Amid overcapacity and fierce price wars, many companies—while upgrading their marketing tactics—overlook the value of market sentiment in pursuit of short-term gains.

It’s not that your products are poor, nor that your brand is unknown. In today’s era of high product homogeneity, choosing one brand over another makes little practical difference. Yet sometimes, for just one reason or one detail, I simply don’t like you—or even dislike you—and thus turn to your competitors.

In the new consumption era, emotional value reigns supreme.

In the age of a highly developed mobile internet, online sentiment driven by public discourse can largely determine a brand’s rise and fall—even its survival.

A typical example lies in the comparison between Wahaha and Nongfu Spring. After Zong Qinghou, the founder of Wahaha, passed away, while netizens mourned his death, Nongfu Spring was inadvertently caught in the crossfire and fell victim to a wave of online public opinion. Similarly, as two giants in the mobile phone industry, Huawei and Xiaomi have long been engaged in heated online debates. Those who buy Huawei often look down on Xiaomi; those who choose Xiaomi frequently dislike Huawei. More often than not, what influences consumer behavior is not the product itself, but their emotional self-identity.

To be frank, Xiaomi’s products—whether smartphones or its newly launched cars—offer good value for money. But why do so many consumers feel displeased? It’s because Xiaomi’s promotions often appear overhyped, and many of Lei Jun’s public remarks fail to win recognition among netizens. For instance, his disparaging remarks about Huawei and his exclamation, “If you have the guts, put your product on the market!”—made at a critical moment when Huawei was facing U.S. sanctions—struck a nerve among domestic consumers.

Excessive marketing, misleading promotion, and inflated performance claims—throwing around terms like “industry first,” “domestic pioneer,” or “global leader”—are not entirely forbidden, but they must be backed by impeccable facts and data. Avoid walking the line of deception, stop relying on conceptual gimmicks, and never resort to tricks. Consumers are no fools. Moderate marketing is not only accepted but necessary for brand understanding—yet overdoing it will only spark resentment.

Emotional value can be both positive and negative. It’s not that your product is inferior—I just don’t like it. Conversely, choosing a brand often comes from a desire to satisfy a certain preference or experience a specific feeling, and consumers are even willing to pay a premium for that.

Behind emotion lies, first and foremost, correct values. Everything a company presents to the public—including its business philosophy, corporate culture, employee guidelines, promotional copy, and executives’ speeches—must consistently uphold positive intentions and follow the right path. The public should perceive it as an innovative brand that creates value for consumers, a caring enterprise full of positive energy that contributes to society—not merely a brand with flashy PPTs, catchy slogans, or one that wins through verbal sparring.

Consumers’ and netizens’ sentiment toward a brand is, in essence, feedback and reflection of the brand’s long-term public presence. How you treat consumers is how they will treat you. The “switch” of emotional value ultimately lies in the hands of the enterprise itself—the only uncertainty is when a specific action taken by the company will be triggered and ignited by a particular event.

Why is it that among so many drinking water companies, only Nongfu Spring became the target of netizens’ criticism? Why is it that among so many mobile phone brands using Qualcomm chips, only Xiaomi is labeled a “comprador” enterprise (i.e., one overly reliant on foreign core technologies)? It’s because Nongfu Spring once had business disputes with Wahaha, and netizens unconditionally trusted and supported Wahaha out of respect for Zong Qinghou’s noble character. It’s because Xiaomi often prides itself on being “first to launch” such products, seeing no shame but honor in it—thereby hurting the genuine national sentiments of the Chinese people.

This is the power of emotion!