Promoting goods made in Vietnam
The progamme “Vietnamese people use Vietnamese goods” launched by the Ministry of Industry and Trade has attracted the due attention from a large number of businesses and consumers.
This is an effective measure to help businesses restore production and promote consumption, especially those having goods in stock as their market share has declined.
Catering for consumer taste
To promote domestic consumption of products made in Vietnam, businesses and distributors have to supply high-quality products and good services. They should diversify the design of goods, increase quality, stabilise production costs and focus on after-sales service. Furthermore, it is important to have a good understanding of Vietnamese consumers’ taste and culture. Tran Quy Thanh, general director and chairman of administration board of the Tan Hiep Phat group, said that his company conducted surveys on consumer demand and set up a department for product research and development to fulfil local consumers’ requirements. “We aim to meet consumer need that other competitive rivals cannot meet,” Mr Thanh added.
Meanwhile, Tran Quoc Viet, deputy executive director of the southern Kinh Do joint stock company, said that his company has a market research department which provide consultancy for the administrative board on both product design and distribution services, with the aim of supplying better products and services to consumers. For example, the company added some flavours such as lotus to their line of confectioners that were identified as popular in Vietnamese rural areas in order to serve the northern region. These products became popular among consumers in the region.
Apart from increasing the quality of products and renewing product patterns, expanding distribution and retail networks is also a key factor contributing to the successful implementation of the “Vietnamese people use Vietnamese goods” progamme.
Focusing on the rural market
Vietnam now has a total population of more than 86 million, with over 70% of them are living in rural areas. Rural people’s income has increased in recent years, especially in areas which are urbanizing, thus increasing demand for goods. A survey of the rural market by the TNS market research company showed that 95% of rural households want to buy TV sets and 92% can afford to buy electric or gas cookers. About 33% of rural families can buy radio receivers and other music centres, 30% can buy refrigerators and 9% want to buy computers, according to the survey.
Nevertheless, rural market has not received the due attention from local businesses. Most products in rural areas are of low quality or not labelled. No large promotion campaigns and advertisement programmes have been launched in these areas. According to Mr Viet, it’s time for businesses to explore the rural market. Previously, businesses concentrated on developing high-quality products or products having high added value to earn bigger profits. However, they are now changing business operation, which focuses on consumption volume.
In fact, no multi-national groups have entered the Vietnam’s rural market for fear that rural consumers cannot afford their products. Therefore, local businesses should grasp this opportunity to expand their market share in such areas. At present, the Government is intensifying consumption promotion measures, and rural people are enjoying the benefit of this. Local businesses should purchase stock and promote goods consumption in order to ensure an adequate supply for the rural market. It is necessary to send promotion teams to villages to sell products in order to consolidate consumer trust. (VOV)
