Market conditions: Since the weather turned cooler, beverage sales for all brands have entered the off-season, with a significant decline in sales volume. Manufacturers have adopted various promotional methods to stimulate the market and boost sales, but the results have not been as good as managers expected. A certain beverage brand has introduced one policy after another since September, each round larger than the last, but the effects have been progressively worse. What is the reason? The author's research reveals two reasons: (1) The market has a certain digestion cycle, but the manufacturer's policies lack a fixed cycle and are too frequent, leading to a halt in restocking and thus no effect. (2) The intensity of policies increases each round, making terminals indifferent to the policies, as they believe the next restocking may be more cost-effective, so they dare not stock up excessively.
Manufacturers' means and starting points for stimulating the market: Through research, the author found that manufacturers' starting points for formulating policies to stimulate the market mainly include the following five: (1) To attack competing products. (2) To increase market distribution rate through policies. (3) To increase product sales volume. (4) To build product image and drive the market. (5) To handle slow-moving products.
In terms of means, there are mainly the following four: (1) Purchase rewards. (2) Terminal display. (3) Tiered policies, offering different policies to customers with different sales volumes. (4) Bundled sales.
Among promotional methods, the author prefers display awards and bundled sales, because in such policies both parties make certain contributions and each gets returns. This not only increases sales but also builds market image, not only boosts sales but also builds the brand, strengthens terminals, creates a sales atmosphere, and plays a good role in cultivating customers.
Impact of stimulating the market: Any policy is a double-edged sword, with both advantages and disadvantages. From the positive market effects, it is reflected in: expanding product sales, building product image, effectively attacking competing products, etc. The negative factors are reflected in: (1) Due to loss of control in the process, policies may be intercepted by the company's sales staff and distributors, leading to unnecessary waste of resources. (2) Long-term policies can trigger a trust crisis in the channel, causing terminals to dare not accept the company's products, often making the policies fail to achieve the desired effect. (3) Leading to unstable terminal prices that are difficult to recover.
Relationship between market and sales: I remember a manager talking about the relationship between marketing and sales: "Marketing builds the brand, sales build profits." We can understand that doing the market means building the brand, and doing sales means making profits. Building the brand does not bring direct profits, but it is the foundation of profits. Profits are the foundation of enterprise survival, but without brand support, profits lose their foundation. Therefore, from the perspective of long-term market development, we should put the market first. However, many behaviors that stimulate the market violate market laws, focusing solely on sales volume, and thus fail to achieve the desired effect.
Author's suggestions: In the off-season, beverage sales are limited. Although some managers exclaim, "There are only off-season thoughts, no off-season markets," they have to admit that sales have already declined significantly. Whether the market is off-season or not is under certain conditions and has a certain relativity. The market is a combination of multiple factors. When one factor changes, the market will also change. Below, I will share my humble opinions on how to do the market in winter without causing adverse effects.
Product: Often due to unreasonable stocking, product stagnation, unreasonable logistics links, etc., there are a large number of old batch products in the market. If not handled properly, it will have a great impact on the product image. Therefore, from a long-term sustainable perspective, we should digest a large amount of inventory at the end of the year, not solely from the perspective of sales volume. The main methods include digesting through special channels, using some resources to build customer relationships, doing exchange promotions in supermarkets, and joint promotions in entertainment venues. This will not impact market prices, channels, etc.
Price: As we all know, March, April, and May are the stocking seasons for manufacturers (including distributors, wholesale markets, and terminals). When beverages enter the off-season, the market is not very sensitive to price. At this time, we can appropriately raise product prices to prepare for future stocking and lay a good foundation for the coming year's market, paving the way for future stocking and market stimulation.
Channel: In the off-season, manufacturers often push inventory into the channel, completing a simple warehouse transfer. The author believes that stocking is not real sales; how to digest is the most important. When doing the market, besides appropriate stocking, I focus on distribution rate and display, concentrating on eliminating blind spots, strengthening store image, and effectively conveying brand information to consumers. I do not require many orders, but I require that the order items must be complete. When the item achievement rate is high and the distribution rate is high, sales can naturally increase.
Promotion: The author believes that promotions should be done in the peak season at terminals, and in the off-season at supermarkets. There are three reasons: (1) In the off-season, the proportion of supermarkets increases from 30% to 60%, and supermarkets generally do not have leftover problems. (2) Supermarkets can build product image. (3) Supermarkets generally do not generate unreasonable inventory and do not leave leftover problems.
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