Summer is considered the peak season for the home appliance and electronics sector. The hot weather in Vietnam requires strong support from cooling and refrigeration devices. As summer approaches, home appliance brands need assistance to navigate the fierce competition in the market and gradually win the hearts of consumers.

How to Navigate the Feature/Function Matrix of Products in Summer?

• Feature/Function Matrix

Home appliances and cooling products have a wide variety of SKUs with numerous models. Each model is designed to meet specific consumer needs. Sometimes, this diversity in functionality creates an information “matrix” for consumers when they approach these products.

• Promotional Matrix

In the summer of 2022, most home appliance supermarkets implemented promotional programs with messages like “Welcome the Bright Summer, Huge Discounts” or “Good Air Conditioners, Instant Deals.” Customers purchasing air conditioners during this time received discounts ranging from 10% to 30%, with some products being discounted up to 50%.

Specifically, in March 2023, Điện máy Xanh supermarket organized a discount program of up to 32% for the Beko Inverter air conditioner 12000 BTU RSVC12VT, reducing the price from 10.9 million VND to 7.3 million VND. The LG Inverter air conditioner 12000 BTU V13APFP model 2023 was reduced from 16.2 million VND to 15.8 million VND.

Similarly, Media Mart supermarket offered a discount of up to 25% on the Casper 1-way 12,000 BTU SC-12FS33 air conditioner, lowering the price from 10.1 million VND to 7.4 million VND. The Midea Msmall-10CRDN 9,000 BTU Inverter air conditioner saw a significant reduction of 46%, from 10.2 million VND to 5.4 million VND. (Source: VNBusiness Newspaper)

In general, these massive discounts to stimulate demand are a common strategy among many brands. However, a limitation of this approach is that it can still be challenging to capture customers’ attention if the communication strategy lacks differentiation or attraction.

• Challenges for Brands: The Differentiation Dilemma

As consumer purchasing power increases, brands face the challenge of standing out amidst fierce competition. đi tìm lời giải với thương hiệu và thoát khỏi cuộc cạnh tranh về “giá và khuyến mãi” khắc nghiệt:

Brands Need to Establish Their Advantages Through:

• Features and Uses
• Emotional Media Stories
• Give customers a compelling reason to buy

Going from the STC (Strategy – Technology – Creativity) model, Novaon Digital offers a communication framework to solve the problem through these 03 aspects as follows:

#01: Direct – Delivering Direct Benefits

In this approach, home appliance brands need to address the core issues by providing clear benefits of their products to customers.

Based on the experience of Novaon Digital, the home appliance category can be divided into two product segments:

• Premium Products
• Affordable Products

For each product segment, the user’s demand file is different.” The affordable product segment aims to solve the following problems: Cooling, heat resistance; cost-effective and emphasis on durability. Meanwhile, the premium product segment aims to provide values in: Optimal cooling, Health & beauty, Smart (the ability to connect multiple devices, use voice control,…).

In the role of the Electrical – Refrigeration brand, what the brand needs to do is to orient to affirm the rational benefits of the product to meet the specific needs of consumers.

#02: Thoughtful – Quan tâm tới người tiêu dùng

Based on the perspective of two popular product segments: Affordable and Premium, there are two ways that brands can approach to show interest in consumers. This lies in the emotional values that brands are capable of providing to their consumers. 

• Affordable Emotional offer: Overcome weather discomfort: hot, dry, humid air,….

• Premium Emotional offer: Overcome hot season discomfort caused by cooling equipment: sharp headache, dry throat,…

DISCOMFORT DUE TO SUMMER WEATHER CHARACTERISTICS

The discomfort caused by summer weather includes:

• Heat and stuffiness
• Impact on health and skin

Leveraging the unique aspects of summer weather, Sunhouse once promoted its air fan products with a creative TV commercial. The brand posed the question to viewers: What would you do without the Sunhouse air fan? The video quickly went viral thanks to its delivery of three humorous scenes along with the repeated message, “You can live without many things, but you can’t live without the Sunhouse air fan.”

