In the new era of competition, going downstream and intensive cultivation have become the main themes of marketing, making county and township markets increasingly important. Whoever can win consumers in the shortest time, with the fastest speed and best methods, will be the winner in the future market.

As many companies shift their market focus downward, county-level distributors are becoming more important and irreplaceable, and their market performance can directly determine a company's fate and future. Companies need to develop, distributors need to survive, and county markets must be broken through. The key to success lies in two words: "speed" and "efficiency."

So, how can we efficiently and quickly break into county markets?

1. Product Breakthrough: Coordinate Leading Products and Breakthrough Products

Many distributors fail to quickly break into county markets mainly because they have too many products. They stock every product the manufacturer offers, mistakenly believing that if one doesn't sell well, they can switch to another. This leads to a lack of clear product focus, and trying to sell everything well results in selling nothing well.

Therefore, in a specific county market, distributors should select products with clear priorities and a reasonable structure.

  1. Highlight leading products: No matter how many products the manufacturer has, only one or two may be suitable for the distributor's county market. For example, when choosing bottle liquor, the most competitive price range is 8-15 yuan per bottle. Distributors should not select multiple products in the same category simultaneously.

  2. Define breakthrough products: Once the leading product is selected, consider breakthrough products. These are products that compete directly with rivals, even if they may eventually be sacrificed, to ensure the leading product enters the market smoothly and defeats competitors.

  3. Target competitors with "strike down, press up" strategy: Price the leading product higher than existing competitors to allow room for promotions and suppress rivals. Price the breakthrough product at par with competitors or slightly higher (5-10%) to directly engage in price competition.

  4. Coordinate leading and breakthrough products: Attack competitors' high-volume stores one by one. The breakthrough product, being cheaper, can easily generate volume and satisfy store owners, so let it gain familiarity first, then leverage it to make the leading product profitable and build image. This pincer movement forces competitors to concede, leading them by the nose, and eventually drives them out of the hotel.

Of course, no tactic is foolproof. Distributors should note: always maintain price consistency between breakthrough products and competitors' products. Low pricing is a competitive tactic, but during terminal battles, never reduce prices across the board. Low prices are just a surface strategy to disrupt the opponent's rhythm and force them to lower prices. This is a tactic used in key battle zones and particularly difficult hotels.

The benefits of this strategy are obvious:

  1. It makes the leading product more prominent because its higher price allows for more promotional space and resources, enabling flexible activities to guide consumption.
  2. It clarifies targets and directly engages competitors, forcing them to respond.
  3. It makes competitors unknowingly enter an ambush, with two products attacking one of their leading products, especially in their best-performing hotels. Competitors will defend their leading product, leading to promotions, which mean lower prices, reducing their profits, and eventually forcing them to withdraw.

2. Rapid Distribution: Manufacturer-Distributor Collaboration to Seize Time and Space

Distribution is not unfamiliar to distributors; it is one of the simplest processes in marketing, but it hides great knowledge. To put it seriously, "success or failure depends on distribution."

I once served a liquor company and visited a distributor who had been stocking for nearly 8 months but had poor sales. He said, "We work hard, driving out early every day to distribute, but consumers just don't accept our products. We can only keep trying."

I admire this distributor's loyalty and perseverance, and there are many like him. But why do they face this situation? Because they distribute for the sake of distributing. So, no matter how hard they try, it's in vain.

Marketing is about opportunity cost; doing the same thing in the same time with different methods yields different results. As the ancients said, "Same trade, different profits."

The best way to solve problems is to prevent them. How to distribute effectively?

  1. Manufacturer-distributor joint team: Form a distribution team with the manufacturer as the lead and the distributor as support. The team should have at least 6 people and 3 vehicles. The manufacturer's personnel should be the sales reps responsible for the market or those with management and distribution experience.

  2. Focus on one or two areas for rapid distribution: Each vehicle should have at least 2 people. For township markets, use at least 2 vehicles and 4 people. If resources allow, consider distributing in several places simultaneously.

  3. Secondary wholesalers assist: Since manufacturers or distributors are unfamiliar with township markets, the best way is to have secondary wholesalers lead the way, first distributing along their channels, then expanding to unfamiliar areas. This speeds up distribution. (Initially, secondary wholesalers may be reluctant; they need extra subsidies or successful model areas to see hope.)

  4. Specialized division of labor: Arrange personnel roles in advance—who negotiates, who posts POP, who unloads, who collects payments, who signs agreements, who arranges displays, who builds customer files—and rehearse to speed up distribution.

