Xtep Brand Strategy Research Part I
I. Market analysis
Consumer analysis
Youth is a consumer group with huge purchasing power and has great influence on other consumer groups. As a special consumer group, young people have the psychological characteristics of pursuing novelty and fashion, advocating brands and famous brands, highlighting individuality and self, and paying attention to emotion and intuition.
Youth is a consumer group with great potential. This is not only because of the large number of young people, but also because their consumption needs are extensive and rich in content. International statistics show that young people account for about 1/5 of the total population. At present, the number of young people in China is nearly 300 million, accounting for about 1/4 of the total population. This shows that young people are a huge consumer group.
(2) Sales analysis
Xtep is positioned as a fashion sports brand, and its customers are between 13-20 years old. Through the scientific STP planning of market demand, target market and market positioning, the business opportunities in the domestic market are presented.
Over the years, Xtep has not only kept away from sports marketing, but also made extraordinary moves. Over the years, Xtep has actively sponsored large-scale sports events and participated in social welfare activities.
In order to expand the distribution network, Xtep cooperated with online shopping platform Taobao to retail its product series, and signed contracts with more than 100 online dealers.
(3) Market prospect
Nowadays, many middle-aged people are close to health and fashion after work. Middle-aged consumers can influence and drive many people of the same age and class around them to form a consumer group like young middle-aged people. They have spending power that cannot be underestimated. As long as they look young and energetic, young brands and mature brands will choose.
In order to broaden the market, Xtep must first expand the scope of market positioning, so it is necessary to work hard not only for young people who are pursuing fashion, but also for middle-aged people who are beginning to pursue high-quality life.
Second, product analysis
Xtep (China) Co., Ltd. is a large-scale sporting goods enterprise mainly engaged in the comprehensive development, production and sales of Xtep sports shoes, clothes, bags, hats, balls and socks.
Third, the competitive environment analysis
There are few overseas high-end brands such as Adidas and Nike in the market.
Regional advertising and celebrity endorsement products are a powerful guarantee for good sales in the second and third tier markets. At present, the number of brands adopting entertainment marketing strategy has surged: KAPPA endorsed by Fan Bingbing, Hongxing Erke endorsed by Elva Hsiao wearing Anta products, Jordan chan and Anglenala, and Jay Chou wearing Delphi products have begun to compete for consumers' attention in various media.
In order to cope with the competition, Xtep signed a framework with Tianyu Media Company.
Agreement, signed the top five happy girls in 2009 as spokespersons, sponsored the national tour of happy girls, and promoted Xtep brand awareness with the help of the popularity of happy girls at the first time. Xtep also adopts the exclusive title of Xtep Everyday, a well-known brand column of Hunan Satellite TV, and uses well-known domestic variety TV programs to attract the attention of the target audience, organically injecting the connotation of fashion into the hearts of the target consumers, forming a positive association with Xtep brand, and improving the brand influence and position in the minds of consumers.
Study on Xtep Brand Strategy (Ⅱ)
Xtep is still in the strategic stage after scientific market positioning and differentiation. The successful realization of this positioning requires customers to perceive the differentiation and differentiation of Xtep brand, otherwise, it will only become a form of comfort and eventually a cover-up.
Xtep makes Xtep jump out of products with serious homogeneity through three strategies: product differentiation, image differentiation and promotion differentiation.
First, product differentiation
Products are the foundation of brand building. Customers usually build brand awareness through product experience and repeated purchases. Xtep's positioning is a fashion sports brand. First of all, we need to break through the level of product differentiation. When it comes to basketball shoes, Lenovo's first brand is Nike. When it comes to Adidas, customers' first reaction is football shoes. This is the product differentiation reaction of professional branding. For fashionable sports products, Xtep is the first company in China to change the exclusive attributes and cold brand image of sports products. According to the wearing characteristics of sports shoes, Japanese technology is introduced exclusively in the industry, so that each pair of shoes has a faint perfume smell, which plays a role in deodorization. On the premise of ensuring excellent product quality, Xtep has made bold breakthroughs in product color and design, and launched its own theme concept products every year and quarter, such as wind and fire, cold-blooded pride, and so on. Integrating fashion elements into product design not only brings excellent product quality to customers, but also satisfies consumers' spiritual thirst for fashion and individuality.
Second, image differentiation.
