30+ industry experts, 100+ B2B platform founders, and 800+ manufacturer and distributor friends will gather in Fuzhou to discuss the internet transformation of the FMCG industry.
Introduction:
In Manager Zhang's region, a new product was recently launched. After several rounds of distribution, the repeat purchase rate remained low. When his leader visited the market and saw the product's sluggish performance, he was very dissatisfied with Zhang, but Zhang had no good solution.
The two visited a restaurant, and the owner said, "Your company's product definitely won't sell well. First, your price is higher than competitors, and people don't have much money. They won't pay a few extra cents for your product. Second, your brand awareness is lower than competitors, so you can't beat them!" Finally, the owner almost kicked Zhang and his leader out, saying, "We restaurants don't welcome your pretentious new products that don't sell!" The leader was so angry that he nearly "ate" Zhang alive! Although the new product received significant investment and high expectations, it couldn't immediately gain consumer acceptance after launch, a common issue for many companies. However, no company wants its newborn to be underdeveloped or die prematurely. We all know that after a new product launch, we must monitor distribution rate, and the second-time repeat purchase rate after distribution is crucial, reflecting the true acceptance by channel distributors and consumers. But what should we do if, despite all efforts, the repeat purchase rate remains low? In fact, a low repeat purchase rate may not mean consumers reject the product or will never accept it; it might be that consumers haven't even been exposed to it! Excluding the possibility of a "defective product," if the product itself has no issues, we should look inward to find the root cause and treat it accordingly. 1. If consumers must be exposed to and feel the product or its image, effective communication is necessary. Besides advertising and media coverage by the marketing department, the sales department's own work includes many tasks that also serve to communicate and attract consumers. For example, conducting visibility activities at consumer consumption points, encouraging distributors and terminal store owners to actively recommend, or even another round of distribution and targeted store development and maintenance can effectively expose consumers to the product. "Visibility" has been used enthusiastically by large international companies, but domestic companies have only adopted it in recent years. Why? Domestic companies used to rely on TV and other media for communication, hoping one ad would make the product "known everywhere," but they fundamentally ignored the power of orderly, clean, eye-catching, and extensive product displays and terminal displays to communicate and persuade at the point of sale. Shulei shampoo's terminal interception is an outstanding example: making consumers feel Shulei's presence before, during, and after entering the store, thereby seizing market share from international brands and creating a miracle of domestic shampoo brands defeating international ones. Using distributors and terminal store owners for communication is a clever marketing strategy of "borrowing a boat to cross the sea." When Coca-Cola launched Ice Dew water, they satisfied distributor interests, prompting distributors and terminal owners to actively promote the product to consumers, even hiding or not refrigerating some famous purified water brands to minimize competition. Of course, if one round of distribution has no effect, setting up visibility materials is also good. Ting Hsin, which operates Master Kong products, once paused distribution when a new product's repeat purchase rate was low, but strictly posted visibility materials like posters, wall charts, and banners at every terminal store, letting consumers see these product-related items and then seek out the product. This is a method worth trying. In the beer industry, when repeat purchase rates are low, many companies adopt very "harsh" blockade methods: if their own product's repeat purchase rate is low, they first remove competitors from the same consumption venue (so-called "store locking," forcing competitors' products out), leaving the owner no choice but to sell their product! Why do this? When there's no other way to guide consumers, they target competitors, leaving consumers with no choice, believing that will surely bring repeat purchases! 2. The new product's price system may be problematic, with unreasonable profit margins at each level, requiring reasonable adjustments. Often, if profit margins for terminal stores or distributors are not designed reasonably, they won't be willing to sell or actively promote. When product differentiation is low, distributors and terminal owners only care about profit and turnover speed. If the new product's profit is lower than competitors', and since it's new, turnover speed will likely be lower too. At this point, the company must detect this promptly and adjust with promotional policies. Several purified water companies launched new products in the same year. In a famous Beijing park, during peak tourist season, there was huge purified water consumption, with nearly 60-70 sales points (even mobile vending carts sold large volumes). So, each company distributed its products there. However, initially, only one product had a high repeat purchase rate; others never saw a second purchase after distribution. Why? Because this company, the most famous purified water brand, designed very reasonable and somewhat generous profit margins for distributors and terminals, yet its selling price was still the highest! This isn't to encourage companies to compete on investment and expenses, but to focus on a reasonable price system. Many companies' price systems have issues, such as distribution policies being intercepted by distributors, leaving terminal stores unmotivated; or if terminal store investment is high but distributor profits are too low, distributors may turn against the company. In such cases, salespeople should report market information to help leaders recognize that such issues can't be solved by salespeople alone, and for the new product's healthy growth, adjustments should be made promptly. 