Chapter 11 BenQ: Selling Touch

In the IT industry, BenQ is an outlier. It is one of the top 100 IT companies in the world, but it resolutely separated from ACER during the heyday of the company. From OEM to brand rebuilding, it abandoned "ACER" which has been painstakingly managed for many years and launched "BenQ" with more brand personality. It is the first A Chinese brand that sponsors the European Cup, as a latecomer in the industry, it often enters the top five of similar products within 2-3 years. Not only is it aggressive, but it often hits the key points of the industry... He also has many fascinating cases: tools of inspiration, JOYBOOK's broadband battle, the story of selling tactile keyboards, the "Milan" conference in Shanghai, and 1% who focus on the future.Alligator family and more.

The forthcoming "BenQ: Happy Marketing" is a comprehensive interpretation of its case stories. This is a wonderful chapter, so let's read it first. In 1998, Xia. Zeng Wenqi and more than a dozen colleagues are doing one thing: looking for dealers all over the street with a keyboard on their backs. For them, the keyboard on the back carries too much hope: this is their first sub-product; this is their first "happy" marketing; this is also the history of BenQ China seeking breakthroughs after its establishment sexual opportunity. Their keyboard seems to look the same as other keyboards, 466MM long, 174MM wide, 43MM high, 104 keys, and the colors are gray, black and white. From the appearance, this is really an ordinary keyboard, but Zeng Wenqi I believe that as long as they are given the opportunity to speak, they will have the opportunity to persuade dealers to sell their products.

As latecomers, they need this opportunity too much. The keyboard was once considered "the most stupid technology in the world". At first, the keyboard of the typewriter was arranged in alphabetical order. In order to solve the problem of some keys being stuck, the American Christopher Larsen Professors invented The QWERTY layout places the most commonly used letters in the opposite direction, slows down the keystroke speed to avoid stuck keys, and this unreasonable arrangement has become the prototype of the modern PC keyboard. The keyboard market in mainland China ushered in the first brand era more than 100 years after the invention of the keyboard by Christopher Larsen Professors. In 1995, Taiwan's "Little Sun" accounted for more than 50% of the northern market, and Zhongguancun was full of dealers selling "Little Sun".By 1997, "Little Sun" was in full swing. It is said that the market share of a single brand was as high as 70%. Sun pattern with 9 rays).

BenQ China officially began to produce keyboards in 1995. At that time, it was mainly an OEM, and its design was also placed in Taiwan.How to promote the keyboard in the mainland?Is it to redesign a product that is suitable for the domestic market and can compete with Little Sun?Or continue to use the Taiwan BenQ keyboard? As an OEM, BenQ obviously lacks personality in the mainland, and there is no ready-made brand platform to operate. In the hearts of ordinary consumers, BenQ is completely a "stranger". To compete with a brand with a market share as high as 70%, there is little possibility of success in marketing except price wars. Can BenQ choose price wars?

This year, "China Computer News" announced a factor for consumers to choose a keyboard. The first is the brand, the second is the cost performance, and the third is the lifespan. Among the top five, none of them are perceptual factors. In the same year, Zhongguancun stated in another survey that the most critical factor for consumers to choose a keyboard is its percussion life.All brands - including Little Sun - use longevity and cost-effectiveness as the main selling points in their publicity. Judging from these "key factors", the advantages of BenQ China are not obvious.

"This is a chaotic market dominated by price competition. It is difficult for BenQ to choose a selling point if it wants to enter such a mature market," Zeng Wenqi said. BenQ has a characteristic. Every time it enters a new product field, it starts from the technical aspect. This is closely related to Li Yaokun’s technical background. Li Kunyao has repeatedly stated that to enter an industry, one must master its core technology .The keyboard is a relatively low-tech product. At that time, there were countless Chinese underground factories counterfeiting it in a small sun.How to make a difference technically?

"Keyboards are the most in contact with people among PC peripherals. For such an important product, all brands are talking about price and service life." In 1996, BenQ's keyboard product manager Wang Ling recalled, "Comfort, power, sensitivity, etc. It’s not within the scope of consideration.” BenQ began to look for product features from these indicators. In the first half of 1997, the concept of tactility was first brought up in BenQ's design center. Designers of BenQ believe that the use of a keyboard is a process of finger touch, and the comfort of the touch process directly determines the quality of a keyboard. After getting the unanimous approval of the marketing department and product department, BenQ designers began to argue for this statement. Provide technological innovation.

