The channel for China to build its own international brand
As international brands are increasingly valued by Chinese companies, the methods of building international brands have become very important. At the same time, creativity and problem-solving marketing The concept is integrated into it. Begin to build an international brand in aspects such as corporate logo and logo, certification, marketing network and services, exhibitions, sponsorships, events and media advertising.
Internationalizing corporate logos and names
Nowadays, most powerful and management-minded companies in China are introducing CI systems, but their logos and names, which are one of the VI elements, are Internationalization was ignored. As an international logo, the design should be simple, easy to remember, with coordinated colors, and its name should be focused on internationalization. Avoid using names that have been widely adopted. For example, Lenovo changed its logo last year, which is still fresh in people's minds. Lenovo has now become the leading IT manufacturer in China, and it is trying to enter the world and the Fortune 500. However, its cultural logo and the registered Legend that are used globally are obviously not conducive to its overseas expansion. So in April last year, Lenovo changed Legend to Lenovo, which would help it establish an international brand and enter the international market.
LG, a Korean-owned enterprise currently well-known in the Chinese market, is also a very successful example in trademark change. After changing the previous "GOLDSTAR" to "LG", the logo is not only simple and easy to remember, but also CI The logo has also become humanized and resembles a very friendly smiling face, which has played a good role in LG's success.
In addition, when building international brands, Chinese manufacturers must not forget to register their trademarks in developed countries such as Europe and the United States to avoid vicious registrations in the future that will affect product sales and brand promotion. For example, Wuliangye, a famous Chinese company, failed to register its trademark in South Korea. As a result, the trademark rights were maliciously registered by a Korean. After 14 months of hard work, the company regained the trademark rights in early April and submitted a request to the Korean Trademark Office. The General Administration applied to register Wuliangye’s Chinese logo and Chinese Pinyin. Wuliangye Company paid a heavy price for this. Therefore, Chinese companies that are going international cannot forget to register their trademarks abroad.
Obtain international certification - enterprises gain a pass to enter the global market
Currently, some powerful companies in the world adopt strict international certifications, including ISO9001, ISO9002 and ISO14000. In addition, There are also other safety certifications such as UL certification. After obtaining these certifications, companies can, on the one hand, obtain a pass to export abroad; on the other hand, they can demonstrate the quality, strength and technical capabilities of Chinese companies' products to foreign consumers, thereby improving China's The impact of products on foreign consumers will undoubtedly enhance the international brand influence of Chinese companies.
Cultivation of international marketing network and good after-sales service
When Chinese companies export to foreign countries, they often sell through importers and agents. They only focus on sales performance and ignore the construction of sales channels. Once When competitors take away products based on price or other advantages, domestic export companies lose their foreign markets and have to look for importers again. In fact, if a strong Chinese company should start to establish its own representative office abroad, if it has a representative who is familiar with the local language and culture, let him capture the local market information first-hand, and at the same time look for reputable agents, dealers, and purchasing associations. and influential large supermarkets, etc., and conduct some market research, such as price trends, competitor situations, consumer needs and opinions, etc., so as to improve future products. I believe it will definitely be welcomed by consumers and cultivate customers. of loyalty.
Due to time, space and language barriers between manufacturers and foreign consumers, manufacturers that want to become international brands must provide after-sales services, including maintenance, parts supply, and technical support. and satisfaction surveys and service improvements, etc. Once a product is favored by foreign consumers, it will play a positive role in improving the corporate image, because a good reputation is an intangible asset; on the contrary, if foreign consumers complain or even file lawsuits due to poor product quality and service According to the courts, it has a very negative impact on international brands. Therefore, it is necessary to do a good job in after-sales service for Chinese companies to move towards international brands.
Exhibitions create showcases for international brands
Participating in international exhibitions is a window to expand international brands. On the one hand, it allows foreign consumers to directly understand the company's situation and products, and on the other hand, it can make friends. Foreign agents and distributors.
At exhibitions, Chinese companies not only display company products, but also pay attention to the company's overall image and creativity, highlighting the company's logo and color, and the design of the showcase must be integrated into the culture of the host country. Since Western culture emphasizes openness, creativity and constant change, these characteristics should be absorbed in the exhibition stand while making it innovative and attractive. In addition, it is necessary to choose beautiful ladies or handsome men with good language expression skills, strong communication skills and high overall quality to work at the exhibition, so that it is easier to attract people attending the exhibition.
Building an international brand is a long-term behavior, and it is impossible to achieve corporate goals by participating in exhibitions once or twice. Participating in international exhibitions is a test of the comprehensive strength of an enterprise. It requires the enterprise's long-term plan and patience to go global.
Increase visibility through sponsorship or donation
As we all know, multinational companies with international brands often sponsor various activities in China, and their sponsorship activities include sports events and a team. , a cause, art, cultural activities, charity, ethical behavior or entertainment, etc. Secondly, many foreign-funded enterprises have donated money to Project Hope. After being reported in the news, their sponsorship and donation behavior can not only make people feel their good deeds, but also improve their awareness of the company's image.
Similarly, Chinese companies abroad can increase their influence and recognition in relevant countries by sponsoring various activities or donating to charity, which will help build international brands.
International events are an excellent stage for developing international brands
The main reason why international events are listed separately is because they have excellent benefits in establishing international brands. They are far more powerful than ordinary events. The influence of sponsorship or donation is much greater and deeper. Many multinational companies that are famous internationally use sports events to build international brands.
