Recently, Chu Xueyou, former vice president of Xibei, forwarded a Weibo, which triggered public criticism. Weibo quipped that the price increase of Xibei triggered a public opinion rebound because most netizens in Weibo earned less than 5,000 yuan a month. This remark was interpreted as "unworthy" to eat Siebel with a monthly salary of less than 5,000 yuan.
Executives' comments with personal emotions and cognition have a great influence on the brand. Once, they were full of arrogance and prejudice, which may win eyeballs and traffic, but it is a consumption of brand reputation.
Since the outbreak of the epidemic, from "crying for poverty" to apologizing for the price increase, from talking about "7 15 working system" to Jia's Kung Fu cooking experience store being evaluated as "eating airplane meals on the ground", the disputes caused by it have been repeatedly searched, and the brand image has also been greatly affected. Can "expensive" Siebel win consumers?
The "hidden thunder" of former executives makes people angry.
The "hidden mine" in Weibo still dates back to April 2020.
At that time, the epidemic prevention and control gradually stabilized, and the catering industry opened one after another. Haidilao and Xibei began to raise prices in several cities, which triggered consumer condemnation. Some commentators pointed out that when the price increase fails, it is necessary to raise the price at the moment of the outbreak of the epidemic. Just after returning to work, the economic prospects are unknown, and everyone's wallets have shrunk for many days, making it difficult to bulge. Isn't this your own sign?
On April 1 1 day, 2020, the founder Jia Faweibo admitted that the prices of some dishes such as take-out and in-house meals in Shanghai had risen, and apologized to netizens, saying that the prices of all dishes would be restored to the standards before they were closed due to the epidemic.
The epidemic situation has a great impact on the catering industry. Under the pressure of cost, the price increase is the independent behavior of enterprises, and consumers also have the freedom of "I don't spend". It's just that sometimes emotions prevail over reason. On the one hand, Jia apologized to put out the fire, and on the other hand, Chu Xueyou, who was then the head of the relationship between Northwest Workers, "fanned the flames" and forwarded the above-mentioned Weibo-offending netizens because of the increase in income, calling it "learning".
Although Chu Xueyou left his post in September 2020, today's Weibo has been turned out, which is still enough to provoke consumers' dissatisfaction with Siebel. "That means Siebel was eaten by a gentleman?" Some netizens asked questions.
Yu Xin, the public relations director of Xibei, told the business school reporter that Chu Xueyou was deleted after it was issued. Now that I have left my job, some words and deeds on social media do not represent the enterprise. Our company's point of view is definitely not that the monthly salary is more than 5,000 yuan or less, and newcomers are guests. There is no division of customer groups such as region, age and class.
Although consumers' purchasing power does differ, brands should not subjectively divide customers into three or six categories, especially catering brands, let alone treat diners with colored glasses, and should not use discriminatory language to divide customer groups.
Song Xuan, the founder of spoon class, explained to the reporter of Business School that it is illogical to judge the audience of catering brands according to the "one size fits all" consumption income. High-income people will also have many low-consumption behaviors, and low-income people will also have high-consumption behaviors.
After this old story about Weibo was dug up, why did it cause great controversy?
Wu, a brand management expert and CEO of Siqisheng Company, told the business school reporter that since the epidemic, everyone has been under great pressure, especially by the end of the year, netizens have found an outlet to vent their emotions. At the same time, recent employee incidents in Pinduoduo, etc. , making the public's view of large enterprises more negative. "As an executive of Xibei, it is normal to forward such unfriendly remarks to netizens and be sprayed by others."
Wu pointed out that every kind of words and deeds of corporate public relations departments, spokespersons and executives are representatives of corporate image. In the internet communication environment, mistakes will be magnified and even lead to crisis. Enterprises should conduct self-examination on the contents of external publicity. However, she also believes that if Siebel can resolve this public opinion crisis in time and turn it into an opportunity, it will also be a publicity opportunity and will eventually win the attention of the public and the media.
However, some netizens said, "(Chu Xueyou) generation does not mean that (Xibei) is useless, and things are expensive and unpalatable." The intense emotion of netizens is also related to the high price of Siebel.
Siebel, so ordinary but so confident?
On the one hand, it violates the brand taboo to distinguish customers by the level of wealth; On the other hand, consumers think that Xibei cuisine is incredibly expensive.
Some netizens shouted, "Siebel is a typical person who is so ordinary but so confident. If the food is not delicious and has no characteristics, you dare to clearly mark the price. " "The amount is small and expensive, not because I can't afford it, but because I don't want to be fooled."
