What is transformational marketing?

China's transition market is different from western mature markets.

Many top managers of multinational companies can't help sighing after going deep into the China market for several years: "The China market is too big, too complicated and changing too fast. China's market is in the process of transformation, one of which is from "planned economy" to "socialist market economy". The signs of reaching the end point are: the relationship between government and enterprises has been transformed and the modern enterprise system has been realized; The second process is from "closed market" to "open market", and its end point is China's entry into WTO. According to the research report of the State Planning Commission 65438-0995, the overall marketization degree of China's economy is about 65%. In this process, the market environment and operation of China are constantly changing. Obviously, the changing market and the mature market have different singularities, which is the most basic point to correctly interpret the China market. In the two completely different environments of planned economy and market economy, the behavior characteristics, thinking mode and value system of closed market and open market are far apart, and the distribution of benefits is completely different, which directly affects and determines the different behaviors of enterprises.

The characteristics of planned economy are: official standard and great government authority; Officials are greater than the people; Official management of the people; Enterprises ask the government; Binding between enterprises and people (comprehensive examination and approval system); Government allocates resources; The government is the referee.

The main characteristics of market economy are: market (customer) standard; Government services enterprises and consumers; The government is bound; Market allocation of resources; Competition determines the outcome.

The main features of China's transitional market are as follows.

● The high-level appointment right of state-owned enterprises still belongs to the government. For example, Hunan Xiangjiugui (a listed company) changed its board of directors in 5438+0 in February 2006 due to the decline in performance (net profit in the first half of 2000 decreased by 56% year-on-year), and all the new directors were people with government background (three were retained and six were new). Tian Jiagui, the new chairman, is the former executive deputy governor of Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture. More than 85% of local government revenue comes from this company.

● The property rights of enterprises are unclear, and many enterprises have local government shares (major shareholders).

● The interests of government and enterprises permeate each other, and enterprise management is not independent.

● The government's approval authority is too broad, and corporate activities are over-approved. For example, the regulation of 2% advertising fee (2000), well-known trademarks were recognized by local governments, and the listing quota of companies was approved (resulting in high prices of listed companies). ● The market operation rules of the game are changeable and the laws and regulations are incomplete, which leads to the arbitrariness of implementation (such as the interpretation of advertising law varies from person to person).

This difference cannot be ignored. 1998 Professor R. vogel, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics, pointed out the huge gap between China and the United States after in-depth research:

The actual per capita income of China is at the level of about US 1897. The share of agricultural labor force in China is at the level of US 1880. As far as the ratio of primary school students to relevant age groups is concerned, China has reached the level of the United States in the mid-1950s. The secondary education in China has reached the level of the United States 1970. In terms of life expectancy, China has reached the level of US 1966. Compared with the proportion of urban population, China is at the level of US 1890.

Market environment in the eyes of China entrepreneurs

The profound experience of China entrepreneurs who grope in the market every day is also one of the evidences of China's market transformation characteristics: Changhong Ni (former general manager, chairman and CEO): In the China market, he "dare not walk straight, dare not walk sideways and die" and "dare not wear shoes".

Lenovo Liu Chuanzhi (Chairman): "It takes 37.5 ~ 39 degrees to hatch chickens, while the environment in China is 40 degrees, so it can only adapt to the environment", thus advocating "strategic paranoia and moderate methods" (CCTV-22001.2 Interview with Economic Figures in China in 2000). The rule of the game in China market is "die timid, die bold" (meaning that enterprises can't live in full accordance with policies and can't catch illegal operations). This sentence has been recognized by a large number of entrepreneurs, and there is even a saying that "you will definitely play the edge ball." Shi Yuzhu, the former president of the private enterprise giant group, complained bitterly about 13 China Private Enterprise Death Law (Guangzhou Daily 200 1.2. 19), which reflected various problems in the marketing environment and the confusion of the market order.

Multinational companies: China localization is the foundation of victory.

With China's imminent accession to the WTO, global multinational companies are stepping up their entry into the China market. Multinational companies that entered the China market in the early days had winners and losers, and the slogan of the winners was the same: "We are China companies". Lai, president of the Asia Society, said: China is more China than China, caring, patient and sincere; Bu Shaochang, president of Philips Electronics Group, said: "Please don't treat us as foreign companies. We are an authentic China company. " . The marketing strategies of the winners of multinational corporations are: attaching great importance to the localization of China; Let foreign brands "soil"; Attach importance to the relationship with China government and high-level public relations to adapt to the market environment in China. Electrolux's refrigerator, P&G's moisturizing shampoo and desensitizing toothpaste Shuminling, Coca-Cola's world and beauty, and Amway's transformation all won by localization.

