This article is reprinted from FMCG Distributor Professional Consulting Management (kxpjxszyzxgl) The so-called breakthrough product refers to a product or product portfolio used to achieve market breakthroughs first. For a regional market, the fundamental way to achieve successful breakthroughs lies in how to select the key breakthrough products for that market. In actual marketing, what are the main reference factors for selecting breakthrough products? After systematic research and analysis, the author believes the following eight factors are crucial!

  1. Whether the selected product conforms to market and consumer trends Products ultimately achieve real sales through consumer purchases. Whether a product can ultimately succeed does not depend on how much advertising is done or how many promotional activities are carried out in the channel (although advertising and promotions are also important), but on whether the product can truly meet a unique consumer need. A company may have many product categories, but not every product can succeed. Therefore, when selecting which product to use as a key breakthrough product in a regional market, the first priority is to choose a product from the company's existing product categories that aligns with market and consumer trends.
  2. Whether the selected product conforms to the company's overall product strategic planning Any enterprise, regardless of size, will make systematic strategic plans for its overall product line, thereby determining which product categories are the company's key promoted products, which are non-key products, and which are about to be phased out. Therefore, the selection of breakthrough products must be highly consistent with the company's overall product strategic planning, so that in the later product promotion, the company headquarters can provide more resource support. In actual marketing, there are often situations where a product with a large sales share in a regional market is a non-key product or even a product about to be phased out in the company's overall product strategic planning. As the company's overall product strategy advances, the regional market has to "painfully" adjust its product structure.
  3. Whether the selected product has obvious comparative advantages over competitors Markets are always accompanied by competition; there is no market without competition. Therefore, the selection of breakthrough products in regional markets should fully study the competitive situation. It is impossible for the selected product to have advantages over competitors in every aspect. Here, the author proposes a concept of comparative advantage, also called comprehensive advantage, which means that the selected breakthrough product is stronger than competitors in the combination of various factors (packaging, price, specifications, channel profit margins, etc.), thus greatly increasing the possibility of success.
  4. Whether the selected product has good historical performance An important basis for selecting breakthrough products is to refer to the historical performance of candidate products, mainly past sales data indicators. Through data analysis, determine which stage of the product life cycle the product is in, whether it has the foundation for rapid growth, and also analyze the channel performance of the selected product, mainly the current market coverage rate, distribution rate, and the acceptance level of channel members at all levels.
  5. Whether the selected product has sufficient gross profit space to support channel needs Product success largely depends on smooth channels, especially for FMCG. The only factor that can make channels actively promote is that channel members at all levels have sufficient profits. Therefore, for candidate breakthrough products, it is necessary to fully study and formulate a reasonable price system to ensure that, relative to competitors, the breakthrough product can have sufficient profit appeal to channel members at all levels.
  6. Whether the selected product is highly matched with mainstream channels Products determine channels! Conversely, channels can also determine product selection. For FMCG, products that can be sold in KA channels often cannot be sold in grocery stores. For example, bulk food can be sold in KA systems through bulk display cabinets, but grocery stores do not have such cabinets. Therefore, the selection of breakthrough products should also consider the characteristics of local mainstream channels. For example, if the mainstream sales channel in the regional market is the KA system, then when selecting breakthrough products, priority should be given to products suitable for sale in KA systems, ensuring that the selected products are highly matched with mainstream channels to maximize sales efficiency.
  7. Whether the selected product achieves the best combination This factor emphasizes that the selection of breakthrough products should focus on the optimized combination of product categories or the optimized combination of barcodes, specifications, etc., within a single product category. Specifically, for a regional market, different products may be used to achieve breakthroughs. For example, some products are brand-type products, focusing on building brand image; some are profit-type products, focusing on obtaining sales profits; some are volume-type products, focusing on gaining market share and meeting competitive needs. If only a single product is selected as the key breakthrough product, attention should be paid to the combined use of product specifications, such as bulk series or value-pack series for breaking into KA systems, and fixed-quantity series for breaking into small and medium terminal stores.
  8. Whether the selected product considers the uniqueness of the local market Another factor to consider in selecting regional breakthrough products is the uniqueness of the regional market. One of the main characteristics of the Chinese market is the significant differences between different regions. For example, compared with Shanghai and Xinjiang, the market characteristics are obviously different. At the same time, due to the large number of ethnic minorities in China, many areas where ethnic minorities live have formed unique consumption habits. For example, markets where Hui people gather have a large demand for halal food. Therefore, whether the uniqueness of the regional market can be correctly grasped largely determines the correct selection of key breakthrough products. Reply with the following keywords to classify and query relevant professional articles: Sales Supervisor, Second-tier Management, Regional Manager, Distributor Management, New Channels, City Manager, Competition, 2015, Manufacturer-Dealer Game, Product Slow Sales, Terminal Visit Management, Route Management, Deep Distribution, Internal Management, Sales Skills, Profit Improvement, Recruitment, Distribution, Daily Management, Team Motivation, Trade Promotion, Sales Misunderstandings, New Product Launch, Township Market, New Product Pricing, Sales Target Achievement, Closing, Market Visit Inspection, Baijiu, Beer, Sales Increase, Agency Products, Cross-region Sales, KA, Terminal Merchandising, New Market, Market Operation, Learning, Book Recommendations, Inventory Management, Sales Novice, Consumer Promotion, Execution, Old Products, Expired Product Handling, Model Market, Investment Promotion, New Media, Distributor Development, Performance Appraisal, Assessment, Annual Planning, Shopping Guide, Morning Meeting, Display, Transformation, Stock Pressure, Holidays, Distributor Cost Control Channel Operation, Marketing Theory and Laws, Brand Truth, Order Meeting, Team Management, Training, Debriefing, Debriefing Report.