---
title: "Adapting to Every Move, Staying Orthodox While Surprising: The Inner Skills of Regional Managers in Market Operations"
description: "This article discusses the essential skills for regional managers in attacking and defending markets. It emphasizes the importance of strategic planning, understanding the competitive landscape, and executing both offensive and defensive tactics effectively."
author: "方刚"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2018-07-04"
language: "en"
canonical: "https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/adapting-to-every-move-staying-orthodox-while-surprising-the-inner-skill-ba59ad5e/"
markdown: "https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/adapting-to-every-move-staying-orthodox-while-surprising-the-inner-skill-ba59ad5e.md"
original_source: "https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/o4oMZdf51LTcskauzRJw4Q"
translation: "https://xinjignxiao.com/zh/articles/%E8%A7%81%E6%8B%9B%E6%8B%86%E6%8B%9B-%E5%AE%88%E6%AD%A3%E5%87%BA%E5%A5%87-%E5%8C%BA%E5%9F%9F%E7%BB%8F%E7%90%86%E5%B8%82%E5%9C%BA%E6%93%8D%E7%9B%98%E5%86%85%E5%8A%9F%E5%BF%83%E6%B3%95-ba59ad5e.md"
attribution: "New Distribution — https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/adapting-to-every-move-staying-orthodox-while-surprising-the-inner-skill-ba59ad5e/"
usage_policy: "https://xinjignxiao.com/ai-policy.txt"
---

# Adapting to Every Move, Staying Orthodox While Surprising: The Inner Skills of Regional Managers in Market Operations

> This article discusses the essential skills for regional managers in attacking and defending markets. It emphasizes the importance of strategic planning, understanding the competitive landscape, and executing both offensive and defensive tactics effectively.

Click 'Read Original' for details.

Attack
For an enterprise to grow and expand, it must possess strong market development capabilities. Market development by regional managers is almost a required course. So how to excel at 'attack'?

**First, let's look at some frustrations encountered by frontline regional managers in attacks:**
(1) Facing the market to attack, they hesitate, not knowing which 'city gate' to storm.
(2) The market remains unconquered for a long time, and expenses become a bottomless pit.
(3) Year after year, investments are made, blooming each year but bearing no fruit.
(4) In a multi-brand competitive market, after defeating one competitor, another emerges. In the midst of panic, competitors often create an 'unkillable' myth in local markets!
These issues are mostly caused by bravery without strategy, hasty action, and confusion.

Therefore, before attacking, regional managers must master the following principles:

**(1) Strategize 'momentum'.** This refers to understanding the competitive landscape of similar brands in the entire market and trends affecting the consumer market. For example, in the beer industry, changes in taste, consumption habits, and consumption upgrades.

**(2) Strategize 'layout'.** The choice of entry point in the local market determines the success or failure of the 'campaign'. For instance, whether to attack from top-down or use rural areas to encircle cities, the 'layout' must be firm and accurate!

**(3) Strategize 'rules'.** Every market has a leading brand. In the instant noodle market, Master Kong's Braised Beef Noodles is the top brand in the premium price segment, whether cup or bag. This brand almost dictates certain 'rules' in the market, such as terminal pricing and promotional methods. Regional managers must make accurate choices on whether to follow, disrupt, or re-establish these rules!

So, how should regional managers excel at 'strategizing'?

Plan before acting—first 'strategize' yourself, then 'strategize' your opponent.

**How to 'strategize' yourself?**
(1) First, set a clear combat objective and secure support from the company's strategic resources.
(2) Unify the opinions of subordinate troops and boost their morale.
(3) Understand whether your product is suitable for the attack market.
(4) Select the appropriate 'vanguard officer' and prepare sufficient troops and ammunition for him.
(5) Establish a comprehensive reward and punishment system and timeline, personally supervise the battle, and coordinate various friendly forces within the company, such as vehicles, personnel, visual merchandising tools, and product quality.

