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I. Understand the Four Key Characteristics of Distribution

1. Thorough Preparation: Any battle fought without preparation or with insufficient preparation often ends in failure. Before distribution, fully refine the product's selling points and buying points; analyze the market environment and sales of similar competing products to find a breakthrough for the new product; thoroughly analyze the network channels and select the easiest and most suitable channels; design profit margins and pricing systems; and create a distribution plan, including timing, quantity, training for sales staff, assigning personnel and delivery vehicles, and designing compensation, subsidies, commissions, and even development incentives for sales staff.

2. Short Timeframe: Without a time node, distribution campaigns can easily fall into a loose state with no progress or pressure, making it difficult to achieve results. Therefore, completing distribution goals within a very short period is a key characteristic of efficient distribution. Generally, the market is required to complete the initial distribution tasks within 50 days. Typically, through three waves of distribution, an 80% or higher coverage rate of matched terminals is achieved. The first phase lasts 25 days and covers 60% of the market; the second phase lasts 15 days and covers an additional 15%; the remaining 10 days cover another 10%; the remaining 15% are "stubborn" accounts that need to be maintained and developed later.

3. Speed: Concentrate superior human, material, and financial resources to achieve efficient and rapid market development and complete distribution goals. To solve the problem of efficient distribution, many companies sometimes pull personnel from other markets to form a "distribution task force" to assist. In short, completing distribution quickly is a prerequisite for product launch.

4. Strong Strategy: Distribution requires strategy, and winning the first battle is crucial. Without a matching distribution strategy, it is impossible to form efficient execution, and the team is likely to lose morale in the face of repeated setbacks. Only with a matching strategy can the team remain high-spirited and achieve distribution goals one victory at a time. In practice, a combination of methods such as vehicle sales, market突击 teams, display swaps, and free tastings is more likely to succeed. Many companies tend to adopt a "visit-sell separation" model for mature products during distribution, but this model is not only ineffective with low conversion rates but also demoralizes the distribution team, affecting work efficiency.

II. Establish Three Standards for Distribution

Without standards, it is difficult to form a unified force, achieve explosive resonance, or create a stunning market effect. During distribution, it is essential to establish requirements and standards; otherwise, the distribution campaign is just a farce without results.

1. Establish a Distribution Management System. Clearly define distribution areas, routes, terminal types, terminal quantities, and responsible persons, and standardize distribution requirements and standards. Develop specific reward and punishment rules and strictly enforce them to make distribution work routine, standardized, and institutionalized. Execute according to the distribution plan, requiring the distribution team to hold morning meetings daily to report progress and assign daily tasks, breaking down tasks to individuals. In the afternoon, hold evening meetings to review the day's work, submit distribution forms, and have a supervision team inspect. For key customers and critical moments, the sales manager should personally lead the team on the front lines to boost morale.

2. Standardize Product Display Standards. Good display and vividness not only stimulate consumers' eyes but also create market momentum, allowing consumers and terminal customers to feel the active atmosphere of the new product. Therefore, clarify product display requirements to maximize and enliven product displays, ensuring the product "makes a grand debut" within the "first" line of sight. For liquor sales, displays generally follow "layered display" and "centralized display" principles, and require that POP posters, X-stands, product manuals, price tags, and other terminal materials be placed in position as distribution proceeds, strictly enforced. Good execution produces good results.

3. Implement One-Stop Service for Distributed Products. Adhere to the principle of "whoever distributes benefits, whoever distributes is responsible," with responsibility assigned to individuals "to the end." Strictly delineate areas and require distribution personnel not only to place products in terminals (restaurants, famous tobacco and liquor stores, small shops/supermarkets, etc.) but also to find ways to sell products to "consumers." Sales staff should take the lead in helping terminal stores sell the new product, achieving full tracking service for distributed products. Through effective distribution and certain marketing tactics or strategy combinations, align products with the market so that when consumers need them, they can see them, buy them, and be willing to buy them, truly completing effective distribution.

III. Distribution Strategy Is Key to Success or Failure

A qualified general never sacrifices soldiers' lives to win a war. An excellent commander is good at choosing the right situation rather than the right people. Therefore, a matching strategy is more likely to achieve distribution success and demonstrate team execution.

1. Create Market Hype to Reduce Distribution Difficulty. To facilitate smooth distribution, companies can create hype in local media before distribution, such as local newspapers, TV, outdoor advertising, etc., to attract the attention of outlets. They can also use storefront posters and banners to create ground-level hype. Well-funded manufacturers can choose a high-end hotel to hold a "new product launch meeting" (tasting session), inviting government departments, distributors, and media to expand brand influence. Before distribution, let distributors/terminal merchants taste the new product, creating a good impression and thus reducing distribution difficulty.

2. Standardize Promotion Language to Demonstrate Professionalism. Unified language and scripts in distribution promotion can highly demonstrate the professional quality of the business, avoiding improvisation and off-topic remarks. For example, introduce the product's features, policies, market strategies, and how to help customers sell through. Also, introduce the quality characteristics of the liquor, preferably letting customers taste it on the spot, then explain the base liquor blending, unique processes, and praise from wine masters.

3. New Product Distribution Is Not Channel Stuffing; FMCG Requires More Movement. A reasonable distribution quantity can give customers the illusion of rapid sell-through. In the first round, one unit per SKU per store ensures both display needs and product sales. Because the quantity is small, the frequency of restocking will be high; of course, customers won't take the initiative to restock, so the salesperson must do follow-up maintenance. Generally, the second and third restocks by terminal outlets are key to successful product launch and a prerequisite for building their sales enthusiasm. For small and medium-sized enterprises, when it's impossible to invest heavily in advertising/PR to pull terminal sales, they must find ways to distribute on a cash basis; otherwise, even if products are sold on credit to terminals, it's hard to achieve sell-through, leading to a stagnant market and a dilemma. Cash distribution makes terminal customers take the product more seriously and is relatively easier to get them to actively promote.

4. Design Activities and Policies That Appeal to Customers. Many terminal stores care less about your product and more about the distribution incentives. It's crucial to determine appropriate, novel, and attractive promotional items based on distribution requirements. For example, tiered distribution rewards, purchase incentives, account opening rewards, promotional item support, free products, display rewards, etc., make customers feel they're getting a bargain, making cash distribution relatively easier.

5. Concentrate Resources for Breakthroughs and Create Demonstrations. In key regional markets, select key terminals for breakthroughs, and use the demonstration effect to drive distribution point-to-point. During new product distribution, choose existing old customers or relationship customers for special policy distribution rewards to quickly establish image stores, create a hot-selling atmosphere, set benchmarks, and use the influence of image stores to penetrate surrounding small terminals, achieving the goal of using point activation to drive area distribution, and using effective distribution to seize channel resources.

6. Customer Relationships Are Important; They Come from Diligence and Persistence. Salespeople tend to choose relationship stores during distribution and may fear or resist unfamiliar stores, or avoid them after one setback, which invisibly loses many effective terminals and limits market share. During distribution, salespeople must not only fully leverage good-relationship stores as demonstrations and use entered stores to entice unentered ones, but also face difficulties head-on, visit and communicate more, and even help unfamiliar store owners with tasks within their ability to build relationships and enhance customer relations, such as organizing shelves, cleaning, and suggesting business improvements. Through diligence and persistence, they can move terminals and achieve smooth distribution. Don't lose confidence because of a customer's rejection.

7. Concentrate Fleets and Personnel to Create Hype and Influence Terminals. During distribution, form a multi-person promotion fleet for team distribution, using the psychology of team warfare and the parade of the fleet to attract terminals and create a sensation. Clearly divide tasks among team members and achieve smooth distribution through coordinated teamwork.

All these measures are based on continuous training, strict planning, summarizing shortcomings, tracking guidance, and continuously solving differences among various terminal outlets to achieve efficient market distribution.

(Author: Chairman of Xizhuo Marketing Consulting Agency, regional liquor performance growth expert, liquor enterprise problem-solving expert, focusing on efficient growth and sustained growth of regional liquor.)

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