Brand positioning strategy and proposals for vietnamese enterprises

From there, what are the proposed solutions on brand positioning strategies for Vietnamese businesses to be drawn?Realizing that this is an up-to-date issue, we decided to choose the top

BRAND POSITIONING STRATEGY

AND PROPOSALS FOR VIETNAMESE ENTERPRISES

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS 3

INTRODUCTION 4

I Theoretical basis of brand positioning 5

1 Introduction to Brand Positioning 5

2 Types of brand positioning strategies 6

2.1 Positioning based on quality 6

2.2 Positioning based on value 7

2.3 Positioning based on features 8

2.4 Positioning based on customers and market segments 9

2.5 Positioning based on influencers and celebrities 9

2.6 Positioning based on the problem and the solution 10

2.7 Positioning based on emotions 11

2.8 Positioning based on the leading status 12

2.9 Positioning based on customer buying experience 13

II Case study: The brand positioning of Vietnamese enterprises 15

1 The status of brand positioning of Vietnamese enterprises 15

1.1 The current situation of Vietnamese enterprises’s brand positioning 15

1.2 Using the SWOT model to analyze the Vietnamese enterprises’s brand positioning 16

1.3 Assessment of the brand positioning strategies of Vietnamese enterprises.25 2 Brand positioning proposals for Vietnamese businesses 25

2.1 Improve protection of intellectual property 25

2.2 Promote the "Vietnamese people prioritize Vietnamese goods"campaign.26 2.3 Continue to promote the Vietnam National Brand program 27

2.4 Keeping up with the gobal trend: green production - green economy 28

2.5 Developing e-commerce to adapt to epidemic conditions and catch up with gobal trends 30

2.6 Determine the right marketing strategy for the situation of the enterprise 34

CONCLUSION 36

REFERENCES 37LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

SME Small and Medium Enterprise

BVQI Bureau Veritas Quality International

WIPO World Intellectual Protection Organization

CPTPP Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership

EVFTA European-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement

IFC International Finance Corporation

ADB The Asian Development Bank

IT Information Technology

2

Perhaps never before has brand become a topical topic that is of special interest to businesses, state management agencies, trade associations, journalists and even students like nowadays Many seminars and conferences have been held, hundreds of articles and websites regularly mention different aspects of the brand, even the brand of the province, the country is also discussed Is this a "new fashion" or is it really a necessity, an irresistible trend when we want to survive in the context of integration?

For Vietnamese businesses in particular and the world in general, it has long been deeply recognized that a brand is a huge asset Brand is a means of recognizing, protecting and displaying the achievements of an enterprise It brings stability and growth of market share, enhances competitive position, creates reputation and profits Therefore, businesses always preserve, protect and develop their brands with all the talents, wisdom, sweat and tears of many generations They built famous brands all over the world And so, it is understandable that in many cases the brand value is determined to be much larger than the value of physical assets.

Building well-known brands in the country and in the world is not easy, but requires each business to have wise brand positioning strategies for their business So what is the current situation of brand positioning of Vietnamese enterprises? In the process of brand positioning, what advantages and disadvantages do businesses face, challenges and opportunities in the future? From there, what are the proposed solutions on brand positioning strategies for Vietnamese businesses to be drawn?

Realizing that this is an up-to-date issue, we decided to choose the topic “Brand positioning strategy and proposals for Vietnamese enterprises” as the topic of our essay.

I Theoretical basis of brand positioning

The term brand refers to a business and marketing concept that helps people identify a particular company, product, or individual They are intangible, which means you can't actually touch or see them Brands are considered to be among a company's most important and valuable assets Hence, brand positioning also becomes more and more important nowadays.

