Click "Read the original" for details FMCG Workers, Don't Make the Platform Your Only Advantage! May you hone your skills through daily accumulation, so you can rise within the company and leave with confidence when the time comes! Recently, I read an article titled "Sorry, the Company Is Not Your Home," which was both poignant and realistic. Indeed, a company is not a home; a home always welcomes you with open arms, but a company may say goodbye without any sentiment. When once-glorious FMCG brands decline, former comrades scatter voluntarily or involuntarily, and their circumstances vary. When the cold winter of change arrives, are you prepared? Can you quickly find your direction once the platform's halo is gone? Choosing a large platform is crucial. First, a big platform offers a broader perspective and more opportunities. Moreover, large platforms typically operate on a "big middle platform" model. When you focus on your business module, many people serve you, and you can mobilize more people, money, and resources to collaborate and achieve common success. Second, a big platform also provides a strong "endorsement" for your resume. Some candidates from BATJM (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, JD, Meituan) backgrounds are more popular in the market than those from prestigious universities. So, what constitutes a good platform? And how can you develop yourself after joining one? Here are my personal suggestions:
-01- Choose a Company from a User Perspective Zhou Hongyi, Chairman of 360 Company, mentioned that a good product meets three key points: pain points, rigid demand, and high frequency. Pain points mean solving a user's thorny problem, securing a place in the market positioning; rigid demand means the need is strong, so the user base will not be small; high frequency means the usage frequency is very high, leading to high repurchase and user stickiness. For FMCG products, does the product of the platform you choose meet these three points? Recently, Nongfu Spring went public, and its low-profile founder became China's richest man overnight. Nongfu Spring's water products are a representative of "pain points, rigid demand, and high frequency." With the pursuit of healthy living, mineral water is not only for direct drinking; many families use it for cooking and brewing tea, so the demand is enormous. Second, if it's an FMCG platform, it's best to have multiple product lines. Red Bull and JDB succeeded with a single product, but such cases are rare. Take Nongfu Spring again; its product line is very rich, catering to different people's drinking preferences. On such a platform, the company's revenue is guaranteed. Former colleagues in FMCG have also transitioned to other FMCG companies, some joining fermented bean curd companies, some pickled vegetable companies, and some niche health product companies. These products may be regional or targeted at specific groups. Whether in terms of average transaction value or demand frequency, they are relatively low, which to some extent affects long-term development. For friends who have been working in the FMCG industry for a long time, you can evaluate your product market based on pain points, rigid demand, and high frequency. If the product is hot in the market, the company will develop better, and of course, your development will be stable and smooth. Nongfu's product line
-02- Hone Basic Skills to Improve Yourself Entering a good platform does not mean you can rest on your laurels. Although most of us self-deprecatingly call ourselves "workers" or "tools," different mindsets and efforts yield different results. Treat work as a paid training; all the silent squatting today is for a better jump tomorrow. Hone your basic skills to improve yourself. As a training professional, I divide my ability improvement into four modules: "listening," "speaking," "reading," and "writing." Listen to good courses, develop and teach courses, read relevant books to accumulate knowledge, and after gaining insights, write articles to consolidate them, forming a spiral of growth. For frontline FMCG partners or managers, besides on-the-job practice, you can also summarize experiences and read books. Basic skills such as terminal channel management, consumer activity planning, and management team building can be improved and refined. If you can distill them into methodologies and share them, that's another level. And no matter how busy you are, don't neglect learning and recharging. You don't necessarily have to attend classes; reading books and communicating with others are also ways to learn. Several FMCG executives I knew highly praised Trout's books, repeatedly studying "Positioning" and "Marketing Warfare" and applying them to their market operations. Combining your position and work scenarios, honing basic skills is a process of accumulating strength for future release.
-03- Cherish Platform Resources Don't leave the platform easily. A good platform sometimes gives you a "halo," making things easier in handling affairs and communication. Without much introduction, others may want to cooperate with you. But don't get lost in the "halo." Sometimes the other party cooperates with you not solely because of you, but because of the platform behind you. Be humble, handle affairs seriously, build your brand influence, and cherish platform resources. The circle is small; unreliable things and people spread and are remembered. Once people inquire about your reputation and character, they'll know. Without a good reputation, it's hard to develop elsewhere after leaving the platform. Platform resources include internal and external ones, both of which need to be cherished. Internal colleagues might become colleagues again when you switch to another company. Good interpersonal interactions make you more comfortable. Perhaps a leader from your current company goes to a new place and urgently needs people; if your brand influence and reputation are good, they might extend an olive branch to you. Second are external resources. If you develop in one circle for a long time, you might need help someday. If relationships are good, these become your network. Channel partners, supplier resources, and KA (Key Account) customer resources are all valuable. For friends in marketing, media resources and execution company resources can be maintained long-term. When you are on a new platform, these partners may give you a hand, reducing friction and shortening communication time. With a foundation of trust, cooperation will be smooth. Cherish platform resources and build your reputation and influence.
-04- Maintain Interaction with the Outside World Behind our practice is our interaction with the world and this era, including expressing opinions and taking actions. As practice increases, insights and cognition improve. On the path to improving cognition, maintaining interaction with the outside world is also essential. Interaction with the outside world includes interaction with peers and cross-industry contacts. Through market visits, you learn which single products are selling well, which companies have good displays, which consumer activities are well-executed, which new FMCG products are emerging, and which new supply platforms are appearing. Stay open, delve into understanding them, and get to know the people behind them, absorbing and learning like the "Absorbing Star Technique." Second, don't refuse interaction with headhunters. For a while, I avoided headhunter calls, but after deeper contact, some headhunter friends have much worth learning from. They meet more peers and can share internal company developments, current talent gaps, and requirements for higher positions. Even if you can't meet those requirements now, at least you can set a high goal for yourself. Sometimes, to understand the capability requirements for a position one level above mine, I search on Liepin for descriptions of higher target positions, compare them with myself, see the gaps, and consciously fill and improve during development, benchmarking against higher positions to enhance and develop myself. Maintain a professional mindset, embrace an open attitude, and don't give up interaction with the outside world. On a particularly good platform or in a particularly good position, work may go smoothly. Many people mistake this platform advantage for their own ability. Some may even become "inflated," especially in the internet wave with many external temptations and opportunities. But I want to say, "Don't leave the platform easily!" When evaluating a platform, don't just look at salary. Consider the industry prospects, learning and growth opportunities, the network of people you can access, and the people, materials, and resources available for your work. Treat work as paid training, use the "Absorbing Star Technique" to learn from others' strengths, and continuously cultivate your "internal strength." That is the correct way to improve. A company is not a home; its essence is a mutually beneficial relationship between employer and employee, where one pays and the other contributes time and performance. The stronger your abilities, the higher the complexity of work you can deliver, the greater your contribution, and naturally, the more you are rewarded. Life is a process of self-awareness exploration and potential stimulation. Analyze yourself, analyze your competitors, analyze the industry, and match your abilities with your intentions. Find your niche field, persist, refine, and accumulate. Workers, don't make the platform advantage your only advantage. May you hone your skills through daily accumulation, so you can rise within the company and leave with confidence when the time comes!