In-depth analysis: Xiaomi's product and operation methodology

It is necessary to learn from successful people.

Xiaomi has gone public , and I myself am a Mi fan. Think about how many years ago, I recharged my faith and used a Sony mobile phone until I started to use Xiaomi's first mobile phone. Now I have purchased various family buckets of Xiaomi's ecological chain . In addition to the 41 Mijia smart home devices online, even the toothbrushes at home are Xiaomi, and of course mobile phones are of course not a problem.

I am a person who has been " marketed " by Xiaomi, and if Xiaomi's marketing can be summarized in one word it is: sense of participation .

Therefore, this article will provide a more complete analysis of Xiaomi's marketing and operations .

The article is long. In order to ensure the reading experience, let's sort out the structure first:

First, I summarized Xiaomi's marketing structure as a "network marketing structure" , and compared it with the traditional "one-way marketing structure" in multiple dimensions; secondly, I proposed a "sense of participation model" ; finally, based on the sense of participation model, I made a relatively complete summary of the marketing operations of Xiaomi's products, social communication channels , and user relationship chains , which involved 10 related gameplays such as online and offline event operations; channel operations; hunger marketing; communities ; UGC , etc.

Xiaomi's network marketing structure

If you are a Xiaomi user, you will naturally understand this. Even if you are not a Xiaomi user, you may have noticed a phenomenon that you rarely see Xiaomi on TV and other media. But it doesn’t mean Xiaomi doesn’t do marketing. Xiaomi’s marketing channels are mainly concentrated on social media channels , including: Xiaomi Forum, Weibo, Toutiao , WeChat , and QQ Space (in Xiaomi’s early days). On social channels, Xiaomi has always advocated "product is marketing", "experience is marketing", and "word of mouth is marketing".

Let’s look at a picture first. I summarize this picture as a “network marketing structure”. Each node is a user.

Okay, let’s look at another picture. This picture shows the marketing structure of many traditional companies. I summarize it as a "one-way marketing structure" . The nodes at the upper level are enterprises, and the nodes at the lower level are users.

At first glance, these two pictures are completely different. The network marketing structure is decentralized.

Next, we will make an in-depth comparison between Xiaomi’s network marketing structure and the one-way marketing structure of traditional marketing through six dimensions.

First, the first dimension we talk about is attention

This is the so-called attention economy.

The traditional marketing structure is a one-way structure, where companies reach users through advertising. For example: TV commercials, subway station advertisements, etc.

Take watching TV for example. When you see a commercial, do you change the channel? Or continue watching ads?

In fact, the most common thing is not these two, but playing with mobile phones .

In the past, when the Internet was not yet popular, television was a very important channel. That time was called the single-screen era. Now it is the multi-screen era, with televisions, mobile phones, computers, and PADs.

Therefore, in the traditional marketing structure, the attention that users can focus on your product has been compressed. But the network marketing structure is different. Users are not passively asked to watch advertisements. Users are proactive. Because everyone around you is discussing Xiaomi, you will take the initiative to go online to get information about Xiaomi. You will take the initiative to go to the Xiaomi forum, follow Xiaomi Weibo, and so on.

During this process, users' attention is all on Xiaomi. Therefore, a very important point in the changes in the attention economy is not whether there are more or fewer screens, but whether users passively accept your product advertisements or actively obtain your product information .

Next, let’s talk about purchasing decisions. Purchasing decisions actually go through three stages:

(1) Let’s go back to the past. When I was a child, material things were scarce, so if you had a TV at home, it was a big deal, because product marketing at that time focused on functionality .

In other words, if you buy my TV, you can watch TV at home. Simply because of the function of watching TV, consumers will be motivated to buy, without the need for excessive marketing.

(2) Later on, as material needs gradually begin to be met and there are more and more suppliers of products with the same functions, what makes consumers pay is the company's brand . They are both washing machines, but Little Swan was a famous brand at that time and everyone was willing to buy famous brands. So what should you do to make your company a famous brand?

We advertised like crazy on TV because there were no smartphones back then.

(3) What are the purchasing decisions of users today?

Participatory consumption .

No matter how loud your brand is, it doesn’t mean you will have good sales. Isn’t that the case with the article about Jiang Xiaobai recently?

