The position crisis of electric business enterprise

Positioning (positioning), was in the early 70 by the famous American marketing expert Reese and Trout, in their view, positioning is positioning products in the eyes of your future potential customers, so that your business and products become different from others, The formation of core competitiveness, can be more clearly established brand, so that the brand has become representative of the significance, so consumers have consumer demand, will be the first to think of this brand.

Today to share my personal views, the listed well-known brands are simply online browsing, not to these brands do actual exchange, so the point of view is easy to lose biased, the purpose is only to exchange, these brands if there are objections, hope to Haihan.

For example, Volvo on behalf of security, BMW representative driving fun, Mercedes-Benz for the noble quality, consumers are what they need, Wang Old Kat before the unknown, Guangdong many stalls have a lot of herbal tea to sell, at that time everyone thought people need herbal tea, Wang old Ji a few years, on two packaging varieties, turnover More than Coca-Cola China, this is positioning to win, add a "fear" word, fear of fire, and stall on the positioning of competitors to form differences, but also greatly expand the consumer population. And the Li-Ning Olympic Games after the target population set for the network generation, the current losing.

Since Reese and Trout are all advertisers backgrounds, their positioning theory is limited to advertising communication strategies, emphasizing that products occupy the minds of consumers. In fact, the impact of positioning theory on marketing far more than the original as a communication skills category, and evolved into a marketing strategy of a basic step. Kotler that positioning is the company's provision of value and image of the planning behavior. McKinsey's strategic plan also talks about the choice of value, the value and the value of 3 of companies.

The author engaged in traditional retail brands and e-commerce for many years, have also studied positioning skills in central Europe, but in the actual work found that positioning skills are currently 90% of China's enterprises are missing, but this skill is not a lack of skills, because positioning is the strategic source of enterprise skills, without it, enterprises in other tactical areas no matter how many things, Finally failed. Even as the author of the system to learn the positioning techniques of various schools, but in the actual work is still easy to make mistakes, because many schools, do not know the flexibility of the use of the theoretical system.

The author began to turn to the E-commerce industry in 07, has been in the 1th shop and other enterprises as marketing director, the company was set up when the problem of positioning, 1th store users who? store 1th what should be the product classification and so on these issues were discussed at the company, and finally successfully positioned as an online supermarket, Crowd is the supermarket crowd screening more likely to buy the crowd, product line from 10 to 4 categories: food and beverage, mother and child, beauty, home appliances, except for books, building materials, clothing and other categories, we think of this decision behind the positioning skills? This case is not specifically expanded here.

Later the author as a well-known apparel E-commerce company vice president, the first day to work in the door to find the wall affixed to the brand of advertising language: * * * brand, white-collar most satisfied with the brand. At that time felt a big problem, although the dedication to do 3 months, through the right tactics, March performance also achieved 3 times times, but due to the inability to change the strategic direction and other reasons to leave the enterprise.

11 years began to consult the electric business enterprises, there is time to concentrate on what they have learned, see E-commerce industry brand ebb and flow, the basic are 3 problems: strategic positioning is unclear, organizational capacity is not enough, marketing methods deviate from the essence of marketing. Time relationship, here we focus on positioning. 4 months ago, to give Eric College's clients a strategic course in traditional business e-commerce, so began to choose the case, saw the E-commerce most well-known apparel industry official website, from their official online choose their own written positioning related keywords, here to share with you to see whether we perceive their written positioning:

Every guest: Internet fashion Life brand, first-line quality, reasonable price, minimalist lifestyle

Mai Lin: euromoda--product style simple and generous, fashion. rampage--is an elegant, independent and confident

Massamasso: Men, high-end clothing and apparel products to the middle price to enjoy the luxury of quality

Oleno: 20-30 young people fashion, simple, avantgarde men and women apparel, high-end quality, happy service, "free, natural, with the nature, happiness, comfort, self-confidence" personality, more cost-effective, unique fabrics

Justyle: For the vast number of urban new sharp to create self-confidence, elegance, relaxed lifestyle, to international brands as the standard, select unique fabrics, become the world's leading fashion life service provider

Split Silk: The true, release, idealistic expression, to go to the professionals, not fashion, like the edge, mysterious, original, not just costumes, is culture, is attitude, is courage

First-line quality, second-line prices for urban youth to provide cost-effective casual apparel. More consumers to provide a discovery of beauty and moving urban cultural life style.

Lanmiu: Sexy women's underwear, lifestyle style in Tokyo

Dream Bazaar:??? Why is the question mark? Ask the reader to find the answer at the end.

Well, now that we have seen the above official online text, what do we see? I believe this conclusion: the common key word for the first line quality, second-tier price, fashion, elegance, self-confidence, unique fabrics, simple, lifestyle ... The result is that we consumers will not remember your brand, in addition to the Lanmiu can be remembered split silk, outside. Compare to appreciate crack silk positioning, they are one of the few Chinese brands said they are not fashionable, of course, Lanmiu sexy and Tokyo, the two keywords are easier to remember.

If your positioning of the statement so that you consumers can not remember you, then you can only spell advertising and low price promotions, and then embarked on a one-way road. Marketing is actually to solve 3 problems: 1, first why consumer demand this thing? 2 Secondly why do consumers buy this stuff from you? 3 finally why do consumers need to buy now? The current E-commerce companies do not focus on the first, the second issue, but the money and energy on the 3rd level, because the low price has promotions, so buy now.

