Recently, a marketing director of an FMCG company called the author, complaining that during the peak sales season, many regional managers and frontline sales staff were reluctant to visit the market. When the director ordered them to go, some managers confidently retorted, leaving him puzzled: "Now that goods are in short supply, what's the use of visiting the market? Customers are scrambling for products; we can increase sales without going to the market. Besides, there's nothing to do there. Wouldn't it be better to save the company travel expenses?" The director then posed a practical question: During the peak season, what should companies and marketers actually do? Is it true that sales can still increase without visiting the market, as those managers claimed? Many marketing managers have likely encountered similar issues and felt confused. So, how should manufacturers and marketers spend the peak season, and what should they do?
What to Do During the Peak Season
The peak season is the most important time of the year; it represents a "seller's market," meaning a significant increase in sales volume and profits. It also signifies the end of the tough off-season and the market finally seeing the light of day. So, what should be done during the peak season?
Review Strategic Planning. Many companies pin their hopes for the year on the peak season, not only for sales and profit targets but also for production, management, and financial goals. Therefore, based on the annual overall strategic plan, the marketing department should promptly review and adjust these goals. For example, based on early peak-season performance, decide whether to lower or raise sales targets for the current period. Should strategies, tactics, and policies be adjusted? How well do market resources match? By revising marketing strategic goals, the market indicators set will be more scientific, reasonable, challenging, and competitive, giving marketers clearer goals and direction—avoiding targets that are too low (no motivation) or too high (excessive pressure).
Adjust Product Structure. All company goals are achieved through product sales, especially profit targets, which rely on a reasonable and complete product structure. The peak season is the best time to adjust the product structure. Since the peak season is characterized by supply-demand imbalance, it's easier to introduce new categories when products are relatively scarce. A reasonable product structure should include high, medium, and low-end products: high-end for branding and image, medium for sales volume and profit, and low-end for scale cost-sharing, acting as "cannon fodder" to attack competitors and disrupt strong rivals. Adjusting the product structure during the peak season will make the market more stable, healthy, and sustainable.
Integrate Sales Channels. Channels are the "bridge" for products to make the leap from commodity to money. Why do some excellent products fail to perform well in the market? Often, it's because manufacturers haven't effectively controlled the channels. Using the peak season as an opportunity, manufacturers can better integrate channel resources, adjust channels to an optimal state, control them, stimulate their vitality, and achieve real product sell-through. Generally, during the off-season, companies are constrained by sales targets and may not have the time or courage to adjust channels for fear of channel defection or betrayal affecting target achievement. The peak season is an excellent opportunity for adjustment because more distributors are willing to sell products. Therefore, adjusting channels during the peak season carries much lower risk than usual.
Launch New Products. Many manufacturers consider the off-season the best time to launch new products, thinking that new products can break through and compensate for off-season sales pressure. However, the author believes the best time to launch new products is actually during the peak season. Because the peak season has a higher acceptance rate for new products, and even if a new product fails, it won't cause excessive inventory buildup. In the peak season, when "radishes are sold fast without washing," new products are favored by all channel levels because they bring new profit points, improve product portfolios, and create new promotion opportunities. Using new products as a thread can activate all aspects of the channel.
Develop New Markets. Generally, it's said that you open markets in the off-season and seek sales in the peak season. The rationale is that the off-season provides ample time for developing new markets. Many companies thus burden the off-season with new market development. But the author believes the most mature time for developing new markets is the peak season, because it offers favorable timing, location, and people. It's easy to store goods without accumulation, and new products are more readily accepted. As long as products are distributed, they can immediately enter the substantive sales stage and generate quick returns, without the long channel and market adaptation time needed in the off-season. Therefore, from this perspective, the peak season has the most market development potential, facilitating rapid startup and growth of new markets, laying the foundation for sales growth.