1 Introduction to Brand Positioning

The term of brand positioning was first used by the famous brand strategist Jack Trout in an article published in the magazine ‘Industrial Marketing’ in 1969 It was later analyzed by Jack and his colleague, Al Ries, with many interesting examples in a book named ‘Positioning: The battle for your mind’ (McGraw-Hill 1981) Since then, the theory of brand positioning has been widely applied by brands around the world in building brand strategies According to the authors, positioning is an activity with a position in the minds of consumers The basic principle of positioning is not to create something new and different from others, but to manipulate what is already in the minds of consumers, using existing connections

Thus, a brand positioning strategy is an intentional process influencing the audience’s perception More than a tagline or a fancy logo, brand positioning is the strategy used to set your business apart from the rest For example, the brand positioning of Close-up is fresh breath, Colgate is tooth decay prevention and Sensodyne is toothpaste for sensitive teeth.

The role of brand positioning is extremely important in branding, which can determine the success of a brand By shaping consumer preferences, brand positioning strategies are directly linked to consumer loyalty, consumer-based brand equity, and the willingness to purchase the brand Effective brand positioning can be referred to as the extent to which a brand is perceived as favorable, different and credible in consumers’ minds These four following aspects can prove the inseparability between brand positioning and business survival:

Market differentiation: Showing the uniqueness of the product in any industry creates a major advantage When using brand positioning to celebrate how the product solves a particular problem or need differently than other competitors, customers will take notice.

4

Easy purchase decisions: By clearly defining the product and how it can benefit customers, businesses take the guesswork out of the purchase process When businesses give customers the answers to questions they are looking for, they will be quicker to trust and buy.

Value confirmation: A strong brand does not have to rely on pricing wars with competitors Instead, great brand positions establish the high value of their product, making customers want to buy it even if it is not the cheapest on the market In the future, businesses do not need to spend too much money to set up a brand strategy but they still have a certain reputation for customers.

Magnified messaging: A clear brand positioning statement gives businesses a springboard for compelling creative storytelling By having a concrete vision, they can elevate each additional piece of marketing to further solidify their place among the competition Specific marketing programs such as brand building, pricing, advertising, and distribution all depend on the position of the identified brand in the target market Regarding the brand positioning process, it is often done during the initial building process because it is one of the first steps to building a brand The second case is when the brand begins to show signs that it is not suitable for the market, tastes or is too old, the business has to reposition To reach the goals, marketers typically follow a positioning process consisting of the following five steps: First is confirming understanding of market dynamics; Second is identifying competitors; Next is choosing competitive advantages that define the market “niche”; Then defining positioning strategy and creating brand positioning statements In short, establishing brand positioning, businesses need to understand that this is a long term process, and need to anticipate all changes that come in the future The process of brand positioning is never easy, requiring strategists to have foresight, understand the market and the purpose of the brand strategy.

2 Types of brand positioning strategies

2.1 Positioning based on quality

Although there are many different methods for effective brand positioning, quality is always the top basic foundation factor Strong brands always have good products Quality or perception of quality comes from consumers' perceptions Once customers have gained the trust of customers about quality, businesses will reap success when building a brand According to Al Reis (1994), the best way to assert

quality is to narrow the positioning of the product or brand The product or brand would then be specific rather than generic, and product-specific brands would be said to be of higher quality than generic brands.

One of the businesses that successfully applied the brand positioning strategy to this quality is Kinh Do cake brand One unique selling point in Kinh Do's marketing strategy about products compared to other businesses is that in addition to modern technology, Kinh Do focuses on product processing techniques, especially additive formulations Thanks to that, Kinh Do's mooncakes have an attractive and distinct taste The brand always boldly invests, continues to take the lead in quality improvement, manufactures its products with new technology on the world's most modern production lines, and improves the quality of mooncakes In terms of quality, since 2002, Kinh Do has been re-evaluated by the BVQI organization every 6 months with good results That's why Vietnamese often choose Kinh Do products as gifts for1 each other on New Year's Eve to show our sincerity.

