Prague University of Economics and Business International Business – Central European Business
Realities
Integrated marketing communication strategy of Xiaomi smartphone in Czech
Republic
Author: Yamin Zhao
Thesis instructor: Markéta Lhotáková Scholar year: 2020/2021
Acknowledgement
I hereby wish to express my appreciation and gratitude to the supervisor of my thesis, Ing. Markéta Lhotáková, Ph. D
Contents
ABSTRACT ... 5
INTRODUCTION ... 6
1. An overview of integrated marketing communications theory... 8
1.1 The first stage of IMC theory development ... 8
1.1.2 The second stage of IMC theory development... 9
1.1.3 The third stage of IMC theory development ... 10
1.2 Developing an integrated marketing communication strategy ... 12
1.2.1 Identifying customers and potential customers ... 13
1.2.2 Assessing the financial value of customers and potential customers ... 14
1.2.3 Create and deliver messages and incentives ... 15
1.2.4 Assessing Return on Customer Investment ... 16
1.2.5 Budget, allocation, and evaluation ... 18
1.3 Brand touchpoint management... 18
1.3.1 Theory interview ... 18
1.3.2 Classification of brand touchpoints ... 19
1.3.3 Management of brand touchpoints ... 20
1.3.4 Marketing communication tools ... 20
1.4 Customer behaviour ... 23
1.5 Decision-making process ... 25
1.5.1 Discovered needs ... 25
1.5.2 Searching for information ... 25
1.5.3 Buying ... 26
1.5.4 Post-purchase evaluation ... 26
2.Analysis smartphone industry: industry introduction, competitor analysis ... 29
2.1 Smartphone development process ... 29
2.2 Global smartphone Market and Czech smartphone market analysis ... 33
2.2.1 Global smartphone Market ... 33
2.2.2 Czech smartphone market ... 39
2.3 Competitors in Czech market ... 40
2.3.1 Samsung smartphones ... 41
Product Segmentation ... 41
Target group ... 42
Distribution channel ... 43
Communication strategy: ... 44
2.3.2 Huawei ... 44
Product Segmentation ... 45
Target group ... 45
Distribution channel ... 46
Communication strategy ... 46
Summary ... 46
3. PESTEL analysis in Czech Republic ... 47
3.1 Political Environment ... 48
3.2 Economics ... 48
3.3 Socio-cultural Factors ... 51
3.4 Technologies ... 56
3.5 Environmental Analysis ... 56
3.6 Law ... 57
4 Xiaomi smartphones in the home country ... 57
4.1 Company Introduction... 57
4.2 Analysis of Xiaomi marketing strategy under 4P marketing theory ... 57
4.2.1 Product portfolio ... 58
4.2.2 Price strategy ... 61
4.2.3 Place... 62
4.2.4 Promotion strategy in home market... 63
5. Survey ... 64
5.1 Methodology ... 65
5.2 Quantitative Research: Profile of respondents ... 66
5.3 In-depth interview results: Profile of respondents ... 73
5.4 SWOT analysis of Xiaomi smartphone in Czech Republic ... 75
6 Integrated marketing communication strategy for Xiaomi in Czech market ... 77
6.1 Promotion ... 77
6.2 Packing ... 78
6.3 Social media & influencers ... 78
6.4 Outdoor advertising ... 80
6.5 Guerrilla Marketing ... 81
6.6 Digital Marketing ... 82
6.7 Directing Marketing ... 82
6.8 Customer Journey ... 83
Conclusion ... 85
REFERENCE ... 86
Appendix1 ... 90
Appendix 2 ... 98
List of figures ... 104
List of tables ... 104
List of pictures ... 105
ABSTRACT
The main objective of this thesis is to research and develop an integrated marketing strategy to increase the sales of Xiaomi smartphones in the Czech Republic and improve consumer perception of the brand.
The proposed strategy is based on the features of the Czech Republic market and the peculiarities of local consumers. The work consisted of six parts. The theoretical part reviews IMC theory, consumer behaviour and touch point management. This is followed by an analysis of the global market and the Czech market and its environments.
The purpose of the following paper is to analyse of the Xiaomi marketing mix in the Chinese market in order to determine of the company local strategy. The fifth part of the paper summarizes the results of the survey conducted among Czech consumers and interviews with specific consumers. The last part based on all collected data; the goal of this thesis is to develop a marketing communication strategy for the Czech market for the Xiaomi smartphone.
Key words:
Integrated marketing communications (IMC), Czech market, smartphone market
INTRODUCTION
This thesis is concerned with theories of integrated marketing communication and consumer behaviour. The author will decide on the implementation of an integrated communication campaign in the Czech Republic based on the theory and research. This study is attributed to globalization, as consumers of today no longer see only local producers on the domestic market; the modern world allows for comprehensive business expansion. The first goal of this thesis is to analyse the current state of the smartphone market in the Czech Republic.
Smartphones are now considered the best ‘friend’ of human, and competition on the global and Czech markets is fierce. There are hundreds of smartphone brands in the world, but only a few standouts. Smartphones are changing at a rapid pace, and they will only be able to compete if they meet the needs of consumers, have advanced technology, and effective marketing strategies.
The first section of the paper examines integrated marketing communication (IMC) theory and consumer behaviour theory. The author conducted secondary research for this purpose, reading articles and books on relevant topics. The dissertation of the work next goal was to assess the current state of the global market and the Czech market environment. In order to conduct a more in-depth external market research, the author analysed primary data from official state sources and expert articles. The findings of the study will aid in understanding the opportunities and threats that businesses may face. The author will identify the primary direct competitors of Xiaomi company, analyse their market share, and assess their strengths and weaknesses. The thesis will include an analysis of the Xiaomi smartphone in the domestic market, as well as a marketing mix to determine the local strategy of Xiaomi company. The company may adapt to foreign markets, but it is critical to understand the core values and mission of Xiaomi company, which should remain consistent internationally.
The following goal is to conduct a specific survey about Xiaomi smartphones in the Czech Republic market in order to discover the primary reasons why Czech consumers buy smartphones, their impressions of Xiaomi smartphones, their touch points with the brand, and so on. The author chose a questionnaire survey with a random sample of Czech Republic consumers of various age groups and lifestyles to answer these questions. In addition to the questionnaire, the study included interviews with
customers of a variety of major smartphone brands.
It was created to answer questions such as what they are not satisfied with when using the phone now, what factor influenced their decision to buy the phone at the time they did, how customer loyalty is maintained, and so on. The more detailed responses to this type of primary research content will aid in better understanding the target audience.