Characteristics of China's market environment

It can be described in five words.

Big: vast territory; Good prospects; A paradise for making money

Change: rapid development; Change quickly; Policies are changeable; Imperfect laws and regulations

Chaos: market disorder; Serious counterfeiting and infringement; There are many abnormal strange things; The credibility (business ethics) is seriously lacking.

Dry: short-term orientation; Ups and downs; Excessive competition.

Differences: regional differences; Institutional differences; Industry differences; Differences in marketing level; Intergenerational differences are significant.

Consumers, enterprises and governments in China all show immature market performance. For example, consumers are particularly sensitive to prices, lack awareness of rights and interests, and are superstitious about advertising; Entrepreneur's officialdom complex, short-term behavior and excessive price war; The government is obsessed with the power of enterprises, local protection and arbitrary interpretation or change of market rules. Corporate behavior is bound by government behavior, which is sometimes dominated by power interests and even corruption, making the whole market more complicated and irregular.

The main singularity of China's transformation marketing

1. Difficult path trap to guard against.

In 2000, the market access competition in China was very fierce. The complexity of access is one of the most prominent differences between China's transition market and mature market, so even experienced multinational companies will inevitably encounter traps. Because the passage can't be moved in from the outside, sometimes "a strong dragon can't beat the local snake." Some problems are listed as follows.

● If you don't pay back: A businessman who won't be in debt is a stupid person.

● Cross-regional smuggling: a penny earned is a penny.

● Bargaining with each other: expand sales and get high rebates from manufacturers.

● Large households dominate: bargain and control your sales policy.

● Middleman job-hopping: mercenary, "milk is mother."

● Competitors dig corners: professional managers are more powerful than bosses.

● The middleman bargains: "If you don't give me a profit, we won't do it for you."

● Barriers to new market entry: I own this mountain and I drive this road. If I want to cross this road, I will leave the money for the road.

● High network construction cost: the rent of office buildings and warehouses is more expensive than that of goods.

● Internal out of control: the salesman "has a heart and a heart". It's better to get some kickbacks and take more part-time jobs than to hang from a tree.

● Grey transaction: a good transaction under the table and a green light on the mahjong table.

● Shop assistant: I lied to you without consulting, and even got a "mirror" to monitor you.

● It's cruel to fight for shelves: what do you mean "first come, first served"? When you are away, put my products first.

● High distribution cost: "Sorry, if you want to enter my store, you have to pay a distribution fee of 300,000 yuan first."

● Irregular management: Few enterprises have established access management documents and standard manuals.

● Information communication is blocked: information communication is not timely, communication means are backward, and information is distorted.

And local protectionism. For example, in Sucheng District, Suqian City, Jiangsu Province, in order to protect the local high-priced beer, each bottle spent 0.2 ~ 0.5 yuan to make it unprofitable (CCTV- 1 Focus Interview1999.6.24); The Hubei market will raise the price of Shanghai Santana by 70,000 yuan, and the Shanghai market will raise the price of Hubei Fukang car by 50,000 yuan.

2. The proliferation of counterfeit goods and the nightmare of intellectual property rights

International brand P &；; G, Nike, Microsoft and so on. I feel that one of the most intractable problems in the China market is that there are too many fakes to prevent. Counterfeiting not only consumes a lot of manpower and material resources, but also makes people worry and embarrassed that a large-scale counterfeiting will discourage consumers and seriously affect the sales of real goods, that is, counterfeiting will become real goods. According to the conservative estimation of Procter & Gamble Company (200 1. 1), all kinds of counterfeit Procter & Gamble brand products now account for more than 15% of the market, and Procter & Gamble loses as much as 6,500 sales each year due to such counterfeit products. Counterfeiting is therefore listed as an important work of P&G's market management. "Goldlion" is a famous brand that Hong Kong entered the mainland, and then it went downhill. Mainly because there are too many fakes. Ceng Xianzi said helplessly: "The more fake it is in 10, the fake Goldlion will be seen as soon as you go out." Penbao Group's agricultural fertilizer "Penbao" is a national key science and technology promotion project, but it lost its market because of counterfeit goods. Wang Xianglin, the group, said: "Since 10, the company has been forced to invest manpower and material resources in counterfeiting (since 1996, it has spent more than one million yuan every year), but the struggle is difficult. Up to now, there are at least three times more fakes on the market than the real ones. 1993 Shijiazhuang' penbao' sales income was 20 million yuan. 1995, after the fake goods entered, the real goods were squeezed out of the market at a very low price for half a year. 1997, there are no true and false' spray treasures' in the city, because farmers no longer believe or buy them. " According to the statistics of Southern Metropolis Daily (2000. 1 1.24), the annual output value of fake and shoddy products in China has reached about 654.38+30 billion yuan, and the annual tax loss is more than 25 billion yuan. A survey of 146 counterfeit and infringing enterprises shows that: 23 enterprises' fake sales account for more than 50% of the real goods; More than 100% have11; The worst is as high as 568 times

