From product promotion to building market trust

In the technology sector, trust is an important factor determining whether a product is selected. Consumers, businesses and agencies using technology and electronic products are concerned not only with what a product can do, but also with its quality, effectiveness, security and safety, as well as the supplier’s ability to provide long-term support. This is one of the values that a national brand can help businesses strengthen as they enter new markets.

Recently, MISA Joint Stock Company was honored with the 2026 National Brand recognition. Speaking to a reporter from the Industry and Trade Newspaper, Le Hong Quang, General Director of MISA Joint Stock Company, said that being recognised as a national brand helps the company increase product visibility while strengthening trust among customers and partners. Activities carried out under the programme also create opportunities to promote nationally branded products in international markets.

Therefore, trade promotion for technology and electronic products cannot be limited to bringing products to a trade fair or organising a product introduction programme. Its greater value lies in building awareness, strengthening trust and opening up new commercial connections.

For MISA, an ecosystem of platforms such as MISA AMIS, MISA FinGov and MISA QLCB, together with AI solutions including MISA OneAI and MISA Agentwork, has been developed towards data interoperability, supporting real-time decision-making and aligning with a data-driven development approach. This is also an example of how Vietnamese technology products seeking to compete in the market need to demonstrate tangible value in practical use, rather than relying solely on technology-focused communications.

According to Le Hong Quang, product quality is one of the key pillars of brand building. For information technology products, quality is reflected in the benefits delivered to users, the effectiveness of digital transformation, as well as the ability to ensure security and safety. When trade promotion is built on substantive quality, promotional activities will not merely increase product visibility but also help products establish a market presence.

This is particularly important as Vietnamese technology products compete with imported products. Imported goods may have advantages in terms of brand recognition, scale and market experience. Vietnamese businesses therefore need to turn their understanding of the domestic market, adaptability, and ability to develop tailored solutions into competitive strengths.

At the same time, technology is creating a new space for trade promotion. When data is connected, businesses can better understand customer needs, identify target markets and develop products that are more closely aligned with actual demand. AI and digital transformation are therefore not merely matters of production or business management. They are also tools for improving the effectiveness of trade promotion.

Le Hong Quang said technology and digital transformation should be regarded as important factors in strengthening competitiveness. When businesses adopt technology and pursue digital transformation, productivity, efficiency and the pace of development can be enhanced, thereby directly supporting their competitiveness.

Connecting Vietnamese businesses to supply chains

If trade promotion helps products find markets, then for the electronics industry, an equally important task is helping businesses find their position within supply chains. Sharing his views on the issue, Truong Thi Chi Binh, Secretary General of the Viet Nam Association for Supporting Industries, said that whereas businesses previously mainly manufactured according to existing designs and requirements provided by customers, customers can now simply provide product samples and require businesses to undertake the design and completion themselves.

This shift means that Vietnamese businesses must move further up the value chain. To do so, they need not only production capacity, but also information, data, design capabilities and connections with sources of components and parts.

According to Truong Thi Chi Binh, one of the current bottlenecks is that businesses lack data, connections and information about sources of components and parts. This is precisely a gap where trade promotion activities could play a deeper role in providing better support to businesses.

While traditional trade promotion has focused on connecting sellers with buyers, trade promotion in the electronics industry needs to expand to connecting businesses with other businesses, businesses with component suppliers, businesses with buyers and businesses with production chains.

A data platform that allows businesses to search for components, suppliers and markets, as proposed by Binh, could support this process. When information is connected, businesses will have a stronger basis for finding partners, identifying sources of supply and improving their ability to participate in supply chains. This would also provide a foundation for increasing localisation rates.

As global supply chains shift, manufacturers' efforts to seek and diversify sources of supply are creating opportunities for Vietnamese businesses. However, opportunities can only turn into orders when businesses meet requirements for quality, technology, delivery schedules and supply capacity. Therefore, trade promotion needs to go hand in hand with improvements in production capacity.

A business matchmaking event can bring a Vietnamese company together with a buyer, but turning that meeting into a contract requires the company to demonstrate its capabilities. A product that is widely promoted but fails to meet technical requirements will also struggle to advance within the supply chain.

Conversely, when businesses improve their production and design capabilities and master their technologies, trade promotion activities will have more “quality products” to bring to the market. This illustrates the two-way relationship between trade promotion and enhanced competitiveness.

Le Hong Quang said Viet Nam is unlikely to participate in every large-scale technology race, such as developing large-scale AI models comparable to those developed by global corporations. However, Vietnamese businesses can leverage their human resources to develop applications built on those platforms.

From a trade promotion perspective, this is precisely a matter of identifying the right markets and the right competitive advantages. Trade promotion therefore needs to shift from the mindset of “taking products out to promote” to “bringing Vietnamese capabilities to the market”.

For the technology sector, this means bringing Vietnamese solutions to the right customers; for the electronics industry, bringing Vietnamese businesses into the right supply chains; and for supporting industries, connecting businesses with demand to the right suppliers. In this way, trade promotion is no longer a function that comes after production, but becomes an integral link in the process of strengthening competitiveness.

For the technology and electronics sectors, trade promotion needs to move beyond product promotion towards deeper connections among businesses, suppliers, buyers and markets. When information on demand, component supplies and potential partners is connected, Vietnamese businesses will have greater opportunities to move up from OEM to ODM and gradually build their own brands. This will also provide a foundation for increasing localisation rates, raising domestic value creation and participating more deeply in supply chains.