Apple is losing its edge in China

Consumers in China met the news of the iPhone 12 launch with very little excitement last month. Chinese brands, such as Xiaomi, Oppo and Huawei have matched - and in many ways, surpassed - Apple in terms of product features/specs. 

Fewer and fewer customers in China are willing to pay a premium for Apple. 

Apple might be losing its luxury status.

Apple Needs to Become a More Agile Marketer.

As it lets its ABSOLUTE product advantage slip away, Apple will have to start looking at adjusting its approach to marketing and engaging more. 

Back when I worked on Apple - during the launch of the original iPhone in China - I recall a meeting with the US brand team who was visiting Beijing. We shared an award winning case from our prior work with Nokia (some of the most notable, early work on social media in China) - which garnered immense enthusiasm online. “We would never do that” was the response from the Apple team. 

Apple’s approach to marketing has always been austere - the privilege of a brand with dramatically cooler products.

Meanwhile, the Chinese brands - who started with less perfect products - have become extremely agile marketers - building deep engagement and collaboration with communities in China. 

We Design, You Desire?

Apple has been the definition of top-down marketer - organizing everything around a big reveal (WWDC and other launch days) - consumers are kept in the dark until the product ‘reveal.’ With this approach, product quality and the ‘wow factor’ generated by new features/design, has done the heavy lifting, driving sales response.

You Desire, We Design!

Xiaomi by comparison involves its community in the early stages of product development, soliciting insights and ideas from brand fans. This collaborative approach - of engaging early - builds a sense of commitment from consumers. It has also helped Xiaomi to iterate more quickly, with more frequent releases of new, improved models. 

Apple’s approach is not wrong. BUT now that they don’t have a clear product advantage, they will have to become more agile marketers in China.

This article was originally published by Chris Baker on LinkedIn.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/apple-loosing-its-edge-china-chris-baker