It was at this time that China's first keyboard tactile map was produced. BenQ decomposes the process of people hitting the keyboard, and then through the analysis of the key pre-pressure, it is believed that in the process of people hitting the large keyboard, according to the change of the force on the fingertips, the fingertips can touch the BenQ keys until they are fully pressed. The following process is divided into three stages. When the finger touches the keyboard, in order to prevent the keycap from shaking left and right, a certain resistance force (point A) is applied to the keycap in advance.This can be clearly felt when the finger touches the keycap.In other words, only when the finger pressure is greater than the resistance at point A, can the button be pressed down.For example, when stepping on the brakes, if the pedal resistance is too large, the driver will struggle. If the resistance is too small, the brakes will be too sensitive and difficult to control.However, the BenQ keyboard has undergone repeated tests by engineers, and the resistance set at point A is just right. Point B is the place with the greatest resistance during the entire pressing process. It is between 45g and 75g, which is just the best range that the human body can bear.

If the pressure at point B exceeds 75g, it will make the user feel very stiff, and if it is less than 45g, it will make the touch feel soft and weak.In fact, from A to B is the first stage of the BenQ keyboard's three-stage travel.Although this process occurs in an instant, it is a very important part of forming a good touch of the keyboard.Appropriate pressure can give the fingertips a comfortable response, and the rhythm of the pressure change is neither too fast nor too slow, and then enters the second stage of the BenQ keyboard's three-stage travel from point B.Different from the rapid climb of the pressure curve in the first stage, this stage brings a distinct sense of weightlessness, which means that the button has been pressed down, and the gap between them is also worth studying.If it is too small, there is no obvious feeling, and if it is too large, it will give people a long-term weightlessness response.If you step on the brakes, it should appear that after a slow decline, there will be a process of falling to the bottom quickly.So when does the specific whereabouts mean that the brakes have really been completed?If it is a keyboard, to what extent can the signal be accepted by the PC?For this reason, the designers of BenQ added a unique D point (twitch point) immediately after C point.It can not only send a clear and clear signal to the user, but also effectively prevent missed typing, which is particularly important when the user is typing quickly.In order to produce this D point, BenQBenQ made slight improvements to the silicone structure inside the keyboard.From point D onwards, it enters the third stage.This is a gently rising curve, which can reduce the vibration to the fingers, thereby relieving the fatigue of the fingertips when typing on the keyboard.

Through the setting of several key points of A, B, C, and D, the keyboard brings a unique three-stage paragraph touch to the user.The whole process is both soft and elastic, which not only effectively protects fingers, but also reduces the noise generated when typing on the keyboard. The first keyboard in the history of BenQ with touch as the creative point was born. "No one has ever talked about touch in the past." Zeng Wenqi, who has a strong Taiwanese accent, said, "We have redefined the industry's product standards, and our keyboard has become the only keyboard on the market that talks about touch."

