Introduction Stage Marketing Strategy Analysis On Combine Refrigerator Of Kelon Company

China's refrigerator industry, which has more than 20 years history, has been developing rapidly to be one of mature industry in China. However, China's refrigerator market has dualistic characters due to the large differences between city and countryside. For the one hand, the refrigerator's housekeeping rate in large and middle scale cities is approaching to saturation, and the marketing competition is very fierce. For the other hand, this rate in the wide rural area is very low, and the marketing competition is comparatively weak. Each refrigerator manufacturer has to face the problem of how to seek the market opportunity and win the market competition. Before developing a new brand, the manufacture must study carefully and seriously the circumstances of both market and itself operations in order to catch the market opportunities to show the unique competitive strength, and to expand rapidly the market share and influence. During the course of marketing, the corporation should formulate and implement a set of integrated marketing program oriented by marketing strategy for the different stages of product life cycle. Guangdong Kelon Electrical Holding Co., ltd. is one of the biggest refrigerator manufactures in China. It has two famous brands namely Rongshen and Kelon. It developed Combine, a new brand in view of company's strategy. By virtue of the company's marketing network, Combine refrigerator entered into the market rapidly and gain success. But there are some problems in its marketing. The main problems include: marketing concepts is out of date, so promotion is highlighted while the integrated marketing is neglected; target market and market positioning is obscure without market partitioning; the marketing plan is not consummate in accordance with the marketing features of introduction stage. This thesis makes a systemic research on introduction stage strategy of Combine refrigerator of Kelon Company. Based on the analysis of internal and external marketing environment, this thesis ascertains Kelon's strengths, weaknesses, as well as opportunities and threats that Kelon facing, makes clear Combine refrigerator target market and market positioning, makes a detailed research on key factors to the marketing strategy of Combine refrigerator by using of classical 4P marketing combination incorporated marketing feature of introduction stage and marketing objective, in order to ensure the marketing strategy's implementation. The demand in China's low rank refrigerator market is stronger and stronger because of the increasing demand of low rank refrigerators needed by rural families and urban low-income families. The comparative weak competition in China's low rank refrigerator provides a great chance for Combine to enter this market. However, low rank refrigerator is not a pronoun for a refrigerator with low price and low quality. If Combine refrigerator want to win the competition among the numerous competitors, it must own a certain competitive advantages, especially those unique advantages that can meet the requirements of target market. Kelon company has a lot of strength in marketing Combine refrigerator, e.g., high prestige of corporation, large quantity of remained production capacity available, numerous talents reserved, mature technology, huge marketing network, mature after-sale service network and cost advantage. But on the other hand, Kelon has some weakness in marketing combine refrigerator including the company's resources being scattered, out-of-date marketing concept, and the side effect on the sales of the other two brands. Therefore, Kelon should grasp the opportunities in low rank refrigerator market, integrate and exploit all its strengths, especially cost and technology strengths, to enter rapidly into low rank refrigerator market. In order to overcome weakness and avoid threats, Combine should have definite target market and accurate market positioning, and elaborate a set of integrated marketing plan. Partitioning the market, ascertaining target market and accurate positioning are essential steps toward formulating marketing strategy. Adopting the method of series-factor analysis, which consists of resident place, age, average income per member in one family and education status, the whole refrigerator market is divided into 54 sub-markets. After analysis and summarization, Combine refrigerator defines its target market which includes: the low income stratum of young people who haven't received high education in city, the low income stratum of middle age and aged people in city, the middle and high income stratum of middle age and aged people in countryside, the middle and low income stratum of young people in countryside. In terms of the features of target market and consumer's behavior, and combined Kelon's competitive advantages, the market positioning for combine should be described as: product attribution and profit positioning is to be simple and practicality as well as saving energy and money, user's positioning is to be idle choice for comparatively well-off living, advocated value is to be real benefit, price and quality positioning is to be high quality with low price. According to Kelon's competitive status in refrigerator market, Combine refrigerator is defined to act as a role of challenger in low rank refrigerator market. At last, this thesis make sure, in accordance with the features and demands of the introduction stage, the marketing objective for Combine refrigerator, i.e., creating and promoting rapidly celebrity rating of brand, expanding market share, transmitting ASAP to the growth stage. The marketing strategy for Combine is concluded to hold the product's characters of saving energy and simplicity, distribute at a low price, initiate an intensive and aimed promotion. Some decisions on some of key factors to marketing strategy are made so as to ensure the implementation of the whole marketing strategy. Those decisions aremade based on the analysis of internal and external marketing environment, aims at target market, takes market positioning as starting point, oriented by the competitive strategy of challenger in low rank refrigerator market, closely focus on marketing objective of creating and promoting rapidly celebrity rating of brand, expanding market share, transmitting ASAP to growth stage. Combine's production decision is mainly to meet the basic requirement of customer in target market, stressing simple and practicality in product's function and design, and emphasizing its advantage of saving energy. Combine's price decision is quick market-penetration pricing strategy. This strategy is in accordance with Combine's market positioning, and helpful to pursue its marketing objective. Combine's place decision is mainly to make the marketing channel flat by widening its channel's width, shortening its channel's length and reconstructing the marketing organization correspondingly in order to reduce the cost of channel to ensure the low retail's price, and to get more selling retailers. Combine's promotion highlights on drag strategy, and incorporated strategy with push strategy to strengthen the promotion. The promotion mix model, which includes advertisement, personal promotion, sales promotion and public relation, is set up to allocate all kinds of promotion recourses to make strong competitive promoting activities. The introduction stage marketing strategy analysis of Combine refrigerator will improve and enhance the integrity marketing works for Kelon company, and will works as reference for other relevant companies.