With the advent of the era of brand competition, more and more enterprises realize the power of brand planning, and then enter the era of brand decision-making. They are eager to build their own brand, but at the same time they are constantly facing the panic caused by brand decision-making mistakes. In fact, it is many enterprises that are either too radical or too speculative when planning their brands, which leads to the failure of planning. In order to prevent similar enterprises from repeating the same mistakes, this paper will elaborate five key points of successful brand planning from the following five aspects.
Key one: creating a brand is equivalent to making an investment.
When enterprises create their own brands, they must realize that branding is an investment, and they must use the mentality of investing to shape their own brands. Investors value the return on investment, and building a brand naturally needs a return. Since we want to talk about returns, we have to pay attention to the relationship between costs and benefits. Then, if you don't have the investor's mentality, you can't raise the return on investment to the strategic level, and you don't have enough consciousness to seriously analyze the cost in the process of brand building. Otherwise, enterprises will inevitably produce huge waste in the process of brand building.
In addition, many enterprises don't understand that branding is investment, which leads to misunderstanding that branding is VI design. As a result, a lot of work stays in the visual image, such as corporate brochure and website. In this way, the ideal effect can not be achieved naturally, resulting in a huge waste of enterprise investment.
Of course, there are also many enterprises, although the brand strategy is not very suitable, and even there are great mistakes, but after two or three years, they still live a relatively "beautiful" life. Therefore, until the day of sudden closure, these enterprises can find brand strategy mistakes, but it is too late. This is related to the current special market environment. Many enterprises that look deformed, or enterprises that seem to have no advantages, can still survive. It can also be said that this is one of the key reasons why many enterprises can still develop and grow in a certain period of time without correct brand strategy.
For another example, some enterprises regard brand building as "showing off" or "showing off", and think that spending money lavishly can show brand strength and build a strong brand. In fact, the capital of the enterprise comes from the hard-earned money accumulated by entrepreneurs or investors in all aspects, and every penny cannot be wasted. This kind of "showing off" is more in exchange for the resentment of insiders, which has little practical effect. It can be said that it is the responsibility and conscience of enterprise decision makers to spend every penny carefully. Moreover, advertisements that cannot produce benefits are not only a great waste to enterprises, but also a waste of resources to the whole society.
Summing up the above situation will accompany China enterprises for a long time. However, the market environment has been changing rapidly and becoming more and more standardized. The most direct manifestation is that information asymmetry will be improved. Entrepreneurs must change their ideas, realize that branding is investment, control the cost of branding with an investment mentality, analyze the related benefits of branding, learn how to "spend money" on branding, and strive to get the maximum output with the least investment.
Key 2: Brand building is not equal to big investment.
Brand building does not necessarily require large investment, and there are many strategies to ensure that enterprises can build their own strong brands step by step without large investment. However, many misunderstandings of entrepreneurs often lead to mistakes in brand planning. As a result, we often have to spend huge sums of money to hire stars as image spokespersons, advertise electrical appliances in CCTV, and bombard advertisements for health products to show our strength.
In this way, enterprises can't afford the huge expenses that follow, and they can't stop if they want to enter. Then, between hesitation and hesitation, cash flow problems, or even capital breaks, the enterprise will go bankrupt.
This phenomenon must be highly valued by Chinese enterprises. And as a leader of an enterprise, he must see the importance and urgency of brand building, but he must also pay attention to the choice of strategy. To be a brand, we must combine the current situation of the enterprise, or we will die. To be a brand, we need to see the long-term development of the enterprise and plan the grand blueprint of the enterprise, but we can't encourage it. Any encouragement will cause more or less harm to the enterprise.
Key three: the process of brand building is controllable.
No matter what brand strategy the enterprise finally adopts, it must ensure the controllability of the brand building process, including the controllability of investment funds, the controllability of human resources, the controllability of product quality and so on, which are indispensable.
Of course, when enterprises and consulting companies cooperate to build brands, this controllability needs the joint efforts of both sides to ensure. Entrepreneurs must keep a clear head in the course of business operation, proceed from reality, and choose brand strategy without considering the actual situation of enterprises. Moreover, they must pay attention to remind themselves that although they have to bear certain risks in doing anything, they should not use gambling mentality to shape their brands. In other words, brand building should be slow and steady; Brand consulting companies should fully analyze the actual situation of the enterprise, accurately grasp the development trend of the society and industry in which the enterprise is located, find a suitable starting point, and ensure the rationality of the scheme and the controllability of the brand building process.
Key 4: Pay attention to "things, markets and situations"
To build a successful brand, "events, markets and trends" are indispensable. First of all, to successfully build a brand, doing basic things is the foundation of its growth. For example, the quality of brand-related products must be excellent, and the quality of company employees must also match. For another example, some infrastructure of the enterprise, such as office conditions, production equipment, factory environment, etc. It needs to be upgraded accordingly with the growth of the brand. Without these foundations, a brand can hardly succeed.
Secondly, the brand must have its corresponding market space. In other words, a brand must have a foothold in the market, otherwise the brand cannot survive at all. Therefore, enterprises with a certain foundation, after finding the correct brand positioning and market positioning, must strive to open up the market, so that consumers have the opportunity to experience their own brands, enjoy their own products or services, and finally accept their own brands and be loyal to their own brands.
