When we walk on country roads wearing Baleno and carrying LV bags, when we sweat in the fields in Adidas T-shirts and Nike shoes... This scene would be a shocking sight! A famous brand is inherently a brand, which seems like basic common sense! But this is precisely the obstacle for famous brands going to the countryside: because I am a famous brand! In rural areas, we believe in the power of brands, but brands are not necessarily the only force! For example, in rural markets, Tsingtao Beer may not sell more than 'Qingniao Beer' (a counterfeit), and the reasons seem simple: due to rural consumers' lagging information and low education levels, counterfeit products have a market because of their low prices. But thinking deeper, we might wonder: if famous brands can't beat copycats, like regular armies can't eliminate bandits, is it because the regular army is incompetent or the bandits are too cunning? "Sunny Avenue" vs. "Goat Trail" Famous brands operate like group warfare, with air, land, and sea forces advancing together. For example, Coca-Cola's 101 system is extremely effective in urban areas, with dozens or even hundreds of sales points on a single street. These concentrated sales points make Coca-Cola's sales representative visit model easy to implement, allowing each rep to visit 40 outlets a day with ease. But in rural areas, the dispersed consumption characteristics and poor outlet turnover efficiency make this visit model awkward. Because a village may have only 1-2 outlets, to complete the target of visiting 40 outlets, a rep would have to visit 20-30 villages, a task that only a "superman" could accomplish! Without the 101 system, Coca-Cola's marketing model and system would need major changes, moving closer to traditional wholesale distribution channels, and its entire marketing system would face risks of price chaos and order collapse. Although the rural market is tempting, before it fully matures, it's just a "chicken rib" for Coca-Cola! It would never abandon the "big chicken leg" of urban areas to labor over the "small chicken rib" of rural areas! Does that mean Coca-Cola will give up the rural market because it's a chicken rib? For example, since 2004, Coca-Cola's one-yuan-per-bottle "Red Storm" campaign has been going rural in a high-profile way, and it has specifically formed its own rural market team! The old channel management methods can no longer meet the needs of fourth- and fifth-tier markets. To truly take root in the rural market, it's not just about changing the marketing model; it also requires building a team specifically for operating such complex markets, which is a severe test of corporate culture, management, marketing, and organizational adaptability. Rural channels are very special. The dispersed living patterns lead to scattered consumption, making the entire logistics and distribution complex, lengthy, and inefficient. The channel-intensive systems represented by Coca-Cola, Master Kong, etc., mostly rely on sales reps' route visit models, or even full-order direct sales models. These are typical regular-army tactics. In rural markets, the dispersed outlets require manufacturers to adopt "bandit" tactics of dispersed operations. When regular armies fight in the mountains, even with advanced weapons like planes and artillery, the dense forests and high mountains render these weapons useless! In contrast, channel-based brands like Wahaha have built marketing models on channels that solve the problem of rural distance and difficulty, leading us to once exclaim that Wahaha is the best at distribution! In rural outlets, Wahaha's products often occupy nearly half of the shelf space, which is the winning formula for sustaining bandit-style channel dealers! This is supported by a massive marketing team of over 2,000 first-level wholesalers and over 20,000 special second-level wholesalers. This tightly organized, grape-cluster-like network gives Wahaha's beverage series an average distribution rate of over 80% in third- and fourth-tier markets. Wahaha Group Chairman Zong Qinghou once confidently said: "Wahaha's sales network covers all prefectures, cities, and counties nationwide, and even in remote mountain villages without roads, you can see Wahaha products in village shops." However, we can also clearly see that Wahaha's Future Cola only survives in low-end rural markets and is rarely seen in urban areas. Currently, as Coca-Cola and other beverage giants encircle rural markets, continuing to follow its guerrilla tactics deeper into the mountains will lead it further astray! "Can Afford" vs. "Can Sell" In rural areas, many products sell well not just because of brand, but because affordability comes first, and availability second. Rural low consumption capacity determines that price is the primary factor in purchasing. Famous brands have firm prices and strong pricing power, which inevitably excludes many low-end rural consumers. To compete for these consumers by lowering prices would destroy the brand resources accumulated over years in urban markets. So for famous brands to enter rural markets, they must abandon urban habits and