TVC has brought unexpected results to the Sunhouse brand with impressive numbers such as 1 million views on Youtube and thousands of views on the Sunhouse fanpage

2. DISCOMFORT CAUSED BY COOLING DEVICES

• Uncomfortable airflow leading to discomfort and headaches.
• Effects of being in a closed environment for too long: mold, bacteria, etc.
• Cost impacts: wasted electricity, product durability affected, etc.

Panasonic air conditioners are inspired by the most advanced air purification technology, helping to filter the air for a quality living experience. The brand introduces the unique “Nanoe air purification dance” to convey a modern, dynamic, and colorful lifestyle. The campaign attracts support with the endorsement of the beloved MC Tran Thanh.
Novaon Digital proposes 2 creative ideas that brands can use to tap into their emotions during the familiar summers:

From here, Novaon Digital proposes 02 creative communication concepts named:

ENJOY SUMMER and SUMMER SHELTER.

#01: Quick – Closing customers with swift decisions

“Consumers shop quite… impulsively.”

Many consumer purchases are often unplanned.

Some even believe that taking advantage of deals is smarter than sticking to a shopping plan.

The increase in searches for “nearby stores” proves that consumers shop without a fixed plan.

(Source: According to Google’s search report, 2022)

Leveraging the psychological effect of “impulse shopping,” which is actually observed across many age groups, Novaon Digital suggests optimizing three factors that influence customers’ decision-making time:

Quick #02: Consumer Information Provided

Home appliance products have a relatively high value, so consumers will take some time to decide whether or not to pay for those products. What brands can do best is to provide as much valuable information to customers as possible, as this can help accelerate the decision-making process.

Suitable channels for providing information:

• Brand’s website
• Online news sites
• Social media
• Content from influencers

The more specific and reliable the information provided, the more likely customers are to make a quick purchasing decision.

Quick #03: The Practical Ability for Consumers to View Products

Shoppers desire the most realistic viewing and testing experiences of products.

They are interested in: the color, design, actual size of the device, its suitability for the space, etc. They also want to experience the product to visualize how it will assist them in their lives.

To quickly close sales, brands should provide consumers with the ability to experience products as realistically as possible. For instance, at online touchpoints, brands can design high-level interactive games like VR Rooms, VR challenges, etc. This approach serves a dual purpose: consumers satisfy their entertainment needs while gaining a more realistic understanding of the products they are interested in. This helps accelerate their shopping pace.

Contact Novaon Digital here to learn more about how to apply VR and AR interactive solutions in the customer conquest process.

Suitable Channels for Providing Information:

• The brand’s website
• Electronic news sites
• Social media
• Content from influencers

The more specific and reliable the information provided, the more likely customers are to make quick purchasing decisions.

Quick #04: Convenient Shopping Channels for Consumers

Consumers have a multi-channel shopping habit:

• Multi-channel shopping from online to offline.
• Online multi-channel shopping through platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, etc.

Each channel integrates various product options/methods of shopping and payment.

Therefore, diversifying shopping channels is a way for brands to encourage consumers to make quicker purchases.

Conclusion

Thus, Novaon Digital has dismantled its communication formula to solve 02 difficult problems for the Electrical, Electronics, and Technology brands. The peak season is approaching, brands should quickly take shortcuts in this 2023 campaign to make summer’s key product lines stand out from the feature matrix or price competition.

To receive 1-on-1 advice on tailor-made Digital Marketing solutions for Summer campaigns, brands can REGISTER HERE.

As a combination of Brand Experience Solutions, Novaon Digital harnesses the power of strategy – technology solutions – innovative creative thinking.

With a team of more than 800 experts in Digital Marketing and advanced technology/data systems, Novaon Digital has accompanied and brought success to major customers across 20 industries, such as Peugeot, Huawei, Panasonic, Masterise Homes, Vietnam Airlines, etc. in the Vietnamese market.

Learn about Novaon Digital’s solutions at: