Lack Of Credibility Is The Main Reason For The Failure Of Brand Building.

Introduction: Based on the Internet, newspapers and magazines, radio and television, some experts, scholars, professors and government officials are detached from the essence of brand building. Some of them are out of context, equivocal, and some are insensitive and negative. Therefore, it is very important to accurately explain, answer and clarify the essence of brand building and effectively spread it.

The series of articles on "blind spots and misunderstandings" of Chinese enterprises' brand building are the most common and extensive common problems mentioned by the author in brand consultation, project training and forum speech. It is hoped that a series of articles on "blind spots and misunderstandings" of Chinese enterprises will guide the practice of Chinese enterprises in brand practice, so as to realize the original intention of my writing.

First of all, what we need to understand is that positioning is the core of the brand. brand DNA. At the same time, we need to further understand that positioning is the science of how consumers receive information and how to ignore information (because it follows the principles of mental operation). In other words, positioning is to resolve the unsafe factors of consumers and give consumers a different reason for buying. Therefore, for products or brands, it is necessary to have credibility factors to resolve consumers' insecurity. Otherwise, it is equivalent to a meaningless empty talk, but a beautiful, charming, romantic and illusive legend.

1, the Sun God said: when the sun rises, our love will last forever.

2, the wedding bird said: "the sky is high enough to fly me!" -- (the wedding birds repeatedly revised the positioning slogans. The old positioning slogans were: good news birds, and good news!

3, Panasonic said: we are only ahead of the times.

4, PHILPS said: let's do better.

5, Delta Airlines said: "a wonderful journey!" -- although it is a good slogan, the problem is the lack of credibility.

6, the government of Anji publicize that Anji is the back garden of Hangzhou! - the concept is good, but it lacks credibility.

7, some people say: people bite dogs! - no! Dogs bite!

8, Liu Xiang is a high jumper. Some people would say: nonsense!

9, some people say: Xi Li Ge is the elite of the society! - someone jumped up and retorted: it's just nonsense!

For consumers, accepting or rejecting a new idea depends not only on its substance, but also on whether the concept or slogan is consistent with what they have accumulated over the years.

1, when Coca-Cola said, "we are authentic cola, and all the other cola are" Counterfeit goods When. The consumer said, yes, no mistake! Coke was invented by it. The cola formula locked in the Atlanta safe can be proved. That's the credibility factor.

2, when Crest toothpaste said, "we are the pioneers of" tooth decay "toothpaste, consumers said, yes, yes! Crest was the first to create a formula for preventing tooth decay. The American Dental Association can prove it.

3, when the author gives "Zhejiang Yangtze River Delta knowledge economy club" the position is: "the Yangtze River Delta of China" High-end Its credibility factor is the experience of holding high-end forums for more than 10 years. More than 400 themes salon, as well as the recognition and evaluation of speakers Wu Jinglian, Zhang Wuchang, Jin rock and third party authority, can be proved. But, the founder said, "the knowledge economy club of the Yangtze River Delta in Zhejiang" is positioned as the leader of China's high-end forum, and there is no credibility factor. Because your influence and your business scope are in the "Yangtze River Delta" area of China, not the whole country. It can not support the concept of "China's first high-end forum".

4, when the ice-cream made by the author to an enterprise is positioned as "fresh", it also has credibility factors. Because the ice cream produced on site is more fresh than the ice cream produced in the refrigerator after being transported in large quantities in the factory. Moreover, I have repositioned the ice-cream brand produced by the whole industry as "not fresh" brand recognition. This is a huge advantage, because the competition between brand and brand is between ideas and ideas, not competition among products, tastes and quality.

5, when seven up soft drinks say: caffeinated soft drinks are very beneficial to the natural and healthy growth of young people, parents will say, yes, no mistake, because caffeine will stimulate young people's central nervous system, which may affect the normal development of young brain, which is very unfavorable for the healthy growth of young people.

6, when Jie Liya towel said: we are the first brand of towel. It also has credibility factors, because the enterprise scale, sales volume and mental cognition of consumers can support this concept.

It should be pointed out that lack of credibility is the main reason for the failure of products or brands to the market. In other words, the success of brand building must have credibility factors. It can eliminate consumers' concerns and prevent customers from querying. At the same time, it is important to emphasize that the key to brand building is the credibility of Appeals; credibility is the basis for ensuring brand quality. When the brand lacks credibility, the brand becomes a rootless grass and an anhydrous fish.

