1. Branding decision: Does the company want to establish a brand for its products? Historically, manufacturers or distributors took products directly out of sacks, boxes and other containers for sale, and the market did not have any identification certificate for similar products. The efforts of the guilds in the European Middle Ages required craftsmen to stamp their products with marks to protect themselves and consumers from inferior products. This led to the creation of the earliest brand marks, which later gradually developed into few The extent to which the product does not use the brand. It is generally believed that you can consider not using a brand under the following circumstances: (1) Most unprocessed raw material products, such as cotton, soybeans, mineral sand, etc.; (2) Products with different characteristics will not be formed due to different manufacturers. , such as steel, rice, etc.; (3) Certain small commodities that are relatively simple to produce and have little selectivity; (products that consumers generally do not use trademarks, such as furniture, toys, sugar, food, mid-to-low-end clothing, socks, shoes and hats) ) (4) Temporary or one-time production of goods. (5) Enterprises that provide raw materials or spare parts for downstream enterprises. The purpose of unbranded marketing is to save advertising and packaging costs, so as to reduce costs and selling prices, strengthen competitiveness, and expand sales. In recent years, some daily consumer goods and medicines in the United States have become "unbranded". It is estimated that the price of unbranded products in supermarkets is about 30% to 50% lower than similar brand products, which is very popular among low-income people. Consumers welcome it, but unbranded goods are generally not of high quality. With the rapid development of market economy and the impact of the wave of economic globalization, the trend of branding is extremely rapid, and branding dominates almost all products. Salt is packaged in packages that indicate the manufacturer, citrus fruits are labeled with the names of citrus growers, and new food products such as chicken and ham are also advertised with brand names, especially many manufacturers of intermediate products such as electrical machinery, Computer chips. Fibers, etc. have also entered the ranks of final brand products. Intel's direct brand promotion to consumers has caused many PC customers to only buy computers with the "Intel" brand built-in, which in turn has forced some major PC manufacturers (such as IBM, Dell, and Compaq) to abandon other low-priced products. suppliers to buy Intel chips. Similarly, DuPont's brand promotion has led many garment manufacturers to use DuPont fabrics, because clothes made of DuPont fabrics can be sold at higher prices. Obviously, creating a brand is a very challenging decision for companies. Not only do companies need to pay high costs and hard work, but they also have to bear the risk that the brand will not be recognized by the market. In this case, most companies still want to brand their products because brands can bring them a series of advantages: (1) Branding can provide legal protection for the company’s product features and prevent them from being imitated and counterfeited by competitors. ; (2) Branding is conducive to creating brand loyalists for the company and increasing consumers who make repeated purchases; by extension, it helps to launch new products. (3) Branding helps companies segment and control the market, and is conducive to the expansion of product portfolios; (4) A strong brand is conducive to establishing a corporate image and gaining the trust of dealers and consumers, making it easier to launch new products. product. (5) Price protection function. (6) Intangible assets and huge wealth. Under the conditions of market economy, the ownership and use rights of trademarks can be bought, sold and transferred, such as Haier. In short, a product is something produced in a factory, and a brand is something a customer buys; a product can be copied by competitors, but a brand is unique; products quickly become obsolete, but successful brands will always exist. Therefore, an enterprise that pursues dominance and long-term development in the market must not only continue to provide customers with satisfactory products, but also have its own successful brand. In addition, the branding of enterprise products is also beneficial to distributors and consumers. Distributors use brands as a means to facilitate product management, identify suppliers, grasp product quality standards and enhance buyer preferences. Consumers can identify and judge the quality differences of similar products through brands, so as to make efficient purchases. 2. Brand ownership decision After the manufacturer makes the branding decision, it also needs to decide who owns the brand and who manages and is responsible for it. The manufacturer's products have several options for brand attribution: manufacturer brand (also known as national brand); dealer brand (also known as dedicated brand or private brand); or a combination of the above two brands, that is, some products use manufacturer Brand, some products use dealer brands. Supplement: ④Co-branding. For example, using both the manufacturer's brand and the dealer's brand on one product.

