Marketing Mix of Baidu and 7Ps (Updated 2024)

The Marketing mix of Baidu analyses the 7Ps of Baidu which includes the Product, Price, Place, Promotion, people, physical evidence and process of Baidu. Baidu is a public company originating in China. It was founded in 2000 by Eric Xu and Robin Li and had its headquarters in Beijing. This Chinese company deals in web services and adheres to a worldwide area. It has been applauded as the website with the most traffic and has become a first choice for every customer looking for a search engine search engine. Its competitors in the domestic market are as follows.

• Renren
• com
• Kaixin001
• Tencent QQ
• Qihoo 360

About Baidu

• Type: Multinational technology company
• Industry: Internet
• Founded: 2000
• Founders: Robin Li and Eric Xu
• Headquarters: Beijing, China
• Area served: Worldwide
• Key people: Robin Li (Chairman) and Robin Liz (CEO)
• Number of employees: 36,000

Baidu Product Strategy

In 2015, Baidu was ranked in 4th position in the rankings of web searches made by Alexa Internet. It offers various services to find products, information, and services, which is possible through Chinese search terms.

The new Product Mix of Baidu in 2024 is as follows (Source).

1. Search Services: Baidu’s core product is its search engine, which is the largest in China. It offers web, image, video, and news searches, among others, providing users with easy access to information online.
2. Baidu Cloud: This is Baidu’s cloud computing and storage platform, offering a wide range of services, including cloud hosting, data storage, and cloud computing solutions for businesses and individuals.
3. AI and Machine Learning Platforms: Baidu is an artificial intelligence research and development leader. Products include DuerOS (a conversational AI platform), Apollo (an open-source autonomous driving platform), and various AI services that cater to health tech, smart cities, and more.
4. Online Advertising: Baidu offers a comprehensive suite of online marketing services and tools for advertisers and businesses looking to reach the vast Chinese internet user base.
5. Streaming Services: iQIYI, often called the “Netflix of China,” is a subsidiary of Baidu. It provides a vast library of movies, TV shows, and original online content.
6. Maps and Navigation: Baidu Maps provides users with detailed geographical information, route planning, and navigation services across China and globally.
7. Baidu Wiki: A collaborative, web-based encyclopedia project that operates similarly to Wikipedia but is tailored for the Chinese market.
8. Financial Services: Through its fintech arm, Baidu provides various financial products and services, including payment solutions, wealth management, and insurance products.
9. Health Tech: Baidu Health uses AI and technology to improve healthcare services, including AI-assisted medical diagnosis, health information platforms, and online consultation services.
10. Smart Devices and IoT: Baidu also develops smart devices and IoT products, such as smartphones powered by its DuerOS platform, contributing to its connected device ecosystem.

Baidu Place Strategy

Baidu is China’s top-ranking search engine, controlling 63% of its market share. Its P4P Platform has an automatic online sign-up process that enables customers to activate their accounts. Hence, it has become a marketplace that introduces customers and other search engine engine users to each other through online help.

Baidu also takes the help of third-party distributors to sell marketing services and gives them discounts instead of their help and services. The company provides consultative services and daily reports of total costs incurred through clickthrough. It also provides Pro-Theme services to union members’ mobile users that help them display promotional links of customers on their properties.

Here’s the place strategy of Baidu.

1. Dominant Presence in China: Baidu’s place strategy is heavily centered on the Chinese market, which has established itself as the leading search engine and internet service provider. Its services are tailored to meet Chinese users’ specific needs and preferences, including language and cultural considerations.
2. Global Ambitions with Localized Services: While its primary focus is China, Baidu also aims to expand globally, especially in AI and cloud services. It adapts its offerings to suit local markets outside China, albeit with a more selective approach focusing on regions open to Chinese technology investments.
3. Strategic Partnerships and Collaborations: Baidu has partnered with businesses, government entities, and research institutions worldwide to enhance its technological capabilities and expand its market reach. These collaborations are crucial for entering new markets and developing localized products and services.
4. Investment in Research and Development Centers: To support its place strategy, Baidu invests in global research and development centers. These centers focus on AI, autonomous driving, and other cutting-edge technologies, aiming to harness global talent and innovation.
5. Online and Cloud-based Distribution: Baidu leverages the internet to distribute its products and services, ensuring accessibility and convenience for users worldwide. Its cloud services, AI technologies, and digital content are available online, catering to a global audience while maintaining a solid foothold in China.

Baidu Pricing Strategy

Baidu has put its onus on revenue generation mainly from online marketing. It has created a P4P, also called a pay-for-placement platform, that helps customers reach all those users searching for information about a service or product. It has automated online marketing tools that customers use for creating text-based images of webpages.

Bidding is done on keywords that enable displaying related links and information. The company has also created revenue from Pro-Theme services, and this is based on various clicks on customers’ links. It then shares its revenue with union members per pre-agreed terms and conditions. Baidu has launched programs for online advertising on its websites, and owners and companies share fees generated from such activities.

