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For many liquor distributors, product distribution is done quickly, but market activation after distribution is slow. Once a product doesn't sell, it means the product leaves a bad impression on retail outlets. This not only affects the customer relationships built over years but also impacts future distribution of new products.
Judging the quality of a distributor's product operation often relies on the most direct and important indicator: terminal sales after distribution. Because the terminal is the last step where consumers decide to buy, and it's where the distributor ultimately profits. Good terminal management can guide consumption, enhance brand image, increase product flow, and secure better survival space and resources for the distributor. With intensifying competition in the liquor industry, terminal sales have become the core lifeline for distributors' market sales. Therefore, solving terminal sales issues is the top priority for increasing distributor sales. So, how can distributors solve the problem of product sales after distribution?
【Case Analysis】
Li Qiang is a liquor distributor in a county-level market in Shandong, with 5 delivery vehicles, 10 salespeople, and a warehouse of over 600 square meters. He has been in the liquor distribution business for many years. In the early years, he achieved good development thanks to accumulated relationships and customer resources. However, with the arrival of the liquor industry adjustment period and intensified market competition, pressure from upstream enterprises, competition from peers, rising marketing costs, and higher demands from downstream customers caused a sharp decline in Li Qiang's company sales and profits. To ensure sustainable development, considering the 2013 liquor market situation, Li Qiang conducted a careful market survey and chose a mass-market liquor brand to operate.
Using his existing terminal network, Li Qiang achieved a good distribution rate within one month of representing the mass-market brand. After a period of operation, although the terminal distribution rate was high and salespeople were on the market every day, the product's terminal sales were very slow.
Poor Sales: Delving into the Reasons
Regarding the slow sales issue, Manager Li personally visited the market and discovered several main reasons for the slow sales of new products:
Low distribution quality: Salespeople purely pursue distribution rate, focusing only on completing the number of outlets within a specified time, without in-depth understanding of target terminals, leading to a mismatch between target groups and purchase locations. For example, some stores are completely unsuitable for the product, and some are in a half-dead state. This leads to slow sales and a decline in product and brand image.
"Distribute but not manage": After distribution, terminal management is equally important, requiring follow-up management and close service. Distributing without managing is worse than not distributing at all. During market visits, Manager Li found widespread instances of "distribute but not manage." For example, some terminals have the product placed in inconspicuous positions where customers can't notice it, or the product is placed in the terminal's warehouse while the shelves are empty. These factors affect product sales.
Terminal network has width but lacks depth: Another situation is that the market distribution rate is good, but there are many outlets, yet few core outlets that actually generate sales.
Weak terminal activation: Salespeople are present but not effective. They seem busy, but they only focus on which outlets to visit, simply handling delivery, payment collection, and other routine tasks. Sales volume becomes the only goal, and they don't seriously solve problems. Their daily work is just checking if each store has stock and if they need more. They seem busy, but they only do superficial work and don't fully take responsibility to ensure the channel is truly smooth. For example, some salespeople forget about product display and terminal activation (the large amount of promotional materials supported by the company for brand promotion, such as price tags, POP, film, KT boards, etc., are almost invisible in the market), and some forget to introduce the product's unique selling points and characteristics.
Clever Strategy: "Capture" Target Consumer Groups
Plan Event Promotions
Find a good entry point, create a sensational event that attracts social attention, especially from drinkers. These easily become news hotspots and hot topics on the streets, quickly increasing brand awareness, so that when consumers think of drinking, they think of the brand and have the desire to buy.
Manager Li planned a promotional event "Drink XX Fine Wine, Win an Electric Bicycle," strategically placing the electric bicycle prizes and then coordinating with local media to report on the electric bicycle consumption. As a result, it attracted high attention from target consumers, quickly increased brand awareness, and solved the sales problem.
Strengthen the Quality of Terminal Promoters
Nowadays, not all liquor distributors send promoters to large hotels, supermarkets, core name-brand cigarette and liquor stores, and other terminals with high liquor sales and high foot traffic for on-site recommendation and promotion. Although similar promotional methods are used, due to different brand influence and promotional skills, the results vary greatly.