consider producing products specifically for rural areas. For example, they can launch sub-brands, special packaging, or small-capacity, low-price products under the brand umbrella. In urban supermarkets, a bottle of drink can sell for 2.75 yuan without complaint. But in rural small shops, insisting on the same price would lead to one-time transactions, as many would bargain down to 2.70 yuan or even 2.50 yuan! Such arbitrary pricing rules inevitably harm famous brands! Therefore, famous brands going rural is a gradual process. In this process, how to get consumers and channel dealers to accept their pricing and recognize their product positioning requires famous brands to make efforts in guidance. For example, setting up model stores in rural markets, clearly marking product prices, and training and assessing channel dealers to sell at specified prices. In rural areas, affordability is the basis for stimulating consumption, but having the right price for consumers to afford is only the first step. Whether the price is appropriate is always an unanswered question for the consumer market. Master Kong instant noodles cannot sell for more than "Master Kang's Wife" (a counterfeit), because the latter is cheaper. Similarly, "Master Kang's Wife" may not sell more than "Master Kang's Sister" (another counterfeit), because the latter is even cheaper! In rural areas, the sales difference between two brands of the same product may depend solely on a price gap of a few yuan or even a few jiao! But when Master Kong sells at the price of "Master Kang's Sister," its brand will forever step down from the ivory tower and become a low-end brand like the latter! Famous brands playing in the rural market is like walking on a seesaw: they occupy the urban market but cannot get down to the rural market! So, famous brands going rural is not only a gradual process but also a "two-hand fight" process! So how to be "gradual" and how to "fight with both hands"? In the contradiction between brand and price, famous brands often fall into a dilemma: if a famous brand becomes too "rustic" due to rural popularity, will urbanites start to "disdain" it? In cities, famous brands may be at the high end of the price seesaw due to different consumption capacities. In rural areas, however, famous brands dare not seek the low end of the seesaw. This contradiction forces famous brands to seek a unity when going rural! The 400 million urban population accounts for 80% of famous brand sales, while the 900 million rural population accounts for only 20%. This causes famous brands to be overcrowded in cities! In rural markets, the 20% consumption of famous brands is also concentrated in 20% of outlets and consumers! This requires manufacturers to grasp the rhythm perfectly when shifting from urban to rural markets! Famous brands going rural is a selective, gradual penetration process, not a "flooding" effect that collapses everything! In rural areas, there are also outlets that consume high-end products. For example, the rise of folk tourism has led to seasonal catering or retail shops in some farmhouses or orchards. In these shops, the vitality of generic brands is clearly weaker, while famous brands thrive! Whether famous brands can find these corner outlets, establish their channels, and gradually cultivate sales opportunities are all tests of whether they can go rural! Price is not only the passport for famous brands going rural; in the process, channel push is also a crucial link, so channel costs are another hurdle for famous brands entering villages. In urban areas, sweeping a street from one end to the other can cover dozens or hundreds of outlets within a few kilometers, and the fast turnover and large order volumes increase daily efficiency and reduce per-vehicle delivery costs. In rural areas, to distribute the same amount of product, you must visit several times more outlets, covering dozens or hundreds of villages, and without traveling over a hundred kilometers, it's impossible. What can be done in a day in the city may take three to five days in the countryside! Both manufacturers and distributors will calculate this cost! This characteristic leads to rural channel profit demands being significantly higher than urban areas, and the embarrassment for famous brands is: famous brands don't make money (thin channel margins), and some famous brands become "pathfinders" in the hands of channel dealers, not used to make money but to pave the way for their own channels. If your famous brand sells for one yuan, mine sells for 0.99 yuan, aiming to build relationships with outlets and pave the way for products that make money! So in rural markets, we constantly hear this folk saying: Famous brands don't make money; those that make money aren't famous! So, how can famous brands avoid falling and also make money in rural areas? Channel management is key. The practice of "just laying eggs and not collecting them" will inevitably give channel dealers free rein. Facing the vast and sparsely populated rural market, how can famous brand manufacturers "both lay eggs and collect them"? The low sales volume and