---
title: "How Should a New Regional Manager Tackle a Deteriorated Market?"
description: "This article is excerpted from Mr. Fang Gang's book \"FMCG Veterans Do It This Way: Regional Manager Playbook\". It outlines the common problems of the worst markets and provides a systematic approach to address them, emphasizing a positive mindset, comprehensive market research, seeking support, and targeted solutions."
author: "方刚"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
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published: "2016-06-01"
language: "en"
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# How Should a New Regional Manager Tackle a Deteriorated Market?

> This article is excerpted from Mr. Fang Gang's book "FMCG Veterans Do It This Way: Regional Manager Playbook". It outlines the common problems of the worst markets and provides a systematic approach to address them, emphasizing a positive mindset, comprehensive market research, seeking support, and targeted solutions.

This article is excerpted from Mr. Fang Gang's book "FMCG Veterans Do It This Way: Regional Manager Playbook".
Click "**Read Original**" to purchase the book.
1
What problems do the worst markets often face?
(1) Many legacy issues from previous market activities.
(2) Products not adapting well to the market.
(3) Market chaos and weak foundations.
(4) Intense market competition leaving no room for our brand.
(5) Uncooperative clients or numerous client issues.
(6) Paralyzed marketing team.
If any one of the above problems exists, your market will be bad; if multiple or all problems exist, your market will be extremely bad. Anything can go wrong. **"Maintain a positive mindset, actively face challenges, conduct comprehensive research, seek support, and apply targeted solutions" is our only weapon against the worst markets.**
A positive mindset is fundamental to solving problems. As an old Chinese saying goes, "Hard work pays off." As long as we dare to face the worst situations, we will surely find ways to solve them. At this time, one's mindset is particularly important.
Being transferred to a bad market is something no one wants to face, but if you can adjust your mindset and face it positively, bad things may turn into good. Facing the worst market may also be an opportunity to showcase your abilities and tap into your potential. Therefore, when facing the worst, marketing professionals should have the following two mindsets:
**(1) A normal mindset. Don't put too much pressure on yourself; treat it with a normal attitude.**
**(2) A positive mindset. Take the initiative to integrate various resources to solve problems.**
2
Comprehensive market research is the foundation for solving problems
Every problem has its root cause. Finding the root cause is the basis for solving problems. Conducting a comprehensive and detailed market research report is the first step when facing the worst market.
A comprehensive and detailed market research should be carried out from the following aspects:
**I. Analysis of current market situation**
(1) Basic data research of the regional market: including administrative divisions, population, consumption levels, various economic indicators, number of market terminal customers, KA retail terminal sales, etc.
(2) Historical sales data analysis: including year-on-year sales growth analysis, product category growth sales analysis, channel sales data analysis, regional sales data analysis, etc.
(3) Analysis of regional market characteristics: including consumption structure analysis, purchasing habits analysis, purchasing power analysis, etc.
**II. Analysis of market competition landscape**
(1) Competition status analysis: including analysis of market operation strategies, marketing methods, and competition intensity adopted by our brand and competitors in the current market.
(2) Competitor status analysis: including analysis of competitors' specific market conditions in product portfolio design, pricing positioning, channel strategies, promotional methods, etc.
(3) Main competitor analysis: including analysis of main competitors' market competitive advantages and disadvantages, historical sales data analysis, specific channel involvement, product portfolio strategies, pricing strategies, promotional strategies, etc.
**III. Analysis of market development trends and market potential**
**(1) Overall market development direction analysis and forecast:** including analysis and forecast of overall market demand changes, changes in consumption habits and purchasing habits, etc.
**(2) Development trends and forecasts of major market segments:** including development forecasts of various sales channels in the region, development forecasts of consumption structure, etc.
**(3) Discussion on market development forecast for our product:** including prediction and discussion of market adaptability of product portfolio, rationality of product price positioning, rationality of channel planning, and targeting of promotional strategies, aiming to find the causes of market problems and tap market development potential.
Through the above market research, we can have a general understanding of the reasons for the worst market. The remaining problem is to fundamentally solve the specific market problems faced in the worst market through effective means and measures.
**Seeking support is an effective means to solve problems.** The market has become bad for various reasons. It is difficult to improve the market in a short time by individual efforts alone. At this time, the most effective means to solve market problems is to seek support from multiple parties, such as predecessors, various company departments, clients, and current colleagues (including superiors, peers, and subordinates).
