Turn brand value into sales performance

At the Shanghai branch of "CEConlines 2005 Management Forum: Brand Value", Li Xi, Director of Media and Public Relations of Sony (China) Co., Ltd., Mr. Zhang Yaodong, General Manager of L'Oreal Paris, and Portman Ritz-Carlton Shanghai Yin Xiaojun, the operating revenue manager of the hotel, discussed with each other on the stage and shared their respective brand management experience.

Recognize the target customers of the brand. If you want to convert the brand value into sales performance, you must first know where the sales performance is obtained. Therefore, the representatives of the three brands first proposed that the first step is to establish brand positioning and identify their target customers.

Li Xi: The sub-brand of Sony's digital camera products is Cyber-shot. Last year, we carried out a brand spiritual positioning for it, called "I own my own opinion", to encourage every consumer to have his own new life proposition , the new digital life. With this brand positioning, Sony has launched nearly 30 product categories with different technical features, different colors and different designs for different target consumer groups. These distinctions themselves are derived from market research.

Aimed at young and fashionable consumer groups, it is an entry-level digital camera with a price of around one or two thousand yuan. It has a small appearance and has a color design that young people like; The compact design is mainly priced at around 3,000 yuan; for photography enthusiasts and professional photographers, there are semi-professional and professional-level products, paying more attention to the needs of these customers in terms of professional performance, while the fashion needs are relatively backward, such as Professional-grade products are overwhelmingly solid black, with a small amount of silver. In short, for different target customers, the products of the same brand have different emphasis on various aspects such as functional technology, price positioning, and appearance design.

Zhang Yaodong: Whether in L'Oreal China or in the market, L'Oreal Paris is a brand that connects the previous and the next, and the average product price is between 100 and 200 yuan. Our positioning in China is more high-end than in foreign markets, such as Europe. Therefore, the target customer group in China is very different from that in foreign countries.

The first point is that these customers are more pursuing quality, not satisfying general needs. For example, buying skin care products can not only moisturize the skin, but also be able to solve some skin problems. The requirements for quality are relatively high. The second point is the psychological needs of aesthetics and fashion. For example, favor international brands, like fashion styles from Paris, etc. Of course, a certain amount of spending power is also required, and the monthly income is about 2,000 yuan.

Yin Xiaojun: The Ritz-Carlton Hotel has a history of more than 100 years. Since the establishment of this brand, its goal is to become the premier provider of luxury hotel services worldwide. This is our position. Two points are emphasized here, one is the luxury hotel service and the second is the premier provider. Our service concept is to let the most distinguished guests receive the most complete and comfortable facilities and services, as well as the most unforgettable memories and experiences; at the same time, when our target customers think of luxury hotels, they immediately think of the Ritz-Carlton brand.

Building the competitiveness of the brand

Who is the brand's competitor? How do you differentiate yourself from your competitors' strengths? In the case of a relatively fixed market capacity, the market share fluctuates. Therefore, the special advantage of building a brand is to add a winning weight to the balance of competition.

Li Xi: Sony's business covers electronic hardware, entertainment software, and services that combine hardware and software. It is a comprehensive entertainment brand. Therefore, in product design, consumers often have a feeling that Sony's products have an artist's temperament, which is a feature that no other brand has.

The brand is attractive and the product itself is the foundation. In terms of Sony's digital cameras and notebook computers, one feature is that it covers all products from entry-level to high-end, and the product line is the longest in the industry. The second feature is that products positioned in each consumer group, compared with similar competitors, highlight some of the qualities shared by the brand. In this way, the advantages at the product level are more obvious.