The marketing campaign was very successful all over the country, but sales just weren’t going up. Some time ago, during JD.com’s 618 event , I looked at some data and found that Xiaomi was the top-selling mobile phone on that day.

Is it because of the function of Xiaomi mobile phone?

No, isn’t it Xiaomi’s overwhelming advertising?

No, it’s actually a sense of participation. MIUI of Xiaomi mobile phone is created with the joint participation of Xiaomi users.

Again, let’s talk about the user experience

From the perspective of a one-way marketing structure, there are actually two types of user experience:

One group thinks that the company treats itself as God and the boss; the other group thinks that the company has a cold and aloof attitude and is a "poor bastard" who can buy or not.

But what is it like under a network marketing structure?

Two words to sum it up: friends .

Because in a network structure, there will be no companies cramming users with overwhelming advertisements. The first time a user comes into contact with a brand and then buys it may just be a recommendation from a friend. Users can discuss Xiaomi with friends through various social media and participate in various Xiaomi activities, but the one-way marketing structure does not have such characteristics.

Again, let's talk about fission

Fission means an increase in the number of enterprise users. How does a one-way marketing structure increase the number of users?

Advertise, advertise non-stop.

How does a network marketing structure increase the number of users?

Word of mouth, spread among users. I was recommended to buy Xiaomi by a friend, and later I continued to recommend Xiaomi products to my friends.

Again, let’s talk about efficiency.

Users, or traffic , are the blood that keeps an enterprise alive. The one-way marketing structure mentions that user growth needs to be achieved through continuous advertising . But the efficiency of the mesh structure increases exponentially.

Today the company has 100 users, and each of them brings one person, so the company has 200 people. If there are 200 people and each of them brings one person, there will be 400 people in total. From the perspective of efficiency, the two marketing structures are completely incomparable and are not at the same level.

Finally, let’s talk about cost

Let's keep it simple and crude here, without considering the labor costs. You can search Baidu for the advertising costs. Our company previously used advertising or SEM , and the cost of one lead was already several thousand yuan. What about the network marketing structure?

0. Oh, sorry, I need to be more rigorous. The annual certification fee for Sina Weibo is 5,000 yuan, and the annual certification fee for WeChat is 300 yuan.

About the Participation Model

The network marketing structure is a framework, and this framework is designed to support a model, namely the participation model. Xiaomi's magic weapon for winning marketing is to enhance user engagement through its network marketing structure.

Before sharing the participation model, what I actually want to share is why companies need users to feel involved?

In consumer psychology, people experience a kind of cognitive dissonance. When users take action under a certain brand, they will feel that the products of this brand are more valuable. For example: IKEA, furniture needs to be taken home and assembled by yourself, so even though it is cheap, many people are reluctant to throw it away when they move because they feel that the furniture has value.

Next, how to improve user engagement?

Let’s refer to a participation model:

In fact, the easiest way to create a sense of user involvement in a brand is to solicit user opinions.

Of course, besides soliciting user opinions, are there other ways to make users feel a stronger sense of belonging?

Method 1: Soliciting user opinions can give users a sense of participation, but the intensity is relatively low.

Xiaomi’s approach: Xiaomi certainly has this sense of participation. Aren’t the various feedbacks on the Xiaomi forum doing this?

Method 2: A stronger approach is to allow users to provide some assistance to the brand.

Xiaomi’s approach: Xiaomi certainly has this too, the development version of MIUI is like this. I think many Xiaomi fans are willing to flash the phone to the development version of MIUI, try out new features, and help Xiaomi discover bugs in the development version.

Method 3: A step further is co-creation between the brand and the user.

Xiaomi's approach: MIUI still complies with the regulations. The bugs reported by users and the demands raised by users are collected together to form MIUI completed by users and Xiaomi engineers.

Method 4: The strongest one is that users have full power to create it themselves , and the brand only provides a platform.

Xiaomi’s approach: Xiaomi still has the ultimate sense of participation, but not all users can create it on their own. Doesn’t the Xiaomi ecological chain belong to the category of being created by themselves?

A complete analysis of 10 Xiaomi gameplays to help you improve user engagement

Understand Xiaomi's marketing structure and the participation model. Next, let’s analyze them one by one and see how Xiaomi plays with the sense of participation.

