Editor's note: This article is the original report of Chuangyebang, the author Yu Zhe, unauthorized reprint is prohibited.
The smartphone market from the early days of the mobile Internet era, after more than ten years of rapid development, from the "blue ocean" market gradually transformed into a "red sea" market, major manufacturers gradually entered the tense stock competition.
However, in the data of authoritative research companies such as IDC in 2021, vivo has grown against the trend. The report shows that among the top five smartphone manufacturers in China, Vivo's annual market share ranked first in China, with a year-on-year increase of 23.3%.
In the ever-changing smartphone market, why can vivo rank first in China, why does vivo call 2021 the "first year of qualitative change", and what is the relationship between vivo and the sudden rise of market competition?
How to produce "qualitative change"?
"2021 is a very turning year for vivo, we have gained some achievements, but also seen many problems, precipitated more thinking. If we look back at 2021 in another ten or twenty years, I think this may be the first year of our qualitative change. Shen Wei, founder, president and CEO of Vivo, said this at the recent annual meeting.
Vivo handed over a beautiful answer sheet in 2021, whether it is from the domestic and foreign market performance or user coverage, Vivo is among the forefront. In the domestic market, Counterpoint's latest data shows that in 2021, vivo will seize the throne of the first smartphone market share in the Chinese market with a market share of 22%; from the perspective of global users, vivo has covered 400 million+ users and served 60+ countries and regions.
In 2021, the "qualitative change" of Vivo is also reflected in the further expansion of the influence of the mid-to-high-end and domestic and foreign markets.
Last year, Vivo created the iQOO 8 series, which made a significant breakthrough in the 4K+ market for the first time, and the vivo X70 pro+ released in September was widely recognized by users, customers and the market.
At the same time, the comprehensive upgrade of the vivo S12 series has taken an important step in the strategic layout of vivo in the middle and high-end and high-end; next, the effective synergy between the vivo S series and the vivo X series has allowed it to successfully reach the strategic highland of the high-end market. It is worth mentioning that in the layout of the high-end market, vivo did not blindly pursue the breakthrough of high prices, but was committed to the breakthrough of high-value people.
In addition, under the practice of long-termism, vivo's international influence is increasing, and in the list of "BrandZ China's Top 50 Global Brands" released in 2021, vivo ranks 10th, 10 places higher than the previous year. Next, vivo will continue to carry out its global layout and continue to advance to overseas markets.
Behind the eye-catching achievements, vivo has made all-round efforts after years of accumulation, in 2021, vivo released the image flagship vivo X70 series, created a professional e-sports flagship iQOO 8 series, released the first self-developed chip V1, and established the vivo Central Research Institute...
In the case of a relatively sluggish smartphone market, Vivo's ability to grow against the trend is the comprehensive result of the joint efforts of multiple directions, which has adhered to the user-oriented basis, the rapid iteration of products, and the continuous innovation of science and technology, all of which are closely related to the "long-term doctrine" engraved in the blood of the enterprise, and are also the deep reasons for the "qualitative change" of vivo.
Why practice "design driven"
In 2021, vivo wrote "design-driven" into its values, why practice design-driven? Vivo believes that adhering to design-driven is to make "something different", which is also the systematic thinking when making products, "what has Vivo changed?" Does this change bring new meaning to users? Is this change implemented in a simple, flawless and elegant way? "This is a question that vivo's internal team is often thinking about.
User orientation is the premise of design-driven, vivo tries to "prejudge" user needs from the user's point of view. At the beginning of 2021, Vivo established the Academia Sinica, with Hu Baishan concurrently serving as the president of the Academia Sinica, to solve the prejudgment of the product technology direction of the 36 months in advance. At present, vivo has formed an "iron triangle" of research and development for user needs, which are product planning, technical planning, and technical pre-research. The core mission of this triangular system is to gain insight into user preferences in various ways, and to carry out the implementation path from insight, to planning, pre-research, and product landing.