**How to 'strategize' your opponent?**
(1) Allocate sufficient time for market research and data collection, mainly including the opponent's product structure, channel members, profit distribution, promotional methods, and mainstream terminal control models. During data collection, subordinates can conduct sample visits using fixed forms and samples. Regional managers must set aside dedicated time for personal visits and follow up with random checks based on reports. Criticize those with inaccurate information and 'show no mercy' to those who fabricate!
(2) Organize subordinates for simulation exercises based on relevant information. The key is to analyze the opponent's 'troop deployment', identify weaknesses and strengths, and continuously adjust and improve while comparing with your own product and resource capabilities. During exercises, find your 'vanguard officer'.
(3) 'Capture prisoners'. In today's market economy, job-hopping is fashionable. If you can capture the opponent's top regional executive, the gains could be even greater, possibly leading to self-defeat, but it's not easy. Consider capturing a veteran to your side, and after 'squeezing' him dry, give him a gun to fight as a guide. Of course, this may seem 'unethical'. If you are an 'honest' person, you might not consider this.

**Once these preparations are complete, you can consider entering the attack phase.**
(1) Choose the appropriate attack season. Products generally have peak and off-peak seasons. If you attack during the off-season, not only may distribution be poor, but morale may also suffer. Generally, prepare during the off-season and start attacking about a month before the peak season for better results.
(2) Based on the opponent's weaknesses, formulate a battle plan and communicate it up and down to ensure unity of purpose. While clarifying attack steps, establish combat principles, such as blitzkrieg, attrition, stalemate, or siege warfare...
(3) Timely monitor battle progress. In the early stages, focus on distribution rate assessment. Evaluate whether the distributor's delivery capability is supported by their vehicles, personnel, and funds. Set distributor delivery areas and standards, 'measure rice according to the pot', and promptly choose distribution layout to ensure smooth channels while minimizing customer complaints and service issues! While tracking your own data, also analyze changes in opponent data, predict their moves, and block them promptly.
(4) Rationally utilize your own resources. While planning expenditures, fully grasp the essence of 'Tian Ji's horse racing'—play to your strengths and avoid weaknesses. During the attack phase, avoid outdated tactics like 'flooding the market' or 'parallel advancement'. Concentrate resources on the opponent's soft spots, focus the attack, and tear open a market gap like a dagger.

**(5) Several principles during the attack.**
**First, do what should be done and refrain from what should not.** Not every market can be attacked. For example, if the market is far from home base, the transportation radius is too large, and the company cannot set up a branch factory, even if the opponent has vulnerabilities, learn to 'give up'. Otherwise, after huge expenditures, even if you take the market, you may retreat without a fight!
**Second, know yourself and know your enemy.** The biggest consequence of blind attacks is enormous resource waste. The purpose of marketing is to maximize corporate resources; waste is a desecration of marketing!
**Third, stay orthodox while surprising.** 'Orthodox' for an enterprise means resource plundering and accumulation. That is, any 'war' has a purpose; there are few 'losing money for applause' situations. The purpose of corporate marketing is profit. Periodic 'loss-leading promotions' are acceptable, but if you fall into a long-term 'promotion quagmire', the market will collapse on its own. 'Surprise' refers to the marketing actions taken to achieve these goals. The purpose of marketing is to maintain the survival and development of the enterprise.
**Fourth, strike with one breath.** Once you launch an attack against a competitor, every move must draw blood, even 'finish off' the opponent! Avoid 'stalemate' in attacks, otherwise, you may end up in a war of attrition where 'you lose 800 to wound 1,000'. For competitors of similar strength, the goal of attacking a local market is to lock in the 'first brand' position and seize the right to set market rules!

Defense
No war has only attacks without defense, and marketing is the same. Only by standing undefeated can an enterprise think about defeating others. Therefore, a good regional manager must possess the ability to 'defend and counterattack'. When a local market is attacked by competitors, the regional manager must strategize and 'make the enemy vanish in laughter'.

**(1) Clarify the nature of the attacked market.** If it's a base market, it must be treated with high strategic and tactical importance, just like an enemy stepping onto your territory and approaching the capital—a life-and-death battle is inevitable!

**(2) Try to understand the enemy's intentions, troop deployment, and formation.** If the opponent is a 'big player', understand their product structure, personnel, and even the commander's personality. If the opponent relies on distributors for channel warfare, evaluate the stability of your own channels while comparing profit margins. If the opponent uses deep distribution tactics, pay attention to the following three aspects:
First, the degree of control over the market's commanding heights.
Second, the execution capability of your personnel compared to the competitor's forces.
Third, the composition of the opponent's sales staff.
Many in the beer industry have skillfully used 'deep distribution' and 'channel refinement'. In this system, the company's branch is the nerve center, and distributors are merely 'delivery men' or 'porters'. Once the 'nervous system' fails, the whole army may collapse. There are many ways to disrupt the opponent's 'nervous system', especially since you are 'defending your homeland' at your own doorstep.

