How To Avoid Risks In Brand Innovation

Peter Dulac, a famous American management scientist, said: "many of the many successful innovators and entrepreneurs are none of them. The reason why they succeed is precisely because they can determine what risks they have and put them in order. risk Within a certain limit.

many brand Through innovation, new vitality has been gained. For example, after Volkswagen acquired Skoda automobile in Czech, through a series of brand innovation, Skoda's jokes in Eastern Europe were successfully transformed. image To make Skoda a trustworthy car brand.

However, we should also realize that brand innovation is a risky job. Once a mistake is made, it will bring huge losses to the enterprise. The case of brand innovation failure is not uncommon. For example, the Texas Instruments Company developed a home computer failure and lost $660 million. Radio Corporation America failed to develop TV games and lost $570 million.

The Museum of failed products in New York provides such a figure: there are more than 54000 new products coming to the market every year in the United States, while only 20% of them are really popular. In the museum, up to more than 80 thousand pieces of "failed products" are waiting for people to reflect. There are many innovative products of many famous enterprises.

The success or failure of brand innovation is of great significance to the sustainable development of enterprises. So, how to avoid the risk of brand innovation?

　　 First, maintain the core value of the brand.

Once the core value of a brand is determined, its continuity and stability should be maintained. Unless Marlboro is forced to do so, it should not be changed easily. We should know that the greater the difference between the new core value and the original core value, the lower the credibility and the greater the risk. Therefore, brand product innovation and image renewal should focus on the core of core value, products can be updated, the image can constantly change, but can not easily deviate from the main line of the core value of the brand.

For example, in May 1886, shortly after the birth of Coca-Cola, the first advertisement was printed in the Atlanta Daily: "Coca-Cola, delicious, fresh, happy! Vitality!" In the past more than 100 years, Coca-Cola has used more than 100 advertising slogans, and the spokesmen have changed and changed. However, the brand value of Coca-Cola is always unchanged.

For example, for decades, Volvo's product innovation has been working hard in terms of "safety", which greatly reduces the risk of brand innovation. It is precisely because of the relentless pursuit of "safety" that Volvo has won numerous awards, such as Prince Mike's road safety award, European collision four star award, and British Touring Car Championship. Volvo has retained its market share in the fierce battle with Mercedes Benz and BMW, and has become the world's most "safe" car synonym.

Two, with the leading technology level as the guarantee.

Brand innovation is the prerequisite for product innovation. The improvement of product quality is based on technological progress. Only with advanced technology level as guarantee can we promote the upgrading of product structure and increase the technological content of products. New products can form competitive advantages, quickly enter the market and reduce the capital cost of enterprises' investment period, thereby reducing the risk of brand product innovation.

At the same time, the leading technology level can also set up the image of the industry leader, enhance the brand reputation and enhance the added value of the brand.

For example, Haier refrigerator's energy saving technology has not only reached the leading position in the world, but also widely recognized by users worldwide. Taking a 215 liter refrigerator as an example, consumers use Haier refrigerators of the same capacity will save 0.11 yuan per day on electricity charges, which will save about 36 yuan a year, and at the same time, it will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 72 kilograms a year. Haier refrigerator, with its technical advantages in the field of energy saving, won the "first China energy saving product leader list" in 2010.

　 Three, starting from consumer demand.

Consumers are the real masters of the market, so brand innovation should start from the perspective of consumers rather than from the perspective of scientists.

Brand innovation should be an insight into the needs of consumers rather than the closet building of researchers in the laboratory. Careful consumer research can avoid unnecessary risks in brand innovation.

For example, Procter & Gamble put forward the concept of "360 degree innovation", communicating with more than 7 million consumers each year, and R & D personnel and marketing personnel regularly visit the consumers' homes to observe and understand their troubles and needs in life. From the perspective of consumers, Procter & Gamble's success rate of innovation has increased by more than two times.

For example, the concept of "user experience first" has made apple products popular all over the world, and has caused numerous "fruit powder" worship. Jobs believes that the era of technological success based on silicon chips is over, instead of "emotional resonance with consumers" and "making customers memorable experience". From iPod to iPodTouch, from iPhone to iPhone4, from iPad to iPad2, every product upgrade of Apple Corp has greatly improved the user experience of consumers. Jobs once said, "don't ask consumers what they want, create what they need but can't express." Apple has achieved the ultimate user experience not only to meet the explicit needs of users, but also to see and satisfy the implicit needs of users. These implicit needs may not be clear to the users themselves, but Apple thinks of you. The mobile phone industry seems to have been the "Red Sea", but the insight of users' implicit demand has led apple to find another "blue ocean".

Although brand innovation is always associated with risks, an enterprise should be brave in pursuit of brand innovation if it wants to keep pace with the times and not be eliminated by the market. To be sure, brand innovation is to reduce the risk of enterprise competition, and not innovation is the biggest risk.