Huawei Marketing Strategy Analysis

Huawei Marketing Strategy Analysis

3. Examination of Relevant Challenges and Opportunities of Digital Business of Huawei

Strengths

Impressive Product Portfolio

High innovation in technology

Position leader in the smartphone sector in key markets like China and India

High international presence

Very competitive pricing

High quality products

Research and development Weaknesses

Unnecessary controversies

Weak American presence and market share

Weak image in key markets such as Europe, North America, and some parts of Asia

Cash/capital shortage

Opportunities

Artificial intelligence and the 5G technology

Indian and American market presence

Physical brick and mortar stores

21st century marketing

Online retail and sales

Advertising

Threats

Increased competition in the smartphone market

Rising cost of material and labor

Political pressure

Regulations in foreign markets such as Europe and the United States

Trade tensions between China and US

Challenges for Huawei

1. Competition and Changes in the Smartphone Sector

The smartphone sector has proven to be one of Huawei’s most tough challenges. The consumer technology industry is very competitive across the board, and the smartphone market is no exception. Along with competing against established brands like as Samsung and Apple (both of whom have far more cash on hand), Huawei must also contend with the possibility of new entrants into the market (Dmitrijevs, 2020). The introduction of a new rival into the market at any point, and the subsequent loss of a part of Huawei’s market share due to a single technical advancement, is a possibility, even if top-tier enterprises refuse to develop their own low-cost smartphones.

Political and regulatory authorities throughout the world are presenting global technology players as being in grave danger. As a result of rising political tensions and a trade war between China and the United States, Chang et al. (2017) found Huawei’s international activities to be in peril. In addition to the United States, other key markets such as Canada, the United Kingdom, and Japan pose a danger to the stability of Huawei as an international brand. An enormous amount of political pressure is being applied on Huawei, which is posing a severe threat to the company’s future development. A consequence of this would be a significant setback for Huawei’s international operations.

2. The US-China Trade Political Influences and Poor Relations

Another key challenge for Huawei is the problematic relations with the US smartphone sector yielding poor business and market presence and fueled by the US-China trade conflict. Since its inception, the company has had a number of difficulties, which seems to be a significant disadvantage for the business. Furthermore, it has a tarnished image on the international market as a result of this (Tekir, 2020). Apart from the spying controversies, a slew of other incidents have tarnished Huawei’s reputation in a number of Western nations, most notably the United States, in recent years. This might be a consequence of the ongoing competition between the United States and China, as well as the close ties that exist between the Chinese government and Huawei. Even now, many people believe that Huawei’s public image has a serious weakness (Kee et al., 2019). Furthermore, the firm has been accused of snooping on its customers while using its financial resources. In addition, the company has lost the support of a number of other US partners as a result of the end of its relationship with AT&T in the United States.

Over the last several years, Huawei’s smartphone markets in the United States have had significant difficulties. While attempting to build a presence in the United States, which is by far the world’s biggest smartphone market, Huawei has encountered significant difficulties (Jaisal, 2020). The purchasing of Huawei cellphones is often opposed by the general people in the United States. Despite several inquiries from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom on a number of concerns, the brand does not seem to be a huge success in any of these countries, according to the information available. With each passing day, Huawei’s standing in the United States market continues to erode more. In a similar vein, the United States government is attempting to reduce the appeal of the brand in the country.

Opportunities for Huawei

1. A Growing Need for Better Technology and the 5G Technology Buzz

5G refers to the fifth generation of mobile communications systems, which is currently being developed. Huawei has consistently been one step ahead of the technical curve, developing and producing 5G-ready mobile modems before major chipmakers such as Intel and Qualcomm (Agbebi, 2018). As one of the early adopters of 5G, Huawei may be able to position itself as a premium brand by providing technology that even top-tier competitors such as Apple and Samsung would be unable to compete with (Tekir, 2020). The Chinese company Huawei has even shown interest in selling its 5G modems to Apple, which would certainly result in a big profit for the company. It goes without saying that selling technology to a large competitor would have all of the drawbacks that come with it.