1, the main reason why Volkswagen launched the high-end expensive "dash" car is because consumers believe that the public does not have credibility in the manufacture of high-end luxury cars. It should be Benz Corp and BMW that make high-end luxury cars.

2, when the success of the seven drinks soda beverage was successful, it was announced that when there was a seven up event in the United States, consumers said: "Coca-Cola is everywhere in the United States, not seven up." So the sales of Qi Xi fell by 2 percentage points.

3, Wahaha launched a very coke, also do not have credibility factors; because Coke was invented by Americans, so the United States Cola is authentic. This is the main reason why coke is not selling well. Another reason is that Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola have dominated the cola category.

4, 39, Wei Tai launched 39 beer, and there was no credibility factor, because 39 is the cognition of stomach medicine in the minds of consumers.

5, when Galanz launches air-conditioning, there is no credibility factor. Consumers believe that GREE, CHIGO and Otis are more professional than Galanz in the manufacture of air conditioners. That's why Galanz air conditioning is not selling well.

On the battlefield, the decisive battleground is in hills, ravines, plains, mountains and rivers; in business, the decisive battle place is in the minds of consumers. In other words, whoever wins the consumer's brain will win the marketing. Sun Tzu's art of war says, "soldiers and deceitful ways"! Marketing is a psychology of practice. There are few facts in marketing. For marketing, what matters is not the fact, but the cognition in the minds of consumers that is consistent with reality or may not be compatible. {page_break}

1, the "living water" of the farmer's spring (rich in all kinds of trace elements needed by the human body) does not compete with the "stagnant water" of the pure water of Wahaha (using reverse osmosis membrane filtration technology without any trace elements).

2, according to the survey, 90% of the consumers who bought SUV did not leave the road. (because the off-road vehicle is specially designed for driving without roads.

3, a business communication said in the advertisement: pagers, cell phones and business connections can not be small. At that time, quite a few people were covered with pagers, mobile phones and business connections, which seemed to be a showcase of capital. Actually people don't need so many things.

4, McKinsey, known as the top international strategic management consulting firm, has "disabled" a considerable number of enterprises or enterprises' strategic unit business. But it has not affected the rapid development of McKinsey's global business. Because it is the world's "recognized" top strategic advisory body. Such as: McKinsey defeat (operation and acquisition), Guangming milk (merger expansion), Huayuan (through acquisition and merger, accelerated expansion, 2005 Huayuan bank liabilities 25 billion 100 million), Enron (due to financial crisis to make false accounts to bankrupt), Konka (color TV and handset operation improvement), TCL, HP (McKinsey in 2001 led the merger of HP and Compaq, resulting in a loss, resulting in HP's CEO Fei ORENA was dismissed by HP in 2006)

5, a considerable number of marketing consultants spend money on the title of "China's ten largest planners" in order to win the needs of consulting projects. It is this "hat" that flickers quite a number of enterprises. Just like some Chinese enterprises or so-called "celebrities" spend money on various kinds of "famous Chinese products", "China famous trademarks", "Chinese backbone Award" and "China's ten major brands". It should be pointed out that these virtual "hats" are necessary for brand building. They know these marketing tricks very well. It can make them stand out in a very short time. At the same time, a considerable part of consulting business has been achieved. - because consumers are not experts, it is difficult to tell the true and false.

6, the fact is that Xiao Shenyang imitated Song Xiaonian (Xiao Song)'s performance style (Zhao Benshan language). So that song Xiao year had to change the original style of performance. So, marketing rarely has the truth.

Not knowing that marketing is a simple argument for cognitive disputes, perception disputes, ideological disputes, and category disputes, many enterprises in China have grown up and are not growing very lightly, but they are still working hard and doing some experiments. Sometimes entrepreneurs understand the importance of cognition, but the problem is that they think that cognition is a reflection of reality, and that they can change cognition if they change reality. So they are obsessed with the misunderstanding of pursuing better products, higher quality and better technology. - interested readers can refer to my blog article: the one-sided pursuit of better products, better quality and better technology.

From the above case, we can see:

1, consumers are not very rational. People are like sheep and follow sheep.

