The characteristics of logistics products determine that the service difference of logistics enterprises is not very big. Therefore, under the premise of continuously improving the service level, we should start from the brand level, publicize the corporate brand and form the brand advantage. Small and medium-sized logistics enterprises urgently need to change their business philosophy, use effective marketing strategies to promote brands, train professionals to maintain and innovate brands on a daily basis, and build enterprises with their own characteristics.
Abstract: With the increasingly close global economic and trade exchanges, a large number of small and medium-sized logistics enterprises in China pay insufficient attention to brand building in the fierce market competition environment, which is limited to the daily operation and maintenance of their business. If we neglect brand building, it will undoubtedly have an extremely adverse impact on the development of enterprises. This paper first analyzes the present situation of brand building of small and medium-sized logistics enterprises in China, points out the existing problems, and then puts forward some countermeasures for brand building of small and medium-sized logistics enterprises in China.
Keywords: small and medium-sized logistics enterprises; Brand building; Countermeasures
First, China's small and medium-sized logistics enterprises brand building and development status
The brands of domestic large-scale logistics enterprises are well known to customers. Around these well-known logistics enterprises, a series of similar logistics enterprise brands have been derived. However, due to the huge number of small and medium-sized logistics enterprises, the problem derived from this "copy" brand is that the brands of small and medium-sized logistics enterprises are nothing new and follow the trend seriously. When such brands reach a certain number, customers will still prefer larger-scale logistics enterprises. Therefore, this kind of "copy" brand is not the long-term development plan of the enterprise. The brand concept of small and medium-sized logistics enterprises is vague, and managers often think that the brand is just the name of the enterprise.
Second, the main problems faced by small and medium-sized logistics enterprises in brand building
1. Lack of brand awareness and neglect of brand building. Most small and medium-sized logistics enterprises lack a deep understanding of the brand and do not understand the meaning of the brand. Some small and medium-sized logistics enterprises only pay attention to short-term interests, and think that the long-term effect of brand building is not proportional to capital investment, so it is better to seize the immediate orders to benefit. It is this lack of brand awareness that has become the defect of many small and medium-sized enterprises, which leads to the weak brand awareness and limited service ability of small and medium-sized logistics enterprises and cannot compete with well-known foreign logistics enterprises and large domestic state-owned logistics enterprises.
2. The brand positioning is not clear, which can't attract consumers. There is a common phenomenon now, that is, most small and medium-sized logistics enterprises have similar business models, and at the same time, their business scale is similar to the strength of enterprises, and they do not have their own personalized business characteristics, thus lacking accurate positioning of brand value. The types, structures and features of the logistics services provided are nothing new. The main products are also concentrated on express delivery and small parcels, which are very cheap, but there is no difference in the service content, which makes it difficult to reflect the unique aspects and advantages of their own business. Consumers' impression of domestic express delivery companies is not very positive except for the relatively low price. In terms of brand positioning, a prominent problem of small and medium-sized logistics enterprises is vacillating between transportation or warehousing, distribution processing or distribution, and it is impossible to present a clear brand positioning for customers intuitively.
3. Lack of brand concept and cultural content. One of the problems reflected by the brand awareness of small and medium-sized logistics enterprises is the lack of brand concept and obvious lack of cultural content. At present, among the numerous corporate slogans in China logistics market, none of them can be deeply rooted in people's hearts. Logistics enterprises in China often think that providing service is only a necessary condition for their survival, without considering that good service can be regarded as the core competitiveness of enterprises. But in fact, all brand cultures are based on customer service and always put customers first.
4. Poor brand promotion and shallow marketing awareness. The traditional business philosophy of focusing on products rather than services makes small and medium-sized logistics enterprises lack brand awareness, and at the same time, the products they provide cannot be clearly distinguished from other enterprises, and they simply don't know how to promote brands, which directly leads to confusion and inefficiency in the brand promotion process. In terms of promotion means, small and medium-sized logistics enterprises always adopt a single advertising promotion, which can not convey the deep brand concept to customers.
