01 Does the old-fashioned "low-level operations" approach in the FMCG industry have a future? The question of "confusion during the blending of new and old FMCG tactics in the new consumption environment" was first brought to my mind by a senior marketing consultant in China. With extensive frontline experience in marketing management and channel development, he is often invited by industry FMCG platforms to train students, mostly small and medium-sized enterprise owners and dealers. After several sessions, he found it "boring." Why? On-site, he found that most SME owners still care about "how to recruit distributors, how to distribute and promote sales, how to manage salespeople, and how to manage dealers"—topics he considers low-level operations. But he believes that even if these aspects are done well, they cannot guarantee good development in today's new market environment. So, in the mature FMCG market that is already oversupplied, do SME owners and their products/brands still immersed in basic operational issues really have no future? Under the impact of "new markets, new models, new technologies, and new methods," where do the futures of marketing directors, regional managers, and sales representatives who rely on traditional tactics and channels lie? 02 Taking "channel operations" as an example: traditional tactics are indeed becoming increasingly difficult By conventional definition, a channel is the path through which products reach consumers. More deeply, a channel is a resource integration for product distribution, a core part of realizing the value of commodity circulation by using scientific market planning and marketing management to mobilize distribution resources at all levels to work with product manufacturers. From the perspective of the new economic environment, a channel is essentially an effective management of commercial traffic—the right channel creates more effective "business partner traffic," which in turn creates smooth "end-consumer frequency" traffic. Returning to specific operations, market planning, distributor recruitment, distribution, and sales promotion are still unavoidable keywords in "channel operations." But with changes in the times and consumption environment, are these tactics truly effective in the long run? The reality is that we have moved from "scarcity" to "surplus," and some traditional tactics are indeed becoming increasingly difficult. For example, in the early days, if I produced beverages or biscuits, I needed to recruit a sales management team, recruit distributors, distribute products, promote sales, build model markets, and serve and maintain dealer relationships. There are too many uncontrollable factors: the quality and stability of the frontline team, the time and cost of distributor recruitment, the quality and quantity of dealers, the implementation level of channel management, and the challenges of end-market sales... But if we use new ideas and new channels, such as online e-commerce explosive promotion, big V media联动 promotion, WeChat community recruitment, giving dealers equity to bind them, leveraging IP hotspots to boost brand, crowdfunding recruitment... it seems to offer more possibilities for product development in the market and channels. 03 The change in "playbook" has caused anxiety among the older generation of marketers In recent years, I have witnessed many veteran FMCG marketers (including marketing directors) frequently moving between companies. Apart from "incompatibility with the boss's philosophy," most reasons are performance issues. From initially establishing leading products, to going through traditional recruitment steps and methods such as industry website recruitment, phone database recruitment, sugar and wine fair recruitment, and agent visits, actual performance is mediocre, and both the boss and the marketing team go from "high hopes" to "great disappointment." Traditional recruitment models essentially rely on the energy and physical effort of marketing personnel. But with many competing products in the market, a weak economy, and increasingly cautious dealers, if the product itself has no greater highlights, traditional recruitment will face many difficulties. Although poor performance is related to strategy, investment, management level, and execution, the sales team and marketing leaders are often the first to take responsibility. Some marketers continue to work steadily; many others are increasingly confused—energy and physical strength are gone, experience is hard to leverage, and personal transformation is difficult. 04 The change in "playbook" also confuses the older generation of planners The older generation of planners, although no longer limited to the "three-board axe" model of "product, advertising, and ordering meetings," are indeed caught off guard by the richness and variability of the "Internet+" and mobile internet marketing era. Take the media promotion channels often used by planners as an example: the older generation first encountered TV, newspapers, radio, DM, etc. Now, hot concepts include social media, feed ads, and a series of new terms like materials, targeting, and landing pages, which may leave some planners over 35 confused and "indigestible." Even "marketing consulting," which we once thought was rigorous, has become a "fast-food" product—once relying on chain systems and team work, now the shiny supply-demand concepts are "light consulting," "personal consulting," "one-on-one consulting," "traffic and conversion consulting," etc. Part of the reason is industry competition; on the other hand, new things like "light consulting" do have adaptability to the new market environment. Some older planners just got a handle on "e-commerce strategy," and big data tells you: "The low-cost traffic dividend of e-commerce has ended"; just as they gain some insight into "official account marketing," reality tells you: "The windfall of APP and official account marketing is already an oligopoly era"... Now, marketing tools, carriers, technologies, and concepts, compared to the paper media era more than a decade ago, seem to have entered a period of rapid iteration, changing greatly every year, leaving older planners overwhelmed. The reason is on the one hand, changes in the consumption views and tendencies of emerging consumer groups; on the other hand, in the new marketing environment, emerging data marketing technologies make brand touchpoints and traffic control more traceable, but true proficiency and effective use of these new technologies are currently in the hands of only a few. Looking at the older generation of planners, their control over emerging consumer groups and new technologies is indeed relatively backward at a certain level. If you are already a successful and famous veteran planner, this problem does not exist to some extent, because sufficient original accumulation can resolve many difficulties. But not every old planner can be outstanding and accumulate like a sea; besides sighing, what should they do? 05 The change in "playbook" causes the most anxiety and confusion among SME owners For mature large enterprises, there is brand pull accumulated over years and a complete marketing management mechanism, while the vast number of small and medium-sized enterprises, after trial and error, have just become familiar with the old path, and are now pushed onto a new journey in confusion. These SME owners' anxiety and confusion far exceed that of the marketing and planning teams who are employees. In the new market environment, SME owners are anxious and uncertain about the future. The market is not good and is shrinking; the boss is cautious and conflicted in confusion; the old brothers who fought to establish the business may at most "maintain" it; suitable talents for the new market environment are indeed hard to find. Even if the key elements of human resources team and business strategy are in place, achieving results also tests the courage and decisiveness of the operator. 06 Conclusion: Preserve the fundamentals, embrace the new, cherish experience, and be kind to yourself Conclusion 1: Product, price, place, and promotion—the marketing 4Ps—always have core value for FMCG operations! And these 4Ps are essentially "traditional," and the "myriad changes" in the new environment do not deviate from their essence. And when it comes to "human nature" and "product nature" related to consumption, they have never changed. Conclusion 2: Learning is a lifelong process! For learning about the new market and new consumption environment, I advocate Lu Xun's "take-ism"—use an inclusive, for-my-use attitude to learn and apply, gaining from use. How to learn? Learn from practice, from others, from new things, and even from outside the industry. If you truly learn, you will surely gain. Conclusion 3: Business owners and marketers with practical experience, please cherish your traditional experience! In the new environment, "experience" seems to be a synonym for "conservative" and "arrogant," making many people ashamed to talk about it. But the effective grafting of old and new and generating value is closely related to your experience. Effective experience allows you to discern effectively in the face of the "new," not follow others blindly, and not drift with the tide in confusion. Conclusion 4: The industry is not easy; be kind to yourself; be kind to your time and life. Source: Sales and Market (ID: cnmarket) -END-