In order to realize the sensibility and scientificity of the keyboard touch, BenQ has also improved the process materials, and made some comprehensive innovations involving the core technology of the keyboard, such as the keycap and the spring piece behind the keycap, and even used the US military's anti-corrosion Unlined material to make the keyboard. But whether it is the improvement of the shuttlecock hat or the use of tactile ABCD to illustrate, BenQ's keyboard is still a cold technical product, and another problem has arisen for BenQ-after finding a good selling point, how to sell it? ? BenQ's first keyboard advertisement is regarded by many people as its exquisite work of explaining the sense of touch. This classic work, which is still remembered in the minds of BenQ people, has also caused great controversy in the industry. The idea of ​​this advertisement of BenQ was proposed by Zeng Wenqi. "How can the keyboard be expressed in a sensual way? We made an exaggerated advertisement. There is a bra on the top, and a mouse is pressed underneath. We said that touching (the keyboard) should be like touching women's underwear." Zeng Wenqi recalled, "Women's Underwear is very intuitive, regardless of men or women, people who see it will want to bring you something, and many people will think about how it feels." The feeling of touching the mouse is the same as touching women's underwear. This bold and imaginative work expresses the tactile feeling of BenQ keyboard very vividly, and was immediately recognized by everyone including the advertising company. In addition to placing this advertisement on professional electronic media, BenQ also placed outdoor advertisements in some cities, and there were even some negative media reports in these cities. In Nanjing, some media said that this advertisement affected the city appearance, and asked BenQ to withdraw the advertisement. , and finally let it go. After the advertisement came out, BenQ mobilized its employees to put up posters everywhere. "As soon as someone took my poster away, we put it up again, where we had time. The dealers also worked hard with us, and there was a 'revolutionary' feeling." Zeng Wenqi said. With the large-scale launch, BenQ's underwear keyboard advertisement has gained a lot of attention in a short period of time. The bold and unique advertisement provides evidence for the tactile feeling of the keyboard. After BenQ's underwear keyboard ad, another work that also caused controversy was launched.Wang Fei, who had been in BenQ for two years at that time, still felt helpless when recalling this story. "Around 1999, we still made a fuss about the touch, so we made an advertisement for 'Dove'. Dove has always provided a silky and smooth taste to the outside. We said that a good keyboard should be like 'good chocolate'. Feeling'. I remember very clearly that the picture in the advertisement is a Dove outer packaging, and when it is torn apart, it is a keyboard." On the eve of the Spring Festival, a letter from a lawyer from the UK came to Suzhou, and the recipient was Wang Fei: "We opened it and saw that it was sent by Dove from the UK. It was just the Spring Festival and everyone was on holiday. The British said, Our advertisement is infringing, the British chose such a time, I was very nervous at that time, and the boss went home. I don’t know what to do.” The advertisement became the defendant. Fortunately, the serious British gentleman did not continue to pursue the case, and this so-called infringement lawsuit did not go to court in the end. In addition to advertising ideas, BenQ also planned a large number of SP activities to promote the touch of the keyboard. In 1998, the domestic pager market was still in a period of high development. BenQ launched cooperation with the largest domestic paging stations. It is often concentrated on a few keys, and the requirements for hand feeling are very high. BenQ donated thousands of keyboards to these paging stations at that time, providing free trials, but asked the paging stations to write trial reports for BenQ keyboards, and the effect of this promotion was very good. "Later, many paging station ladies who received free keyboards from us wrote trial reports for us. Since then, many paging stations have proposed to use our keyboards. They think that they not only have a long lifespan, but also feel good in the hand." Wang Ling recalled. In 2003, BenQ launched a new keyboard with X architecture, which raised the definition of "tactile" keyboard to a new level. This keyboard combines the comfortable key travel of traditional PC keyboards with the thin and quiet keyboard of notebooks. First, in BenQ's introduction materials about the BENQX architecture keyboard, BenQ described the feel of this keyboard as follows: "The X-structure keyboard moves in a forced motion through two sets of parallel four-bar linkages, so that users can enjoy a smooth and consistent feel when pressing the four corners of the key surface. The keycap is active. The rod transmits the key power, and the two passive X-stand parallel brackets produce a linkage effect, which distributes the force of the key to the substrate and triggers the capacitive switch. While reducing the thickness of the keyboard, it maintains BENQ's unique "three-stage style" 'Tactile." The pinnacle of tactile keyboard technology appeared in 2004. In July of this year, BenQ’s AM805 unparalleled dual-keyboard and mouse set won the IF Design Award of the 2004 International Design Forum hosted by the German IF Hannover International Forum Design Company. IF is the highest level award in the field of craft design in the world. BenQ's tactile keyboard has gone beyond in the climax again and again. Excellent and effective advertising quickly made consumers accept the idea of ​​tactile keyboards, and at the same time, a large number of domestic professional media also suddenly changed their promotion of keyboard standards—they began to use the tactile feel of the keyboard as a choice. an important indicator of . Inside BENQ, a channel war centering on the promotion of tactile keyboards was officially launched. Unlike the earliest keyboard products that can be seen and spoken, BenQ’s tactile keyboard sells the invisible and indescribable “tactile feeling”. BenQ must go out. "In that year, perhaps the most common sentence we said was 'knock and see, you knock and see'." Li Kai, who was the first to enter the marketing department of BenQ in China, said. As you can imagine, as an emerging brand, big distributors will not pay special attention to you, while small distributors will not recognize you.In other words, this is the way that "small brands" like BenQ have to go. For a long time, "door-to-door sales" has become the main job of all BenQ sales staff.They traveled all over the world, looking for people to experiment with the touch of BenQ keyboards, and asked them to compare and tap different keyboards. Wang