Establish four long tracks for design, image, system and performance
Technological innovation is the cornerstone and means of "design-driven", vivo has long determined the design, imaging, system, performance of the four long track, in the mobile phone industry under the fierce competition, these four directions to create vivo differentiation, but also to ensure the continuous satisfaction of consumer demand.
As the main battlefield of fierce competition in the mobile phone industry, mobile video has always been the advantage of vivo. Hu Baishan once introduced vivo's image methodology, and the core part is to pay attention to user experience and "stand the day after tomorrow to see tomorrow". Vivo mainly improves the user experience from two aspects, one is to develop different shooting modes, so that users can record the beauty with their mobile phones at any time; the other is to pursue a clearer and more professional shooting effect.
In 2020, Vivo announced that it has become a global imaging strategic partner with ZEISS, combining traditional optical technology with computational image research and development to fully enhance the professional imaging capabilities of series mobile phones. Taking the X70 series products as an example, the joint research and development of vivo and ZEISS has been further deepened, which can meet the color needs of professional users.
At the design level, vivo launched a new mobile phone operating system OriginOS Ocean in 2021, based on the original system OriginOS 1.0, brought a new upgrade, using a simple visual design, to create a lock screen system, atomic Walkman, atomic reading, atomic privacy system, atomic notes and other interactive modes and applications, with the design to bring a more efficient interactive experience.
In terms of performance, vivo has achieved the ultimate performance through system optimization and software research and development, such as ensuring that the mobile phone is still smooth for 36 months and making the mobile phone network signal more smooth. In order to better ensure the communication experience, in 2021, vivo and the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology jointly built a simulation network laboratory to ensure strong mobile phone communication performance through flexible adjustment of signals. In the future, vivo will further upgrade its research and development investment in the underlying technology.
It can be seen that only continuous scientific and technological innovation can go further with consumers, and from the perspective of vivo's internal and long-term development, the strategy of four long tracks, while meeting the changing high requirements of consumers, also strengthens the continuous iteration and upgrading of vivo itself, so that vivo has a more long-term development space.
Adhere to long-termism
Taking the user orientation as the premise and the design-driven as the methodology, this is the essence of vivo's core values. However, whether it is the premise of user-oriented, the means of technological innovation, or the design-driven methodology, everything needs to return to long-termism, and only by adhering to long-termism can we become a great enterprise.
Throughout history, leading companies have only been able to create great products with values of excellence, and companies need to internalize these values into their dna and practice them continuously.
Looking back at the development of vivo, it focuses on four core long tracks, forms a subsystem in each core long track, and adheres to the user-oriented in each subsystem; adheres to the iron triangle strategy, based on consumer demand, and advances the technical layout of industry technology trends.
Hu Baishan once mentioned in an interview: "In the Iron Triangle, product planning is actually to think clearly about what to want, technical planning is to see what users want, how we meet the needs, to achieve." After the two shake hands, there will be a series of technology lists to be done in the next 36 months, some of which may not be fully mature in the short term, and we can need to mature it through investment, or by increasing human investment. Of course, in the end, it is technical pre-research, that is, the product planning and technical planning two handshakes after the output of the thing down. ”
Whether it is four long tracks or iron triangles, it fully reflects that vivo focuses on user needs, identifies the direction of long-term and sustainable development, and carries out the strategic layout of the bottom layer, which allows vivo to achieve rapid product replacement and upgrading, and it is the calm and persistent power of "long-termism" that gives vivo a foundation for qualitative change from excellent to excellent.
In 2021, Vivo accelerates on the road of long-termism. For the 2022 that has arrived, Vivo founder, president and CEO Shen Wei believes that "it will be the most challenging year for the smartphone industry, but whether it is good times or adversity, we can't forget our original intention." ”
Vivo's original intention, from excellent to great, is also the ultimate vision of most enterprises. Back to the original point, back to the essence of thinking, in the story of vivo, the inspiration brought to us is that everything is user-oriented, and long-term strategy can be developed in order to overcome adversity and move towards excellence.