---
title: "The Core Secret of Marketing: Build Recognition Backwards, Sell Forwards!"
description: "Cheapness is not the start of a smooth marketing path but the beginning of a marketing nightmare. The real marketing logic is to build recognition backwards: first gain consumer recognition, then force channel recognition, and finally sell forwards."
author: "刘春雄"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
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published: "2017-08-09"
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# The Core Secret of Marketing: Build Recognition Backwards, Sell Forwards!

> Cheapness is not the start of a smooth marketing path but the beginning of a marketing nightmare. The real marketing logic is to build recognition backwards: first gain consumer recognition, then force channel recognition, and finally sell forwards.

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Author | Liu Chunxiong
Source | Teacher Liu's Forum (ID: liuchunxiong1964)
Cheapness is not the start of a smooth marketing path, but the beginning of a marketing nightmare.
Because you feel that if it's cheaper, the difficulty is a bit less.
The problem is precisely that: the first step is easier, but the subsequent steps are harder.
A series of marketing problems come with cheapness.
These problems are unsolvable because of cheapness.
**Unsolvable problems are nightmares.**
Nightmares start with cheapness.
01
Because it's cheap, you have no marketing budget.
Because you have no marketing budget, you can't activate the market.
Because you can't activate the market, even if it's cheap, no one cares.
Sales are activated, not cheapened.
Sometimes, more expensive items can sell themselves; the cheaper the item, the more you need to activate the market.
02
Because it's cheap, you can only sell to those who seek bargains.
Those who seek bargains are always seeking bargains.
Today you're cheap, they come; tomorrow someone else is cheap, they leave.
Because it's cheap, you're always changing consumers.
Changing consumers also costs money.
Because it's cheap, you have no budget left.
03
Because it's cheap, the manufacturer has to reduce costs.
As long as costs are reduced, quality cannot be guaranteed.
As long as quality cannot be guaranteed, those who buy cheap goods feel cheated.
**Those who buy cheap goods are not mentally prepared to be cheated.**
**Those who seek bargains are actually prepared to take advantage.**
04
You hope it's cheaper, but what consumers buy may not be cheap.
Stores don't make money selling famous brands, so they hope to sell some cheap goods at high prices.
**Your cheapness is combined by the channel's product mix.**
**In the channel's product mix, the unchanged are branded goods, and the frequently changed are cheap complementary products.**
For cheap products, you are the constantly replaced 'combination product'.
05
Because it's cheap, the product fails.
When the product fails, you have to start over and launch a new product.
**'Doing it again' is the most expensive cost in life.**
When relaunching a new product, maybe you can realize that the failure was because it was too cheap.
However, your summary is more likely: it's still because it wasn't cheap enough.
Just like a thief who fails and gets beaten, does he reflect on 'shouldn't have stolen' or 'stealing skills aren't high enough'?
Most likely the latter.
06
Why are channels particularly sensitive to price? Because channels must do product mix.
I have famous brand products, so I must find products to combine with them.
No brand awareness, gross margin - these are the two factors when channels choose non-brand products. Whether you will sell well or sell long-term, channels don't care, because there are too many combination products delivered to their door.
The first reason channels reject new products is: too expensive.
The second reason channels reject new products is: insufficient policy support.
Moreover, channels reject at every level.
07
Cheapness is the beginning of all disasters.
**'Cheap sells well' is just an illusion.**
Because of this illusion, you jump into a pit.
You can't climb out of this pit, and the easiest thing to do is jump from one pit to a deeper one.
Jumping into pits is always easier than climbing out.
Better not to jump into the first pit, otherwise it will be one pit after another.
08
**The real marketing logic is 'backward reasoning'.**
Those who truly care about quality are consumers, so good products must first meet consumers.
**Don't treat channels as spokespersons for consumers. Consumers have no spokesperson; channels are only spokespersons for profit.**
What consumers are interested in must be good products, and good products must have high costs.
High costs mean high prices.
Products with high prices, only by meeting consumers first, can gain initial recognition.
Once consumers recognize, channels will be 'forced' to recognize.
Once consumers recognize the product, channel merchants have to recognize the price.
**This process is called: build recognition backwards, sell forwards.**
This is the core secret of marketing!


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