Africa is the fastest growing region for mobile devices in the world, with 444 million mobile users, of which about one-third have smartphones. The popularity of smartphones has also driven the use of 3C electronic accessories (such as headphones, data cables, memory cards, etc.). Therefore, 3C electronic products have a large market in Africa.
1. Chinese mobile phones in Africa
If we use a recent popular online language to describe the “going global” of Chinese mobile phones, it would be: “It’s simply so good that it’s outrageous.” Its successful cases include Xiaomi, the number one in India, Huawei, which dominates the Middle East, and TECNO, which occupies half of the African mobile phone market. Most Chinese people should not have heard of TECNO mobile phones, because TECNO has been focusing on the African market since its establishment.
TECNO is the most popular Chinese mobile phone brand among African consumers. According to statistics, in Africa, 4 out of 10 people hold mobile phones, which is rare in China. Next, let’s analyze several factors that have led to the successful promotion of TECNO mobile phones in Africa.
(1) Photo function
Due to the dark skin of African friends, it is difficult for most smartphones to take beautiful photos of them. After a lot of analysis, the research team of Transsion Mobile developed a beauty mode suitable for African users. It is said that the actual imaging effect is several levels higher than that of Apple. African friends are no longer afraid of “blending into the night”.
(2) Multiple SIM cards and multiple standby
Due to the unstable signal in Africa and other problems, most people have multiple SIM cards. However, many international manufacturers, such as Apple, have unified positioning and generally can only use a single SIM card (although Apple has now opened up the dual SIM card dual standby function to Chinese people, but this is a story for the future). Transsion targeted this point and launched dual SIM card dual standby, triple SIM card triple standby, and quad SIM card quad standby mobile phones, which were very popular with African consumers as soon as they were launched. This is very useful for Chinese sellers because many Chinese mobile phones support this function, including some unbranded mobile phones (unbranded mobile phones can be sold in the African market).
(3) Vigorously develop feature phones
From the perspective of Africa’s overall economic level, it is still difficult to promote smart phones. Feature phones are a good choice. Feature phones are economical, in high demand, and cheap. After all, low price is king. Feature phones are called “senior phones” in the Chinese market.
(4) Music phones
African friends are good at singing and dancing, and they even have a rap effect when they talk. Music is indispensable in their lives. Therefore, Transsion has increased the speaker power without affecting the sound quality. It has also launched a mobile phone with music function and randomly gives away a customized headset, which caters to the living habits of African consumers. Therefore, it is very popular among African users who like music and dance. The marketing idea of randomly giving away peripheral products is also worth learning from for cross-border sellers.
2. Precautions for selling 3C electronic products
(1) The configuration cannot be falsely marked. The brand is not necessarily required, but the certificates must be complete.
(2) Test the phone before delivery. Because refurbished phones can be sold in Africa, some sellers will sell the phone without refurbishing it.
(3) The pre-installed language of the phone is English, not Chinese. The refurbished phone cannot have a password when it is turned on. Google Play, WhatsApp and other commonly used software must be pre-installed. The charger must be a British plug.
(4) The after-sales rules must be placed in a prominent position on the product details page.