Lessons from Xiaomi’s Development: What Instrument and Meter Companies Should Pay Attention To (Part 1)

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　　The recent Xiaomi launch event also caused quite a stir in WeChat circles, with news about Lei Jun appearing everywhere. More than a month from now, Xiaomi will issue CDRs on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, and conduct an IPO on that same stock exchange. As the first company on the Chinese mainland to issue CDRs, Xiaomi became the most prominent company at that time. From the early days of Xiaomi to the present, what exactly is the magic behind such great success, and what can instrument and meter manufacturers learn from it? http://www.levelmeter.cn/uploads/image/20180607/1528365935.jpg Xiaomi was officially established in April 2010. Since its founding, it has achieved a growth rate that has surprised the world; in overseas markets, it has even surpassed Samsung and holds a significant share of the market. During these eight years of development, Xiaomi has gained a significant advantage through its unique competitive strategies, and this holds similar lessons for instrument and meter manufacturers as well. 　　Affordable prices benefit customers. In the eyes of users, what makes Xiaomi particularly appealing is its lower prices. When smartphones first came out, their prices were quite high. Xiaomi took advantage of the internet model to reduce distribution costs, thereby offering products at lower prices and winning over users’ hearts. It has been estimated that the total value of all Xiaomi products amounts to over 30,000, and with the addition of the new smartphones, this figure is likely to have exceeded 40,000. Thanks to these favorable product prices, Xiaomi’s estimated market value exceeds 70 billion yuan. 　　For every company, product pricing is extremely important. Comparing different options is an essential step for consumers during the purchasing process, and this holds true as well for instrument and meter manufacturers. And the ways to reduce costs often lie in optimizing the costs of raw materials and the distribution process. For example, reducing material costs, lowering labor costs, setting reasonable costs for technological innovation, and cutting down on management costs, etc. 　　In practice, there are also many companies that reduce costs in various ways to provide users with better services. For example, Shenzhen Jiwei Automation Technology Co., Ltd. pays attention to process control and standardized management at every stage of research and development as well as production, in order to minimize research and development costs and production expenses. This enables the company to offer customers products with high cost performance, thereby benefiting them. In addition, instrumentation companies should not overlook the role of the Internet; they can use various e-commerce platforms to reduce costs associated with distribution and physical stores, thereby offering products at lower prices in the market and bringing benefits to consumers. 　　High-quality products earn the trust of users. At affordable prices, Xiaomi has gained an advantage; on the other hand, its products have not failed to meet users’ expectations. Faced with Qualcomm chips at the same price, Xiaomi is equally decisive: it offers products in mid-range, high-end, and low-end categories, and the performance of its phones is also quite good. 　　While reducing product prices, instrument manufacturers should focus on product quality. Quality is the foundation upon which a company operates, and it is also the most important parameter that market users use to evaluate an enterprise. Only by strictly adhering to the standards for product production and paying close attention to every stage of the manufacturing process can mistakes be minimized as much as possible, thereby producing the highest quality products for consumers. This also contributes to the further development of instrument and meter manufacturers. 　　Extensive promotion helps customers get to know you better. As mentioned earlier, e-commerce platforms play a significant role in the development of the Internet; in fact, they are also an important means for instrumentation companies to expand their influence. From the very beginning of its development, Xiaomi managed to attract a great deal of attention through hunger marketing. Although this was also influenced by Xiaomi’s financial strategies, it still achieved excellent results. 　　For instrumentation companies, once the foundation for products and quality has been established, the next step is to continuously expand their influence. Although hunger marketing is unlikely to work, it is essential to use the Internet or participate in well-known exhibitions to increase a company’s visibility. With the development of smartphones, people tend to prefer obtaining various types of information from their phones. For instrument and equipment manufacturers, this represents an important opportunity to enhance their visibility. 　　Product pricing, quality, and corporate marketing are the three key factors in the development of instrument and meter companies. Although it’s easy to say so, putting these into practice is not straightforward. At the same time, after addressing these three aspects, how to establish closer relationships with customers and gain a larger share of the market is also an issue that instrument and meter manufacturers need to consider.