In most co-branding operations, one company licenses another company's well-known brand to be used in conjunction with its own, usually with an agreement and a license. ⑤Manufacturers obtain the right to use the trademarks of other manufacturers through licenses. For example, some prestigious manufacturers lease their trademarks to other manufacturers and charge a certain royalty fee. Historically, manufacturer brands have always dominated the industrial and commercial arena because the design, quality, and features of products are determined by the manufacturer. However, in recent years, the number of dealer brands has increased day by day. More than 90% of the products sold by the famous American retail chain Sears are under its own brands, such as "Tenacious" batteries, "Craftsman" tools, and "Kenmore" burning appliances. These brands have won the trust of users. Brand loyalty. 50% of the shelves of Sambury's, the UK's largest food chain, are private label. In recent years, some middlemen in my country have also begun to develop their own brands, such as the "Supermarket Fa" brand of Supermarket Fa Chain Co., Ltd. Why do middlemen take such pains to develop their own brands? This is because of the benefits that come with using your own brand. First, the supply of goods can be guaranteed and controlled. Middlemen can find and control suppliers that can provide products of consistent quality (middlemen can threaten manufacturers with switching suppliers). Second, the purchase price can be controlled, thereby improving product competitiveness at a lower selling price and obtaining higher profits. In the competition between manufacturer brands and intermediary brands, intermediaries have many favorable conditions. For example, due to limited shelf space in retail stores, many supermarkets charge shelf fees as a condition for accepting new brands to share the display and storage costs of goods. However, middlemen can reserve prominent display positions for their own brands and ensure that there are More adequate stocking; middlemen pay special attention to promoting their own brands to win the trust of customers, etc. Whether an enterprise uses a manufacturer's brand or a dealer's brand must comprehensively weigh the pros and cons to make a decision. Under the condition that the manufacturer has a good market reputation and a large market share, the manufacturer's brand is mostly used. On the contrary, when the manufacturer's financial strength is weak, or its goodwill in the market is far inferior to that of the middleman, it is appropriate to use the middleman brand. Especially small and medium-sized enterprises that are new to the market are unable to use their own brands to bring products to the market. However, intermediaries have good brand reputation and complete sales systems in this market field. In this case, they use intermediaries. Brands are often beneficial. This is also a common practice in international trade. Supplement: Generally speaking, the following products are more suitable to use retailer brands: ① Products for which customers do not have high brand requirements, such as toilet paper, towels, slippers, etc. ② Products with low technical content. It is easier for dealers of such goods to control the quality of their products. ③ Products with high freshness requirements and short shelf life. Such product dealers can use their own brands to purchase goods directly from manufacturers, which has the advantages of short sales channels and fast delivery. ④ Products that do not require packaging or simple packaging. Of course, not all dealers are qualified or have the strength to use their own trademarks. Dealers who use their own trademarks generally must meet the following conditions: ① Strong funds. Dealers using their own brands must purchase large quantities of goods, which takes up a lot of money; in addition, dealers also spend a lot of money on advertising and promotions for their own brand products. ② Have the ability to strictly test the quality of the manufacturer's products. ③ Have strong abilities in market research, market forecasting, brand publicity and promotion, etc. ④ Only when dealers have high visibility and reputation among consumers can they ensure that their own brand products are quickly accepted by consumers. 3. Individual brand and unified brand decision This is the decision of the enterprise to determine the number of brands, that is, whether to use different brands for different types, specifications, and quality products produced by the enterprise, or to use one brand for all. (1) Individual brand strategy. It refers to the use of different brand names by companies for different products. Such as Unilever. The advantage of this brand strategy is that it does not tie the company's reputation to the success or failure of a certain product brand, and the company will not bear greater risks due to the decline in the credibility of a certain brand; it allows the company to provide new products for each new product. Seek the best brand without having to introduce high-end and high-quality product brands into lower-quality product lines; each new brand can create new excitement and establish new beliefs that are conducive to the penetration of corporate products into multiple detailed markets. The biggest disadvantage of the individual brand strategy is that it increases product promotion expenses, putting the company at a disadvantage in competition. In addition, too many brands are not conducive to companies creating famous brands. (2) Unify brand strategy.

A unified brand, also known as a family brand, refers to a company using the same brand for a variety of products it produces, such as the "Yumeijing" series of cosmetics. The main advantages of this brand strategy are: companies can use a variety of media to promote a brand, and use the brand's popularity to show corporate strength and shape corporate image; it helps new products enter the target market without the need to establish a new brand. awareness and preferences and spend a lot of advertising money. However, various products using a unified brand should have the same quality level, otherwise it will affect the brand reputation, especially the reputation of higher quality products. For example, Japan's Toshiba Home Appliances Company uses the trademark "TDSHIBA" for all its products. All products produced by Canon use the trademark "CANON". All products of the American General Electric Company use GE as the brand name. Washing machines, color TVs, stereos, air conditioners, refrigerators, faxes, etc. produced by Panasonic, Hitachi and Sharp all use the same trademark. Honda uses the name "Honda" to launch a variety of products such as cars, motorcycles, snowplows, motorboats, snowmobiles, and lawn mowers. Enterprises that adopt unified trademarks often have strong strength, and the trademark has gained a certain degree of popularity and reputation in the market. The unified trademark strategy is essentially a brand extension strategy, that is, companies extend their successful trademarks and brands to other products. For example, after Master Kong's instant noodles became successful in the market, the manufacturer extended the use of this trademark to oolong tea, eight-treasure porridge, biscuits, juice, purified water, fragrant rice cakes and other