Text/Zhang Nianchao
An epidemic has made 2020 extraordinary. There is only one night between today and yesterday. However, some parts of the past have been forgotten, some orders have been restructured, and many things have faded out of public view before we have time to savor them, such as mask hoarding, live streaming, fashion brands fading, etc. . However, the slowdown in the pace of society also gives us time to re-plan and think about our career, life, development and future, such as re-examining the meaning of life and the trajectory of corporate development, and redefining our own consumption outlook and consumption value. Return to the true nature of life and the joy of togetherness.
Consumption comes from the attitude towards life, and sales success comes from the insight into consumption. After the epidemic, the public’s attitude towards consumption has become milder, and the focus on the composition of consumption has changed. For example, eating has shifted from good food and drink to nutrition and health; another example is family security, insurance has changed from being boycotted to a standard in many families; and another example is education, where online and offline training are extremely popular . New education, medical care, and insurance will become the main forces of future consumption, with food, clothing, housing and transportation taking a backseat. Similarly, the same is true for the home decoration market. In addition to standard hard decoration, basic decoration in independent decoration accounts for less and less. Soft decoration is also getting more and more attention. Even the functions of space have changed. For example, the function of bedrooms has been weakened, and social functions have been weakened. , entertainment space has become a new fashion.
Looking back at the previous theories of individualization and differential consumption, it may be necessary to revise them today. Under the strategy of individuality and differentiation of consumption, many companies will expand their consumer base by enriching their products. This strategy has brought rapid growth in brand scale and created a number of excellent brands such as Procter & Gamble and Nokia. Today, consumption has undergone a change from complexity to simplicity. The same brand has been restricted through product expansion, which will lead to more and more products and more inventory. The stores are getting fuller and fuller, and the stores are becoming less and less full. In the past few years, brands represented by Apple have challenged the concept of consumption, changing the old brand scale and development logic. They no longer rely on the differentiation of product entities, but on the personality of applications. has achieved breakthrough development. There is also a certain sweeping robot that has become popular recently. The company only makes one product and relies on it to solve the public needs of different consumers. The sales performance of this product is higher than that of many products of other companies.of sales performance.
What is the reason that causes consumption to shift from pursuit of individuality and differentiated consumption to a convergent model? This phenomenon deserves attention.
Speaking of ceramic consumption, many changes have taken place in recent years.
Six or seven years ago, a home decoration required about a dozen types of ceramic tiles, with different ceramic tiles for the living room, dining room, kitchen, and bathroom, as well as ground wires, floral tiles, waist lines, etc. Nowadays, avant-garde consumers only choose one type of brick per household, and ordinary consumers only choose about three types. As far as this phenomenon is concerned, the decrease in consumer demand for ceramic tile varieties and the increasing variety of brands have created a contradiction between supply and demand. Maybe we will talk about different consumer groups and think that if the products are richer and the prices are wider, we can get more consumer favor. The logic should be like this. However, judging from the social attributes of ceramics and the characteristics of the new consumption era, the old product enrichment theory has certain flaws, which also drags down the efficiency of enterprises.
The purchasing power of a society is supported by the main population. The scale of a brand depends on the width of consumption positioning, not the level of price.
In recent years, there has been much talk about consumption upgrades. What exactly does consumption upgrade mean? This is a very important issue for brands. If you get it wrong, your business direction may be wrong, especially in the fields of daily consumption and technology. As far as daily consumer goods are concerned, there are supermarkets, boutique supermarkets, social fruit and vegetable stores, and farmers' markets. In the past, buyers might go to different markets to make purchases based on time and demand. Today, serious differentiation has occurred, and consumers’ motivations for purchasing have also changed. They no longer buy in supermarkets because they have a wide range of products and are cheap, but choose markets based on their needs and their own living standards. After all, no matter whether you have money or not, you have passed the era of filling your head with material things.
Let’s talk about ceramics again. How much is the price of ceramics? How much is low? In fact, there is no standard. Different companies have different ways of survival.
However, due to its violation of standards and low corporate value, this business model will not last long. Today's ceramic production areas are different. The product differences between brands are shrinking and the differences in enterprise development models are widening. We should not just look at the products and prices themselves, but at The ways for enterprises to make profits and obtain social resources. If there are other ways to obtain social resources, the pricing must be reasonable; if there is no channel to obtain product profits, the pricing must be based on the nature of business operations. At the same time, ceramic products have been adopted by home decorationFrom core products to auxiliary or marginal products, from the main budget of home decoration to a material change for home decoration. This has put forward new requirements for the brand operation of ceramics. Especially the arrival of the slate era has made this change more obvious. It is necessary for ceramic brands to think about the direction of brand operations from a new perspective.
However, no matter how consumption and the market change, it is not a good thing to raise prices indefinitely.
It is said that 2020 will be difficult. Since 2008, I have not heard of any year that has been easier. 12 years have passed by stumbles. This year, there are many uncertainties in the environment and market, especially uncertainty in consumption. Changes in consumption in the post-epidemic era are the biggest variables. As an operator, you have to make changes corresponding to consumption at this time, as the saying goes, you are reluctant to give up.
Youth is over, dreams are just around the corner, consumption has a new mission, and brands must have a new pattern accordingly.
Author: Zhang Nianchao
