02

➢Marketing Strategy of Alibaba:

❖ About Alibaba.com
Alibaba.com, the primary company of Alibaba, is the world’s largest online business-to-business trading platform for small
businesses.

Founded in Hangzhou in eastern China, Alibaba.com has three main services. The company’s English language portal Alibaba.com
handles sales between importers and exporters from more than 240 countries and regions. The Chinese portal 1688.com was
developed for domestic business-to-business trade in China. In addition, Alibaba.com offers a transaction-based retail website,
AliExpress.com, which allows smaller buyers to buy small quantities of goods at wholesale prices.

• Alibaba.com went public at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2007, and was delisted again in 2012.
• In 2013, 1688.com launched a direct channel that is responsible for $30 million in daily transaction value.

❖ Alibaba’s History

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s development can be divided into 5 phases for the past 13 years. The first phase was started since
1998 until 2001. During this phase, Alibaba provides free information for suppliers to enter the market. At that moment, China’s
trade market was still in the early stage where only information flowed on the internet.

Jack Ma looked into the needs of SMEs in China in entering the B2B e-market by providing them with free online services and
information according to the different enterprises and the characteristics of the industries.

In 2000, Porter Eris man, now the Vice President of Alibaba was hired by CEO Jack Ma as a foreign expert to help the company
into globalization. During that time, attracting foreign experts to run the company is essential because people in China had very
little management experiences (Walraven, 2009)

❖ Segmentation, targeting, positioning in the Marketing strategy of

Alibaba –
Alibaba uses a mix of demographic, Psychographic and behavioral segmentation strategies to fulfill its mission and transforming
its business to emerge as a technologically advanced company which will help customers, merchants and businesses to leverage the
vast potential of the Internet.

Most of the companies present in the e-commerce or technologically driven business use differentiated targeting strategy and
Alibaba is not an exception to this.

Positioning is where a product/ service stand in the mind of the consumer. Usage-based and pricing positioning strategies are used
by Alibaba to augment revenue from a different line of businesses.

Marketing mix – Here is the Marketing mix of Alibaba.

SWOT analysis – Here is the SWOT analysis of Alibaba.

Mission- “Make it easy to do business.

Vision- “Alibaba aims to build the future infrastructure of commerce. It visualizes the vast potential when customers meet, work and lives at
Alibaba”.

Tagline-“Global trade starts at Alibaba”.

 ❖ Competitive advantage in the Marketing strategy of Alibaba –
1. The diversified line of businesses: Alibaba has the presence in the mega-markets such as being in e-commerce business
they are in cloud computing, entertainment, payment gateway, mobile data etc. These are supporting the company in being
way ahead of its competitors within house wholesome infrastructure.
2. Having experience of world’s most competitive and fastest growing market: Operating in the country with 1.4 bn of a
population is in itself poses a challenge. A challenge to satisfy a billion needs, demands, understanding their changing
preferences and taste; all these have helped the company to emerge as a fastest growing company in the commerce market.

❖ BCG Matrix in the Marketing strategy of Alibaba –

In BCG matrix of Alibaba group, its different businesses have different growth rate which in itself portrays the growth landscape of
the e-commerce company lead by the visionary leader Mr. Jack Ma.

It’s China Commerce Retail business and Cloud computing business have YOY growth rate of 41% and 175% respectively (31st
Mar; 2016 data) and therefore are Stars in the BCG matrix.

Its Wholesale e-commerce business in China, as well as internationally, is struggling with low YOY growth rates and is, therefore,
it is a Question mark in the BC matrix.

❖ Distribution strategy in the Marketing strategy of Alibaba –

Technologically advanced and robust infrastructure has helped the company in providing a seamless and easy to access and
communicate, sell, buy the different offerings of the sellers/ buyers anywhere, anytime across the world.

❖ Brand equity in the Marketing strategy of Alibaba –

Its strategic alliances in different companies and positive word of mouth have helped the company in increasing Top of mind
awareness (TOMA). As per the “BrandZ-100” -2015, Alibaba is way ahead of Amazon and Walmart in the list of valuable Retail
brands.