Brand awareness can be established with the help of the strength of enterprises and a lot of advertising support, while the establishment and shaping of brand personality and brand image takes a long time to achieve. During 1985, when Nike was still a little-known company, Adidas and Reebok were the leading brands that dominated the market for many years. Nike and Adidas invented the air cushion technology of sports shoes almost at the same time. Nike found an excellent opportunity to sign a contract with Michael Jordan, shaped the professional image of basketball shoes, and surpassed Adidas to become the leading brand in the professional sporting goods market.
Xtep is the first sporting goods brand in China to adopt entertainment marketing, which is very consistent with Xtep's characteristics as a fashion sports brand. Xtep signed a contract with the artist "Under the Emperor" at an annual fee of 5 million yuan, and Xie became Xtep brand spokesperson and image ambassador. Nicholas Tse has an extraordinary attraction among the younger generation, doesn't it? Generation x? Nicholas Tse is the core leader of Xtep, and his rebellion, personality and fashion are strikingly similar to Xtep's brand characteristics. After Nicholas Tse became the spokesperson, Nicholas Tse loyal fans from all over the country queued up to buy Xtep sneakers posters, CDs and signature albums, which were out of stock several times in China.
Xtep closely cooperates with King Chinese mainland's market expansion plan, and Xtep will sign the contract at every media meeting from Nicholas Tse to the mainland. In terms of in-depth cooperation with the spokesperson, Xtep set up a task force to follow up. In the past three years, a large number of promotional activities have been carried out in more than 20 major cities across the country, and Xtep brand image and personality have been highly recognized by Xtep target consumers.
Xtep inadvertently became the media comment "Creating China" in the brand image endorsement? Stereoscopic endorsement? Founder of strategy. After the great success of Nicholas Tse, the youthful and energetic twin singing group has an extraordinary influence on customers below 18. Z Group entered Xtep sight and became Xtep brand spokesperson. Use the influence of different stars to drive the different personalized needs of the target market, and finally realize the integrated marketing of consumer characteristics in the target market, just like QQ and M-Zone. Generation x? Summarize the core characteristics of the target market and establish? Generation x? Core values and brand sense of belonging are constantly expanded by multi-star three-dimensional endorsement? Generation x? Camp members, establish a personality, fashion, maverick brand image and brand personality.
Third, promote differentiation.
Product homogenization is a difficult problem in marketing, and promotion homogenization is the natural enemy of marketing. The former means that we can make a breakthrough in the utilization of our own resources, and there are many factors beyond the control of enterprises besides our own resources.
Study on Xtep Brand Strategy (Ⅲ)
To implement the differentiation strategy, enterprises need to meet the following conditions:
(1) has strong research and development ability, and researchers should have creative vision.
(2) The enterprise has a reputation of leading in product quality or technology.
(3) the enterprise has a long history in this industry or absorbs the skills of other enterprises to become a whole.
(4) Strong marketing ability.
(5) There should be strong coordination between functional departments such as R&D, product development and marketing.
(6) Enterprises should have physical facilities that can attract senior researchers, creative talents and highly skilled employees.
2. Benefits and risks of differentiation strategy
Advantages of differentiation strategy:
(1) Establish customers' understanding and trust in products or services. When the price of a product or service changes, the customer's sensitivity will decrease. In this way, differentiation can form an isolated area for enterprises competing in the same industry and avoid the infringement of competitors.
(2) Customers' trust and loyalty to trademarks have formed a strong barrier to entry. If there are new entrants in the industry to participate in the competition, it is necessary to reverse customers' trust in the original products and overcome the influence of the uniqueness of the original products, which increases the difficulty for new entrants to enter the industry.
(3) The high marginal revenue generated by the differentiation strategy enhances the ability of enterprises to deal with the bargaining of suppliers.
(4) Through differentiation strategy, the enterprise makes the buyer lack of comparable product choices and reduces the buyer's sensitivity to price. On the other hand, through product differentiation, buyers have higher switching costs and greater dependence on enterprises. All these will weaken the bargaining power of buyers.
(5) Enterprises establish customers' trust in the product through differentiation strategy, so that the substitute products cannot compete with it in performance.
3. Risks of implementing differentiation strategy:
(1) Enterprises that implement differentiation strategies may have high production costs. Because it will increase the cost of design and development, choose high-grade raw materials and so on. If the difference between the product cost of differentiated strategy and the product cost of competitors pursuing cost leadership strategy is too large, it may make buyers prefer to sacrifice the performance, quality, service and image of differentiated products and pursue the reduction of procurement costs.
(2) Buyers have become more savvy, and they have reduced their requirements for product or service differentiation.
(3) With the development of the industry in which the enterprise is located entering a mature stage, the advantages of differentiated products are likely to be imitated by competitors and weaken the advantages of products.