Let’s first look at how to improve user engagement from the product level of Xiaomi.

Game 1: Orange Friday

Orange Friday is actually a way of product iteration, but it is different from the common product iteration method. In this product iteration process, users are always involved, which can be said to be zero-distance contact between users, Xiaomi product managers , and Xiaomi engineers.

Xiaomi will collect user feedback on MIUI development versions and bug feedback through the MIUI forum. Xiaomi releases a development version update every Friday for users to upgrade.

Game 2: Engineers hang out in forums

In my past experience, I found that there is something very special about Xiaomi’s product development model. In general companies, product managers are responsible for facing users, exploring and collecting user needs, and then making product plans and performing product iterations. Engineers are not available to the public, so users cannot perceive their presence.

But I heard that Xiaomi engineers have a rule that they must spend one hour on the MIUI forum every day, which really touched me. Because engineers' behavior of hanging out on forums is an incentive for both users and engineers.

For engineers:

If engineers do not face customers, there will often be quarrels between engineers and product managers. At the same time, the engineer has no sense of accomplishment and he doesn’t know what the product he developed is like in the market. Once an engineer faces a customer, he will have a sense of urgency about bugs and will fix them in a timely manner. He will also attach importance to the needs and know that these are the real needs of users, not just the product manager's random guesses.

At the same time, they will have a sense of accomplishment for each version because they can see how many users are deeply involved in the products they have developed.

For users:

Generally, corporate users can only contact customer service or sales, but with Xiaomi, users can contact the engineers who develop the products they use. They can provide feedback and suggestions directly to engineers.

When it comes to feedback to customer service, this not only improves efficiency, but also increases the sense of participation.

Play 3: Product positioning: Born for fever

Xiaomi’s product positioning has a slogan: Born for fever.

Of course, this is not just a slogan. There is a subtle comparison: playing with mobile phone VS using mobile phone. You will find that whenever the word fever is mentioned, whether it is photography or HIFI, as long as fever is mentioned, it means playing, not using.

For example: HIFI, if it means using headphones, then everyone will use it and everyone will listen to their own music. But if you are playing with headphones, that is HIFI, everyone will discuss various issues such as cables, players, amplifiers, etc.

Fever leads to play, play leads to social interaction, and the process of social interaction leads to countless sense of participation.

Gameplay 4: Product sense of ritual

Xiaomi has done something that can greatly enhance the sense of ritual of its products. Around 2013, Xiaomi launched a micro -film . I went to iQiyi specifically to find this micro-film, which was called "Sponsor of 100 Dreams." (Those who are interested can search) The content of the movie is about a racing driver who pursues his dream and is determined to win the race.

The so-called 100 dream sponsors are actually Xiaomi’s first 100 users, and this is the number of users of the first test version of Xiaomi MIUI, just 100.

The micro-film tells an inspirational story. But the first official version of MIUI gave these 100 people enough sense of ceremony - the startup homepage was their nicknames in the MIUI forum.

After one year, the number of users increased from 100 to 500,000. Therefore, this micro-film activity brought a sense of ceremony and participation to these 100 users, while also increasing the stickiness and retention of core seed users .

So, what does this reveal to us?

In the very early stages of a product, it should be with the users, grow together, allow users to participate, and then give them a sense of ceremony through some event planning .

Game 5: Hunger Marketing

Look at the pictures first, then talk.

Of course this is just a joke, let’s leave Xiaomi’s supply chain capabilities aside. People think Lei Jun is playing tricks on them because they are expressing their dissatisfaction with not being able to get a phone when Xiaomi's hunger marketing was in effect. But it is precisely this dissatisfaction that represents the success of Xiaomi's hunger marketing.

Hunger marketing itself is to create an atmosphere of supply and demand , making users feel eager to own the product, thus making users feel nervous. In simple terms, it means purchase restrictions.

But doesn’t it mean that hunger marketing is effective for every company?

no. Hunger marketing was successful for Xiaomi, but a careful analysis shows that Xiaomi's hunger marketing is a combination of tactics.

This combination can be summarized as: Xiaomi's hunger marketing combination: F code + fans + hunger marketing

The full name of F code is Friend code, which means friend code.

