Introduction
Sony Corporation began in 1946 in Tokyo as a manufacturer of measurement and telecommunications equipment. Over the decades that followed, Sony became a major player in electronic markets such as communications, audio and video equipment’s meant for professional and home use. By 2010 the company had more than 171,000 employees worldwide in countries such as china, the United States, Europe and japan. In the financial year ending March 31st, 2010, Sony Corporation reported annual sales of $89billion. Sony introduced the VAIO series of computer products to build its consumer lines and debited the market with desktop product (Zhou, et al. 2010). A year after the release of the series, the company released its laptops in Japan. The strategy of Sony was to produce a high end product that would attract consumers who valued design and style to take advantage of the market niche that existed since competitor companies had offered laptops that had an uninteresting design (Li, 2011). Sony intended to produce laptops that were not bulky, boxy and cumbersome. The objective of this paper is to illustrate how Sony has continually and strategically targeted the Chinese market with their laptops.
Discussion
In the midst of competition, Sony decided to launch the VAIO line in 1998, which was designed to be unique from all the other brands in the market. The computer was described as a statement computer. It is especially succinct for business people who were conscious of their image. As a result, the VAIO brand became known as a laptop whose brand image was about design and style (Zhou, et al. 2010). Through the 2000s the VAIO laptop continued to distinguish itself through its software. It took care of the needs of consumers who required to buy a laptop that had a preloaded software; it also had a photo editing, video editing and a music software making the laptop have the edge over its competitors.
Sony adapted a higher price for their VAIO laptops to reinforce their premium image. As a result, consumer associations between the high prices and the brands became stronger. The VAIO series made Sony focus entirely on producing laptops, selling them and marketing them, making Sony gain a foothold in the laptops industry (Li, 2011). There was a tendency of IT managers who saw that there was no need for paying extra for a laptop simply because of its aesthetic design. Similarly, the companies which issued laptops to their employees with the standardized software did not see the need of buying a laptop with a preloaded software which needed to be stripped off before another software was installed.
VAIO extended its mandate to china which was full of competitors, counterfeiters, and copycats. Notably, VAIO was attractive to the segment of consumers who valued its intangible and functional benefits (Zhou, et al. 2010). The advantages that it had were reinforced by the high regard that the Chinese had for Japanese electronic brands which were known to give their users peace of mind.
Market Research on the Chinese Laptop Consumers
Sony conducted research in shanghai in early 2010 to gain an intricate understanding of the usage habits, the values and the consumption behavior of the modern Chinese consumer (Lee et al. 2011). This report identified three key trends that were as a result of the bullet train economy of the country. First of all, there were major income and education inequalities among the Chinese (Li, 2011). Secondly china had a lot of counterfeit, low quality products and lastly, the Chinese economy showed that some consumers had an aspiration of enjoying modern technology, a better social status, and more money (Zhou, et al. 2010). The strife to acquire better social status prompted the Chinese consumers to have a preference for brands that were made in foreign countries. This report also showed that 50% of the countries working age population were the generation that was born after the 1980s. This generation had developed a culture of purchasing more consumer goods.
A Deeper Understanding of Laptop Users in China
Sony decided to conduct interviews with owners of VAIO laptops. The interviewees included professionals, students, and parents. Sony wanted to know how the interviewees got information about the laptops and how they bought the laptops and the general public perception of the laptop brands. The results were that they discovered that the Chinese associated the brands of laptops that they used to their social status (Zhou, et al. 2010). Most of them bought these laptops to gain acceptance from their friends, and their social circle since owning a laptop was regarded as a status symbol. The Sony brand was easily recognizable and associated with status. Respondents also noted that they asked for product advice to connect with other people.
The internet and referrals through word of mouth were considered as an integral part of the buying process. The interviewee also indicated that the electronics market confused them since at times they gave them too much information and yet the products they offered were not differentiated. The Chinese market had ensured that consumers were more receptive to new products and technology (Li, 2011). Chinese consumers were also seen to choose their laptops depending on their use. In this contact, some wanted the laptops for blogging, email and social networking while others used laptops to work or to perform school assignments. Similarly, some were light users who relied on computers for small tasks on a daily basis (Chang, 2011). Finally, some consumers were seen to use laptops to integrate their cellphones and televisions to online social networking.
This data from the interviews shed light on consumer preferences. The information helped in answering questions concerning the differences and similarities among the Chinese consumers. The segments that emerged from the research were a family user, heavy user, tech enthusiast, entertainment lover, fashion oriented and business focused. In June 2008, Sony decided to undertake across regional segmentations to understand d the global needs of the consumers (Li, 2011). This project referred to as project compass was intended to provide an integrated perception of consumers in different markets, product categories and business groups. The worldwide segmentation project was a study that collected data from more than thirty thousand respondents (Lee et al. 2011). It was the aspiration of the management of the company that project compass would assist the management to build a cluster value that targeted customers across all categories.
The participants targeted were aged between 26 and 65 years and had to use DVD players, television, computers, audio systems and digital cameras. The results of this study revealed 6 segments; quality of lifers, techno socializers, status focused performance seekers and unfussy basics (Zhou, et al. 2010). The shanghai report and the interview data gave Sony researchers sufficient information to understand the preferences of the Chinese consumer for electronic products and the perception that these consumers had towards VAIO and sonny brands. The model of research (project compass) that crossed the segmentation showed them a better picture of the idiosyncrasies on the laptop market in china (Alden et al. 2013). It was, however, unclear how the company would be able to develop a comprehensive plan from this data.