For example, Japan's Seiko Watch used the 1964 Olympic Games held in Tokyo to build itself into a world brand; while South Korea's Samsung used the 1988 Olympic Games held in Seoul to build itself into an internationally renowned brand. As far as Samsung is concerned, it has many of the same experiences as Chinese companies.
Samsung was a company that relied on OEM for Sanyo in 1990. After it became famous after the International Olympic Games in Seoul, Samsung, which tasted the benefits of using the Olympics to build its brand, has been in the fourth issue of TOP since 1997. From the beginning of the plan to signing the sixth phase of the TOP plan with the International Olympic Committee in October 2002 (providing wireless communication equipment and technical support), it became an international high-end brand in the "Samsung Digital World". According to the 2003 list of the world's top 100 most valuable brands announced by Interbrand, a world-famous brand research company, Samsung was only five places behind the internationally renowned Sony. It ranked 25th, becoming the second largest brand in Asia. Brand, its performance is so outstanding. As a result of Olympic sponsorship, global consumers' recognition of the Samsung brand has been greatly enhanced.
This time Lenovo signed a sponsorship contract with the International Olympic Committee to become its TOP member, which is to learn from Samsung in building an international brand through sports. According to estimates by the Olympic Organizing Committee, there will be more than 10,000 athletes in the 2008 Olympic Games, 20,000 people engaged in media reporting, more than 10,000 relevant sports officials from various countries, 4,000 organizing committee staff, and on-site audiences. It will reach more than 9 million people, and the TV audience will reach nearly 4 billion.
As a result, the global exposure of Lenovo's brand logo and name can be said to have reached its limit. At the same time, Lenovo's product lines - servers, laptops, desktop PCs, printers, handheld computing devices, computer-related storage devices and data network equipment and services In addition, Lenovo’s strong technical support capabilities, efficient and timely services, responsiveness and ability to quickly solve problems will be exercised and tested by numerous media and sports officials at home and abroad. It reflects Lenovo’s strong leadership in production , delivery, supporting services and commercial operations. I believe that Lenovo's successful operation will undoubtedly greatly enhance its world image and international brand influence. After Beijing's successful bid for the Olympic Games, countless Chinese people have been worried that no Chinese company will take the initiative to join the TOP plan, resulting in the emergence of foreign brands dominating the world in China. However, what is not disappointing is that Lenovo Group has truly entered the stage of Chinese companies' pursuit of international brands. dream.
Similarly, BenQ, which has a factory in Suzhou, will greatly enhance its international brand influence through being the only "officially designated IT industry partner" for the 2004 European Nations Cup. As the European Nations Cup football match is the third largest international sports event in the world, second only to the Olympic Games and the World Cup football match, the football match was held in Portugal from June 12 to July 4 this year. The number of people worldwide watching the game online is close to 7 billion, and this time it is expected to reach 10 billion. It is conceivable that BenQ's product image and international brand influence will be greatly improved.
In addition, popular international or regional competitions such as basketball, volleyball, tennis and baseball are good channels for Chinese companies to sponsor and enhance their brand influence.
Media advertising is the basis for building international brands
In order to compete for the Chinese market, multinational companies with well-known European, American and Japanese brands place advertisements in newspapers, TV, magazines and the Internet. It's a big deal. Their advertisements are creative and innovative. Therefore, their purpose has been achieved, which is to increase Chinese consumers' awareness of them, let their excellent products and services meet the needs of Chinese consumers, and at the same time squeeze out the Chinese market. market share. Similarly, when Chinese companies expand their brands internationally, they should also put in moderate advertising. Although advertising costs in the West are much more expensive than in China, this is an investment that Chinese companies determined to build international brands have to spend, said Yan Yu in China. The advertising investment required to build an international brand cannot be saved. Otherwise, Chinese products can only be sold as gold. However, when conducting international marketing, domestic enterprises should do a good job in product market positioning and segmentation, carry out differentiated and cost-effective comparative marketing, etc., pay attention to the psychological analysis of the host country's consumers and research on fashion and related cultural backgrounds. When advertising, they should pay attention to The principle of localization can make it easy to be accepted and loved by local people. At the same time, when choosing media, you should look for media with high local influence and high reputation. Of course, their asking prices are also relatively high. Since they have a large audience, their products and brands will naturally have a much greater impact. Depending on the product category and audience target, attention should be paid to the different roles of popular and professional media when advertising. In addition, when doing advertising and marketing, it is necessary to grasp the broadcast frequency. An appropriate frequency is conducive to the audience's recognition and deepening their memory. Otherwise, the audience will easily forget it.
In short, building an international brand for Chinese companies is an arduous task with huge investments and a long payback period. At the same time, creativity and public relations must be integrated into the above methods. Chinese companies should increase the ratio of R&D investment to sales, keep track of today's most advanced technologies, start by mastering core technologies, and continuously maintain product innovation to enhance core competitiveness. This is a necessary factor for creating international brands. In addition, cultivating excellent corporate culture is also the driving force for Chinese enterprises to internationalize and enhance their competitiveness.
If Chinese companies focus on exporting international brands while exporting products, one day, China's Lenovo will be able to compete with IBM in terms of strength and brand, ZTE and Huawei will become China's Nortel and Lucent, and Haier's brand will rival Panasonic... When a large number of Chinese brands become familiar to consumers around the world, more Chinese brands will enter the ranks of world brands, and more companies will enter the global top 500. This is the dream pursued by the Chinese people. It is also the real moment when China’s strength is improving. Therefore, Chinese companies must not forget to build their own international brands when exporting products