high logistics costs of famous brands in rural areas determine that township and rural channel dealers cannot obtain large profits. A dealer's profit source is simply: Profit = Sales Volume × Price Difference. When sales volume can't be high and price difference can't be generous, what can famous brands do? First, focus on distribution costs. For example, in rural areas, we see many channel dealers' delivery trucks carrying not just one product but a variety, almost everything. A delivery truck is like a mobile mini-supermarket and also a mobile product advertisement. Therefore, famous brands going rural can "hitch a ride" by giving these channel dealers subsidies, or even renting space on their trucks, specifying display quantities and positions, which will surely achieve twice the result with half the effort! Second, seize seasonal sales turning points. Rural consumption is closely related to seasons and festivals, such as Spring Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, autumn harvest, weddings and funerals, visiting relatives, and market days. During these turning points, consumption bursts and sales rise quickly. At these times, manufacturers can concentrate distribution and selectively set up displays or even professional guides at rural outlets. Rural outlets and venues determine that they like to put goods outside the door or on the roadside during peak seasons because the more they display, the more they sell! Manufacturers can even hire and train rural idle personnel for short periods to do daily display maintenance at outlets (at low cost). Of course, enterprises must also put effort into channel dealer selection, incentives, and sales personnel management and assessment. "Can Think" vs. "Can Do" The countryside is a vast world where there is much to be done! When the great man waved his hand, millions of urban youth went to the countryside! Today, we can hear many slogans like "Go to the countryside," such as Coca-Cola's 1-yuan glass bottle plan and home appliance companies' rural plans. Some are vigorous, some fail! Regardless of success or failure, it proves the huge temptation of the rural market. Often, we can clearly feel the rural temptation, especially against the backdrop of the economic crisis, the "big cake" of 900 million farmers is truly mouth-watering! While the urban cake is shrinking, it has also cultivated the "urban teeth" of famous brands. When eating the urban cake, these famous brands can finish it quickly, but when eating the rural cake, they lack good teeth because this cake is hard and tough, and you might even bite into glass or stones! To tackle the rural market, good teeth are essential. You need not only products and prices suitable for rural areas, but also channel systems, marketing teams, and management models different from urban ones! After sharpening your teeth, you must also have a "don't rush" mentality. The rural market is a proven large mineral deposit, but the reserves are scattered, difficult to mine, technically challenging, and costly. The rural market's activation will be a long process. Initial investment is like throwing a pebble into the sea, and it's inevitable that there will be no waves. Facing this "rural cake" with Chinese characteristics, the best strategy is to chew carefully and eat slowly, otherwise, you might not only bite into glass and stones but even step on "landmines"! When exploring the rural market, it's crucial for manufacturers to maintain strategic clarity! When everyone is shouting about rural potential, when everyone is vigorously going to the countryside, when everyone is making a big show of entering the mountains to suppress bandits, manufacturers must understand: What are we going to do in the countryside? What can we do there? Against the backdrop of severe global consumption deficiency, manufacturers may be forced to eat this hard-to-swallow "black bread" of the rural market due to food shortages, transforming from highbrow to lowbrow, from white-collar to blue-collar laborers. In this process, some manufacturers are forced to change suddenly, while others may have prepared in advance with foresight! In this vigorous rural movement, many famous brands are like children raised in cities: they not only can't tell wheat from chaff but also can't even walk barefoot. So marketers must go to the countryside, deeply understand the special nature of the rural market, deeply experience life, and learn to fight in battle! We can see the vast future of the rural market, but we may not predict when that future will arrive. Perhaps today is cruel, tomorrow will be crueler, but we firmly believe that the day after tomorrow will be better! As long as we are still alive when the day after tomorrow comes, that is the greatest victory! This article is excerpted from Mr. Fang Gang's book "What Old FMCG Hands Do: Regional Manager Operation Tips." To purchase this book, please click "Read Original" If you think this article is good and want to communicate with the author, please long-press the QR code below to add Mr. Fang Gang's WeChat. 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