A, quite a few women often regret buying clothes that are not needed. It is a proof.

B, a part of consumers who buy cars, do not always make a purchase decision because they know the car very well. Maybe it's because leaders, relatives, friends and opinion leaders make a decision to follow suit when they use this car.

C, according to the survey, it is a proof that 90% of the consumers who bought SUVs did not leave the highway.

2, consumers are not experts, so they can not make a correct judgement.

A, a rich car is safer than other cars? The answer is no, in fact, the general cars are very safe.

B, a bottle of Coca-Cola is better than Pepsi and coke, which is not necessarily the case.

C, do you know the theoretical foundation and marketing principles of Philip Kotler? - no, why do you choose Philip? Kotler as your marketing consultant? - because he is generally acknowledged as the father of marketing.

D, do you know this marketing consultant? - not very well! - then why do you choose him to make marketing suggestions for your business? - because he is the "recognized ten" planners in China.

E, why did you choose McKinsey as your strategic consultant? - because it is the world's "recognized" top strategic advisory body. A considerable number of consumers are thinking about the problem in this way.

3, the vanity of the consumer is to blame. {page_break}

A, a commercial communication advertising said: pagers, mobile phones, business can not be less than one! Let business a fire. In fact, people don't need so much.

The increasing number of cars and B has caused congestion in Chinese cities. In fact, there is no need for a general urban family to own a car.

C, for example, the strategic concept of marketing promotion is: new three (house / car / ticket) and old three (sewing machine / bicycle / watch). So quite a few families tightened their belts to follow suit. They are afraid that they can not keep pace with the times and are worried about being eliminated by society. Under normal circumstances, a lack of sense of security is the main reason why people are blind, irrational and vanity.

The success or failure of brand building is a cognitive problem, a market opportunity problem. It is a question of knowing where you are and where you are defeated. Mental cognition is brand fact, and cognition guides facts. In this sense, coping with consumers' opinions, understanding reality and thinking like fish is the right choice for enterprises. It is useless to try to change the minds of consumers.

1, drug addiction will lose family, friends, work, decadence and depression, so the marketing slogan launched by the US government is: only losers are addicts.

2, the public is a small economy car, so it can not produce expensive, high-grade "Das" car. It is impossible to compete with Mercedes Benz and BMW.

3, since Xiao Shenyang has imitated Song Xiaonian (Xiao Song)'s performance style (Zhao Benshan language). Song Xiaonian must change the style of the original performance so as not to be similar.

4, when Ma Ying-Jeou saw that the Chen Shuibian administration was incompetent, corrupt, wind up, unemployment increased, inflation and people's pockets were shrinking, the people of Taiwan were subconsciously forming DPP as an incompetent and corrupt political party. So Ma Ying-Jeou put forward his campaign slogan: "all for the sake of economy!" - pushing him to the throne of president. Obama used the "change" position to win the election for president of the United States.

5, the fact is that a great deal of men dare to brag, dare to speak big and dare to be irresponsible and talk nonsense. At the same time, it left a foreshadow for "tragedy". --- this is the sun's curse and impulsive punishment.

6, masculine men do not smoke light peppermint cigarettes. This is the main reason for the failure of Marlboro to launch peppermint cigarettes.

7, if you are a lawyer, it is best to appear in front of people like this: dressed in clean suits, wearing golden glasses, shining bright leather shoes, wearing a very harmonious tie and carrying expensive briefcases.

8, Pepsi Cola launched a colourless coke, which consumers think is brown. This is the main reason why crystal Pepsi finally quit the market.

9, the Lining brand is somewhat out of date, because now is the era of Liu Xiang and Yao Ming. This is the main reason why Lining's brand is not selling well.

When launching a product or brand, an enterprise needs to tell consumers clearly why it wants to buy your product (turning on the blue light, the customer says I want that blue dress). How do you know what you are saying? (how to prove it? Who will prove it?)

1, turn on the "safe" light. Customers say I want to buy a safe Volvo car. The efforts made by Volvo can prove that the invention of the three point safety belt, the hands-free telephone on the steering wheel, the shape of the tank, the carbody forming once, the side collision preventing steel plate, and the invention of the airbag.

2, turn on the "thick" lamp. Customers say I want the "slowest" tomato sauce. Because the slowest tomato sauce means better quality, better taste and better nutrition.

