the plan. Verizon Edge is a means of encouraging customers to sign with Verizon for multiple devices life cycles, extending far beyond the usualy two or three years that might normally come with a plan. So Edge benefits the consumer who knows that they want to do business with Verizon, by offering them discounts for their brand loyalty. For Verizon, Edge creates a little bit better revenue certainty, by increasing the loyalty of consumers to the Verizon brand, creating incentive for people to stay with Verizon. Edge can even act as a hedge in case Verizon cannot get the hottest new phone. While the company will always try, such devices can be attractive to consumers, and should Verizon not be able to secure the rights to some phone offering, their customers will find it more difficult to leave because of the benefits that they are getting with Edge.
The customer will need to undertake extra…