The main goal of this paper which is the development of the IMC strategy for Xiaomi smartphones in the Czech market will be met on the basis of all previous steps.
1. An overview of integrated marketing communications theory
With economic prosperity and technological development, communication methods and marketing theories have changed. During the Second World War and for a long period of time, many countries became poor because of the war. Therefore, the supply of products in these countries exceeded the demand, which resulted in a production- oriented type. But because of economic development, people are wealthier, and the supply of products is also increasing. The supply of products exceeds the demand of consumers for products. So entered the demand-oriented stage. At the same time, the media and communication channels have also begun to diversify. People no longer understand all kinds of information from a single communication channel, and they are not only satisfied with having full choice of all kinds of information but hope that they can choose the information in the process of comparison, a response is formed and fed back to the other party.
Integrated marketing communication has also begun to play a role in the market.
1.1 The first stage of IMC theory development
Integrated marketing communications (IMC) experienced a growth spurt during the 1990s, when it was the preeminent form of marketing in the USA. The IMC Theory was developed in the 1980s from the communication synergy of the time. The focus of
‘communications synergy’ is for organisations to use different communication methods so that the final effect of these methods is more effective and more easily accepted and recognised by the audience. The strategies of integrated marketing became critically important in the 1990s.
Integrated marketing theory is based on practical experience and is used to respond to changes in market conditions. The American Association of Advertising Agencies uses the following definition of IMC: marketing communication planning that recognizes the added value of a comprehensive plan that evaluates the strategic roles of a variety of communication disciplines, including general advertising, direct response, sales promotion, and public relations, and combines these disciplines to provide clarity, consistency, and maximum communication impact (Duncan & Everett, 1993).
In 1993, Dr Schultz of North-western University emphasized in his book ‘Integrated Marketing Communications’ that integrated marketing is the ability of a company to communicate a unified message to consumers, so the early integrated marketing was to
set up an image for the company with various marketing activities, that is: speak with one voice.
In Marketing Management book, Kotler defines IMC as ‘the concept under which a company carefully integrates and coordinates its many communication channels to deliver clear, consistent and compelling messages about the organisation and its products. ‘ (Kotler, 2000)
Similarly, the Strategies Advertising Management book argues that IMC is ‘the planning and execution of all types of marketing communication needed for a brand, service, or company to satisfy a common set of communication objectives.’ (Elliott, Percy, & Rossiter, 2001)
The weakness of integrated marketing at this point in it is developing is the perception that IMC is simply a tool to make communication elements speak with ‘one voice’, but it lacks a strategic development plan for the whole company, as well as a detailed and comprehensive customer relationship management plan.
This stage is from within the company to within the company, where the company first develops a strategy and then markets to its customers.
1.1.2 The second stage of IMC theory development
Later, with the development of technology, the economic boom, and the popularity of the Internet, marketing activities have changed considerably, and companies have recognised that integrated communication marketing affects all parts of the business.
IMC has evolved from a tactical approach to communication that coordinates and unites all elements of communication to a set of marketing strategies that enable companies to plan and execute all marketing communication activities according to an integrated marketing model. IMC has abandoned the traditional product-oriented 4P marketing classic theory and advocates a consumer-centred 4C marketing communication theory (Schultz, Tannenbaum, & Lauterborn, 1993).
The Schultz further adapted the concept of integrated marketing: ‘a strategic business process for planning, developing, executing, and evaluating coordinated, measurable, and compelling brand communication programs over time with consumers, customers, prospects, and other targeted and relevant external and internal audiences.’ (Schultz &
Schultz, 1998)
Along with the growing research in integrated marketing, integrated marketing has incorporated more disciplines than just management concepts, but also concepts from psychology, communication, and sociology.
The Schultz have refined and updated the definition of integrated marketing, adding to the original theory of integrated marketing by emphasising that ‘integrated marketing is a management system for the dissemination of information and internal communication in all companies, and that this dissemination and communication means maintaining a good, positive relationship with potential customers and other public relations groups (such as employees, legislators, the media and financial groups) as far as possible. A good, positive relationship.’ (Schultz & Schultz, 2003)
This means that integrated marketing communication is a marketing tool, concept, and marketing model as well as a communication tool and management system. It integrates various messages externally to communicate the message of company and brand function in an integrated manner, and internally to enable effective management.
The most important feature of this definition is the emergence of an approach to IMC as a ‘business process’, encouraging the creation of chain systems through which all activities can be planned, implemented, and evaluated. As Schultz puts it: the real value of integrated marketing communications lies in its own circular nature (Schultz, Tannenbaum, & Lauterborn, 1993).
This part of IMC takes an outside-in planning approach, that is, it starts with the consumer or potential customer and tries to find out what they want, and then finds out what products or services they need based on that want.
1.1.3 The third stage of IMC theory development
Thanks to information technology, communication between companies and target groups have become easier and pro-consumers can contribute their knowledge skills and consumer experience to the product, motivating companies to participate more actively in research and development, collaborative creativity, and co-production to produce products that meet the needs of consumers. Not only is it customer-centric from the point of view of customer, but it also reflects the fact that value is created by both the consumer and the company due to consumer involvement.
Duncan proposes a new definition of IMC, the process of managing the customer
relationships that drive brand value, a cross-functional process that builds profitable relationships with customers and stakeholders by strategically controlling or influencing all information sent to these groups and encouraging data-driven, purposeful dialogue with them. (Duncan, 2002)
The Schultz discuss in chapter 13 of ‘IMC-The next generation: five steps for delivering value and measuring returns using marketing communication’ that a brand can create value for the company that owns it, and as an intangible asset, a brand does have financial value. (Schultz & Schultz, 2003)
Goodwill is an expression of the financial value of a brand, which is an intangible asset that cannot be found on the books and is the excess of the purchase value over the identifiable fair value. The book expresses the idea that brand equity is created by the company and is shared between the companies and the consumers.
It is now a stage where brand value is created jointly by consumers and companies (Schultz D. E., from persuasion to shared value creation, 2016). Thanks to information technology, communication between companies and target groups have become easier, and pro-consumers can contribute their know-how and consumer experience to products, inspiring companies to become more actively involved in research and development, collaborative creativity, and co-production to produce products that meet consumer needs.
The author is associated with a current business model that Xiaomi is using, in which companies can create an open-source communication platform, inviting customers, manufacturers, internal core staff, marketers, investors, and so on. to join the communication platform, where they can communicate their needs and ideas for products, and jointly create a product that meets the needs of customers from their perspective. This reduces product market risk and allows the company to grow quickly.