2.2 Positioning based on value

This is a classic positioning criterion often used with many different product categories, product characteristics or brand image elements are used thoroughly and consistently to highlight the difference There are basically 2 different forms of value including:

Price/Quality (value for money): is the value that can be immediately associated with specific levels in cash That is to bring more benefits than customers spend to get products and services Vietjet Air is one of the low-cost airlines in Vietnam Despite providing low-cost flights, this business still maintains a strong brand position VietJet Air has developed a wide domestic flight network and has a plan to develop a route network in the Asia-Pacific region The highlight of the airline is that it always offers many choices, not only a means of transportation, VietJet is always creative, bringing passengers many interesting and fun things on flights VietJet was also voted "Asia's Best Low-Cost Airline 2015" by Travel Awards, as well as "Most Favorite Airline in Vietnam" by Economic Times.

Emotional value: Besides quality or material benefits, enterprises can completely position their brands through touch points with consumers' emotions Biti's "Đi để trở về" marketing campaign series has done that well With the iconic message "đi" (go) associated with "experience", Biti's has unified all seasons of the campaign 1 According to Kinh Do Corporation

6

with a familiar tagline "go to return" Biti's has captured the right frequency of many people when they have to choose between family on one side and work, friends on the other, to decide whether to go home for Tet or not “Đi để trở về” not only brings unimaginable marketing results with more than 170 million brand mentions but also goes hand in hand with increasing sales (reaching 300% of sales target within 7 days).2 Capturing the demographic of customers, their concerns as well as their concerns, the campaign has carved deeper into consumers' minds an image of Biti's that is not only close but also psychological.

2.3 Positioning based on features

This positioning method is based on the features of products and services to create a difference for the brand This strategy is based on product functions and attributes but goes further by describing the benefits that customers get from using the product The message should be specific, clear and highlight the new feature of the product This strategy helps customers answer the question “What benefits does this product bring me?” A product benefit strategy establishes a short-term competitive advantage and leads to market leadership, with rapid results However, this method still has a limitation that it is difficult to make a difference Because when competitors have similar and superior products, it will lose its effectiveness Therefore, feature-based positioning only applies to a few special products that are difficult to imitate.

The game in this product feature-based brand positioning strategy is really fierce with the participation of technology product manufacturers Surely many people still remember the moment Steve Jobs performed the legendary "Slide to Unlock" action as well as the Zoom action to print images with his finger on the iPhone 2G launched in 2007 before the admiration of thousands of people Many people believe that this launch is the first shot that kicks off the explosion of interactive product lines, smartphones, smart screens, etc Apple is definitely not the one pioneer in the use of touch screen technology, but they are undoubtedly the most successful adopters of it Since then, the market of iPhone as well as Apple has gradually expanded with earnings before interest and tax in 2009 which was one and a half times that of other phone products But so far, touch screen technology has been almost ubiquitous, applied in many other devices such as game consoles, tablets A series of technology companies are competing with each other more and more fiercely and continuously

2 According Brands Vietnam’s statistics

launching new products that are more modern, easier to use, to capture the fertile market called this smart interactive device.

2.4 Positioning based on customers and market segments

This is a method of brand positioning that is neither based on the products provided by the business nor based on the outstanding features of the product, but focusing on market segments or niches The strategy gives a specific customer profile (age, gender, behavior, .), from these detailed characteristics, businesses can use them to create more accurate, effective and efficient advertising campaigns Because the market is segmented into small segments, businesses can focus their resources on investing and developing products and business models, thereby increasing their competitive advantage The fact that enterprises can create products/services of high value to consumers, and better meet the needs and requirements of target customers will definitely be a strong point for businesses to create a competitive advantage with their competitors other units One of the best supporting models for this positioning strategy is the STP model, which includes stages: Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning In which, businesses need to perform well in the stage of customer segmentation analysis and market selection.

One of the brands that successfully applied the brand positioning strategy based on customers or customer segments is Agribank (Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development) This bank represents its target customer segment directly through the brand name Indeed, in terms of total assets, Agribank is currently the largest bank in the Big4 including Agribank, BIDV, Vietinbank, Vietcombank, thanks to its "champion" in customer deposits (nearly 1.5 million billion VND) This proves3 that Agribank is a bank that not only holds a huge market share in rural and suburban areas but also wins the trust of customers.

