Brand Crisis

In the ever-changing product arena, whether a product is a famous brand or not determines the success or failure of a product or even a company. In the eyes of ordinary people, famous brand products must be worthy of their name. Therefore, we must do everything possible to create a famous brand and implement the famous brand strategy. However, the vagaries of the market determine that any famous brand may encounter unexpected things. It is no longer news that a popular famous brand is suddenly swallowed up and destroyed by the market; a famous brand with a history of hundreds of years suddenly falls into the market. Even the disappearance of the valley is no longer a sensational novelty... The market is so cruel. Only with a sound management mechanism can an enterprise develop better. However, not every enterprise will be like this. There are enterprises that cause crises because they do not have an effective management mechanism. Its main manifestations are:

1. Lack of monitoring system

The monitoring system is an essential medicine for enterprise management. To use an inappropriate analogy, an enterprise without a monitoring system is like a person who doesn’t know if he is hungry or full. As soon as this person sees something edible, he will pick it up and stuff it into his stomach without knowing whether he is full or not, let alone whether he is full or not. Whether you can hold it or not, there are only two consequences: one is that the person is held to death, the other is that the person gets sick. For an enterprise, the implementation of the system, the work of employees, and the decision-making of leaders must be monitored. If an enterprise does not have an effective monitoring system, the system is not implemented reasonably and normally, and the work of employees and leaders deviates from the track, they will not You will find that even if a crisis comes, they will not be alert in advance and carry out effective prevention and control.

2. The crisis management system is not perfect

The crisis management system is the basis of crisis management and the umbrella for enterprises to develop in a better direction. Whether it is sound or not has an impact on the enterprise. It is very large. If it is not sound, companies will not prevent crises, nor will they effectively control them, let alone respond to specific crises. It is because of an imperfect crisis management system that a major air crash occurred in Taiwan's China Airlines in the 1980s, resulting in considerable losses. The main manifestations of an enterprise's lack of awareness of famous brand risks are:

1. Arrogance

(1) Thinking that if they sit on the throne of famous brands, other products will not be able to compete. Some companies believe that their products are famous brands. They are not afraid of wolves in front of them or tigers in the back. They do not take others seriously. From time to time, they regard themselves as the boss: I am a famous brand, who should I be afraid of? Taking crises lightly makes them vulnerable as soon as they come into contact with a crisis or smell the bloody smell of a crisis.

(2) Irresponsibility for "famous brands" and blind pursuit of "bigness" and "comprehensiveness". One of the important reasons for the decline of Zhengzhou Asia is the excessive and blind pursuit of "bigness" in order to show "impressiveness". " Deliberately creating momentum, even a small public relations event or a small conference, requires a large amount of activity funds, resulting in a lot of funds being wasted unnecessarily.

(3) Do not consider your own overall economic benefits. Some companies have their own brand-name products. In the eyes of outsiders, they should have a lot of funds. As everyone knows, this is just a superficial phenomenon. The actual situation is that they are very empty, with many loans and debts, and only one pair is left. Empty shell.

(4) The preferential policies of the state and the protection of the government have destroyed the minds of leaders and employees of some famous brand companies. They have inflated ideas, are proud of their talents, forget themselves, and have no sense of crisis: even the policies have failed. Three points from me, not to mention you rotten mung beans and little sesame seeds? From time to time, I think that my merits have been perfected, I have reached the supreme state, and I can sit back and relax, but I don't know that a crisis is brewing.

(5) In order to pursue economic benefits, the "famous brand" has been forgotten and the awareness of "famous brand" has been lost ideologically. Some companies think that their mission has been completed after creating a famous brand. They only pursue economic benefits but forget about long-term interests, forget about famous brands, and relax their vigilance against crises. As a result, the position of corporate famous brands has been gone before they are even popular.

2. Lack of early warning and supervision mechanisms

Due to the loss of vigilance against crises, companies generally do not establish early warning and supervision mechanisms when marketing famous brand products. This is not correct. Carry out effective prevention and supervision of crises. When the crisis comes quietly and the company wakes up, the crisis has already occurred.

3. Lack of contingency measures

Some companies are in chaos and at a loss when encountering a sudden crisis. The reason is that the company does not fully understand the suddenness of the crisis. understanding, let alone formulating corresponding contingency plans, completely forgetting the principle of "preparation will lead to success, failure to preempt will lead to failure". Famous brand products are favored by consumers because of their huge market share and high reputation. Naturally, they have become the first targets of counterfeiters and counterfeiters, ranging from "Audi" cars to as small as razors and electronics. Irons, instant noodles, and all kinds of counterfeit goods are flooding the market wantonly, trampling on every corner of the streets and alleys. The severity is shocking.