This business model is another specific form of IMC development, which is also inside- cross-outside.
Two-way communication between inside and outside the company to jointly manage product quality and develop marketing strategies, so that the company can meet the needs of outsiders such as market regulators and consumers, and outsiders can meet the needs of company such as manufacturing profit is and creating value from new technologies.
So, to summarise through tables the 3 stages of IMC theory development:
Table 1 Three stages of IMC theory development
Inside to outside The company develops its marketing strategy first and then markets to its customers. The customer is not involved in the marketing strategy process. Lack of comprehensive and detailed customer relationship management.
Outside to inside Companies use an outside-in planning approach, that is, they start with consumers or potential customers and try to find out what they want, and then find out what products or services they need based on that demand.
Intersection This part of the IMC theory of internal and external cross-functionality, where companies communicate internally and externally in both directions, planning and managing their brands together and meeting each other needs. It is also a new business model for start-up companies.
Source: Porcu, Lucia & Del Barrio-García, Salvador & Kitchen, Philip. (2012). How Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) works? A theoretical review and an analysis of its main drivers and effects. Communication & Society. 25. 313-348.
1.2 Developing an integrated marketing communication strategy
The previous author described the development of integrated marketing and the benefit is of integrated marketing for corporate brands. The following author talks about how to develop an effective integrated marketing communication strategy.
Firstly, the author emphasise that integrated marketing communication is from the outside to the inside, with the outside representing the customer and the inside representing the internal company. Marketers need to identify the needs of their target
group from their perspective, so that they can tailor their communication strategy to meet their needs.
The Schultz propose a five-step planning process for IMC. (Schultz & Schultz, 2003) 1.2.1 Identifying customers and potential customers
In this section, we can draw on the left-hand side of the Customer Data Leveraging Model to understand the sources of customer information, which can be divided into external and internal to the company. Although the main types of data are listed, the full range of sources of information is not listed.
Today, most marketing professionals are changing their approach due to the dramatic changes that are currently affecting markets, customers, technology, media, and the ability to collect, manipulate and store data (Porcu, 2012).
Typically, information can now be collected based on customer behaviour, demographics, geography, psychographics and so on. Customers are then categorised centrally: loyal customers, potential customers, and stray customers. Loyal customers are loyal customers who now use the products of the company, have a stable connection with the company, and are a guarantee of the effectiveness of the company. Potential customers do not buy the products of company and are not real customers of the company, but the company can turn them into future customers through hard marketing efforts. They use the products of company and often buy products of other companies, which is a mobile customer base that the company should try to retain.
Figure 1 Sources of customer information
Source: Leveraging Customer Information, American Productivity and Quality Centre
(Houston: APQC,2000).
1.2.2 Assessing the financial value of customers and potential customers
As a major contributor to revenue stream of a company, IMC considers customers as an asset to the business that can contribute to the financial profitability of communication investments of company. The purpose of assessing the financial value of customers and prospects is to provide a better impact strategy, as customers can be segmented according to their financial value.
Firstly, the author emphasise that customers are valued differently and that the two- eight rule states that approximately only 20 percent of the variables manipulate 80 percent of the situation. In marketing it is stated that 20 percent of the customers bring 80 percent of the profit is or sales to the company. This is the reason why companies segment according to the value of their customers.
Measuring Brand Communication ROI (Schultz & Walters, 1997)introduced the Customer Brand Value (CBV), that we can measure the value of customer by CBV model. The customer- based brand equity is the summation of the individual brand value of customer. CBV can be understood as a set of associations that customers make with the brand. CBV provides managers with a tool to gain an in-depth understanding of the customer level metrics of brand awareness, brand image, brand trust, brand affect, purchase intention, and brand loyalty (Kumar, 2013).
CBV=P * BR * SOP * CM (Schultz & Walters, 1997).
CBV: customer brand value.
P (Penetration): percent of users of this brand VS overall of users in the category.
BR (Category buying rate): the average of unit is bought per customer during a specified period of time.
SOP (share of purchases): share of customer wallet.
CM (contribution margin)
Through CBV, the IMC manager can identify the most valuable group of customers, that is, the group of customers that the company believes can have the highest CBV and bring in the most revenue if it can be expanded. This group can make loyal customers or potential customers, but preferably not customers who buy discounted products all
the time, because if it is necessary to satisfy customers who have a demand for price it would be necessary to reduce the price of the product and would lose the profit of the company. The company can then analyse the consumer preferences of this customer group and develop a communication marketing strategy.
1.2.3 Create and deliver messages and incentives
The third step is the core of all marketing communication activities. After identifying customers and assessing their financial value, the company has an understanding of the market situation and its target customers. The company can then develop an effective marketing communications plan to create and deliver messages and incentives.
The most important part for the marketing department is the contact point with the customer, so first of all, it is important to know the contact points for managing the brand contact points. The author will continue with contact point more later.
The touch points where customers or potential customers come into contact with the brand. Brand networks are the results and associations that these touchpoints generate for the customer. Brand networks are the images, thoughts, ideas, and experiences that combine in the mind of the customer or potential customer and, when brought together, form the overall impression and definition of a particular brand for the individual.
(Schultz & Schultz, 2003)
The combination of brand touchpoints and brand networks, therefore, awakens the customer or potential customer to the perceptions, feelings, and opinions of the brand.
The marketing manager then needs to know what message the company needs to deliver to the customers.
Firstly, the company needs to know who the consumer is, what the consumer needs or wants from the product.
Secondly, it needs to be confident that the product of company will meet the needs of consumer.
Thirdly, it needs to know who the competitors are, how the customers perceive these competitor brands and from which competitor brand the company is most likely to gain new customers.
Fourthly, the company needs to integrate persuasive communication into every part of
the marketing, taking advantage of the IMC synergy, where all communications have the same purpose. Convince customers that the product of the company is superior to any other product in the market.
Fifth, the company has to emphasise the personality of the brand in IMC marketing, giving the brand a soul so that consumers can easily identify the brand and differentiate it from the competition.
Sixth, deliver the brand message to customers through brand touch points, such as newspapers, online advertising, outdoor events, and other communication tools.
Finally, the company will adjust its strategy according to the feedback from the market and the changes in the market.
The essence of marketing is to build a relationship with the customer. There may not be a great difference between the functions of the products and the competitors in the market, but there is a great difference between the relationship between the customer and the marketer. As long as marketers and customers establish mutual trust and communicate with each other with real feelings, they will be able to attract loyal customers and achieve win-win and mutual benefit is.