Your predecessor can help you effectively analyze the root causes of market problems and provide constructive suggestions for solving them; gaining effective cooperation from various company departments can help you obtain more sales policies and authoritative influence support, promoting the rapid resolution of market problems; clients are the booster for solving market problems, and every step they take will have a huge impact on your work.
**Remember that you cannot change the market alone, and you are not the only one facing the worst market. Fighting alongside your colleagues to solve problems is the fundamental way to resolve them.**
Since the market is bad, there must be root causes. To find and solve problems, we need to apply targeted measures.
3
Apply targeted solutions to solve problems
**(1) How should a new regional manager face legacy market issues?**
Legacy issues often arise from poor communication, empty promises, and artificial delays. To solve them, we need to proceed from listing problems, tracing roots, making multi-party efforts, effective communication, and full implementation. Your attitude towards legacy issues will directly affect the degree of resolution; your attitude is more important than the final resolution.
When facing legacy issues, we must maintain an attitude of integrity, communication, and full effort, striving to minimize the damage. At the same time, in the process of handling legacy issues, we should demonstrate our ability and attitude to solve market problems, gaining more attention and recognition, and establishing prestige for future market operations.
**(2) How should a new regional manager face products not adapting to the market?**
**(1) Based on reverse thinking:** Products that sell poorly or fail to adapt often have deep-rooted problems. At this time, we need to reason backward from the results of poor sales and competitors' good sales to find the root causes.
**(2) Product segmentation strategy based on market research:** Through market research, develop and explore suitable product combinations or product items.
**(3) Implementation of product promotion strategies based on market characteristics:** According to market consumption structure, consumer consumption and purchasing habits, etc., divide product promotion channels and implement corresponding promotion strategies.
**(3) How should a new regional manager face a regional market with "market chaos and weak foundations"?**
Market chaos often stems from problems in price and channel management; weak market foundations are mostly due to poor product sales, poor image, lack of necessary market promotion measures, and weak brand influence.
To solve the current situation of market chaos and weak foundations, we must start from the above aspects. Establishing good price positioning, planning a sound price system, strictly controlling product channel flow, and subdividing product channels are effective methods to solve market chaos. Using necessary market operation methods and measures, launching product promotion marketing campaigns in the region, promoting the ultimate increase in sales, and ultimately enhancing the product's regional brand influence will effectively improve the regional market foundation.
**(4) How should a new regional manager face the situation of "intense market competition preventing our product from entering the market"?**
(1) Do a good job in brand positioning and attack planning. That is, before entering the market, plan the product's own positioning and upcoming attack strategy to avoid blind attacks.
(2) Implement a blue ocean strategy, find blank markets and strategic blank points in the region through brand positioning, and avoid competition.
(3) Conduct market segmentation, find market breakthrough points, launch concentrated attacks, achieve point breakthroughs, and finally use points to drive the whole, achieving a comprehensive counterattack.
**(5) How should a new regional manager face clients' "uncooperative" negative state?**
**The reasons for regional clients' non-cooperation are often:**
(1) Low profitability of the brand.
(2) Legacy issues in the market.
(3) Insufficient brand influence.
(4) Many brands operated, so they don't pay enough attention to our brand.
**New regional managers can "play" regional clients through the following means:**
(1) Be honest and seriously help clients solve market problems.
(2) Give clients hope, that is, by handling one or two market problems or implementing market operation measures, make clients see the hope of solving legacy issues and the possibility of improving product profitability.
(3) Apply pressure to clients, pushing them to change their negative uncooperative state.
(4) Cold treatment: when all operational means fail, consider downplaying the issue through low profile and time delay; respond to changes with constancy, turning passivity into initiative.
**(6) How should a new regional manager face a paralyzed marketing team?**
For a new regional manager facing a paralyzed marketing team, dismissal and effective incentives are effective means to improve the current team, while recruiting new people to inject fresh blood and establishing a comprehensive team training and performance appraisal system are guarantees for continuous team improvement.
Through the implementation of the above steps, a new regional manager can already face the worst market with ease and resolve market crises. At the same time, we clearly recognize that when facing the worst market, **a new regional manager must possess the following qualities:**
(1) Ability to work under "pressure."
(2) Ability to let data speak.
(3) Ability to integrate resources.
(4) Ability to coordinate client and market issues.
(5) Necessary market operation "tactics."
(6) Ability to quickly build a marketing team.
If a new regional manager can possess the above abilities, then facing the worst market will not only be easy but also fearless. **To be a qualified regional manager and a competent marketing professional, you must face the worst market, otherwise you will lose the meaning of existence. To welcome the arrival of the worst market, let us start improving ourselves by enhancing our own qualities now.**
-END-
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