Vietnamese people are now well aware of the important contribution of using made-in-Vietnam goods to national economic development. It is of great social significance as well as benefits consumers and offers opportunities for domestic enterprises. However, the “Buy made-in-Vietnam goods” campaign - a movement that encourages Vietnamese people to give priority to using made-in-Vietnam goods needs greater effort to spread its positive influence. Vietnam Business Forum interviewed Consultant Do Thanh Nam, Director of Win-Win Strategy Consulting Company, on this issue. Giang Tu reports.
“Buy Vietnamese products” is an opportunity for domestic companies but not all of them can grasp it. What do you think about this?
Domestic companies have to realise that this is an enormous opportunity for them to boost sales and build up brands with the support of relevant organs. Right from now, they must reassess and review strengths and weaknesses while grasping real consumer demand to adapt to new changes so as to maximise added values for customers. In the long run, they must build their dynamic customer-centred business strategies, lean management models, and a clear business mission and philosophy. Doing this, they will be able to edge up competitiveness and ready to confront any foreign rivalry on the domestic market.
They must know that consumers always choose products and services they consider bringing most added value to them. Added value is the difference between the value received such as utility value, human value, service value and brand value with the cost spent such as money cost, time cost, energy cost and psychological cost. If added value of domestic products is not higher than that of foreign products, it is certain that Vietnamese consumers will soon shift to use foreign ones. Therefore, to convince Vietnamese people to use local products, the added value of such products must be greater than that of foreign ones.
Given the current difficult economic context, how does the “Buy Vietnamese products” advocacy support economic growth?
This movement is of very great significance as it not only arouses patriotism, nationalism and beauty in the consumer culture in Vietnam but also resolves economic problems like reducing trade deficit and supporting domestic businesses. It will encourage and motivate Vietnamese enterprises to launch products of higher quality, higher durability, better design and more reasonable price onto the market to meet higher consumer demands. As for investors, they more than ever realise the importance of using Vietnamese goods to national economic development, to social significance and to their own benefits.
How to make this campaign a consumer culture?
Firstly, we should convince domestic companies, or business leaders to be more specific, to pursue sustainable development of businesses in conjunction with benefits of customers. Then, such business leaders encourage their employees or subordinates to provide better service for customers, enhance the quality and diversity of products, and lower production prices. We all know that business leaders have direct huge influences on employee behaviours in their companies. If the leaders are the first to use Vietnamese goods and advise their employees to follow, a majority of employees in their companies will use Vietnamese goods sometime after that. This move inadvertently makes the keenness on foreign goods contrary to the collective trend. By the time, the scope of using foreign products will shrink further. Gradually, using Vietnamese goods become an element of cultural identity and the pride of every Vietnamese business. Eventually, the habit of using Vietnamese goods spills from the inside of each enterprise over its employees’ families and it gradually becomes a consumer culture in Vietnam.
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