1.2.4 Assessing Return on Customer Investment
The key to step four is to calculate the Return on Customer Investment (ROCI).
We know that there are costs associated with marketing communications, and shareholders or management will want to know if the communications are profitable for the business. Because IMC increases brand awareness and changes customer perceptions of the brand, Schultz & Schultz (2003) suggest that measuring return on customer investment requires both long-term and short-term analysis.
Short-term return on customer investment is generally defined as a return of company in one fiscal year. Long-term return on customer investment generally refers to a return over several years of the firm. Short-term return on customer investment is measured using the - which of them when revenue method, marginal revenue. Measuring long- term return on customer investment requires consideration of several financial concepts, including net present value, cash flow and estimated lifetime value (LTV) of the customer.
Percy and Elliot confirm the positive effect of an effective communication strategy on
customer return on investment (ROI) (Percy & Elliott, 2012), that is, following an appropriate strategy and executing good advertising execution will result in the achievement of communication objectives, leading to a positive ROI. However, client ROI is difficult to operationalise in practice. Moreover, using a single measure of ROCI is not comprehensive and companies need many financial or non-financial indicators.
The author suggest using return on customer (ROC) to calculate the rate at which a company can generate value from any given customer (Peppers & Rogers, 2005).Explaining that customers are in this age of ‘information crisis’ creates an increased shareholder value opportunity, therefore companies are capable of more easily maximizing the benefit from them and possible customers.
The ROC of an organization is defined as the value a given customer is able to generate for it itself over a time period, also called return on customer. A quick, simple formula for a company profitability is net income plus change in the value of customers (in either direction) over the whole life of the customer base, divided by the cost of customers at the beginning of the period.
Profit form customer in current period+ change in the value of customer in period ROC=———————————————————————————————
value of customer at beginning of the period
Profit is the cash flow from customers during period，that is easy get from finance department of the company.
The value of a customer should be thought of as the customer lifetime value (LTV), which is the net present value of expected future customer cash flows.
ROC is able to measure both short- and long-term value creation because the ROC metric explicitly recognizes two different ways in which customers create value for the business: either by buying something currently, or by changing their current purchase intentions or future purchase possibilities.
The economic effect of a change in the likelihood of future business can be thought of as a change in the customer previously anticipated lifetime value (LTV) of the customer, a change that represents value gained or lost in the present, even if the actual cash effect will not be felt until later.
1.2.5 Budget, allocation, and evaluation
The core element of step 5 of the integrated marketing communications process is to evaluate the results and then turn them into the basis for future marketing communications plans. Marketers can start again with the first step of the integrated communications process, and this closed-loop approach of relying on results to develop future plans is the difference between integrated communications planning and traditional marketing methods.
Duncan and Moriarty used the IMC mini audit to help business managers assess the strengths and weaknesses of IMC. They presented five dimensions of IMC: interactivity, strategic consistency, organisational infrastructure, mission marketing and planning and evaluation. (Duncan & Moriarty, 1997)
Reid developed a concretized model based on the Duncan-Moriarty IMC mini-audit.
He emphasises three aspects of IMC: cross-functional integration, interactivity, and mission. (Reid, 2005)
Schultz uses the 3C model to evaluate IMC as it combines the long- and short-term return indicators of communication programmes to assess the current and future value of each customer group. champions. (Schultz & Schultz, 2003)
All three methods can be used to evaluate IMC, but there is no single standard or theory for evaluating IMC, so companies can experiment with different methods, analyse the strengths and weaknesses of IMC strategies from different perspectives and improve their next IMCstrategy.
1.3 Brand touchpoint management 1.3.1 Theory interview
The author has briefly introduced the contact points between enterprises and customers, which will be described in more detail in this section.
Brand touchpoints appear for the first time when airlines believe that the information conveyed by the company and customers in contact activities (for example, moving luggage, taking off on time, and so on.) is more useful than the information conveyed by the company in marketing activities. (Duncan, 2008)
Duncan believes that any situation where customers come into contact with brands and
companies is called brand-customer touchpoints (Duncan, Principles of Advertising, and IMC, 2008); Schultz proposed that brand touchpoints should include experiencing a full set of products or Serving customers. Consider all elements of the brand (Schultz
& Schultz, 2003); Wang defines brand touchpoints as various channels and methods for stakeholders to identify the brand, experience brand promises, and form brand equity (Wang, 2010).
Customer experience comes from various forms and touchpoints of interaction with customers. All-round contact information exchange constitutes a comprehensive description of customer experience. Any touchpoint is a ‘real moment’. Regardless of whether the situation is positive or negative, customers will have an impression or feeling about the company brand, just as Ogilvy said-a brand is a collection of impressions. Since each contact may affect the company identification, evaluation, influence, and control of these touchpoints, the long-term accumulation of fragmented information, experience and relationship touchpoints will affect the relationship between customers, brands, and manufacturers.
Brand touchpoints are important for customer relationship and value management and can help us actively and effectively manage customer expectations that drive brand relationships.
1.3.2 Classification of brand touchpoints
Duncan divides brand touchpoints into company-created touchpoints, customer-created touchpoints, unintended touchpoints, and intrinsically inherent touchpoints. Of these, marketing communications messages generated in accordance with corporate plans are company-created touchpoints, and because media is not the only way to connect customers to brand messages, they must also be integrated with the other three touchpoints to deliver a consistent message.
Duncan and Moriarty argue that depending on the source of the message it can be described as ‘what the company says’ (the planned message), ‘what the company does’
(the message that creates the product and service) and ‘what other people say and do
‘(related customers in the service process, word-of-mouth communication and media publicity in the form of articles and television programmes) (Duncan & Moriarty, 1997).
Wang classifies touchpoints into positive brand touchpoints and negative brand touchpoints according to the nature of their impact on consumers: if a brand touchpoint
led advertisement to positive perceptions, emotions, and behaviours, it is called a positive brand touchpoint; if a brand touchpoint led advertisement to negative perceptions, emotions, and behaviours, it is called a negative brand touchpoint (Wang, 2010).
The research on brand touchpoint management is still in the exploratory stage, and no complete theoretical system has been developed, and the direction and focus of the research varies. However, regardless of the form of brand touchpoints and the name was given to them, the aim of the company remains the same: to improve the positive impression of the brand or to get rid of the negative impression and to motivate customers to buy the product.