Why is it difficult to control fraud? The reason is very complicated, but it has a lot to do with government law enforcement departments. According to CCTV Focus Interview (200 1.2), the illegal salt in Huanghua City, Hebei Province was repeatedly banned because the local salt administration department regarded it as an important source of "income generation" and even issued income indicators in the form of groups. So when the reporter went to the scene to investigate, the officials of the Salt Bureau actually tipped off the smugglers first.

3. The market segments are very different

The most striking feature of China market is its vast territory. There are obvious differences in economy, culture and folk customs in different regions, and the policies implemented by local governments are also different, thus forming different regional market segments. Because China's society is undergoing drastic changes, compared with the stable social structure in Europe and other countries, the contrast between tradition and modernity is greater, and the differences between the younger generation and the older generation are sometimes quite different. Some researchers divide China people into three generations, while some multinational companies focus on the next generation. Many studies show that the gap between the rich and the poor in China society is widening (the policy also encourages "some people get rich first"), and the resulting purchasing power difference and its changing trend have caused dynamic income division and different market opportunities, which cannot be ignored. Some multinational companies focus on the middle class.

4. The market survey has a great error.

Market research plays a very important role in mature markets, but it seems to be in a lukewarm state in China's transitional market. On the one hand, local enterprises are indifferent to market regulation, and only 0.24% of them are willing to do regular market regulation (Guangzhou Daily 200 1.2.2). The customers of market regulation are mainly multinational companies, joint ventures and private enterprises, and some highly competitive industries (such as IT, household appliances and health products) pay more attention to it. On the other hand, the validity and reliability of market survey results are not as good as those of foreign mature markets in China. The executive general manager of a consumer goods company controlled by overseas funds (Harvard MBA background, management experience of multinational companies) completely relied on the data of a famous international research company, made decisions in the office without visiting the actual market, and was forced to leave his job in a crushing defeat. The main reasons for the relatively low effectiveness and credibility of market regulation in China's transitional market are as follows.

● The market regulation method is basically western, and the localization research is very insufficient and the error is large;

Low business ethics, human error in the implementation of market regulation.

● China people are not used to and do not fully accept Western-style surveys, which leads to large psychological and behavioral errors among respondents;

● The professional quality of urban dispatchers is not up to standard.

● The "leaderboard" out of hype lacks public trust, thus damaging the reputation of the industry.

5. Marketing obstacles of state-owned enterprises and monopoly industries

The marketing awareness and level of domestic industries and enterprises vary greatly. Generally speaking, competitive industries are superior to monopoly industries. Private enterprises are superior to state-owned enterprises. In contrast, some large state-owned enterprises, banks and public utilities are still in the stage of "no marketing". The top management lacks marketing awareness and marketing functional departments, not to mention market research and marketing strategies, and marketing obstacles are great.

6. The failure rate of strategic planning is high.

7. The confusion of advertising operation

Because China consumers are more superstitious about advertising and powerful media than foreign consumers, advertising has been given a greater role. In addition to foreign brands will be advertising as an important weapon, local enterprises to establish new consumer goods brands or new products to enter the market awareness, advertising plays a decisive role, but in advertisement operation, China obviously has many irregularities:

● 1995' s advertising law has principles but lacks detailed definition, and there are different interpretations of its implementation in different places.

● Enterprises and local governments jointly support huge advertising fees (such as Qin Chi) * * * the same gambling market;

● The common channel-changing advertisements of local TV stations interrupt the normal connection between programs with high ratings and advertising effects.

● Although the media strategy in mature markets is quantitative, its effectiveness in China environment has been greatly challenged.

