A Comparative Study on Marketing Strategies of Apple Mobile Phone and HUAWEI Mobile Phone in China

邵詩佳 王海燕

【Abstract】The paper analyzes the marketing strategies of Apple and HUAWEI smart phones in China by comparing their product strategy， pricing strategy， and promotion strategy， so as to provide some reference and enlightenment for the marketing strategies of other smart phone manufacturers in China.

【Key words】smart phone; Chinese mobile phone market; marketing strategy

【作者簡介】邵詩佳，浙江海洋大學(xué)外國語學(xué)院商務(wù)英語專業(yè)學(xué)生;王海燕，浙江海洋大學(xué)外國語學(xué)院講師，碩士，研究方向：跨文化交際。

1. Chinas Smart Phone Market Environment

With the development of communication industry， smart phones are becoming increasingly popular and playing a vital role in peoples life. Especially in Chinas mobile phone market， smart phones have taken a dominant position. The national industrial policy strongly encourages the smart phone industry to develop toward high-tech products， and new investment projects for domestic smart phone companies are gradually increasing. In the meanwhile， Chinas domestic smart phone companies are under great pressure to compete with world-famous multinational companies in the same smart phone market. As the pioneer of global smart phones， Apple has a very deep technical foundation and brand value. HUAWEI， the outstanding representative of domestic smart phones， specializes in the research and development of communication network technologies and products such as smart phones， and actively builds brand advantages. The successful marketing strategies of Apple and HUAWEI can help them stand out in the fierce smart phone market. Their marketing strategies are also worth learning by domestic smart phone manufacturers.

2. A Comparison of Apple and HUAWEIs Marketing Strategy

2.1 Product Strategy

Bi Siyong defines product as “anything provided to the market to satisfy peoples certain desires and needs， including material objects， services， places， organizations， people， ideas， etc” （2007： 138）. He （2007） believes that the substance of the product refers to the actual benefits that the product can bring to the consumer， or the function and utility of the product， which is the purpose of the consumer to purchase the product. For the Chinese smart phone market， the true determination of the willingness of domestic consumers to purchase is still the quality of the products. Only when the quality of smart phones made by domestic mobile phone companies is guaranteed， can they be more competitive in the market competition， and the marketing work of enterprises can continue to carry on.

As for Apples product strategy， the most famous is the hunger marketing which affects the price of a product by adjusting the relationship between supply and demand. Before the release of new smart phones， Apple first held a grand press conference to arouse peoples curiosity about the mysterious new phones， and then used hunger marketing strategy to stimulate consumers desire to buy. For Apple， their target customers are the high-end group who pursue the quality of life. Therefore， Apples smart phone is not only full of beauty and luxury in appearance， but also pursues the worlds top quality control and workmanship. At the same time， Apple also provides a wealth of application experience services and comprehensive after-sales service.

HUAWEI implements a full coverage model product strategy：HUAWEI launches a full-featured high-end smart phone for consumers in the high-end market; a stylish and smart phone for consumers in the mid-range market; and a cost-effective smart phone for consumers in the low-end market. It is also constantly innovating its products to adapt to the ever-changing market in order to occupy the smart phone market and consolidate its market position.

2.2 Pricing Strategy

Smith （2015） puts forward that the price must be able to reflect the value and price is often the key factor affecting the success or failure of a transaction. Formulating reasonable pricing strategy requires enterprises to not only analyze and evaluate product cost， but also have a full understanding of market environment and consumer psychology.

In terms of pricing strategy， Apple adopts skim pricing. “Skim pricing is a high-price strategy， which means that the price is set high in the early stage of the new product launch， so as to obtain the maximum profit in a short period of time” （Bi， 2007：177）. Adopting this pricing strategy is conducive to obtaining considerable profits in the new market in a short time and establishing a high-quality corporate image， thus attracting more customers to buy.

HUAWEI has developed a strategy to launch products at different prices for different customer groups. This “differentiated pricing strategy” can satisfy the preferences of different types of consumers （Rose， 2013： 24）. Reasonable product pricing is conducive to expanding sales volume， improving corporate image and promoting the long-term development plan of the enterprise.

2.3 Promotion Strategy

The goal of promotion is to promote sales， but the purpose of promotion is not only to expand sales volume， but more importantly to improve brand awareness， so as to further expand consumers loyalty to the brand and realize the sustainable development of enterprises. To develop a scientific and reasonable promotion strategy， an enterprise needs to accurately convey product or service information to consumers in order to attract consumers attention and create a desire to purchase.

The global market positioning of Apples smart phones has always been a high-end product， so price reduction is not the main strategy for its sales. Apples advertising strategy has made the public more impressed with its smart phones. In the Chinese market， Apple also offers special deals for the Chinese New Year to cater to the holiday atmosphere and increase sales. In addition， Apple will also reduce the price of the old smart phones when it launches a new type of smart phone to achieve product promotion. HUAWEI also launches promotions on common holidays and attaches great importance to the investment in advertising， such as the implantation of TV drama program， in which the protagonists smart phone is all made of HUAWEI， so as to impress the audience and expand the popularity of the product.

3. Inspiration for the Development of Chinas Smart Phone Industry

Given the successful examples of HUAWEI and Apple， if Chinese smart phone companies want to occupy a more important position in the market， they need to be supported by stable and long-lasting consumers. Domestic smart phone companies should fully understand consumers demand on the basis of differentiation， constantly improve the function and characteristics of products， establish a good product image， use advertising and other promotion way to improve enterprises popularity， and undertake the social responsibility actively. Moreover， strengthening scientific and technological innovation is the driving force for the development of smart phone enterprises. Only by technological reform in advance can domestic smart phone enterprises gain the initiative in the market. Only through the innovation of science and technology can they realize the prosperity of domestic smart phone products.

References：

[1]Rose， S.. Use differentiated pricing skillfully[J]. Discovery，2013 （05）：24-26.

[2]Smith， T. Pricing Strategy[M]. Beijing： China Renmin University Press，2015.

[3]畢思勇.市場營銷[M].北京：高等教育出版社，2007.