1.3.3 Management of brand touchpoints
The focus of brand contact management is on examining products and services from the point of view of the customer experience, discovering their desires and focusing on communication with them. In other words, it is important to understand the changes in customers perceptions and, by controlling the information provided by contact points such as advertising, packaging, and after-sales service, to guide consumers in evaluating companies and products in a way that enables them to achieve a perception that is consistent with their expectations.
Contact management can be divided into two levels: operational and communication.
Firstly, the operational level: the main target of contact is the existing customer, and the key issue is how to make the existing customer a satisfied customer. Contact management at the operational level involves designing customer value delivery systems, managing key customer satisfaction factors, and integrating customer contact points.
Second, the communication level: the target of contact is mainly potential customers, and the key problem to solve is how to make potential customers become real customers.
For contact management at the communication level, it is necessary to communicate across departments within the company, collaborate on information dissemination, integrate multiple contact channels, provide a good contact experience to the target customer group, and make real contact with potential customers.
1.3.4 Marketing communication tools
These communication tools include advertising, public relations, sales promotion,
direct marketing, people selling, point-of-sale displays, packaging, event marketing, customer service, and so on. Modern marketing communications also include interactive communication methods including database marketing. These tools are the set of methods we can use to solve our marketing communications problems.
Therefore, when planning IMC media, companies should also integrate the various communication tools, adopt the exclusive functions of each tool, and try to achieve synergy between them in order to achieve the goal of communicating a consistent message. So, in order to achieve this goal, it is necessary to understand the common communication tools in focus.
The following author describe a few common communication tools.
Advertising: Advertising is paid communication to public audiences, creating awareness, shaping, and changing perspectives. The functions of advertising are, education, informing, reminding and brand building.
In order to achieve synergy of messages, a complete advertising process is required, including advertising objectives, advertising design as well as implementation and management. (Clow & Baack, 2010)
Types of advertising include advocacy advertising, comparative advertising, in-store advertising, and cooperative advertising.
Direct marketing is the use of mail, telephone, fax, email, and other non-personal contact tools to communicate directly with consumers and potential consumers and to persuade or request a direct response. The emphasis is on individual communication with the customer in order to build a long-term relationship of mutual trust.
Directing marketing is a form of advertising in which companies provide marketing materials to consumers to communicate information about a product or service.
Types of direct marketing materials include catalogues, postal mail, telemarketing, direct email marketing.
The function of direct marketing is to build direct bridges between companies and stakeholders through the effective use of new media, with an emphasis on one-to-one marketing techniques that not only maintain the relationship between the company and the consumer, but also allow for a number of different tests to be carried out on the
consumer.
Sales promotion: The provision of various short-term incentives to encourage the purchase or sale of a product or service. The American Marketing Association defines it as ‘an irregular, non-routine marketing activity, such as product displays, product demonstrations, product demonstrations, and so on, that helps stimulate consumer purchases and enhances intermediary effectiveness, as opposed to personnel sales, advertising, and public reporting in marketing activities.’ It is most often used to encourage purchase, attract new trial users, and increase repeat business among first testers. (Blattberg & Neslin, 1990)
The functions of sales promotion: to stimulate consumer buying in the short term, to reach more buyers on the ground, and to increase short-term revenue growth and product usage; sales promotion includes various forms of activity used to 'push sales', usually at a greater rate than advertising alone.
Public relations: A management function used to assess public attitudes and gain their trust with activities that create effective relationships between the organisation and the public. It is often carried out through corporate brochures, speeches, advertising, public service activities, event marketing, press releases, and so on.
The function of PR activities seen as an extension of advertising campaigns and a method of generating publicity benefit is, by using a third-party point of view to cover news in the media for the target audience, it is unique for enhancing the image of the company - an effective means of communication to indirect stakeholders, fostering their goodwill towards the company. Harris (1991) argues that PR has important positive implications for a company marketing plan, not only in terms of increasing brand awareness, but also in terms of increasing consumer recognition of the product and filling a gap in marketing tools.
Packaging: Some studies refer to packaging as the 5P of the marketing mix, but most studies still consider packaging as an element of product strategy. Beautiful packaging can be a clue to the quality of a product, and unique packaging also makes the brand more visible on shelf displays, helping to drive consumers to choose the brand.
Packaging is therefore an important factor in the success of a brand marketing strategy.
1.4 Customer behavior
From a business perspective, understanding IMC media communication tools and brand touchpoints is far from being able to build an effective IMC strategy. Companies also need to understand customer behaviour, as previously highlighted, to put the customer at the centre of all products and services to meet their needs. Therefore, companies also need to understand customer behaviour, such as consumer preferences, the psychology of customers in making decisions, how customers are marketed to by online advertising and so on.
Engel, Blackwell, and Kollat, in their triple-authored book Consumer Behaviour, presented a more complete concept of consumer behaviour for the first time. They argued that consumer behaviour consists of two aspects: firstly, the actions of consumers; and secondly, the purchase decision process of consumers. Purchase decisions are the mental activities and behavioural tendencies of consumers before they have the right to use and dispose of a product or service, while consumer actions can be considered as the practical process of purchase decisions. (Engel, Blackwell, &
Kollat,1978) They proposed The Engel Kollat Blackwell Model of Consumer Behaviour, a comprehensive study of consumer decision making from psychological, sociological, and anthropological perspectives.
In 1969 Howard Sheth proposed the ‘Theory of Buyer Behaviour’, which pioneered the study of consumer behaviour from a marketing perspective.
Sirgy used the self-concept as a new tool for studying consumer behaviour and the ‘self’
became a central concept in understanding and explaining consumer behaviour. The self-concept: ‘the thoughts and feelings of an individual who takes himself or herself as an object’ (Sirgy, 1982). (Zinkham & Hong, 1991) suggest that the self-concept is a structure of cognition related to behaviour and emotion.
As for the purpose of this work, the author would define consumer as ‘People discover their needs and desires deep down and the desire makes them make a purchase’.
The 21st century has seen the growth of the internet and the proliferation of mobile phones and computers, allowing companies to use big data to analyse consumer behaviour. Companies can use cookie software to obtain a consumer web browsing history and then analyse the consumer active search behaviour to generate search data that will tell them what they want or what problems they want to solve. Companies can
also analyse consumers social media feeds to get information about their preferences, interests, and lifestyles. As a result, companies can build a very precise consumer persona, and finally, they can achieve ‘one-to-one’ advertising and effective location- based promotions for consumers.