● The mature agency system of international advertising industry is violently impacted by the special relationship and gray operation of China market;

● It is difficult for multinational advertising companies to adapt to local customers, and they are often out of touch with the market because they cannot quickly reflect the urgent needs of local enterprises in the transitional market and cannot grasp the rapid changes in competition.

8. China characteristics of relationship marketing

Since 1990s, relationship marketing has received worldwide attention, but it has special significance in China's transitional market. In the west, the emphasis is on strengthening customer relationship, including establishing customer relationship management CRM with IT. In the current enterprise environment in China, because too many enterprises are subject to the government, the relationship with the relevant government departments is very important for the survival and development of enterprises, so the relationship between the government and enterprises is more important than the relationship with customers.

Foreign companies can't bypass this road when they enter the China market. In the west, cooperation treaties are often signed before toasting, but in China, toasting must be carried out before business talks.

9. New product development in China

There may be some unique products in China market, such as VCD and cabinet air conditioners.

10. Cultural-oriented brand building in China

Due to the profound cultural history of China market, brand building in China must be more localized than in other countries.

It has become a very important strategy to inject China cultural values into brand management. For example,

There is a neutral principle in the naming strategy of international brands, that is, names are meaningless. In China market, a more effective strategy is to learn the naming of Chinese time-honored brands and establish a good association with the cultural significance of China.

● It is more effective to establish brand value in the minds of China consumers and attach importance to the values of China culture. For example, Maxwell Coffee established its brand value by "sharing good things with good friends" in Taiwan Province Province, and achieved better results than in the United States.

Marketing characteristics of China's transitional market

1. Transitional mixed marketing

Sensory marketing is the marketing feature of local enterprises in China. They first pursue "feeling right". Although there are reasons for transforming the market, there are also great risks. The phenomenon of "ups and downs" and "meteors flashing" in China's business circles is the price.

It is worth emphasizing that local enterprises are stepping up their study and improving their marketing level, and the proportion of mixed reform is changing. The development direction is to increase the proportion of "science" and gradually move closer to the marketing model of international multinational companies. Some excellent enterprises (such as Haier) have made rapid progress and have shown strong learning ability, competitiveness and innovation ability.

Step 2: Face to sales

At present, a considerable proportion of domestic local enterprises are still sales-oriented, with sales promotion as their marketing and sales promotion as their purpose, so price reduction wars and sales promotion wars emerge one after another. In fact, since the mid-1990s, the main theme of market competition in China has been price competition. Although the brand's non-price competitive advantage is widely clamored, there are not many real operations.

A considerable number of enterprises are facing the life-and-death crisis of the market, lacking competitive advantage and core competitiveness, and can only go to helpless short-term marketing and simply pursue sales.

Enterprises in good condition often have no sense of crisis, because they can't improve their marketing concepts, or they can't break through the solidified marketing-oriented concepts and performance systems within the management.

3. Planning is not just a strategy.

The prevalence of "planning" is a unique phenomenon in China market. Many local enterprises ask for planning when they have problems. For example, when farmers get sick, they go to a doctor. Sometimes doctors can cure the disease and even have magical effects, but most of them are experiential and unprofessional.

Accompanied by the phenomenon, there are more market hype than market research, or a single marketing method (such as advertising bombing) is widely used, and there is no elaborate integrated marketing operation.

This short-term behavior will inevitably lead to the failure of the game after upgrading. The price reduction war of color TV sets led to the loss of the whole industry, and it fell into the water in autumn and winter of 2000, which was a painful lesson for local enterprises.

4. Lack of professional knowledge

In the transitional market of China, there is a shortage of marketing professionals. People who have practical experience and have served as marketing managers in well-known companies are very popular in the talent market and their value is getting higher and higher. The lack of professional talents is also the basic reason for the low marketing level of Chinese enterprises. In the increasingly popular MBA education, it is urgent to strengthen the "marketing MBA" education.

5. Primary school level

The marketing level of different industries and enterprises in China varies greatly, and some industries and enterprises' marketing majors have improved rapidly and performed well. But as far as international standards are concerned, China's marketing is still in the primary stage, or "primary school stage". Low starting point is the common point of most enterprises, and a large number of enterprises should learn basic ABC.

In a word, in the general trend of global marketing, western marketing theories and methods are of universal significance, and China is no exception. It is precisely because the transformed China market is different from the mature western markets that our mission is to realize the adaptive docking of international marketing theories and methods with the China market. This requires a thorough understanding of western theories and methods, as well as a thorough interpretation of the local, so as to realize the localization innovation of western marketing theories and methods in China.