The sudden outbreak of the epidemic ruthlessly claimed the lives of many patients. When the nest is overturned, no egg remains unbroken. As the epidemic spreads wantonly and the resumption of work is continuously delayed, the impact is bound to be far-reaching. Many enterprises that were ready to make a big push at the start of the year have found themselves in trouble: business plans disrupted, operations interrupted, and financial pressure mounting. How to carry out self-rescue is a challenge every business owner must face.

In the face of the epidemic, enterprises generally fall into five categories:

First: Stay put, wait and see, and only show their prowess when the epidemic clears. Second: Blame fate, be anxious, and feel helpless. Third: Seek remedies everywhere and blindly follow trends. Fourth: Be directly KO'd and go bankrupt, already riddled with problems and on the brink of collapse. Fifth: Plan carefully before acting and actively engage in self-rescue.

Background: Company X is a provincial operator of a brand-name white liquor in Henan, with annual sales of 30 million yuan. It operates through both direct sales and distributor models, using traditional marketing channels. The team is primarily composed of "army" (offline) personnel. Core distributors (with hard benefits: zero advance payment, partner dividends, one-stop service marketing model, etc.; and soft benefits: high-end travel, filial piety allowances, etc.) and the internal marketing team (diversified team-building, high salary mechanisms) are highly satisfied and loyal to the company—this is very important. The founder has strong personal charisma and experience as a senior executive at a well-known enterprise.

Professor Chen Chunhua once said, What a company truly inherits is not its organization, culture, or assets, but its ability to adapt to change. The epidemic is a touchstone for testing a company's true internal strength.

February 2 was the normal resumption date for the company. The office building should have been bustling with people, but under the epidemic, only a few cars were parked, and the only people coming to the office were the bosses.

The epidemic halted business operations. In reality, without action or measures, the company had zero cash collections, but various expenses (warehousing, office, finance, salaries, etc.) still had to be paid.

Market situation: Payments had been made to the brand company before the Chinese New Year, tying up the company's cash flow. Distributors had participated in the Spring Festival ordering meeting, and terminals had stocked up on goods. Employees could not work normally to promote sales.

Due to the epidemic, gatherings were largely canceled; visiting relatives and friends basically stopped. As the epidemic worsened and prevention policies tightened, consumption shifted from group drinking to solo drinking, and later to "cloud drinking" (virtual drinking sessions). Product structure shifted from high-end products that represented face to mass-market products for personal consumption.

Internal organization: Most people were hesitant and skeptical about executing sales collections, unwilling to try or take risks. There was a lot of negativity and slackening of self-management.

How to self-rescue and quickly break the deadlock?

Famous marketing expert Lu Changquan once said: "No matter how bad the cards in your hand are, a solution based on reality always exists."

1. First Shot: The Battle of Sales Ideology—Don't Fear, Don't Slack, Seize Opportunities.

Li Ka-shing said: "An egg, broken from the outside, is food; broken from the inside, is life." Life is the same: broken from the outside is pressure; broken from the inside is growth. First, build confidence within the company, then break through the external market.

Without the right to investigate, there is no right to speak. Use the office software DingTalk to urgently convene management meetings, unify employees' thoughts during the epidemic, and deploy executable work during the epidemic.

(1) Boost morale, strengthen confidence, create miracles, and the brave will win. When soldiers come, we block with generals; when water comes, we block with earth. Those with unity of purpose will prevail. (2) Though physically at home (in Cao camp), mentally in the market (in Han). Communicate online with distributors and core terminals, sort out and summarize inventory, and listen to customers' and terminals' views on the epidemic and market suggestions. (3) Shift office work from offline to online, formulate online work regulations, restore the spirit of work, and force ourselves to upgrade from "army" (offline) combat capability to "air force" (online) combat. (4) Parallel efforts: internal skill building (data sorting, training, market layout) and performance achievement actions.

2. Second Shot: Understand the Situation, Act Quickly, Win the First Battle, and Build Confidence.

Making distributors "deliver wine easily and live happily" has always been the company's mission and value. In extraordinary times, it should reflect the company's care and love for distributors. Those who win hearts win the world.

When the company learned that many distributors could not buy masks and disinfectant, it purchased them at high prices through various channels and gave them to distributors for free as a gesture of sympathy. True friendship is seen in times of adversity, and in special times, distributors felt the company's great love.

This further deepened the relationship with distributors and provided confidence for the sales battle against the epidemic, proving that the company was thinking and acting, laying the foundation for the next activities.

At that time, the topic #Novel Coronavirus Fears Alcohol and High Temperatures# was trending on social media platforms like Weibo, WeChat, and Douyin. Related news about "drinking high-proof alcohol to fight the coronavirus" also spread rapidly.