Furthermore, digital buying behaviour and decision making has changed, as shown in a study by (Edelman, 2010): instead of a gradual narrowing down of brand choices, the digital decision-making process is circular, consisting of a purchase loop and a loyalty loop with two small inner cuts, including Consider, Evaluate, Buy, Experience, Advocate and Bond.
Figure 2 Branding in the digital age
Source from: D. C. Edelman, ‘Branding in the digital age’, Harvard Business Review, Dec.2010.
At the same time, because of the popularity of Facebook, Twitter, and so on, consumers are not as trusting of corporate websites as they once were. Consumers have become significantly more trusting of word of mouth and reviews on sites such as blogs, Twitter, and Facebook. Consumers can share information about products with other consumers.
Digital word-of-mouth magically amplifies the effects of consumer word-of-mouth in traditional environments. It is clear that digital word-of-mouth is likely to have a huge impact in the short term and has a significant impact on brand loyalty, for example, and its commercial value cannot be underestimated.
In summary, consumer behaviour is a multifaceted discipline that is constantly evolving in line with technological advances and economic developments. In terms of current technology, digital technology allows companies to know the purchase history of consumers, their life or family situation and their online interactions based on big data.
But the fundamental problem of consumer behaviour is to explain consumer behaviour, and this fundamental problem is still waiting to be solved by future scientists.
1.5 Decision-making process
In this chapter, the author will introduce the customer journey. It is included discovered needs of the customer, then the customer will search for more information about the product. Third, the customer will make an order of the product. Finally, after used for a period of the product, the customer will share his or her experience with others and make an order again if the customer satisfied with the product.
1.5.1 Discovered needs
The first thing consumers need to understand is the need that has been identified. The need to buy can be physiological, such as cold, hunger and so on, or it can be social, for example, the consumer wants to buy a Xiaomi Bluetooth head advertisement because his friends around him are using them. Furthermore, the need to buy can also be psychological, including for feelings such as love and protection of oneself. For example, this year Chinese top idol Wang Yibo endorsed the Redmi series of Xiaomi phones, and fans bought the new Redmi phones out of their love for their idol.
1.5.2 Searching for information
Once the consumer needs have been identified, the consumer will then search for information about the relevant product. The first step is to search for information internally, that is, the consumer will recall the relevant aspect of the product in his or her mind. Generally, the consumer will remember if the need has been satisfied in the past, and if the consumer has used the product in the past and had a good experience with it, then the consumer is likely to repeat the previous purchase.
If the consumer has had an unpleasant experience with the product in the past, or if the consumer has not made a similar purchase before, then the consumer will search for external information.
As mentioned before, in today world of digital shopping, a bad shopping experience can bring bad word of mouth to a brand. In addition, consumers can easily share their shopping experience on social media and then the consumer social media friends know about it, and so on, all of which can bring harm to the brand image.
External information is sought from many sources. Family, friends, strangers in a Facebook group, experts, advertisements, magazines, newspapers, shop displays, recommendations from salespeople, and so on.
The amount of external search time depends on the consumer search ability (the
consumer knowledge of the target product), the motivation to search, and the cost and benefit of the search.
From the perspective of product marketing communication, the information search process is an important time for a specific brand message to reach consumers. The purpose of the consumer effort to search for external information is to obtain more information about the product in question so that they can make a better decision in terms of value for money. The goal of the marketer is to provide the consumer with the information to make the right decision.
Before the consumer makes a decision, the marketer can use marketing to generate consumer preferences. In this process, marketers consider consumer attitudes, consumer values and consumer perceptions of the brand.
1.5.3 Buying
After a long period of research, it has been found that consumers are not always rational.
(Ariely, 2008), based on experiments in a number of scenarios, suggests that irrational
‘bizarre’ human behaviour is abundant. So, consumer behaviour can be rational, or it can be emotionally motivated, which is irrational.
Firstly, purchases can occur on the basis of rational reasoning collected in the previous phase. After evaluating alternatives, consumers are not distracted and buy the product they have already decided on. On the other hand, emotions may play an important role at this stage. Here, the marketer is given another opportunity to gain the consumer attention. In this case, the thought process in the consumer mind is quite objective. They may consider the appearance of the product, the recognition of the celebrity.
Currently, at the start of 2021, many people are working from home because of the epidemic and students are taking online classes at home, which means that people have a lot of time to spend with their smartphones. Not just for work or study reasons, but also because people have a lot of extra time in isolation at home. People tend to think that a well-functioning smartphone is the only way to get work done effectively at home.
There is advertisement for smartphones on TV, on social media, and on shopping sites.
Word of mouth helps to help consumers make decisions, as does the price of the smartphone, its features, delivery time and after-sales maintenance.
1.5.4 Post-purchase evaluation
Once a consumer has bought a product and used it, the consumer will have a positive
or negative opinion of the product. Because consumers have some expectations of the product before they buy it, all consumers want to buy a product that offers good value for money, and when they pay for it, they have some imagination or expectations about the experience of using the product. So, if the experience of the product is basically the same as the consumer expectations, then the product will have a good reputation; when the actual experience of the consumer is much lower than the expectations, then it will generate bad reviews. This is also known as cognitive dissonance.
When a consumer makes a bad review of a product, the consumer may first approach the company customer service to reflect on the situation, so it is very important for the company to intervene in this review process and succeed in getting the customer back.
So now when considering consumer behaviour, we can refer to the AISAS model. In 2004 Dentsu started to advocate a new consumer behaviour model called AISAS (Attention, Interest, Search, Action, Share). AISAS model is replacing the traditional model of AIDMA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Memory, Action). AISAS model has become a trademark in Japan since 2005. It is influenced by the emergence of new technology based social media. Internet technologies have evolved to the point where it is possible to instantly seek virtually any information, anytime, from anywhere, using a personal computer (PC) or mobile phone, or a similar device (Sugiyama & Andree, 2010).
Figure 3 AISAS model
Source from: Sugiyama & Andree, 2010
Consumers are attracted by marketing campaigns or creative advertisements from TV, newspapers, magazines, outdoor and internet media, and the creative interactive engagement generates interest. If the reviews are positive, the consumer will finally place an order online or go to a store to make a purchase (Action), and after the purchase,
Attention Interest Search Action Share
the consumer will share the shopping experience or product reviews with friends online, becoming a word-of-mouth messenger.
Attention stage. In this stage, consumers are mainly browsing for information on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Amazon, Google, and so on, without a purpose, such as new features or models of smartphones. Consumer behaviour in this phase is mainly based on browsing a lot of information. For example, in 2021, due to the home quarantine, consumers will have more time to surf the web and will habitually refresh Facebook, Instagram and Twitter every day to see what new.