This is actually a marketing order failure, the first should create demand, brand-building, and many electric companies because there is capital, not only low-cost, but also can use capital money to the portal advertising, but unfortunately the advertising language is low price, McKinsey said the choice, delivery and publicity value to the electric companies here into the choice of low price, To provide low-cost and advertising low-cost, such a departure from the essence of strategic marketing practices, will see a group of electric dealers "well-known" brand blood loss and face a dilemma.

The author has seen a lot of positioning theory schools, from the success and failure of their own integration of the following views:

1, positioning definition: In the same market segments, the choice of prominent, distinctive features of product service advantages and establish a product service image. Market segments are different and cannot be compared. For example, Taobao crowd and jingdong crowd in fact two people.

2, positioning 4 core points

1 the perceived value and actual value of consumers in the eyes of the same

For example, Mecoxlane said that their simplicity, but consumers went to their stores, contracted to become a synonym for poor workmanship, perception and actual value inconsistent, so this is the store mode failure important reason

2) highlight the core competitive edge of leadership and provide value

For example, just a few brands have said a few keyword positioning, but did not form a leadership advantage, this society is like 100 meters race, no one remembers the second, when you said a lot of positioning characteristics, but not the first words, equal to White said. So positioning is to choose a field to do the first, can not choose, there are problems. No add more treasure time, Wanglaoji said afraid of the fire is enough, have Gado, now please pay attention to the recent Gado action, in fact, is repositioning, which said the leading brand of herbal tea, this is the first position.

3 distinctive, differentiated characteristics

This is the case of some of the brand's fatal error, said the same, how to let people remember you? But the difference is not the naked bamboo difference, must provide value, crack Silk said the edge is very good, these people do not pursue the so-called fashion, but the national wind, the network era, the target population changes, Now the target population must be a small pond of large fish, to the big pond fishing is often lost, although more fish, but fish have different types, each kind of demand is not the same, you can not use a positioning to meet all kinds of needs.

4 Product service and consumer emotional contact

This is a new challenge for positioning in the internet age. Because the internet age is getting harder to find the USP's unique selling point 10 years ago, it is now CEP (Customer Exchange points) customer contact Marketing Opera. The consumer buys you the thing, is nothing but the rational value which your enterprise provides (style, price, quality, type, etc.), perceptual value (brand identification, content, website design, community ownership, etc.) and commitment value (service performance, new product speed, delivery speed, website performance, etc.), but in the current Chinese electricity market, products homogenization, service slaves (Desperately to please consumers lead to high costs, such as three to send), so only the brand experience is the future core competitive advantage (in order to distinguish from price, delivery speed and other relative competitive advantage), so you have to and consumers have been contact, interaction, building relationships rather than just trading. Think of Maslow's theory of demand, only the real from these core emotional needs to impress consumers in the network era brand stand out.

3, positioning of the 3 parameters

I now like to do simple work, good theory should be the simplest, so now share my positioning experience, good positioning is to meet 3 conditions: 1 of the vast majority of consumer demand 2 of competitors ' weaknesses 3 of their own capabilities. In the case of Store No. 1th, which I shared with the Zhangjiang Alumni Association in Central Europe, I found that even some alumni who had studied the positioning had chosen other value positions without careful consideration of this important parameter.

So each value point such as the choice of price, quality, style, distribution, etc. should consider these 3 principles, the author has served the apparel company even if the capital in place, but also can not be a temporary lack of professional designers, planners, information systems and other internal core resources, so can not quickly provide a good style of this urgent need for some value points, Ability and consumer demand do not match, so money really is not omnipotent, a lot of value such as credibility need time to accumulate. Positioning is to create a competitive advantage, the so-called competitive advantage is simply that the company has the ability to more efficient than competitors to create value for customers, we choose value when really can not perceptual, any value points need capacity, time, cost and other integrated integration considerations.

Write here, a brief summary of those electrical business apparel enterprises Positioning error Risk, we can look forward to 2-3 years, 2-3 years later to see these conclusions are not:

Macaulay: The customer most value the quality benefit point is not guaranteed, causes the perception and the actual inconsistency;

Massamasso: Network high-end positioning because the network of high-end people in the market is not mature, resulting in small target market, so short-term hit the bottleneck, to the middle end of the market to lose its own high-end positioning;

Justyle: Positioning is not realistic, the global leader is not necessary to put forward, the author has served in the former Louis Vuitton group, a global leader in the brand is time to accumulate.

Split Silk: The author thinks its position is very good, but must say the risk, is its target crowd market is not big enough, if is the store mode, but the risk is bigger, fortunately is the network mode, can find many small ponds, so optimistic about its development into a health company, but this positioning in the future to do billions of scale is impossible.

Oleno: Positioning is not clear and simple, but also violates the positioning of the principle of different, "free, natural, with the nature, happiness, comfort, self-confidence, fashion, avantgarde, simple ..." can only let everyone forget you, in fact, 1 points, at most 3 points worth claiming is enough.

Dream Bazaar: I can not find the right positioning keyword, because it also launched a lot of brands, many categories, want to sell to many groups of people, strategically, this is very dangerous practice, because not focus. Godingkun, a professor in Central Europe, once said that in the United States a few decades ago, the top 500 companies are now less than 10, and the survival is focused. Here I am not very optimistic about its future trend.

Finally, positioning is a technical work, involving competition analysis, consumer research and enterprise internal value chain analysis and other strategic planning skills, space is limited, here no longer specific to carry out a variety of analytical tools to illustrate the above conclusions. At first, said, positioning can affect the fate of the enterprise, is the source of Taobao on a promotional only small tactics, will not change the fate of the enterprise. Now and everyone to share their experience, if destined, we can share the success or failure of various factors.