Purpose of F code: The so-called hunger marketing is completely inapplicable to users with F code, because F code can be purchased directly without queuing. How to obtain the F code: Old users can obtain the F code from Xiaomi and can transfer it. Other users who participate in the interaction on Xiaomi's social channels have the opportunity to obtain it. The operational purpose of the F code: After we understand Xiaomi's F code, we can actually find that in order to purchase new products as quickly as possible, users must go everywhere to ask for the F code. In the process of searching for the F code, you will interact with old users. And in this interaction, word of mouth is actually spread.

In simple terms, through the network marketing structure, Xiaomi can allow users to advertise to other users without spending any money. Therefore, due to the interaction, user activity will also be improved.

The network structure of hunger communication: As mentioned just now, not every company can do hunger marketing. If a company simply does hunger marketing, it may starve to death. Hunger marketing ultimately needs to be done in combination with fans.

Xiaomi has a huge fan base, and this fan base is a network marketing structure. Therefore, with the help of the medium of F code, the sense of scarcity and tension of hunger marketing, as well as the sense of superiority of being able to purchase new products, will spread in this network structure. And the communication efficiency is extremely amazing because every fan becomes a communication node.

Looking for F codes everywhere and rushing to buy new products is itself a form of user participation. Because users cannot buy it just by having money. If users want to interact with other users, they have to actively ask them for the F code, which is an action before purchasing.

Let’s analyze engagement from Xiaomi’s social media channels

Xiaomi’s current social media channels mainly include: MIUI Forum, Weibo, WeChat public account , and Toutiao. In the early years, QQ Space was also a major channel.

Before analyzing the above social channels one by one, let’s first compare these channels.

MIUI Forum:

User group: senior enthusiasts and old users. Advantages: Mesh structure, users are one-to-many, so the dissemination efficiency is higher, the content is complete, and some complete ROM flashing tutorials can be posted. Disadvantages: Not as timely as Weibo. What Xiaomi does in this channel: It collects old users from earlier years, meets their needs for products, and receives BUG feedback (old Mi fans are all here).

Weibo, Toutiao:

User group: ordinary users (including potential users); Advantages: mesh structure, users are one-to-many, so the communication efficiency is higher and the timeliness is higher; Disadvantages: users have weak relationships and do not know each other. Content fragmentation; what Xiaomi does in this channel: product promotion, event marketing , and activity marketing .

WeChat public account :

User base: users who need services; Advantages: users have strong relationships and are friends with each other; Disadvantages: non-mesh structure, unable to spread efficiently; What Xiaomi does in this channel: provide user services in the form of service accounts.

QQ Space:

User group: ordinary users (including potential users); Advantages: mesh structure, users are one-to-many, so the communication efficiency is higher. The timeliness is high and the users have strong relationships; Disadvantages: the channel is now in decline; What Xiaomi does in this channel: product first launch (not done now).

The following is an analysis of how Xiaomi improves participation in each channel.

Game 6: Gathering of old users

Recently, Xiaomi held an "Orange Run" event on the MIUI forum. This event was not held on the first day, but originated from Xiaomi's popcorn event. The popcorn event is actually a gathering of users. It does not promote products, but just allows users to get together and have fun.

Let’s take a look at the activity screenshots:

Activity distribution channel: MIUI Forum

Activity gameplay: online + offline.

The online gameplay is: download Xiaomi Sports, accumulate a certain number of days of running, and you can get medals and rewards. The offline gameplay is: it is actually a fun running game , and you can win some prizes from the Xiaomi ecosystem in the end.

Users participating in the activity: Xiaomi enthusiasts and old Xiaomi users, because this activity is only available in the MIUI forum.

Activity analysis: Whether online or offline, we can see that Xiaomi's activities have done the following points, which are worth learning from:

The theme is fun and healthy; it does not promote products. Many brand activities actually have sales purposes. It is a user gathering initiated by the brand to increase user stickiness and interaction between users.

In the past, everyone interacted online, and activities brought everyone together offline to interact and play together. Of course, what will happen in this process? What topics might you talk about?

First of all, these users are all Xiaomi enthusiasts. Now that they have the opportunity to get together, shouldn’t the topic they discuss be some new ways to play with Xiaomi products? Is there any flashing manual or something like that?