**(3) 'Orthodox' defense, 'surprise' attack.** In defense, adapting to every move is essential. At the same time, you must possess some 'miraculous calculations', such as fully leveraging the advantages of the base market. When the opponent lays out an attack in the off-season, retreat appropriately to lure them into shipping goods for a short-term layout, then suddenly strike, block the channels, and suppress the competitor's terminal shipments to the minimum until large-scale expiration and returns occur. The key is to force the competitor's channel funds to be heavily occupied, profits damaged, morale shattered, and thereby shock the entire channel industry, making them hesitant to take over for a long time.

**(4) Accurate interception.** In reality, many regional managers have experienced the 'wolf is coming' story, especially from distributors. To accurately detect the wolf's tracks, establish a standard early warning system, such as regularly monitoring competitor sales staff numbers, outlet counts, product mix, and visual merchandising indicators. Also, prepare a mature market emergency plan. Once the early warning system alarms, act immediately. Interception tactics should be 'short, flat, and fast'—block the competitor outside the defense line in the shortest time, at least defeat them in 'morale'. Resolve the battle quickly, concentrate superior forces, and annihilate the enemy. After all, if the war burns at your own doorstep, you suffer the most.

**(5) Watch for brand aging, upgrade products or add new SKUs to supplement the product line.** Keep your brand enriched while leaving no opportunities for competitors.

When you understand that a regional manager is like leading troops into battle, not only will regional managers understand their responsibilities, but enterprises will also understand the standard for a good regional manager: not only can they fight, but they can also lead troops.

Reflection
In the ups and downs of the business sea, how many heroes have bent at the waist! But where do they 'die prematurely'? Is it weak troops, poor equipment, or...?

In today's increasingly mature competition, the era of lone heroes is over. The history of relying on one or two golden salesmen to support an enterprise is fading. The basic components of a corporate marketing system are 'iron discipline + iron army'. As for brand, it's nothing more than the company's 'political slogans + political actions' (corporate strategy, product appeals, and market performance), precisely, it's about public support! For example, a product that fails hygiene standards or is short-weighted, even with the most beautiful advertising and most advanced marketing, cannot avoid failure! Because the 'public sentiment' in the consumer market does not support it!

From August 22-24, the '2018 China FMCG Digital Innovation Conference (2018FDIC)', themed 'Finding New Growth Engines', hosted by the China FMCG Industry Association and organized by New Distribution, will be held in Shanghai!

This conference lasts 3 days, focusing on two main themes: marketing and supply chain, with six parallel forums on brand, channels, communication, B2B, intra-city logistics, and innovative retail. We will invite industry experts, CEOs, and brand executives to deeply interpret the trends and drivers of digital transformation in the FMCG industry.

We will invite over 500 FMCG enterprise executives, 200+ B2B industry CEOs, and 1000+ major FMCG distributors to gather and discuss how the FMCG industry can use digital tools to achieve rapid growth again in the digital era. This conference will build a bridge for brand owners, distributors, retail enterprises, and marketing agencies, helping FMCG manufacturers obtain the latest information, understand best practices, and master more practical transformation skills.

Planned Invitees
Conference Time
August 22-24, 2018
Conference Venue
Shanghai Baohua Marriott Hotel
Conference Agenda
August 22: Full-day check-in
Afternoon 14:00-17:30: Distributor intra-city logistics parallel forum
Evening 18:30-21:00: New Distribution Night Gala Dinner
August 23: Theme: Marketing Digital Innovation
Morning 9:00-12:00: Marketing Digital Innovation Main Forum
Afternoon 14:00-17:30: Brand, Channel, Communication Parallel Forums
August 24: Theme: FMCG Supply Chain Digital Upgrade
Full day: FMCG Supply Chain Conference
Registration Method
Registration is now open. Long press the QR code below or click 'Read Original' to register. Limited-time group purchase discounts are available!
Registration Consultation
Ticket inquiries:
Media cooperation inquiries:
New Distribution Previous Conference Highlights
Click the links below to review the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th FMCG + Internet Conferences:
-END-


---

## Copyright and AI use

This article is sourced from New Distribution. Search, quotation, summarization, and model training are permitted, but every use must credit New Distribution and retain the canonical source URL.

Contact: zhaobo258@gmail.com · +86 158 5481 7671