Let’s all take a moment and talk about 1+one.
In the tech business world, market image and reception is largely allotted to major companies like Google, Apple, Microsoft and HP. With such large companies as bench-holders, many small enterprises will find it near impossible to step out of the shadow they cast. 1+One, a company based out of China is one of the select few enterprises which was able to gain a foot holding in the competitive tech market and in many ways, surpass the big 4.
The main catalyst of their success was their aggressive and unique marketing strategy.
While the product is targeted at the Middle class and those who desire to obtain a smartphone but can’t afford Apple or Samsung, their clever marketing strategy turned this “need” into a want, through its invite only policy. This policy single handily converted a basic necessity into a luxury good, uplifting its brand presence and garnering major acclaim over Asia.
The invite only policy follows that customers can only buy the product after receiving an invite from someone who has bought the phone themselves. The operation perspective of this is rather insightful, as instead of bulk manufacturing (as this phone is catered to the masses) the company has narrowed its supply chain into a B-C model where in essence only the ‘VIP’s’ have the means to access the product. From an operations point of view, in the short term the profit from inventory is great, but in the long term, the lack of accessibility may hinder the company, as demand may be high, but the limited avenues of purchasing the phone may deter some customers into buying from 1+One’s competition.
While there are many risks with marketing and launching a product with a limiting factor like an invite only policy, the popularity of the phone is still prominent over the market. Financials show that the 1+One sales revenue took over competitors like Blackberry and Nokia over a fiscal year.
So 1+one represents a smart business move of amalgamating human nature into its business model, where they exploit the idea of humans wanting to procure that which they cannot, this added with the target of the middle class opens up a wide demographic for the company, which may spell disaster for certain niche company’s like Apple and Samsung.