Like Google, Baidu has a policy of earning through advertising; hence, it is a freemium model. It is free for everyday users like Facebook, but for corporations, it costs a premium to reach the people who are on the site for paid search.

Baidu employs a multifaceted pricing and marketing strategy reflecting its dominant position in the Chinese internet services and AI technology sectors, catering to diverse consumers and businesses. Here’s an overview of its pricing strategy, crafted to maintain competitiveness, drive growth, and foster innovation:

1. Freemium Model for Consumer Services: Baidu utilizes the freemium model for its consumer-facing products, such as Baidu Cloud storage and AI-powered apps. This approach allows users to access basic features for free, while more advanced features, greater storage capacities, or enhanced functionalities require a subscription or payment. This strategy attracts a broad user base and gradually encourages upgrades, maximizing user engagement and revenue generation over time.
2. Competitive Pricing for Online Advertising: Baidu adopts competitive pricing strategies to attract and retain advertisers in its core search engine and online advertising business. Given the fierce competition in China’s digital advertising market, Baidu sets its ad pricing competitively, offering various options based on pay-per-click (PPC), impressions, or targeted advertising campaigns. This flexibility ensures businesses of all sizes, from small local businesses to large corporations, can leverage Baidu’s vast user base for their marketing efforts.
3. Value-Based Pricing for AI and Cloud Solutions: Baidu employs a value-based pricing strategy for its B2B services, especially in AI and cloud computing. This approach involves setting prices based on the perceived value these advanced technologies bring to businesses rather than purely on cost-plus or market-based pricing. By highlighting the efficiency gains, innovation potential, and competitive advantages that their AI and cloud solutions provide, Baidu can command premium prices for these cutting-edge services.
4. Subscription Models for Content Platforms: For digital content platforms like iQIYI, Baidu leverages subscription models to generate steady revenue streams. This strategy ensures a consistent user experience accessible from ad interruptions and capitalizes on the growing demand for high-quality, on-demand video content. Through tiered subscription levels, Baidu meets diverse consumer preferences, offering various price points for access levels, content, and exclusivities.
5. Dynamic Pricing for Niche Services: In specialized areas such as fintech and health tech, Baidu might adopt dynamic pricing strategies that reflect market demand, regulatory changes, and technological advancements. This allows Baidu to quickly adapt to market conditions, regulatory environments, and competitive pressures, ensuring its pricing remains relevant and attractive to users and businesses.

Baidu’s pricing strategy is carefully designed to balance market penetration, user acquisition, and revenue growth while investing in long-term user relationships and technological innovation. This approach enables Baidu to maintain its mobile search leadership and expand its influence in the rapidly evolving digital landscape.

Baidu Promotion Strategy

Every product needs to be marketed to increase its visibility. Baidu has an advertising product titled Baidu Tuiguang, similar to Adsense and Google Adwords. This advertising platform adheres to a policy of pay-per-click and enables an advertiser to show his ad in search-result pages of Baidu and its other websites and search engines that are linked to it. Baidu also markets itself through these ads, and because its market reach is so high, the investment towards self-myself-marketing is low because it is using its programs.

The company also sells its products in the local market through an efficient network that comprises resellers. The main drawback of this Chinese site is that its administrative tools are in its national language, which makes it difficult for others to use; hence, it has started a tool with an English language interface for advertising programs on Baidu. This service applies to advertisers with business addresses registered in China or its associated regions.

Some Recent Video ads and Print ads for Baidu are:

Baidu People Strategy

The “People” component is crucial in the service marketing mix context, particularly for a technology and service-driven company like Baidu. This aspect focuses on the employees, management, customer service representatives, and even the users of Baidu’s services, highlighting the significance of human capital in delivering value and building a competitive advantage. Here’s an exploration of the “People” factor within Baidu’s marketing strategy:

1. Highly Skilled Workforce: Baidu strongly emphasizes attracting, developing, and retaining a highly skilled workforce. It employs some of the world’s leading scientists, engineers, and professionals in artificial intelligence, computer science, and other technologies. This talent pool is fundamental to Baidu’s capacity for innovation, particularly in AI, search technologies, and cloud computing.
2. Customer-Centric Service Teams: Baidu’s commitment to customer satisfaction is evident in its investment in customer service and support teams. These teams are trained to offer prompt, knowledgeable, and friendly service to ensure a positive user experience across all Baidu platforms. Their ability to efficiently address user issues plays a critical role in maintaining high customer satisfaction and loyalty.
3. Leadership and Visionary Management: Baidu’s leadership team, including its co-founder, Robin Li, is known for its visionary approach to technology and business strategy. The management’s focus on long-term innovation rather than short-term gains has positioned Baidu as a leader in China’s internet and AI sectors. Their strategic decisions influence the company’s direction, culture, and reputation in China and internationally.
4. Collaborative Culture: Baidu fosters collaboration and continuous learning among its employees. This environment encourages innovation, with teams working to solve complex problems and develop new products and services. Baidu’s culture is centered around the “Simple and Reliable” principle, reflecting its commitment to creating user-friendly and dependable technologies.
5. User Community Engagement: Beyond its internal people, Baidu also actively engages with its vast user community. This includes forums, feedback mechanisms, and community-driven content on platforms like Baidu Tieba. By nurturing a vibrant online community, Baidu ensures its users are not just passive consumers of its services but active participants in its ecosystem. This engagement provides valuable insights into user needs and preferences, guiding product development and enhancement.

