Experts shares experiences on brand building from corporate culture
WVR - According to experts, a company's culture is the core value of every business, serving as the foundation that helps businesses differentiate themselves in their operations. Consequently, corporate culture plays an incredibly vital role in building a business's brand.
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Le Quoc Vinh, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Business Culture Development (VNABC) affirmed that, in today's business landscape, the fundamental pillars that contribute to a brand's strength are its cultural identity.
"We can emulate business models, mimic branding strategies, but culture is something we can never truly imitate. It's the inherent characteristic of each business from its inception," he emphasized.
Social missions shape a brand’s success
According to Mr. Le Quoc Vinh, there are 3 criterias to develop corporate culture: First, corporate culture encompasses all unifed values to promote growth together. Second, it isn't about specific written rules but comprises of all the behaviours, modes of conduct, and relationships collectively built by every member within the business. Third, corporate culture is the mission and the reason for a company’s existence.
He said that, the core concept of corporate culture is “Brand Purpose”. It is the essence of a brand's existence, and it goes beyond merely making money.
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| Experts shares experiences on brand building from corporate culture: According to Mr. Le Quoc Vinh, there are 3 criterias to develop corporate culture. (Photo: Vi Vi) |
As a leading expert in branding with years of consulting in brand building, Mr. Le Quoc Vinh noted that many of today's globally renowned brands have successfully established their own unique social missions.
“A brand purporse is not a its promise. A brand promise sets customer expectations for products or services. Meanwhile, a brand purpose goes beyond that. It shows the societal benefits the product or service will bring, and it emotionally connects with consumers on a deeper level”, he added.
Mr. Vinh analyzes that a brand's purpose is essentially a business's mission for its brand to create values for society, for the community. From this perspective, the social mission is an immutable goal, representing sustainable values that businesses consistently strive for.
“That mission differs from the vision that businesses set out, for instance, aiming to become one of the top firms in Vietnam in the next 10, 15 or 20 years. The social mission is the core of a corporate culture where passion, dedication, and wholehearted commitment exist. Businesses driven by a social mission inspire others around them, enabling them to achieve future prominence," Mr. Vinh elaborated.
The brand-building expert gave us a case study of the well-known consumer goods and clothing chain named Tokyo Life. Its success is rooted in its mission to become a happy place for customers, an environment brimming with humanity where people with disabilities find joy while working, gaining confidence to be valuable members of society.
Another example is the social enterprise called "Tò he", established in 2006. Its mission is to create an creative playground for less fortunate children. The business aims not only to sell handicrafts but also for every customer to experience a rediscovery of childhood, reconnecting with their innocence.
"There are numerous examples like these, to make us realize that the path to developing a sustainable brand is to become a beloved brand," Mr. Vinh said.
Building corporate culture is building national brand
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Le Van Loi, Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics highly appreciates the crucial role of business’s ethics, and corporate culture. He said that these factors crucial for businesses to have a long-term vision and create their distinct, intangible strength.
“Business ethics and culture are considered as elements ingrained in the cultural heritage, not imitable or copied. These factors are built from internal strength, providing a competitive edge, commercial advantage, and sustainable development for businesses”, he argued.
To foster business ethics and develop a business culture, the traditional cultural values of the nation serve as the foundation, an essential pivot. Vietnam's cultural foundation is steeped in ethics, benevolence, upholding justice, righteousness, and tightly bonding with a friendly environment, always placing national and people's interests at the top. These cultural traditions have permeated and spread within Vietnamese entrepreneurial systems, increasingly recognized to be inherited and amplified in building the current generations of Vietnamese entrepreneurs.
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| Assoc. Prof. Dr. Le Van Loi, Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics highly appreciates the crucial role of business’s ethics, and corporate culture. (Photo: Vietnam Business Forum) |
Regarding business’s integrity and the role of business ethics and culture in national brand building, he assesses that establishing a business's integrity is far more challenging than establishing an individual's integrity. Establishing and maintaining long-term integrity, honesty in production and business, involves a process of changing mindsets, perceptions, and actualization through consistent, persistent, and coherent contributions from business leaders, managers, and every employee.
The cultivation of corporate culture should be made at the outset, in which the business leader plays the decisive role. Building ethics, business culture, and corporate culture contribute to the construction of a national brand. Presently, Vietnam's national brand is increasingly being improved and promoted. Vietnam has become a responsible and reputable member within the international community, significantly contributing to maintaining global peace and stability," emphasized Assoc. Prof. Dr. Le Van Loi.
