Chapter 41 Tribute to excellence, imitate but not copy

Imitation is not simply "take it all", but to learn its excellent things and learn from each other's strengths to make up for its weaknesses through imitation.Therefore, "imitation" is ultimately for better development and for surpassing. Wanglaoji is a kind of herbal tea that Chinese people like very much. It occupies most of the national herbal tea market share. After other brands of herbal tea are launched, their sales cannot be compared with it, and it is difficult to gain a foothold in the market.However, in Wenzhou, a herbal tea called "Baekje Lin" has gained a firm foothold in the market. It is very similar to Wanglaoji, so some people call it the "brother" of Wanglaoji.

From about the second half of 2008, another kind of herbal tea, called Baijilin, appeared next to Wanglaoji herbal tea in major shopping malls in Wenzhou.Baekjerim herbal tea is very similar to Wanglaoji in terms of packaging and price.Many people bought and tasted it out of curiosity, and found that it tasted similar to Wanglaoji, so they slowly accepted this new brand. Baekjerim's marketing model is imitation.There was an enterprise in Wenzhou that produced traditional cold tea, but due to poor operating efficiency, it wanted to reorganize.After investigation, they found that Wanglaoji is the hottest and fastest-selling brand in the market, and has become the most well-known brand in the minds of consumers.In order to win the favor of consumers as soon as possible, they decided to imitate Wanglaoji: they also used bright red on the packaging, which is not only very eye-catching, but also has a strong national festive color; in terms of function, it also emphasizes the effect of clearing away heat and fire: the price is also roughly similar .These measures allowed them to quickly win consumers and gain a firm foothold in the market.

Baekjerim's marketing idea is to imitate.They took advantage of the brand advantage of Wanglaoji. Firstly, they are similar in appearance; secondly, they have worked hard to achieve similarity in quality; at the same time, they know that the advantages of herbal tea in Guangdong and Guangxi are very obvious. There is a big gap, and it is definitely difficult to open up the market if you want to create a new brand, so they also set up their company registration in Guangzhou. Of course, Baekjerim did not completely copy Wanglaoji, but added new elements while imitating and learning.For example, they add honey to the traditional heat-clearing and fire-removing function of herbal tea to increase the moisturizing and beautifying effect.Although such differences are small, they have formed their own characteristics, so they are quickly recognized by consumers.

Excellent things should be "brought". People in Wenzhou are particularly good at "bringing". As long as they see good products, good technologies, and good ideas, they will always "bring" them immediately for research, master them and do research on them. Take advantage of it. Imitation is a common phenomenon in the business world, and it can be regarded as a shortcut at the beginning of enterprise development. As a Wen businessman said: "If you don't know how to imitate, you certainly don't know how to innovate!" At the beginning of Wenzhou's development, many products had traces of imitation: leather shoes were imitated from Italy, clothing was modeled on France, and lighters were modeled on Japan.Many Wenzhou businessmen started from imitation, and finally embarked on the road of innovation and success.This kind of imitation, reference, and imitation was actually the best choice under the social and economic background at that time. At that time, they had no funds, no technology, and no resources, but they were smart and courageous, and they realized that imitation was the best choice. The right way to develop is precisely because of "imitation", Wenzhou talents have created a market of their own in the whole country and even the world.But when it develops to a certain level, it can no longer blindly imitate, but must innovate and create its own brand and products, otherwise it will be eliminated by the market.Wenzhou people are successful.The reason is that they are not only satisfied with imitation, but innovate on the basis of imitation.

In fact, not only in some foreign companies, there are many examples of success due to imitation. For example, KFC made its fortune by imitating McDonald's, Unilever followed after seeing Procter & Gamble's prosperity, and Pepsi watched Coca-Cola make a lot of money. Only after entering the market... Imitation is the most convenient, but it is also dangerous. If an excellent thing is imitated, it will naturally produce many side effects.If you don't have a little bit of your own characteristics, you will become a "fake" and the like, and will eventually be abandoned by the market.The essence of imitation is to stand on the shoulders of giants, not just to paint a portrait of giants!

Some imitations can be successful, while others fail completely. The key lies in whether the attitude of "learning" or "copying" is adopted when imitating.Baekjerim "learned" Wanglaoji and achieved remarkable results. Although it was an imitation and a follow-up, it was not simply shoddy.After gaining a firm foothold by taking advantage of Wanglaoji's market advantages, they quickly launched their own round of strategies.According to the preferences of Wenzhou people, Qingrun honey is added, so that once the advertisement is published, it will naturally be the icing on the cake.There is no doubt that if any product wants to reach a new level, it is not a simple imitation. This is how Baekje-rim has studied hard beside the giants before leaping onto the shoulders of giants.

Using the advantages of others to develop yourself is a shortcut to success.Many Wenzhou businessmen started their business by imitation, so in the process of doing business, they deeply felt the importance of "imitation" and learning from the best. Levitt is a well-known marketing guru. He once put forward the "biting the second apple strategy", which means that those who are good at imitating can also be successful.You may not be able to find a whole apple, but if you can follow in the footsteps of the first person, you can easily achieve your goal.Success is not just finding a way to be a giant, if you can climb the shoulders of giants, it is also a kind of success.

Following this principle, Baekjerim finally found the giant "Wanglaoji" and found the best entry point after conducting some research on the market. In September 2008, Baekje Forest was ready to go on the market in all aspects, centered in Wenzhou, and then radiated the entire Zhejiang Province and even the whole country. In the shopping mall, similar products inevitably become competitors. In order to seize the market, both parties show their respective energies and fight to the death.In fact, there is a better choice among similar products, which is to be as close to competitors as possible, and the two coexist and develop.

Baijilin and Wanglaoji are drinks of the same nature. If they confront Wanglaoji head-on, they will not have much advantage.Therefore, Baekjerim did the opposite, intentionally imitated its competitors, chose the place closest to the opponent, and placed it right next to "Wanglaoji", and won a large market. ◎Excellent things can be used for imitation - not all excellent products can be used for use. Before imitating other people's products, you must make a targeted choice according to your own actual situation.