Fei, who only joined BenQ in 1998, experienced this period of youth. "When we first came to (BenQ), keyboards and monitors were just beginning to be made, probably in 1998, we all went out with our own keyboards on our backs, looking for salesmen in electronic stores one by one, telling them our definition of keyboard touch, why keyboards To choose a good touch, why does our keyboard emphasize the touch, why the touch is good, what is the three-stage touch." Wang Fei recalled. From 1997 to 1998, PC peripheral companies in China talked about performance and specifications everywhere, and only a group of BenQ people ran around the world to tell others: how does the hand feel when using their keyboards; Different pressures are beneficial to the health of the human body. The design of the left and right keyboards will make the user's wrists not feel tired... In a market where the rules are far from being established and the direction of the game changes frequently, good appeal points are often accepted in a short period of time. BenQ's tactile keyboard is a very good case.At the same time, the popularity of the advertisement and the technical guarantee of the tactile keyboard also made dealers begin to accept this unique keyboard. "Tap to see, you to tap to see" this keyboard has a name called ERGO in BenQ. .Thanks to the efforts of BenQ people, the distribution of "ERGO" has been increased in a short period of time, and a large number of distributors have begun to order BenQ keyboards. However, as a high-end product, "ERGO" has not become the main product of BenQ to seize the market. Rather, it is the 52V that follows it. The 52V, which BenQ dealers call the blade type, is a keyboard with a simple appearance and a relatively low price. It was around 100 yuan when it was launched.Soon, 52V became the best-selling keyboard in the market at that time. From 1998 to 2002, the Chinese keyboard market was full of 52V—except for BenQ’s genuine products, some low-quality counterfeit products from underground factories Appear and flow to the market. Selling "tactile feeling" succeeded in one fell swoop. When the tactile feeling of the keyboard was recognized, BenQ also adopted the method of empirical advertising to promote some keyboards with special selling points. 52M is a waterproof keyboard launched by BenQ, designed by Giorgio Yarrow - Giorgio Yarrow is the designer of the world-renowned car brand BMW. The keyboard he designed for BenQ has also become the first car brand Personalized keyboard with high industrial technology content designed by designers. "The 52M keyboard is the first waterproof keyboard we launched. At that time, it cost more than 120 yuan, and many keyboards were only 30 or 40 yuan. This is a product with a selling point. Many people like to drink coffee or tea while playing on the computer. Think about this market point." Wang Fei said. In order to promote 52M, BenQ made hundreds of waterproof booths. The booths are directly equipped with water pumps. The keyboards are placed in the reservoirs of the booths. The water flows directly onto the keyboards. The water flows from the specially designed sinks of the keyboards without damage chip. The waterproof booth was displayed at the storefront of the dealer, which was very intuitive and attracted many people to watch.In a few months, as long as there is a booth, the sales of BenQ52M and other keyboards have increased rapidly. From the perspective of the development of BenQ China, apart from 52M, the 52V launched at the end of 1998 can be considered as a flagship product of BenQ keyboard. There was a certain sound, and after that, 52V became BenQ's heavy blow to the market, breaking the keyboard market. "The first place in the country is the genuine BenQ, the second place is the parallel import BenQ, and the third place is other brands." In 2000, when a media summarized the keyboard market at the end of the year, it was described. This kind of statement will make many sales people excited. As the chief planner of BenQ's China marketing, Zeng Wenqi said that from a marketing perspective, BenQ has chosen a very good selling point and created a standard that has never been seen in the market. . In fact, what BenQ has created is a marketing example of a latecomer successfully subverting a leading brand in a mature market—it created a brand new concept, and then found a blank area that was completely painted by itself. In addition, from the perspective of the market promotion process of BenQ keyboards, BenQ adopts the method of defining the brand with high-end products and occupying the market with low-end products. This approach will make it easier to gain brand recognition in a relatively chaotic market: consumers will think that Products of the same brand have the same characteristics, and the lower price is in an acceptable psychological position.Between the main 52V in the market and the "ERGO" launched in the market, BenQ has found a profit point. Few brands can make such a leap in one year. In 1997, BenQ’s keyboard was out of the top ten in the market. In 1999, a professional media released a keyboard market share ranking, and BenQ gained market share in one fell swoop. The No. 1 position pulled down Little Sun, who had dominated the market for many years. In 2001, BenQ's 52V sold for 200K in the best month, and the usual sales volume was around 60K and 70K. Only a single series sold more than many domestic brands. The rapid rise of BenQ keyboards is not only the accurate and perceptual differentiated market positioning, but the most important thing is that the overall Chinese keyboard market around 1997 was chaotic and disorderly. Due to the impact of the brand, it is impossible to produce special products, and the homogenization of keyboard products is becoming more and more serious. There is an urgent need for a product with a different "color". In addition, from a macro point of view, BenQ caught up with the new round of IT wave around 2000. The DIY market in China continued to expand, and a large group of builders appeared—they created an incomparably huge space for PC peripheral manufacturers. As Michael Porter believes, there are six obstacles for a backward brand to gain a competitive advantage. The first is economies of scale, the second is product differentiation, the third is capital needs, and the fourth is cost disadvantages that have nothing to do with scale. The fifth is access to distribution channels, and the sixth is government policy. In a chaotic market, BenQ's "tactile marketing" has become a marketing model for manufacturing product differentiation, and it has made BenQ leap from an OEM manufacturer with a reputation in the OEM field to a leading brand in the keyboard market in mainland China . Note: BenQ's new VI was officially launched in 2003. It appeared under the brand name of ACER before, and some data and materials in the text are subject to the original ACER.