Click the image for details Looking at many liquor enterprises (especially those in the rising stage of white liquor companies) when formulating and implementing corporate development strategies, they basically follow the following methods: First, regional extension and outward expansion. After stabilizing the local market, they quickly and successfully occupy external regional markets, develop new markets, and seize competitors' market share, shifting market competition to external regions. For example, Anhui's Xuanjiu, after firmly establishing itself in southern Anhui, quickly entered the Hefei market and northern Anhui; Second, "opportunistic + key operation" external breakthrough. Considering fierce competition in surrounding areas, they use product price and packaging advantages to seek explosive opportunities in external regional markets. For example, Anhui's Gujing Gongjiu, after consolidating the Anhui market, quickly deployed in Wenzhou, Guangdong, and other markets using regional chamber of commerce resources, leveraging brand advantages for rapid recruitment, and "borrowing a boat to go to sea" to create key external markets; Third, nationwide push-style development: large-scale nationwide recruitment, flattening regional market distribution models, quickly occupying the national market, and significantly increasing market share. For example, Yanghe Blue Classic and Guojiao 1573, using strong brand advantages and advertising coverage, crush and lay out the national market, recruit and distribute products on a large scale, and with the help of the company's strong financial advantages, establish a national brand image and position. At the same time, we see some regional liquor enterprises that are already facing many development difficulties (such as price inversion, capital tension, weak brand, etc.), and also encounter market penetration, segmentation, or even seizure by strong liquor enterprises (local famous enterprises, national famous enterprises, etc.), making life extremely difficult and painful! So for these regional weak liquor enterprises, can we find some ways to resist and block such market changes? This article will discuss how regional liquor enterprises can use the "small fist also has great power" approach to defend their local markets and bring further development opportunities through the three-dimensional blocking mode of inner-region defense, from price blocking, channel blocking, and consumption blocking. I. Consumption Blocking: "Reverse Promotion" to Avoid Falling into a Resource War In long-term project service, we have found that "consumer active consumption" is the driving force for distributors; only the smooth flow of the consumer end is the fundamental guarantee for healthy market development. B enterprise in H province is the local leader in the L market, but due to having many product categories, it lacks a flagship product. In recent years, with the entry of Yanghe and Luzhou, the mid-to-low-end market has been greatly impacted, and market share has continued to decline and shrink. Facing this situation, B enterprise changed its thinking and proposed "blocking competitors at the consumer end," implementing a consumption strategy that pulls the channel through consumption; a channel strategy of "deeply optimizing channels" to strengthen and stabilize market terminals; and a product price strategy of "stabilizing mass prices + focusing on main prices" to establish an attack-defense price structure. (1) Establish a "Consumer Prize Pool" with Cumulative Consumption Rewards The enterprise established an alliance with local large supermarket suppliers and set up a "consumer prize pool." The enterprise listed more than 20 popular items in the market, including TVs, refrigerators, air conditioners, mobile phones, furniture, kitchen and bathroom appliances, and other items. Consumers who spend a certain amount can redeem corresponding prizes. As shown in Table 1: (For information confidentiality, only key information is listed; specifications and unit prices are not listed) Prize Name | Unit | Consumption Amount Gree Air Conditioner | Unit | 20,000 yuan Apple 6s | Unit | 10,000 yuan Skyworth TV | Unit | 7,000 yuan Midea Induction Cooker | Unit | 4,000 yuan Rongshida Washing Machine | Unit | 3,000 yuan Note: 1. Consumers redeem prizes by presenting the outer box lid with the company's activity logo, and redeem directly at the factory. 2. All prizes for this activity are paid by the manufacturer; terminals do not participate or redeem. Through effective publicity, timely prize redemption, and information registration, B enterprise redeemed a total of 1.21 million yuan in prizes during the Mid-Autumn Festival, bringing sales of 10.82 million yuan (including distributor purchase amounts). During the same period, Yanghe and Luzhou's total orders reached 17.42 million yuan. B enterprise did not use squeeze-style channel policies to force inventory; instead, it increased promotional efforts to pull channel purchases through consumption, which not only solved many channel problems but also strengthened channel relationships, effectively blocking the market seizure by foreign brands. Subsequently, the enterprise continued to strengthen channel consumption pull, weakened channel inventory pressure, reduced pressure on B enterprise's distributors, and improved manufacturer-distributor cooperation. II. Channel Blocking: "Deeply Optimizing Channels" to Strengthen and Stabilize Market Terminals Facing the "defection" of some core customers to foreign brands, the enterprise reluctantly implemented a direct sales model, strengthened the manufacturer's control over terminals, established large-scale manufacturer-distributor alliances, increased channel profit space, and strengthened terminal consumption recommendation rates. (1) Seize Every Opportunity to Stabilize Market Terminals on a Large Scale The gaps of big brands are opportunities for regional liquor enterprises. Tactically, avoid head-on confrontation with strong brands; during the dormant period, know yourself and your enemy, seize opponents' mistakes and strike fast, stabilizing and maintaining the market position and share of the base market. After Yanghe and Luzhou entered the market strongly, they first laid out Qingci and Toutou series products, entering the core consumer price segment of the local market, but due to insufficient dedicated personnel in distributor teams, terminal construction