2.5 Positioning based on influencers and celebrities

The influencer marketing strategy utilizes the significant power of celebrities and influencers in the decision-making process of the current and target potential customers Apart from endorsements, celebrities have a wide reach (on and off-line) and can get your products and services in front of millions of people within your target customer pool But influencer marketing is more than likes and retweets It’s more than a cult following and accompanying numbers game An influencer’s true power is two things: trust and credibility Like the classic celebrity - the ones we imagine is 3 According to Agribank’s record on 2020

8

your friend, the one we believe in and trust - the influencer has built a foundation of truth between themselves and their specific audience This strategy, albeit effective, is often applied when the company has a sizable budget for brand positioning, or they’ve already built a relationship with a person of influence However, this influencer-based brand positioning carries risks when that influencer gets into scandal or causes distrust of his or her following circle At that time, the brand will also be affected and cause serious damage.

One of the most recent examples is when Shopee was asked by customers to remove the image of this brand's influencer - Comedian Hoai Linh, immediately because he was accused of disbursing charity money There were no photos and videos of Hoai Linh on Shopee's official website, application and fanpage anymore Previously, Shopee used Hoai Linh's image for the 6/6 Super Sale campaign taking place from May 24 However, after this incident, the images related to the comedian on the brands encountered negative feedback from the public, including Shopee.

Meanwhile, Clear Men does a great job of positioning the brand based on this strategy Since 2009, this brand has successfully invited soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo to promote a shampoo product for men Ronaldo has been a brand ambassador for Clearmen for more than a decade and has built with Clear Men the image of a strong man, personality, passion for sports, ready to live for passion.

2.6 Positioning based on the problem and the solution

Customers always have some unsatisfied problems As the name suggests, this positioning strategy shows customers that their headaches will soon be solved when using a product or service Although customers already have a lot of options for a particular need, they still want a new, better, superior option or simply as good but cheaper is better This method is based on in-depth research into customer segments, studying their style, psychology or ethnicity This approach exploits the insight aspect of the customer to pinpoint their problem and provide a solution Specifically, with this positioning, the brand will clearly show customers that "The brand will help them solve the problems they are facing" However, it is precisely providing solutions to specific problems that cause the brand's products to narrow the market to a group of customers with similar problems This has both positive and negative results Like the positioning method based on customer segments, this positioning method will help businesses come up with specific marketing strategies and effectively focus on the file

of customers who have problems that need to be solved But besides that, when the market shrinks, it will also lead to the revenue of businesses not being abundant.

This positioning strategy will be particularly relevant to Fast Moving Consumer Goods industries, where products can clearly see their benefits to the customer's problem Unilever has been very successful in this positioning strategy with a series of famous brands such as Omo, Sunlight, Clear… washing powder, removing stubborn stains and making them white like new Communication products of these brands often raise the problems of customers such as not being able to remove stains from clothes, not being able to wash greasy dishes or clothes that don't last long and suggest the optimal solution from the product.

2.7 Positioning based on emotions

Emotions are the shortest path from heart to mind Therefore, the goal of every brand should be to create an emotional connection with their customers Most famous for Dr Maslow’s development of the hierarchy of needs, he postulated that humans have a set of needs that they attempt to satisfy in a specific order, with the most basic level consisting of the need for food, air, water, sleep, etc As we move up in the hierarchy, these needs evolve from purely functional to purely emotional; this is in part where the phrase “higher order needs” comes from It stands to reason that if emotional needs are higher order needs, then emotional benefits are higher order benefits Continuing the thread, emotional benefits have a greater magnitude of value to customers than purely functional benefits and, therefore, are more integral to creating a successful brand Emotional connections are much more difficult to break and will insulate enterprises from losing customers to a competitor that may be able to match their product’s functional benefits How customers feel about a brand is often rooted in needs or wants, in other words, the method of hitting emotional or psychological factors will be a very effective way of positioning Emotions can come from wants, needs, feelings, interests, etc In fact, this positioning strategy is very effective.