  5. Create publicity: Distribution is also a form of publicity. For example, gather vehicles together and play music or promotional materials through speakers to enhance effectiveness.

  6. Plan distribution routes: Plan the route in detail to avoid detours. Contact customers in advance or send someone to communicate, ensuring time efficiency and success rate.

During distribution, manufacturers and distributors should note:

  1. Manufacturer personnel must be professional, with communication and management skills, because distributors often have poor management and low sales skills.
  2. Manage the process: insist on morning reports and evening reports. Use daily meetings to train distributor staff and solve problems one by one, not leaving them for the next day.
  3. Vehicles and personnel must be concentrated, not acting alone, or results will be poor.
  4. Have two or three product policies, not too many, for terminal customers to choose.
  5. Act quickly; don't rush if personnel and vehicles are not in place.
  6. Distribute small quantities but visit frequently.
  7. Ensure POP ads and display policies are well communicated; ideally, have a standard operation manual.
  8. When using secondary wholesalers, give them a profit margin to motivate them to share their network and personally lead you.

It's worth noting that manufacturers and distributors must cooperate throughout the process, as it reduces problems and brings benefits: manufacturer personnel are more professional, speeding up distribution and improving distributor staff skills; terminals are more willing to accept manufacturer products and services, boosting confidence; and rapid distribution suppresses competitors, leaving them no breathing room, gaining valuable time and space.

3. Defeat Competitors' Weaknesses: Attack One by One

In real market operations, if we observe carefully, we can find many weaknesses in competitors.

For these weaknesses, new brands should adopt a strategy of attacking one by one. For example, a liquor company attacked competitors' restaurant terminals.

First, their attack targets were very clear:

  1. Select hotels where competitors provide poor service or no after-sales service.
  2. Select hotels where competitors have withdrawn their promotional staff.
  3. Select hotels with good business but no competitor promotional staff.
  4. Select a few (3-5) hotels where competitors sell well.

Second, their attack methods were highly "lethal":

  1. Offer high commissions to waitstaff to induce them to sell.
  2. Poach competitors' sales reps in the area with high salaries.
  3. Recruit competitors' hotel promoters with high wages.
  4. Implement big rewards with high winning rates to block competitors and attract hotel owners' interest.

Of course, these rewards are targeted. Once a hotel is selected, continuously "bombard" until the competitor withdraws. Note: when delivering to hotels, give big prizes on the spot; don't pre-load them all proportionally, waiting for consumers to win. Otherwise, you might wait forever for the big prize to appear.

4. Focus on Core Tasks: Stabilize Profits and Consolidate the Market

Many liquor companies and distributors have good methods in this regard.

  1. Grasp core customers: Set monthly and annual sales rewards or points-based rewards to stabilize customers.
  2. Grasp consumers: Set prizes, add red envelopes in boxes, scratch cards on caps, irregular promotional activities, tasting events, etc.
  3. Grasp displays: Offer rewards for one-month, one-quarter, or one-year displays, with increasing rewards over time.
  4. Grasp advertising: Either don't advertise, or do it extremely well. The form can be single (e.g., wall ads, painted door headers, or in-store KT boards), but the placement must be thorough, extreme, and explosive.
  5. Grasp consumers through exclusive events: Common examples include zodiac collectibles (12 animals), collecting all 12 for a prize; Water Margin 108 heroes, collecting them for travel or material rewards; and restaurant coupons like "spend 100 get 50"—all good ways to lock in consumers.

In summary, there are many ways to grasp customers. Only by grasping customers and consumers can companies and distributors lock in profits, thereby consolidating their position in county markets and laying a solid foundation for true market breakthroughs.

In response to requests from many distributor friends, our platform's third B-end e-commerce inspection class will visit Wanshang Yizhan, Yunbao Shangmeng, and Weijie Chengpei from July 9-12. Distributors interested in transformation can join us for on-site inspections.

Organization Format

  1. Company visits
  2. Actual market case visits
  3. On-site explanations
  4. One-on-one exchanges

Participating distributors only need to pay a 200 yuan registration fee. Time: July 9-12, 2016. Location: Changsha, Xiamen.

Interested distributors can register by scanning the QR code below. When adding friends, reply "Third Registration."

Past Inspection Cases:

  • Yishang Logistics Model Inspection (Second B-end E-commerce Inspection Group)
  • Caiba Model Inspection
  • Jinhuobao Model Inspection
  • Beiquan Model On-site Inspection
  • Piduoduo Model On-site Inspection

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