❖ Competitive analysis in the Marketing strategy of Alibaba –

Alibaba’s diversified business portfolio is helping the company to be competitive while the e-commerce market is overcrowded
with local, national and international players like Amazon, eBay etc.

❖ Market analysis in the Marketing strategy of Alibaba –

Alibaba has the presence in China and various international markets. It had 423 MM active buyers in the year 2015-16 who helped
the company in surpassing 3 trillion Renminbi (RMB) of Gross Merchandise Value. Alibaba is ruling the market in China but in
other Developing and Developed nations, it is still struggling to emerge as a most preferred e-commerce player.

❖ Customer analysis in the Marketing strategy of Alibaba –

Customers of Alibaba are new-age, tech-savvy, Gen Y and Z customers to whom their time, the convenience of buying and selling,
maintaining their lifestyle is more important than it ever had.

❖ At the end
Alibaba is not only the largest IPO in U.S. history but has also risen more than the three largest IPOs by American Internet companies
combined. Alibaba broke records as the biggest IPO, pricing its offering at $68 per share this year.

The IPO is expected to raise $21.8 billion, which values the company at $167.6 billion overtaking Visa and Facebook (Chen,
Solomon & Mac, 2014). In my opinion, Alibaba became so successful in e-commerce is because of its numerous advantages and it
have great potential to boost up business for all small and medium enterprise which attracted many suppliers to invest in them. To
enhance my study on Alibaba, I went through Alibaba.com to understand more on how Alibaba system works and what makes it so
successful.
To my surprise, I love many features that Alibaba.com has to offer that inspired me to promote my future company and products
effectively. In fact, the real time communication and offline message was reply promptly by the supplier immediately after I posted
my questions to them. This is one of the reasons why many suppliers are investing into Alibaba because of it efficiency and
effectiveness. Above all, I also suggest that Alibaba should take this into consideration in their promotional strategy.

In fact, more advertising, publication, brand awareness, and public relations will help Alibaba pump up their popularity and
awareness all around the world. In addition, founder, Jack Ma speaks great English whilst many other Chinese entrepreneurs could
not communicate well in English. This is one of his underrated advantages. Jack Ma is also good in unifying everyone’s believe
through common goal.

He is also a good leader that encourages his employee to achieve higher without limitation. He works together with them and guide
them through the entire success of Alibaba. I believe in two principles: Attitude is more important than capabilities. Similarly,
decision is also more important than capabilities.
 01
➢Oneplus Marketing Strategy:

❖ History of OnePlus Brand:

OnePlus Company was established on 16 December 2013 by former Oppo vice-president Pete Lau and Carl Pei. Furthermore,
OnePlus India was launched in December 2014, and since then, it has stood its ground and competed well with other established
brands.

As per market research, the OnePlus market share in India is 33% with Samsung leading with 34% of the market share.

Backtracking on the history of OnePlus phones is to take a tour of the history of phones overall. You can mark all the evolutions of
recent years, from the appearance of 5G to the arrival of the mark and the ever-upgrading quality of phone cameras.

❖ SWOT Analysis of OnePlus Marketing Tactics:

The SWOT Analysis of Oneplus involves its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats and in this reading of the SWOT
analysis of Oneplus, we will understand the beauty and wellness of the company in terms of its internal and external factors.

1. One plus' Marketing Strength

1. OnePlus Software has a special Android platform Oxygen OS, which sets its phones aside from other Android products. It
feels great that most people fall in love with it at first sight, and offers many customization options for users.
2. The organization provides Beautiful design and doesn’t delay experiencing any plan and choice of materials, which may
result in favor of OnePlus.
3. OnePlus Performance is known for being one of the companies that offer products with super-fast execution. Their results
can pass anything you toss at them, Counting basic web browsing, video playback, and even hardcore gaming.
4. The various product portfolio of Oneplus has manifold its product span which includes mobile phones, watches, earphones,
televisions, and other required accessories which has been witnessing impeccable growth just like Oneplus mobile phones.
5. As an established brand in the industry, Oneplus has built a strong connection with its dealers and other members of the
supply chain.
6. Oneplus Marketing has become one of the best marketing strategies by interconnecting with its audience from social media
and by promoting itself on some of the series on Netflix.