Plan Promotions. Should promotions be done during the peak season, and how? Different people have different views. Actually, the peak season should focus on planning promotions. The key promotional issue is how to concentrate promotional resources to create a multiplier effect, using the best steel for the blade. According to the 80/20 rule, 80% of sales or profits come from 20% of distributors or markets. Therefore, how to use promotions to capture these core distributors is what manufacturers should study during the peak season. In the peak season, manufacturers should consider how to drive the market at low cost, clarify the stages, steps, and methods of promotional investment, so that promotions can add brilliance to the peak season and maximize effectiveness.
Train Distributors. Due to asymmetries in resources, information, policies, and environment, distributors generally develop slower than manufacturers. In today's rapidly changing market conditions, to truly build a win-win strategic partnership and enter the co-marketing era, it's especially necessary to use the peak season to provide comprehensive training to distributors. Peak-season training can instill the manufacturer's development plans and operational concepts, help improve management and operational capabilities, and also serve as a warning against problems prone to occur during the peak season, keeping distributors in step with the manufacturer to jointly strengthen and expand the market.
Temper the Marketing Team. "Maintain an army for a thousand days to use it for an hour." In the off-season, many FMCG manufacturers put their weapons away and let the horses graze. But the peak season is the critical period for training the marketing team. Through the peak season, manufacturers can test a team's explosive power, combat effectiveness, and deterrence. Systematic training during the peak season can unify marketers' thinking, improve market operation skills, and create a learning organization, allowing them to better demonstrate their abilities, showcase talents, and maximize potential. The market is a melting pot; the peak season reveals whether a marketing team is truly well-trained, energetic, motivated, passionate, and united with common goals and vision.
Enhance Brand Image. The peak season offers manufacturers more opportunities to interact and communicate with channels and consumers, and more chances to use word-of-mouth marketing, public welfare activities, PR promotions, and on-site promotions to enhance brand image. Through the peak season, manufacturers can increase product and company awareness and reputation, further improving product and brand image.
How to Succeed in the Peak Season
How can manufacturers win in the peak season? Facing this "passionately burning" "golden time," how should they seize the opportunity?
Optimize Product Structure. For distributors and manufacturers, the peak season is essentially a temporary "shortage economy," a transition from a buyer's market to a seller's market. Therefore, actively optimizing the product structure during the peak season is an effective means to achieve profit targets. Key points: First, maintain a hierarchical product structure—a reasonable structure should include high, medium, and low-end products, each with corresponding consumer groups and a reasonable proportion. Second, maintain product leadership—products should be developed, reserved, promoted, and matured in generations, continuously upgrading through new replacing old and survival of the fittest. Third, maintain product differentiation—differentiation creates better operational and profit space, makes it harder for competitors to imitate, and allows for a unique blue ocean strategy. Optimizing the product structure during the peak season not only improves profitability but also helps quickly digest accumulated packaging materials or inventory in local markets, accelerating cash flow and purifying the product structure.
Plan New Product Launches. In today's increasingly homogeneous products and difficult market order, there's no better strategy than launching new products to find new profit sources for channels and activate the entire sales chain. Perhaps new product preparation and planning should be done in the off-season, but vigorous promotion should be in the peak season. Key points for launching new products in the peak season: First, new products must have unique selling points. Since many manufacturers launch new products in the peak season, only those with unique selling points and clear differentiation from competitors can quickly stand out and succeed. Second, new product launches must be phased. That is, investment should be focused, with stages and steps. Use key markets for focused investment and resource allocation, "test" in core markets, summarize successful models, then roll out broadly to reduce errors and increase success probability. Third, new product launches must be assessed. Because it's the peak season, without assessment, many distributors and marketers will only sell easy-to-sell items, not the right or expensive ones. Therefore, process management and assessment are crucial. Link distributor rebates, discounts, and marketer bonuses, commissions, and other incentives to new product promotion assessment items. Use this economic lever to ensure successful new product promotion. Launching new products in the peak season, with process assessment and management, may bring a fresh breeze to the dull market environment.