Distributors should not only ensure that the taste of the liquor they operate matches local consumer preferences but also train promoters in liquor culture knowledge and consumer psychology. Because the quality of promoters and appropriate promotional methods can greatly improve promotional efficiency.
For example, to improve the quality of terminal promoters and effectively enhance brand terminal performance, Manager Li first established a strict management system to regulate and constrain the behavior of terminal promoters. For instance, first, require terminal promoters to submit work information reports based on daily sales; second, sales managers regularly go deep into the market frontline to fully grasp the real situation at terminals, objectively evaluate the performance of terminal staff, and implement established reward and punishment policies; third, systematically train promoters in both theoretical knowledge and practical skills, provide targeted supervision and guidance, and enhance their sense of responsibility and belonging.
Standardize Terminal Activation Displays
Terminal product display is a silent advertisement that creates a strong visual impact and attraction for consumers. It is the most direct interpretation of brand image and an important reason for impulse purchases. Combining the company's existing problems, Li Qiang standardized terminal displays from the following three aspects to effectively enhance brand terminal performance:
Choose appropriate display positions. Based on extensive first-hand market research data, Li Qiang found that the more customers who come into contact with the product, the higher the probability of purchase. Therefore, the company formulated specific display standards, such as the principle of prominent position (the position consumers see first when entering the store) and the principle of brand concentration (showcasing brand strength, enabling consumers to have related and holistic brand associations, deepening the product's impression in their minds).
Implement activation displays. Terminal display activation not only attracts consumer attention and stimulates purchase desire but also shapes a distinct brand image, directly enhancing brand terminal performance.
For example, set up reminder signs and notice boards in large hotels. In low-end stores, post advertising posters, hang banners inside, hang lanterns under the eaves outside, and arrange POP posters and decorative balls on the bar counter in hotels. Add brand advertisements to table cards, menus, tablecloths, ashtrays, reading racks, and clothing covers on dining tables.
- Create a hot-selling atmosphere at display points. Research shows that about 70% of consumer goods customers make impulse purchases at the terminal, and a good sales atmosphere can help companies increase sales by 30% to 50%. Therefore, Li Qiang comprehensively used scenes, displays, showcases, in-store POP displays, DM display racks, model displays, promotional short films, and the performance of shopping guides to attract customer attention and enhance the hot-selling atmosphere. To achieve the best terminal performance, Li Qiang's company also aligned terminal displays with industry and product characteristics, marketing strategies, and the location and structure of terminal stores, keeping consistency with advertising images and promotional activities, selecting appropriate timing, and unifying detailed operational standards to create the desired hot-selling atmosphere.
Dynamic Strategy Combination of "Points" and "Areas"
Based on the dynamic strategy combination of "points" and "areas" in regional markets, adopt the strategy of "using points to drive lines, and lines to drive areas," strengthen customer relationships and activation displays to achieve outlet sales, and work with terminals on how to quickly sell products, so that terminals naturally restock when they run out.
For example, select 50 terminal stores with monthly sales of less than 5 cases, and create a plan to increase their monthly sales to 10 cases, i.e., the "Plan to Conquer 50 Terminals." If these 50 stores can each sell 10 cases per month, that's 500 cases. Then replicate the process with another 50 stores, reaching 100 stores, and these 100 stores alone would sell 1,000 cases per month. Continue this way to achieve outlet sales.
How to implement the "Conquer 50 Stores" plan?
Select terminal outlets carefully. The selection criteria are: first, high foot traffic, suitable for selling your product, and your product is already in the store; second, terminals where competitors sell well and you have also entered. Such terminals prove that your product can sell there, and selling well there will also strike a blow to competitors.
Concentrate forces to attack. In operation, require human and material resources to focus specifically on these terminal outlets:
- In terms of manpower, assign the most capable salespeople to be solely responsible for these outlets.
- Maintain a maximized display space, the best promotional layout, and the highest quality customer service at these outlets at all times. This reduces the opponent's display space; the less conspicuous the competitor's display, the greater your opportunity. Maximized promotional materials and displays directly advertise to consumers.
- Help these terminals sell products, which not only helps digest inventory, brings in restocking, and strengthens customer relationships, but also because the product sells, terminal owners gain confidence and proactively help your product, leading to a virtuous cycle.
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