Click 'Read Original' for details At the '2020 China FMCG Conference' held by New Distribution this year, we invited a BCG global partner to discuss industry trends. At the event, he shared an observation that I found very interesting. He said, 'In the past, many Chinese CEOs often took their teams to Europe and the US to learn about new trends and technologies... But now, more and more foreign CEOs are coming to China to ask how to do e-commerce and digitalization...' Frankly speaking, over the past 40 years, Chinese companies have leveraged the ultra-large-scale market demand, imitated the marketing concepts of international advanced companies, and relied on local unique 'guanxi' capabilities and price advantages to achieve growth. But now, China's mobile internet penetration and digital infrastructure have taken the lead. Against this backdrop, it is clear that marketing in China is gradually entering a 'no man's land.' Of course, this does not mean that current marketing theories are outdated. Perhaps the theories are not outdated, but following the old marketing playbook is definitely wrong. In the digital era, the paths and methods of marketing have completely changed. For example, we all know Coca-Cola's 3A strategy: Availability (buy it), Affordability (can afford it), Acceptability (willing to buy it). I believe many FMCG manufacturers still use this strategy to guide deep distribution in the front-line market. But now, the methods have completely changed. 'Availability' used to mean covering every physical retail store with our beverages, putting them on shelves, arranging displays, and doing merchandising, essentially hoping consumers can buy them. But now, consumers can buy beverages not only in physical retail stores but also through WeChat mini-programs, O2O platforms, community group buying, JD Super, Tmall Supermarket, and many other channels. How to make products available to consumers and how to layout across n channels is a brand-new challenge. 'Affordability' – what does it mean? Simply dividing by region and city, based on average consumption levels, in first- and second-tier cities, a 5 or 6 yuan bottle of beverage might be considered affordable; in third- and fourth-tier cities, 3 or 4 yuan might be affordable. That is the crudest division. But now, consumption is increasingly segmented and stratified, and the definition of 'affordable' for different circles is completely unknown. Of course, even the same consumer group may have different affordability boundaries in different consumption scenarios. Fragmented consumption scenarios make it hard to have a clear definition of 'affordability,' unlike the past when a unified approach based on per capita consumption level set a greatest common divisor. 'Acceptability' – in the past, consumers in an era of information scarcity were almost 'mass portraits,' with no individuality at all. But in the mobile internet era, information is equalized, and people pursue personal value propositions. Different circles have completely different feelings and understandings of 'willingness.' The market is constantly being segmented. When material abundance and information saturation occur, consumers pursue personal preferences rather than mass preferences. This also brings us huge challenges: how to please consumers. In the new retail era, we have always emphasized 'people, goods, and scenes' because different people need different products in different scenarios. But this is not static; it changes constantly. Also, online, in virtual spaces, you can't touch or see it, but it is really there. The increase in digital touchpoints gives us the opportunity to get closer to consumers and reach them with one click, but the challenge is greater because the switching cost is too low. They can move instantly. Just when you want to recommend something to them, who knows they have already run away. Back to the point, in such an era, without relatively standard marketing paths, we lose the handle for market layout. Whether it's marketing + digital or digital + marketing, we need to cross the river by feeling the stones! Some leading companies have already found their own path, while others are still on the way. Whether on the road or about to set off, it's never wrong to see how others do it. Others' paths may not be correct, but at least there is a relatively reliable standard to avoid detours! To this end, New Distribution will hold the 2021 China FMCG Marketing Digitalization New Year Course in Hangzhou on December 3-4, with the theme 'Methods, Tools, Practice'. It will not only provide innovative marketing ideas for enterprises but also, through the firsthand accounts of excellent digital software tool service providers, combined with implementable, executable, and replicable customer cases, truly help FMCG companies find the second growth engine to achieve business breakthroughs in 2021! Once the tip is adopted, a payment of 400-2000 yuan will be made.