2. The US and Indian Markets

A key opportunity for Huawei is the US market, which has predominantly been opposed to Huawei products due to poor relations, and the Indian market that is growing significantly in terms of demographics and in smartphone usage over the last few years. Strengths are sometimes disguised as flaws or as untapped potential. Former Huawei executives have expressed concern about the company’s bad brand image in the United States (Schaefer, 2020). The fact that Huawei has a low level of market penetration in the United States is not surprising given the situation. In the case of the Indian market, the same is true. As a result, both India and the United States now provide hitherto untapped income sources to businesses. Given the large number of prospective consumers in these two sectors, it is possible that Huawei may see a significant rise in overall revenue if they are successful in developing a compelling plan to target these two areas.

4. Recommendations and Conclusion

Digital marketing is vital because it links a company with its consumers while they are online, and it works in any industry. It links companies with their potential consumers on Google via SEO and PPC, on social networking sites through digital marketing, and via email using email marketing. To this end, it is recommended that Huawei uses the following:

Use of a digital marketing strategy led by social media and influencer marketing

Presently, social media has become a top-of-mind marketing medium for firms. Social media is a great factor in fostering leads and create business connections, and it’s also great for getting vital information about what your consumers want. Huawei will benefit from social media and influencer marketing through increased brand awareness in its Indian and US markets, more inbound traffic to its website for online sales, higher and improved conversion rates, more brand authority, and improved search engine ranking.

Email marketing

In addition, email is undoubtedly the most tried-and-true, scalable marketing medium accessible to today’s businesses. As a result, email marketing software is a must-have for both large and small organizations. Huawei will reap the benefits of email marketing via the cost effectiveness of the strategy. It is a very cost-efficient form of marketing as there are no advertising fees and other expenses. Additionally, the marketing list will be made of individuals who have given Huawei permission to receive marketing communication. Therefore, they are more likely to become customers. It is also easy to measure success and benchmark results against previous performances.

SEO tools

In terms of SEO tools, it seems that, as the digital world grows more competitive, any company that can improve their search visibility is a bonus. Huawei will see the advantages of SEO in digital marketing through the quality traffic that it will attain. SEO tools will also help Huawei in its public relations exercises in the US and European markets. It will enable, also, a reporting and analysis structure that will be used as KPIs in checking progress.

Conversion optimization tools

Finally, when it comes to convincing customers to convert on-site, even the slightest improvements may make a tremendous effect. These tools will bring Huawei increased profits in form of revenue, they will also help to implement changes fast, they will maximize the marketing spend, improve the search performance, improve brand equity, reduce the development cost and time, and help the organization to make decisions based on data.

References

Agbebi, M. (2018). China in Africa’s telecom sector: opportunities for human capital development? A case of Huawei in Nigeria. Human Resource Development International, 21(5), 532-551.

Chang, L. C., Ho, W. L., Tsai, S. B., Chen, Q., & Wu, C. C. (2017). Dynamic organizational learning: a narrative inquiry into the story of Huawei in China. Asia Pacific Business Review, 23(4), 541-558.

Dmitrijevs, R. (2020). Research on Marketing Strategy of Huawei Mobile Phone in European Market. Open Journal of Business and Management, 8(03), 1138.

Jaisal, E. K. (2020). The US, China and Huawei debate on 5G telecom technology: Global apprehensions and the Indian scenario. Open Political Science, 3(1), 66-72.

Kee, D. M. H., Chee, C. K., Ng, C., & Yao, T. (2019). Analysis of Challenges faced by Huawei on the launching of 5G Technology and the Strategies to Overcome it. Asia Pacific Journal of Management and Education (APJME), 2(3), 37-44.

Schaefer, K. J. (2020). Catching up by hiring: The case of Huawei. Journal of International Business Studies, 51(9), 1500-1515.

Tekir, G. (2020). Huawei, 5G Network and Digital Geopolitics. International Journal of Politics and Security, 2(4 (Çin Özel Sayısı)), 113-135.