In the current sluggish electronic cigarette industry, companies and practitioners are all thinking about how to break through the situation? So, besides the tightening policies of various countries and the global economic downturn, the most important reason for this should be the industry's internal competition. Since the cause has been identified, we will discuss solutions today. Firstly, let's unify our understanding: today's internal competition is an inevitable stage in the development process of the electronic cigarette industry.

The overseas electronic cigarette market, which will be pushed back five years from 2022, is an era where channels dominate. Regions such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, the Americas, Russia, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East have a large globalized electronic cigarette market, and at that time, the policies of various countries are relatively loose and friendly, so it will definitely be a scene of a hundred flowers blooming and ten thousand horses galloping.

Since the implementation of China's e-cigarette policy in 2022, e-cigarette companies have flocked to overseas markets, accelerating the shortening of overseas operation cycles. The overseas e-cigarette market has entered an era of excess e-cigarettes, with homogeneous channels and excessive products, and brands must be the king, both now and in the next five years.

In the era where brands are king, in the minds of consumers, they can only be one of the top brands. They cannot remember so many brands, and in a niche field, there are only two or three opportunities. Therefore, in the end, it must be the gathering of the top brands, who are truly remembered by consumers and have the reason to choose you over others. These top brands will gather more and more, and their market share will also increase.

Looking at many industries that have gone through this process, we can imagine what the e-cigarette industry will be like now and in the next five years. Brands are the biggest Matthew effect in the business world. We all know that the mainstream overseas market for e-cigarettes is very popular, but we also need to see that after being rolled, the e-cigarette brands that remain and can truly cross the cycle in the minds of consumers are high-quality brands. In the long run, these high-quality top brands will ultimately absorb most of the industry's profits. The electronic cigarette industry, which has entered the era of brand growth after the end of barbaric growth, has become an inevitable stage of development in regional or segmented fields. Recognizing the reality, adjusting strategies, and seizing opportunities are the top priorities for enterprises to discuss development at present.

Drucker once said a viewpoint: Enterprises actually have only two functions: the first is innovation, creating differentiated products and services; The second is to become the first choice in the minds of consumers through marketing. The success of a company ultimately determines its layout, and only a temporary dividend in traffic can a brand have lasting compound interest.

In the past five years, the overseas market for electronic cigarettes has been an era of channel dominance and "big order trade thinking". However, in the next five years, the overseas market for electronic cigarettes has clearly entered an era of brand dominance, making brands the first choice in order to break free from internal competition. The operation and management of enterprises should revolve around the management of cause and effect, continuously doing the right thing, and the result will definitely be right.

We can also understand today's e-cigarettes in this way. In the cold winter of crisis, they are helping us clean up the market. Companies that lack competitiveness and do not follow a good cause will ultimately eliminate the temporary dividends you gain. Brands that are truly ambitious and long-term oriented are the best opportunity to push forward today. A fact that must be believed is already happening, and most of the companies that can still stabilize and benefit are branded companies (it is not ruled out that there is still a small amount of local market opportunism).

The single "trade thinking" in this industry has been too deep for too long, and many people do not attach importance to the word "brand". They unilaterally believe that if the product sells more and the traffic is large, it becomes a brand, rather than operating the enterprise according to the brand operation concept. So, the "brand road" of the e-cigarette industry has just begun, with great potential and opportunities, and any success is possible. From true branding to leadership, there is still a lot of room left in the industry at present. Every enterprise with a solid foundation may achieve success, but now "branded operation" is the most important for getting on board.

If we can reach such a consensus here: electronic cigarettes, making brands the first choice, can we break free from internal competition. Next, we have to talk about a business theory: positioning theory. The concept of positioning was proposed by Trout in 1972 and introduced to China by Deng Delong in the 1990s. It is one of the main core ideas of modern marketing. Electronic cigarettes have entered the era of branding, and opportunities lie in their positioning: enterprise positioning, brand positioning, product positioning, and market positioning. Each positioning contains business opportunities. If you are interested in this topic, we can make an appointment for the next reading exchange.