Author | Duan Chuanmin (Strategic Marketing Observer)
At the "Jiang Xiaobai Ten-Year Review Meeting" held on September 1, I proposed the "Jiang Xiaobai Paradox" " concept, pointed out that Jiangxiaobai has indeed done an excellent job in rejuvenating liquor, mediaizing products, diversifying categories, and digitizing the organization, but at the same time it has also caused a corresponding "collapse":
1. Because the label of youth is quite profound, it lacks a position among the vast number of people with high consumption value of liquor;
2. Because the small scenes and small emotional expressions of the product are very good, resulting in The public has a poor impression of the quality of Jiangxiaobai's products; at the same time, the core proposition of the brand is unclear. What does "life is simple" really mean?
3. The diversified presentation of categories and brands has obviously resulted in the Xiaoqu Qingxiang route represented by Jiang Xiaobai no longer important and mainstream, and the company's operations are faced with the possibility of losing focus on its core capabilities.
4. The digitalization of enterprises and the IPization of brands mean that the fans they have have greater potential to tap. However, at present, Jiangxiaobai still relies on offline in-depth distribution. Therefore, online (including community ) operational capabilities appear insufficient.
Of course, the collapse I am talking about is not a "derogatory" one, but rather a shortcoming caused by a certain aspect of expertise - let me call it the "paradox" of Jiang Xiaobai's development - that is, this This shortcoming is relative. Everything has two sides, and the opposite side of long is short.
Founder Tao Shiquan also feels innocent and helpless about some people's doubts about Jiang Xiaobai's quality. He has always attached great importance to product quality - brewing with pure sorghum and achieving stable production capacity through large-scale modern production equipment, that is, using the integration capabilities of the entire industry chain to control quality and production capacity. To this end, he did not hesitate to build a sorghum planting demonstration farm of more than 5,000 acres in Baisha Town, Jiangjin District, Chongqing City (the local government plans to support 100,000 acres of planting through the company + farmer model). Even so, he could not avoid criticism from social media. Tao Shiquan reflected on this: "It seems that Jiang Xiaobai's marketing is not that good."
In my opinion, there are two types of criticism on social media: one is consumers who do not know the truth or have been misled, and they need companies to start correct communication methods; the other is attacks from individual opponents , On the one hand, they were jealous of Jiang Xiaobai's achievements, and launched unintentional or intentional actions. Here, "unintentional" may account for the majority, because it stems from the subjective prejudice caused by Jiang Xiaobai's "collapse". This part can automatically dissipate as the corporate image becomes clearer; intentional attacks are, after all, backstabbing and illegal crimes. Considering the high cost of such behavior, they are definitely a minority or local phenomenon.
In other words, there are many misunderstandings and "prejudices" about Jiang Xiaobai's "quality". This requires Jiang Xiaobai to do more in marketing and cross the "criticism" zone: not only does it require huge sums of money to build such a factory, but it also requires dynamically disseminating the determination and actions of the entire industry chain to the industry and consumers. For example: 1. Raw materials: Where does Jiang Xiaobai’s sorghum come from? If it is all brewed from sorghum instead of blended with purchased alcohol, a sales scale of 3 billion means a purchase demand of 30,000 to 60,000 tons of sorghum, produced per acre of land Calculated at 300 kilograms, this requires 100,000 to 200,000 acres of sorghum plantations. 2. Craftsmanship: How can modern craftsmanship ensure that it has both the characteristics of traditional craftsmanship and consistent quality on a consistent scale? These need to be explained clearly to consumers. 3. Research and development: Jiang Xiaobai wants to be the Huawei of the wine industry. In what directions will these research and development lead? What actions were taken?
At the same time, Jiang Xiaobai also needs to convey the core value points and appeals of the product to a wider range of consumers, that is, not just small emotions, but also "big spirit." For example, Wong Lo Kat once used "Drink Wong Lao Kat for fear of getting angry" to break through all circles and areas. So, how does Jiang Xiaobai choose his own value keywords? Is pure grain healthier? Or highlight pure sorghum brewing? In terms of branding, what Jiangxiaobai currently highlights is "life is simple". What is its connotation? How can it be as clear and deeply rooted as Nike’s “Just do it”?
Between the two, product value appeal is the foundation and the benefit point of direct consumption, while brand appeal is emotional or spiritual personality, which can make Jiang Xiaobai a spiritual symbol of youth, not just a brand. The emotions of young people.
In this way, Jiang Xiaobai can break the boundaries of age groups and successfully break out of the industry.
It seems that Jiang Xiaobai is going to fight a marketing campaign about quality. After all, it is normal for consumers to have "prejudices". The process of corporate information reaching consumers will not only naturally attenuate, but even undergo a process of alienation. Although social media is now highly developed, the law of "perception is greater than fact" has not fundamentally changed. In order to change consumers' opinions, companies must not only attach great importance to it and increase communication efforts, but also use it in a way that consumers like to hear and see.
Jiang Xiaobai obviously has no shortage of creative and innovative content marketing. However, in the past, it used novelty and uniqueness to highlight the brand characteristics of young people. Now we need to add this important chapter in communication.