Seizing the opportunity, the company quickly selected a 67° high-proof liquor from its existing product line. To avoid appearing overly commercial, the copy was combined with the epidemic to facilitate dissemination.

Copy

Heaven bless China, high "degree" anti-epidemic, come on Wuhan, come on China! XXXX 67° fights the epidemic with you. Strolling around carnival price: X yuan/box (high price); Home quarantine micro-drunk anti-epidemic price: X yuan/box (special price), Special price plus free infrared thermometer: buy 2 boxes and get 1 thermometer.

Implementation Actions:

(1) Use DingTalk to hold online meetings. The founder communicates the policy, sets tasks and incentives for management, and signs military orders. (2) The company unifies copy and posters, requiring all employees to repost on WeChat Moments, and use self-built groups, mixed groups, and other online methods to create momentum. (3) Standard communication scripts and Q&A. (4) One-on-one communication and follow-up with target customers. (5) Two meetings daily (afternoon and evening) to answer questions about execution issues and share experiences from those who collected payments well.

This activity had two phases: the first phase (February 3) targeted distributors, offering 67° liquor with a gift of goji berry wine; the second phase (February 11) targeted consumers, offering infrared thermometers as gifts.

3. Third Shot: Public Welfare First, Press On with One Breath, and Be Invincible.

Through the first round of activities, old perceptions were broken, and the concerns of customers and the sales team were dispelled—that goods could not be sold during the epidemic. Everyone was full of confidence. When the country is in trouble, everyone is responsible, and the company went all out to support the front line.

On February 5, the company launched a "Salute to the Anti-Epidemic Frontline Workers" condolence activity, visiting checkpoints. In total, they visited over 500 checkpoints, covering more than 30 counties and cities.

Able to do offline, able to shout online. The company compiled photos from the activity into promotional materials, contributing to the anti-epidemic effort through its own modest strength, spreading positive energy, and calling on more enterprises to participate in this anti-epidemic campaign.

For the brand, public welfare event marketing easily builds reputation. The checkpoint workers are also opinion leaders. For customers and sales representatives, active participation gives a strong sense of value.

4. Fourth Shot: Seize the Post-Epidemic Consumption Window with a "Bottle Action" in Restaurants.

After a long period of staying at home, pent-up consumption desires will eventually be released, especially for white liquor. There will be a short window of revenge consumption, fleeting but certain to cause a brief consumption boom. Those who seize it first will lead.

A serious illness needs strong medicine. Develop a plan from four dimensions: terminal support, consumer promotion support, distributor incentives, and team incentives. The goal is to make all participants excited and willing to act, so everyone gets a piece of meat without burning their mouths.

5. Fifth Shot: Segment Opportunities, Link Actions, and Win Step by Step!

The epidemic has changed people's lifestyles and attitudes. The pursuit of health, cherishing life, enjoying life, and living in the moment will influence more and more people. To this end, the company followed up with a campaign themed "Free Tour of Southeast Asia."

Copy:

Share together, order together! Unprecedented, act before the money! XX invites you to a free tour of Southeast Asia after the epidemic!

As soon as the activity was launched, the market response was good. Of course, the same requirements for organization mentioned above apply; no matter when, execution is the guarantee.

6. Sixth Shot: Seize Postponed Banquets, Consumer Promotions, Internal Training...

Famous product person Liang Ning proposed that growth strategy is the ability to break boundaries and continuously make correct decisions.

In the face of the epidemic, the founder's thinking was highly clear: not blind, not conservative, not aggressive, but planning before acting and assessing the situation.

The epidemic is a touchstone for testing a company's internal strength—the founder's sensitive response and problem-solving ability to major market turmoil; the organization's capability; the degree of trust in labor relations; whether the market foundation is solid; the company's forward-looking layout ability; profitability, etc.

Based on the company's own situation, leverage its offline "army" and solid channel cultivation capabilities, combine with the epidemic, make full use of online office work, effectively combine and adapt routine market operation routines, and explore a route suitable for itself.

Some may say these actions are common white liquor routines. But those who see the essence in one second and those who spend half a lifetime without seeing the essence of a thing naturally have different fates.

A good chess player has no brilliant moves. There is nothing new under the sun. Rearranging and recombining is innovation. All changes are inseparable from their roots. Build strong camps, fight stubborn battles, adhere to long-termism, and all business essence is altruistic thinking, adhering to great love.

Finally, end with Kazuo Inamori's words: A recession is the best time for a company to grow. If a company's development is compared to the growth of bamboo, overcoming a recession is like creating a "node" like bamboo.

During economic prosperity, a company just grows without "nodes," becoming a monotonous and fragile bamboo. But by overcoming various recessions, many "nodes" are formed. These "nodes" are the support for the company's renewed growth and make its structure strong and resilient.

Source: Marketing Perspective Mirror (ID: yxtsj518)