Recently, the name Vinfast has almost covered all social networks and television programs because of the successful launch at the Paris Motor Show This is a spectacular launch of Vingroup to show the world that Vietnam can produce its own cars This marketing strategy has brought national pride to international friends In the context of globalization of all fields, where the production is no longer important, but instead where the soul of that product is kept and the default customer remembers 10

where that product comes from Because of this, Vinfast has limited the disclosure of external information and instead focused on "national pride" as a product of the Vietnamese brand.

2.8 Positioning based on the leading status

Positioning strategy is based on the leadership of the product, of the brand The business will base its distinctiveness on the market and claim to be the leader in that field Usually, the statement will be shown right in the brand's slogan It can be said that this is a strategy that needs to integrate some of the above positioning methods based on the properties that the business claims to lead Some aspects that businesses choose to position their leadership position include: Leading in market share, leading in quality, leading in price, leading in service, leading in technology, etc In order to truly lead in the field of their products, enterprises need to understand that: the strength of the organization is due to the strength of the product and the position that product has in the minds of customers Therefore, focusing on product development is extremely necessary After having the number 1 position, enterprises should cover the market with many brands (multi-brand strategy) Each brand is uniquely positioned to occupy a certain area in the customer's mind As the times change, as new products come and go, people do not do much to improve the position but introduce a new product to respond to changing technology and tastes This also helps to control the way of the opponent to get ahead and put pressure on the business itself to always improve and try to keep its leading position.

“Kangaroo - Máy lọc nước hàng đầu Việt Nam” (Kangaroo - The leading water purifier in Vietnam) - the familiar slogan of the Kangaroo water purifier brand has left a deep impression in the hearts of customers over the past 10 years Kangaroo is not the first company to make water purifiers in the world, but the phrase "Kangaroo water purifier" has occupied a solid position in the minds of Vietnamese users since a 5-second advertisement The advertising campaign at that time was launched by Kangaroo with the product range expansion strategy, the vision to become the number one enterprise in the household goods industry, leading the water purifier market However, many experts believe that, when businesses say "We are number one", customers will understand in many ways such as the most popular brand or the highest sales (thanks to low prices or wide distribution) This brand has become too greedy when launching a series of other products, from water heaters to mobile phones with the "leading Vietnam" position Even more unconvincing when Kangaroo

continues to take another step with the "leading Asia" position With such marketing moves, the road to nail products with a clear image into the minds of Kangaroo customers will be very difficult.

2.9 Positioning based on customer buying experience

Last but not least, this is the only strategy listed that doesn't come from the product The positioning method based on the customer's buying experience will focus on the customer above all else Businesses can build their own buying process, making them feel special This strategy needs businesses to focus on developing the Customer Journey model Customer Journey simulates the process by which customers experience a brand over time or the journey that connects customers with the brand Describing the Customer Journey helps businesses accurately capture touchpoints and what customers think, interact with the brand, and ensure consistency at all touch points and across all channels

Source: Brands Vietnam

Figure 1: Customer Journey Map

Building a Customer Journey Map will help businesses understand the Touchpoint points and the desires of customers to interact In addition, Customer Journey Map ensures consistency and seamless experience across all touchpoints and across all channels This map tells us whether the customer experience lives up to the brand promise If there is a deviation, the Customer Journey Map can help businesses correct and provide specific solutions With timely resolution, businesses will build solid and long-term relationships with customers A good example is how Mobile World takes care of its customers From the dedicated service attitude of the security 12

guard to the thoughtful advice of the staff or the initiative to call customers to receive feedback All are aimed at giving customers the best experience.