3, turn on the "leading position" lamp. Customers say I want to buy Tsingtao Brewery which is German flavour and "one year produces West Lake".

4, turn on the "authentic" lamp. Customers say I want to buy Levi's jeans, because the first pair of jeans in the world is launched by Levi's.

5, turn on the "focus" lamp. Customers say I want to use Baidu search engine. Because Baidu's search engine is specially designed for Chinese people, and it knows China best. (Google's search engine is global.)

6, open the "high-grade" light, customers say I want to buy Rolex watches made in Switzerland. It takes a year to make a piece of Rolex.

7, open the "masculine" lamp, customers say I want to smoke Marlboro cigarettes. Because smoking Marlboro cigarettes makes me more manly.

8, open the "anti cavities" lamp, customers say I want to use Crest toothpaste. Because Crest first invented the "anti cavities" product formula: stannous fluoride. The American Dental Association can prove it.

9, open the "Russian origin" lights, customers say I want to "authentic" Russian Vodka. Instead of vodka from Sweden and the United States.

10, open the "Shaoxing origin" light, customers say I want to drink Shaoxing rice wine instead of Taiwan produced Shaoxing rice wine. In the Japanese market, the sales volume of Shaoxing rice wine which is "Taiwan produced" has been decreasing gradually, while the sales volume of "Shaoxing produced" rice wine in Shaoxing has gradually increased.

The key to successful brand building lies in the credibility of appeals, and credibility is the pivot that prized the earth. The far and near fulcrum determines the efficiency and efficiency of prizing the earth. In other words, the fulcrum closer to the earth can be understood as the brand's superior trust; the fulcrum far from the earth can be understood as the primary trust of the brand. The level of trust index determines the effectiveness and efficiency of brand building. The reliability can be divided into five types:

1, the basis of market recognition, that is, market reputation. The basis of market cognition can be understood as the correct judgement of common sense thinking.

A, French fashion, British avant-garde, American high-tech, Italy design, German precision manufacturing.

B and Galanz remind us of microwave ovens, not air conditioners. Wahaha reminds us of pure water, not children's clothing; 39 reminds us of stomach medicine, not beer.

C, the holy land of revolution reminds us of Jiaxing and the red capital, which reminds us of Jinggangshan and Jiefang District.

D, yellow rice wine reminds us of Shaoxing and ham. Let us think of Jinhua and ceramics. Let us think of Jingdezhen.

E, Guangzhou reminds us of "vitality", Shenzhen reminds us of "innovation", and Shanghai reminds us of "business".

F and Germany reminded us of pure beer and precision manufacturing.

2, the basis of brand trust or support.

A considerable part of the positioning concept includes trust grounds, especially the trust status of leadership.

A, fragrance floating 6 consecutive years sales volume first.

B, Budweiser, the king of beer.

C, thick: it means quality, nutrition and delicious.

D, Belgium, there are 5 Amsterdam - Michelin guide tourism city star rating can be proved.

E, Coca-Cola's authentic, original.

The history of F and Wang Laoji's first ancestor of cold tea can be proved by the history of ---170.

G and China Mobile are selling well. Break through 50 million, have you more wonderful!

H, Fidelity Investment, where 12 million people trust! ----1200 million customers account number can be proved.

3, the third party's certification and objective evaluation.

A, China famous trademark, Chinese famous brand product title, Chinese Nutrition Society certification, China's ten largest women's wear brand, the Great Hall of the people banquet special, the world's top 500, music list, China's famous product title, Oriental leisure city and other concepts.

B, celebrity / celebrity endorsement. Hu Jintao takes the red flag car; Clinton and George W. Bush ride the Cadillac.

D, experts, professors and scholars: Philip Kotler of Northwestern University and Potter of Harvard University.

The recognition or evaluation of E, authoritative organizations and media is regarded as China's "Holmes". The West Point of the United States is regarded as China's "Whampoa military academy" and the aircraft carrier is regarded as the mobile "military base". In the United States, Coca-Cola is described as the holy water of the south.

4. Trust in category

A and herbal tea were awarded the title of "World Intangible Cultural Heritage".

B and West Lake of Hangzhou won the title of "World Intangible Cultural Heritage" of "cultural landscape" items.

