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Off-season marketing is often a neglected corner for distributors. Strengthening manufacturer-distributor relationships and improving the immunity of the off-season market has become a common topic of concern for many enterprises.
During the sales off-season, the relationship between manufacturers and distributors is very delicate, and several phenomena often occur: distributors accuse manufacturers of burning bridges and being ungrateful, while manufacturers complain that distributors are profit-driven and forget old ties. The escalation of contradictions can only lead to 'each going their own way.' So, as marketing personnel, the most important thing now is: how to add a bit of 'romance' to the 'love,' promote 'marriage talks,' and achieve a true union between manufacturers and distributors.
When it comes to manufacturer-distributor relationships, many people immediately think of building rapport, managing relationships, and competing on service. In fact, traditional thinking has led many enterprises into misunderstandings. When I first entered the beer industry, I naively believed that as long as our product quality was good, our service level high, our relationships with clients solid, and our marketing communication timely, we would have a true 'marriage' with distributors, and sales would naturally increase significantly. That was a bit romantic. As an enterprise, you cannot expect distributors to have high awareness; merchants talk about profit. Even if there is a true manufacturer-distributor 'marriage,' it is still a case of 'sharing the same bed but dreaming different dreams.'
'Find the right acupoint before needling.' So, where is the key point to achieving a true manufacturer-distributor union? Two words: 'profit.' So, how can we help distributors maximize long-term benefits? Based on frontline experience, I would like to share a few thoughts:
1. Shift Business Thinking. It is an indisputable fact that distributors' profit margins are shrinking. The task for marketing personnel is how to shift clients' thinking during the off-season to gain greater profits. Traditional old distributors are accustomed to circulation and find it hard to switch to terminal and urban markets. Therefore, they don't know how to handle our mid-to-high-end wines. During the second venture of Golden Star Beer and the marketing transformation, traditional distributors face this problem: 'What happens to a mule from Jinggangshan when it arrives in Beijing?' Either they change their thinking, or there are only two outcomes: shrinking profits or elimination.
Specific actions for salespeople during the off-season: Drive with profit (appropriate investment for mid-to-high-end wines and terminal markets), pull with relationships, and move customers with life value. Use contract quotas to constrain clients, set exclusive sales awards, encourage exclusive and increased sales, form a wave of comparison, learning, catching up, helping, and surpassing, and enhance their sense of honor. Let facts speak for themselves, making them realize that selling wheat beer and mid-to-high-end wines maximizes profits and thus proactively shift their business thinking.
2. Set Up a Reasonable Profit System. The shrinking profit space for distributors is mainly due to two reasons: one is the intensifying market competition, and the other is that original products have been in the distribution channel for too long, many entering the mature stage, with transparent prices and significantly reduced profit margins. At this point, resetting channel profit space has become an urgent task for off-season marketing. Setting a reasonable profit space can be done in two ways: First, by launching new 11-degree products, reshaping the terminal price system, introducing wines at a terminal price of 2.5 yuan per bottle, and while terminals earn 4.5 yuan more per pack than before, reducing terminal investment is equivalent to increasing client profits. Second, promoting mid-range wines, especially the 3-yuan products of the Gold series, and increasing their price in the channel is another way to improve profit space. This effect is most obvious in urban markets, especially in Zhengzhou. This year, the key to strengthening manufacturer-distributor relationships during the off-season is to launch 2.5-3 yuan products and build reasonable channel profits.
3. Open New Channels. In fact, during the off-season, beer companies opening new channels is more significant than developing new products. As salespeople, we usually refer to new channels as channel members not yet occupied by our clients. The market is the chicken, and sales are the eggs. If we don't develop new channels during the off-season, and instead lose original second-tier distributors or terminals, it will be too late to scramble when the peak season arrives. Distributors, constrained by marketing costs and other business impacts during the off-season, generally neglect off-season market maintenance and development. Salespeople should approach from an opportunity marketing perspective and do a good job of new channel development.
4. Pass on Knowledge and Treasure.
Plan for Clients. The best way to move distributors is to find ways to help them make money without expecting anything in return. In this regard, our marketing personnel should have a grand marketing vision and not limit their thinking to our beer business. During the off-season, we can help clients plan the launch of white spirits, help them do terminal sales for white spirits, and try to make distributors earn more money, thereby achieving the goal of 'borrowing a boat to go to sea' for beer. Of course, helping distributors find profitable methods is the duty of salespeople during the off-season. In this regard, we can broaden our thinking and strengthen manufacturer-distributor relationships: for example, helping clients plan off-season product lines, adjusting seasonal product promotions, and putting ourselves in clients' shoes.
Distributor Training. Many enterprises are confused about how to conduct distributor training. Although many beer companies spend a lot of money every year inviting experts to give lectures, the results are not obvious based on feedback. Our salespeople can carry out various training methods according to Golden Star's current situation, such as inviting our distributors to visit branch companies in various places, inviting our excellent distributors to give lectures, sharing their success stories firsthand, and letting our own distributors brainstorm. Learning war through war is a good training method. In the second half of this year, after clients from Ye County visited the Nanyang branch company, they were deeply impressed, gained new insights into terminal marketing, and achieved unexpected results in strengthening manufacturer-distributor relationships.
Establish Terminal Information Files. In the entire FMCG industry, beer terminal competition is now the most intense, and distributors in marketing transformation are still unconscious about terminal control. Due to Golden Star's brand advantage, distributors can still barely survive in traditional channels. Their weak awareness of terminal competition directly leads to 'terminal phobia,' such as not daring to invest in terminal image electricity, and 'running stores' makes them 'once bitten, twice shy,' leading to extensive management of terminal stores. Some even don't have phone numbers for terminal stores, relying entirely on our direct salespeople for delivery. Once original personnel leave, many terminal customers will also be lost.
Therefore, in off-season marketing, helping clients establish terminal files can not only standardize clients' terminal operation processes and reduce terminal risks, but also increase clients' direct profits, enhance their loyalty, and thereby strengthen manufacturer-distributor relationships.
Off-season marketing is both a science and an art, largely focusing on 'management' rather than 'sales.' During the off-season, our basic work, the so-called 'management,' should be solid.
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