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For many baijiu distributors, product distribution can be done quickly, but market activation after distribution is slow. Once products don't sell, it leaves a bad impression on retail outlets, affecting customer relationships built over years, and making it difficult for distributors to distribute other new products in the future.

Judging whether a distributor operates a product well, terminal sales after distribution becomes the most direct and important indicator. Because the terminal is the last step where consumers decide to buy, and it's where distributors ultimately realize profits. If the distributor operates well, the terminal can guide consumption, enhance brand image, increase product flow, and secure better and more survival space and resources for the distributor. With intensified competition in the baijiu industry, terminal sales become the core lifeline of a distributor's market sales. Therefore, solving the problem of terminal sales is the top priority for increasing sales. So, how can distributors solve the problem of product sales after distribution?

【Case Analysis】 Li Qiang is a county-level market distributor who has been operating baijiu for many years. With years of accumulated relationships and customer resources, he achieved good development. However, with the adjustment period in the baijiu industry and intensified market competition, pressure from upstream enterprises, competition from peers, rising marketing costs, and higher demands from downstream customers caused a sharp decline in Li Qiang's company sales and profits. To ensure the company's sustainable development, considering the 2013 baijiu situation, Li Qiang conducted careful market research and chose a mass-market baijiu brand to operate.

Reasons for Poor Sales Regarding the slow sales of new products, Manager Li personally went to the market and found several main reasons for slow sales of new products during visits:

  • Low overall distribution quality: Sales staff purely pursued distribution rate, only focusing on completing the number of stores within a specified time, without in-depth understanding of target terminals, leading to a mismatch between target groups and purchase locations. For example, some stores don't match the product at all, and some are in a half-dead state. This leads to slow product sales and a decline in product and brand image.
  • Distribution without management: After distribution, terminal management is equally important, requiring follow-up management and close service. Simply distributing without managing is worse than not distributing at all. Manager Li found during market visits that the phenomenon of distributing without managing is everywhere. For example, some terminals have products distributed, but they are placed in inconspicuous positions where customers can't see them; some products are placed in warehouses, and shelves are empty. Terminal networks have width but lack depth. Another situation is that the market distribution rate is good, but there are many outlets, yet very few core outlets that actually generate sales.
  • Weak terminal visualization: Sales staff go through the motions, appearing busy but actually just running to outlets, focusing solely on delivery, payment collection, and other routine business tasks. The sales volume of distributed products becomes the only goal, and they don't seriously solve problems. Their daily work is just checking if stores have stock and need more. Everyone seems busy running business, but they only do superficial work and don't fully take responsibility to ensure smooth channels. For example, some salespeople forget product display and terminal visualization (advertising materials, price tags, POP, wrapping film, KT boards, etc., supported by the company for brand promotion, which are almost invisible in the market), and some forget to introduce the product's unique selling points and characteristics.

Clever Strategies to Attack Targets

  • Plan event marketing to attract attention: Open a good market entry point, create a sensational event to attract social attention, especially from liquor consumers. These easily become news hotspots and hot topics, quickly increasing brand awareness, making consumers think of the brand and generate purchase desire. Manager Li planned the "Drink XX Fine Wine, Win an Electric Bicycle" promotion, strategically placing electric bicycle prizes, and then coordinating with local media to report on the bicycles. This attracted high attention from target consumers, quickly increased product awareness, and solved the sales problem.
  • Strengthen the quality of terminal promotion staff: Nowadays, liquor distributors often station promotion staff in large hotels, supermarkets, and core specialty stores with high liquor sales and foot traffic for on-site recommendations. Although similar promotion methods are used, different brand influence and promotion skills lead to vastly different results. Distributors should not only ensure the taste of the liquor meets local consumer preferences but also train promotion staff in liquor culture knowledge and consumer psychology. Because proper staff quality and promotion methods greatly improve promotion efficiency.

To improve the quality of terminal promotion staff and effectively enhance brand terminal performance, Manager Li established a strict management system to regulate and constrain the behavior of terminal promotion staff: First, require terminal promotion staff to submit work information reports based on daily sales; second, sales managers regularly go to the market frontline to fully grasp the real situation at terminals, objectively evaluate staff performance, and implement established reward and punishment policies; third, systematically train promotion staff in both theoretical knowledge and practical skills, provide targeted supervision and guidance, and enhance their sense of responsibility and belonging.

  • Product display has its tricks: Terminal display is silent advertising, creating strong visual impact and attraction for consumers, and is the most intuitive interpretation of brand image. It's also an important reason for impulse purchases. Based on the company's existing problems, Li Qiang standardized terminal display from the following three aspects to effectively enhance brand terminal performance:
    1. Set appropriate display positions: Based on first-hand market research, Li Qiang found that the more customers who see the product, the higher the purchase probability. Therefore, the company formulated specific display standards, such as the principle of prominent position (where consumers can see it at first glance when entering the store) and the principle of brand concentration (showcasing brand strength, enabling consumers to get related and holistic brand associations, deepening the product's impression in their minds).
    2. Conduct vivid displays: Vivid terminal displays not only attract consumer attention and stimulate purchase desire but also shape a distinct brand image, directly enhancing brand terminal performance. For example, set up reminder signs and notice boards in large hotels; post advertising posters in low-end stores, hang banners inside, hang lanterns under eaves outside, and arrange POP posters and decorative balls on bar counters in hotels; print brand ads on table cards, menus, tablecloths, ashtrays, magazine racks, and clothing covers.
    3. Create a hot-selling atmosphere at display points: Research results show that about 70% of consumer goods customers make impulse purchases at the terminal, so a good sales atmosphere can help companies increase sales by 30% to 50%. Therefore, Li Qiang comprehensively used scenes, displays, showcases, in-store POP displays, DM racks, model displays, promotional videos, and the performance of shopping guides to attract customer attention and enhance the hot-selling atmosphere. To achieve the best terminal performance, Li Qiang's company also aligned terminal displays with industry and product characteristics, marketing strategies, and the location and structure of terminal stores, keeping consistency with advertising images and promotional activities, choosing appropriate timing, and unifying detailed operational standards to create the desired hot-selling atmosphere.

Based on the dynamic strategy combination of "points" and "areas" in regional markets, adopt the strategy of "point drives line, line drives area" to strengthen customer relationships and vivid advertising to achieve outlet sales, and research with terminals on how to quickly sell products.

For example, select 50 terminals from many that sell less than 5 pieces per month, and create a plan to increase their monthly sales to 10 pieces, i.e., the "Conquer 50 Terminals" plan. If these 50 stores can sell 10 pieces per month, that's 500 pieces. Then replicate the same method to another 50 stores, reaching 100 stores. These 100 stores alone would sell 1,000 pieces per month. Replicate this method to achieve outlet sales.

How to implement the "Conquer 50" plan?

  1. Select good terminal outlets: The selection criteria are: first, high foot traffic, suitable for selling your product, and the product has already entered; second, terminals where competitors sell well and you have also entered. Such terminals prove that your product can sell there, and if you sell well, you can also attack competitors.
  2. Concentrate forces to attack: In operation, concentrate human and material resources on these outlets. First, arrange the most capable salespeople to be solely responsible for these outlets; second, maintain a maximized display surface at these outlets at all times, with the best advertising layout and the highest quality customer service. This reduces competitors' display space; the less visible competitors' displays are, the greater your opportunity. Through maximized advertising and display, directly advertise to consumers; third, help these outlets sell products, which not only helps digest inventory, brings reorders, and strengthens customer relationships, but also because of product sales, terminal owners gain confidence and proactively help you sell, creating a virtuous cycle for sales.

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