In the 4.0 era, the customer journey is becoming more and more complex thanks to the combination of digital platforms, especially for multi-channel businesses Customers can actively search, compare, select and exploit information more carefully before making a buying decision They start interacting with the brand on many platforms, in different ways and from different starting points, for example: from marketing campaigns, Google search, social networks like Facebook, Instagram, pages e-commerce such as Lazada, Shopee, To connect with customers, companies are gradually implementing digital transformation, expanding interactive channels to quickly reach users Especially for an e-commerce platform, the customer experience before and during the purchase process is extremely important Because in the shopping process, businesses cannot be there to guide customers little by little That's why all online shopping operations must be optimized as simple as possible but still ensure transaction information Moreover, payment methods must be diverse to be compatible with the method customers are using We can see e-commerce platforms are always racing in technology and constantly upgrading to provide the best customer experience.

Amazon has been and is becoming the leader in the online retail market with its excellent customer experience system This brand concept, one of the three levels of customer experience, is how convenient and easy it is for customers to achieve their goals Specifically, the less time the customer takes, the less effort, the less concern, the better the experience you bring to the customer Amazon helps customers achieve their goals, which is the first level of customer experience (helping customers reach their goals) The next is to serve them to achieve success as easily and with the best emotion possible This brand believes that everyone contributes to the customer experience, not just the product person, not just the customer service person, human resources, marketing And finally, Amazon always tries to be prepared for negative feedback and complaints They believe that "customer complaints are a gift" If you don't learn anything, you can make the same mistake over and over again If it can be learned, it can be fixed and the customer experience is improved in such a way.

II Case study: The brand positioning of Vietnamese enterprises1 The status of brand positioning of Vietnamese enterprises

1.1 The current situation of Vietnamese enterprises’s brand positioning

In 2020, the sudden COVID-19 pandemic profoundly impacted all industries and sectors; There's also a way for businesses to reach customers The pandemic contains many uncertainties and becomes a catalyst for the digital economy to grow even faster and requires firms to change their branding mindset to the right way in the new context

Therefore, in the early 2000s, the brand of Vietnamese enterprises has not appeared in the ranking of international organizations By 2020 the total brand value of 50 Forbes Vietnam enterprises reached more than 12.6 billion USD, with many enterprises becoming national brands such as Minh Long I Co., Ltd Vinamilk, Viettel, Mobile World, VPBank, PNJ, Nutifood, Saigontourist, Kido, SSI, Success - Bien Hoa, Duy Tan, Vissan, Biti's, Thien Long, Viet Tien

According to a report by Brand Finance, in 2020, Vietnam will be one of the countries with the fastest national brand value growth globally (up 29% compared to 2019, to $ 319 billion) Specifically, Vietnam's national brand value has increased by nine places, to 33rd place in the Top 100 most valuable national brands globally From only 30 enterprises in 2008, by 2020, Vietnam's national brand program has 124 enterprises, with 283 recognized products, of which many brands have resonated in the regional and world markets

With Vinamilk, the motto and slogan of the business is not only a statement that expresses the value of the company but also brings commitment and sends brand trust through each period: "International quality – Vinamilk quality," "Enjoy life," "For future generations to excel," "Beautiful life" "Rising in Vietnam," "Vietnam's belief", Currently, the slogan "Vietnam's No 1 fresh milk" is always committed to bringing quality, healthy milk

As for Viettel, Viettel entered the telecommunications market and rebranded for the first time: the slogan "Say it your way" was born Their philosophy at that time was to pioneer innovation but listen, understand customers Recently, the slogan "Say it your way" was shortened to "Your way," that core value is expanded not only in the field of telecommunications and raised to a new level; customers are empowered, inspiring customers to fulfill their desires.

14

1.2 Using the SWOT model to analyze the Vietnamese enterprises’s brand positioning

1.2.1 Strengths

Vietnam's national brand value ranking has continuously improved

In the past 4 years, Vietnam's national brand value ranking has continuously improved and is in the strong brand group thanks to the Government's efforts on reforming the business investment environment, improving import and export achievements, supporting product and business brands and positive forecasts of GDP growth Vietnam moved up nine ranks to 33rd with $319 billion in the world’s top4 100 nation brands from its previous 42nd in 2019, up 29% year-on-year in value or $72 billion This year, Brand Finance highly appreciated Vietnam's handling of the health and economic crisis, and emphasized that this is a good time for countries such as Vietnam to boost economic growth.