Therefore, Xiaomi provides user gatherings, and word of mouth spreads among users.

Game 7: Create topics to trigger interactions

Xiaomi has many accounts on Weibo and Toutiao. In addition to Xiaomi company, other Xiaomi phones, MIUI, etc. are all creating topics.

Next, let’s take Xiaomi mobile phone as an example to summarize the gameplay of Weibo channel:

Average number of Weibo posts per day: 4 to 6. This number of posts per day might make you feel like you have no presence. But in fact, it is just the opposite. Posting too much will disturb the fans who follow you.

Weibo content: I studied Xiaomi’s Weibo content and found that there is a universal formula: hot spots + lucky draws.

Hot topics are used to create topics and trigger fan interaction, and interaction itself is a form of participation; lucky draws are used to encourage users to convert their Weibo posts.

Why is it important to take advantage of hot topics? Because if there is no hot topic and only a lottery, then there will be no interaction and everyone will leave after taking the lottery. Xiaomi's network marketing structure has been mentioned countless times above. If there is no interaction, this network structure will be wasted. Once interaction occurs, word of mouth will spread rapidly in this "network" similar to viral marketing .

Next, I’ll show you a few pictures of how to use Weibo on Xiaomi mobile phone. I am also a member of this "network", so, let me give you an advertisement. You can follow Xiaomi on Weibo.

Gameplay 8: Interactive gameplay on WeChat

We have conducted a detailed analysis of Xiaomi's channels. Weibo is a network structure, so hot spots are needed to create topics, but WeChat is not a network structure. Therefore, the method of creating interaction will be somewhat different from Weibo. Moreover, WeChat is a service account and also provides relevant after-sales services to users.

WeChat’s interactive gameplay: If we summarize WeChat’s interactive gameplay, it is: product-based interaction .

I looked at the tweets and interactions of Xiaomi 6x and Max 3 and they are similar. Leave a message in the comment section, or take part in the vote, and you can enter the draw. But I discovered a detail: the person who pinned the top comment in the message area was actually a Xiaomi engineer. This is also what we mentioned in method 2. Xiaomi engineers need to stay on relevant social channels to face customers.

Here are a few screenshots to see how these two phones interact:

Game 9: E-commerce ’s annual promotion - Rice Noodle Festival

Tmall has Double 11, JD has 618, and Xiaomi has its own e-commerce platform called the 4.6 Mi Fans Festival. It’s just that this festival is special because April 6 is the date when Xiaomi was founded. Next, let’s analyze how the Rice Noodle Festival is played.

(1) Activity Cooperation:

This year's Mi Fan Festival cooperated with " The Debaters ", and the official website launched Xiaomi products corresponding to several well-known debaters. Users can directly collect the items by clicking the “Like” button, or they can directly place an order, both of which will result in an instant discount of XX yuan.

(2) Rough gameplay:

After Tmall Double 11 , people often reported that some products were not very discounted, but Xiaomi was the one that offered real discounts. Mobile phones are reduced by 200 yuan, TVs are reduced by 100 yuan, and some smart home products are reduced by 100 yuan. There aren’t many Double 11 tricks, it’s just really cheap. This is probably the original intention of the Rice Noodle Festival: to give back to rice noodles.

Grab coupons at every hour: coupons are discount coupons and are applicable to all categories. The sale starts at 10:00/14:00/20:00 every day. There are 3 kinds of discount coupons: 30 yuan for purchases over 500 yuan; 100 yuan for purchases over 999 yuan; 180 yuan for purchases over 1999 yuan.

Limited time 50% off limited quantity flash sale: 5 sessions at 0:00, 10:00, 12:00, 18:00 and 20:00. Some popular products can be directly sold at 50% off.

(3) Summary and analysis:

I also participated in this year's Mi Fan Festival and went to the Xiaomi Mall to take a look. I found that the products are really cheap. So, from the perspective of the Rice Noodle Festival, there are not too many routines and no rules that are difficult to understand.

Judging from some cases of Double 11, this is nothing more than creating a feeling of being very cheap and cost-effective for users. Then because they are easily sold out, on top of the feeling of getting a bargain there is also a sense of loss if you don’t buy anything and lose 100 million. However, the Rice Noodle Festival also follows this rule: the feeling of cheapness + the sense of loss, which is the unchanging core of e-commerce promotions.