Integrate Distributors. In the peak season, integrating distributors is easy. In the off-season, integrating distributors risks "killing" the market and sales, but in the peak season, there's no such worry about sales decline because, being the peak season, manufacturers can easily find distributors. Points to note: First, select "substitutes" in advance. Before replacing unsuitable distributors, choose backup distributors so that once the original relationship is terminated, they can immediately take over. Second, adjust customers quickly and decisively. Emphasize speed and efficiency; don't drag things out. Once a customer is chosen for replacement, terminate the contract decisively and quickly without leaving room. Third, prevent aftereffects. For distributors whose contracts have been terminated, handle aftermath promptly, such as recovering inventory, settling rebates, and providing reassurance and explanations. For example, a company in Zhengzhou, during a peak season, faced a distributor in a prefecture-level market who was arrogant and often threatened the manufacturer and sales staff. After secret reconnaissance, they selected three second-tier distributors in different areas. When everything was ready, and the distributor had just sold out inventory and threatened to stop selling if no policy was given, the manufacturer formally notified him that, based on his sales performance, they decided to terminate the distribution agreement per the contract. They immediately activated the three second-tier distributors, and by the end of the peak season, sales increased by over 50% compared to the same period historically. Through peak-season distributor integration, manufacturers can take the initiative in the market and adjust or supplement customers with ease.
Improve Network Layout. Many manufacturers and marketers feel that in the peak season, they don't need to put much effort into channels, and sales will still grow. This view is biased. Although sales do grow in the peak season, industry or natural growth is the main factor. To achieve greater sales growth, manufacturers and marketers should focus on network layout. This includes: First, develop new markets. Review how many undeveloped markets remain in your territory and use the peak season to develop them. Second, develop blank outlets. In current markets, how many outlets are blank? How long will it take to develop them? By developing new markets, filling blank outlets, and adjusting channel breadth, width, and length, manufacturers can improve network layout, set scientific and reasonable network visit cycles, and achieve maximum market coverage. For example, a beverage manufacturer operating in Zhengzhou during the peak season first conducted road coverage, identified blank outlets, and communicated deeply and specifically with terminals and distributors that didn't accept the products. After feeding information back to the company, they addressed issues like too many distributors causing price chaos and insufficient price policies by taking special measures, such as exclusive sales of single product categories, signing volume promotion and rebate agreements, and other flexible forms. They finally conquered these "nail households" and "hard bones," achieving maximum network coverage and monthly sales of over 2 million yuan. By improving network layout, manufacturers can find new breakthroughs for market growth and gain a larger market share in the peak season.
Innovate Promotion Models. The peak season is a time for manufacturers and distributors to achieve significant profits. It doesn't require price wars but rather promotion wars and value wars. Innovating promotion models may be the reliance and backing for manufacturers to rise abruptly in the peak season. It includes three aspects: First, promotions must be distinctive. Being different attracts the attention of distributors at all levels and wins the favor of channel links and consumers. Second, promotions must be targeted. Are promotions aimed at channel stocking or at pulling consumer purchases? Clarifying the motive and purpose avoids ineffective promotional investment. Third, promotions must take an innovative path. Following others or imitating promotions is doomed. To achieve a "four-ounce moving a thousand pounds" effect, promotions must innovate; only with innovation can there be competitiveness. Currently, joint promotions are popular and effective. For example, in May, the common peak season for beer and home appliances, a well-known beer manufacturer and a refrigerator manufacturer jointly promoted: the beer company offered refrigerators or display cabinets for purchasing a certain quantity of beer, while the refrigerator company offered beer with refrigerator purchases, with beer delivered to the door. Through this strong alliance, both manufacturers and customers got what they needed, achieving good co-marketing results. Therefore, through promotion model innovation, manufacturers can achieve the strategic goal of promotion wars and value wars, rather than bloody price wars, finding an ideal way out for manufacturers and products.