Meanwhile, according to Brand Finance, 2020 has put the nations of the world to the test – from the economic impacts of COVID-19 on nations’ GDP forecasts, inflation rates, and general economic uncertainty, to diminished long term prospects Brand Finance estimates that the total brand value of the top 100 nation brands dropped from US$98.0 trillion in 2019 to US$84.9 trillion in 2020, with almost every nation feeling a significant impact of the health crisis on their respective economies Brand Finance’s top 10 most valuable nation brands contract 14% on average The US claims the top spot at $23.7 trillion, but China continues to close the gap with its value at $18.8 trillion, down 14 percent and 4 percent, respectively Brand Finance said relations between the two powers remained "very fragile" due to the trade war that has affected both economies over the past few years Although the brand's value fell 6 percent to $4.261 billion, Japan rose from fourth in 2019 to third this year Globally, Argentina was the country with the biggest drop in brand value, with 57% to $157 billion.

Brand positioning helps businesses find a position in the market, increaserevenue, create jobs for workers

According to the report, 124 enterprises with 283 products were recognized as national brands in Vietnam in 2020 These are the enterprises that meet the Vietnam National Security Program's criteria and are typical enterprises representing Vietnamese brands The total revenue in 2019 of these enterprises reached over VND 4According to Brand Finance

1.4 million; total export revenue reached more than VND137 trillion, total state budget payment was over VND 200 trillion, creating jobs for more than 471,000 workers The social activities of these enterprises reached a value of over VND 9.5 trillion and social insurance payments of over VND 20 trillion

This time, enterprises with products reaching the National Brand have affirmed their leading position in their field of operation, maintaining a high growth rate in terms of profit and revenue, maintaining the domestic market, and developing the

Figure 2: Enterprises achieving Vietnam's national brand in 2020 and their contributions to the Vietnamese economy5

In addition, these businesses also support people in the COVID 19 pandemic such as Vinamilk, Viettel, VNPT,

Vietnamese labor is creative, sensitive and very dynamic in bringing ideas tothe market.

5 According to Vinamilk, Viettel, VNPT, Vinhomes cooperations

16

Vietnamese workers have been judged to be industrious, intelligent, creative, skillful, eager to learn and friendly According to a study by Master Le Anh Hung (Center for Conformity Certification (QUACERT), General Department of Standards and Quality Measurement), Vietnamese enterprises' current situation of innovation activities ranked in the highest order of product/service innovation, reaching 3,631 The second is process innovation scoring 3,553 points; The third is marketing innovation scoring 3,512 points, and the lowest is organizational innovation scoring 3.07 points The dynamism and creativity are not only proven in the workforce of large enterprises Currently, the labor of small and medium enterprises also shows their creativity when coming up with practical and highly applicable ideas For example, in the case of Mr Tan The Ha (Ho Chi Minh City), we all know and most likely have experienced the problem of flooding due to the increasing tide, the descending that makes it challenging to live and produce business Therefore, Mr Hao has created a "manhole against high tides" that solves two problems: adapting to various foundations and treating so that water does not discharge directly into the already overloaded public wastewater system This technical solution of Mr Hao was granted an exclusive license to Useful Solution in 2007 and won many technical research awards From there, it can be seen that the creativity and acumen of Vietnamese workers will contribute to helping businesses position their strategies to succeed in the future, both domestically and internationally.

1.2.2 Weaknesses

Vietnamese businesses are not aware of the importance of brand positioning

Enterprises often focus on developing the production scale in the early period to increase productivity and output, gradually shifting to focusing on quality and improving added value Therefore, awareness of the role of brand positioning is often not given the proper attention Moreover, the process of positioning and branding Vietnam also faces many difficulties, especially the small scale of production, food quality and safety issues, processing capacity and participation in the global value chain of enterprises is limited Developing a brand and creating a foothold requires a long-term investment to accurately assess the brand's value in the total value of a business.

