The former "FMCG Distributor Professional Management Consulting" has been renamed to New Distribution Long press the QR code or click "Read Original" to register. 30+ industry experts, 100+ B2B platform founders, 800+ manufacturer and distributor friends, gather in Fuzhou to discuss the internet transformation path of the FMCG industry. Product launch is an important way for many companies to gain profits, adjust product structure, and respond to competition. However, we find that many companies rush their product launches, acting hastily without a plan, failing to establish a comprehensive product launch mechanism, let alone conducting detailed and thorough research before launch. This plants the seeds of failure even before the product hits the market. Apart from the marketing department commissioning market research companies, the sales department should also conduct extensive field visits and surveys to facilitate a quick and effective product launch. Introduction: A beer company launched a new product in a certain northeastern region. Launch purpose: To increase sales volume while maintaining the overall budget, thereby increasing the company's marginal benefits. Launch area: Peripheral urban markets Launch reason: The peripheral urban areas have low consumption levels and favor low-priced products. After the company raised the price of its original low-priced product, there was a gap in this price segment in the market. Launch brand: XX 8° Launch price: Y yuan Launch packaging: Standard packaging Launch specification: Standard specification Launch distribution strategy: For every 50 cases, a reward card is included, with rewards ranging from 5 cases, 2 cases, 1 case, to none. ...... The above is part of the company's overall launch plan for this product. Although it follows some previous launch strategies, meaning it is somewhat "rule-based," overall, it is still an unprepared, purposeless, and largely unfounded launch activity. All activities lack mechanism and research! The company's reason for launching this product is purely presumptuous: "Low consumption levels, acceptance of low-priced products." They completely ignored necessary consumer research, channel analysis, competitive analysis, and so on. This is clearly a launch plan that is detached from the marketing department's leadership and guidance, lacking basic market understanding. When launching new products, especially in companies where the sales system takes the lead (or where the sales department has greater say in new product launches, unlike foreign companies with strong marketing departments), it is essential to conduct thorough new product launch research. So, what research should be done before launching a new product? First, since products are sold to consumers, consumer research is undoubtedly necessary. This consumer research should be comprehensive and objective. Often, frontline sales staff believe they understand consumers better than marketing department personnel (because they are always on the market, getting the most authentic frontline information). However, this is often one-sided. If salespeople are to gather consumer information, it is best to do it this way: The marketing team designs the questionnaire (or content), and after specialized training by the marketing department, during regular business visits (minimizing disruption to work), they conduct detailed in-store interviews at all sales points or sample points in their area. This way, the consumer information gathered from all sales points by all salespeople, when aggregated, is the most authentic and comprehensive. Frontline sales staff often distrust some marketing department research results, sometimes even completely contradicting them. Therefore, some large companies have begun to let frontline salespeople act as market researchers. If controlled well, this could be more accurate than marketing departments or professional research firms because marketing departments or research firms rely on sample points, while salespeople cover 100% of the points, maximizing the sample size. If the research process is scientific, it could be more accurate than those sources. Consumer research mainly involves several aspects. First, consumers must be segmented. Consumer segmentation indicators include demographic factors, geographic factors, psychological characteristics, and consumption behavior. We can list some key factors for the market's consumers, such as economic conditions, family structure, economic development level, benefits sought, purchase frequency, personality, preferences, etc., to determine what consumers want. What consumers want—we provide them with that. This is an iron rule for new product launch research! In the above case, the company clearly made a mistake by assuming consumers would continue their previous consumption patterns and accept the new product. They also thought economic level was the only determining factor. In reality, the product had changed (from 10° to 8°), the brand had changed (from main brand to sub-brand), and these changes were not based on consumer perception. Market research is often for market segmentation, and the purpose of market segmentation is to meet sales development needs by selecting a segment with development value. The basis is diversified consumer demand with different qualitative requirements. Second, research should be conducted on the market environment, such as brand share and market capacity. Regarding market capacity, many companies lack a systematic approach, often relying on "estimates," and each person's estimate can vary greatly. Some companies only know the current total sales volume but are unaware of the remaining sales space (i.e., market potential). Blind entry ultimately leads to failure. When I conduct training in companies, when discussing market capacity, I often do a live test. The results show that almost no one can guarantee that their "estimated" market capacity is reliable! Why? Because no one has conducted real research on market capacity, so no one knows how much sales space remains! If the market is large but nearly saturated, or if you only know current sales but not potential sales, what use is that? Without understanding market capacity, there is no goal! As for brand market share, this is basic information for market strategy decisions. A company's market strategy cannot be implemented in a vacuum. In a competition-dominated era, you must "pay" for