On the take-out of the US group, 43 yuan, a sesame oil scrambled egg in Xibei Youmian village, 46 yuan, a cabbage with scallion oil, 49 yuan, a big flower roll, 33 yuan ... Xibei is famous for its high price. In response to consumers' feelings about the high price of vegetables in Xibei, Yu Xin believes that this is related to Xibei's failure to let consumers know the ingenuity behind the products. In his view, Siebel has invested a lot of thought and cost in material selection and cooking technology, and the price is not profiteering. However, the pricing system cannot deviate from the product value. If these inputs only push up the price and do not make consumers feel "reasonably expensive", consumers will vote with their feet and turn to other things, and will not pay for the excessive brand premium.
In an interview with a business school reporter, Jianmu, chief catering operation consultant of First Enterprise Management Consulting, pointed out that businesses have their own pricing system and their own pricing rights, which is understandable, but factors such as consumer acceptance and business circle location should also be considered. The quality of ingredients in Xibei is worthy of recognition. Self-built supply chain can ensure food safety, but the pricing is really high. If consumers feel that it is not worth it, they will vote with their feet and the merchants will bear the consequences themselves. If the cost performance is higher, it is naturally easier to get customers. Then, regarding whether Siebel will raise prices or lower prices in the near future, he pointed out that Siebel's price approval system is perfect and will not change prices at will. "Price changes depend on the cost changes of suppliers' ingredients, and it is not recommended to raise prices blindly for profit. "
In Wu's view, the price is determined by the market. It is irrational to resist the price increase behavior of enterprises through public opinion. "Pricing is part of the brand strategy. Brands have their own consumer group positioning, and will not casually cut prices because of public opinion. "
If we insist on not reducing the price, how can Siebel regain the trust of consumers, establish better communication with the public and establish a brand image? Yu Xin said that Siebel is also having internal discussions. He believes that this can be solved not only at the communication level, but also at the product structure and operation level. Instead of relying on frequent hot search, it is better to win back the favor of consumers with products that return to the price of vegetables.
The expansion of "airplane meals" is just around the corner. Will consumers pay the bill?
The Spring Festival is approaching, which is an important consumption season for the catering industry. It is not good news for Siebel to make such unfriendly remarks at this time. Some netizens even think that eating in Xibei is an "IQ tax".
The catering industry itself is difficult to adjust. Whether the emotions on the Internet will spread to the tastes of diners depends on the transaction rate of Siebel.
This is not the first time Siebel has been accused of being expensive. Not long ago, the Kung Fu cooking experience store named after Jia attracted attention because of remarks such as "eating airplane meals on the ground" and "eating takeout in restaurants".
This experience store, located in Beijing Jinyuan Yansha Shopping Center, does not cook all the dishes on the spot, but directly serves them after heating the low-temperature prepackaged foods, so as to promote the "home cooking" series that can enter the retail end, including the representative dishes of eight major cuisines and northwest cuisines, with nearly 30 SKUs. Prices are also quite expensive, such as braised lion head in 55 yuan, Yangzhou, braised pork in 88 yuan, Shanghai, and Yangzi in 178 yuan.
This is the new track that Siebel has chosen after repeated battles and defeats in the fast food field. After opening the store during the "Eleventh" period in 2020, Xibei also announced that it will officially settle in the "Kung Fu Cuisine" super central kitchen project in Helinger New District, Inner Mongolia. According to official reports, the total investment of the first phase of the project is 600 million yuan.
However, the logic of new retail is different from catering, which requires higher supply capacity of marketing, channels and supply chain. In particular, "Kung Fu Cuisine" adopts low-temperature preservation technology and needs cold chain distribution.
At the same time, consumers' acceptance of this semi-finished fast food is still in the training stage. Because compared with take-away, it is difficult to meet the taste expectations of consumers without category characteristics.
For Siebel, it is a great challenge to explore new retail areas outside the chain operation of dinner. However, Jia Guolong confirmed the track and decided to name it after himself. Earlier, he suggested that Xibei should increase the retail business of fast food and online food, and realize the sales of 1000 billion by 2030. Regarding the progress of the "Kung Fu Cuisine" project, Yu Xin said that there is only one offline experience store at present, and it is still testing the market reputation and opinions, and making improvements and optimizations according to customer opinions.
He said that this year's "Kung Fu Cuisine" project will have some expansion plans for offline stores and online channels, and it is necessary to wait until the Spring Festival to see whether the experience store is mature. If the arrogance and prejudice against consumers are the mistakes of former executives, then consumers need to forget this so-called mistake as soon as possible in order to achieve the sales target of Siebel 1000 billion yuan.