Lin Zhongyong: The only boss is the customer

Lin Zhongyong, President of ViewSonic Asia Pacific. In August 2002, he joined ViewSonic, a Chinese company founded in the United States. Under his leadership, ViewSonic has laid a solid foundation for its brand, channels and services in the Chinese market, and its business has grown rapidly. According to IDC data, in the first quarter of this year, ViewSonic won the No. 1 position in liquid crystal display (LCD) sales with a market share of 19.3%.

Most of the Chinese enterprises are OEM, why can ViewSonic make its own well-known brand?

The most important thing is that the brand positioning is very accurate. Display products at the time were either expensive or cheap, and ViewSonic positioned itself in the middle blank market, offering products of the same quality as high-end manufacturers at a lower price. After driving the price of high-end products down, ViewSonic did not cut prices, and has always paid great attention to product quality, and finally formed a position similar to that of high-end brands. From a little-known company, ViewSonic became the No. 1 in the North American market within 8 years. name.

Why are you able to quickly promote this well-known brand in North America in China?

This is primarily due to my work experience. I worked for Epson in Taiwan for sixteen years. Epson used to be at the top of the traditional dot-printer market, but when the new inkjet printers came out, the brand looked older. At that time, through my efforts, in two or three years, I renovated the Epson brand and reshaped its popular and front-end brand image in the Taiwan market. The sales volume rose from zero to the first place in the market. Competitors such as HP and Canon. After I came to ViewSonic, how to create a brand, how to increase the value of the brand, how to get partners in the channel, and how to closely integrate with partners are all very good references.

What is your branding strategy?

First of all, it has changed the disadvantage of slow response to the market in the past. We quickly built sales channels and responded quickly to customer requests and even complaints. For example, in terms of providing after-sales service: other manufacturers do not have many maintenance points in small cities, so we quickly establish many maintenance points in more second- and third-tier cities, so that customers can receive timely services; no other manufacturers do it for three years free of charge Quality assurance, no one provides 24-hour free hotline service, we will take the lead.

The second is to change ViewSonic's vague brand image in China. Before, many people knew about ViewSonic, but the general feeling was that the product was very expensive, and they didn't know where it was. We let consumers know that ViewSonic's products are definitely industry-leading, with good technical indicators and functionalities. Then we adjusted the price. The previous price was 500 yuan more expensive than the first-class manufacturers, and later it was adjusted to be only 100 yuan more expensive, and the reason for the high price was made clear. Consumers feel value for money and are willing to spend a little more for our products and services.

How does ViewSonic accurately convey its brand image to consumers?

Through integrated marketing, we communicate exactly what we want to convey to consumers. We have changed the previous practice of working alone, such as advertising is advertising, roadshow is roadshow, and media promotion is media promotion.

All of our activities are focused on results. For example, in March this year, ViewSonic launched a 16-millisecond high-speed display. This product is not exclusive to us, but we are not doing a show like other manufacturers, inviting a bunch of beautiful women to sing and dance, but firmly grasp the high-speed display. This theme comes to the road show---to bring racing game lovers to race on our LCD monitors. In this way, the characteristics of the product are truly instilled in the minds of consumers, which ultimately affects their purchasing behavior.

In the future development, what are the main difficulties that ViewSonic China will face?

The hardest part is that we are facing more competition and more pressure. In the past, we were competing with the fifth and sixth manufacturers in the market, but now we are competing for the first place. In the past, we proposed some differentiated things, and our competitors would not take us seriously at all. And now everyone is paying close attention to us, ViewSonic, as soon as we make trouble, the market will quickly counterattack.

Who is the manager you most admire?

Gerstner, the former president of IBM. At that time, public opinion generally believed that interlacing was like a mountain, that he was a layman and an expert, and they were not optimistic about him. But he is not afraid to tell his subordinates that I do not understand this technology, but asks his subordinates to treat him as a consumer and try to communicate with him in plain language. I feel the same way about this. Although my leap from Epson to ViewSonic is not as big as his, but monitors are not the same as printers after all. I don't understand it, and I don't believe consumers can understand it. I ask my employees to treat themselves as consumers in everything, and I have a sign on my office door: "Our only boss is the customer."