products. Robust Group has also adopted a brand extension strategy. The company's CEO in charge of marketing, Yang Jiaqiang, said: "The advantages of Robust's brand extension outweigh the disadvantages. Before the brand extension, Robust's turnover was only more than 400 million yuan. After the extension, it was less than 400 million yuan." It reaches nearly 2 billion yuan in one year. Brand extension has accelerated the development of Robust. If Robust introduced a new brand when developing new products, first of all, it may not be successful. Secondly, even if it is successful, it may be a drag on Robust. Brand investment and cultivation. "In short, a unified trademark strategy or brand extension strategy will help companies use the reputation of the trademark to smoothly launch new products into the market; it can save trademark design and registration costs; there is no need to waste time on advertising and public relations. Promote multiple brands; consumers are more likely to accept a unified trademark, which also helps shape the corporate image and show corporate strength. However, when using a unified trademark strategy or a brand extension strategy, if a certain product of the company has a problem (such as a quality problem), other products will also be implicated, so the quality of all products must be strictly controlled. In addition, multiple products using the same trademark can easily cause confusion among consumers in terms of product features, grades, efficacy, etc. Rongchang Company, which produces Rongchang Antai, has launched Tianmeng Oral Liquid. One tube is for the outlet (to treat hemorrhoids) and the other is for the import. It is unbearable. "China Business Times" distributed two boxes of Vitality 28 purified water to each employee. Some people have been afraid to drink it because they always smell of washing powder. Thirdly, the extended use of the brand must be consistent with consumers’ established impressions of the brand. If Crest launches low-end toothpaste, Parker launches cheap pens, and Mercedes-Benz produces low-priced cars, it may damage the brand's impression in the minds of consumers, and the gains may outweigh the losses. (3) Uniform brands and individual brands are juxtaposed. A company with multiple product lines or types of products may consider using this strategy, typically by placing the company's trade name in front of each individual brand. The starting point of adopting this strategy is to try to combine the advantages of the above two strategies, that is, it can not only enable new products to enjoy the reputation of the company and save advertising costs, but also enable each brand to maintain its own characteristics and relative independence. For example, General Motors of the United States produces many types of cars. All products use the general trademark composed of the two letters GM, and various products use Cadillac, Buick, and Oldsmobil respectively. ), Pan's (Potic) and Chevrolet (Chevrelet) and other different brands. Each individual brand represents a product with specific characteristics. For example, Chevrolet represents a popular sedan, and Cadillac represents a luxury sedan. 4. Brand Extension Decision Brand extension, also known as brand extension, refers to a company using a successful brand that already has market influence to launch improved or new products. For example, the "Nescafé" trademark, famous for Nestlé coffee, has been extended to milk powder, chocolate, biscuits and other products; Sony has also extended its brand to most of its new electronic products.

The significant advantage of adopting a brand extension strategy is that a good brand that attracts attention can make new products immediately recognized and accepted by the market. If the brand extension is successful, it can further expand the influence of the original brand and corporate reputation. . But brand extension also has risks. First of all, if a famous brand is extended to a product field that is not consistent with or close to its image and characteristics, it may damage the original brand image. Secondly, if there is no correlation or complementarity between the original product and the brand extension product in terms of resources, technology, etc., the new product launched may be difficult to be accepted by consumers. Finally, if the brand extension with a high-quality image is used on some products of little value and easy to manufacture, it may offend consumers, such as Haier ketchup or Boeing perfume. Overuse of a brand name can cause it to lose its special positioning in the minds of consumers. Brand dilution occurs when consumers no longer associate the brand name with a specific product or similar products. In short, there are advantages and disadvantages to adopting a brand extension strategy, and there are greater risks. Enterprises should act cautiously according to the conditions. 5. Multi-brand strategy Multi-brand strategy refers to a company using two or more competing brands on the same product at the same time. The company that pioneered this strategy was Procter & Gamble in the United States. For example, the shampoos produced by this company in joint venture with Guangdong, my country include "Head and Shoulders", "Rejoice", and "Pan Stop". "Sassoon" several brands. Although multiple brands will affect the sales volume of the original single brand, the sum of the sales volume of multiple brands will exceed the market sales volume of a single brand, enhancing the competitiveness of enterprises in this market field. The main advantages of adopting a multi-brand strategy are: (1) A variety of different brands can occupy a larger display area on the retailer's shelves, which attracts more attention from consumers and increases the retailer's interest in the production company. Product Dependencies. (2) Providing several similar products with different brands can attract brand switchers who are curious about novelty. (3) Multiple brands can make products penetrate into many different market segments and occupy a wider market. (4) Contribute to competition among multiple product departments within the enterprise, improve efficiency, and increase total sales. The main risk of adopting a multi-brand strategy is that too many brands are used, so that each brand product has only a small market share, and no one brand is particularly profitable. This causes the company's resources to be dispersed among many brands and cannot be used. Concentrating on a few brands with higher profit levels is a very unfavorable situation in which the gains outweigh the losses. The solution is to screen brands and eliminate those that are weaker. The ideal situation should be that the company's brand can absorb the competitor's brand, rather than the company's multiple brands competing with each other; or even if they compete with each other, the net profit after adopting a multi-brand strategy can reach a larger amount. . Therefore, if a company adopts a multi-brand strategy, before launching a new brand, it should consider: whether the brand has a new concept; whether the new concept is persuasive; the emergence of this brand may take away the company's other brands and What is the sales volume of competitor brands? Can the sales of new brands compensate for the costs of product development and product promotion, etc.