Counterfeit goods are everywhere, and some counterfeit brand-name products cross the border, causing a serious impact on the country's credibility. Especially in recent years, a considerable part of the products exported to Russia, Czechoslovakia, Southeast Asia and even Europe and the United States are counterfeit products, which not only harms local consumers, but also severely affects the country's image and reputation. In some countries, "Chinese goods" have become synonymous with inferior products.

It is worth mentioning that it is not just Chinese people who are making fake brand-name products to defraud, there are also some international criminals who are counterfeiting our products. According to statistics, the number of counterfeit Chinese famous brand products has exceeded the export volume of "authentic products". It often happens that foreign importers import inferior products and then turn back to Chinese companies that produce famous brand products to settle accounts.

The consequences of the impact of counterfeit goods are heavy. Based on some situations in the market, the author believes that the main reasons that lead to fake and counterfeit goods flooding the "famous brand" market are as follows:

1. The technical content of the products is low, and there is no effective anti-counterfeiting technology. It is easy to be counterfeited

2. There is a lack of communication between companies and consumers during the product sales process

In real life, many consumers do not know how to distinguish the authenticity of products. Not knowing the indicators and content of the purchased products, not knowing the origin of the products, etc. One of the important reasons for this phenomenon is the lack of necessary communication between companies and consumers. Don’t understand or don’t know enough about the product.

3. The supervision mechanism is not perfect, and there is no effective supervision of counterfeit goods and the market. The quality problems of famous products themselves are an important reason for the crisis of famous products. The main factor leading to this reason is the enterprise. Leaders and employees lack quality awareness and do not pay attention to product quality. As for the quality problems of famous products themselves, the author believes that there are four main manifestations, namely: passing off inferior products as good ones, missing the mark, substituting others, and companies selling overstocked, outdated, or spoiled products in order to gain profits. Below, we will explain this one by one:

1. Leaders and employees lack quality awareness

In reality, many famous brand manufacturers are faced with a snowstorm of orders. Users who are single or eager to come to the door can't help but feel a sense of success and fame. The past fierceness in management and gritted teeth on quality have gradually faded away. The defense lines of famous brands have collapsed, management has been lax, quality has declined, not to mention no The ideal of pursuing higher goals.

2. Replacing inferior products with inferior products

In pursuit of economic benefits, some companies sell products of poor quality, even inferior second-class products, third-class products and even substandard products. Taking it out and selling it as a top-up, the company's original prosperous scene gradually became deserted and the famous brand was ruined. "Qinchi" is a painful lesson.

3. In order to pursue immediate profits, some companies have insufficient product quality and ignore the principle of equal exchange, resulting in products and even poor quality. The company's image is greatly compromised in the minds of consumers, its credibility is reduced, and its front door is deserted.

4. Substituting beams for columns

Replacing columns with beams, the quality has changed, and the taste will of course be different. Because the columns were replaced with beams, many buildings could not withstand the trouble. collapse. Nowadays, many companies and merchants are playing this trick. After a certain mineral water manufacturer's marketing staff braved the summer sun and invested a lot of advertising fees, the product finally gained its own territory in the Zhengzhou market, and also gained popularity in the hearts of consumers. It gained a certain reputation, but the good times did not last long. Not long after this scene, consumers gradually felt that the taste of water was different from before. A caring consumer took some water samples to the relevant departments for testing. The results surprised the consumer and sent them for inspection. The water is actually tap water! As soon as the news came out, many consumers demanded their money back and refused to use this brand of mineral water again. The reversal of consumers' discord caused the company to declare bankruptcy half a month later and withdraw from the Zhengzhou mineral water market.

5. Selling overstocked, outdated, or spoiled products

Some companies or merchants ignore the interests of consumers and bring overstocked, outdated, or even spoiled brand-name products to the market. Selling, deceiving consumers, deceiving consumers, the consequences of doing so can only be death. A trademark is the symbol of a product and the fundamental symbol and main asset of a brand-name product. It often happens that famous brands are in crisis because corporate trademarks are not in place. Its main manifestations are:

1. Failure to register trademarks in time

Ignoring the timely registration of famous brand products is the direct reason for a large number of famous brand trademarks to be registered. Under the conditions of market economy, brand competition has become the key to the success or failure of enterprises: losing a brand means losing a large amount of intangible assets; losing a well-known trademark is equivalent to losing a large market; losing a brand can cause the enterprise to die. Because of this, brand squatting among companies in the world today is becoming more and more intense.

Many products in our country have their own trademarks. After various publicity and efforts, the products and even the enterprises have a certain influence and popularity in the minds of the public. However, because the trademarks were not registered in time, they were Preemptive registration has become a target of public criticism.

