Problems encountered by China enterprises in brand globalization

First, in a highly mature market environment, it is difficult to meet the requirements of brand differentiation.

From the classical theory, brand value consists of rational value and perceptual value, in which the formation of rational value depends on the product and service itself, while perceptual value comes from consumers' association with the purchased brand.

At present, the target markets of China brand internationalization are mostly developed markets in Europe and America. Unlike the fast-growing market in China, most markets in Europe and America have entered a mature stage, and the overall growth is slower than that in China. In such a market, new brands are required to have real differentiated value for consumers. Differentiated products or services are the source of brand value and the fundamental place for enterprises to acquire consumers. To provide differentiated and innovative products, enterprises not only need to be sensitive to the potential needs of customers, but also need to invest in product development and innovation. However, for a long time, enterprises in China have been in a state of "attaching importance to the market and neglecting R&D", while enterprises in China are more followers of technology than makers of industry standards. Limited technological and product innovation is also concentrated in non-core links, which has very limited impact on market and industry development. In this case, if China enterprises want to achieve differentiation in rational value, it is bound to be difficult to surpass existing rivals in technology and product differentiation. ..

In addition, the research of foreign market research companies shows that, up to now, similar to the early entry of Japanese and Korean brands into European and American markets, the "China concept" only stays in the impression of cheap and low quality, and cannot provide strong value support for China brands at the national level.

Second, it is difficult to copy the brand value formed in China to developed markets.

When we think about the internationalization of China brand, it may be meaningful to analyze the present situation of China brand in China. We can often see from news reports that China brand has defeated foreign brands in many markets and replaced foreign brands as the dominant market. From this perspective, a logical inference is that if we can beat foreign brands in China market, we should also have the opportunity to beat foreign brands in foreign markets. But is it really that simple?

In a survey in 2004, Roland Berger found that young and relatively high-income consumers in China still prefer international brands. Most consumers think that if all conditions are similar (such as price, quality, style, technology, etc.). ), they will choose products of international brands. At the same time, international brands make consumers feel better quality, superior performance and more sense of identity. It can be seen that although China brand has gained a high popularity and formed a dominant position in the market share, it is not a strong brand in the true sense and has not yet formed a clear and sustainable brand value positioning. In other words, its future development sustainability is worrying.

The main reason for this result is that although many domestic enterprises have invested heavily in brands, they often form loud brand slogans or exquisite advertisements, but the brand image is still vague and has not formed a distinctive brand personality. The reason is that the brand building lacks the support from the consumer experience level, and the brand slogan has nothing to do with the actual experience of consumers, which eventually leads to the brand value flowing into the air. Secondly, in many domestic industries, China enterprises mostly occupy a strong market position by virtue of their advantages such as price, channels and services. But it is mainly in the mature mainstream product market, and it is at a disadvantage in the frontier field that needs to tap or guide consumer demand. In the more competitive international market, whether the potential demand of consumers can be tapped to develop new products or new market segments is the key to survival. At this point, China enterprises will undoubtedly be in a very unfavorable position in the current state. Thirdly, excessive pursuit of price war and trying to gain market share by price have dragged China enterprises into a vicious circle: low prices and low profits lead to insufficient investment in R&D, which in turn leads to the lack of competitiveness of products and more dependence on price war. In addition, price is the killer of brand building, and the dependence on price war will bring about a sharp depreciation of the brand, and price war and high-end brands will never survive. Therefore, in such a vicious circle, it is even more impossible for China enterprises to establish a strong brand.

When China enterprises build brands, their core demands are still focused on the basic elements, highlighting the excellent quality, reliable quality or high-level service of products. However, due to the long-term development and full competition in developed markets in Europe and America, it has surpassed the stage of winning simply by quality or service. Reliable quality assurance has long been a prerequisite for enterprises to participate in competition. The pursuit of quality only makes China enterprises and international competitors stand on the same starting line, and cannot be the differentiation factor of success. Because of the continuous subdivision of the value chain, service has already become an independent field, and it is no longer simply attached to the sales of products. In developed markets in Europe and America, services are generally paid. For example, Haier's high-quality free service in China will face high cost pressure in foreign markets, especially when China products lack sufficient profit margin. Therefore, it is difficult to simply replicate the advantages of differentiated services. Advantages such as channels are even more out of the question. In addition, domestic high-end brands such as Lenovo and Haier, despite their successful differentiation advantages in the domestic market, have been recognized by domestic consumers in terms of technology and innovation, forming the value of their own brands. However, if you enter foreign markets, these values cannot be copied or transplanted to other markets because of the lack of conditions to form the same value.

Third, the lack of effective strategic brand management.

As early as 40 years ago, Ted Levitt, a professor at Harvard University, pointed out in his famous article "Shortsightedness of Marketing" that marketing cannot be limited to communication and communication itself, and companies must be based on the market. Only marketing can create and increase demand. And this is exactly what China enterprises lack at present.

From the process of consumers' perception of brand value, we believe that the work of brand building starts from the link of product design and runs through all management activities of enterprises. Brand building is no longer an isolated marketing tool, but a multi-sectoral and multi-level task.

David A.Aaker, a famous master of brand management and a professor of marketing at the University of California, Berkeley, believes that CEO should take responsibility when he doesn't want to hire a brand officer. Brand must become the core of business strategy, Aaker thinks: "CEO must understand that his brand is a strategic resource;" He must constantly develop the brand. "

Compared with the domestic situation, although the leaders of enterprises in China pay great attention to the brand verbally, Roland Berger's survey on 15 Chinese and foreign electronic and high-tech enterprises shows that foreign enterprises pay more attention to brand equity than domestic enterprises. Due to the gap between China and foreign countries in these aspects, China enterprises will inevitably encounter great difficulties in the process of internationalization.