From the success or failure of HTC, design changes made in China

From Made in China to Created in China, how should enterprises transform? In my opinion, if a traditional enterprise wants to successfully transform and achieve sustainable development, it is inseparable from the four aspects of design thinking, branding, "Internet +" and capital.

HTC is a good case. It has successfully transformed from an electronic component foundry to a smartphone brand, explored the transformation path of "production branding", and once became a star brand in the mobile phone industry. Now it is in decline, and its success or failure cannot be separated from "design".

Use design thinking to make products that the market likes

What design thinking? It means that after the manufacturer understands the real needs of users, these insights are transformed into product planning, so that the function and design of the product become useful, usable, desirable, and economically and technically feasible.

The transformation of Made in China is fundamentally a transition from manufacturing thinking to design thinking, a process of transition from cost-oriented manufacturing to user-oriented consumer experience. Manufacturing-oriented companies tend to reduce production costs as much as possible to gain market space. Design-thinking-led companies, on the other hand, emphasize the user experience as the standard, find unmet market pain points, and build products with the goal of delivering happiness and satisfaction.

Under the guidance of design thinking, producers, consumers and products are closely linked - products are the design carriers of enterprises under the understanding of consumers; consumers experience friendly products through friendly products. , and generate trust and loyalty to the enterprise.

HTC's popularity was mainly due to its grasp of the consumption trend of smart phones, the launch of its own mobile phone brand, the multi-touch screen technology and Android system launched almost at the same time as Apple HTC became the only smartphone brand that could compete with Apple at the time.

Success is also Xiao He, and failure is also Xiao He. While Apple and Samsung continue to amaze users with their unique designs, HTC is addicted to plundering the market with similar "machine tactics". After users are placed in profit, natural products are no longer recognized by users.

To put it bluntly, HTC did not really understand user needs, which led to its inevitable failure. Therefore, I believe that starting from design thinking and guiding China's product creation is the starting point for the transformation of China's manufacturing industry.

Realize branding and capture users' memory points

If the product loses the soul of the brand, even thinking from the user's point of view cannot guarantee the sustainable development of business.

"Brand" is a high-level summary of the product concept and a deep memory that can stay in the mind. What a company needs to do is to firmly impress its brand image in the minds of consumers.

The mobile phone itself is a huge market, and different brands strive to use "language nails" to highlight their unique impressions in this market to compete for market space. Just as Apple has shaped itself into "personal fashion", Samsung has highlighted "big screen business", and Xiaomi has emphasized "the king of cost-effectiveness". The unique selling point of each brand has captured a fixed group of consumers with different personalities. This is the result of starting from "positioning" and capturing different consumer groups.

By contrast, HTC's brand image is vague. From the initial smart phone pioneer, to the full bloom of the market, and then to the niche group of music lovers, it is difficult to define HTC with one keyword, and therefore, it is difficult for you to remember it.

Products and brands are actually mutually reinforcing. Users deepen the brand impression through product experience; enterprises create product strategies through brand building. Therefore, manufacturing companies not only use design thinking to create products, but also deepen their product strategies into brands that can be remembered. Design thinking is the thread that runs through the product and the brand.

Enjoy the Internet and detonate the fan effect

In the mobile phone battle, the "Xiaomi model" that has suddenly emerged in the siege of Samsung, Apple and other mobile phone brands is the best example. It is the core of the Internet model.

While HTC is relying on traditional channels for the upper position. In OEM production, HTC has accumulated more offline sales channels and operator channels, but traditional channels are the "most ruthless", and the market and profit are the first factors that determine whether a channel "speaks" for the brand . When the HTC empire collapsed, these channel resources also left.

The Internet, handing more control over to brands and users. Only by mastering the dominance of the voice can we more directly grasp the user's preferences. Therefore, as the Internet is the most efficient information channel in the era, how can companies play it well, tell brand stories well, multiply the brand effect, turn the audience into your die-hard fans, and pay for your products, this is worth it A "shortcut" for thinking.

Introducing capital power to ensure the steady development of enterprises

Whether it is to build an ecosystem or focus on the immediate business expansion, it is inseparable from sufficient capital strength as a premise. Otherwise, if the company wants to expand the ecological chain, there will be flaws in the big environment.

Capital is the "fuel" for enterprise development. Capital strength first determines your voice. How many resources can be commanded in the market, how large the scale can be, and how long it can last are all “capital fuels”. When the company does enough, the profit model is sustainable, and the product can solve a prominent pain point in the market, then the company will be attractive to capital and have confidence.

Although HTC used to be a leader in smartphones, it has not built up enough industrial accumulation and capital. Judging from its financial report, it has been losing money for five consecutive quarters. Therefore, in the current market environment, it is impossible to rely on the expansion of the supply chain to make profits like Samsung, Sony and LG, so they have to focus on the emerging VR business.

Manufacturing enterprises only rely on their own funds for rolling development, and they are no longer able to adapt to the market changes of today's intelligent hardware. Explosive models + capital + brand marketing can enable enterprises to quickly seize new market share, become the leader in the segmented field, and have the right to speak in the industry.

How to maximize the value of industrial design? I think the design should not stop at a single level of appearance and structural design, but really solve the customer's brand image building, product development strategy and even product supply chain management. With the new "design * finance" business model, design is integrated into the capital circle. While continuously improving the strong design advantages of the team, it also establishes strategic partnerships with entrepreneur capital, banks, funds and investment institutions. Build a bridge between enterprises and capital, and use capital to promote the rapid growth of the brand.

However, whether it is the Internet or capital, it is only an external force for the development of enterprises. The essence of business is still inseparable from the basic strength of the brand itself, and from the understanding and insight of design thinking on consumers. Therefore, the model of successful business operation is actually from the inside to the outside, and the layers are linked.

In short, I summarize these four points as the "D-BIC" innovative development model, which is guided by Design Thinking, oriented by brand, and guided by "Internet +". (Internet+) is a high-speed channel and a sustainable development model driven by capital, which is what I have continuously summed up in my 13 years of industrial design practice.