2. One plus Marketing Brand Weaknesses

1. Oneplus was established to offer premium standard smartphones at an affordable price. however, nowadays the price of
Oneplus smartphones ranges from INR 50,000 to 70,000.
2. Some people think that Oneplus suffers a need for critical talent, especially in technology and digital change, and is
struggling to rearrange processes in light of incidents in AI (Artificial Intelligence).
3. The company’s product can occasionally produce inconsistent photos on the camera which somehow lose their customer
interest.

3. How does Oneplus Marketing create an Opportunity?

1. Marketing strategies of One plus offer new products with new characteristics that attract new customers.
2. One of the most faced challenges for the company is the limited access to the market for highly skilled talent as it has a
limited budget. Expanding into the global market can help Oneplus tap into the international talent market.
3. By reducing the number of product offerings in the market and focusing marketing efforts on existing successful products
Oneplus Standardizing Products can capitalize on its marketing trends.
4. Oneplus Smartphone can grasp expansion in AI for predicting better consumer demand, target niche segments, a finer
recommendation system, and best user experience.
 5. Oneplus Influencers Marketing can promote them by grasping influencer marketing strategy after partnering with some
famous influencers.

4. How One Plus Brand Manages Threats?

1. Oneplus company has many contenders, in order to, not to lose its position in the market, One Plus should always stay
updated about the current customer trends.
2. OnePlus should keep an eye on the rapidly changing government regulations, under the growing pressure.
3. Another major challenge faced by OnePlus is new brands selling equally competitive phones at lower prices.
4. Many countries are complaining about the data privacy of products because there are many allegations that brands may
lead to a breach of data privacy.

❖ Oneplus Key Takeaways from SWOT Analysis:

The SWOT analysis of Oneplus highlights the points where the brand presently stands in the market. a few Important Key Points
are what one plus marketing case study shows.

1. Best Software.
2. Variety into other businesses.
3. OnePlus Marketing Mix.
4. Audience-oriented social media marketing campaign.
5. Powerful brand names.

One plus competitors Analysis

Till now we have understood that OnePlus has successfully developed a unique brand and at the same time faces competition from
its rival companies. OnePlus grew by 55 percent YoY in Q3 2021, recording its highest-ever shipments in India. It captured the
second spot in the premium segment which includes smartphones priced above Rs 30,000 in India.

1· Xiaomi Corporation
Registered in Asia as Xiaomi Inc, is a Chinese creator and producer of consumer electronics and connected software, home devices,
and household articles. After Samsung, Xiaomi is the second-largest manufacturer of smartphones. Xiaomi has a 22% market share
in India. Redmi 9 series and Redmi Note 10 series helped Xiaomi drive more sales. When it comes to the flagship killer status,
Xiaomi is the OnePlus biggest competitor, especially in the android phone space.

2. Samsung Company
Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea.
It includes a different number of affiliated companies, most of which are united under the Samsung brand, and is the largest South
Korean chaebol. In 2020 Samsung has acquired the 8th highest brand value in the world. Samsung holds a 19% market share in
India. Samsung launched several budgets and mid-range 5G smartphones in India.

3. Apple Incorporation
It is an American multinational technology company specializing in customer electronics, computer software, and other online
services. Apple is the world’s biggest technology company by revenue totaling $274.5 billion in 2020 and became the world’s most
valuable company in January 2021. The US tech giant Apple Apple saw year-on-year growth of 212 percent in Q3 2021, which
includes smartphones priced above Rs 45,000 in India. Also, Apple Incorporation recently became the first and foremost company
in the world to cross $3 trillion stock market value.

Apple is the world’s fourth-largest PC organization by sales and the fourth-largest smartphone manufacturer. The company is one
among the Big Five U.S. information technology. When it comes to competition Apple gives close competition to OnePlus.

4. Realme Brand
It is an Indian-based Chinese smartphone manufacturer whose headquarter is located in New Delhi, India, and Shenzhen, China.
The organization was established on May 4, 2018, by Sky Li, who was previously Oppo’s vice president and head of Oppo India.
Realme Holds a 14% market share. The company was the top 5G smartphone brand in the product price of Rs 20,000 price band.
 ❖ Top 10 Takeaways from the Marketing Strategies of Oneplus:
The OnePlus marketing strategy has made all the difference in its success as compared to its contenders that helped OnePlus to
capture a big market share and win the hearts of the consumers.