It’s just that during the Rice Noodle Festival, we saw more sincerity, real cheapness, simplicity and crudeness, and there weren’t so many deliberately complicated rules to confuse users. This is worth learning from for many e-commerce platforms.

Finally, let’s analyze Xiaomi’s user relationship chain.

If Xiaomi's products are the core blood, then social channels are the bones and muscles that support Xiaomi, and the user relationship chain is the life that truly makes Xiaomi alive. The last method is to share with you the user relationship chain.

Tip 10: MIUI Forum is the lifeblood of Mi fans

Chapter 7 of the Tao Te Ching says:

"The heaven and earth are eternal. The reason why the heaven and earth can be eternal and long-lasting is that they do not produce themselves, so they can live forever."

I think this is not only a natural law, but also a business law. Taobao has nurtured countless people, including sellers, models, online store decoration, logistics, customer service, etc., so it has lasted for a long time. Communities can cultivate opinion leaders, so communities are long-lasting. Xiaomi's MIUI forum can produce KOLs in the Mi fan circle, so Xiaomi has long-lasting success.

(1) Structure of Xiaomi users:

Let’s first take a look at the structure of all Xiaomi users. This structure actually has two layers.

The first layer: ordinary users or potential users of Xiaomi, even mixed with water armies of other brands, the so-called Mi haters. The second layer: MIUI users. This type of users has the following labels: old users, enthusiasts, flashing maniacs, and high loyalty.

So, if one day you find yourself following Xiaomi on Weibo, Toutiao, etc., then congratulations, you are already a potential user of Xiaomi. If one day you start to visit the MIUI forum, then I can guarantee that, even if you don’t have the whole family of Xiaomi products at home, at least you have a Xiaomi mobile phone, and your loyalty is relatively high.

Ordinary users are actually a group of users with average loyalty. This type of users may also buy iPhones, Huawei, etc. Therefore, it is difficult for this type of users to produce KOLs who are influential in the Mi fan circle, but the MIUI forum can.

(2) MIUI user structure:

Next, let’s take a look at the user structure of the MIUI forum. This structure is divided into 6 layers.

The first level: users who have registered in the MIUI forum. The second level: is the authenticated user. Here you have to upload an avatar, which means you are not just registering an account. The third level: VIP users. VIP users need to upgrade their levels by signing in and completing a set of task systems. There are 9 levels in total. Different levels will enjoy different benefits. The fourth level: group users. Users who enter the group are also VIP users, but after entering the group, the users are segmented. Some joined Xiaomi’s mobile phone photography team, some joined the flashing team, and so on. The fifth layer: the place where KOLs emerge, senior users. The users here continuously conduct UGC in various groups, thus establishing influence in this group area. Sixth level: Moderator.

This 6-layer structure looks like a one-way structure from the above picture, but it is not. Let’s take a look at the picture at the beginning of the article:

In fact, the six-layer user structure of the MIUI forum just constitutes a complete network structure.

In this network structure, word of mouth spreads to the outside world through the influence of senior KOL users in their respective fields at the fifth layer. In this process, users in each field have constant interaction and communication. A certain function of the MIUI version may come from the user needs of the flashing team, and the optimization of the camera function may come from the user needs or BUG feedback of the photography team. In this process, users help shape Xiaomi's products, and this is Xiaomi's sense of participation.

summary

Xiaomi's marketing method can actually be summarized as follows:

1 structure, namely the network marketing structure, in which products and experience are the core. Through this structure, word of mouth can be spread efficiently under this structure; 1 model, namely the participation model, the reason why users can spread this brand is because Xiaomi's products and even Xiaomi's brand are created with the joint participation of users; 10 ways of playing, through the iteration method of the product to let users deeply participate in it, through the operation of various channels, different channels have different positioning, but the purpose is to bring users together, increase interaction, enhance participation, and spread word of mouth. Through MIUI's user structure, the effective dissemination of the network marketing structure is guaranteed. Each KOL creates content, influences users, spreads word of mouth, and enhances participation in his or her respective field.

author: Qi Jie, authorized by Qinggua Media to publish.

Source: 2 Minute Marketing