How Razer Became The Go-To Brand For Gaming Gear

Which is the best gaming mouse in the world?

According to PC Gamer, it's the Razer DeathAdder Elite.

[caption id="attachment_21934" align="aligncenter" width="600"]

The Razer DeathAdder Elite.[/caption]

The DeathAdder is also listed as #1 on TechRadar.

How did Razer do it?

Incorporated by Min-Liang Tan and Robert Krakoff in 2005, Razer has since steadily grown to etch itself as a dominant brand in the consumer electronics landscape. (The pre-history of the company, though, dates even further back to 1998.)

With a loyal community following of over 7.5 million on Facebook alone, the brand has evolved into becoming a lifestyle choice for many around the world.

Let’s look at just how Razer managed to accomplish its cult reputation through word-of-mouth.

1: Being the first company to create computer gear for gamers

Razer created the first gamer-specific computer mouse which addressed the gap in the market for quality gaming mice. Starting with the Razer Boomslang in 1999, Razer has since made a wide variety of gaming mice which appealed to various needs of PC gamers.

For example, the Razer Diamondback, released in 2004, became one of their best sellers. It’s improvements in form and function won praise, helping to fortify the Razer brand and generated word-of-mouth.

With a variety of reputable websites like PC Gamer, TechRadar, PC World and many more giving the brand their vote of confidence, both gamers and non gamers are constantly kept excited to know more.

2: “For Gamers, By Gamers” - a motto that shows their loyalty and support for the gaming community

“For Gamers. By Gamers.”

Simple and sincere, Razer’s tagline effectively embraces their purpose of pursuing technological excellence for gamers.

Their enthusiasm and support for gamers and gaming is well known. They actively took part in and sponsored global gaming tournaments for highly popular games like StarCraft II, Street Fighter IV, Dota 2, and League of Legends.

Razer also showed that they were in it for the long run by recruiting players into their “Team Razer” roster to represent the brand in competitive gaming events.

However, it doesn’t stop there.

Along with partnering with globally recognised gaming teams like LemonDogs, LGD, Evil Geniuses, athletes from MMA, BMX, wakeboarding, and even players from professional poker tournaments, Razer gained an immense amount of word-of-mouth traction via their huge and prominent role both within and outside the gaming community.

They’ve definitely proven that they practice what they preach.

3: Branching out and shaking up the market

When the VR bubble started growing last year, Razer introduced the OSVR Hacker Development Kit. With this kit, they were the first company to openly announce it’s support for the open-source VR development community.

Thanks to its affordable price tag and modular design, Razer’s unique offering was met with much enthusiasm.

By continually stepping into other markets and experimenting, consumers see Razer as a brand that is always on the front-lines, supporting and developing bleeding edge technology.

Their efforts at branching out have also been acknowledged - they've bagged awards at CES 2016 for Best PC and People’s Choice for the Razer Blade Stealth Ultrabook and even earned praise for their Razer Stargazer, a high-tech webcam.

4: Being open with their online community

Even when mistakes happen, they have been upfront about them to their community.

When a test coupon code allowing 90% off Razer merchandise was accidentally circulated online, Razer decided to honor their customers’ orders instead of cancelling them.

By ensuring that the community always comes first, Razer continues to maintain a healthy relationship with its supporters, effectively earning positive word-of-mouth for being a brand that treats its fans the right way.

Outside of mistakes, Razer has a reputation for connecting with their fans - even their CEO takes the time to routinely interact with fans online!

From news of a new store opening in another country, celebrating milestones to sharing photos of their fans tattooing the Razer logo, Razer ensures that their community prides themselves in being fans of the brand.

RECAP: How did Razer create Word-of-Mouth that propelled it as the go-to brand for gaming goods?

1. Being the first company that addressed the gap in the computer gadget market - gaming goods.
2. Having a 'gamers first' motto, and actually walking the talk.
3. Branching out, but still keeping the quality of their goods
4. Reaching out to the community sincerely, especially when there are mistakes

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