Thirdly, the ecological environment in which enterprises live is constantly changing, and a brand faces many risks from its birth. If the brand wants to grow healthily and vigorously, the enterprise must clearly understand the "four potentials" such as the social development situation, the development trend of the industry in which the enterprise is located, the development trend of the enterprise itself, and the changing trend of consumer interest. By identifying these four potential enterprises, enterprises can develop products or services suitable for consumers. At the same time, enterprises can also "take advantage of the situation" to do a series of public relations activities, constantly enhance their brand image and win more market space.
In a word, "event, market and situation" are the "iron triangle" necessary for the stable growth of a brand. Enterprises should attach great importance to and implement the healthy and sustainable development and brand building.
Key five: brand planners should stand the "triple test"
We often hear some brand planners flaunt that they can bring sales to enterprises, or claim that they can bring huge profits to enterprises, which are not comprehensive. It goes without saying that sales volume is not equal to profit, which everyone can understand. It is not necessarily a good thing to bring rich profits, because profits do not mean that they can help enterprises survive well, that is to say, healthy enterprises should seek sustainable development, not short-term profiteering. Profit does not mean that enterprises can contribute to the increase of overall social welfare. On the contrary, many enterprises are making huge profits while bringing "bitter fruit" to society. Brand planners can't just think about the sales or profits of enterprises. The profit of the enterprise is only a responsibility that the brand planner should shoulder, and the brand planner should shoulder his own responsibility so that the planning scheme can stand the triple test of "time, profit and society". This is the necessity of social development and the development of brand planning industry.
So, what should the brand planner do specifically? Brand planning first needs to be responsible to consumers and stand the test of consumers. For enterprises or products with no characteristics, products that have no practical effect or are even harmful, we must not go against our conscience and "plan" at will, thus fooling consumers and blackening "planning".
Secondly, brand planners need to be responsible to the society, stand the test of society, and can't plan any activities harmful to society.
Of course, when enterprises and consulting companies cooperate to build brands, this controllability needs the joint efforts of both sides to ensure. Entrepreneurs must keep a clear head in the course of business operation, proceed from reality, and choose brand strategy without considering the actual situation of enterprises. Moreover, they must pay attention to remind themselves that although they have to bear certain risks in doing anything, they should not use gambling mentality to shape their brands. In other words, brand building should be slow and steady; Brand consulting companies should fully analyze the actual situation of the enterprise, accurately grasp the development trend of the society and industry in which the enterprise is located, find a suitable starting point, and ensure the rationality of the scheme and the controllability of the brand building process.
Key 4: Pay attention to "things, markets and situations"
To build a successful brand, "events, markets and trends" are indispensable. First of all, to successfully build a brand, doing basic things is the foundation of its growth. For example, the quality of brand-related products must be excellent, and the quality of company employees must also match. For another example, some infrastructure of the enterprise, such as office conditions, production equipment, factory environment, etc. It needs to be upgraded accordingly with the growth of the brand. Without these foundations, a brand can hardly succeed.
Secondly, the brand must have its corresponding market space. In other words, a brand must have a foothold in the market, otherwise the brand cannot survive at all. Therefore, enterprises with a certain foundation, after finding the correct brand positioning and market positioning, must strive to open up the market, so that consumers have the opportunity to experience their own brands, enjoy their own products or services, and finally accept their own brands and be loyal to their own brands.
Thirdly, the ecological environment in which enterprises live is constantly changing, and a brand faces many risks from its birth. If the brand wants to grow healthily and vigorously, the enterprise must clearly understand the "four potentials" such as the social development situation, the development trend of the industry in which the enterprise is located, the development trend of the enterprise itself, and the changing trend of consumer interest. By identifying these four potential enterprises, enterprises can develop products or services suitable for consumers. At the same time, enterprises can also "take advantage of the situation" to do a series of public relations activities, constantly enhance their brand image and win more market space.
In a word, "event, market and situation" are the "iron triangle" necessary for the stable growth of a brand. Enterprises should attach great importance to and implement the healthy and sustainable development and brand building.
Key five: brand planners should stand the "triple test"
We often hear some brand planners flaunt that they can bring sales to enterprises, or claim that they can bring huge profits to enterprises, which are not comprehensive. It goes without saying that sales volume is not equal to profit, which everyone can understand. It is not necessarily a good thing to bring rich profits, because profits do not mean that they can help enterprises survive well, that is to say, healthy enterprises should seek sustainable development, not short-term profiteering. Profit does not mean that enterprises can contribute to the increase of overall social welfare. On the contrary, many enterprises are making huge profits while bringing "bitter fruit" to society. Brand planners can't just think about the sales or profits of enterprises. The profit of the enterprise is only a responsibility that the brand planner should shoulder, and the brand planner should shoulder his own responsibility so that the planning scheme can stand the triple test of "time, profit and society". This is the necessity of social development and the development of brand planning industry.
So, what should the brand planner do specifically? Brand planning first needs to be responsible to consumers and stand the test of consumers. For enterprises or products with no characteristics, products that have no practical effect or are even harmful, we must not go against our conscience and "plan" at will, thus fooling consumers and blackening "planning".
Secondly, brand planners need to be responsible to the society, stand the test of society, and can't plan any activities harmful to society.