Build Channel Barriers. The peak season is an excellent time to build channel barriers. Building channel barriers often blocks competitors and allows you to enjoy a larger share of the market cake. There are many ways to build channel barriers; here are a few common methods: First, hold ordering or networking meetings. This is the most effective. Attractive ordering or networking meetings not only deepen emotional communication between manufacturers and distributors but also attract a large amount of customer capital, making customers willing to invest in product purchases. Second, establish barriers by being first. By entering early and at low cost, you can secretly control product distribution or promotion rights, setting barriers and thresholds for later entrants, making it difficult for competitors to enter. Third, strengthen and standardize service methods. With increasingly refined market management, strengthening and standardizing service and management methods is crucial. This includes service standards for customers, standard service processes (e.g., eight-step visits), and integrity service reengineering. By leading competitors, you can also alienate them. For example, a beer manufacturer, to win customer trust and increase loyalty during the peak season, launched a "Gold Service Plan," standardizing customer classification, route management, visit processes, standard scripts, and quantified service content, and published a supervision hotline. Through these measures, the manufacturer established a good reputation among distributors at all levels, and sales growth naturally followed.
Forge and Build the Team. The peak season is the most favorable time to build the marketing team. Through the performance of marketing personnel during the peak season, the overall strength of a team can be fully demonstrated, and the team's growth process can be witnessed. There are generally three ways to forge the team during the peak season: First, take the system as the guideline. Strictly implement all company rules and regulations, confining team members' behavior within the company's specified scope. Punish severely those who dare to cross the line, thus establishing clear rules and discipline, making team building have laws to follow and enforce. Second, take training as the thread. To improve the overall quality of team members, training should be integrated throughout. Through training, improve psychological quality, operational skills, and management capabilities, boost team morale, and create a good working atmosphere. Training should emphasize on-site training and guidance, combining teaching, practice, and doing. Third, take assessment as the point. Treat each marketing indicator as an assessment point. These points are interrelated and form a complete assessment system. Through assessment, clarify team goals, giving each marketer a precise direction for effort and struggle. Through the peak season, companies can effectively review the overall quality and operational level of a marketing team and quickly build an excellent marketing team.
Enhance Brand Reputation. In the peak season, customers purchase products more frequently than usual, and sales channels have more opportunities to contact products. Therefore, seizing every moment of the peak season to effectively enhance product and brand image is also a low-cost strategy for companies to promote themselves. Points to note: First, use advertising to increase product and brand awareness; advertising also guides consumption. Second, use word-of-mouth from promotions to enhance product and brand reputation. Promotion is one-to-one marketing, effectively connecting the 4Ps (Product, Price, Place, Promotion) with the 4Cs (Customer, Cost, Convenience, Communication), enhancing customer goodwill and word-of-mouth. Third, use public relations activities to enhance customer loyalty to the product and brand. For example, sponsoring public welfare activities increases customer trust and goodwill, forming brand loyalty. As an analogy puts it: advertising makes people know you, promotion makes people like you, and public relations makes people love you, illustrating the progressive relationship among advertising, promotion, and public relations.
Six Cautions for the Peak Season
The peak season is not just for one company; it's for the entire industry. Therefore, to lead competitors and win in the peak season, manufacturers must pay attention to the following six aspects:
Pay Attention to Market Development Trends. To do well in the peak season, you must grasp market development trends. Although markets are similar year after year, they are also different each year. Therefore, manufacturers must explore market demand, consumption capacity, consumption cycles, and seasonal consumption habits. Only by grasping the market's pulse can you make the peak season work for you.
Pay Attention to Competitors' Market Moves. In the peak season, even if products are in short supply and you are a leading or attacking brand, always monitor key competitors' dynamics, including product trends, pricing, policy moves, and promotion methods. This helps you know yourself and your enemy, adjust market strategies promptly, and ensure victory.
Pay Attention to Coordinated Operations. To truly achieve peak sales, companies must emphasize systematic operations. Peak-season sales are a company-wide effort involving production, supply, and sales, requiring close cooperation from logistics. Any lag or inefficiency in one area can ruin the entire peak season. Coordinated operations are the fundamental guarantee for a successful peak season.