Baidu Process Strategy

The “Process” element in Baidu’s service marketing mix involves the procedures, mechanisms, and flow of activities consumed by its services. This aspect is critical for ensuring that the delivery of Baidu’s services is efficient, customer-friendly, and consistent with the company’s standards for quality and innovation. Here’s a detailed look at the “Process” aspect within the Baidu marketing mix:

1. User-Centric Design and Development: Baidu’s process begins with deeply understanding its users’ needs and preferences. The design and development of Baidu’s services, from its search engine to AI technologies, are user-centric. This approach ensures that products are intuitive, easy to use, and tailored to provide value to the user. Based on user feedback and behavior analysis, regular updates and iterations are part of the process.
2. Seamless Integration Across Services: Baidu emphasizes the seamless integration of its various services. Whether users are switching between Baidu’s search, cloud, AI, or content services, the process is designed to be smooth and interconnected. This integration enhances user experience and encourages the adoption of multiple Baidu services, creating a cohesive ecosystem.
3. Data-Driven Decision-Making: Its reliance on data analytics and AI is at the core of Baidu’s process. From optimizing search algorithms to personalizing user experiences on iQIYI, data drives decision-making. This approach ensures that Baidu’s services evolve based on solid data insights, improving user satisfaction and service efficiency.
4. Efficient Customer Service and Support: Baidu has developed a comprehensive customer service and support process, including online help centers, AI-powered chatbots, and hot customer service hotlines. This multi-channel approach ensures that users receive prompt and practical assistance, minimizing disruptions and enhancing their overall experience with Baidu’s services.
5. Rigorous Quality Control and Testing: Baidu implements thorough quality control and testing processes before any product update or new service is rolled out. This includes beta testing with select user groups, performance testing under various conditions, and security assessments. Such thorough testing ensures that new releases meet Baidu’s high quality, performance, and user security standards.
6. Streamlined Content Creation and Distribution: For content platforms like iQIYI, Baidu has developed processes for content acquisition, creation, and distribution that prioritize quality and relevance. The selection of shows, movies, and original content is based on market research and user preferences, ensuring a compelling content library that appeals to a broad audience.

Baidu Physical Evidence Strategy

The “Physical Evidence” element within the service marketing mix refers to the tangible or intangible aspects of transaction services that customers use to evaluate the service quality before, during, or after consumption. For a technology and internet services company like Baidu, which operates primarily in the digital realm, physical evidence encompasses the design of its digital platforms, the brand’s visual identity, and other elements that contribute to the user’s perception and experience of the service. Here’s how Baidu approaches physical evidence:

1. Website and App Interface: The design and usability of Baidu’s website and its various application interfaces are critical physical evidence of the company’s commitment to user experience. Baidu’s digital platforms’ layout, speed, ease of navigation, and visual appeal are designed to be user-friendly and efficient, reflecting the brand’s quality and reliability.
2. Brand Logo and Visual Identity: Baidu’s logo and overall visual identity are key components of its physical evidence. The logo, characterized by its distinctive blue color and simplistic design, is easily recognizable and conveys a sense of trust and technological sophistication. This visual branding is consistent across all platforms and marketing materials, reinforcing the brand’s identity.
3. Office Buildings and Physical Locations: Although Baidu operates primarily online, its headquarters and office buildings in Beijing and other locations provide tangible evidence of its stature and legitimacy as a leading tech company. The architecture, design, and technology visible in these physical spaces reflect Baidu’s innovation and success.
4. Marketing and Promotional Materials: Baidu’s marketing and promotional materials, including online ads, brochures, and presentations, are crafted with attention to design and detail. These materials inform and create a visual and emotional connection with the audience, embodying the brand’s values and technological leadership.
5. User Testimonials and Case Studies: As part of its physical evidence, Baidu showcases user testimonials, case studies, and success stories on its platforms and in marketing materials. These real-life examples provide tangible proof of the value and effectiveness of Baidu’s services, enhancing credibility and trust among potential users.
6. Security and Privacy Certifications: In the digital world, trust is paramount. Baidu’s adherence to data protection regulations and its achievement of security and privacy certifications prove its commitment to safeguarding user data. These certifications are often highlighted in Baidu’s communications, reinforcing the brand’s dedication to user safety and trust.
7. Community and Support Forums: Baidu facilitates community forums and support platforms where users can seek help, share advice, and discuss services. The organization and responsiveness of these forums reflect Baidu’s service quality and dedication to fostering a supportive user community.

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