Chinese Phone

Chinese Low-Priced Cell Phone Calls For Powerful Brands

Many firms believe it is better to cut branding costs in order to have a price advantage. In this article, however, we will argue that for low-priced products the brand remains the distinctive factor on which Chinese consumer base their purchasing decisions.

The Benefits of Branding Chinese Low Priced Consumer Goods

In addition to product quality and safety, the brand can also be differentiated through benefits above and beyond the products’ functional attributes. In other words, the brand itself becomes a tool of product differentiation and therefore a competitive advantage. Even when the branded product is essentially the same as the non-branded one, the brand name gives it added qualities.

Chinese consumers tend to have a short list of preferred brands for the products they purchase regularly and do not easily stray from it when making purchases. Naturally, and especially in light of the current economic crisis, consumers of low-priced products are price sensitive and thus not always loyal to their preferred brands (in-store deals and promotions can divert purchase from preferred brand). Still, on average Chinese consumers are willing to pay a premium of about 2.5 percent for a branded product they purchase regularly. Thus brand building and development in this segment of the market is and will remain essential .

Challenges of Successful brand building for Low-Priced Goods

As previously mentioned, the prevalence of price competition in the low-end market constitutes one of the biggest challenges firms have to face in order to develop a profitable and sustainable brand. In the Chinese market many low-end firms do not invest in building an original brand in order to cut costs, but instead use brand names and visual identities very similar to those of the well-known existing ones as promotion of own products.

Many consumers purchase Dailycat by mistake as they believe that what they’re getting is the famous brand Whitecat or a sub-brand - slightly cheaper - of its portfolio.

There is a strong incentive to give up branding investment and focus on price competition for short-term profits in the low-priced consumer goods market. In other words, strong commitment and persistent brand investments that are more for long term revenues than for short term profits are necessary to truly create strong low-priced brands. Domestic cell phone brand CECT is a case in point. CECT entered the competitive Chinese cell phone market by selling branded low cost phones. As you can see, it was both easy and profitable for CECT to move from producing legitimate, branded cell phones to non-branded imitations.

Strategies to be used for low-priced consumer goods

Even though the aforementioned challenges may seem insurmountable, there are strategies that have proved successful in building profitable low-end market brands to attract a large share of price conscious consumers.

1. First Go High, Then Go Low
Firstly, and especially in the case of well-established firms, the brand can be introduced in the mid- to high-range markets before starting to target the low-end market. A strong reputation of high quality in mid-to-high end products can give the firm a sustainable competitive advantage when the same brand is introduced to the low-end market. On the one hand a sound reputation will allow the firm to benefit from economies of scale in marketing and branding. On the other hand, low-end consumers can be easily attracted by the brand as this is perceived as “high status” since it is widespread also among mid-to high end consumers. At that point, the brand can defeat competitors both on price and perceived quality.

For instance Nokia, no 1 in China in the mobile phone market, first captured a large segment of the high-end urban market before starting to sell cheap durable cell phones to the Chinese rural market. Nokia 1100, the first Nokia low-end phone in China, was launched in 2003 when color screens already prevailed in the overcrowded Chinese mobile phone market. The customized attributes were developed by the famous Finnish mobile brand after having conducted extensive market research to understand the specific needs of the Chinese rural market.

Naturally, as in the case of Nokia, in order to successfully build a strong low-priced brand, the firm must also understand how to satisfy the needs of the target consumer base.

2. Niche brand strategy
Secondly, firms trying to build strong low-end market brands in China will be more successful if they target consumers with unique and specific needs in this market bracket rather than producing products that are similar to the other non-branded, low priced ones.

Similarly, Cortry Cosmetics, a successful low-priced domestic brand, targets its products to female consumers who appreciate the curative powers of Chinese traditional medicine.

3. Provide a Brand Experience
Thirdly, in order to minimize branding expenses to remain competitive in the market for low-priced goods, brand managers can exploit cheaper and more innovative alternatives to traditional brand building and marketing. Sinoway Herb is a Chinese cosmetic brand focused on natural herbal personal care products. All in all, are brand investments worthwhile to build successful low-priced brands?

China’s budget-conscious consumers account for the majority of the domestic market.

N95 Chinese Cell Phone

There is no shortage of Chinese cell phone clones on the market right now, but an interesting thing is happening. Some of the newer clones are not knock offs of the iPhone, but are either based on other popular models or were designed to have innovative smartphone features in their own right.

The N95S (silver version) or N95B (black version) is one such example. Although this phone appears to be based on the upcoming Sony C702a or the C902i Cyber-Shot because of it’s high quality camera, it has bonus features that make it stand out on it’s own.

There is no arguing that the N95 is one of the best camera phones on the market. This phone sports a 3.0 mega pixel with zoom, exposure compensation and special effects. It is rare to find such features in this price range.

This is a true smartphone with the ability to surf the web, email, text, and take photos and video. It also has full MP3/MP4 capabilities and supports Bluetooth. It is attractive and sleek with an oversized 2.6 inch touchscreen and a full scroll bar and keyboard.

Additionally, the clone is dual sim which means you can have two phone numbers or plans on one phone. Also, it is unlocked, allowing you to use whichever carrier you wish. It also has a built in FM radio. No software or drivers are needed. The phone will recognize and read your GSM sim.

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