5, the trust of regional mental resources.

A, China's floor capital, China's capital, the hometown of sweater, and the hometown of hydropower in China.

B, Shaoxing rice wine, Guizhou Moutai, Jinhua ham, Jingdezhen ceramics, Tibetan Mastiff in Tibet, sake in Japan.

C, Swiss watches and banks, Hangzhou's West Lake Longjing, Tibet's milk. {page_break}

E, unofficially recognized fact: 12 of every 100 jackets in the world come from Jinjiang. (highlighting your own manufacturing advantage on the jacket)

Marketing is a practical psychology. Therefore, for uncertain brains, any strategy that helps to overcome consumer insecurity is a good strategy. Because it can defuse consumers' insecurity factors. For the brain with uncertainty and lack of security, and consumers' perceived risk in buying behavior, the following strategies can be considered:

A, emphasize emotion

Ye Dao Gui Gui liquor, Wuliangye gold wine, brain platinum, Taiwan Zhonghua automobile are using emotional strategies.

B, forensics

When people are uncertain about something, they usually guide their behavior by observing other people's practices. Forensics can impact on the unsure brain, attack the emotions of vanity, jealousy and worry, and evidence can also be called "imitation consciousness"; people are always imitating people who think they have taste, knowledge or experience than we are rich in.

A, 1927 lux soap said: ten of the TV stars, nine of them are using their soap to maintain their skin.

B, the queen of Gymnastics in Romania, said: her beauty is due to POND'S cold cream. (attracting 9400 orders)

C, popular (tidal effect)

Usually the authoritative figures given by public opinion surveys and surveys are used to evoke the trend effect, or to attract customers and give people a sense of security by using the words "the fastest growing" and "the largest sales volume", and the use of "popularity" is to remind people what is right.

1, Nike is the first sport shoe, it relies on the fact that many famous athletes like sports shoes to establish business.

2, Lexus is a hot luxury car. It builds business on the basis of customer satisfaction survey.

There are often authoritative figures from businessmen's polls and surveys to create this popularity:

3, TOYOTA said: in the 8 years' survey of automobile and Driver magazine, only TOYOTA cars were selected every time in the top ten list.

4, paracetamol said: the frequency of paracetamol used in hospitals is 18 times the total of all other analgesics brands, and the frequency of paracetamol is the highest in the analgesics used in hospitals.

5, Canon copier said: the first choice for commercial copiers, Canon copiers ranked first in 7 consecutive years.

D, tradition (best to tell a classic story or historical legend).

1, as early as 1919, the "Steinway" piano was called "immortal instrument" in advertisements.

2, "cross" fountain pen claims that its product is "the perfect classic, born in 1846".

3, Beijing's "Red Star" Erguotou Wine bottle was written in 1949.

4, "Coca-Cola" emphasizes its invention process, over 140 years of history, emphasizing itself as authentic goods.

5, "Glen White" Scottish whisky claims to be "the ancestor of all Scotch Whisky". The reason is that the royal family issued the first license to brew ale for the Glenn White brewery.

Trust is the most powerful weapon for brand building. Therefore, in the process of brand building, it is necessary to emphasize their trust status as early as possible to show their origin and identity. It is beneficial to stand out in the same class. At the same time, trust provides customers with the reasons for choosing brands, attracting customers' attention and buying, and helping brands win the market. In the use of brand trust, we must grasp the following questions:

First, in the initial stage and growth stage of the market, we should try our best to show the confidence in the product so as to solve the customers' doubts about the products.

A and Huarun enterprises switched to some "beer brands" after the merger and acquisition of some breweries, and marketing the first beer brand of "snowflake" beer brand with "the first to exceed 3 million tons". Haier strategy.

B, Mengniu's original brand appeal is: come from the prairie, natural good taste! --- emphasize their own prairie origin.

C, sometimes, better products themselves can become trusts. Such as "XX Department certification" and "Hangzhou famous brand products", so as to determine the advantages of their products. When using the trust of product merit, two principles should be grasped: one is the trust form, the best is the accepted fact (sometimes it is not recognized fact, it can produce a virtual brand strength), and the other is to have the promotion power as much as possible.

