The product is not perfect, how to plan the brand operation

Article | Lao Nie talks about brand, source: PR home

It has always been accepted that the idea is to do a good job in products, and then talk about brands. Products are the foundation of everything. This view must be recognized, but if only this principle is followed, 90% of start-ups will go bankrupt, After all, imperfect products are the norm for most companies.

For most of these companies, how should they do a good job in branding when their products are not perfect?

1. The product can be imperfect, but there should be highlights

There are many ways to highlight, which can be the selling point of physical properties. The same product is better than others' formula; At the same price, the materials are better than others;

It can also be the highlight of the product story. For example, the founder is a senior backpacker who has been to dozens of countries. Although the products are the same as those of travel agencies, they are all screened out by the founder's personal experience. Does it sound like the experience will be better;

Another example is that the product has been used by star users. For example, if a popular star uses the same product when traveling, can it be sold more expensive;

Or if the product has been invested by a well-known institution and even the investment institution is optimistic about the product, can it not be used easily;

……

Many highlights do not seem to be strongly related to the product, but you should know that each highlight is the basis for users to pay the bill, and also a good basis for communication.

But there are bright spots to be a brand, which means not to make good products. After all, no matter in any industry, If the product is useless, it is impossible to create a bright spot Marketing It is unrealistic to solve problems.

2. The product should have the ability to solve problems

If the highlight is the premise of product attention, the ability to solve problems is the premise of ensuring product sales.

The birth of each product must follow the demand, whether it is real demand or fake demand. The solution to some needs of current users is the value of the product. Only with the ability to solve a problem can the product do a good job in marketing and its own brand.

For example, the birth of customized tours is aimed at solving the travel needs of high-end users and in-depth travel users, in view of the fact that the traditional group tours of travel agencies are not independent and in-depth enough; For example, it is true that people's demand for the extremely low price of e-commerce platform after the transformation of Taobao has been met by putting together more and more; For example, the birth of bike sharing, even though it is criticized as a waste of resources, can not deny that it has solved the problem of many commuters' last mile travel.

So before doing branding, think about your products and what problems they have solved. This problem can be holistic, or it can be a small problem solved by a small function, which may be recognized by users. For example, compared with many competing products, perhaps just a more attractive point is enough to impress many users.

3. The product should have a clear development direction

Having bright spots and solving problems can greatly help brand communication and marketing, while long-term planning and progress of products is the long-term means to realize enterprise value.

Take Apple as an example. Now we can talk a lot about Apple and Jobs case And scheme theory, can tell a lot of product manufacturing stories and details to show how powerful and great the product is. But if we go back to the beginning and look at Apple's generation of mobile phone products from the current perspective, whether it is the iPad, iPod, or iPhone, it is estimated that from the function to the design experience, we will feel weak.

What does this example show? It shows that even though a certain killer feature helped Apple rise rapidly in those years, it really made Apple a product that still has a strong impact on everyone today, because from the beginning, Apple had a clear plan and iteration rhythm for product development, and realized it step by step, so we have today's perception of Apple.

So for most products, no matter whether they are imperfect or look great, they are still It needs continuous growth and progress to win in the future 。

4. Keep product innovation

Following the previous article, There are two best ways to maintain product strength and improve competitiveness, One is to define the product direction and continue to iterate; the other is to constantly innovate based on the product. As for innovation, many people will think that it is a project that costs huge human and financial resources. Sometimes it may be, but there are also cases where a small amount of change can lead to great success.

Internet products are the most obvious example. In the early years, many foreign Internet giants entered China without success. Alibaba and Tencent were able to win the final victory in e-commerce and social networking products. Many people attributed it to localization. In fact, in my opinion, it is essentially product innovation. After all, there are so many imitators in the same period. Why only they can succeed? Behind this is the localization innovation of "successful products".

Another example is a cold medicine that has been successfully marketed - white plus black. It takes white tablets in the daytime and black tablets at night. The cost is not high, but it has achieved great success.

Of course, the premise of this kind of innovation is that we need to have in-depth research and understanding of the industry, and have deep insight into users and their own products, so that we can know where to innovate, rather than blindly innovating for innovation.

5. Identify the essential difference between sales and brand

Finally, let's talk about sales and brand. After all, the products are perfect and imperfect. They are all for sales and brand building.

There is an essential difference between these two points. No matter how poor the product is, it can actually be delivered for sale. As long as you can find the bright spots, think about how to sell quickly and well, even without word of mouth. After all, the core goal of sales is to sell the product.

However, the brand needs to be sold to a certain extent. It is sold to the target customer group after product polishing to gradually gain public praise and form a long-term good positive effect.

Therefore, it has requirements for product quality and gradually improves the requirements, so it is possible to do better. It is the final result of an enterprise's vision, mission, product strength, sense of responsibility and other comprehensive factors. Therefore, brand building for products must not be eager for quick success and instant benefit.

To sum up, products can be imperfect. As long as they can find highlights and address user needs, they can gain sales. To create long-term vitality of products, they must have clear planning and continuous iterative innovation to become a successful brand.

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