Zhang Yaodong: L'Oreal Paris' competitors include Opal, some high-end Olay products, and some Japanese brands. In contrast, we want our brand to focus on three strengths: professional, upscale, and stylish. Professionally, we launch more than 30 products using new technologies every year in China, which is basically the most. In terms of image, from the appearance of the product to the details of the clothing and hairstyle of the beauty consultant at the counter, we are very particular about the high-end feeling. For example, last year, we had a summer white uniform, which was considered the most beautiful uniform by beauty consultants of various brands; and in terms of fashion, generally speaking, most brands that are purely skincare oriented are relatively quiet and do not focus on fashion. Variety. Nowadays, female consumers are becoming more and more assertive, hoping to reflect the charm of women, so in our products, fashion is a factor that must be reflected.

Yin Xiaojun: As far as the hotel industry is concerned, brand management is the management of people. Because most of the hotel services are one-to-one, which is the contact between people, the service awareness and quality of the staff directly reflect the promise of the Ritz-Carlton brand. We have four emotional drivers: require employees to make each guest feel special, respected, welcome, and have a very comfortable and enjoyable experience.

In order to achieve this, Ritz-Carlton's different practices from its competitors have a very important point related to employees. Our hotel has won the first place in China's Best Employers for two consecutive years, and we treat our employees with the attitude of treating gentlemen and ladies. Because, only when the employee feels that he is respected and treated can he serve the guests with the same attitude.

Marketing beyond the brand

In recent years, Sony's digital cameras, digital video cameras, and notebook computers have grown by 100% or more; L'Oreal Paris' sales have grown It has exceeded 50% for several consecutive years, while the market share has steadily maintained the top three in the industry; at the same time, the room occupancy rate of the Portman Ritz-Carlton Shanghai has continued to exceed 90%. Obviously, these three brands are all creating value for their respective companies, and all of them have actually translated into sales performance that managers care about most. And this also requires more work outside the brand.

Li Xi: The reason why we can achieve good sales performance is that we have a good execution in all aspects. The first is a smooth sales channel.

And then thanks to a strong marketing team. Including marketing, public relations, promotion, advertising and sales, etc., the team should work together to complete the task.

Last but not least, a reasonable price. Compared with previous years, the price of each Sony product in the past year or two has gradually been closer to the target consumer group it targets, and the price has been accepted by more consumers.

If the Sony brand was mentioned seven or eight years ago, many people would have thought it was a color TV brand or an audio brand, but now when many people mention Sony, they would think of digital cameras and laptops. This is a successful transition from the analog age to the digital IT age.

Zhang Yaodong: The success of L'Oreal Paris in China is that we have made some adaptive adjustments to the local market. Localization does not mean to become a Chinese brand, but to be suitable for this market, to understand local consumers, and then to choose suitable means to operate.

In foreign countries, we basically sell on the shelves in the store, and there is no such service as a beauty consultant. The Chinese market needs services, and competitors are also providing services, so providing excellent services is the first thing we need to adapt to when we come to China. At present, we have established a very strong team of beauty consultants in China. We have conducted industry surveys for three consecutive years, including comparison with high-end brands. In terms of beauty service quality and level, L'Oreal Paris is the best in the industry.

Yin Xiaojun: Ritz-Carlton entered the Shanghai market in 1998. Although it is a very high-end and well-known chain hotel brand abroad, it was not well-known when it first entered the Chinese market. At that time, it happened to encounter the financial crisis in Southeast Asia. We cannot only rely on foreign customers, so we must actively develop local customers. First of all, the sales staff must find out where their target market is, find some big customers, and the cooperation with them will expand the popularity of Ritz-Carlton in the target market; The event quickly established a high-end image; of course, it was selected as China's Best Employer for two consecutive years, which also helped Ritz-Carlton improve its brand image among the company's senior managers.

In the hotel industry, every room has a strong timeliness. If you don't sell it tonight, it will be useless tomorrow. Therefore, the management of operating income is very emphasized. Ritz-Carlton's brand definitely has a huge impact on this revenue. Because firstly, the brand determines what price the rooms can be sold for, and secondly, Ritz-Carlton is the first choice for guests in so many luxury hotels in Shanghai. The combination of these two improvements is an increase in sales performance.