Interest stage. Consumers browse through various online media platforms, process the information, and select the information that interests them for further understanding. In this process, the consumer behaviour is characterised by grabbing specific information and reading it in depth. For example, while reading Facebook, a consumer finds an advertisement for Xiaomi 11, which highlights the new features of Xiaomi 11 and arouses the consumer interest. After being attracted by this advertising, consumers will learn more about the Xiaomi smartphone or the Xiaomi brand.
Search stage. Consumers will search through search engines, visit e-commerce websites, and search within various platforms to obtain a large amount of information after reading the information in depth. This is due to the convenience of current search tools.
Customers in the Czech Republic, for example, can view smartphone prices and reviews on website of Xiaomi.
Action stage. After the above stages, consumers will choose the most convenient and cost-effective way to buy the phone, by consulting online, browsing other consumers feedback and comparing the price, service, and logistics of each purchase channel. For example, after searching and comparing relevant information, consumers will decide to buy Xiaomi 11 smartphone, consumers will go through Xiaomi official website, Amazon, stores, Alza, Mall, and so on, to understand the price, logistics and service information of the phone, and finally choose a certain channel to buy after consultation and comparison analysis.
Share stage. After purchasing the phone, readers will evaluate the purchase experience on the e-commerce platform and share their feelings on social media after using the phone for a few days. This shared information will be known by others and thus influence their purchasing decisions.
In summary, the AISAS model clearly reflects the current state of customer purchase.
Only by clearly understanding this model, combined with the customer journey, then the company can better understand the psychological requirements of customer. So, the company can check what area should be improved to better meet the needs of the customer.
2.Analysis smartphone industry: industry introduction, competitor analysis
In this chapter the author will introduce the process of smartphone development and some representative works. Then the main competitors of Xiaomi smartphones in the Czech market are identified by analysing the market share of the global market and the Czech market, conducting an analysis of their products, shortcomings, and advantages.
2.1 Smartphone development process
A smartphone is a general term for a type of smartphone that, like a personal computer, has its own operating system and operating space and can be used by the user to install software, games, maps, and other programs provided by third-party service providers, as well as wireless network access via mobile communication networks. Smartphones are now used all over the world and are considered an essential item in people lives.
They consider life, work, entertainment, and social interaction in an addition to basic communication functions.
Starting with the first smartphone launched by IBM in 1993, there are some representative smartphone releases that deserve to be commemorated because they opened a new function or a new era of smartphones.
Table 2 History of Smartphone Development
The world first touch-screen smartphone In March 2000, Motorola A6188 was launched, claiming to be ‘the world first touch-screen smartphone’. The phone used Motorola ‘Dragon ball’ processor and supported WAP wireless Internet access and handwritten Chinese input, making it one of the ‘originators’ of smartphones.
The first Symbian smartphone In 2001, Ericsson launched the world first Symbian smartphone, the R380sc.
Subsequently, Nokia, BlackBerry and other brands launched smartphones, but the concept of ‘smartphone’ never became popular until Apple released the first iPhone in 2007.
The first iPhone Apple released the first generation of iPhone in 2007. the first iPhone was considered a game changer in the smartphone field. 3.5- inch capacitive multi-touch display, 2- megapixel camera, IOS operating system, Wi-Fi support and other features were refreshing. Some exclaimed, ‘Apple has redefined the smartphone.’
The first generation of Android smartphone operating system
2008 was called the ‘first year of Android’
and Google R&D team developed the first generation of Android (Android) operating system.
3G era The year 2009 was called ‘the first year of
3G’, the third generation of wireless communication technology was licensed, marking the arrival of the 3G era. In the following years, major smartphone manufacturers concentrated their efforts to try to occupy more market share in the highly competitive smartphone market.
The performance era of smartphones In 2010, LG released the Optimus 2X, grabbing the title of ‘the world first dual-core phone’, thus opening up the performance era.
Big screen era of smartphones In 2011, Samsung released GALAXY NOTE with a 5.3-inch screen, which was regarded as the beginning of the big screen era.
Smartphone HD display era In 2012, HTC released the HTC Butterfly, equipped with a 5-inch 1920x1080 pixels full HD display, called ‘the world first 1080P screen smartphone’, thus opening up the smartphone screen full HD era.
Smartphone 64-bit chip and fingerprint recognition
In 2013, Apple released the iPhone 5s. This phone uses the A7 processor, whose biggest feature. it is supported by the 64-bit computing and excellent performance. Its fingerprint recognition function is also very eye-catching, thus, the era of 64-bit chip and fingerprint recognition of smart phones officially opened.
4G era 2013 is known as the ‘first year of 4G’, with
the official release of 4G license at the end of the year, marking the mobile Internet officially into the 4G high-speed era.
Wireless charging function of smartphones In 2015, Samsung GALAXY S6 and S6+
were released, with its curved screen design and wireless charging function, which also had epoch-making significance.
Dual camera system In 2016, Huawei P9 was released with two 12- megapixel cameras that are highly manipulative, promoting the popularity of dual camera system. In fact, HTC G17 released in 2013 came with two 5-megapixel cameras, but the selling point of the phone was to shoot naked-eye 3D videos, which had
a smaller audience, so the dual-camera system did not become popular.
Full-screen smartphone In 2016, Xiaomi released the Mix model with a full-screen design, with a 6.4-inch screen and a 91.3percent screen-to-body ratio, so the visual experience was very shocking and opened the ‘full-screen era’ of smartphones.
Smartphone AI era In 2017, Huawei released the Mate 10 smartphone, equipped with the first Heisi Kirin 970 chip, which is called ‘the world first smartphone AI computing platform with built-in independent NPU (neural network unit)’, so Huawei opened the era of integrated AI (neural network).
The 5G era of smartphones On March 6, 2020, the first full 5G smartphone, Samsung Galaxy S20, was released.
Source: Author, based on governed information
It is well known that smartphones are rapidly changing, and consumers may buy a recently released phone today, and then look at the price of that phone in 6 months, and it may be much cheaper than when they first bought it. Consumers may still be able to type on the smartphone in 2009 keyboard, but in 2011 the keyboard on the smartphone disappeared, all operations can be completed through the touch screen. This change will make some consumers feel too suddenly difficult to adapt, there will be a lot of absurd news. For example, in 2020 there were news reports that some Londoners thought 5G would spread COVID-19. But the innovation of the technology will also make some consumers go crazy, for example, China delivered 107.7 million 5G phones in the first nine months of 2020, despite the economy being affected by the epidemic virus. But in any case, the development and innovation of each technology is inseparable from the
hard work and efforts of technicians, who deserve the gratitude of everyone who benefit is from it.