Here are ten proven major takeaways from their amazingly effective OnePlus marketing strategy that you can use in your own
business to achieve similar results.

1. Creating Buzz with Uniqueness

When OnePlus as a new brand launched in India, it created a scarce situation in which everyone is not able to buy the phone even
though the market was getting a sense that the phone is being liked by the customers. This strategy of uniqueness was implemented
by OnePlus in which you could get the phone only if one of the users of OnePlus give you an invite to buy the OnePlus phone.

Since the phones were not easily available and one could only get it after the invite, the option of choice was excluded. If you want
to have it, you have to attempt more and more to get it. you can’t just walk into a phone shop and see OnePlus phones as one of the
products to choose from. Solely, the organization had no reason to establish retail stores or own any warehouses filled with unsold
phones. The supply was there to sufficiently meet the demand. Apart from that, the company was able to directly measure the
influence of its product and its acceptability.

2. Quality of The Product

A quality product is a one plus one strategy that attracts more and more customers and OnePlus never neglects the importance of
the quality of a product. It was very clear that Samsung and Apple are phones with very sleek designs, hence, trying to beat them
by having a cheaper one would only work if the quality is maintained. And that was one of the biggest tasks in front of OnePlus.

Now the question is How could they do it? With a top-notch phone and competitive pricing, which came from the greatly reduced
marketing costs, OnePlus was able to compete with bigger brands. If you go through the reviews on Google you will discover that
a lot of the consumers were beyond satisfied with the features that OnePlus phones are offering.

3. Clever Use Of Oneplus Influencer Marketing

OnePlus uses another impressive strategy that demands banking on the impact of other brands or personalities that raise awareness
and draw the attention of customers.

In its recent collaboration with Netflix India. OnePlus India was the first to release the first look of the much-awaited Sacred Games
season 2 in 2019 this marketing program drove a lot of visits to their social media pages even from the passionate followers of the
series. OnePlus not only used the influence of Netflix, but also makes partnering with popular actors, models, and social media
influencers.

4. Oneplus Brand Campaigner

Before entering the Indian market OnePlus has already created an active community where discussions about phones were already
taking place. That gave OnePlus the initially required traction. After its launch, OnePlus initiated its product to the community
which was liked by its customers. And guess what? The initial users of this product started spreading gossip and telling everyone
about the features of the phone.

Apart from this, OnePlus made it more fun by making its users eligible to invite another customer to buy the phone. As more people
got their hands on these phones and got happy with what they acquired, each customer became a supporter of the brand and the
quality product that is being sold.

5. Building Loyal Community Members

Before the launch of OnePlus in India, it already created a community, and this community was turned into customers. Creating a
community is extremely beneficial for a brand as it drives word of mouth, which is undoubtedly an extremely happy state for the
marketing efforts of any marketer. Apart from this, the user-generated content from these members in form of reviews or frequently
asked questions (FAQ)goes a long way in convincing a prospective buyer to make a purchase.
6. OnePlus Product Lifecycle
The marketing strategy of OnePlus uses to keep its products leading the customer’s mind with the amazing introduction of color
and special edition variants in its product life cycle. For an instance, the OnePlus 5T launched with a midnight black version followed
up with a star wars edition, Sandstone White, and Lava Red versions that attract a lot more customers by its unique edition.

7. OnePlus Hashtag Marketing Campaigns

#NeverSettle is a hashtag that was born out of the OnePlus brand and it has been using this hashtag in all of its marketing campaigns.

With ‘Never Settle’ as a tagline and campaigns such as ‘Smash the Past’, OnePlus aimed to take its customers on a journey where
they can undergo the ‘Never Settle’ way of life. The #NeverSettle hashtag proved that you don’t necessarily need big bucks to make
a bang. If you have a great product, customers automatically drag to your brand.

8. OnePlus Ingenious Pricing Strategy

If you plan to come up with another product in an industry that is already crowded then the product got to be at least 10x better than
the existing one. In the case of the OnePlus, the affordability of the device paired with the kind of specifications that it offers in its
favor in a similar fashion. They pack the best into a phone which is broadly better than other mobile phones in the market.

