“Vivo Resonates with the Youth of the Country”: Vivek Zhang, Vivo India

Vivek Zhang, CMO, Vivo India in a one-on-one with PC Quest talks about brand, strategies and it’s plans for smartphone market in India

Vivek Zhang, CMO, Vivo India

What are the different models you have in the three categories—budget, midrange and high-end?
Vivo manufactures a range of smartphones categorized under Y Series and V Series. Our focus has been strong on best in class camera and music technology with an aim to enhance customer experience. The Y series being the mid-range lineup of smartphones
offers phones such as Y66, Y55s and Y53 which are priced under Rs 15,000. The V series smartphones such as the latest V5s, V5 Plus and the V5 Plus IPL Limited Edition, are the high-end range offerings which comes with a price tag of under Rs 30,000.
Currently, we are not focusing on venturing into the budget smartphone category. However, the possibility cannot be ruled out completely. Our focus is to establish Vivo as a global premium smartphone brand and offer our valued customers a seamless experience. And our latest innovation i.e. V5s is a testimony to our ongoing efforts towards establishing as the premium brand focused for Camera and Music. In fact, to add to this the recent launch of the blue variant of V5s was such a success that the phones were sold out online the very first day.

Technology wise, what will be the USPs of Vivo phones over your competitors?
USP of our phones has always been the path breaking technology coupled with superior camera experience and premium feeling that a customer gets using the device.

What are some of the key focus areas for Vivo in India? What will be your market share currently in India?
Vivo is a young brand which resonates with the youth of the country. Vivo has established itself as a global premium smartphone brand and as per the latest IDC report, we have over 10.5% market share in India. Our association across domains like general entertainment
channels, award shows such as IIFA and SIIMA, sporting leagues like FIFA, IPL and Pro-Kabaddi and digital platform like Hotstar has helped us a great deal in engaging with the right audience. We believe our innovation and associations are in line with our objective & help us enhance and strengthen brand affinity amongst Indian audience.
Please share your plans on enhancing your channels and distribution in India.
Considering the unique characteristics of the diverse Indian market we understand that it is important to be able to provide a first-hand experience opportunity where the audience engages with the product.We have invested significantly to develop a sound  distribution channel and establish the connection with our Indian customers. This, in return, has helped us understand the evolving demands across different segments and satiate those consumer demands.

With over 30,000 stores spread across 400 cities in India, we are aiming to further multiply the numbers as we move ahead in our journey. The idea behind having such a vast distribution channel is not just to offer innovation at competitive prices, but also to provide our customers with a hassle-free after sales services. The strong channel network has helped us grow in a country where existence of physical mobile stores is of great importance.

What are Vivo’s marketing plans in terms of TV commercials and print/digital advertisements?
All advertisement campaigns that we are doing resonate with our brand slogan “Camera and Music”. They capture the essence of what Vivo believes in, i.e. a global premium smartphone brand with breakthrough innovation for the youth and a brand featuring brilliant camera and an exhilarating musical experience.

We have adopted a 360-degree marketing approach where we proactively tap associations across different divisions. A well thought distribution of funds across print, electronic, digital platforms and offline marketing has helped us maintain a balanced media mix and we plan to continue the same approach.
How much thrust Vivo has given to its offline strategy in India?
Since the beginning, our strategy has been to strengthen our on-ground presence by developing a strong and escalating channel community. We have made sure that we tap in to our potential customer base present across 400 cities, in 22 states of India
with the help of our channel partners.

Being ranked third in the Indian smartphone market with 10.5% market share is the result of the robust distribution network that Vivo has built in India.

How is Vivo’s Make in India plans going?
Vivo is amongst the first International smartphone brands to set-up its own manufacturing unit in the country and our approach is aligned with the ‘Make in India’ initiative. We have invested more than Rs125 crore in the first phase of investment in the 30,000 sq.m
manufacturing facility in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

The manufacturing plant is Vivo’s 7th largest assembly facility outside China with a production capacity of one million units per month. It caters to the manufacturing and assembling of Vivo’s smartphones and reduces dependence on imports. Vivo is also studying the possibilities of setting up the second manufacturing
plant in India, but we would be able to take a firm decision on this only by the end of this year.

What is Vivo’s update on After Sales Service policy,service warranty and Dead After Purchase strategy?
Vivo understands that it is highly important to establish a healthy and competent after sale service irrespective of any consumer product to sustain in a diverse market like India. For any smartphone brand, it is critical to not limit themselves to only manufacturing of smartphones but to retain customer satisfaction
by providing quality after sales service. We are highly focused on user experience and improving the quality of product and service. The whole idea is not just to sell premium products but also complement that with a healthy and competent after sale service. Thus, we constantly work towards building a strong base in Tier II and III cities to ensure hassle free services for our customers.We have 400 service centers across India which ensures that our products and services meet or surpass the expectations of our customers. Thus, we constantly work towards building a strong after sale service environment to ensure hassle free services for our customers.