2. Not renewing trademarks in time or not renewing trademarks

my country's "Trademark Law" stipulates that a registered trademark is valid for 10 years, and an application for renewal should be made within six months before expiration. If a trademark application is not filed within this period, a six-month grace period can be given. If the registration renewal is not applied for after the grace period, the exclusive right to use the trademark will be lost. In real life, due to weak awareness of famous brands and weak legal concepts, some companies ignore the renewal of trademarks of famous brand products, fail to apply for renewal registration in time, or even do not apply for renewal. As a result, the famous brands they have worked so hard to create are lost to others. Companies or foreign companies rush to register, and then they are gone in a blink of an eye, falling into a miserable dilemma.

3. In the domestic market and joint ventures, the Chinese side ignored foreign trademark strategies for the sake of small profits

Domestic manufacturers were greedy for a while and could not resist the temptation of foreign companies' low prices and opened up new production lines. After the product was rebranded and developed into a famous brand, foreign investors suddenly withdrew their investment, leaving domestic manufacturers unprepared and in crisis.

4. The "twins" of famous brand products - similar to the erosion of trademarks

But there is a group of bold and smart counterfeiters who have policies from above and countermeasures from below. The tricks are openly fake.

Careful consumers can easily find that this type of trademark is slightly modified, evolved, or altered from the trademark pattern or text of a well-known brand of similar products. It gives people a visual sense of Illusion, the propaganda effect is fake and real.

5. Free license to transfer trademarks

The transfer of trademarks must have certain procedures and steps, and these procedures and steps must be carried out and implemented one by one. In addition, the transfer of trademarks must also There are certain transfer conditions and age restrictions. You must not transfer a trademark at will, which will cause undue losses to the enterprise. The market is constantly changing, and people's consumption levels and consumption concepts are also constantly changing. This requires companies' brand-name products to continue to change, improve, and innovate to adapt to changes in the market and changes in consumer groups. Corruption, this is what the door hinge is not like.

Only famous products that are constantly innovating are real famous products. On the contrary, famous products that are blindly conservative and cannot keep up with the development and trends of the times will one day be abandoned by people and eliminated by the market. The reasons leading to the lack of innovation in products are roughly as follows:

1. Backward management concepts

It is crucial for corporate decision-makers to have the concept of innovative products. It is related to the market share of products and the development and survival of enterprises. Due to the constraints of management concepts, it often happens that products cannot be innovated and affect the development of enterprises. "My product is a famous brand, so there is no need to put in so much effort into innovation." "Why do famous brand products need to do this? Innovation is a matter for small businesses with poor sales and little reputation. We don't use this and it's a waste of money." If you don’t tell me, it’s a waste of time.” Is this true? no.

2. Lack of market research

Whether there is market research is one of the prerequisites for innovative products. Without conducting effective market research and without a systematic understanding of consumer needs and market requirements, companies will not engage in product innovation. Products and companies that cannot keep up with consumers, the market, and the international environment will be beaten sooner or later.

3. Lack of technical product development talents

Product innovation requires the development and efforts of technical talents. The lack of technical talents is directly related to whether companies innovate products.

4. Insufficient capital investment (some companies spend huge sums of money on advertising instead of focusing on improving and innovating products - such as Qinchi) The correct extension of the brand is that the brand is used rationally, which is One of the important factors for enterprises to make better use of the intangible asset of brand for diversified development, but not every famous brand product can correctly extend the brand. Some companies attach too much importance to the value of their brands and blindly extend their brands, resulting in a crisis for themselves. The phenomena of improper corporate brand extension include:

1. Incompatibility

Can a company that produces pesticides produce mineral water? If someone asks you this question, you will definitely say no, because you would never drink mineral water produced by a pesticide manufacturer.

2. Blind brand positioning

Whether the brand positioning is accurate is related to the actual interests of the company. Blind positioning of the brand is extremely detrimental to the development of the company.

3. There is no distinction between products and brands

Using the same brand for different products can reduce the cost of corporate product promotion. This is understandable, but it also has certain shortcomings. Once one of these products has a problem, other related products will also have problems, such as poor sales, cold reception, etc., which will bring crisis to the company.

Eager to create a famous brand regardless of the actual situation - a castle in the air, in vain

In order to create a famous brand, some companies ignore their own circumstances, such as insufficient foundation and insufficient conditions. Companies spend a lot of advertising money to finally push their products to the throne of "famous brands", but after a short time, they will let their own reasons make them abdicate and fall into ruin.

The role of brand crisis Enterprises need to establish brand crisis management awareness, formulate crisis risk management mechanisms, and fully control possible crises. When a crisis occurs, try to minimize the impact of the crisis and even turn the crisis into an opportunity for positive publicity for the company.