The Global Image of Sony VAIO
The brand VAIO is known globally for being a high end niche product that is attractive to customers who place a high importance on style and design. VAIO has the edge of producing genuine and original products as compared to other Chinese goods which produce counterfeit goods. (Lee et al. 2011) Chinese consumers do not mind the premium price that is charged on Sony VAIO products since they guarantee quality. Chinese consumers associate the VAIO brand with trendiness and youthfulness since young people are the ones who have a higher r preference for the Sony VAIO laptop (Li, 2011). Chinese consumers are indifferent to the VAIO brand; they generally refer to it as a Sony laptop. As a result, Sony has had to work hard and increase its marketing efforts to raise awareness of its brand in the growing consumer segments in the Chinese consumer markets. With a right marketing plan and an increased brand awareness, it is possible for Sony to gain a higher market penetration soon after customers start appreciating the brand.
An Interpretation and a Comparison of the Different Studies
The shanghai report 0\of 2010 which was conducted by Sony with some help of a marketing research plan helped Sony gain a clearer understanding of the values, usage habits and consumption behavior of the modern Chinese with regards to the different laptop brands available in the market. No doubt this report identifies the trends between the Chinese as a result of their bullet trained economy which included income and education disparities in different segments of the Chinese people (Zhou, et al. 2010). For that reason, there was an increase in counterfeit products that were in demand by Chinese consumers who sought to have the status of elite users that possessed the knowledge, technology, socio economic status and money like that possessed by consumers in developed nations.
Customer interviews that were conducted were also critical in shedding light on Chinese laptop users with regards to their perception and their preferences. These interviews were conducted in populations of people between 21 and 35 years who are the primary laptop users in china (Li, 2011). In this context, the interview revealed three key things; asking for product advice as a way of connecting with relatives and friends was of paramount importance to the Chinese consumer. Moreover, the Chinese consumers perceived the brands that they consumed as an extension of their personality. Based on the context of the research, it was discovered that the nature of the Chinese economy had predisposed its consumers to be more receptive to new products and technology.
A Comparison of CLUES Report Data and the Interview Results
The customer interviews that were conducted asked the respondents questions to ascertain how they shopped, used and researched their laptops. The CLUES report conducted a survey of 760 Chinese consumers who were aged between 18 and 55 years. These respondents were asked to rate the different brands of laptops based on their unique characteristics that acted as differentiating factors. The results of the report demonstrated the fundamental similarities and differences that were manifest in Chinese consumers (Zhou, et al. 2010). The six categories in the CLUES report were customers who used their laptops for work and connecting with their friends, those who used their laptops for entertainment, family users who used their laptops to manage their daily schedules, fashion users who used their laptops for social media purposes, individuals who were enthusiastic about technology and used their laptops to interconnect and control their electronics and heavy computer users,
A quick comparison of the reports demonstrates redundancy since the results are very similar, and the questions presented in both cases are highly identical. The category of fashion oriented users in the CLUE report was similar in behavior to the individuals interviewed who perceived the brand to be an extension of their personality. Those who used their laptops for business and family purposes were likened to the people who were interviewed and reported that laptops assisted them to broaden their social circles (Li, 2011). The consumer goals that related to the segment in the CLUES report included the fact that some of the consumers relied on their laptops for social networking, emails, and blogging. It was evident that business oriented consumers saw laptops to be tools of productivity while the consumers who are described as heavy users were indeed technological enthusiasts who used their laptops as a central point for accessing multimedia services.
A Comparison of the Compass Report Data and Consumer Interview Results
The customer interviews that were conducted demonstrated that purchases were regarded to be strong measures of self-expression. These results showed that consumers were more inclined to follow trends that were interconnected to technological products. Evidently, project compass was a segmentation study that was conducted globally to include data from more than 30,000 respondents (Zhou, et al. 2010). At any rate, it was a representation of a cross regional thinking that targeted all consumer segments while giving an allowance for product groups in local regions to customize their marketing efforts (Berende & Kredig, 2012). Consequently, the compass reports yielded six consumer segments which mainly complimented the information that had been gathered from the other customer interviews that were conducted before.
Beneficial Consumer Segments
Family users with unfussy basics should be targeted since the Chinese culture places a lot of importance on cultural values as it has been demonstrated that 38% of people in this category intend to purchase a laptop in the next twelve months (Zhou, et al. 2010). Consumers who are fashion cautious would also be ideal since 92% of them are planning to buy a laptop in the next 12 months. Exhibit 8 shows that 88% of entertainment lovers are likely to purchase a laptop within the next 12 months while 36% of them believed that knock off laptops is as good as branded laptops.
Conclusion
The customer interviews conducted help researchers in understanding the motives for consumer decisions. This report is pivotal since it revealed the Chinese culture that is at the center of the core values of the Chinese consumers. These results are helpful for Sony as it plans to market its Sony VIAO brand strongly (Li, 2011). In a nutshell, the objective of this study is to enable Sony to understand how people made a decision to shop for laptops through the selected methodologies such as consumer interviews. This study revealed that the loyalty that consumers in china have to Japanese brands and in particular Sony is one of the major driving factors of profitability in the economy. A combination of the complementing information drawn from all the studies conducted is helpful in designing a strategy that will be used to brand consumer products. The advantage that the Sony Company has in china is that the consumers have come to associate it with genuine products that are superior and stylish.
References
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