Building a national brand is a long process

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Associate Professor, PhD. Nguyen Quoc Thinh

How do you comment on the business community's efforts to build brands and bring Vietnamese products to the world?

Overall, the branding capacity of Vietnamese businesses has improved significantly. The number of businesses proactively registering for intellectual property protection such as trademarks, industrial designs... has increased both domestically and internationally. In addition, many businesses are proactive in building brand strategies, fully aware of the role of brand in business development, so they have good and methodical investments. The proportion of small-scale businesses actively participating in exhibitions and trade promotion activities, thereby establishing channels to introduce products, demonstrate capacity, and promote brands has also increased. .

In addition to branding efforts, businesses have also improved in exporting products abroad. In particular, Vietnamese fresh fruit products have made great strides, penetrating demanding markets because these products have clear origins and guaranteed quality. Thanks to such market access efforts, even though the market in 2023 will decrease, thanks to Vietnam's reputation and position, export products are relatively stable. Products also go abroad under the name of the business, not just raw materials as before.

What difficulties still exist in building a business's brand, sir?

Brand is the destination of any organization. Brand is the reputation and prestige of the product, and the trust customers have in the product and business. If a business wants to sell a lot of products or attract investors, it must have a certain impression and reputation. However, there is still a portion of businesses that have not yet determined their destination and have not clearly identified the need for branding. A large part of businesses are still quite superficial, only envisioning the brand as just a logo, of "makeup" nature, so they have not linked branding activities with business activities. Besides, many Vietnamese businesses have a low level of investment and determination in building brands.

Therefore, the situation of goods not meeting market requirements, violating traceability, planting area codes... is quite common, which can affect the export reputation of the country in general.

The pedestal of a corporate brand is a national brand. What do you think about this point of view?

National brands are the foundation and guarantee for corporate product brands of those countries when accessing foreign markets. For example, with Japan, we often feel secure in using high-tech products, or with Switzerland, we will think about the quality of banking services and watch products. Therefore, national brand and corporate brand are a two-way interactive relationship, supporting each other.

In the early stages, for developing countries, national image does not have much impact on corporate branding. Because a national brand is the sum of all factors from investment, business environment, political stability, culture... Therefore, building a national brand is a long process, many countries still Build an image through products and brands that represent the country as "big brothers", the locomotives that pull up the leading brands in the industry.

For example, in Vietnam, Vinfast is expected to lead the development of the automobile industry, FPT also leads and supports other businesses in the field of software development...

With the above problems, in your opinion, what solutions do businesses and management agencies need to help Vietnamese brands reach further?

Building a corporate brand is the job of businesses, not of authorities. If businesses want to do business effectively, they must be proactive in developing and enhancing business value. But to help Vietnamese businesses stand firm in the market, and help create a prestigious reputation for their corporate and national brands, the authorities play an important role.

Accordingly, state management agencies need to be active in negotiation activities to open the market, gradually remove unreasonable barriers, and help businesses access the market. For example, with agricultural products, authorities should have support on growing area codes, packaging codes... as well as negotiate with partners to have better agreements in opening markets and borders. State agencies also play a role in supporting trade promotion activities, diplomacy, cooperation, and association with large corporations and multinational corporations... helping Vietnamese businesses have investment opportunities. , Technology transfer…

In addition, for businesses, building and developing brands today must also follow the trend of green development and sustainable development because this is the consumption trend of the current market, countries also place sets out many technical requirements for green development such as environmental protection, reducing deforestation, reducing carbon emissions... Therefore, in addition to the efforts of businesses, the Government should promote propaganda and build a standard system. More detailed and clearer assessments... help businesses raise awareness as well as have a fulcrum to improve and develop in the right direction.