5. Lack of brand management and professionals. Most managers of small and medium-sized logistics enterprises are of low quality and lack of professional brand management talents. They simply don't know how to plan and manage the brand of enterprises, let alone how to promote the brand of enterprises. Moreover, there is a common misunderstanding among domestic small and medium-sized enterprises, and they are unwilling to "waste" their funds on brand management consulting, but blindly follow the practices of other enterprises in the industry or ignore them directly. This makes the brand building of small and medium-sized logistics enterprises in a dilemma, staying at the bottom of marketing, relying only on low prices as a means of competition, completely ignoring the importance of brands. There is no special brand management and support department within the enterprise, and brand management lacks organized and systematic professional guidance and management.
Third, to solve the main problems faced by brand building countermeasures
1. Establish correct brand awareness and implement accurate brand positioning. Small and medium-sized logistics enterprises should be aware of the important position of brands in fierce competition, change their business philosophy in time, enhance their awareness of brand competition, and put the promotion of brand competitiveness at the strategic level of enterprises. It is necessary to comprehensively consider different factors such as economic and cultural environment, industry in which the enterprise is located, competitive situation and consumer demand, and make full use of various brand positioning methods to decompose and position the enterprise brand. Take "you don't have me, I have you" as the methodology of brand positioning and implement differentiated brand positioning strategies. Small and medium-sized enterprises without capital and scale advantages can stand out among many peers and gain higher reputation and more loyal customers only by accurately positioning enterprises and establishing good brand reputation.
2. Improve service capabilities and build quality service brands. If small and medium-sized logistics enterprises want to develop their own brands, they must attach importance to the service itself in the long run. Small and medium-sized logistics enterprises should first clarify their advantages, and then provide characteristic logistics services according to their characteristics, focusing on their own advantages and ensuring service quality. Instead of blindly lowering the price, or blindly following other enterprises, or blindly expanding the scale. Secondly, small and medium-sized logistics enterprises should strengthen information construction and increase investment in logistics software and hardware according to the characteristics of the industry. Finally, establish a customer feedback mechanism to continuously optimize the brand image.
3. Innovate and enrich the brand. For logistics enterprises, if they want to realize the sustainable development of their own brands, they must start from the following aspects: (1) improve the capabilities of enterprises in various aspects, such as enterprise management capabilities, operational capabilities, innovation capabilities, etc.; (2) Combining financing with self-construction, gradually expanding outlets rhythmically, but not at the expense of service to ensure the level of customer service; (3) It not only publicizes the products of the enterprise, but also conveys the culture and spirit of the enterprise to customers, thus forming customer loyalty; (4) Constantly innovate enterprise management, service concept, information technology, service content and marketing strategy, so as to build a lasting competitiveness of enterprises and a more sustainable brand.
4. Build a perfect brand promotion system. The characteristics of logistics products determine that the service difference of logistics enterprises is not very big. Therefore, under the premise of continuously improving the service level, we should start from the brand level, publicize the corporate brand and form the brand advantage. First, pay attention to shaping the brand image. Secondly, we should actively use various promotion methods. Finally, use the resources of old customers to carry out brand word-of-mouth marketing for new customers or target customers. The cost of finding new customers is much higher than the cost of maintaining old customers, so small and medium-sized logistics enterprises should not ignore the maintenance of old customers, but should devote more energy to providing better services and retaining old customers. These satisfied old customers will eventually become propagandists of enterprises and bring more business and benefits to enterprises.
5. Cultivate high-quality brand professionals. Small and medium-sized logistics enterprises must have high-quality brand professionals to achieve the above points. Therefore, on the one hand, enterprises should set up brand-specific departments and hire professionals to maintain and manage brands. On the other hand, we should also start from the inside of the enterprise and train and re-educate the existing personnel of the enterprise so that they can learn in practice. In the end, it can put forward a professional and practical brand strategy for enterprises, give full play to brand advantages and enhance competitiveness.
Four. conclusion
Facing the increasingly fierce domestic and international market competition, only by strengthening their own brand building can small and medium-sized logistics enterprises not be eliminated by the current logistics market. Small and medium-sized logistics enterprises urgently need to change their business philosophy, break away from maintaining the status quo of daily operations, strengthen cultural construction, establish correct brand awareness, carry out accurate brand positioning, promote brands with effective marketing strategies, train professionals to carry out daily maintenance and innovation of brands, create brands with enterprise characteristics and super competitiveness, and make brands develop healthily and continuously, so as to strengthen their competitive advantages and become bigger and stronger.
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