In response to: David Aaker
Avid business blogger, David Aaker, brings up an interesting topic regarding Xiaomi and their rapid success. Xiaomi, an electronics company based in China, is the third largest smartphone provider in the world and just last year, they generated a staggering $60 million in sales. It is evident that in today’s generation, the brand that people consider most regarding smartphones are Apple and Samsung. Amongst two phone giants like Apple and Samsung, holding 35.3% of the market share combined, how has Xiaomi been able to compete and become a disruptor in the game of technology?
According to Clayton Christensen, a professor at Harvard Business School, disruptive innovation is transforming an originally expensive and complicated product, into an affordable and accessible one that a wider range of consumers can acquire. Aaker states that Xiaomi has become very successful in providing China’s middle-class and “non-consumers” in other countries with an affordable smartphone due to their unique approaches involving: pricing, accessibility, advertising, loyalty, long-term strategy, and purpose.
I feel as though Xiaomi’s model is the definition of a disruptive innovator. They took an expensive item and turned it into a cost-friendly one that appeals to a wider range of consumers. If Xiaomi continues to follow their purpose of providing consumers with affordable smartphones, they have the potential to increase their sales by a tremendous amount. Being a consumer of smartphones, I personally am getting tired of companies using their brand name as a tool to increase the price of a product. In the future, I would highly consider getting an Xiaomi smartphone just because it is cheaper than the rest, yet serves the same purpose.