Second, when a product or brand enters a growth or maturity stage, it should continuously upgrade its credentials. In order to guarantee the highest level of trust, it can be clearly recognized and create a higher brand reputation. What we need to point out here is that we should not use two or more than two trust forms at the same time to avoid the effect of brand communication and fuzzy cognition. The credentials that Wang Lao Ji can use are: the most popular traditional drinks in Guangdong, the largest seller of canned drinks and herbal tea in China.

It should be pointed out that there is almost certain trust in every successful brand. Especially in the process of creating categories, it is the first to hide the most advanced trust basis.

1, the brand is the first in the new category - Viagra: the first erectile drug.

2, the brand is the first of the new technology -- Velcro: Velcro.

3, the brand is the first time division - Nai quil: night cold medicine.

4, the brand is the first category in a small category -- Prius: hybrids.

5, the brand is the first to appeal to a certain characteristic -- the healthy shoes: the shoes that can breathe.

6, the brand is the first to be recognized by the authoritative third party --- the collection of the museum's collection is permanently preserved by the Museum of modern art.

7, the brand comes from the first category of the country's mental resources superiority category - Russia's red card vodka PK, the United States and Sweden's vodka.

Here, we need to remind that a brand process is based on concept. Therefore, whether the concept of positioning or positioning is accurate or not, and whether the positioning concept has credibility is the key factor to measure and test the success and failure of a brand. The effectiveness and credibility of positioning concepts or positioning slogans can be assessed from the following aspects.

First, look at its substance.

A, Coca-Cola: authentic coke! - the first to create Cola category is proof.

B, Budweiser: the king of beer! - sales can be proved.

C, the slowest tomato sauce! - thick: quality, nutrition and delicacy.

D, Anji: Hangzhou's back garden! - - known as the back garden must be very beautiful, obviously Anji is not as beautiful as Hangzhou.

E, Frank rule of credit

Take the name of "Sheng Mei Jia" (family business) and have to do it well.

The public in 1970 will be ugly for a while.

Joey, the most expensive perfume in the world!

Leigh Sterling hates two tastes of mouthwash a day!

Avis only rents second of the steam industry, so we need to work harder.

Second, whether consumers' cognition of this product's accumulation has been consistent with their products or brands over the years.

A, only losers are addicts! --- because they lose friends, lose their jobs, lose their families and lose personal freedom. This concept is believable and consistent.

B, you have tasted the "Shaoxing rice wine" produced in Taiwan. Now please taste the "Shaoxing rice wine" produced in Shaoxing.

C, you have tasted the popular German beer in the United States. Now please taste the most popular German beer.

D, the corruption and incompetence of the Chen Shuibian administration in Taiwan, so when choosing the president of Taiwan, Ma Ying-Jeou said, "everything is for the economy!"

E, Guatemala said: the soul of the earth! - no, Guatemala should be: the center of Mayan civilization! The Maya temple and the Maya population of 45%, as well as the magnificent Mayan ruins, can be proved.

F, Kenya, the largest natural zoo in the world! {page_break}

Third, it is meaningful to look at the concept of positioning or the opposite of positioning slogans.

A and diamonds are forever, and they are forever handed down. (positioning slogans have been used since 1984) - the strategy is reversed: other gemstones will not last long because they are not as hard as diamonds. At the same time, he said with a pun: if the diamond represents eternity, the diamond engagement ring and wedding ring will represent the happy and lasting marriage.

B, Delta Airlines said: "a wonderful trip!" -- although it is a good slogan, it turns out that other airlines are "bad trips". There is no real meaning.

C, good mouthwash! - its opposite is that the mouthwash of competitors is not very good. That is true.

Some people say that customers are "God"! In fact, this is just a "trick" consumer's trick. In real life, customers are just being "slaughtered" and often used as objects of "flickering". Because there are few so-called facts in marketing, marketing is just a cognition that is consistent with reality and may not be in the minds of consumers. Therefore, in such a materialistic commercial society, in such a competitive commercial society, in such a business environment with a lack of moral elements, it is sometimes very hard to be an honest and kind person, and sometimes very "suffer". It can be said that "the right way of life is vicissitudes." Therefore, how to combine the hands of the market with the hand of morality is a big problem for businessmen to think about.

Statement: This article is the author's original article. It can not be reproduced without the permission of the author. The article refers to some data of Trout and Rees's Chinese translation.