A Closer Look Into Tencent’s Micro Innovation Strategy
Tencent is the parent company of WeChat which is one of the most popular multi-purpose messaging and social media apps. Tencent is a multi-billion dollar conglomerate and the largest gaming company in the world. The company has grown by leaps and bounds in various fields of technology. Due to its constant innovation and development in each of their products. Apart from WeChat and Video Games, they have products in music distribution, video streaming, cloud storage, and much. The reason behind the success of all the products of Tencent is it Micro Innovation Strategy.
The Complete Tencent Strategy Analysis –
Tencent follows a strict strategy of micro-innovation for the constant development of its products. It keeps up with the demands of the users. It is the same strategy of micro-innovation that was first spoken by Google’s Vice President Kai-fu Lee. As a matter of fact, Tencent strategy analysis shows that the company used the same approach for the development process of WeChat which has led to huge revenues and market capitalization. Every company follows an incremental strategy for their products but this Micro Innovation Strategy differs significantly.
The Characteristics Of Micro Innovation Strategy
Adaptive and Subtle Changes – The products are first developed on the basis of existing products and designs in the market. This is what is referred to as adaptive development. Take the case of WeChat which was previously developed only as a messaging app just like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger and others. But the company kept on making subtle changes gradually which led to the current WeChat app, a multi-purpose app.
Repetitive and Frequent – The products undergo repetitive development and innovations which could be adding new features or simply improving the user interface. The changes are generally small but noticeable. But the small changes are very frequent which is why using the product is so much fun. Also, Facebook keeps on making useful changes every now and then which add to a better user experience. In fact, the success of WeChat which is Tencent’s best product ever is due to WeChat’s Micro Innovation Strategy of integration and iteration.
User Interaction and Feedback – While development is delivering what the users need, innovative is delivering features that users will find useful. Therefore, for the development of the product, user feedback is important for consideration constantly. For innovative, a close watch on the user interaction on the products is mandatory. Depending on the analytics and statistics, ideas of various new innovative features are sure to occur.
The Case Of WeChat
Small Groups – Tencent developed WeChat using the Micro Innovation strategy. The company divided the group of developers into small groups for the development of specific features. This division created small but enthusiastic teams and Zhang Xiaolong was the head developer managing all these teams. This is one of the principal approaches of Micro Innovation Strategy.
Freedom For Innovation – The company allowed every team the maximum freedom to innovate and removed all the constraints. Most of the companies in the world impose constraints on their developers that actually hinder innovative thinking. Micro-innovative cannot happen following a rigid step by step manner. Hence, this is the most vital step that came out of Tencent strategy analysis.
Factors Kept In Mind – The company keeps a constant watch on the important success factors. Such as the market demands, existing and upcoming competitions, and various regulations in different areas. These factors are ever changing and they keep the product grounded. While the innovation is constantly going on in the background. This is how WeChat’s Micro Innovation Strategy of integration and iteration takes place.
Conclusion –
From the analysis of Tencent’s Micro Innovation Strategy, it is clear that in today’s perception that strategy is highly relevant. It is the best strategy to be the hallmark behind the success of any product. In fact, it is a proven strategy and Tencent’s enormous growth and successful expansion in various fields is a perfect testimony. It is about time for its competitors and startups to execute it.
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