9. Less Expenditure on Orthodox Marketing

OnePlus Business team will be very active on various social media platforms. It has over 3.6 million followers on Instagram and
2.4 million on Twitter. These are the platform where they run most of their campaigns OnePlus has spent a share of money on
traditional marketing and above-the-line projects as well.

One of its popular digital marketing campaigns was “Smash The Past”, where customers are required to smash their present device
and upload the video online so as to have the chance of getting OnePlus phones for as low as $1. This campaign caused media
disapproval as it poses environmental and health hazards.

Strategically, the OnePlus Press Enquiry (PR) team changed the campaign to “Donate The Past” by twisting the rules. Customers
were no longer required to smash their phones, but instead, they have to donate them. As expected, this campaign got a lot of entries
and created a lot of buzz.

10. OnePlus Campaign in India

The beginning of the OnePlus marketing strategy in India was the strategical choice of going ahead with just online sales. At that
time Amazon India was the only E-Commerce platform where users can order place their phones. In addition, OnePlus, using the
invite-only system and online store, was able to properly cope up with its inventory without producing excessively. This became a
good strategical move for OnePlus in starting out in a new country.

Now, as OnePlus proceeded to the stage of having offline retail shops, it has a strong position and grip on the market.

❖ What Did Oneplus Business Strategy Teach to Its Competitors?

Oneplus business strategies state that the objectives of the one plus company must be to create awareness about the brand. To
achieve the objectives of the OnePlus marketing company, the first thing they do is they build a strong relationship with their target
audience, or else they will not get the desired result as expected.

It is important to give the best to the customers, the time gap between each launch is essential. Aware of such a scenario, the OnePlus
marketing brand makes sure that they keep its promise alive to their customers.

❖ Final Thought on Unstoppable OnePlus Marketing Brand:

OnePlus already has captured the Indian market while it has been attracting outside markets. OnePlus offered and continues to offer
an exceedingly good substitute to high phones at a lower price without deteriorating the quality of the product which contributes
extremely to its victory.
 03
➢Marketing Strategy of Lenovo:

❖ Introduction
Lenovo is a multinational technology company incorporated in Hong Kong. It is known as one of the largest personal computer
manufacturers in the world. It operates and sells products all over the world. Now that it has become a global application company,
let’s see how they manage to achieve its target. We think that Lenovo’s Digital Marketing Strategy has played a major role. This
article analyses marketing strategies, target audience, competitor analysis used by the company to give you an insight.

❖ About Lenovo
Lenovo was founded in Beijing and was incorporated in Hong Kong. It has its headquarters in Hong Kong as well. Some companies
have grown immensely since their inception and Lenovo is one of them. It believes in dedicating and transforming customer’s
experiences with new technology. It is an innovative and leading personal computer and smartphones. Lenovo specializes in the
production and selling of:

• Servers
• Smartphones
• Personal computers
• Smart TV
• Yoga, IdeaPad, and ThinkPad series of notebook PCs

Lenovo believes in innovation in order to be the market leader in personal computers. Being a leader, it has products such as
smartphones, tablets, and PCs. It is known as one of the respected companies in the world.

Let us now have a look at various marketing aspects and the target audience of the company.

❖ Lenovo Target Audience

City customers as well as rural customers form an integral part of Lenovo’s target market as there is strong brand awareness,
knowledge of advanced concepts, and high-level education.

It has a target market segment from the age group of 15 – 35-year-old consumers as they are more prone to using laptops,
smartphones, and tablets. It targets upper-middle-class singles and couples as they have a strong base for the market as they are the
working customers who use electronic items the most. It has also entered the rural market by taking various initiatives and
developing them.

It also has different segments of customers which consists of individuals, corporate customers, and professionals who want to make
their life simple by using Lenovo.

This explains why it has a larger target audience of customers.