3. If distributors and terminal stores don't actively promote, the company should strengthen distribution efforts. In many companies' minds, distribution means after the product first comes off the production line, or delivering goods to distributors who must buy 100 boxes or a truckload each, or squeezing in some time during routine sales visits to pitch to a few terminal stores, then leaving it to distributors or natural sales. This is the biggest misconception about distribution! Distribution isn't just about getting products into distributors' warehouses; it's about getting them in front of consumers' eyes or into their minds. So, often, if distribution doesn't reach consumers, it's ineffective or incomplete, and needs to be strengthened. Having distributors deliver goods one by one to terminal stores, having terminals display products for consumers to learn about, and having the sales team follow up and replenish after the first round are all key tasks after the initial distribution. Don't just leave the new product to fend for itself! At this time, communication with distributors is also crucial, helping them understand the benefits the new product can bring and the impact of poor performance, encouraging them to strengthen promotion from within. 4. If competitors attack, be prepared to counter their sabotage. Competitors won't sit idly by when a new product launches; they'll be on edge, hoping to suppress it and ensure it never recovers. Frontline employees fear competition more than anything. The same applies to new product launches. If competitors counterattack with strategies to suppress the new product, we must take them seriously strategically and respond flexibly tactically, avoiding hasty confrontation. This requires analysis, not blindly trusting their market hype without studying their actual motives and actions. Understand competitors' suppression capabilities, effects, and potential duration (since a policy won't be withdrawn immediately). Usually, when formulating policies, it's better to anticipate competitors' possible measures and prepare countermeasures. For example, competitors might use higher investment, bigger sales policies, expand promotion scope, or increase promotion intensity, but sometimes it's just thunder without rain, and since they're late, they may not have an advantage. So, recognizing their response capability is crucial. If competitors' promotions are indeed strong and fierce, then do everything to disrupt and kill them. Competitors can also use propaganda to spread negative publicity about the new product, such as poor quality, low grade, cutting corners, inferior raw materials, no selling points, etc., not only through salespeople's verbal claims but also secretly through media, even fabricating insider news to tarnish the product's image. In this regard, besides strengthening positive publicity, the company should counter at the terminal, letting facts and the product speak for themselves, and encouraging word-of-mouth after consumption, thereby building a wall in front of consumers to shield them from negative influences. This can also increase repeat purchase rates. 5. Use themed activities to rescue the product. Often, a low repeat purchase rate means consumers' awareness of the new product hasn't reached a critical threshold. At this point, a themed brand activity is best to rescue it. Themed activities mean finding a promotional focus and having all efforts—consumer-facing, channel distributor, advertising media, and promotional items—revolve around this point to promote, publicize, and sell, creating a sensation and a grand spectacle of new product promotion, surrounding consumers with this promotion, prompting trial or full acceptance. Large foreign companies often use themed activities to promote new products, such as roadshows combined with supermarket displays, terminal store visibility promotions, distributor travel incentives, sponsoring large sports events, printing unified posters, and conducting promotions and publicity across multiple channels and venues. When executed well, these activities have incomparable effects, leaving lasting impressions on consumers. Thus, the problem of low repeat purchase rates is easily solved! A low repeat purchase rate for a new product requires close cooperation between sales and marketing departments. Like parents of a child, both are responsible for the product's healthy growth. Therefore, more communication, more cooperation, thorough preparation, and no slackening afterward are key principles for solving low repeat purchase rates. New Era · New Distribution —— 2016 China "FMCG + Internet" Summit Forum —— This is a grand event focused on how the FMCG industry's channels will transform under the internet+ trend Agenda 08:00-09:00 Registration 09:00-09:05 Opening remarks by host 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 in FMCG Channel Transformation - Liu Zhao, CEO of Waiqin365 10:35-11:05 Reconstructing Distribution Channel System to Drive Urban Retail Upgrade - Tian Yuan, General Manager of Alibaba Retail Link's 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: Urban Distribution Trends - Wang Qi, CEO of Weijie City Distribution 13:50-14:20 Roundtable Forum - Why Should Distributors Transform into Logistics? 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 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 Ecosystem - Miao Dong, Vice President of Quanshi 16:30-16:50 B2B Investment Principles and Approaches - 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 manufacturers and distributors looking to transform, this is an event you can't miss. 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]