Enterprises do not pay attention to intellectual property protection

Many Vietnamese enterprises still do not have high awareness about intellectual property protection In our country, so far, only a few large enterprises

such as FPT, Viettel, Viglacera There is an international trademark registration department The rest of the small and medium-sized enterprises only focus on forming businesses, raising investment capital without thinking about registering intellectual property protection rights or being afraid to register According to the Department of Intellectual Property statistics, only 18% of small and medium-sized enterprises understand intellectual property correctly, and only 6% of small and medium-sized enterprises have an intellectual property enforcement department Many businesses do not even list the intellectual property Reclaiming their rights and brands is difficult, especially, proving will be very complicated and time-consuming when those brands are only famous within the territory of Vietnam without being famous in other countries.

A prime example of the difficult foreign market is Trung Nguyen Coffee The company has been in talks with Rice Field to bring products to the U.S However, before the two reached a final agreement, the partner registered Trung Nguyen coffee trademark protection with the U.S authorities and the World Intellectual Protection Organization (WIPO) Trung Nguyen has neglected and is at risk of not using his brand in this new market The absence of awareness of the importance of intellectual property protection means that Trung Nguyen has spent a lot of time and money to access and expand the market.

The size of enterprises is small, spontaneous, limited financial resources leadto difficulties in brand positioning

Small and medium enterprises often account for a large proportion, even overwhelming in total sales According to the Vietnam Academy of Sciences statistics, currently, 96.7% of registered enterprises operating in Vietnam operate under this model Their contribution to total output and job creation is very significant Even so, these businesses are all vulnerable to economic fluctuations About 20% of exports by small and medium-sized enterprises are limited due to the lack of scale, technology, and level of business sophistication to increase productivity and expand markets, and lack the expertise and capacity to come up with breakthrough ideas In addition, their businesses are heavily dependent on input materials from imports (especially from China) Therefore, competitive price pressure is also a direct influence on the branding motivation of these businesses It shows that the positioning and branding of these businesses should be a matter of concern.

18

1.2.3 Opportunities

Government support for business in Vietnam

The Vietnamese Government has made efforts on reforming the business investment environment, expanding bilateral and multilateral relations, supporting export and import along with the efforts of enterprises in branding Supporting the national branding of high-quality Vietnamese goods and services, trusted by consumers, in line with international commitments and new-generation free trade agreements; promote the circulation and synchronous and flexible implementation of solutions to stimulate Vietnamese consumption; there are mechanisms to regulate and circulate the distribution of goods, in order to ensure the supply of essential supplies to serve the needs of people in the context of Covid-19 epidemic.

A typical example is the Vietnam National Brand Program6 After nearly 18 years of implementing this program, not only brands having quality products are honored, but awareness and action to build and develop brands are much more enhanced In the period from 2020 to 2030, Vietnam has specific objectives such as: Contribute to increasing the value of Vietnam National Brand on average of 20% per year according to statistics and assessments of prestigious rating organizations in the world; Each year an increase of 10% of the number of enterprises listed in the list of enterprises with the highest brand value of prestigious rating organizations in the world; 90% of enterprises across the country are aware of the role of trademarks in production, business and investment Thus, businesses can take advantage of7 Vietnam National Brand leverage to build their brand as well as build the image of Vietnam as a reputable country with high quality goods and services.

Ministries also organize conferences, meetings, exchanges and contacts with businesses to support them in providing more directions to build brands For instance, the seminar "Communication strategy for startups: Brand positioning - market development" organized by the Ministry of Science and Technology on July 24, 2020 , and recently a webinar on "Upgrading strategies, changing revenue" sponsored by the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam in collaboration with the E-commerce Development Center on August 12, 2021.

The continuously expanding market enables businesses to have access tomore groups of customers with various needs

6Approved by the Prime Minister under Decision No 253/2003/QD-TTg dated November 25, 2003 7Approved in Decision No 1320/QD-TTg