competition. Market share reflects competitiveness and competitive position. This is best illustrated by "know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated." Not understanding brand market share is like shooting without a target! Nowadays, many companies implementing deep distribution or direct sales can analyze market share weekly or even daily, but they may still be unaware of other manufacturers' shares. Therefore, before launching a new product, conducting a comprehensive market share survey through distributors or at retail points is a basic step. Third, research should be conducted on competitors, including their company situation, market operations, and market performance. Often, research on competitive products is not systematic. The most important thing is to match competitor research with your own related project research, which is most conducive to comparative analysis, leading to targeted decision-making and problem-solving. Competitor research is not about quantity but about comparability. It also reflects a market analysis method—the comparative method. This is an important way to avoid being passive and reactive after product launch. Often, frontline sales staff only scratch the surface of competitor research, ignoring the motives behind competitors' actions or the true factors of their success. The success of Qoo's product launch largely depended on in-depth competitor research. Through "comparative" research on each factor (if I want to investigate a certain aspect, I must also investigate that aspect for competitors), then comparative analysis reveals where gaps exist, where advantages lie, which aspects need strengthening and promotion, and which to avoid. Ultimately, they targeted children aged 5-12 (avoiding competitors' young female consumers), used character marketing (avoiding head-on confrontation with first-mover competitors), avoided price wars, and implemented a high-positioning, high-price strategy (supporting the international brand)...... Of course, if you want to be detailed, you can conduct detailed research on factors such as channels, promotion and sales promotion, and even sales organization, internal execution, and market monitoring. These aspects require comparative research between your company and competitors. Frontline sales staff are not just order takers but also market servers and information collectors. Therefore, new product launches require the most direct frontline research to complement the marketing department's research, jointly advancing the new product launch to a more complete level. Conversely, what research do some domestic companies currently conduct before launching new products? What is the overall research situation? First, it is unsystematic, lacking unified reporting standards. Therefore, comprehensive analysis is impossible. They solve problems as they arise, "countering moves as they come." Worse, some make decisions by "gut feeling" without any market research. Second, the main focus is on competitors' promotions. This seems to be the biggest basis for launch analysis! There are problems here, such as competition-oriented but consumers not recognizing it, leading to vicious competition...... Third, marketing and sales are disconnected. At this time, marketing and sales should be a project team, working together or meeting daily. But we still see many working in silos. Successful new product launches can provide the most effective way for salespeople to achieve higher sales targets. However, in reality, we find that many salespeople fear new product launches. First, sales targets increase, but new product sales lag behind. Second, unsuccessful launches bring many "aftermaths" for them to resolve. Third, unsuccessful launches can affect distributor confidence and even impact old product sales. Many of these issues arise from rushing into launches without adequate market research. It seems we should do market research well first! Market research is not just the marketing department's job! New Food Era · New Distribution —— 2016 China "FMCG + Internet" Summit Forum —— This is a grand event focused on how FMCG industry channels will transform under the trend of Internet+ transformation Agenda 08:00-09:00 Registration 09:00-09:05 Host opening 09:05-09:35 2016 China FMCG Industry Trend Analysis Report - Zhao Bo 09:35-10:05 FMCG Enterprise Transformation Strategy and Path - Liu Chunxiong 10:05-10:35 Opportunities and Challenges Brought by FMCG Channel Transformation - Liu Zhao, CEO of Waiqin365 10:35-11:05 Reconstructing Distribution Channel System, Promoting Urban Retail Upgrade - Tian Yuan, General Manager of Alibaba Retail Tong Backend 11:05-11:25 Channel Efficiency in the Internet Era - Fu Xiaoyun, Vice President of Benlai Holding 11:25-12:00 Roundtable Forum - Brand Transformation: Improvement vs. Reconstruction? Guests: Liu Zhao, Liu Chunxiong, Fang Gang, Chen Feng, Shi Zhengchuan, Deng Xia 12:00-13:30 Lunch 13:30-13:50 Distributor Transformation: City Distribution Trends - Wang Qi, CEO of Weijie City Distribution 13:50-14:20 Roundtable Forum - Why Distributors Should Do Logistics in Transformation Guests: Zhao Bo, Wang Qi, Liu Zhongmin, Tang Guangliang, Wang Cheng, Sheng Yan 14:20-14:40 How FMCG Enterprises Can Leverage the Internet to Take Off - Wang Hui, E-commerce Operations Director of Xijiu 14:40-15:00 Detailed Explanation of Zhongshang Huimin's One Machine Two Wings Strategy - Su Xiaoxin, Vice President of Zhongshang Huimin 15:00-15:20 Category Value and B2B E-commerce Development Strategy - Wang Chaocheng, CEO of Yijiupi 15:20-15:40 Supply Chain Finance as a Lubricant for B2B to Drive Traditional Business - Chen Xian, CEO of 51 Order 15:40-16:00 Zhanghe Cloud Factory Helps Upgrade FMCG Supply Chain - Yang Lixiang, CEO of Zhanghe Tianxia 16:00-16:30 Integrating Small and Micro Retail, Reconstructing Business Ecology - Miao Dong, Vice President of Quanshi 16:30-16:50 B2B Investment Principles and Ideas - Zhao Mingwei, Vice President of Junlian Capital 17:00-17:30 Roundtable Forum - Who is the King of FMCG B2B Models? Guests: Fu Xiaoyun, Zhuang Jianzhong, Jiang Tao, Zeng Weiqin 17:30-19:30 Dinner For manufacturer and distributor friends who want to transform, this grand event is not to be missed. Interested friends can long press the QR code below or click "Read Original" to register. Registration: Long press the QR code below or click "Read Original" ↓↓↓ Click "Read Original" [Register]