Brands should learn to be consumer-centered

Few traditions matter more to Chinese families than the Spring Festival, a celebration of Chinese New Year that blends renewal, hope and continuity.

In Chinese culture, each year is associated with an animal from the zodiac. According to this system, 2026, after the Spring Festival, is the Year of the Horse. Long before the holiday starts, the symbolism of the horse — speed, success and forward momentum — has already entered everyday conversation. Chinese New Year greetings invoke it. So do marketing campaigns. For brands, tying advertising to the zodiac has become a familiar Spring Festival ritual, sometimes so familiar that it borders on the predictable.

A Chinese dairy company, Yili, drew attention for its Spring Festival marketing because of how it responded to the public. Months before the holiday, online users joked that the company should invite Chinese actress Ma Yili, whose surname happens to include the character for "horse", as its brand ambassador for the Year of the Horse.

Instead of ignoring the chatter or dismissing it as noise, the company quickly adopted the suggestion and officially announced the actress as its spokesperson. Online users praised the brand for being "the fastest to take advice".

At almost the same time, another well-known national restaurant chain did something quite the opposite. Faced with consumer criticism, it responded defensively and stubbornly. Within months, revenues plunged.

At its core, this is a story about an old principle playing out in a new environment: businesses succeed when they understand and respect consumers — and fail when they do not.

In a market economy, studying consumer needs and behavior is not optional. Consumer-centered companies survive and grow. Companies that place themselves above their customers, or refuse to engage with feedback, eventually pay the price.

For much of the last century, communication between companies and consumers was largely one-way. Mass media allowed brands to broadcast messages, not to converse. Companies that wanted genuine feedback had to rely on surveys, focus groups and field research — methods that were time-consuming, expensive and imperfect.

The digital era has fundamentally altered this dynamic. Social media platforms, e-commerce reviews and online comment sections now offer companies a continuous, low-cost stream of consumer opinion. Brands can interact directly with users through official accounts. They can observe how customers respond not only to their own products, but also to competitors'. Feedback that once took months and money to collect is now immediate and abundant.

If used wisely, this information can improve everything from product design and advertising to after-sales service. It lowers communication costs and increases responsiveness. Yili's marketing campaign offers a useful illustration. Through social media, companies can learn about what consumers are already emotionally investing in. They can also gain access to a large volume of user-generated creative content. By responding in an open and timely manner, they are able to amplify existing public engagement.

Digital platforms are not neutral and amplify everything.

A respectful and responsive attitude can be magnified into widespread goodwill. A dismissive or arrogant response can just as easily spiral into a reputational disaster. In this sense, the internet functions like a loudspeaker: praise and blame travel faster and farther than ever before. For companies, reputation has become both more valuable and more fragile.

This is why humility matters more in the digital age, not less. Brands must act with an awareness that every public response is potentially permanent and scalable. Reputation is fragile: the higher one's profile, the greater the risk of a fall.

How, then, can companies avoid costly missteps?

Rules and internal procedures help, but they are not enough. What matters first is mindset. Companies must genuinely embrace a consumer-oriented philosophy — one that treats public feedback not as a threat, but as guidance. This requires effort, patience and a willingness to change.

Here, an unexpected parallel emerges between modern business practice and traditional Chinese political thought. Classical writings on governance repeatedly emphasize that rulers succeed by listening broadly, respecting public sentiment and acting for the common good.

The lesson translates easily into the marketplace. Earning consumer trust is not about clever slogans or short-term profits. It is about recognizing real needs, addressing real pain points and creating real value. Loyalty follows when consumers feel seen and respected.

Still, good intentions alone are insufficient. Just as societies rely on laws to restrain abuse of power, markets need external safeguards. Fair competition, clear regulations and legal protections are essential to prevent monopolistic behavior, consumer exploitation and reputational manipulation. A healthy business environment requires both self-discipline and institutional accountability.

In an age when consumers speak loudly and constantly, smart brands are not those that talk the most — but those that know when, and how, to listen.

The author is an associate professor at the School of Journalism and Communication at Peking University.

The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

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