2.2 Global smartphone Market and Czech smartphone market analysis 2.2.1 Global smartphone Market
This section is mainly to analyse the global smartphone market, firstly, we can see the changes of the global smartphone market through figure4 and figure5.
By analysing the changes in these data, we can see that some brands have gone from flourishing to disappearing in the global market; at the same time, we can also see that some brands have gone from having almost no market share to becoming mainstream smartphone brands. The conclusions based on these analyses can also be useful for the development of Xiaomi smartphones, and can help Xiaomi smartphone staff to better understand the trends of the market development and identify the main competitors and threats to Xiaomi smartphones.
Figure 4 Smartphone shipments share worldwide by vendor from 2015-2020
source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/632249/global-smartphone-market-share- by-vendor/
Figure 5 smartphone shipment by vendor worldwide from 2009-2020
Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/271490/quarterly-global-smartphone- shipments-by-vendor/
First, figure 5 shows that global smartphone shipments increased rapidly from 2009 to 2014, indicating that more and more people are using smartphones around the world.
From 2014 to 2019, the global smartphone user base remained relatively stable and less volatile.
Figures 4 and 5 show the global shipments of smartphones. Because of the epidemic impact, suppliers shipped 53.1 million fewer devices in the second quarter of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. Overall, the third quarter of 2020 showed encouraging signs, with total shipments approaching the third quarter of 2019.
Global smartphone shipments where 292 million unit is in the first quarter of 2020, a 6percent year-over-year decrease after three consecutive quarters of declining growth.
The top six mainstream smartphone brands, Samsung, Apple, Huawei, OPPO, Vivo, and Xiaomi, shipped 66 million unit is, 39 million unit is, 43 million unit is, 22 million unit is, 21 million unit is, and 26 million unit is, respectively. Only Apple shipments increased by 5.98 percent year on year, while the rest of the brands decreased by 27.24
percent. Despite having the fastest rate of decline among the six major brands, Huawei still ranks second in global shipments. In terms of market share, Samsung continues to hold the lead with 23percent, followed by Huawei and Apple with 15percent and 13percent, respectively.
In Q2 2020, Apple was the fourth largest smartphone supplier, shipping approximately 41.6 million smartphones. With over $78 million in sales, iPhone quarterly sales peaked at the end of 2016 (Apple first fiscal quarter of 2017).
Samsung Electronics was the world largest smartphone supplier by volume in the third quarter of 2020, shipping more than 80.4 million unit is worldwide. This is a significant improvement after several consecutive quarters of declining shipments. In total, Samsung controls 22.7 percent of the smartphone market. The company market presence peaked in the third quarter of 2020, when it accounted for 32.5 percent of all smartphone shipments, with 85 million unit is shipped in the third quarter of 2013.
Apple holds the largest share of the smartphone market in the fourth quarter of 2020.
Apple reclaimed its position as the sole market leader in the fourth quarter of 2020, thanks in large part to the successful launch of the iPhone 12. Huawei was one of the biggest losers in Q4 2020, with its market share falling to 8 percent from 14 percent in Q3 2020.
The author believes that in addition to the three main competitors, Huawei, Apple and Samsung, Xiaomi smartphones have to be aware of an evolving competitor: Realme.
Realme began to capture a portion of the global smartphone market starting in the second quarter of 2019 to this extent, this is due to the prevalence of successful sales in developing countries and regions like India. At that point, it had 4percent of the market during Q3 and Q4 of the year, for the entirety of the year. It will be a competitive in the market from 1.3percent to 4percent in the second half of 2020, since it expanded its market share in Q2 and that increased the position it now holds.
Two good examples: Huawei and Xiaomi were two brands with relatively low market share five years ago, but Xiaomi actually took third place from Apple in the third quarter of 2020. Huawei managed to increase its market share from 4.1 percent in Q2 2012 to the level of market leader, proving that it is not impossible for new entrants to enter the market at the top.
Now Realme seems to be embarking on a similar journey, so keep an eye on Realme development over the next succeeding months.
The smartphone market is constantly changing, and since 2009, the composition of the smartphone market has changed dramatically. Nokia once held nearly 50 percent of the smartphone market in 2007, and it was hard for consumers to imagine that Nokia would be an outsider in the market until the iPhone was launched.
The same thing happened with Blackberry phones, and RIM Blackberry devices represent the impact that large touchscreen devices are having in the marketplace.
Blackberry devices offer a variety of advantages, including a well-designed physical QWERTY keyboard and secure enterprise integration. As touchscreen devices improved, Blackberry lost its unique value, resulting in a significant decline in revenue.
rim eventually discontinued development of Blackberry in 2016.
So, the author believes that the development of Xiaomi smartphones should keep up with the latest technology and trends, and the market trends generally represent consumer preferences. When a company has the ability to try to innovate and redefine the smartphone, such as the iPhone.
It is true that the times are developing, and technology is advancing, but not all developments are in the right direction and are destined to fail if they do not meet the needs of customers, such as Nokia, once the giant of smartphones.
Companies should have a clear understanding and positioning of their capabilities, clearly understand the needs of customers, and put meeting customer needs in the first place when making innovations in smartphones. Only then can they become a successful brand and not be abandoned by consumers.
As mentioned earlier, 2020 is the era of 5G. 5G satisfies consumers requirements for internet speed, and they no longer have to put up with the inconvenience caused by slow internet speed. Here the author analyses the global market situation of 5G smartphones.
This time it was Samsung smartphones that seized the opportunity to release the world first 5G phone. So, as you can find in figure 6, Samsung ranks first in the global 5G smartphone market shipments.
Figure 6 Global 5G smartphone shipments in 2019 and 1Q 2020, by vendor
source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1094365/global-5g-smartphone-shipments- by-vendor/
Only after that was the rapid response of Huawei, with shipments of 8 million unit is.
Because Chinese companies have more advanced 5G technology, the top 5G smartphone shipments in the first quarter of 2020 are all Chinese smartphone brands:
Huawei, Xiaomi, Vivo, and OPPO. least LG, LG is Samsung competitor in South Korea, occupying only 0.9percent of the global 5G smartphone market in 2019.
Figure 7 Market share of the ten most sold 5G compatible smartphone models worldwide in October 2020
