In the distribution chain, the terminal is the ultimate battlefield for brand sales. Terminal display is the most important part of product sales at the retail level, including product placement, quantity, and method. A good terminal display can promote product promotion and effectively drive consumer purchases. Baijiu brands invest heavily in display cabinets and stack displays at terminal stores, but many brands focus on investment while neglecting management, causing terminal displays to fall short of expectations.
[Case Analysis] Brand A is a regional brand in a prefecture-level city in Hebei Province, with a population of over 800,000, about 400 specialty tobacco and liquor stores, 11 large supermarkets, and about 1,500 C and D class supermarkets. Mr. Li is the largest distributor of Brand A in the city. To consolidate Brand A's base market and fully tap consumer purchasing power, Brand A formulated strategies for stack displays and display cabinets in large supermarkets, specialty tobacco and liquor stores, and C/D class supermarkets.
During his market visits, Mr. Li found that except for large supermarkets, few other terminal outlets executed displays 100% according to requirements.
Some terminal stores had scattered displays, some were "eroded" by competitors, and some were placed in neglected corners. If these problems were not stopped, the carefully designed display policies would be ineffective, and the substantial funds invested would be wasted, causing immeasurable losses to Brand A.
Terminal display management is an important part of terminal construction. Especially for baijiu brands, just as the flow of a funnel depends on its outlet, if terminal product displays are improved, sales will naturally increase.
However, there are contradictions in terminal display management: first, the contradiction between the brand's management requirements and the store owner's overall interests, such as store owners signing display contracts with two or more brands for the same counter to collect display fees; second, the contradiction between brand display management and sales personnel's interests, such as salespeople using display policies as purchase incentives for terminal stores to boost sales and commissions, even when the store does not meet display conditions.
Facing these issues, Mr. Li believed that compromise would only encourage bad practices. For the long-term development of the brand, all management and marketing personnel must recognize the importance and urgency of terminal display management and elevate it to a strategic level. Therefore, based on the current situation, Mr. Li formulated strict terminal display management regulations.
Conduct thorough investigations and select stores carefully Set standards requiring sales personnel to conduct detailed investigations of terminal stores in their areas that have signed display agreements. When selecting terminal stores, in addition to fully considering sales potential and product display effects, also consider whether future management will be convenient. These contents must be accompanied by relevant evaluation materials with joint liability from the applying salesperson, serving as a basis for management assessment.
If a terminal store's counter does not meet the requirements for signing a display agreement, but the salesperson signs the agreement in violation, a fine of 200 yuan per store will be imposed. This prevents unsuitable terminals from defrauding display fees and stops salespeople from using display policies as sales incentives to create inflated sales, ensuring precise allocation of display fees.
Sign detailed display agreements Sign detailed display agreements to clarify the brand's specific requirements for display management. Based on the original display agreement, which stated "product display positions should be the first place consumers see when entering the store, in prominent positions," the sales department adjusted the display agreement to adopt a one-store-one-policy approach based on the actual conditions of each terminal store, determining display fees according to the position and quantity of product displays.
For example, when signing the display agreement, attach photos of the specific display position and quantity, and have the customer sign for confirmation. During follow-up visits, sales personnel can refer to the template photos to show customers when they violate the agreement, serving as a constraint.
Establish systems and clarify responsibilities Assign terminal display management requirements to specific responsible persons, ensuring that each terminal store with a display agreement has dedicated personnel for maintenance and supervision, with "sales personnel bearing primary responsibility, and sales supervisors and managers bearing joint responsibility," to prevent buck-passing.
For example, once a sales manager accompanied a salesperson on a market visit. In a cluster of tobacco and liquor stores, when they came out of the first store, they saw the owner of another store carrying two products from a neighboring store into his own. The sales manager followed and found the owner was using borrowed products to fill the display shelf. The owner, seeing the sales manager visiting the market, knew he had violated the display agreement and went to "borrow" products to supplement the display.
When salespeople find terminal stores not following display requirements during market maintenance, they should point out the owner's breach. However, in reality, many salespeople, due to intense market competition, sales pressure, or lack of skills, have too many demands on customers. They feel lucky to get orders and find it hard to mention display management requirements, missing the best opportunity for terminal display management. This objectively encourages customers' bad habits. Over time, customers believe they should be paid display fees regardless of whether the display is compliant, making it harder for salespeople to manage later. Therefore, clarifying responsibilities forces managers at all levels to visit the market frequently and prevents various forms of "erosion" of display fees.
Clear assessment and persistent efforts Continuous improvement of terminal store displays and store image is achieved through repeated visits. Expecting terminal displays to be "one-time and done" is unrealistic. Therefore, Mr. Li incorporated terminal display management into the daily work of the sales system, directly linked to salaries, and used it as a key indicator for assessing sales personnel at all levels. He elevated terminal display management to a strategic level, established a top-down concept of terminal display management, created a tracking and monitoring system to regularly evaluate actual performance, and formulated improvement measures.
Overcoming salespeople's psychological barriers In actual terminal display management, salespeople often mention a difficulty: when they manage displays according to requirements and remove other products from display cabinets, most customers do not resist. The problem is that on the next visit, they find the display has been "eroded" by other products again. After several rounds, most salespeople lose confidence and think managing is useless, so they give up.
For example, why do some customers immediately resist and stop display management, while others comply superficially? What causes this difference?
Mr. Li believes the reason is simple: based on his years of experience in terminal display management, some customers' personalities make them naturally unaccustomed to arguments or disputes, and they unconsciously avoid such situations in their daily behavior. That is, they have more gentle traits. Of course, some customers have good relationships with salespeople. Given this, salespeople can use a hard approach against the customer's softness, telling the customer they must immediately improve the display according to requirements and maintain it, otherwise, they will handle it according to the display agreement, such as not paying display rewards. Even if the customer does not admit it and confronts hard with hard, salespeople can then use a soft approach, influencing the customer through persistent management efforts.
"To do a good job, one must first sharpen one's tools." Salespeople can proactively communicate with the boss: "Our boss is visiting the market every day now. If he finds your display non-compliant, not only will you not get the display reward, but I will also be severely punished. You see, we have a good relationship, and I don't want you to suffer losses. I don't think you want to see me severely punished either." This communication method can shift the conflict between the salesperson and the store owner to a third party. After all, a salesperson should have the ability to use both hard and soft tactics. Moreover, for terminal displays, as long as there is management, there is still opportunity; giving up management is equivalent to declaring failure.
In summary, terminal outlets are windows for displaying brand image and the most direct reflection of brand value. A terminal stack or display cabinet has almost 100% precision in targeting consumers, but the fees paid for them are also huge. Therefore, for baijiu brands to remain invincible in the terminal battle, they must elevate terminal display management to a strategic level and persist in it. Otherwise, the direct and indirect losses will be immeasurable.
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