Never sold small bottle liquor before, yet achieved 9 million yuan in sales that year. Do you think it's possible? Here's a case for your reference.

Hou Wei (pseudonym), a dealer in a prefecture-level city in Sichuan, mainly deals in Yanjing Beer, Wanglaoji, Luzhou Laojiao, etc., with annual sales of about 18 million yuan.

In 2016, Hou Wei took over a small bottle liquor from the Wuliangye series, a development product, and he operated the market himself. Despite years of practical experience in beer and beverages in the catering channel, he had no experience in operating small bottle liquor. Moreover, the retail price of this small bottle liquor was 25 yuan, 5-7 yuan higher than strong competitors, so he encountered common difficulties such as difficulty in entering stores, lack of popularity, and slow sales.

Through continuous exploration, he adopted a differentiated approach to break the deadlock, and the new product achieved sales of 9 million yuan in its first year, setting a target of 12 million yuan for 2017. How did he do it?

1 Chain Gifting to Open Terminal Doors

At the beginning of operations, the biggest challenge was the lack of brand awareness for the new product, making it difficult to enter stores due to fear of slow sales. In the local market, Xiaolangjiu and Wuliangye Waizui were strong brands with terminal prices of 18-20 yuan and high self-order rates. Hou Wei's new product was priced at 25 yuan. Initially, no matter how much he talked, restaurant owners didn't believe the product would sell. He planned to distribute to 200 stores in the first month, but after a month of hard work, he had only managed less than 60 stores.

After analyzing the reasons for failure, Hou Wei felt that although he was representing a new product, it had the endorsement of the Wuliangye brand, so there was no difficulty in consumer recognition. The main difficulty was the low self-order rate at terminals; restaurant owners hadn't tasted the benefits. As long as more consumers ordered this small bottle liquor at terminals, driven by popularity and profit, entering stores would naturally be solved.

So Hou Wei devised a plan: he mobilized company employees, relatives, friends, and acquaintances to go to several key terminals and specifically order the designated small bottle liquor. After consumption, they could redeem the equivalent value of liquor at the company with their meal receipts. For example, if a consumer drank 4 bottles at a restaurant, Hou Wei would give them 4 more bottles with the receipt. Stimulated by free liquor, his product moved quickly at terminals.

But personal connections are limited. How to get more people involved to truly drive sustained consumption at terminals? Hou Wei then devised a chain gifting method: if a consumer received 4 bottles as gifts, they could also give them away on their social circles. As long as someone consumed at designated restaurants, they could get a bottle of small liquor as a reward. This method truly boosted consumption of the small liquor at terminals. In the end, Hou Wei calculated that through chain gifting, he conquered 23 terminals that were previously inaccessible, successfully completing the initial distribution work.

Hou Wei summarized that for new product launches, dealers arranging self-order consumption at terminals is routine work, which is actually a conversion of new product promotion and tasting costs. But how to ensure consumers keep coming to terminals? Chain gifting solves this by leveraging social circles on the internet. As long as there is innovation, dealers can solve market problems.

2 Prize Guessing Games: Entertainment Drives Sales

After products entered stores, Hou Wei faced the challenge of increasing sales, which is the biggest difficulty for small bottle liquor survival. Initially, like other small bottle liquor brands, he adopted methods such as good displays, free tastings, and promotional services, but the results were not obvious.

Hou Wei observed in restaurants that small bottle liquor is mostly consumed in B and C class terminals, where the consumption scenario is about having fun and excitement, even competing in drinking games. If he could create an entertainment scenario for consumers, making them feel they got fun from it, sales would naturally increase.

Referring to the "dice cup" game in nightclubs, Hou Wei designed a set of small bottle liquor restaurant terminal games. For example, if a consumer bought two bottles of small liquor, they could get a chance to "roll the dice" on the spot. If the dice showed consecutive numbers (a "straight"), they would get a bottle of small liquor as a reward; if it showed "three 3s", they would get a free dish; if it showed "three 6s", the meal bill would get an 8.8 discount. Hou Wei also placed roll-up banners with rules and winning pictures at key restaurant entrances, attracting many diners' attention. This not only boosted business at the restaurants but also greatly increased the sales rate of his small liquor at terminals. According to Hou Wei's statistics, terminals with the prize guessing game saw sales more than 30% higher than those without.

3 Building a Platform to Secure the "Future" of Practitioners

Whether small bottle liquor sells well at restaurant terminals largely depends on the on-site recommendations of hall managers and waitstaff. To encourage restaurant staff to promote their products, small liquor brands typically use a fixed fee plus bottle cap fee method. For important positions like hall managers, they provide regular fees. For waitstaff, they offer commission rewards through volume-based incentives, and also stimulate enthusiasm through bottle cap recycling and box recycling fees.

Hou Wei found that most current restaurant service staff are post-90s, who have limited interest in earning a few hundred yuan more per month from selling liquor. More people hope to find higher-paying or more promising jobs through years of experience. But they have limited connections. If they could find a platform for advancement and development, they would be more willing to cooperate with companies that provide such platforms.

Based on years of connections, Hou Wei hired an industry expert from the local restaurant association to provide irregular skill training for restaurant practitioners. The training content includes restaurant operations, management practices, service guidelines, etc. Restaurant staff can participate in learning for free, which was welcomed by both service staff and even owners.

Hou Wei said that after opening the training class:

First, the relationship between liquor merchants and restaurant practitioners has become closer. Previously, the relationship was simply exchanging bottle caps and giving small gifts, a fragile transactional relationship. But participating in training can improve practitioners' skills and even change their career paths, deepening the relationship.

Second, the restaurant industry is also a high-turnover industry. Through this platform, some practitioners have gained information and opportunities to find better jobs. Some owners have also found suitable employees, which is a win-win situation.

Third, after establishing this platform, restaurant service staff quickly spread the word, giving the company a reputation within the circle. In the future, negotiating to enter stores or even settle payments will be easier than before. It's a triple win.

What do you think about selling liquor through entertainment? Leave a comment below to share!

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