❖ Lenovo Competitors
It has strong competition in the market due to fast-moving technology. Also, all other companies are innovating and investing to
create a huge brand presence in the market.
Here are some of the major competitors of Lenovo:

Lenovo’s competitors include Apple, HP, Dell Technologies, MI, Asus, Acer, Nokia, OnePlus, Huawei, and Microsoft. Lenovo
ranks 2nd in Gender Score on comparison with its competitors. There are too many cheap products appearing in the world which
makes it difficult to survive the cut-throat competition. As we see, Lenovo has stiff competition in the market as every other company
wants a larger market share.

❖ Segmentation, targeting, positioning in the Marketing strategy of

Lenovo –
Being present in such a large number of segments of computer hardware & electronics items; Lenovo uses the mix of demographics,
psychographics & geographic segmentation strategies to drive the market growth in the competitive market.

Closely working with the market forces have helped the company to understand that different markets and customers need to be
targeted differently and therefore they are using differentiating targeting strategy. Lenovo has positioned itself based on product &
value-based positioning strategies.

Marketing mix – Here is the Marketing mix of Lenovo.

SWOT analysis – Here is the SWOT analysis of Lenovo.

Mission – “To become one of the world’s great personal technology companies.”

Vision – “Lenovo will create personal devices more people are inspired to own, a culture more people aspire to join and an enduring,
trusted business that is well respected around the world”

Tagline – “For Those who do”.

❖ Competitive advantage in the Marketing strategy of Lenovo –

Vertical integration across the supply chain and manufacturing most of its equipment by themselves has helped the company in
keeping its cost of manufacturing low and at the same time avoiding dependence on OEM’s (Original Equipment manufacturers)
which will have help them in timely availability of its products in the market.

Broad product portfolio and operating in the meta-market products has helped the company in achieving economies of scale.

Presence across PC, Mobile & enterprise business in 170+ countries has not only given Lenovo advantage of cross culture exposure,
it also helped it in designing its strategies accordingly.

❖ BCG Matrix in the Marketing strategy of Lenovo –

Its PC segment is starred due to large product portfolio with such a large no. of SKU’s.

Lenovo has recently entered the fastest growing mobile phone market and therefore is not able to capitalise on the opportunities
 1. Due to less experience of this business.
2. The industry is already having large no. of players, who are eating up each other’s share.

Its enterprise solution business is in the niche segment and therefore they are in process of building competitiveness in itself.

❖ Distribution strategy in the Marketing strategy of Lenovo –

Lenovo makes its products available through company’s franchise outlets, service centres, wholesalers and retailers worldwide.

Also with the advent and popularity of e-commerce sites, Lenovo is making its products available through e-commerce sites which
are helping them in minimising its cost of operations.

❖ Brand equity in the Marketing strategy of Lenovo –

Advertising with Olympics, Cricket world cup and at various other platforms Lenovo had created strong brand recognition in PC
market and steadily they are creating awareness of their mobile phone segment also.

❖ Competitive analysis in the Marketing strategy of Lenovo –

Technology has always been the driving force for growth & development of the Human race.

In all three SBU’s (strategic business units) of Lenovo, the company is facing stiff competition from other national & international
players but they are able to survive in the competitive environment due to its efficient operational setup which is continuously
working to control the cost and manufacture value for money products.

❖ Market analysis in the Marketing strategy of Lenovo –

The PC & smartphone market is going through the phase of technology disruption where the companies using Blue Ocean strategy
is creating a new market & value network and disrupting the already established giants in the market e.g. like with the high
acceptance of android phone Samsung exploited the opportunity and Nokia lost the market leadership position (reference: Indian
market).

Lenovo works on continual innovation & improvements which are helping them to be ahead of the competitors in the market.

❖ Customer analysis in the Marketing strategy of Lenovo –

Lenovo has offerings for a different segment of customers. Its customers consist of Individuals, Corporate customers &
professionals who want to enjoy their lives and want to make their life simple.

❖ Conclusion
Lenovo being one of the leading companies, has a strong market presence and thus, company’s earnings are growing at a fast speed.
It keeps innovating by offering a new range of products. As we see from the above blog it does face many challenges from its
competitors, but the company tries to push its marketing strategies through advertising of their brands on various social media
platforms this is one of the major strategies implemented by them.

**The End**
--------------------
 Table of contents:

01. Marketing Strategy of Oneplus.

02. Marketing Strategy of Alibaba.
03. Marketing Strategy of Lenovo.