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Now almost all baijiu companies are entering the mass-market segment. For mass-market liquor priced below 60 yuan, similar to FMCG products, the most critical factor is distribution: it must be wide in scope and large in area, because these consumer groups are relatively dispersed and highly mobile, and displays and promotions can stimulate their purchase desire and interest.

Without distribution, there is no sales

The primary issue in marketing is to solve the problem of product meeting consumers; only then comes the issue of making consumers willing to buy. Distribution is exactly the primary issue that marketing activities must solve, that is, solving the problem of product and consumer meeting.

Everyone knows that new product launches must first solve the distribution problem, which has become the most basic marketing common sense. Product distribution is an indispensable task for new product launches. In addition, distribution is not only used more often during new product launches; sometimes old products also use distribution to increase terminal visibility.

Because terminal shelf resources are limited and new products emerge endlessly, although distribution is very important, it is not always smooth sailing. Especially for small and medium-sized enterprises, with low product awareness and limited promotional budgets, terminal distribution always encounters great resistance.

So-called distribution refers to the process of placing products into terminal sales points and putting them on shelves within a limited time. Distribution is an active act of recommending products to terminals, thereby greatly accelerating the circulation and sales speed of products.

Product distribution is very important for both new and old products; it is an indispensable task.

  • When a product is launched, distribution is needed to create opportunities for consumers to see it.
  • When a product gradually enters the mature stage, distribution is needed to boost sales.
  • When a product enters the decline stage, distribution is needed to increase terminal visibility.
  • When transitioning from off-season to peak season, distribution is needed to occupy terminal warehouse space.
  • When transitioning from peak season to off-season, distribution is still needed to maintain product display space throughout the long off-season.

So why is distribution so important?

The distribution rate determines the size of the product's sales opportunities at the terminal!

If your product distribution is not in place and the distribution rate is low, then your product cannot meet more consumers, and sales opportunities are out of the question. Products sitting in the warehouse cannot generate sales opportunities.

Only when a product occupies terminal sales points and meets consumers can it possibly be purchased. For this reason, the primary task of sales work is to put the product on terminal shelves so that consumers can easily buy it; moreover, it is necessary to increase the product's display area in the store and increase its exposure so that consumers can easily see it.

If consumers want to buy but cannot find it, the enterprise loses that sales opportunity.

One of the means for enterprises to increase sales is to strengthen distribution efforts and increase the product's distribution rate at the terminal.

As Procter & Gamble states in its sales training manual: “The best products in the world, even with the best advertising support, will simply not sell unless consumers can buy them at the point of sale.”

In order to make its products ubiquitous, Coca-Cola subdivides its sales channels into 22 types, and each channel has dedicated personnel responsible for distribution, greatly increasing product sales opportunities.

Coca-Cola's 22 sales channels are:

(1) Traditional food retail channels; (2) Supermarket channels; (3) Discount store channels; (4) Grocery store channels: such as convenience stores, community stores, tobacco and grocery stores, mom-and-pop shops, small kiosks, etc.; these channels are widely distributed and have longer business hours; (5) Department store channels; (6) Shopping and service channels; (7) Restaurant and hotel channels; (8) Fast food channels; (9) Street vendor channels, mainly providing products and services to pedestrians, with immediate consumption as the main consumption mode; (10) Industrial, mining, and enterprise channels; (11) Office institution channels; (12) Military camp channels; (13) Colleges and universities channels; (14) Primary and secondary school channels; (15) In-service education channels; (16) Sports and fitness channels; (17) Entertainment venue channels; (18) Transportation window channels; (19) Hotel and restaurant channels; (20) Tourist attraction channels; (21) Third-party consumption channels: that is, wholesale channels such as wholesalers, wholesale markets, wholesale centers, commodity exchanges, etc., which mainly conduct wholesale business; these channels do not face consumers but are intermediate links in commodity circulation; (22) Other channels: various forms and places for selling beverages such as product fairs, food expositions, farmers' markets, temple fairs, office places, and other promotional activities.

A higher distribution rate is conducive to stimulating consumers' random purchases.

As everyone knows, consumer purchase behavior can be divided into planned purchases and impulse purchases. Especially for fast-moving consumer goods, impulse purchases account for a relatively large proportion. If the product has a high distribution rate at the terminal and consumers can conveniently buy the product, it can stimulate consumers' random purchases. In this way, a higher distribution rate also increases the product's sales opportunities at the terminal. Increasing the distribution rate at retail points is crucial for random-purchase products.

Distribution also has the function of occupying the limited funds and shelf resources of retail stores.

Why is this said?

First, distribution occupies the limited funds of retail stores, causing them to use limited funds to purchase your enterprise's products, thereby reducing purchases of competing products.

Second, distribution also occupies the limited shelves of retail stores. Currently, shelves have become a valuable terminal resource. Many enterprises are trying to find ways to place their products on retail store shelves and strive for larger display areas and better display positions. Because retail store display space is extremely limited, if you occupy more retail store shelves, it is equivalent to occupying the terminal positions of competitors. In this way, don't you seize more sales opportunities?

Distribution itself also has an advertising effect.

With distribution, products are displayed at retail terminals, giving products the opportunity to contact and communicate with consumers. Doesn't this help improve product awareness?

The product itself is the best advertisement.

That is to say, distribution itself has an advertising effect, and compared with mass media, the cost is lower, and it can more accurately and effectively influence target customers.

The product itself also has sales power.

As long as the product is displayed at the terminal, there is an opportunity to be purchased. Especially for some low-involvement daily consumer goods, as long as you firmly grasp terminal distribution, even if you do less advertising, or even no advertising, sales can still be generated, and it is even possible to have a good sales trend. Paying attention to terminal distribution can relatively reduce advertising investment and directly promote sales, without being intercepted by competitors at the terminal.

If distribution is not done well, advertising resources will be seriously wasted.

Without large-scale distribution, no matter how good the advertising is, it is futile.

Without large-scale, solid distribution, relying solely on advertising cannot complete sales. If the product's terminal distribution rate is not high and the distribution surface is narrow, then even if the advertising is done well, it is futile. Because relying solely on a large amount of advertising investment cannot achieve the desired effect of greatly increasing product sales, it will only cause a large waste of advertising resources.

For mass consumer goods, even for well-known brands like Coca-Cola, Wahaha, and Master Kong, if the enterprise gives up active distribution, even if the advertising efforts to consumers are doubled, sales may decline sharply. Therefore, for general products, especially daily consumer products, every enterprise needs to pay attention to distribution work.

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