progressed slowly. B enterprise organized 50 salespeople (plus 10 delivery vehicles) within 3 days, each group rushing to pre-determined target terminals, seizing market terminals and in-store display space, maximizing distribution rate in a short time, avoiding the quagmire of a line war with strong brands later. Gaining positions in a short time may also be lost in future competition, or suffer in a tug-of-war, so whether terminal maintenance is in place determines whether short-term opportunities can be transformed into long-term competitive advantages and defensive positions. B enterprise implemented refined terminal visits, shelf management, POP displays, inventory management, promotion execution, and relationship building, through a series of measures to drive competitors off the shelves, making it difficult for competing products to take root. (2) Proactively Seek Opportunities to Win Over Competitors' Major Distributors Gaps are not always available, so small brands still need to seek high ground through proactive attacks, winning over strong enemies' distribution networks. Using the transparent pricing of big brands causing thin channel profits (especially for products that have been in the market for a long time), leading to distributor hesitation, and leveraging local geographic and resource advantages to win over competitors' distributors, turning opponents' major terminals into their own fortress positions. For distributors showing willingness to switch, promise to sign agreements with detailed terms on terminal services, price maintenance, promotion execution, monthly rebates, and year-end rewards, ensuring channel profits. B enterprise adopted a combination of "hit and pull": first quickly covering and controlling the distributor's terminal network, then taking them down one by one, negotiating while fighting, forcing the target distributor to join their camp, causing the opponent to have local "gaps." (3) Establish a Binding Alliance Between Manufacturer and Terminals Based on the idea of combining attack and defense, B enterprise precisely focused on the mass consumption price range: 30-50 yuan, using the company's geographic and channel advantages to deepen and bind core circulation terminals and mass dining venues, establishing a "partnership system" between manufacturer and terminals. As shown in Table 2: Terminal Type | Partnership Method | Description Core Wholesale Department | Sign an annual sales agreement of 120,000 yuan; the manufacturer, on top of original cooperation conditions, agrees: if the customer completes the task X months early, an additional reward of X万元 in products and other non-cash rewards (requires 1:1 purchase to redeem rewards). | Manufacturer also cooperates with promotion execution Ordinary Circulation Stores | Similar forms below, with specific amounts varying. Key Dining Venues Ordinary Dining Venues Consumption blocking and channel blocking are not one-shot moves; they are combined means of refined management and rapid response, requiring diversified execution plans according to time and stage. At the same time, the two are closely integrated; the consumer end and channel end complement each other to effectively form a defensive position. The most important thing to avoid is passive defense under a defensive posture. Although you can follow in stages, you will eventually fall into the opponent's competitive model and market "routines"—full of routines, which can be very hurtful! III. Price Blocking: "Stabilizing Mass + Focusing on Mainstream" to Establish an "Attack-Defense" Product Architecture After establishing a defensive posture, we need an offensive weapon to change the enterprise's market position. Competitors' offensive strategies in regional markets are often "step-by-step" penetration strategies: first stabilize the mainstream price band, then expand to other price levels. The obvious deficiency of foreign brands is incomplete coverage of price bands. As a local enterprise, our key task is to firmly grasp the mass consumption price band (30-50 yuan) and the mainstream price band (60-100 yuan). According to analysis of Yanghe and Luzhou's distributor agency products, the 60-80 yuan and 100-120 yuan price bands are locked and fiercely competitive. B enterprise's research on the L market shows: the mass consumption price band still belongs to the enterprise itself, but the mainstream consumption price band's market share has been eroded significantly. B enterprise successively developed Classic Old Cellar and the upgraded version of Chuanshi Old Cellar—Chuanshi Old Cellar 1717, using new products to avoid market impact from foreign brands' downward product extensions on B enterprise's mass price products, stabilizing the market base volume. For the mainstream price band, they developed upgraded products to join market competition, using new products to adopt an offensive strategy to resist further erosion of B enterprise's market share by foreign brands. Specific development details are shown in Table 3: Product Name | Terminal Retail Price/Yuan | Actual Transaction Price/Yuan | Description Chennian Jiaocang 3 Years | 38 | 32 | B enterprise's main mass price product Chennian Jiaocang 5 Years | 68 | 60 Classic Old Cellar | 88 | 75 | Developed product Yanghe Qingci | 88 | 80 Yanghe Hai Zhi Lan | 128 | 110 Chuanshi Old Cellar | 128 | 105-110 Chuanshi Old Cellar 1717 | 158 | 135 | Developed product Luzhou Tequ (China Time-Honored Brand) | 158 | 138-140 Yanghe Tian Zhi Lan | 188 | 160-168 The implementation of the price strategy relies on product sorting and development, and also depends on the implementation of channels and promotions. Only with the trinity of channel, consumer, and price can an orderly inner-region defense mechanism be established. B enterprise, through refined guidance and efficient execution, quickly and effectively established market defense barriers, stabilized the home market. At the 2017 New Year's Day ordering meeting, terminal participants reached 1,130 companies and 1,540 people. Cumulative order value reached 30.9 million yuan, a 9% increase over the same period last year. The marketing combination model proposed in this article is based on the current competitive situation of B enterprise's market and the consideration of the decline in enterprise volume, suggesting fundamentally establishing an attack-as-defense basic strategy. It may not be suitable for all enterprises and is for reference only. -END-