Interview with Thomas Rottach, Siglent
"The customer is the center of our world"
Fortsetzung des Artikels von Teil 1
"China Image", competition, discount battles
To what extent do you have to struggle with the "China image"?
The topic still exists, although China has proven that it no longer has any quality problems. Nevertheless, people are still skeptical about the product from China, especially in Germany. But I hope that we can soften that with a German office, support, sales, local people, and of course with high-quality equipment. I am convinced that once a customer has tried out a Siglent device, he will no longer think of a cheap product.
There is a strong competition in the market in the low-price test equipment segment. How do you position yourself?
That is indeed not quite easy. Competitors have already taken the step to Europe earlier and have now established a solid customer base. In addition, all major manufacturers have their own entry-level class. On the other hand, you can only get there with very good products that offer even more than the others, in which even more functions are integrated, and offer these at the same or even lower price. We express this approach in our company slogan "Best Value in Electronic Test & Measurement": Offer more and tie the whole thing not only to a product but to an application.
But the others are already doing that...
Yes, of course they do. And you cannot pack everything into a complete package for free. The next step is to develop something that the others do not have. This time we were a little late with our spectrum analyzer with optional integrated VNA. It came onto the market at the same time as a competitor's product. But this is a good example of how we can differentiate ourselves from other low-cost suppliers. Nevertheless, the test equipment market is fiercely contested - especially in the low-price segment.
We often hear about discount battles...
Right, and that is also a problem I see for Siglent. The established suppliers already have good prices and are not afraid of discounts. And if you are on the same price level, most customers are more likely to opt for the well-known provider. But "the big ones" also have to adapt to production technology at some point in order to reduce their manufacturing costs. And the hitherto rather simple argumentation of Siglent's lack of local offices, service, and support will no longer apply. It will not be easy, but I am optimistic that our new European strategy will enable us to cut an increasingly large slice of the cake.
- "The customer is the center of our world"
- "China Image", competition, discount battles
- Goals, next steps - and a message to the market