In terms of brand (category) diversification, Jiangxiaobai has actually done quite well. Among them, "Meijian" (low-alcohol fruit wine, also meaning "long time no see") is very popular in the market. , becoming the fastest growing segmented brand (category). In addition, Jiang Xiaobai is also exploring the path of industrial diversification. These require considerable caution. If it is divided into three steps, Jiangxiaobai will first be a liquor company that follows the Xiaoqu Qingxiang route; secondly, it will be a multi-category liquor company that caters to young people's healthy and trendy drinks; thirdly, if it is amplified, Jiangxiaobai can become It is an enterprise group that leads the wine business and spans industries such as planting, tourism, and tavern services. These three stages need to be done step by step.
It is gratifying that new products like "Meijian" are developing rapidly, but it should be noted that if it is under the Jiangxiaobai brand, it means that Jiangxiaobai's liquor concept is diluted - this is not good for Jiangxiaobai. The liquor category that has just reached RMB 3 billion obviously has an impact; if it becomes a brand alone, it will face the problem of operating multiple brands. This is of course no problem from a pure investment perspective, but if it is run within the company, it means diluting the company. Valuable resources, money and attention.
Adopting the business unit operating method can solve the dilution problem to a certain extent while maintaining a high degree of independence. However, the experience of many domestic companies shows that it often means that the company's synergy and integration effects are difficult to effectively exert. At the same time, and more importantly, companies face the possibility of losing focus in brand operations: the boss often takes advantage of the right time, place and people, while the second child often finds it difficult to thrive under the shadow of the boss.
In my opinion, within a certain period of time, Jiangxiaobai is still on its main channel, that is, the main channel of products, the main channel of brand, the main channel of liquor, the main channel of brand appeal, etc. The company should be highly focused and make every effort to build a tens-billion-dollar brand. On this basis, it is not too late to emphasize brand diversification and industry diversification.
As for the last point - digitalization, it is purely a personal suggestion. It is understood that the current online sales in the liquor industry are progressing very slowly. The reason is the consumption scenario of consumers: either in catering establishments-consumers mostly buy on-site except for bringing their own in private rooms; or in gift-giving-basically they buy at nearby sales venues. Generally, orders placed online are not stored at home.
This obviously makes sense, but the marketing circles I have been in contact with show that social networking is surging, personalized consumption is undercurrent, and channels are facing changes in online and offline integration. Therefore, companies can Actively promote the construction of community business models: on the one hand, use customization to highlight circles and individual personalities, and enhance the sense of belonging and exclusivity; on the other hand, we can vigorously manage users, personalize online fans, user communities, and community channels, Ultimately, the business users will be pushed in the direction of user management, and the enterprise will be platform-based. Users can not only customize the expression content on this platform, but also customize products and industries, thus ultimately forming a super-large ecosystem with Jiangxiaobai as the banner* **The same body.
From a numerical point of view, Jiang Xiaobai has undoubtedly achieved great success. Considering that this success is caught between "one poor (young people) and two white people (marginal areas of the market)" This kind of success is even more worthy of praise given the abruptly created background. However, I obviously gained more from this trip to Jiang Xiaobai: founder Tao Shiquan’s extraordinary emphasis on quality, the establishment of a modern operating system in the company’s institutionalization and digitalization, and his frankness and acceptance of the truth and facts. All show that this is an ambitious but intelligent entrepreneur - the "ten-year review meeting" is more like a reflection of his larger inner ambition: 3 billion success is nothing to him.
He believes that as long as we create a modern enterprise system full of passion, standardization and strong internal driving force, 10 billion or 100 billion is just a result, and it will come to you without asking for it.
At this point, the so-called "Jiang Xiaobai Paradox" is more like a kind of nitpicking, closer to a kind of appreciation. On the one hand, there must be a long shadow behind the long board, and companies will always have areas for improvement. The significance of review is to preview hypothetical choices or as future options to predict what changes will be brought to the enterprise. On the other hand, the world is full of contradictions, and companies will always face the future in a paradoxical environment: to be an outstanding person, you must accept praise and denigration at the same time; to become a new leader, you must have the mind to accept the compliments of your followers, and also to accept criticism from your followers. Efforts should be made to open up living space for them. This paradox of growth is not unique to Jiang Xiaobai and will exist for a long time.
Although it was just a quick visit and seminar, and although I didn’t talk much with Tao Shiquan during this trip, I admire such companies and entrepreneurs and am optimistic about Jiang Xiaobai’s future.
Come on, Jiang Xiaobai is about to turn 10! The future of "young" is limitless.
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Duan Chuanmin, a strategic marketing expert, is a researcher across the three fields of business, profession and media. He is known as "the research school in practice. "A Practical Person in Research", and has long served as a strategic marketing and development consultant for many companies.
Advocate "coaching consultant - the way to double performance", and focus on the three steps of "orientation, execution and integration" through the five steps of "setting the direction, building a team, finding a path, allocating resources and grasping the implementation". The large module is results-oriented and helps companies achieve high-speed growth goals.