The Secrets Of Xiaomi Marketing Success in China

Xiaomi, claiming as Apple of China, has been extremely successful after three years of set up. By the end of September 2013, Xiaomi 2 (including 2A/2S) sold out 10 million in 11 months. MIUI users surpassed 20 million. It is expected to sell over 18 million smartphones in 2013, and the estimated sales will be 30 billion yuan (USD 4.9 billion).

Xiaomi’s CEO Lei Jun was more interested in two data: 30 billion yuan sales will surpass Lenovo and Huawei’s mobile sales, and Xiaomi will become the number one in Chinese mobile sales market; Xiaomi users’ activity was above other Chinese smartphone manufacturers, tied with Samsung.

What’s the secrets of Xiaomi’s success?

Most people thought the success of Xiaomi was its marketing strategies.

When Lei Jun founded Xiaomi in 2009, the first product was MIUI operating system. Lei Jun didn’t want to spend money on marketing, so his crew began building brand awareness in forums. Their staff spent a lot of time on forums, making comments, sending posts and advertising. And they also searched for senior users in forums and picked out 100 out of 1000 to join their operating system design and feedback. These 100 senior users were the base of MIUI operating system, and they also became the first batch of ”me fan”, meaning Xiaomi fans.

Read more: China Internet Watch