Beware of the "Killer" of Cross-Region Dumping. In the peak season, manufacturers fear cross-region dumping the most, as it renders regional protection policies ineffective. To truly laugh last and best, manufacturers must strictly manage and severely punish dumping. Use typical cases, take real action, and don't be soft. Always sound the alarm against dumping and strive to eliminate it in its infancy.
Beware of Those Who Disrupt Market Order. Cross-region dumping is a violation across regions, while deliberate market disruption, such as low-price dumping, is usually seen in some restless distributors within a region. They may sell inferior products or engage in low-price dumping to compete for customers or for personal gain. Manufacturers must be vigilant and crack down severely. As long as such behavior exists, the market will not be peaceful. Strict systems and controls will help manufacturers prevent problems before they occur.
Maintain Reasonable Inventory Levels. In the peak season, what pains manufacturers and distributors most is not poor products or difficult sales, but the economic losses from product shortages or stockouts, which can even lead to team defection or loss of market share. Therefore, manufacturers must scientifically calculate and prepare sufficient inventory, including packaging materials and finished goods. Only with adequate products can you avoid sighing at the market during the peak season with no solutions.
The peak season is the last "lifeline" for companies to reverse sales declines in a year. Only by systematically thinking about the peak season's trends and future, and promptly adopting market strategies, can companies navigate the golden sales season with ease and achieve a double harvest of sales volume and profits.
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Things Not to Do During the Peak Season
Many leftover problems from the off-season often stem from actions taken during the peak season. To avoid a flood of market leftover problems after the peak season, the following things are advised against:
Sit Back and Wait for Money. At the start of the peak season, many manufacturers and marketers think they can finally relax, and some even reduce travel days for marketing staff. This kind of "sitting back and waiting for money" can actually lead to "sitting back and waiting for death." The market changes rapidly; a moment of negligence can lead to big mistakes. So, it's best not to do this.
Engage in Profiteering and Cutting Corners. Many manufacturers feel the peak season is a chance to make money quickly. Unable to reduce sales, management, or logistics costs, they substitute inferior materials for quality products and shortchange promotions. The result is often shooting themselves in the foot, because consumers have sharp eyes and are not easily deceived. Profiteering and cutting corners are doomed to be rejected and punished by the market.
Use Power to Pressure Others. In the off-season, manufacturers often beg distributors, but in the peak season, it's reversed—distributors beg manufacturers. In this situation, some manufacturers or marketers use products to command customers. If customers don't comply, they threaten to withhold shipments, stop supplies, or cut off goods. This behavior often plants hidden dangers for future work and is detrimental to healthy, long-term cooperation.
Common Mistakes During the Peak Season
The favorable peak-season situation can lead many manufacturers and marketers to act blindly. They often overestimate the market, resulting in misjudgment—planting watermelons but harvesting sesame seeds. Here are common mistakes:
Taking the Market for Granted. Assuming that since it's the peak season, there are patterns to follow, not realizing that patterns can be unreliable. Lack of in-depth market analysis and inability to accurately predict market trends are the culprits behind taking the market for granted.
Letting the Market Run Wild. Many manufacturers indulge in a "song and dance" during the peak season, letting the market run its course, neglecting management, and lacking process supervision and effective control. This leads to many market "safety" hazards. When cross-region dumping and low-price dumping appear in large numbers, and the market is in crisis, taking strong measures then is often too late.
Neglecting Team Discipline. Because it's the peak season and sales targets are easier to achieve, many marketing management departments lack market monitoring of the marketing team, letting them do as they please. When the off-season arrives, problems like intercepting customer promotion funds, arbitrarily promising sales policies, blindly stocking to earn commissions, or even absconding with customer payments emerge like mushrooms after rain. "Negligent governance is fiercer than tigers." Neglecting team discipline will harm the company greatly and ultimately lead to self-inflicted consequences.
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